Cthulhu Gonfalon

The Archbishop could not help feeling an ominous premonition brewing in her heart.

Strictly speaking, there was no basis for her to feel this way. This was merely a piece of treasure. If it was destroyed, then so be it; it should not be such a great deal, right? Given her identity and status, if she had the intention of collecting treasures of such standard, while she dared not say that she would be able to collect a great amount, getting ahold of ten to 20 of such treasures was certainly not worth mentioning.

But other than a few squirrel-like people who crazily hoarded treasures, no one else could be so bored as to think of collecting so many treasures. Owning around three to five pieces was more than enough, so long as the treasures suited one’s needs. Even the Greek god, Hercules, owned nothing more than a handful of treasures. Treasures owned would eventually pile up, where one would even lose track of the treasures under one’s possessions. The reason for their existence was only to serve as a treasure vault that could provide the value for experience.

But some treasures were different.

For example, the Scarlet Venomous Python Wand.

The Church of the God of Aristocracy had been established for nearly 300 years, and with the Church of the God of Royalty as its predecessor, its family heritage ran deep and long. The Jewel of Heaven’s Wrath was a precious stone of such a level that no one could ever own too many of it, but on the other hand, the Scarlet Venomous Python Wand was at a level that was often seen.

But this wand held a special significance to the Archbishop. It could be said to be a symbol of the first half of her life.

Back then, she was also an ordinary young maiden filled with integrity and innocence. Yet after that fateful adventure, she truly realized the darkness and cruelty of society. Since then, she had turned over a new leaf—or perhaps, this phrase should not be used as such—she had repented through her misdeeds and made a determined effort to turn over a new leaf, and she quickly became a successful person. Twenty years later, she had become a clergyman at the advanced legendary peak and received much adoration from Her Majesty of the Holy Kingdom of Noble Maids, who was yet to be sealed as a god at that time. Upon her return after seeking vengeance, she helped Her Majesty incorporate the Church of the God of Royalty into their own church, thus establishing her status within the Church of the God of Aristocracy. She became the successor when the first generation Archbishop passed away.

That was something that happened hundreds of years ago, but still, everything was vivid in her mind. All these years, she had kept the Scarlet Venomous Python Wand by her side. It had weathered countless ups and downs and participated in numerous battles with her. It had always been intact, but this day, it was destroyed...

Maybe... this is an omen. The God of Fate is using this to remind me, tonight is the day I must return to my God’s Kingdom...

Though thoughts were running through her mind, she showed no nervousness or worry on her face. Gloomily, she looked across her, and after a while, she said, “Those clones sent down by the God of Knowledge are very powerful.”

“Yes, it won’t be easy to deal with them,” said the middle-aged man, who was the leader of the trio consisting of the elderly man, the middle-aged man, and the jolly green fellow. He continued to say, “Even if it were me, it would still be difficult to destroy that magic wand with one strike.”

“But it’s not impossible,” said the jolly green fellow from the trio.

Yes, it was not impossible. To these Legendary Masters who had been famous for so many years, so long as they were prepared beforehand, this magic wand would not become a big problem.

Although so much was said, everyone still wore worried expression.

Those Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of the Church of the God of Knowledge who had agreed to be possessed by a descending god, all had powers that were at least comparable to that of established Legendary Masters.

This was not good news at all!

Amidst their shock and worry, everyone was, on the contrary, feeling a tad bit thankful.

In general, after using the Jewel of Heaven’s Wrath to wield the Punishing Fist of Heaven, the next step would be to launch an aggressive attack. Yet the Archbishop had chosen to test the waters again. This time around, when she did so, she lost a legendary weapon but managed to find out the most formidable means of the Church of the God of Knowledge.

Without a question, if they were to directly attack a moment ago, by now, more than half would have been met with trouble. What a great loss that would be!

“Normally, when possessed by a descending god, how powerful can one get?” asked one of the youngest Legendary Masters after a few minutes. He was a berserker warrior who seemed to be even stronger than a wild boar, but he asked in a cautious tone.

In return, he saw dejected looks all over his comrades’ faces and heard the bitter laugh of helplessness from his own leader.

“Usually, a body that is possessed by the clone of a descending god would most probably only be at the junior legendary level. Masters at this level, even if there were six of them would still not be a big deal,” the elderly man of the trio replied with a sigh, “because if the three of us combined forces, we would be able to annihilate all of them.”

