Chapter 72: The Gaze Cast by the Gods

“Miss Edwina? You really are something! You’re hiding such an impressive trump card? Is this the power sought by the Temple?”

Mr. Fierce Wolf, who had been on high alert to shield the Holy Knight beside him from the arrows and cover her attacks, froze in place, staring at the sparkling holy emblem in Edwina’s hand for a long time, his expression turning to one of realization.

“I-I’m not, I didn’t…”

Surprisingly, it seemed the most shocked was Edwina herself, the one directly involved. She had intended to throw her long sword but ended up frozen in place, looking around as if she were trying to find something, as if she had seen a ghost.

Just moments ago, she had indeed activated the holy emblem’s special ability, intending to help shield everyone from an enemy attack, but as the magic was about to be released, an unimaginable tremendous force suddenly surged into her body in a form she couldn’t comprehend.

Driven by this terrifying power, the holy emblem produced a dazzling spectacle that Edwina had never even heard of.

Such an immovable barrier, spanning hundreds if not thousands of square meters and able to withstand a rain of thousands of arrows, was something that even ten fully powered Edwinas could never conjure under the previous conditions of depleted holy power!

Edwina was very familiar with the abilities of the priests; there was no way those two could have allowed her to reach such a level.

Who was helping?

Subconsciously, Edwina wanted to find that powerful supporter who had gone missing, to see what kind of existence could allow her to instantly leap two levels and release magic comparable to the sixth tier.

But, this is a battlefield.

“Miss Edwina, seize the opportunity!”

The princess’s shout snapped the Holy Knight back to reality, making her realize what should be the top priority right now.

“Okay!”

Knee bending, gathering power, the long sword in her hand radiated a dazzling, blinding golden light. Edwina could confirm that this Holy Strike had definitely reached an extraordinary level.

The powerful force was as intoxicating as a fine wine, making Edwina, who had never experienced such a sensation, somewhat addicted.

“Holy Strike… whoa!”

But just as she was about to unleash the pinnacle strike of her life, a pure and gentle light fell from above, ignoring the ceiling, landing on Edwina and startling her.

But this light caused no harm; instead, it filled the Holy Knight’s heart with immense adoration and ultimate satisfaction.

In the light, she seemed to see the Goddess smiling down at her, gently caressing her cheek with her delicate fingers, bestowing a light kiss of blessing upon her forehead.

Edwina’s heart trembled; she had never felt closer to the divine than now, as if she were submerged in an ocean of pure light, with sacred power continuously flowing into her body, bringing a refreshing sensation akin to being reborn.

The colorless, pure light quickly merged into Edwina’s body, disappearing without a trace, and her own light began to change.

The gold gradually faded, but it wasn’t weakening; instead, it became purer, more sacred, and closer to the true—light.

“Light… no, it’s… Radiance?”

Muttering the suddenly emerged highest honor in her mind, the moment she broke free from that magical state, Edwina seemed to understand something.

“The Goddess of Radiance…?”

She wasn’t sure about the connection between this divine name she faintly sensed and the Goddess Aurora, whom she had always worshipped, but it didn’t stop her from offering pure gratitude and devotion as a Holy Knight.

Because this light was truly too pure and flawless; even in the sanctuaries left behind by the goddesses of the Holy Nation, Edwina had never felt such a soothing and comfortable sensation, like sleeping peacefully in her mother’s embrace.

If there really existed a goddess representing light in this world, then it could only be this supreme being who granted her vision and divine power.

“Miss Edwina? Are you okay? What was that just now? Did you use a secret technique from the Holy Nation?”

Seeing the girl in a daze and unresponsive for a long time, Nickles worriedly shook her shoulder.

Thanks to the barrier’s existence, everyone temporarily had a chance to catch their breath. Although the vengeful spirits were frantically attacking, they seemed completely unable to break through for the moment.

The Holy Knight turned, a smile breaking on her lips, showing her pearly teeth. It seemed the sacred aura had slightly changed Edwina’s personality and temperament—she lost some of her approachable friendliness but became more noble and flawless, making others subconsciously want to look up to her.

“Mr. Nickles, I’m just so happy. Did you know? Just now, the Goddess herself cast down her loving and holy gaze upon me. Do you know how great an honor that is for a believer?”

“Ah? Uh… maybe?”

Nickles wasn’t a follower of the Church of the Goddess, so how could he understand such things? To him, a god was merely a being whose power and realm far exceeded that of humans.

More than that, Nickles was more concerned about why Edwina, who was slightly weaker than him and just entering the sky tier, had suddenly become so terrifying.

The moment the Holy Knight smiled and turned, he even had the illusion of seeing his master, the Flying Sword Saint—Bivis Bernard.

That unique aura possessed by the strong.

“Enough of this, let’s end the battle.”

The unprecedented power brought Edwina unparalleled confidence. She felt her perspective expand instantly, many things she used to find confusing began to change, and even the legendary terrifying vengeful spirit she had thought would be difficult to deal with suddenly seemed trivial.

The Holy Knight raised her long sword, and as before, radiance lit up upon it.

Transparent, faint golden light, as weak as fireflies, yet that overwhelming aura made the strong present reveal looks of shock.

“Sixth tier?!”

If the previously spread barrier could still be explained as the power of some strong person stored in the holy emblem, this time the transcendent aura was something Edwina had truly manifested with her own hands.

A sky tier suddenly jumping multiple levels to transcend?!

One must know, even when two sky tier priests worked together with all their might, they only allowed Edwina to restore to full state, achieving the pinnacle of the sky tier!

As Edwina suddenly became strong, even the assisting spells of the two priests were directly ejected by some invisible force, yet the aura radiating from the Holy Knight did not diminish in the slightest.

Then, a breathtaking strike was unleashed.

“Radiance… Slash!”

What originally measured a meter long and a finger wide long sword suddenly expanded rapidly during the casting, ultimately transforming into a grandly magnificent light sword, larger than that of Leopold the vengeful spirit, breaking through countless black blades, shooting straight into the clouds!

“Ah ah ah ah ah!! Dammit dammit dammit dammit!! Damn woman!!! It’s you again!!! Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!!!!!!”

Pierced clean through by the massive light sword, over ninety percent of the black gas that was the vengeful spirit instantly crumbled, unable to retain even its form, completely purified, with the small part that managed to escape losing its foothold, rapidly dissolving in the strong light elements in the air.

Boom boom boom boom boom…

The light sword smashed through the laboratory’s ceiling, creating a terrifying hole with a diameter of at least dozens of meters, ultimately flying off who knows where.

The sunlight that had been blocked poured down unreservedly, illuminating the dark laboratory, shining on Edwina and everyone, dispelling the lingering dark mist.

“Damn… the black-haired woman…”

The completely destroyed vengeful spirit left behind only a vague, meaningless curse, but it couldn’t capture anyone’s attention anymore.

“You really are something, Vilyric…”

The princess sighed with a bitter smile. Although the process was filled with ups and downs, and one could hardly say it was a perfect outcome, she still raised her long sword and loudly declared victory to her subordinates.

“Divine spirits, bless us!”

“Oh oh!!!”

Cheers erupted, but amidst the relief, no one noticed that the greatest contributor, Miss Edwina, who looked as if she had discovered something, suddenly had a remarkably radiant expression.

   

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