Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1526 Church Blockade Line
The Miracle Ark was originally slated to launch a plague following "Born Perfect" and "Song of the Most Pious".

"Born Perfect" allows pregnant women to give birth to children qualified to serve as gods by extracting the essence and blood of their parents.

"The most devout hymns" achieve a shared understanding of a particular individual through joint prayer, thus forming a sufficiently large-scale ritual.

Only after reaching this scale should the "Ark of Miracles" reveal the miracles that can only be displayed by the gods to the world.

However, Rosemerada, as the creator, naturally knew that there was no such mandatory rule. If someone had already gained enough reverence, then activating the Miracle Ark directly was not out of the question.

The ship's shape is merely a facade of this plague; at its core lies a miracle. This miracle cannot be triggered by the plague, because what Rosemerada seeks to prove can be introduced by the plague, but not by its essence.

"Serpent Dragon, it's time to put pressure on them," she said to those around her after releasing the plague.

"From this point on, I can no longer protect you."

"We've done everything we could, so there's no need for protection anymore."

Snake Dragon nodded and rushed towards the Minute Church.

This action almost instantly triggered all the alarms that Lu Ning, Vanessa and others had set up outside the Minute Church. The Serpent Dragon was always the highest threat, and this time he was also carrying some obvious red markings, which could not be ignored at all.

In an instant, a barrage of dozens of spells rained down. Although they were all low-level spells, once they formed a large enough force, they had enough suppressive power.

But the Serpent Dragon didn't even use "The Emperor's Judgment." He simply cast a spell on himself and charged straight into the barrage of spells, smashing a gap through the firepower.

“Kishin’s fifth-order divine spell, ‘Barrier Protection’.” Naturally, there were cultivators from Kissin observing the serpent dragon’s movements nearby. “His breakthrough speed is very fast. He is about to reach the first line of defense and prepare to withdraw.”

Veronica had already given the order not to waste manpower and resources on the Serpent Dragon. Even with an army, using it to deal with such powerful outlaws would be a waste. She didn't believe that dozens or hundreds of men could stop a single Saint Kiss.

When the Serpent Dragon charged up the first line of defense, he drew his long staff. He didn't plan to use Rosalind's gun yet because he discovered that this divine weapon required special bullets, and Rosalind didn't have many.

However, the position was bombed as soon as they rushed onto it.

The pre-planned explosive magic activated the detonation process the moment the unidentified source of magic entered. Veronica had been preparing for a long time, using at least half of the magical resources she had gathered from various sources, and the results lived up to her preparations.

The shield on the serpent dragon was shattered instantly. Even after blocking so many spells, the fifth-tier divine magic couldn't withstand another explosive spell. The serpent dragon's face was also blackened by the surging light and heat.

However, he wasn't actually injured, just a little dirty.

"Well done," he commented, glancing around. The ambush mage team had already withdrawn from the trenches they had dug. Even if he chased after them, he could only kill a few people and wouldn't be able to create enough pressure.

He was about 500 meters away from the Minute Church, a distance long enough to deploy five or six defensive lines in the magical world. If each line of defense had this level of capability, he would have been severely weakened before even getting close. Unfortunately, he was already in poor condition after being attacked by three first-level bishops.

At this moment, Lu Ning, who had climbed to the top of the church, also saw the snake dragon that had broken into the battle line. A magic screen appeared in front of her and Veronica, which was a reflection from the magic circles around them that had not yet been detonated.

“Serpent Dragon doesn’t look well. One of his arms has been replaced with a prosthetic, and there are several bright red spots on his body. The greatsword he used before has also been replaced with a long staff.” Lu Ning quickly pointed. “It’s probably because the interception by several first-level bishops has had a significant impact on him. His combat power has been weakened.”

“But it’s still not easy to deal with, is it?” Veronica said worriedly. “Vanessa is still dealing with the plague.”

“The plague can be suppressed in a targeted manner, but producing the right medicine is not the job of that weapon.”

