Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 103 Arc Light

"Has everyone in the school been evacuated?" Sister Fanning asked Fafnir, who was at the school for poor children.

"Sister Fanning, all the students have been evacuated. It was just after school let out, and the non-regular students were also evacuated. I told them to head towards the city or get out of the city as soon as possible."

After getting off the carriage, Fafnir immediately went to the East End School for the Poor Children to evacuate the students and teachers. Although Martha and Allen wanted to stay and help, Fafnir was adamant and told them to return to Lorraine Manor as soon as possible.

"Alright, little one—your mission is complete," Sister Fanning said. "You may leave now, but the situation ahead may be dangerous."

"No, Sister Fanning, I don't think I'll be useless from now on, and I think I should train myself."

Fafnir hesitated for a moment, but he believed he wouldn't be in danger. After all, the most powerful forces in all of Lorraine were gathered here, and he also saw large numbers of sheriffs and night patrolmen from the Security Bureau. He thought he would be more useful than those without supernatural powers.

"Alright, just stay close to me and Kingsley. We can look after you, but if there's any danger, run." Sister Fanning didn't press him.

After they finished speaking, the two gathered around Bishop Kingsley and Bishop Gray.

What was that? On the road, Fafnir saw a large object being pulled by four horses side by side, surrounded by a large group of people in uniform. It looked like a cannon, but it was engraved with intricate patterns. Through his spiritual perception, Fafnir clearly sensed that its spiritual fluctuations were extremely intense. The fact that it had such intense spiritual fluctuations even before it was activated meant that it must be "accumulating power," Fafnir thought.

After traveling some distance, Fafnir saw Kingsley and Gray leading a large group, including some familiar faces such as Hans and Gregory.

The "cannon" was also in the group, and everyone had a serious expression, ready for battle.

Sister Fanning and Fafnir cut in front of the group and greeted the two leaders.

"I'm almost at the location of the spiritual rift," Bishop Grey explained to Sister Fanning, who had just joined the group. Fafnir, who was standing nearby, heard him clearly: "This instrument should be fairly accurate, but it consumes too much spiritual energy. I've used up several whole tubes of spiritual amber."

"Report, the 'Anvil' has just responded and is on its way."

"Report, we just made contact via the telematics system. Bishop Zaitsev said they will be here soon."

One by one, the clerks reported the progress of the liaison work to Bishop Gray. Upon hearing that Victor was about to arrive, Bishop Gray finally relaxed somewhat. "Alright, all we can do now is wait."

The atmosphere remained tense; no one knew what would happen next, and every second was agonizing.

In an instant, everyone present with high spiritual perception subconsciously activated their spiritual vision. Fafnir saw that not far away, a huge rift appeared, a pitch-black and empty crack, emanating extremely strong and unstable spiritual fluctuations. The air was distorted, and it seemed out of place here.

"All personnel on alert! Maintain a safe distance, the demons have descended!" Bishop Gray issued the order.

What emerged first from the crack was black mist, which surged outwards in large quantities, and some members of the group came into contact with it.

"It's spiritual pollution, and the concentration is extremely high; it's practically visible as fog," Fafnir heard Sister Fanning's voice beside him. "Damn it! Who can withstand it except for us enlightened ones?"

Soon, some people in the team began to collapse, and the logistics personnel who had made preparations in advance risked their lives to carry them away on stretchers.

Before even seeing the enemy—Fafner's vigilance was at its highest, but some of the people present began to experience psychological fluctuations.

Soon, outlines began to appear within the black mist—tall or short, hunched or upright, some on all fours, others barely managing to stand upright—human figures were visible to everyone in the group. These were demons, their faces and bodies engulfed in flames, charging towards the group. Their appearance didn't seem particularly special, except that some had horns or tails.

Fafnir sensed it; their spiritual fluctuations were chaotic, fluctuating in strength. Some even collapsed by half within seconds of his observation, only to swell back to an even stronger intensity, oscillating repeatedly—was it burning spirituality? Or burning bloodline?

"Fire!" With Kingsley's command, the psionic cannon emitted a huge explosion, and then a large number of enemies were annihilated by the pure psionic attack.

"These are all Tier 1," Sister Fanning's voice rang out beside Fafnir. "Damn, there are over a hundred in this batch, and—"

""

She paused, her gaze fixed on the crack. A larger silhouette was emerging from the darkness, with thick limbs and a height of over two meters. Its arms had claw-like structures. Fafnir sensed that the spiritual energy emanating from it was significantly stronger than that of the previous ones.

"Second tier," Bishop Gray's voice trembled, "and more are still gushing out from the rift; there's more than just one or two of these."

The first wave of demons had already reached the front of the column. They made no sound, no roars or howls, but simply ran silently toward the column, their steps stiff and mechanical. Sister Fanning and Bishop Kingsley at the front were casting instantaneous spells over a wide area, and some superhumans, including Fafnir, were also casting spells. At the rear, the sheriffs and night watchmen were operating and adjusting the psionic cannons.

Sister Fanning's wind blade cleaved several demons in two, and the black mist began to dissipate, filled with spiritual energy.

"Watch out! Killing them will release residual spiritual pollution!" Bishop Gray shouted. "Don't let that black mist touch you!"

Kingsley managed to kill several second-tier demons with the help of the psionic cannon, but he felt his power weakened: "The power that 'Eldrasil' gave me has been greatly reduced—"

The number of second-tier demons increased, and the rift widened. It was a psionic cannon, emitting a pure silver-white light.

"The rift is widening! A third-tier rift has appeared! Everyone retreat!" Bishop Gray ordered.

A gigantic head emerged from the darkness, its skin covered in a carapace resembling rock. Its eyes were golden, without pupils. "Tier 3, everyone evacuate immediately—" Bishop Gray's voice was hoarse. "And there's definitely more than one; there are surely more behind the rift—"

"Damn it, everyone retreat! Don't make unnecessary sacrifices!" Bishop Kingsley ordered the sheriff and the night watchmen.

Just as the team was about to retreat, a very thin, silvery-blue line streaked across the sky—a quiet, elegant arc of light.

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