Bidding farewell to the Zaras Academy professor, Xia De continued towards the Natural Church located in the heart of the Gap City.
As for the content of the letter, it was to inform the church in the Gap that once they heard the bell ringing from the direction of Sicar Mountain, they should immediately begin the ritual ahead of schedule.
The reason such an important letter was entrusted to a stranger like Xia De was that this information was being transmitted through multiple channels.
Something seemed to have happened on Sicar Mountain, and the Church intended to start the ritual early.
Even with the sound suppressed, strange noises could still be heard from various places along the way.
Joey Barton, whose true body's whereabouts were currently unknown, was certainly manipulating the undead, and the Gap itself was also retaliating against the actions of the living.
The Church had mobilized a large number of personnel this time, coupled with the assistance provided by the Three Great Arcane Academies and friendly organizations such as the Prophet Association, they were barely able to resist the Gap's counterattack so far.
And as he finally approached the Natural Church, Xia De personally witnessed a 'tide of undead'.
It was a truly terrifying sight; he climbed to a high point to try and find his direction, then saw the mist swirling like it was being stirred by the wind, constantly revolving in front of him.
By using his jumping ability to cross above the street, landing on a slightly bent gas streetlamp, and then jumping onto the roof of another building facing the street, he finally saw dense hordes of undead like a tide, surging towards the Natural Church, which was faintly visible in the mist.
Everything in the Gap was a 'worn-out, damaged version' of its real-world counterpart, but only the Natural Church looked almost identical to its real-world counterpart from the outside, even glowing.
At this moment, the golden great bell on the side tower of the church was being continuously struck by a burly figure whose appearance was unclear.
The sound of the bell could not spread far, but each time it rang, a circle of green ripples would spread outwards from the church's center; evil spirits touching the ripples would be slowly melted away.
At the main entrance of the church and by the side windows, Ring Sorcerers were also standing guard, using talismans, Miracles, and incantations to repel the undead approaching the church.
This was already who knew how many impacts, and the Church's Ring Sorcerers responded quite skillfully.
Even though the Gap suppressed divine power, with the church itself serving as the ritual array, the Five Gods Church's divine rituals could offset this negative suppression.
At the end of this terrifying tide of undead, a giant, human-shaped black evil spirit appeared, hunched over and dragging a bone hammer.
It was hard to imagine what kind of living person could transform into such a being after death.
But its immense size also meant a larger area to be attacked.
It didn't even manage to touch the church wall before being riddled like a sieve by golden light bullets resembling a rain of light, then transforming into wisps of white ash and disappearing.
The people at the church windows cheered and then rearranged the damaged outer defensive rituals and traps.
Xia De's attention, however, shifted to the other end of the dilapidated street where the church was located.
At that misty street corner, a figure slowly vanished into the fog.
Because of his short, deformed appearance, which was very distinctive, Xia De was almost certain that it was Joey Barton.
"Appearing simultaneously at the mountaintop, mid-slope, and foot of the mountain? He absorbed the clown and actually inherited the ability of clones?"
As if noticing Xia De's gaze, the slowly disappearing figure became clear again.
It was indeed Joey Barton; he was leaning against a cracked red brick wall at the street corner, looking through the white mist at Xia De on the rooftop.
The two stared at each other until Joey Barton voluntarily averted his gaze.
He laboriously squatted down, then suddenly pressed his hand to the ground—
Boom!
A muffled sound emanated from the Natural Church on the other side of the street, followed by a silent, small earthquake centered on the Natural Church.
And after the earthquake, a black wind burst open the church doors, flying into the sky like a tornado.
Following closely was Iluna, the seventeen-year-old girl, dressed efficiently, shaking a holy bell at the church entrance, then slightly squatting down and suddenly throwing the golden lightning spear in her hand:
"Sunlight Gun!"
Of course, Xia De couldn't hear the sound, but he guessed Iluna must have shouted that phrase.
The Sunlight Gun pierced through the clouds, striking the center of the black wind.
As the golden lightning exploded in the air, what appeared within the black wind was a woman riding a dark red horse, dressed in a white wedding gown.
The wedding gown, which should have been pristine white, was covered in dark bloodstains, and her veil completely obscured her face.
Her right hand held a sharp black long-handled scythe, while her left hand was at her chest, cradling a man's head.
Because the opponent was in the sky, Xia De couldn't clearly see the man's expression.
But as he gazed at the woman, a strange intuition made him understand:
"The fourth nail! It was actually sent to the Gap by the Church. Did it escape?"
Feeling slightly surprised, he looked back at Barton at the street corner.
He nodded slightly at Xia De, then retreated and disappeared into the mist.
【'He's clearly trying to lure you into following him.'】
"I know."
Xia De adjusted the fishing rod on his back and picked up the kerosene lamp at his feet.
