Chapter 579: Kongtong

When the black-gray lightning raged across the sky, when the nine divine statues and constellations remained behind Li Mochen and in the starry sky, when the power of tens of thousands of angels was still being seized by Li Mochen's life-and-death authority to strengthen himself, and when many six-winged angels fell stained with blood, the sorrow on Pope John Honorius's face grew even deeper. Holy fire burned in his pupils, and the cross in his hand radiated infinite light.

As the three pairs of light wings behind this old man began to spread, condensing into sacred golden feathers, holy light armor, and a divine crown, John Honorius's aged face quickly became young.

At this moment, four more figures in armor, also possessing six wings, stepped out from the gate of light. They glanced at Li Mochen and charged forward without hesitation.

These were four 'Sanctuary Masters' with the rank of Dominion angels, the pinnacle of all Sanctuary Warriors and Sanctuary Knights. Their source power was even more profound and vast than Lund Onassis's, far surpassing the latter.

The conceptual divine authorities they mastered numbered at least four, among which 'Power' and 'Punishment' had almost reached the level of intermediate divine authority. Under the power of 'Miracle' and 'Decree,' they could easily cross the barriers of time to fight Li Mochen.

Even Li Mochen, now clad in the 'Crimson Dragon Armor' and continuously enhancing his strength through the 'War' divine authority in battle, could not help but show a solemn expression in his eyes.

His 'Dragon Blade Strike,' which integrated at least nine divine authorities, could only repel these four, not severely wound them. Meanwhile, the various divine spells and authorities of the four cardinals were continuously applied to him.

'Sun,' 'Miracle,' 'Radiance,' 'Suppression,' 'Punishment,' 'Thunder,' 'Flame,' 'Sanctuary,' 'Redemption,' 'Time,' 'Life,' 'Space,' 'Eternity,' 'Fate,' and 'Decree'—these powerful forces derived from the Lord of Radiance and his seven angel kings descended into the mortal world through their bodies as mediums.

The 'Gate of Heaven' above them pressed down further, appearing even more majestic and imposing, imposing unparalleled mental pressure.

In the midst of this fierce battle, the 'Elemental Master' Reinhold Hedwig instead stopped his hands. He and several mages of the Teutonic Republic had already diverted more power to protect the city of Berlin.

The battle between Andre Lee Wiltonstein and the papal forces grew increasingly grand and bizarre. Various powerful authorities and forces spilled outward, shattering the world and twisting heaven and earth.

Their magic tower array could no longer hold; Reinhold Hedwig had to divert power to help suppress the spreading energy and shockwaves.

"I roughly understand his meaning—"

At this moment, a cold voice sounded beside Reinhold Hedwig: "Our interference will only further amplify the destructive power of this battle. What we should do now is try to minimize the scale of this fight, not let it continue to expand."

"But are we to sit by and watch him take the 'Blood Crown'?"

Reinhold Hedwig knew the voice came from his friend, 'Supreme Shadow' Temur Hegel, but he still frowned deeply: "This is an insult and provocation to our Teutonic Republic."

"But we can't stop him, can we? To be honest, if not for the Church's intervention, this would be a very ordinary theft of cultural relics. The Blood Crown carries weight, but for the current Teutonic Republic, it is merely a relic, barely a national treasure. Moreover, this descendant of the Hohenstaufen family can no longer be regarded as a mortal. The power of the mortal world can no longer restrain him. You should see him as Heracles, Perseus, Achilles!"

Temur Hegel spoke without emotion: "Hedwig, you should know better than I that 'Justice and righteousness lie within the range of cannons' is a famous saying from Chancellor Bismarck. That young Mr. Wiltonstein has such strength. This is a war between the divine court and heroes; our intervention will only lead to more disasters."

After saying this, a hint of fluctuation entered his voice: "At least from the current situation, the Church's power cannot suppress him. I wonder if today we will witness the myth of the Hohenstaufen reappear in the world?"

"He will become an ancient god; I can sense it. He is very close to being an ancient god. None of his Hohenstaufen ancestors could achieve this. Even without the Blood Crown, he can still contend with the Church."

Reinhold Hedwig's gaze was obscure: "To be honest, my mood is also very complicated now. I don't want to see this happen. If he succeeds, it means that besides the gods of freedom, nature, magic, etc., a new pole will be born in this world. This will be another War God or Lord of Fate—"

At this moment, a beam of light appeared before him, revealing an elderly woman with her hair coiled up, wearing a purple women's suit. Her demeanor was elegant, her expression dignified and serious: "Mr. Hedwig, how is the situation over there? Can we ensure that the Blood Crown will not be taken by that young man named Wiltonstein?"

"It's no longer a question of whether he can take that thing, Prime Minister."

Reinhold Hedwig sighed softly: "I'm not even sure if this war will affect the ordinary citizens of this city. That young Mr. Wiltonstein's strength far exceeds our imagination. Can you imagine? Before my eyes, seven Dominions and two powerful clergy with Seraph rank are besieging him. And our Pope even holds a sacred relic of the level of the 'Holy Cross.' Yet they can do nothing to him—"

His words paused as he looked into the depths of the museum, then murmured again: "Getting closer. In the past minute, he has advanced another fifty meters."

A closer distance meant that the young man named Wiltonstein could draw more power from the 'Blood Crown.'

"So what do you suggest, Mr. Hedwig?"

The 'Elemental Master' countered with a question: "The Prime Minister should have contacted the President of America? What did they say?"

But just by looking at the other's expression, he could already guess the answer.

"That person only expressed regret, anger, and strongly condemned Andre Lee Wiltonstein's actions. He said he would do his utmost to assist our country. But beyond that, there was no further statement."

The elderly woman's face was gloomy: "My advisors tell me that the Goddess of Discord would not mind the rise of the Hohenstaufen embers in America. Every additional deity in this world means more discord, and also means the power of 'Freedom' grows stronger. That person is also happy to see the Church's authority challenged and weakened."

"A wise and correct insight. Indeed, we cannot place too much hope in them."

The 'Elemental Master' sighed: "Then, Prime Minister, we have two choices now. We can continue to stop this young Mr. Wiltonstein. If we go all out, it is possible to succeed. But this will inevitably cause massive casualties in Berlin. Or we can stand by and focus all our efforts on protecting Berlin, ensuring that their power does not affect ordinary citizens in the city—"

At this moment, Reinhold Hedwig suddenly heard several bell-like sounds. He turned his head and looked in the direction behind him.

He recognized the source of the sound as the direction of the church.

Then, just a minute later, he heard faint chanting coming from there.

"—O Lord, I will praise you with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds.

I will rejoice and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

For my enemies have retreated; they have stumbled and perished before you.

You have ascended your throne, judging righteously; you have judged my cause.

You have destroyed the pagans; you have wiped out the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever.

The enemy is vanquished, utterly ruined; the cities you have overthrown have no memory.

But the Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.

He will judge the world with righteousness; he will govern the peoples with equity.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble."

All who know your name put their trust in you, O Lord; you do not forsake those who seek you.

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; declare his deeds among the peoples.

The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Let the nations that forget God be consigned to Sheol—let all the wicked be brought down to the pit.

This is a passage from the Book of Psalms of the Radiant Curia, entitled 'The Chastisement of the Radiant God.'

At this moment, Reinhard Heydrich clearly sensed that the punitive divine authority held by the several cardinals had greatly increased in power. They began to inflict wound after wound on the youth named Andre Lee Willenstein.

And the chanting continued, growing ever more fervent and sonorous, ever more majestic, with more and more voices joining in.

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me!

Many are saying of me, 'God will not deliver him.'

But you, O Radiant God, are a shield around me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.

I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

It was the power of 'Protection' and 'Valor' that emboldened the four Temple Masters; they were strengthened by the power of Protection, and their spirits were stirred by the divine authority of Valor.

Earlier, they could hardly approach within twenty meters of Li Mochen, but now they were engaged in close combat with him.

The Curia has summoned all the choirs and fanatics of the Old Church from Berlin.

This was 'Supreme Shadow' Temur Hegel, his voice incredulous: 'No! It's the entire Old Continent. They've gone mad.'

