He became the White-Haired Evil God after wearing the Seven Curses Rings.

"call…"

Cecilia sheathed her short blade, her breathing slightly labored.

"This damn thing is really hard to kill."

What on earth is this Holy Pope up to?

The thought had barely formed when a series of rhythmic, chilling rustling sounds came from the surrounding shadows.

One pair, two pairs, three pairs... countless golden eyes opened one after another in the darkness.

More than thirty mutated angels slowly emerged from the shadows.

"No way... there are so many?!"

Cecilia gripped her dagger tightly; she was clearly overwhelmed by so many formidable enemies.

Under normal circumstances, the wisest choice at this moment would be to retreat.

But she didn't move.

To be precise, she was waiting for someone.

The next second, a crimson arc of light flashed, instantly disintegrating the bodies of the eight mutated angels.

Cecilia turned her head to look.

Artoris wielded a crimson greatsword that seemed disproportionate to her petite frame, and at some point, she had donned her signature white-gold battle dress.

Her long, shimmering golden hair fluttered in the wind, creating a stark and almost cruel contrast with the ugly, twisted deformities behind her.

"Sword Maiden! You've finally shown yourself! Look at these monsters! Not only do they look grotesque, but they're also incredibly difficult to kill!"

Atoris did not respond to Cecilia's rambling.

She retreated to Cecilia's side, sword in hand, her azure eyes calmly sweeping over the hesitant, deformed angels, and explained.

"They are true angels, but they are still in... an immature stage."

Atorist paused, glancing at Cecilia's shocked expression, and added.

"Angels are not inherently physical entities. To descend into the material world, they must possess a suitable vessel. In its initial stages, this process does indeed tend to resemble... a parasitic state."

Cecilia felt a chill run down her spine.

"You mean... the Holy Pope intends to turn all the believers in the church into vessels for the arrival of these things?"

"almost."

Atoris held his crimson greatsword horizontally in front of him.

"I'll settle the score with you later about losing those two blue-haired girls. Now, a more troublesome target has appeared."

"Who?"

Cecilia followed Artoria's gaze.

The grotesque angels parted to both sides like a tide, respectfully lowering their deformed wings and rotating golden eyes.

A figure slowly emerged from the deepest part of the shadows.

He wore a wide, white-gold robe, the hem of which trailed on the ground, yet it was spotless.

Cecilia was almost blinded by the dazzling golden hair, which, combined with the other person's pure golden pupils, made him appear exceptionally sacred.

He stood there quietly, enveloped in a soft glow, creating an eerie and suffocating harmony with the twisted, deformed angels behind him.

Atoris's eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingers tightened their grip on the sword hilt by half an inch.

"Holy Pope Virgil."

Upon hearing Atoris call his name, Virgil frowned slightly, his pure golden eyes calmly sweeping over Atoris.

"You are... the newly appointed Imperial Sword of the Aodu Empire?"

It's not a question, it's a confirmation.

Atoris loosened his grip on the crimson greatsword slightly.

He did not recognize his true identity.

This saved a lot of trouble.

However, even without realizing it, Virgilis showed no intention of letting them go.

"Elania... I have been unable to find any news of her since she fled to your Audu Empire."

He paused, a complex and unreadable emotion flashing across his two golden eyes.

"I haven't even gone looking for trouble with you, yet you've come to me of your own accord."

Atoris was slightly taken aback.

Alania...

Isn't that the chosen one whom she personally guided into the wheel of destiny not long ago in Kalos Sri Lanka?

It was only when Virgilis brought it up in such a tone that she suddenly realized some details she had overlooked.

Elania, Virgilis...

Her long hair was as dazzling as molten gold, and her light golden eyes were as clear as if they were almost transparent.

Elania was quiet and reserved, quite the opposite of the temperament of the holy pope before her.

Father and daughter?

The thought flashed through Atoris's mind, leaving her momentarily dazed.

She had never heard of Virgil having any children.

The few times Atoris and her opponent crossed paths was when the Audu Empire's military might pointed directly at Tianshang Mountain, and she, as the Empress, briefly clashed with this Pope.

But that was over a hundred years ago.

At that time, Virgil was already the peaceful, middle-aged saint he is today; over the past hundred years, time has left almost no trace on him.

She never imagined that such a being would have a daughter, who had been living away from home and was taken into the Wheel of Fate by her...

Seeing that Atoris remained silent, Virgil did not press the matter further.

If you ignore Cecilia next to her, whose guilty conscience is practically written all over her face.

"Since you're here, there's no need for you to leave."

Having said that, Virgil turned and left.

Seeing that the other person had left, Cecilia finally dared to breathe.

"Phew...that scared me to death! I thought I was going to die here today..."

But she quickly realized something, stiffly turning her neck to look around.

The deformed angels did not leave with Virgilis.

However, even faster than Cecilia's panic was Atori's action.

The crimson sword light pierced through the horde of deformed angels like a streak of fire.

There are no fancy moves, just simple, brutal, and precise slashes.

With each strike, a thin, purplish-black crack spreads along the edge of the wound.

Since his resurrection, Atoris' new body has retained a portion of the void power from Xie Bai.

Over the years, as her mastery of demigod power has improved, this dormant power has been gradually awakened.

Although not much, it was enough for Atoris to use it to enchant his weapons, giving his attacks a void-corroding effect.

For these mutated angels, who are essentially divine beings, the erosion by the power of the void is a more thorough annihilation than death.

The wound inflicted by the crimson sword could not heal and turned to ash and disintegrated in the blink of an eye.

Less than three minutes.

More than thirty mutated angels were reduced to ashes scattered all over the ground.

After sheathing his sword, Atoris spoke to Cecilia behind him.

"The number of angelic beings lurking here is unknown. Our top priority is to find those two blue-haired girls as soon as possible."

"Oh, oh! Yes! I understand!"

Cecilia snapped out of her daze and immediately straightened up.

However, the next second.

"boom……!!!"

The entire mountain suddenly began to tremble violently.

Cecilia nearly lost her balance and instinctively grabbed the stone wall beside her.

Upon seeing this, Atoris slightly raised his head, his azure eyes reflecting the rising golden light in the distance.

"It's a summoning ritual..."

Using the entire Heavenly Mountain as an altar, and countless descending, mutated angels as sacrifices, they forcibly tore apart the barrier between the mortal realm and the heavenly realm...

High-ranking angel summoning ritual.

Cecilia understood, but her face turned pale.

"Those mutated angels...aren't they the final product? Or are they just...raw materials?"

Atoris did not answer.

The angels are a race that received supreme blessings during the age of the gods.

Unlike all other races, the Angels possess a privilege that is almost like cheating.

When their true forms descend from the celestial realm to the material world, they are able to retain their full combat power without being suppressed by world-level restrictions.

This means that once the summoning ritual is successful, what will descend will not be those still-growing mutant larvae.

Rather, they are true, high-ranking angels who possess complete divinity and combat power.

They are even beings at the level of archangels.

Cecilia felt her throat was dry.

She wanted to say something, and after thinking it over, she could only add a new entry for Brandon in her grudge notebook.

Just as the two were wondering what to do, their vision was suddenly covered by a shadow that blotted out the sky.

That's not a cloud.

It is not the wings of some giant angel.

It was a ship.

To be precise, it was a moving landmass forged from steel and alchemy.

Sword of Expedition.