When Lu Ning used the Plague, she could sense that this weapon was useful for reconnaissance and combat, but it couldn't be used to treat other people's illnesses. Perhaps antibodies could be screened out through specific bacterial culture methods, but that would be a very rigid method, and if there was an off-target effect, it would have to be started all over again. What Vanessa was doing now was simply producing some broad-spectrum suppressive bacteria for the plague patients to take, temporarily suppressing their adverse conditions.

As for what's before us... to be honest, the image of the serpent dragon isn't clear, but the differences are too obvious. The magical interference caused by the explosion is too severe, and the serpent dragon has clearly also discovered these magic arrays.

He twirled the long staff in his hand, then leaped up, the staff suddenly extending and crashing down with tremendous force. The magical disturbance it caused detonated all the magic circles along the line. The shock and sound of the explosion were so powerful that they could be heard on the nearby Minute Church.

Seeing this, Lu Ning laughed instead: "Veronica, how long do you think it will take for the Serpent Dragon to break through your defense?"

“There are still three lines of defense: the inert magic cleansing, automatic firepower, and the tactical mage team led by Ophelia.” Veronica looked nervously at the light screen. “Based on my previous preparations and the Serpent Dragon’s current performance, it will take him two hours to get to the Minute Church entrance.”

"Two hours? You're confident you can do that?"

Veronica took a deep breath and said, "No problem, he'll be in real trouble soon."

After destroying all the magic arrays with a few blows, the serpent dragon simply smiled at this pointless obstacle.

He looked down on the magic system of this world. It was quite restrictive and hadn't developed many truly powerful spells. Moreover, the few powerful spells required multiple people to cast them. Compared to other magic-related scenarios he had experienced, it could only be considered mediocre.

Having witnessed the power of the magic array, the serpent dragon was no longer concerned about what else the opponent could pull out; if all else failed, it could simply be dispelled with "The Emperor's Judgment."

He strode forward and soon stepped into the clearly defined second line of defense.

Just then, he felt his body sink, and even the stick in his hand felt heavier.

“...Pan De'ang?”

Serpent Dragon was very familiar with the methods of this Plague Apostle with whom he had cooperated. The derivative influence of the "Ritual of the Silent Night," which once shrouded the southern region, was his doing. As the apostle of the King of Panic, Pandeon was adept at sealing off an area by some means, and then constantly creating irrational events within it to break down people's psychological defenses, thereby causing widespread panic and even infighting.

The same effect was now affecting him. Veronica was also closely observing the situation from inside the church, holding a telescope. In this area, there were no more magic circles that could transmit images back, so she could only observe with the naked eye.

The Serpent Dragon's guess was largely correct; Veronica had indeed created the "Inert Magic Purification" defensive line by imitating the array that trapped the Minute Church. Within this defensive line, the magical power required to drive high-level spells was limited; people could only unleash first or second-tier spells, or even just use their basic power.

On such a battlefield, spellcasters are restricted, while fighters can join the fray.

She stretched out her hand, and dark red threads spread out from her five fingers, numbering in the dozens.

Within the clear zone, the snake dragon saw a group of strong, armored soldiers approaching from both sides, weapons in hand.

"Not afraid of death?" He chuckled. "Or do you think I rely heavily on magic?"

However, the soldiers did not answer, but simply charged forward, brandishing their weapons. Snake Dragon did not hesitate, directly meeting them with his staff. Even though these men were quite capable fighters, they were still just ordinary people. Snake Dragon was extraordinary, from his arms to his weapon. After exchanging two blows with the first man, he struck him through the abdomen with a single blow.

To his surprise, the soldier, with his intestines spilling out, didn't even utter a sound of pain and immediately swung his sword at him again.

"Ok?"

Before he could even react with surprise, the remaining soldiers surrounded him. Their fighting was very organized; for every three who charged, three retreated. Some attacked, some defended, their coordination was impeccable, and their movements were synchronized. Unless he suddenly launched an attack, it would be difficult for him to inflict fatal damage on anyone instantly.

Or, looking at it from the perspective of the first person, it's not certain whether the injury was fatal.

