Embers of Embers

Chapter 691 Victory
In the dark corridor, the sound of approaching footsteps gradually sounded. It was getting closer and closer, carrying panic and fear, like a poor man being chased by a nightmare. His heartbeat accelerated, his blood became hot, and the panic kept piling up. , like the accumulated volcano, the accumulated malice, until it breaks out at a certain moment.
Anthony was panting and holding on to the wall. It was obviously just a simple escape, but he felt that he had just fought a difficult battle and was exhausted. Every inch of his body seemed to be grasped by countless hands, and they pulled hard. Holding Anthony, trying to drag him into the water.
The exit was in front of him, and Anthony crashed into the elevator. The rusty iron bars slowly closed, and then the whole thing began to rise. Between the dust and the dim light, Anthony could hear a beast-like roar, followed by more thunderous sounds. The sound of swords.
The metals collided and rubbed against each other, torn into countless broken iron filings, and finally disappeared into the dust.
"Your Majesty..."
Anthony stared at the rising gap, trying to see the crazy battlefield through here, but this was just a beautiful expectation. Nothing could be seen from here, only a layer of darkness.
Leaning to a corner, there is still some distance before reaching the gate of heaven. This place has temporarily become an undisturbed sanctuary, allowing Anthony to take a short rest. No one will see what he does here, even if he is Fear and crying.
No one knows what is going on in his mind, just like no one knows why separation always comes so suddenly and without warning.
But think about it, this is what reality should be like. It is full of strangeness and mystery. It is not like in literary operas, with long paragraphs of background. In reality, whether it is life or death, it is just one thing. A matter of moments.
Anthony's rest did not last long, and soon the elevator arrived at the Gate of Heaven. The door engraved with devils and angels slowly opened, and a dusty light fell, hitting Anthony through the iron bars.
He raised his head, his pupils were bloodshot, he stood up listlessly, straightened his messy clothes, he coughed a few times, and as the iron bars were fully opened, Anthony walked out of the shadows, his expression changed from calm to ferocious. Just now His vulnerability was gone and he was fully armed again.
"Father!"
someone shouted.
"Father Anthony!"
More voices were calling to him, waiting for his response.
I saw that the demon hunters had already gathered here. They looked nervous and held sharp nail swords in their hands.
The moment the black mist erupted from the deep well, the stench, rot, and disgusting distortion spread out. Ordinary people might just feel a little disgusted, but these demon hunters were keenly aware of all this, and headed here Come here.
"what should we do?"
Samuel came forward. He didn't ask what happened, but just waited for Anthony's instructions.
Anthony looked at them, silent for a few seconds, and his eyes became firm again.
"Guard the gates of heaven and seal off the Cathedral of Saint-Naro!"
Following his words, the demon hunters started to move, just like the night of Holy Advent many years ago. Perhaps the reincarnation of history really exists. Everything happening now is so familiar. They are repeated constantly, every day. When people are about to forget about it, they crawl out of the shadows again, like the dead who are unwilling to be forgotten.
There have been very few people in the Saint-Naro Cathedral since the new pope stayed in the Temple of Stasis. Now the blockade is going smoothly. The heavy iron doors are closed one by one, and they are full of inscriptions blaming ghosts and gods, like a towering shield.
The Templar Knights were also mobilized. They may not be as powerful as the Demon Hunters, but with sufficient numbers and sophisticated weapons and armor, they still have considerable combat effectiveness.
They galloped on horseback and quickly surrounded the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, guarding all the important roads.
"Then seal the Seven Hills."
Anthony hid in the shadows and gave instructions coldly.
In his eyes, the entire Seven Hills has become a huge chessboard. With the life and death of the new pope unknown, he is the only chess player. Demon hunters, Templar knights, and soldiers have all become His chess pieces are controlled and driven by him.
"Clear all believers. No one is needed in the Holy City except our soldiers."
Under Leng Che's order, the soldiers changed their usual gentle posture. They violently opened the door, yelled at the believers who refused to leave, and forced them to leave. Some soldiers also encountered resistance, but this time they chose to fight with blood To cover up, there are some believers who are difficult to conquer, so the demon hunters will take action at this moment and easily disintegrate them.
Everything was going on in an orderly manner. In this critical moment, there was no need to pay attention to anything except orders. There were sounds of chopping, and blood was flowing in the Seven Hills.
The Templar Knights stationed outside the Seven Hills also received the order. They began to drive away the believers who were still lingering on the edge of the Seven Hills. They organized a huge team and led them towards the Feileng Cui in the distance. .
If the Seven Hills is the place of faith of the Holy Evangelical Papal State, then Florence is its highest secular place. It accommodates a large number of expelled believers, and these believers are still being evacuated. .
Anthony knew very well what the new pope's order was for. Once the monsters in the Well of Ascension revived, the huge erosion would turn the sacred seven hills into a dead city in an instant. Under the shroud of death, believers, no matter how pious, would It is impossible to reverse the taint of erosion and become a demon.
This may be the last moment of the Gospel Church, and now the Seven Hills House does not need anyone except soldiers.
"What else do we need to do?"
Samuel asked Anthony that they were still staying in the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, using it as the front line of resistance and a command post.
