Flame City had truly lived up to its name.
In the air directly above the city, the giant bird and the witch were locked in battle, oscillating between gusts of wind created by flapping wings and trails of fire left by a lashing whip.
Both masters of the Power of Flame, they found it hard to inflict serious damage on each other, resulting in a protracted and grueling tug-of-war.
Below in the city, the aftermath of their battle had set the whole place ablaze.
The city's gates had been cunningly blocked by the Son of the Sun's disciples with flammable materials, effectively turning Flame City into a prison, a purgatory on earth.
Countless ordinary citizens were engulfed by the flames under the scorching sun, and even some of the weaker adventurers met their untimely demise if luck was not on their side.
Those with the power to escape had either fled beyond the city walls or sought refuge underground.
They understood that this was not the time to be a hero; the flames on the ground were merely an appetizer.
The real spectacle would begin only when the battle in the sky concluded.
Ethan, stepping out of the church and beholding the chaos that was Flame City, couldn't help but furrow his brow.
With a swift movement, he appeared at the top of Flame Church.
Looking down upon the chaotic crowd from his vantage point atop Flame Church, Ethan calmly snapped his fingers.
Waves surged from beneath his feet, rushing towards all four corners of the city.
Being a master of the Language of Nature and having inherited part of the God of Sea's legacy, extinguishing this fire was a mere trifle to him.
After all, the city's true owner was Hilna, and by extension, it was practically his.
Moreover, from Ethan's viewpoint, he could distinctly observe the souls of the deceased also flowing along the Magic Circle formed by the Power of Faith, becoming a part of the Son of the Sun's strength.
No wonder the members of the Son of the Sun Trade Association had deliberately used flammable materials to blockade the city gates.
This enormous Magic Circle was not only gathering the Power of Faith and the spiritual power of the believers within the city but was also including the souls of the deceased in its sacrificial scope!
The Son of the Sun intended to transform the entire city's dead into offerings for their own resurrection!
"Lord Ethan!"
Upon seeing Ethan, Hilna's subordinates immediately gathered, looking up at him from in front of the church.
Normally adept at setting fires, they were quite clueless when it came to putting them out.
In the midst of the city's chaos, they were like headless flies, frantically spinning around without accomplishing anything.
Seeing Ethan appear and effortlessly extinguish the great fire, they instantly found their pillar of support.
"Go and destroy all the altars in the city, and restrain those crazed individuals. Try not to kill anyone; only resort to violence if it's absolutely necessary."
Ethan issued orders methodically to them.
As for those fanatics controlled by the Son of the Sun and those who had ingested the Solar Reagent, he was unsure if they could be saved.
But he knew that killing these fanatics would not prevent them from becoming a part of the Son of the Sun's power.
The most crucial task at hand was to directly destroy the altars, which served as the nodes of the Magic Circle.
Once the Magic Circle was broken, dealing with the Son of the Sun, bereft of the Power of Faith's sustenance, would be a straightforward matter.
With this in mind, he lifted his head to observe the battle in the sky.
Although Hilna had explicitly refused his help, he could not stand idly by if an accident were to occur.
Of course, if Hilna could resolve the issue on her own, that would be the best outcome.
In the sky, the colossal Golden Raven and the diminutive red figure continued their tangled skirmish, neither side yielding ground to the other.
The Golden Raven boasted immense strength and seemingly endless vitality.
Hilna, on the other hand, relied on her petite frame and agility to evade, rendering the giant bird's broad and sweeping attacks mostly ineffective.
For the Golden Raven, dealing with Hilna was like trying to swat a persistent fly -- no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't land a hit.
Frustrated, it could only escalate its firepower, unleashing even larger-scale attacks in an attempt to leave her no room to dodge.
Hilna's attacks were doubly ineffective -- not only because her elemental attributes couldn't deal significant damage but also because the bird's massive size meant that even a successful hit would at most dislodge a feather or two.
For the Golden Raven, sustained by a constant flow of Power of Faith from the Magic Circle, such attacks were as insignificant as a mere itch.
As things stood, the battle remained in a deadlock.
However, looking at the long-term, the Golden Raven, fueled by the Magic Circle, certainly had more staying power than Hilna, who was fighting alone.
The situation seemed to be growing dire for her.
But situations are always in flux.
As Hilna's subordinates on the ground managed to destroy the first altar after a fierce battle, one of the golden streams connecting earth to sky diminished.
It was foreseeable that when the last chain was broken, this farcical battle would finally draw to a close.
Though Hilna's subordinates left in the city were of average strength, their opponents -- robed figures under the Son of the Sun -- were also a hastily assembled rabble.