“But the situation is different for the other side, right?” asked the berserker. He was no fool, and he had asked the most crucial question.

The elderly man let out a deep sigh and then said, “To mortals, the power of god, can be said to be inexhaustible, but the body of a mortal cannot accommodate such great power.”

“Their Holy Sons and Holy Daughters... why are they so strong?”

“If I had known, I would have retreated by now,” said the Archbishop, who continued to say, “Compared to this technology, losing a battle against another church is really nothing at all.”

Yet she did not know that everything was obvious. Although she had reported all the information that she acquired to the church headquarters via communication skills, this degree of intelligence was far from enough. So she quickly adjusted her train of thought and issued new orders.

Try to capture a Holy Son or Holy Daughter of the Church of the God of Knowledge, be it dead or alive, then retreat.

“Does this mean we have to capture a descending god alive?” asked the berserker.

The Archbishop kept quiet, and there was silence all around her.

“Alright, I got it, Boss, this will call for a pay raise. I don’t mind fighting a descending god, but I really have not thought about trying to catch one.”

“Remuneration is not the problem,” said the elderly man of the trio with a deep sigh. He continued to say, “the problem is, you must be able to live long enough to get that pay.”

In the face of six possessed bodies, all of which had powers as forceful as established Legendary Masters, and furthermore, to be supported by Olian Geerteng, an elector of the God of Knowledge from the true Legendary Realm—such a team would bring a frown to anyone’s face, regardless of how optimistic one would usually be.

It was nine fighting against seven. This was absolutely not a ratio of combat power that would allow anyone to feel at ease nor be able to take it lightheartedly. Also, not forgetting that beyond the good looks of this group of youths, all of them were in fact, quite ferocious. The moment they started to fight, they would be Oracles who fought without fear and who paid no heed to whether they were killed or not!

Seven true-blue Legendary Masters with a group of weaker mid-level clergymen and a group of stronger high-level clergymen, and even possibly an Oracle troop near to the legendary level... if they had charged over on impulse a moment ago, probably they would be the ones losing.

Even now, when they were prepared to attack again, their chances of victory would not exceed 50%. And this 50-50 chance of winning was based on the premise that a few Legendary Masters would be sacrificed.

The Legendary Masters certainly did not relish in the thought of dying, and thus, they were not eager to win this battle.

This was most likely the reason why the Archbishop wanted to change her battle plan. She no longer pursued victory but rather sought to execute the second-best plan, which was to capture either a Holy Son or Holy Daughter from the Church of the God of Knowledge.

Although this goal was difficult to achieve, at least it was slightly easier than winning the battle. It was a little more viable, with a smaller price to pay and was more in line with the interests of the Legendary Masters.

Just like on Earth, many parents would hope for their children to excel academically and be accepted into prestigious schools like Peking University or Tsing Hua, but many children would rather be stars like singers... In fact, upon careful calculation, it might be even easier to get accepted into Peking University and Tsing Hua as compared to becoming a singer. After all, on a national scale, a few thousand people would make it into Peking University and Tsing Hua annually, while on the other hand, the number of singers who could truly carve a successful career out of singing, might not even reach ten every year...

...

On the other side, the lead commander of the Church of the God of Knowledge, Olian was also announcing her battle plan.

“We’ll charge towards them... All of us will launch a sudden attack... shatter their... god’s statue... destroy... their... formation,” she said. As she was still nursing her injuries, such a simple sentence actually took Olian almost a minute to complete.

“Just like that?” Lion asked with a tinge of surprise.

“Just like that... is more than enough,” Olian replied. She was still very pale, but she managed a weak smile as she continued to say, “God descending... time is not long...”

The duration for a god’s descent would not be long. There was nothing that could be done to change this iron rule. Especially during the beginning stage of battle, when the human body had to accommodate a strong Divine Power to fight the battle, the “consumption rate” would be extremely demanding. These few clones representing the descending God of Knowledge were all very powerful, but this was nonetheless, a double-edged sword. Even if they had a considerable advantage over their opponents during the battle, they were still unable to sustain such an ability to fight for too long.

So she had to consider the situation from a more prudent perspective to try to devise a method that could destroy the statue of her opponent’s god. The battle of churches also had its own rules. Whichever side had its god statue destroyed would be the side that lost.

As for going back on one’s words... in a duel that had the attention of the various gods, who would even think of trying to go back on one’s word?

Ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha...