Chapter 343: Total Annihilation of the Bishops, The City Lord’s Gratitude

"Otherwise, how do you think I found out about this place and knew that you would escape from the city?"

After Cao Xing finished speaking, the members of the Church of Light below were stunned for a moment.

At the same time, a sense of doubt arose in their hearts.

The demon spoke with such logical reasoning; could it be true?

Did the Grand Bishop actually defect to this demon just to save his own life?

However, as old schemers who had lived for many years, they quickly snapped back to reality.

"Impossible! The Grand Bishop bears the Brand of Light and would never betray the God of Light!"

"I get it now. You infiltrated the City Lord's Mansion last night, discovered this passage of ours, and are therefore ambushing us here!"

"Damned demon, full of lies! I'm going to kill you!"

Seeing that these fellows didn't fall for it, Cao Xing grinned and laughed, "Not entirely stupid, are you."

"Did you bastards have a great time besieging this demon last night?"

"Didn't expect this, did you? Now it's my turn!"

"Charge! Crush them!"

As those words fell.

Various attacks from the group descended like a raging storm.

"Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!"

"Crash!"

Storm Arrow Rain!

Black Smoke Storm!

Frost Wolf Sword Qi!

Various area-of-effect damage landed!

In an instant.

Dense and terrifying damage numbers instantly appeared above the heads of these dozen-plus Hunters.

[-7823]

[-9032!]

[-11732]

[-6723]

[-6342]

[-12031]

…

Including the three grand bishops, everyone's HP plummeted rapidly.

The black-robed priests behind them let out miserable screams!

"Evil fellows!"

"The God of Light is above, you will get your retribution!!"

"These guys have such terrifying attacks! Lord Bishop, save me!"

You must know that Cao Xing's subordinates were all formidable existences of at least Tier 4 or Tier 5 Leader-level.

This wave of concentrated fire was simply like a violent storm!

The three grand bishops were equally aggrieved and frustrated; their skills had been forcibly put on cooldown by [Witch Domain].

Coupled with the fact that their bodies were still entwined with a massive number of tentacles, they could neither run nor fight back effectively.

But as bishop-level powerhouses, even at a time like this, they still possessed the ability to resist!

Relying on their terrifying physical attributes, they continuously waved their weapons and parried a massive amount of attacks.

The downward trend of their HP was much slower compared to the other Hunters.

Moreover, the control duration of [Shadow Entanglement] was about to expire.

Seeing this, Cao Xing immediately let out a cold snort.

Then he gave a look to Jonard and Josent.

These two Dragon Blood Warriors understood Cao Xing's intent.

They hoisted their long spears, their entire bodies abruptly charging into the air!

Then, with canyon-crossing momentum, they transformed into a single giant spear and plunged down instantly!

"Boom! Rumble!"

A terrifying explosion appeared once again, even causing the surrounding mountains to shake violently!

Then, two massive damage numbers appeared above the heads of all the cultists on the field.

[-24847]

[-23851]

[-14332]

[-13823]

[-12552]

[-15231]

…

[Dragon Blood Revolving Sky Thorn] possessed a full 414% single-target damage coefficient and 237% area-of-effect coefficient, coupled with a group stun effect.

It could be said to be an extremely powerful divine skill combining output and crowd control.

These members of the Church of Light were once again controlled in place.

Afterwards, they suffered terrifying attacks from Cao Xing and the others once again.

Furthermore, hidden in the shadows, two powerful dark figures flashed past.

From time to time, they wielded terrifying sharp blades, launching frenzied attacks against these cultists.

One figure was Sarah, and the other was Herlie.

Their attacks were exceptionally fierce.

"Puff! Puff, puff!"

[-15741!]

[-5313]

[-16321!]

[-4523]

[-17231!]

[-4062]

[-27311!]

…

Damage numbers more terrifying than the last appeared.

Compared to Sarah, Herlie's damage was naturally lacking by more than just a little bit.

But it was still extremely powerful.

While the other Hunters were still in a stunned state.

The three grand bishops had already recovered early from it.

After breaking through to the master tier, even their crowd control resistance had been greatly enhanced.

However, when they woke up and looked around, they found that their companions beside them had already fallen like harvested wheat.

On Cao Xing's side, they also heard the screen-flooding kill notification sounds.

[Successfully killed Church of Light: White-robed Priest Lv47, Tier 5 Leader-level creature. Obtained EXP: 47000, Obtained Honor Points: 500]

[Successfully killed Church of Light: Black-robed Priest Lv46, Tier 5 Boss-level creature. Obtained EXP: 23000, Obtained Honor Points: 50]

[Successfully…]

…

"Good fellow, so many white-robed priests, and black-robed priests too!" Cao Xing's eyes lit up.

This was somewhat of an unexpected pleasant surprise.

After all, taking down a white-robed priest still yielded very high rewards.

Besides this, he also noticed that as these cultists fell, a robust figure rolled down from their shoulders.

Looking closely, it was none other than the Lake Doron City lord.

Since the city lord was a non-allied creature.

Cao Xing and the others' area-of-effect attacks would engulf him as well.

At this moment, the city lord had his upper body bound by a golden chain, looking unconscious, and hadn't woken up despite suffering so many attacks.

This made Cao Xing instantly narrow his eyes.

An idea arose in his heart.

That was, should he just finish off the city lord as well?

After all, this was a terrifying existence capable of steadily suppressing the grand bishop.

Which meant at least Tier 7 Overlord-level.

If he were to kill him, the rewards obtained would simply be unimaginable!

After pondering for a moment, he decided against it.

After all, the city lord was not only powerful in strength, but also a Marquis of the Ice Crystal Kingdom.

Killing him would inevitably lower hidden favorability.

Furthermore, if the Ice Crystal Kingdom investigated and found out about this, who knows, they might even place a bounty on him.

He already had the Church of Light as an enemy; he couldn't make any more enemies right now.

Although Cao Xing was pondering in his heart, the actions of his subordinates didn't stop at all.

Flames of Evil Intent were continuously thrown out, blowing up the cultists on the field and causing them to scream incessantly.

There were many black-robed priests in here; taking down one yielded dozens of honor points.

Accompanied by bursts of screams, those black-robed priests and some elite cultists fell to the ground one after another.

In less than fifteen seconds, only the three red-robed grand bishops remained standing in place on the field.

However, even the situation of these red-robed bishops was somewhat uncomfortable at this moment.

Their bodies were covered in wounds everywhere, and their HP had also dropped by half.

After all, the attacks from Cao Xing and his group weren't so easy to endure.

When the three grand bishops finally struggled free from the crowd control state and saw the corpses littering the surroundings, half of their hearts had already gone cold!

They knew they had to break out of these fellows' encirclement as soon as possible, otherwise they would all perish here today!

The three of them exchanged glances, then nodded simultaneously, "Charge out together!"

Instantly, terrifying power erupted from within their bodies!

The ground was stomped into craters a dozen meters deep by them; the combat power of Tier 6 Commander-level powerhouses was displayed without a doubt!

They didn't even care about the unconscious city lord on the ground anymore.

They directly intended to charge out of Cao Xing and the others' encirclement!

Braum just wanted to rush forward to intercept them, but this sword-wielding red-robed bishop was also in a frenzied state at this moment.

He bellowed angrily, "Get lost!"

"Screech!"

As if even the air was being sliced apart, the long sword in his hand carried immense might and fiercely struck down.

As powerful as Braum was, he was also briefly forced back by this single sword strike!

Seeing that the encirclement was about to be breached.

This red-robed bishop seemed to see the hope of survival.

However, right at this moment.

A Frost Moose, pitch-black all over and exuding a death-like chill, leaped out from the mountain!

It took a deep breath.

"Hoo——"

The chill within several hundred meters around was all sucked into its body.

When this Frost Moose opened its large mouth, [Frigid Breath] erupted instantly!

"Crash!!!"

The three grand bishops simultaneously felt an ice-cold, bone-piercing chill rushing over them!

It was even more terrifying than the blades of the Wights, enough to seep into their bone marrow!

"Crack! Crackle!"

They watched with their own eyes as the moment their bodies came into contact with this chill, they were directly frozen!

Skin, blood, bones, muscles, all completely frozen.

Including the weapons in their hands, which were also covered with a thick layer of frost.

Then, the three grand bishops were directly locked in place, expressions of disbelief still lingering on their faces!

As commander-level powerhouses, they couldn't withstand this kind of breath from the Frost Moose either.

Seeing this, Cao Xing laughed heartily, "Frost Moose, well done!"

"Now bombard them to death for me!"

Without needing Cao Xing to speak, various attacks from the group had already rained down upon these three bishops.

"Bang! Crackle!"

HP plummeted rapidly.

At the same time.

Dabai nearby had already summoned [Spirit of the Mammoth Herd].

A large number of Mammoth spirits rushed out, crashing into the three grand bishops and inflicting one terrifying damage number after another.

There was also the Earth Dragon Mecha controlled by Tong Chuchu, continuously raising the weapon on its left hand to condense energy shells.

"Rumble! Rumble!"

Various terrifying attacks kept landing.

Meanwhile, the three grand bishops could only be frozen within the ice layer, looking with difficulty at the dozen-plus figures of powerhouses surrounding them.

After a full five or six seconds, they finally broke free from Frost Moose's deep freeze state.

But during this period of time, their HP had dropped by another 30% or so, reaching an extremely dangerous state.

However, this wasn't over yet.

Cao Xing was constantly monitoring their crowd control status.

Upon discovering signs of them breaking free, he immediately called Voli over.

"Roar!!"

Accompanied by a deep roar.

A pitch-black violent bear, carrying the power of black lightning on its body, slammed down fiercely.

"Rumble!!"

Heavenly Sound Shockfall!

Terrifying current ravaged, directly enveloping the three grand bishops.

A strong sense of paralysis spread throughout their entire bodies.

The three grand bishops' pupils abruptly dilated, and they were hard-controlled in place once again.

"Rattle!"

The group's attacks continued to land.

In the blink of an eye, their HP plummeted below 10%.

When the control duration of Heavenly Sound Shockfall ended, the three grand bishops were left with less than 1% of their HP.

In this state, they were equivalent to being heavily injured.

They also knew they no longer had any chance of escape.

Looking at that figure flying mid-air, they roared in unwilling fury, "Damned demon, Lord God of Light will definitely not let you off!"

"No matter where you hide, after the God of Light descends, all of you will pay the price!"

"When that day arrives, you will live forever in the shadows of pain!"

"Go to hell, hahahaahahaha!!!"

But Cao Xing completely ignored their clamor.

He directly threw out the Flames of Evil Intent, coordinating with his subordinates' attacks to end their lives.

The bishops' corpses collapsed limply.

Three kill notifications appeared.

[Your territory member: Sarah Blade Dance killed Red-robed Bishop Lv53, Tier 6 Commander-level creature. Obtained EXP: 106000, Obtained Honor Points: 3000]

[Your territory member: Victoria Saint-Croix killed Red-robed Bishop Lv55, Tier 6 Commander-level creature. Obtained EXP: 110000, Obtained Honor Points: 3000]

[You have killed the Red-robed Bishop Lv51, a Tier 6 Commander-level creature. Gained Experience: 102,000. Gained Honor Points: 3,000]

…

…

Seeing the kill notification, the corners of Cao Xing's mouth curled into an arc once again.

That was the joy of victory.

The gains from taking down the three Red-robed Bishops were quite astonishing; not only did he get hundreds of thousands of experience points, but it also directly increased his Honor Points by 9,000!

Adding the three masks, that equaled another 1,500 Honor Points!

Right now, his Honor Points were about to reach 80,000!

Coupled with the inventory of masks in his backpack, 100,000 Honor Points would definitely be enough!

If Bjorn's side could take down some more Heretics, there might even be surplus Honor Points left over to exchange for Neros Cannons or other things!

Moreover, Honor Points weren't even the main reward.

The most important thing, naturally, was the loot dropped by these three Red-robed Bishops after death!

Looking at the equipment on the ground, along with that Heart of Power nearly the size of a human head, Cao Xing couldn't wait to pocket them!

Just at that moment, a system prompt appeared.

[Ding! Survivor, please note: in this battle, you have killed a total of three Red-robed Bishops and six Black-robed Priests of the Church of Light, causing them heavy losses.]

[S-rank quest [Root and Stem] progress increased by 1%, current progress 12%…]

…

"Oh? It actually increased the progress by 1%!"

A look of surprise appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

Although 1% sounded like not much.

But you had to know that previously, after clearing so many camps and taking down nearly two thousand Hunters, including quite a few White-robed High Priests, he had only gained a 1% progress.

Therefore, just killing three red-robes could increase it by 1%, which was already quite good.

This also indirectly demonstrated the status of Red-robed Bishops within the Church of Light.

He continued walking over and picked up the large pile of items dropped on the ground.

[Obtained: Master-level Heart of Power * 3]

[Obtained: Expert-level Heart of Strength * 4]

[Obtained: Commander-level Soul of Bishop Angron (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Tier 5 Commander-level Centaur Archer Recruitment Scroll (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Red-robed Bishop Mask (Orange) * 3]

[Obtained: Divine Shadow Sword (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Flowing Fire Blade (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Ancient Elf Longbow (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Chieftain-level Soul of White-robed Priest * 2]

[Obtained: Leader-level Soul of Black-robed Priest * 5]

[Obtained: master-level elemental crystal * 28]

[Obtained: Expert-level Elemental Crystal * 69]

…

Aside from that, there were a few books of Anomalous Chaos, large Attribute Books, and so on…

At this moment, Cao Xing took a deep breath.

Because this wave of harvest was simply too huge!

Three Master-level Hearts of Power, three orange weapons, plus a Commander-level soul and a Commander-level powerhouse recruitment scroll!

In addition, there were 2 chieftain souls and 5 leader souls!

If they were all digested, it would be enough to bring a terrifying boost to his territory's strength!

Especially that Commander-level soul; this was also one of the resources he lacked the most.

With so many combatants in the entire territory, most of them were basically at the Elite to Leader level.

And the core combatants under his command were also mostly at the Chieftain level.

However, he suppressed the impulse to digest these resources immediately.

He cast his gaze toward the dying Lake Doron City Lord beside him.

Come to think of it, this guy really had a lot of luck.

During the initial city-slaughtering operation, everyone thought he was dead.

As a result, he was captured alive by the Church of Light, who wanted to domesticate him into their instructor.

Then he suddenly broke out halfway and had a huge battle with the four Archbishops.

And now he was intercepted halfway by Cao Xing.

His vitality was astonishing!

For a moment, Cao Xing didn't know how to deal with this City Lord.

Of course, he definitely couldn't be brought back to the territory.

Although the City Lord was very strong, Cao Xing had too many secrets.

For instance, his demonic disguised identity.

Once he discovered that that demon was transformed from himself, he would quickly realize that the person who stole the Holy Scripture of Light the night before yesterday was him.

And as a loyal supporter of the kingdom, this guy might just sell him out.

Secretly killing him wouldn't work either; the reason had been mentioned before.

Cao Xing shook his head, "This is really a bit troublesome…"

He glanced over his attributes.

[Lake Doron City Lord: Orlan Kano]

[Affiliated Faction: Ice Crystal Kingdom]

[Level: ???]

[HP: ???]

[Attributes: ???]

[Skills: ???]

[Status: Light Bondage (Unable to move, unable to launch attacks), Weakened (All attributes reduced by 80%), Brand of Light (Unfinished), Unconscious…]

…

Just like before, it was still a bunch of question marks, but he could now view his status.

A large pile of negative statuses drastically weakened the City Lord's strength.

Cao Xing secretly pondered, "I am already Level 43 now, and I still can't see his attributes."

"This shows that the City Lord's level is definitely above Level 63."

"Tsk tsk, truly terrifying."

Just at this moment, the City Lord's body moved slightly, seemingly about to wake up from his unconscious state.

Everyone's expressions turned stern one after another, and at the same time, they prepared for battle!

As for Cao Xing, he didn't feel much.

Although this guy was powerful, after all, he was only one person.

Relying on the strength of their group, if they went all out, they should be able to fight this City Lord to a draw.

Plus his various trump cards.

Against a Tier 7 Overlord, it wasn't as difficult as imagined.

This was also the reason why Cao Xing dared to set an ambush here.

If the ones who came out back then weren't three Red-robed Bishops, but an Archbishop, Cao Xing would still fight him!

Moreover, the City Lord was currently in an extremely weakened state.

His strength had plummeted significantly, and he couldn't even see through their [Disguise] status.

"Hoo…"

Below, that man, as strong as a lion, took a deep breath, and then suddenly opened his eyes!

He caught sight of the group of pitch-black figures surrounding him at a glance.

His gaze instantly lingered on the demon that had a pair of black wings unfurled and exuded a terrifying aura.

His pupils instantly constricted.

His impression of this demon was simply too profound!

It was this thing that, taking advantage of when he and the Archbishop were fighting a great battle, snatched away the scripture, causing heavy losses to the Church of Light!