He glanced again at the wedding dress woman riding a horse above the church, and the two High-Ring Sorcerers flying out of the church:
"But even if it's a trap, I have to follow."
Without attracting the Church's attention, Xia De returned from the rooftop to the ground, arriving at the street corner where Barton had just stood.
Of course, it was empty there now.
Xia De looked left and right at the empty street, then stepped forward, wanting to look to the right.
But unexpectedly, with one step, the world spun, the white mist quickly gathered, completely obscuring his vision.
And when his vision returned to normal, the surroundings were no longer the City, but a mountain clearing covered with black withered trees and twisted weeds.
"Space movement? No, I have the 【Time-Space】 Ling Rune; spatial powers can't be this effective against me. It's not that my position was transferred, but that another space was stitched over?"
In the forest clearing, there were only black withered grasses resembling flesh buds.
And on the other side of the clearing, Joey Barton was waiting for Xia De.
Having not seen him for a day, his skin had become much paler.
It wasn't a healthy paleness, but rather a corpse-like pallor.
And the decline in his health brought with it an increase in his power.
Even the least perceptive Ring Sorcerer could easily detect the strong whisper element emanating from him.
"Mr. Watson, why are you so persistent? Do you have such deep feelings for Middsburg?"
He calmly gazed at Xia De, his voice coming from all around the dense forest, as if he were omnipresent.
This was a small trick to induce fear, but Xia De wouldn't fall for it.
"I once said that I am an Outsider, and I have no feelings for this City.
But since I encountered this matter, and I also have the ability to stop it, I cannot just watch you make a grave mistake."
"You still want to persuade me?"
"You've already begun to fuse with the relic; you can't turn back."
Xia De said softly, and then a sigh came from all around the dense forest:
"Yes..."
Mr. Barton lowered his head and said nothing more.
Xia De frowned and raised the longsword in his hand.
Suddenly, a sharp bang sounded, and Joey Barton's neck stretched out like a long snake, his head flying towards Xia De like a cannonball.
Since he had decided to stop the other party, Xia De had no intention of testing him out:
"Sunlight Ray!"
His right index finger rested on the sword blade, then he held the sword with both hands and thrust forward.
As the color of the midday sun gathered on the sword, a thick beam of light shot out with immense wind pressure.
That Sunlight Ray not only pierced through Joey Barton's body but even left a straight light trail in the pitch-black dense forest behind him.
Joey Barton's body completely melted into the light beam, and the breathless Xia De quickly drew a circle on the ground with his longsword, then knelt on one knee, pressing his forehead against the sword hilt:
"Space Stabilization Aura."
Crack ~ A clear sound of shattering appeared in his ear.
Looking up again, he was back at the corner of the dilapidated City street, shrouded in white mist.
Joey Barton was kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath and trying to get up.
Xia De stepped forward with his sword, and in the next moment, he appeared directly beside him.
His hand rose and the sword fell, slashing towards the opponent's neck, but a thick hand suddenly rose, forcefully gripping the blade of the 【Night Watchman】.
The longsword hummed, and the rune on its blade, 'My Heart is Clear, Sword Slashes Demons,' emitted a bright light.
But Joey Barton, gripping the sword blade, slowly stood up against Xia De's strength, the expression in his eyes still calm:
"I am no longer the one-ring Diviner you once knew."
The 【Night Watchman】 automatically counterattacked the evil power, and dozens of white sword lights struck Barton's chest.
He suddenly flung his arm, and the 【Night Watchman】 was snatched from Xia De's hand, flying diagonally to stick into the ground, humming from the Vibration.
"I know."
Xia De threw a right punch, and Joey Barton threw a left punch.
The two fists collided head-on, with a crisp sound of cracking bone, and Xia De flew backward, breaking the tilted streetlamp pole across the road, then smashing through the brick wall of a nearby shop.
When he crawled out of the rubble, he felt as if his entire right hand was numb, clearly suffering from multiple fractures:
"This power is too exaggerated."
Enduring the pain, he struggled to his feet.
Joey Barton still stood in place, watching him, not pursuing him:
"The gentlemen of The Society of Truth told me that only a Chosen One can oppose a Chosen One.
Mr. Watson, you are an audience member, so don't try to interfere with the performance on stage."
Xia De snorted, not speaking.
Joey Barton continued speaking:
"Perhaps the Chosen One truly is chosen by fate.
If I relied solely on my own strength, I would never be able to break through the Church's defenses, but fortunately, the Gap is unwilling to be sealed.
So, I help it, and it helps me."
"In stories, people who say that are usually the villains."
"Good thing this isn't a story; this is an epic."
The middle-aged man, like a deformed child, watched Xia De limp out of the rubble, supporting his right arm:
"Mr. Watson, I've had few friends in my life, but I consider you, whom I've only met a few times, to be one of my few friends.
Please watch carefully, watch all of this, watch what happens today.
Middlesburg tonight will surely go down in history."】}
