A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 363 Joseph and Joseph

The airship, originally equipped with anti-magic devices, was heavily protected, but all of these defenses failed when the anti-magic field was deployed. Even as the magical energy in the environment began to recover, it would still take time for the mages on the airship to restore the full protective measures.

Therefore, the "post-launch sage period" is the most vulnerable time for this legendary airship.

The "Golden Light" refers to Joseph, not Joseph Rorschach, but his old acquaintance, the Grey Cardinal Joseph.

From the beginning, he did not quite agree with the all-in approach of gathering the Northern Holy Knights of the Kingdom, but many bishops within the church supported it. Without Deplesie in control of the overall situation, Joseph had no choice but to compromise with the other cardinals.

He inquired with the commander of this operation—the Bishop of War—who reassured Joseph. He then discussed the matter with the Grand Master of the Holy Knights, who swore an oath to the banner and the holy emblem.

Another large batch of holy oil and relics was produced at an accelerated pace, and it is unknown how many of them flowed into the underground market of the capital. Fortunately, the situation that the bishops were worried about did not occur: even though a large number of nobles were in exile, many wealthy merchants still generously donated money out of concern for the situation, preventing the consecrated weapons "same as those of the paladins" from going unsold.

Since Depray had gone southwest, all work in Valois was now under the supervision of the Grey Cardinal. So, after celebrating Mass for the departing knights, the old man returned to the Valois Cathedral. Then, increasingly uneasy, he rushed day and night towards the battlefield.

It could be said that he arrived too late, because the shells had already landed on the position that had lost the divine magic's blessing;

It could also be said that he arrived at the perfect time, as Joseph was able to witness the destruction of most of the armed forces of the Holy Kingdom Church in the desolate wasteland.

Since the Silent Generation, they have lost empires and kingdoms. If the Church of Order continues to lose like this, it will lose the Eternal City!

Joseph learned from the surviving priest that strange airships had appeared, and then all the paladins and other clergy lost the protection and blessing of the gods.

In his grief and indignation, he prayed to the gods, his rough hands gripping the spine of the scripture. As the magic in the environment returned, his whole body became dazzling and hot, and then he soared into the air, brandishing the scripture flail, determined to find out what was going on.

And so, Rorschach witnessed this scene. The young man immediately broke free from soldier Ashim's support, pushing all his identification documents into Ashim's arms: "Brother Ashim, please be sure to hand over these brand-name documents for me, remember the sacrifice of our comrades, okay?"

After saying that, he took off running in the direction the airship had crashed, leaving a confused Ashim behind: "You forgot your ID! Hey!" He didn't understand how Joseph, who had just rolled out of the explosion, could run so fast, even leaping over the huge crater left by the explosion.

Wait, when did our empire's shells become so powerful?

If the airship explosion could take the Archmage's life, then the Chief Military Mage would become a laughingstock. He couldn't protect everyone, but the dark green force field barrier still shielded his student Richard and the key technician, the Bearded Mage.

It can be said that the chief was the first to regain his spellcasting ability on the battlefield, releasing a life-saving shield the instant the golden light broke through the skin and detonated the lightweight fuel gasbag.

However, he did not fully recover his strength at that moment. Richard witnessed his teacher being hit by several shards, and after the magic tsunami, his skin gradually lost moisture, revealing gray and rotting patches.

At this moment, the Chief and Joseph were facing off. Although the Chief was a mage skilled in killing, the Grey Cardinal was not someone who could be easily subdued.

While considering Joseph's abilities as a gracious recipient, the "light" attribute is particularly troublesome for the chief mage. Not only can many insidious methods not be used against him, but Joseph's attacks may also cause serious injury to himself.

Richard also prepared for battle, carrying a spellcasting material kit and several scrolls. The healing scrolls were ineffective on his own teacher, so he used them on other stunned or injured mages, attempting to bolster his fighting strength.

Joseph rose again from the crashed cabin, the massive steel skeleton above him groaning in the flames. Despite the violent impact and heatwave, his golden radiance remained undiminished, making him appear like a seraph fallen from the sun amidst the raging inferno.

The chief mage was still recovering; having lost his magic and been injured, the old man was also seriously wounded. He did not act rashly, but quietly prepared to cast a spell while stalling for time: "Chief Mage of the Imperial Army, Villard von Soren."

"The Church of Order, Priest Joseph le Transbry." The grey-robed bishop didn't stop his hands while introducing himself. He used the muscles in his right arm to swing out the scripture flail, while at the same time he pulled a short-handled staff from his wide sleeve with his other hand, raising it high and emitting a dazzling light.

Richard was stabbed and couldn't open his eyes, but the space that had been illuminated soon went dark again. It was Chief Villard who made his move. Tattoos like runes and pictures appeared on his skin, and then the magic was transformed into an energy that life naturally abhorred and rejected, which boldly confronted the holy light.

Richard fired three summoned acid arrows: two aimed at Joseph's Radiant Scepter, and one aimed at the rapidly swinging scripture.

Faced with the danger that was rushing towards him and restraining himself, Sauron remained unmoved. He even had time to comment on his student: "You underestimate the priest. A mere acid arrow is not enough."

Sure enough, the arrows made of corrosive liquid evaporated completely in the light before they even got close to their target.

Soren said to Richard in a hoarse voice, "Normally, I've held back because of your father's influence, but today I have no choice but to show you my true skills!"

Having said that the energy of life's hatred was no longer restrained, Sauron actually took Joseph's attack and the scorching light head-on with his bare body. He let out a muffled groan, using his injury to buy himself an opportunity to attack. With a flick of his finger, the opponent's staff first cracked, and then its light dimmed.

Although it didn't cause any harm to the Priest of the Chancellor, the Chief Priest's objective had been achieved:

The dark energy poured into the dead airship passengers, sparing even those on the verge of death. The energy multiplied within these bodies, and then began to move, climbing and forming a ring behind Soren.

Joseph realized that not only was the wreckage inside the airship being used by this evil sorcerer, but the ring was also extracting and gathering the symbols of the dead on the battlefield and the breath of death hovering in the symbolic realm.

He decisively discarded the scepter and pulled the holy emblem from his robes. This was no ordinary ritual prop, but one of the twelve oldest emblems. The moment this tattered wooden badge appeared, the golden light emanating from Joseph's body became almost tangible, and a faceless ancient phantom seemed to emerge from the surrounding flames, holding thorns in its hand.

When Sauron saw the priest pull out his trump card so quickly, he appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he extracted a portion of the Breath of Death and placed it between himself and the Grey Cardinal.

The chief calmly replied, "Heh, this holy emblem is indeed rare. Unfortunately, I'm merely an avatar here; why bother bringing out an antique that wears out with each use?"

Joseph remained silent, but stopped making any further moves, instead increasing his power output in an attempt to suppress the aura of death with the sacred relic.

During the stalemate, the deathly aura on the mage's side grew stronger. Richard had never felt so uncomfortable by his teacher's side. He felt as if his internal organs were decaying and his mind was becoming drowsy.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder from behind, and pure energy, the opposite of death, flowed in, instantly making him feel refreshed.

It was a mage in military uniform whom Richard had never seen before, and quite young. Richard was initially nervous, but he sensed the other's kindness and quietly said thank you.

However, the mage voiced a question: "A clone? Then it should have been dispelled after being cleansed by the magic-suppressing field."

"Whose side are you on? Wait, who are you?" The chief was furious. Under normal circumstances, he could take the life of someone who didn't know their own mortality with a glare, and obtain a new puppet with a flick of his wrist.

But now, Sauron could only once again divert a stream of death energy from the ritual and pour it into the new mage's body, attempting to kill and control this troublesome young man.

But the infusion had no effect. Rorschach scratched his head without any sign of surprise: "My name is also Joseph. I didn't expect there to be a sorcerer here!"

(End of this chapter)