Reinhard Heydrich's expression was grave; he thought that Pope John Honorius's move could indeed be called madness. It could maximize the descent of the Radiant Lord's power into the world, but at the cost of a certain degree of life-force depletion for the hundreds of millions of choir members and fanatics.

To stop that youth from obtaining the Blood Crown, they would go this far?

Have you noticed? That Andre, though at a disadvantage, is also growing stronger.

This was a younger voice, from another mage: 'A war of this scale will magnify his power to the utmost. Those angels provide him with inexhaustible mana.'

At this moment, the angelic host gathered near the museum was not diminishing but steadily increasing.

Large numbers of 'Archangels' and 'Virtues' were swept away and destroyed by the shockwaves of the great battle, but even more angels converged from the Gate of Heaven and from all directions of the world.

They were the medium for the Radiant Lord and the seven Archangels to descend their divine authority, but they were also the source of Li Mochen's seemingly infinite mana.

This created a near-paradoxical situation: an increase in the angelic host only strengthened Andre Lee Willenstein's power, yet a decrease was insufficient to suppress him or prevent him from drawing closer to the Blood Crown.

So we should be grateful, shouldn't we?

Another aged voice let out a soft sigh: 'At least he hasn't lost his senses and extended his divine authority of life and death over Berlin's citizens, which would grant him even greater power. We'd best not push him for now. Remember the tragedy of Atlanta; let's not overestimate his bottom line.'

In that case—

At that moment, after long deliberation, the elderly woman finally made her decision: 'Gentlemen, from now on, our top priority is to protect Berlin and its citizens. If young Mr. Willenstein does not further display hostility toward our country, then while we gather more forces, we shall temporarily maintain a deterrent posture and wait and see.'

'Elemental Master' Reinhard Heydrich let out a long breath of stale air. He felt shame and anger at his own helplessness today, yet when the head of state issued this order, Heydrich felt a slight easing of his mind.

He truly did not want to participate in this war, even if he stood on the side currently holding the advantage.

...

At this moment, Li Mochen was indeed in an extremely strained state.

'Miracle' twisted his 'Time Sequence'; 'Protection' blocked his 'Piercing'; 'Fortitude' resisted his 'Inevitable Severance'; 'Life' and 'Redemption' isolated his 'Death'; 'Space' countered his 'Space'; 'Suppression' locked down his 'Flame'; 'Sun' and 'Flame' crushed his 'Ice'—

With every clash and exchange with the four Temple Masters, Li Mochen could only expend his own strength and the divine power of the 'Scarlet Dragon Armor.'

Though the Ring of Strength brought his power infinitely close to that of an ancient god, and the divine authorities of War and Life and Death caused his overall strength to continuously rise and his mana to be inexhaustible, this could not compare to the great power the Curia drew from the various churches and countless believers. This elevated the four Temple Masters, who held the rank of 'Dominions,' to a strength infinitely close to high gods. Their source power could shatter mountains, block great rivers, split the earth, and rend the sky.

Fortunately, Li Mochen still had the 'Mandala Bracelet.' This mythical artifact had its own internal system, barely affected by external influences. Li Mochen could still channel the excess power he could not bear into it, though the process was extremely taxing. And the 'Solidity,' 'Indestructibility,' 'Magic Resistance,' 'Eternity' from the Scarlet Dragon Armor, along with the conceptual divine authorities of 'Indomitability' and 'Defense' from the Blood Crown, ensured his body had sufficient endurance.

Yet the incessant clashing of weapons and divine authority duels also drained a great deal of Li Mochen's energy.

Especially the latter; the contest of divine authorities was never static. The seven Dominions and two Seraphim around him were all at the pinnacle of this world, surpassing most deities. Though not gods themselves, their application of divine authority was equally varied and exquisite. This forced Li Mochen to constantly adjust and maintain the balance, but at the cost of his spirit growing increasingly weary, nearly to the point of exhaustion.

You are at the end of your rope, Andre Lee Willenstein!

Cardinal Cressey Cook gazed coldly at the besieged youth: 'My Lord will surely destroy you, heretic!'

