Chapter 1440: Chapter 902: Chronicler of History (Part 2)
The old mage seemed to be butting heads with the other side.
The High Order Bishop gave him a deep look and said:
"The Empire is the Empire, the Church is the Church. You just need to record the true history. As for the rest, you need not concern yourself."
"Heh, you really are quite confident..."
The old mage chuckled.
As he spoke, he gently shook his head:
"It’s just that nothing can ever be absolutely certain, not even a True God. So... you’d better not be overly optimistic."
"Just like the great Eve and Her Life Church. Eight years ago, who could have imagined that a church that had just appeared would grow into an existence that could rival the Eternal Church and even stand at the summit of the Empire?"
The old mage looked emotional, not hiding in the slightest his fondness and respect for the Life Goddess Eve.
However, the High Order Bishop did not respond to his words.
He merely gave the old mage a deep look, then turned and left.
And the old mage Offnam seemed rather bored by his reaction.
Shaking his head lightly, he withdrew his gaze.
He glanced at the parchment in his hand, felt its texture, then closed the dossier... staring at the intricate patterns on it, the old mage’s face was full of curiosity.
As a historian, he could clearly sense the ancientness and mystery of this dossier; faintly, there seemed to be some vast, majestic power lingering upon it.
Even though he was close to Legend and had studied the [Identify] Magic to the point of perfection, he still couldn’t see through the dossier’s true nature.
"This thing... just what is its origin?"
The old mage Offnam muttered in puzzlement.
He shook his head, looked at the imposing Church army around him, pondered for a moment, then sighed, pulled out his pen again, and wrote on that parchment of unknown material:
"But no matter what, once this war is over, Segis World will likely suffer yet another calamity."
After finishing, he couldn’t help but give the dossier another look. Seeing no secrets from it at all, he had no choice but to put away the parchment and return to the army of the Eternal Church.
...
After entering the core area, the roads in the Elf Forest seemed to become even more crisscrossed and convoluted.
At the same time, the number and frequency of Elves obstructing the Eternal Church also kept increasing as they drew closer to the World Tree.
This did not cause much loss to the Church army, but it undoubtedly slowed their march yet again.
Even so, five days after entering the core area, the entire Judgement Army finally arrived beneath the World Tree.
"The Chosen City! This is the famed Chosen City of the teleportations?!"
Within the bishops’ group of the Eternal Church army, the old mage Offnam looked at the magnificent Elf City beneath the World Tree, his face full of excitement.
Looking out, he saw that beneath the roots that rose like mountains, a majestic city surged up from the ground, stretching far and wide.
Those bizarre and wondrous, gorgeous and captivating buildings, and those lush, beautiful and pleasant gardens and streets made the city before his eyes look like a piece of art crafted by a Divine.
The moment he thought of how such a beautiful city was about to face a war, and might even be destroyed in that war, the old mage Offnam couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain.
With that thought, he couldn’t help turning to look at the Eternal Church bishops beside him, only to find their gazes on the Chosen City were full of gravity.
The old mage followed their line of sight and discovered that most of the bishops’ attention was focused on the tall city walls outside the Chosen City.
Only then did the old mage Offnam notice what was different about the walls of the Chosen City.
This magnificent city had walls that were just as imposing.
Even from afar, Offnam could judge that the city walls of the Chosen City were likely more than thirty meters high.
Although they looked somewhat rough, as if hastily constructed, that exaggerated height and thickness, the rows of Magic Crystal Cannons mounted atop them, and the defensive Rune inscriptions and Divine Arts defensive barrier patterns carved into the sides of the walls, clear enough to be seen with the naked eye, all indicated that these walls were not to be trifled with.
Outside the walls, Offnam also noticed that several rings of tall oaks had been planted around the city.
The instant he saw those oaks, he recognized them as well—those were likely not ordinary oaks, but the legendary Oak Guardians.
Of course, apart from the solid defenses on the ground that were obvious at a glance, the sky was just as spectacular.
Even an old mage who had been imprisoned in Dorolia Castle Prison the whole time knew the name of those massive objects floating in midair—the Elf Airships.
Not to mention the mighty dragons circling above the city and around the World Tree.
"This is going to be a tough battle..."
Offnam couldn’t help but murmur.
...
While the old mage Offnam and the clergy of the Eternal Church were sizing up the Chosen City and the World Tree, the players gathered in the Chosen City were also coldly observing the Eternal Church’s army.
Li Mu stood atop the high city tower, looking at the endless tide of Silver-armored Guards encircling from the Northeast, and the Holy Angels floating in midair, radiating sacred light. His gaze grew ever more solemn.
More than ten days of player harassment had not only delayed the enemy’s advance, but had also allowed the players to feel out the strength of the Legion the Eternal Church had sent.
Based on the players’ repeated suicide scouting, they could be sure that the Judgement Army dispatched by the Eternal Church this time likely numbered more than 1.2 million.
That number might be far fewer than the players, but their average strength was much higher.
Not to mention the terrifying presence of the Angel Army in the sky and the myths hidden at the rear.
The army of the Eternal Church stopped when it was about two kilometers from the Chosen City.
The Eternal Pope Benedict II swung down from his horse. Looking at the World Tree, whose crown was now impossible to see from this distance and of which only the trunk remained visible, his eyes grew increasingly deep.
Then he raised the scepter in his hand high and bellowed:
"For my Lord! For eternal glory!"
His voice was old, yet filled with momentum, fervent and devout.
"For my Lord! For eternal glory!"
At his side, the bishops and Judgement Knights joined in the shout.
As the cries of millions of troops rose, the deafening sound shook the skies, making the players within the Chosen City turn grave.
The next moment, sacred radiance lit up within the Eternal Church army.
The sun emblems lifted high once more burst into dazzling light, forming layers of translucent holy shields that merged above the Judgement Army into a barrier of light.
At the same time, the armor on the Judgement Knights at the very front of the formation began to emit a gentle halo under the radiance, faintly forming smaller, individual Divine Shields.
Seeing this scene, Li Mu’s expression tightened.
He took a deep breath and turned to look at the Life Saintess Alice and Grand Priest Tyler standing beside him. The two Elves nodded, then shouted to the Elf Priests to the rear:
"Activate the Divine Arts defensive barrier!"
At the command, golden light blossomed throughout the Chosen City, pillars of radiance shooting up into the sky.
The next instant, the light pillars extended into translucent mirror-like faces, forming a dodecahedron-like barrier that enveloped the entire Chosen City.
With both sides’ Divine Arts defensive barriers deployed, the standoff was set. The thick smell of gunpowder spread across the battlefield, and battle could erupt at any moment.
Yet just as the players were speculating on how exactly the Eternal Church would choose to assault the Chosen City, the Eternal Church’s next move left them all dumbfounded.
"For the glory of my Lord! Charge!"
Pope Benedict II ordered in a loud voice.
At his command, under the players’ stunned gazes, the Judgement Knights of the Eternal Church simply charged straight at the towering walls of the Chosen City—without bringing any siege equipment at all...