These soldiers weren't strong, but they still had enough strength to desperately block his blow. This world didn't allow anyone's strength to grow to a level that could crush everything, especially since he couldn't use magic. The Serpent Dragon found this somewhat interesting; he hadn't expected anyone to devise such a way to trip him up, although it was also because he hadn't used his full strength.

He always preferred protracted battles, so after maneuvering with the soldiers for a while, Snake Dragon quickly gathered some basic information about them. However, because there were too many of them, he probably couldn't collect all the information in a short time.

"Indeed, these attacks, though superficial, can indeed hinder me."

While praising his opponent, the snake dragon suddenly swung his staff, striking a soldier's helmet with increased force, denting it and causing a large amount of blood to seep out from the gap.

But the soldier seemed oblivious and slashed at him twice more before slowly collapsing.

"The head is still a weakness."

Snake Dragon sneered and began to speed up the movements of his hands.

Veronica's expression remained unchanged as she watched him attack. With the snake dragon continuing to increase the pressure, some soldiers were already unable to hold on. They had actually launched several rounds of attacks, and everyone had been hit by the snake dragon's attacks. Now, some people had not yet recovered, so naturally, they were unable to keep up.

Before long, eight more people were struck on the head by the snake dragon, who found an opening. One of them had his helmet smashed and half of his head shattered, revealing a somewhat dazed man's face.

The snake dragon didn't recognize the guy, while Veronica sighed.

Watkinson is dead too. As a leader, he wasn't bad in combat, but he was no match for the Serpent Dragon.

She glanced nervously at Lu Ning, who was also watching the battlefield, but without binoculars. Veronica didn't know if Lu Ning could see the specific situation; to be honest, these "soldiers" were all her own personal projects.

Suddenly, Lu Ning spoke up: "Veronica, how much of the Seven Cardinals' technology and the Nine Plague Lords' abilities... have you learned?"

Veronica calmed herself down and said, "It's not much. I just think it might come in handy, so I'm learning as much as I can. After all, if I don't learn more, I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with you and Vanessa and will become a burden instead."

“The Savior’s magic can remove and put back a person’s organs, but it cannot directly interfere with the nerves or mind to achieve control,” Lu Ning said. “Within my knowledge, there is no magic that can control a person while making them so flexible and sharp in their cooperation in battle.”

"The effect of combining multiple methods." Veronica explained, sensing that Lu Ning meant no blame. "By removing, restoring, and rearranging the nerves, we interfered with their perception of friend or foe using brainwashing magic, and combined this with the puppet control and imitation within the plague spell, allowing these people to cooperate in battle without pain, launching an attack on a designated enemy, even without head damage. It's just a pity that the time was too short, otherwise I could have found a way to remove that weakness in the head as well."

Lu Ning glanced at Veronica, nodded, and said nothing.

However, she asked the pharmacist in her heart, "Are we focusing too much on Vanessa and forgetting that Veronica is also a genius?"

[How could I have known that studying the "Book of Dissection" would turn out like this? She could even reconstruct the operational logic of plague-created beings by dismantling corpses, and deduce the working principles of plague spells in reverse!]

"Then do you think the Ark of Miracles should point to Veronica? Vanessa's burden is too heavy, and she will inevitably have to step into the next cycle, so..."

I'm not sure about her current mental state. As you said, I don't pay as much attention to her as I do to Vanessa.

"...Since when could you no longer see through her?"

Ever since she was healed and woken up by Vanessa, I have no idea what she's thinking.

During the brief exchange, the Serpent Dragon had already killed more than half of the soldiers. As the pressure gradually decreased, his speed increased, and soon the remaining soldiers also met their end.

Snake Dragon was not injured, but he did feel quite tired. His physical exertion had increased significantly in this clear zone, and this fatigue did not subside even after he left the area.

This kind of consumption gave him a bad feeling. Moreover, the fact that the cleared area was only that small area also indicated that there were more effective methods to follow.

A flash of light appeared, and a cluster of flames suddenly appeared at an angle. The serpent dragon dodged the flames, but before he could even steady himself, he saw flashes of light appearing in all directions.

The third line of defense: "automatic firepower".