Li Mochen's response was another 'Decree of Annihilation' from the Mandala Bracelet, long charged. But as the vast death-gray lightning began to spread across the sky, Cardinal Loft Clement clasped his hands and prayed toward the Gate of Heaven: 'The Lord says, Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you!'

Another cardinal, Danny Hankins, chanted loudly: 'The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Radiant Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever!'

Thus the power of Eternity, Fortitude, and Protection spread across the sky, so that none of the many Virtues and Powers were harmed by the death-gray thunderbolts.

At that moment, a spear appeared in the sky, aimed at Li Mochen. The spear was over a hundred meters long, its shaft and blade engraved with exquisite divine script. It was wreathed in holy light, and countless angels surrounded it, bestowing their blessings.

It was gathering power, the immense force from the gates of heaven and the entire world, making the spear's aura grow ever stronger. Demonic energy and holy light surged around it like tides, inhaled and exhaled with its breath. Countless bolts of excommunication lightning began to spawn and coil around the spear, like snakes slithering upon it, crackling and hissing.

"You should know it—the Spear of Longinus!"

Pope John Honorius stood firm at the entrance of the Teutonic Museum, his whole being as immovable as a great mountain or boulder, while his eyes held both fury and pity.

"This is my final question, and your last chance. Andre Lee Wiltonstein, are you willing to confess your sins before my Lord? Are you willing, like your ancestor Emperor Barbarossa, to kneel before the gates of Rome and seek redemption? To show the world your devotion to the Lord?"

Not far from him, Weimar Medici watched the scene with a glint of mockery in his eyes, saying nothing. His gaze flickered, seemingly displeased with the Pope's actions and words, yet he had no intention of defying Honorius's will.

—This was actually understandable; wielding the 'Spear of Longinus' came at a cost, and even the current Pope was unwilling to pay that price.

So, after only a tenth of a second, Weimar Medici's displeasure faded, replaced by more disdain and anticipation.

He wanted to see whether this brightest star of the Hohenstaufen family since the Middle Ages would dare to refuse the Pope's redemption.

And he also looked forward to seeing that holy spear, which had once pierced the 'Messiah, the Son of God,' nail the young man named Andre Lee Wiltonstein to the ground.

"How could I not have heard of it? Its alias is the Spear of Destiny, right? Legend says it's a weapon capable of killing the supreme god."

Li Mochen, under the siege of the four Saint Hall masters, barely spared a moment to glance sideways at the holy spear in the sky.

His pupils first contracted slightly, showing a hint of wariness, but what emerged afterward was a joy nearly wild and fervent.

The Spear of Longinus—he had long heard of it. Once, the Roman centurion Longinus pierced the Messiah, the Son of God, with this spear. When the Messiah's blood flowed back and dripped into Longinus's eyes, the centurion was instantly converted, becoming the most powerful saint of the Church of Light at that time: 'Saint Longinus.'

In the centuries after his ascension to heaven, the Spear of Longinus played a great role in the Church's wars against demons and heretics, until it was broken into three pieces by Lucifer. The fragments were reforged separately by earthly emperors and the Church, creating three 'Holy Spears of Longinus.'

"It seems you think you've already won? Your Holiness the Pope and the esteemed bishops?"

Weimar Medici was the first to sense something amiss. He realized that Li Mochen must still have a backup plan, some kind of scheme.

Almost instantly, he increased the power of the 'Miracle' divine authority, even burning his life force to do so. At the same time, a small golden arm shield slid out from Weimar Medici's sleeve. This was the most powerful and important treasure of the Medici family, ensuring his safety under any circumstances.

Just then, he saw the smile curling at the corner of Li Mochen's lips, and a seal that soared up from the latter's void ring.

"Pity, this is not the complete 'Holy Spear of Longinus.' You are all too overconfident, gentlemen—"

The seal, once airborne, continuously rose and expanded before everyone's eyes: five hundred cubic meters, three thousand cubic meters, ten thousand cubic meters—until it was as massive and towering as a mountain.

At that moment, a name that nearly suffocated him surfaced in Weimar Medici's mind.

This must be that lost supreme treasure of the East—the Kongtong Seal!