Even if there were one or two outstanding individuals among them, being scattered across various altars and facing the onslaught of greater numbers, they were overwhelmed and helpless.
As things stood, it wouldn't take long for all the altars within the city to be utterly destroyed, and the chances of the Son of the Sun defeating Hilna before that happened were looking slimmer by the minute.
By the time three altars were in ruins, the Three-Legged Golden Raven had evidently started to lose its composure.
Its attacks grew more frantic, but their precision worsened.
Hilna, who was completely at ease, left the colossal bird attacking thin air while the buildings in the city and the hills in the distance bore the brunt of its misplaced fury.
Observing both battlefields, seemingly headed toward their conclusions, Ethan couldn't help but shake his head.
He realized he had overestimated this ancient deity.
He hadn't expected such a grandiose operation to turn into nothing more than a fireworks display, which was quite disappointing, to say the least.
"So this is the Son of the Sun? Utterly laughable. Can't you old-era trash take care of burying yourselves? Must you really trouble me to handle it?"
Hilna mercilessly mocked her foe as she effortlessly dodged another swipe from the Golden Raven's claw.
Much of her preparation hadn't even been put to use.
She had been ready for a fierce battle, but the threat turned out to be far less substantial than the bluster.
"Vermin! Who gave you the audacity to challenge the dignity of a god?!"
The Three-Legged Golden Raven unleashed a volley of golden-red fire feathers, but Hilna, nimble as ever, wove through them with ease.
The few she couldn't dodge were casually dispersed with a wave of her hand.
In the end, this supposed display of divine might only succeeded in adding another fire to the city's walls, which was promptly extinguished by a surge of water manipulated by Ethan.
From this perspective, it seemed that Aneropo, the Son of the Sun who once held sway in the divine realms, was truly at his wits' end.
Yet, his believers within the city remained fervently devoted.
Even when restrained by the city guards, they continued to loudly chant the name and sacred texts of their lord.
"My faithful, the time has come. You shall fall at dusk, and I shall rise, once again illuminating the earth!"
As the gigantic bird tilted its head back and let out a lofty cry, the eyes of the believers in the city grew even more fervent.
Their chanting became louder, faster, and more intense.
The originally faint glow of Power of Faith around them grew increasingly radiant until each person was engulfed in light, turning into glowing human-shaped bulbs.
Ethan frowned as he watched this unfold, recognizing this as the Son of the Sun's last resort.
Hilna in the sky did not stand idly by either, attacking the Golden Raven with fire whips and flame spears.
Yet, her attacks only managed to tear off a few feathers at a time.
The headstrong Three-Legged Golden Raven paid no mind to her assaults and remained unmovable.
The human-shaped bulbs on the ground finally reached their zenith of brightness and burst open.
Flames and light shot in all directions, creating a series of explosions throughout the city, causing extensive casualties among the gathered city guards and civilians.
In Ethan's eyes, these people were not merely committing suicide.
The souls of the fanatics and those driven mad from the Solar Reagent transformed into light in the explosions and flew toward the Golden Raven.
Shockingly, the souls of the innocent bystanders caught in the blasts followed suit.
Just like those who had perished in the flames earlier, even though the altars had been destroyed, these members of the Son of the Sun Trade Association were using themselves in a ritual to offer the surrounding souls to the Son of the Sun.
This wave of explosive attacks had affected at least a third of the city's population, with the deceased and those under the control of Solar Reagent all transforming into nourishment for the Golden Raven.
As these beams of light surged in, the previously dim feathers of the Golden Raven once again brightened, and its body, on the brink of collapse, regained its solidity.
With a flapping of its wings and a high-pitched cry, its momentum astonishingly returned to its peak.
Even more, with the continuous influx of souls and Power of Faith from below, it showed signs of growing even stronger.
On the other hand, Hilna furrowed her brows tightly.
The previous battle had already drained a considerable amount of her strength.
Now, her opponent had revived with full health, demanding her to fight all over again when she had no time to rest or replenish.
Indeed, she had set up several mana cannons throughout the city, but they were meant to deal the critical blow when her opponent was at its weakest.
Facing the Golden Raven in its current formidable state, she feared that these costly cannons would do little more than tickle it.
The Son of the Sun truly should not be underestimated.
In just a brief moment, her advantage had vanished, leaving her in a situation even worse than at the beginning.
Faced with the relentless onslaught of this ancient deity, the overwhelmed Hilna eventually had to lower her proud gaze.
However, it was not in surrender to the Son of the Sun, but rather in reluctant acknowledgment towards Ethan, standing on the church's rooftop with a nonchalant smile.
In the next moment, the Divine Dragon clad in golden scales erupted from the ground!
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience