Those time travelers that year

“Madman!” Iris muttered under her breath, her gaze fixed on the demon statue that Grandet was holding. For some reason, she always felt that the statue was strange, radiating a chilling aura. At least half of the threat she felt came from that cracked demon statue.

"This feeling? Could that statue be a sacred artifact? Are all these monsters with human appearances created by this sacred artifact? Even this alternate dimension appeared using the power of the sacred artifact?"

"But what is this sacred artifact? I've never heard of such a sacred artifact before! But this power, there's no mistake, it has already surpassed the power of the fifth tier. However, why, why is the situation of this sacred artifact a bit strange? It doesn't seem to have been activated by someone, it's more like it's providing power on its own."

The sacred artifact, also known as the Proof of Glory, was born from the Oath of Truth. This Oath of Truth, also called the Oath of the Soul, is said to be the most fundamental inscription on the human soul, according to the information Iris possesses. Every figure who has left a illustrious mark on history, even heroes existing only in legends and epics, can swear an oath to their own soul.

This vow exists only once in a lifetime, but it represents boundless wealth, sublime glory, and pinnacle wisdom, as well as an insurmountable chasm. Because humans can betray anything, but they will never betray themselves. No one can betray themselves, because every word and action reflects who you are.

Whatever the so-called choice, it ultimately originates from oneself. Since it is a burden one bears, how can it be considered betrayal? Therefore, the oath of the soul cannot be broken.

This is the limit of what a person has achieved; when he swore this oath, he swore it to his true self, to the world itself. Everything he said, the world listened to; everything he described, the world approved of. Unless it is another identical oath, anyone who makes this soul-bound vow is protected by the world; nothing or life can prevent its fulfillment. It is sacred and sublime, even the gods look up to it; the power of this oath extends through time, until the end of the world.

The crystallization of such a vow is what is known as a sacred artifact, a fantastical crystallization born from miracles.

“A sacred artifact can only unleash its full power in the hands of its original owner. In that case…” Iris lowered her head slightly, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the cross pendant wrapped around her right hand, which was gripping her sword. “If he is merely a user of the sacred artifact, then…”

The cross wrapped around Iris's right hand began to emit a faint golden light. Feeling the power of the cross, Iris calmed down. The sacred artifact was not something that this crazed cultist before her possessed alone.

“…It’s not without a chance! Even if that cultist possesses fifth-tier power under the blessing of the sacred artifact, it’s ultimately not his.” Thinking this, while feeling the warm power emanating from the cross and the connection to her blood, Iris reaffirmed her resolve. “God in heaven! And my ancestor, Kolgus Galgwen, bless me, help me defeat this cultist!”

"Hahaha, how does it feel! Little she-wolf from the Sanctuary." Grandet spread his arms, his lewd gaze sweeping over Iris, lingering on her face and chest. "If you are willing to serve me, then I guarantee that you will have a share in the kingdom I rule in the future."

Iris offered no response, but solemnly and earnestly raised her sword. She prayed softly:

"Lord of heaven, may your holy name be honored throughout the world; may your kingdom come into the world; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!"

“Since you refuse to submit to me…” Grandet revealed a ferocious expression, “then let your blood and soul become the new sacrifice! Go, kill this little she-wolf for me.”

The editor said it's best not to schedule releases, so I can only release it after I get off work. Sorry (mage face). There will be another chapter after 1 AM, and updates will continue after 6 PM. The author still has to go to work (priest face).

85. The impending arrival of the devil baby (4)

The four knights created from the demon statue, after Grandet gave the order, silently raised their weapons and pointed them at the wary Iris. Lance, sword and shield, two-handed greatsword, warhammer—the four newly appeared knights simultaneously transformed into black shadows and charged forward.

The knights' incredibly tough armor, impenetrable to firearms and even cannons of this era, and the power to easily shatter rocks, granted them superhuman destructive power. Even more terrifying was that these knights weren't simply slow-moving infantrymen of the old era who didn't ride mounts; each of them charged at a speed far exceeding that of a warhorse. In the blink of an eye, the four knights were before Iris, drawing their weapons.

The knight wielding a warhammer launched the first attack, delivering a powerful and devastating blow. Iris, who had previously fought knights of this type, swiftly flipped backward, dodging the attack. However, at that moment, a spear emerged from behind the warhammer-wielding knight, aiming straight for Iris's head.

With no way to avoid it, Iris raised her longsword and slashed at the side of the spear's tip, parrying the attack. The spear grazed past Iris's cheek, taking a few strands of her golden hair with it.

But this was just the beginning. After dodging two potentially fatal attacks, the third and fourth struck simultaneously. Iris parried the spear thrust, and to her right front, a two-handed greatsword, tearing through the air and creating a near-vacuum slash, hurtled towards her. The wind blades whipped up by the greatsword aimed for Iris's neck. At the same time, a knight wielding a shield in one hand and a short sword in the other launched his attack, slamming a tower shield towards Iris.

If she tried to parry the two-handed greatsword's strike, she would be sent flying by a shield bash. These knights, with their combined strength, could easily shatter all of Iris's bones. But if she chose to dodge the shield bash, she would be unable to avoid the greatsword's decapitation. Either way, she was doomed. An ordinary person would have already given up hope at this point. However, facing this desperate situation, Iris maintained her composure.

Having quickly determined that there was no way to retreat, Iris instead chose to move forward directly. Ignoring the tower shield that stretched across her like a wall, she instead stepped forward to meet the two-handed greatsword that was about to behead her.

"In the name of the Lord, grant me the sword of light to sever darkness." A low prayer echoed, and once again, white halos of light illuminated the blade of the one-handed sword, swirling around it. In an instant, Iris's figure left a white trail of light; a white beam flashed through the void, causing the tower's shield to miss its target. The two-handed greatsword, which had been descending, stopped in mid-air, for its wielder had stopped…

From bottom to top, a knight wielding a two-handed greatsword had half of his body sliced ​​through by a white line. The next moment, the knight fell down and melted into the ground.

The deaths of their comrades did not deter these knights; warhammers and lances clashed as they attacked Iris simultaneously from the left and right. Behind her, the shield-wielding knight stepped forward, charging with his shield raised, the short sword in his other hand extending like a venomous snake from the edge of his shield. Once again, these seemingly mindless knights automatically formed an encirclement.

But now, Iris was faster than them. A blur of white light, Iris nimbly ducked and turned, dodging the thrust of the spear, avoiding the bombardment of the warhammer, and leaped into the air, evading the charge of the tower shield. Then, in mid-air, she somersaulted, using her sword to block the short sword thrusting from beneath the shield. Finally, she landed on the sword-and-shield knight's back, and with a backhand swing, decapitated him!

The last two knights silently continued their relentless attack, their lances tearing through the air and their warhammers shattering rocks, but they could not catch a glimpse of Iris. In a fleeting moment, Iris appeared before the lance-wielding knight.

While the spear certainly has its advantages, its limited mobility in close combat makes it difficult for the knight wielding it to react in time. Therefore, what caught him off guard was a sword flash that pierced straight through his skull.

The last remaining warhammer knight relentlessly hammered his warhammer...

He raised his sword, white light flowing along its blade, and with a thrust, the sword light flashed across the sky. An arm, along with his head, and half his upper body severed, the knight finally collapsed.

As the sword slashed down, Iris leaned on her longsword, breathing slightly heavily. The series of dodges and attacks that had just occurred in only a few seconds. Facing four fourth-tier knight monsters at once, she had managed to kill them one by one with minimal stamina expenditure, and she was fully capable of fighting two more rounds.

However, in front of her, there were still forty knights standing behind the cult leader named Grandet.

Clap clap… Grandet clapped his hands and laughed loudly, “Hahaha, not bad, not bad, as expected of a descendant of the Calgwen family, the White Rose Knight of the Sanctuary. At the same level, you actually won against four opponents… But how long can you last, little she-wolf! I have ten times more here than before! I’ll give you one last chance. Kneel before me and become my slave, or you will die!”

“Lord of heaven, may your holy name be honored throughout the world; may your kingdom come upon the earth; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Suppressing her weariness, Iris raised her sword once more, praying softly. Then, she swore aloud, “Sweep away darkness, have mercy on the weak, and be fearless!”

"Then die, clinging to your pathetic faith and creed!" Grandet waved his hand, and the knights who had been standing behind him began to move, orderly bypassing him and surrounding Iris with their weapons raised. "You will become my sacrifice, and after I leave this place, I will be the only god in this world!!!"

"Pathetic wretch!"

"What!?"

"You're just a pathetic wretch blinded by power," Iris said disdainfully. "You think you've got everything under control, but it's not your power at all, nor is it something you can control. You're just a puppet... Your so-called divine power is actually the power of the statue in your hand. You're just a puppet on strings."

"Shut up! Kill her!" Grandet roared. With his roar, the surrounding knights charged towards the besieged Iris. Forty fourth-tier warriors—enough to easily annihilate an army in the mortal realm. It's likely that apart from the headquarters of the Sanctuary, there's nowhere else that could muster such a large number of superhumans.

The knight, shrouded in black and red smoke, resembled an open black maw, engulfing Iris's figure in an instant.

"I swear in the name of my heart, courage will live on in my heart forever..."

Just as her figure was about to be swallowed by the black and red mist, Iris rested her sword on the ground, her right hand gripping the hilt, and her left hand on the cross pendant wrapped around her right hand.

"Courage will be my benchmark; I will forge ahead bravely, without regrets for the rest of my life..."

A white light shone from the cross, tearing through the dark, blood-red mist.

"I hereby swear that I will sweep away darkness, have mercy on the weak, and be fearless!"

The white light transformed into a platinum flash. Wielding the sword shrouded in platinum light, Illidan shone as she greeted the knights who surged forward like a tide.

With a swing of the sword, the light easily shattered the darkness, slashing horizontally towards the dark sky...

...The protagonist who hasn't logged in yet...

Sitting atop the Balrog, Sharl, who was engaged in rock climbing, once again regretted not bringing a fire bolt from the HP world.

"Looks like I should find another opportunity to go to the HP world, or maybe learn to fly from Medea?" Charles thought aimlessly. Just as he was lost in thought, a dazzling light from above caught his attention.

"What is this?" Raising his hand to partially shield his eyes, Charles shouted as he looked at the platinum-gold light slanting down from above, "It's blindingly bright! And who the hell assembled this paladin?! ...

86. The impending arrival of the devil baby (5)

A platinum-gold sword light tore through the encroaching darkness. Iris swung her lightsaber, slashing horizontally forward. The charging knights, facing the sudden platinum-gold sword light, found their armor, strong enough to withstand ordinary artillery fire and defenses that even Iris had previously struggled to penetrate, crumbled under this single beam of light.

The single-handed longsword in her hand had undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming a two-handed cross sword. The hilt and guard were gold, inlaid with emerald gems, and the blue hilt was engraved with silver-white rose patterns. The gleaming blade was etched with a string of thorns. At this moment, the suddenly appearing two-handed sword emitted a white-gold flame, as if burning, and with Iris's strike, the flame transformed into a sword beam over ten meters long that swept across the area.

With just a single horizontal slash, at least five knights were instantly cut in half at the waist by the sword light, and more than three knights were caught in its blast, losing a significant portion of their bodies. Furthermore, the platinum-gold sword light carried a purifying power, igniting the black and red mist that clung to the knight monsters, turning them into burning torches.

With a single strike, nearly a quarter of the knights were routed.

"This is impossible!" Grandet exclaimed in disbelief at the sudden turn of events. "Why, why do you possess such power... How could you possibly wield 'divine power'? This is impossible!"

Iris didn't answer. Instead, her platinum-gold sword continued to sweep towards the knights surrounding her. With her two-handed cross-blade replacing her original one-handed longsword, Iris abandoned her previous agile fighting style, launching a counterattack with wide, sweeping swordplay. However, this change in style didn't mean the loss of Iris's greatest strengths. She still held an absolute advantage in speed and agility, even becoming faster and more swift than before.

Wherever the sword flashed, neither warhammers nor spears, neither sword blades nor shield walls could withstand its platinum-gold light. Armor so tough it seemed impervious to firearms was like cooked tofu before the blade of a melee weapon, easily torn apart.

【White Rose Swordsmanship ~ Thorns】

The massive sword light unleashed by Iris suddenly shattered, transforming into countless tiny streams of light that instantly enveloped more than a dozen knights, turning them into sieves. More than a third of the knights were instantly killed in this attack. Now, the once tight encirclement was in ruins. Seizing this opportunity, Iris stomped her foot and, like an arrow released from a bow, charged straight towards Grandet.

No one here is a fool. While Grandet was shocked by Iris's sudden outburst, seeing her intention to break through the encirclement and charge towards him, he understood her plan. These knightly monsters, and even the castle itself, did not actually belong to Grandet's own power, but rather to the demon statue in his hand—that was the source of his power. Just like these knights, Grandet, wielding the demon statue, could certainly summon monsters with strength no less than fourth-tier, but that did not represent his own power.

Iris may not have known the saying "to catch a thief, first catch the king; to shoot a man, first shoot his horse," but that didn't stop her from judging the most favorable conditions for victory and the way to achieve a permanent solution at this moment.

"Damn it, stop her!" Grandet shouted in terror. Black and red mist seeped from the cracks in the demon statue, and one new knight after another, each wielding a different weapon, stood in front of him. Meanwhile, the knights who had been left behind by Iris were trying to catch up with her.

Unfortunately, speed was a fatal flaw; a knight without a horse was essentially just a large infantryman. The much faster Iris easily shook off her pursuers. As for the obstacles ahead? A whistling white-gold sword flashed, felling knight after knight to the ground. The knights who had previously given Iris a hard time were no match for her now that she had changed weapons. Even more fatal for Grandet was that, having previously believed victory was assured, he had already sent all his knights out to surround Iris. Now, he couldn't summon enough cannon fodder or obstacles to save his own life in the short term.

"Get out of my way, die!" Grandet suddenly roared, and the two knights he had summoned charged straight at Iris, blocking her way with their bodies.

"Hmph!" Iris snorted coldly, and swung her sword, cleaving the two knights in front of her along with their tower shields.

"Die, you slut of the Sanctuary!" Just after Iris cleaved through the last obstacle in front of her, Grandet, taking advantage of the time bought by the two knights as obstacles, launched a counterattack.

Beneath his feet, a black shadow spread out, instantly covering every foothold on the platform. Seeing this, Iris didn't hesitate, leaping to her feet and jumping backward. Just then, a pursuing knight swung his lance at Iris. Iris swiftly deflected the lance, stomped on the knight, and soared high into the air.

Just then, countless black spikes, covering the entire platform, pierced through the shadows, instantly transforming the platform into a dense jungle of spikes. Unfortunately, Iris leaped into the air in time, avoiding most of the spikes, while the clumsy knights were all impaled and killed by the spike jungle.

The sword light shattered the shadowy spikes on the ground, while the platinum-gold light directly dispelled the shadowy energy. Iris, now on the ground, charged at Grandet once more. This time, thanks to Grandet's foolish actions, there were no obstacles to stop her.

"Die, you heretic!"

Iris transformed into a flash of light and pounced directly on Grandet, her blade aimed directly at him.

"Get out of my way!" Grandet screamed in terror. Shadows rose from the ground, transforming into walls that blocked his path. However, the hastily constructed defenses were utterly ineffective against the platinum-gold sword light, and were easily breached. "No!!!" Faced with this desperate situation, Grandet cried out in despair, instinctively raising the demon statue in his hand to shield himself.

Reality played a cruel joke on everyone. Grandet's instinctive action intercepted the demon statue, blocking the path of Iris's returning sword. He didn't notice that at that moment, the blood-red light from the demon statue, which he had always relied on, seemed to explode, continuously surging from the cracks in the statue.

Normally, Grandet wouldn't be able to keep up with Iris's sword-wielding speed at this moment. Although he has now gained fifth-order abilities thanks to the demon statue, Iris, having unleashed the sacred artifact, is no longer the fourth-order being she once was. In a sense, she has now surpassed the fifth-order being hailed as the pinnacle of the mystical side.

It was as if it were destiny, but clearly, this was not the Lord's arrangement as the church proclaimed. Upon seeing the strangely shaped demon statue blocking her path, Iris immediately felt a profound unease wash over her. But the sword had already been swung; there was no time to withdraw it.

The sword blade struck the demon statue, and in the next instant, a violent black and red light surged from it. Although the platinum sword light attempted to block it, it was no match for the sudden shockwave. Caught off guard, Iris was struck as if by a heavy hammer, spitting blood as she was sent flying backward.

The blood that Iris spat out was drawn into the storm by an invisible force in mid-air, flying towards the demon statue and disappearing into it.

It's past midnight!!!

87. Hey there! How about coming to work for me? Five social insurances and one housing fund, meals and accommodation included, darling!

Black and red light burst forth from the cracked demon statue. Iris, who was closest to it, was instantly blasted away by the burst of power and thrown heavily dozens of meters away before crashing to the ground.

"Cough cough cough!!!" After rolling several times on the ground, Iris, supporting herself with her sword, stubbornly raised her head, ignoring the blood she kept coughing up. Her gray pupils stared ahead.

After the burst of black and red light, the entire demon statue crackled and creaked incessantly. Large swathes of black and red mist surged from the statue, carrying a thick stench of blood and decay. The emerging mist, unlike its previous form, became agile and swift. Yes, indeed, this mist, now emanating from the demon statue's power, seemed to have suddenly come alive, its chilling, maniacal laughter echoing intermittently above the platform.

'Freedom, freedom... After nearly a thousand years of waiting, this day has finally come.'

'Hahahaha... That insignificant prophet, his prophecy was indeed correct, eh ha ha ha ha... I have finally completely escaped death and the seal, and returned to this world!!!'

'Thank you for your help! Descendant of Korg, little hound of the sanctuary and church... ha ha ha ha, and you too...'

After that chilling voice rang out, the dark red mist suddenly gathered together, and then a huge hand emerged from the mist, grabbing the stunned Grandet in its grasp.

'...My poor, foolish, and stupid slave!'

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" Grandet screamed in agony as a giant hand formed of mist tightened its grip on him, while simultaneously, the dark red mist enveloped him, forcibly drilling into Grandet's eyes, nose, and mouth. "Hehehe..."

"Give your life, make your final contribution!" A chilling voice, laced with cruelty, rang out. At that moment, the entire demon statue shattered, releasing a massive cloud of blackish-red mist that billowed into the sky, engulfing everything before pouring back down and violently entering Grandet's body. As the blackish-red mist surged in, Grandet grew larger and larger, as if something inside him was expanding, stretching him into an obese man, and he continued to grow ever larger.

"Oh no, this is terrible... a trap..." Iris, bracing herself with her two swords, immediately realized the sudden turn of events. She wasn't an idiot who couldn't see the situation; in fact, even an idiot could see the changes before her. The cultist had been nothing more than a pawn, a puppet on strings. The true mastermind was the demon statue that Iris had previously believed to be a sacred artifact. It wasn't some extraordinary creation at all, but a seal—a seal that contained a monster or a demon.

To make matters worse, the seal was opened with her own hands.

“No…cough cough, I can’t…” Iris tried to stand up fully and then swing her sword to destroy the disaster she had unleashed. However, the blood she kept coughing up and the pain in her body completely ignored her will. Every bone and every muscle in her body was issuing warnings. “Internal bleeding? Damn it…since it’s just the aftermath…” Perhaps, Iris wouldn’t have suffered such unexpectedly severe injuries, but she was caught off guard by the sudden energy burst and didn’t have time to react, resulting in her complete inability to fight. Even leaning on her sword to support herself was only a matter of willpower. Not known for her defense, she had now almost completely lost the ability to move…

Awooo...