This was the most special demon he had ever seen in his life!

"You're awake," Cao Xing said in a deep voice.

The City Lord glanced at him, and just as he wanted to speak, he felt a wave of discomfort in his chest, triggering a violent fit of coughing.

"Cough cough… Where… is this place?"

Cao Xing replied, "Outside Lake Doron City. You were tied up by those three red-robes, who seemed to want to take you somewhere."

"And then, very unluckily for them, they were intercepted by me."

Hearing this, a look of realization appeared in the City Lord's eyes. "I see…"

Then he continued with difficulty, "Cough cough… They probably wanted to take me back to the headquarters of the Church of Light to make me work for them from now on."

"These idiots are simply daydreaming!"

"Once I recover this time, I will definitely wipe out all their forces in the Gale Snowfield in one go!"

From his body, a fierce aura erupted once again.

The City Lord was inherently an existence that would not easily yield, which could be seen from him fighting the four Archbishops alone.

After escaping this time, he would definitely launch a crazy retaliation against the Church of Light.

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing chuckled and shook his head.

"You probably won't have much chance if you want to deal with the Church of Light; the war over at Lake Doron City is almost over."

"Next, the Church of Light will inevitably contract its forces, and you probably won't even see their figures within the borders of the Ice Crystal Kingdom."

The City Lord was stunned for a moment, then said somewhat dejectedly, "Is that so?"

He cast a complex look at the demon in front of him.

He could feel that the other party's aura should be around Tier 5, and his own strength was clearly much stronger than this demon in front of him.

But when facing him, there wasn't the kind of fear felt by other Tier 5 creatures!

He simply treated him as an equal existence.

The Lake Doron City Lord knew that this kind of momentum was called confidence.

When he was young, he also possessed this kind of momentum, but it wasn't as intense as his.

Moreover, both were facing the Church of Light.

He had fallen into their trap, the Giant City was lost, and he even ended up as their prisoner.

Yet the other party, with Tier 5 strength, repeatedly dealt heavy blows to the Church of Light.

Compared like this, he, a City Lord, appeared somewhat incompetent.

A look of emotional reflection appeared on the City Lord's face, and then he asked, "Are all you demons as bold and powerful as you?"

Cao Xing was stunned, then chuckled and shook his head, "Hard to say, the demon race is quite complex, and every demon is different."

In fact, he couldn't help but complain inwardly: What the hell do I know about demons? Everything I just said was just bullshit.

Braum, who was standing nearby, couldn't help chiming in, "Other demons don't have as many tricks as our Lor… Lord Demon Master!"

Upon hearing this, the City Lord nodded, "I can tell, you really are different from other demons."

"However, no matter what, thank you for saving me."

At this moment, hearing that latter sentence, Cao Xing's mouth curled into a smile instead.

"If you want to thank me, just saying it isn't enough."

"After all, I practically saved you indirectly twice."

"According to the rules, you have to give me some benefits."

Since the City Lord couldn't be killed, Cao Xing definitely had to find a way to squeeze more benefits out of him.

The City Lord was stunned; hearing the other party ask for benefits so bluntly, he was also somewhat dazed.

But thinking about it, it was quite in line with the behavior style of the demon race.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Most of my assets are in that city, but they've probably been looted by the Church of Light as well."

"There isn't anything left to give you."

"However, if you need it, I can tell you a secret piece of news."

"A secret piece of news?"

The City Lord nodded.

"Let's hear it," Cao Xing said directly.

Without further ado, the City Lord went straight to the point:

"Outside the border, there is a Lost Royal City, and there is an ancient colosseum there. After entering the colosseum, you can participate in the powerhouse trial."

"This powerhouse trial has no restrictions on race or faction. Anyone who can pass the trial will receive generous rewards."

"Lost Royal City? An ancient colosseum?" Doubt filled Cao Xing's eyes.

The City Lord nodded, "Yes, the Lost Royal City is located in the wilderness area outside the territory of the Ice Crystal Kingdom."

"This is a place accidentally discovered by a certain Hero-level powerhouse."

"That royal city contains astonishing opportunities, and its scale is even larger than the Eternal Frost Main City. It is said… to be a city left over from that ancient civilization."

A thoughtful look appeared in Cao Xing's eyes, and then he asked somewhat uncertainly.

"You mean, the civilization that created the ancient weapons?"