Anthony did not respond, his face was swallowed up by unpredictable darkness, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.
"Is everything locked down?"
After a while, Anthony asked hoarsely, as if all the moisture had been lost in his throat, and the shriveled flesh and blood were squeezing each other.
"Well, but we don't know if we can stop the monsters, after all this time..."
Samuel's eyes dimmed. As Anthony's deputy, he knew more than other demon hunters.
"This time is different from the Holy Night. That time was just a sublimation ceremony, but this time it will be the awakening of 'sublimation'."
Anthony exhaled.
It was as if he had breathed out all the blood in his lungs. Every time he took a breath, he looked older.
"Samuel, I have another order for you to carry out."
Anthony thought about his next strategy and said to Samuel.
Samuel leaned forward and listened.
"leave here."
"what?"
Samuel thought he heard it wrong, and his expression was astonished.
"Leaving here, the Seven Hills is destined to become a dead city. This is inevitable."
The glory accumulated over endless years will completely collapse at this moment. Anthony doesn't want to, but this is an ending that has already been engraved in his destiny.
He still remembered the scene when he turned around and fled, the turbulent black mist overflowing.
In fact, Anthony knew that the new pope could not hold the place, and he should escape with him.
But if he escaped, where could he escape to?
Perhaps due to being in the Temple of Stasis for a long time, the corrosion on the new pope has become more and more serious, constantly corroding his will. In the past few months, he has had more hallucinations than in the previous years combined. Many, the decay of flesh and blood is also continuing, and the spirit is faintly out of control...
In fact, Anthony knew that the new pope could not hold on for too long. This avenger who had survived the fire on Advent night had his body burned by the fire and could no longer hold on.
But just like the self-deception of many believers, he always didn't think about it and kept deifying the new pope in his heart.
Yes, how could such a nightmare guy fall down so easily?
But now the reality is forcing Anthony to believe all this. He thinks that the new pope must know his state, so he will choose someone to stay in the end. Compared with turning into a demon and being killed by his own kind , he even wanted to die by the Well of Ascension, just like the demon hunters who died there together on the Night of Holy Advent.
"Samuel, I need you to get out of here and tell others what happened here!"
Anthony said in a low voice.
"Someone has to do this! You have to survive!"
Samuel froze in place. Rather than saying it was an order, to Samuel at this moment, Anthony's expression was more like a request, begging him to do this.
"I……"
Samuel didn't know what to say for a moment. He wanted to shout about faith and glory and fight here instead of leaving, but when he saw Anthony like this, he couldn't say anything.
"I know what kind of person you are, Samuel. You long for victory. This kind of war is exactly what you long for. But you have to know that this is no longer something we can solve. Without victory, we can only lose."
Unlike Samuel, Anthony did not let his fanatical beliefs go to his head, and now he must remain calm and absolutely rational.
"Walk along the Tiber River, leave the Seven Hills, and pass through the emerald green!"
Bursts of black mist seep out from the gaps in the gates of heaven. They are pervasive, spreading a disease called erosion and corrupting the human mind.
Antony pushed Samuel, just as the new pope was urging him to leave.
"If there are really any so-called reinforcements, they will definitely come from the sea and want to get here as quickly as possible. That is their only landing point."
After the bloody evacuation, there should be no believers in the Seven Hills, but there were still roars of monsters from all directions, as if the place was surrounded by bloodthirsty monsters.
The erosion is intensifying, and more and more people are turning into demons, whether they are believers or soldiers.
"Go there and wait for their arrival!" Anthony yelled, "Go tell them our deeds and tell them what happened here!"
The door of heaven trembled violently, as if something was banging behind the door. Then the sound became high-frequency, as if there were thousands of hands knocking on the door violently. They had been hungry for too long. , can’t wait to return to the world.
The witcher leaned forward, reinforcing the door.
Samuel looked at the door. Perhaps erosion was at work. In a daze, he saw everything on the mural come alive. Angels and demons were fighting, and the flames of war started from bottom to top, dragging everything into a burning end.
"Samuel, winning this battle is the real victory, a victory that makes people crave crazy."
Samuel's eyes were frozen and his face was expressionless. Like a puppet, he took steps under Anthony's push. He didn't know how he left the Cathedral of Saint-Naro. He just let his body carry out the order and mounted the war horse. , ran all the way.
Tell those who come after you what happened here.
Such sounds kept echoing in his mind, and it wasn't until he left the Seven Hills on horseback and saw the fireworks rising in the city that Samuel came back to his senses.
His face gradually turned into fear, and he tightened his grip on the reins.
"what--"
Samuel roared with all his strength, as if this could drive away the fear in his heart.
Riding his horse wildly through the desolate meadows, all the way down the Tiber River, he was like a messenger of war. Wherever he went, everything would soon turn into scorched earth.
Anthony's image flashed through his mind, and for a moment Samuel suddenly felt disgusted with the victory he was pursuing.
Not everyone can win every battle, there will always be a day when they fail, and when they fail, it is their death.
Now that death has come, Yanar's power can't save him...he can't even save anyone else.
Samuel could only keep running wildly, passing by his familiar homeland, looking towards the more distant sea. On the clear sea, little sparks were swaying, as if they were stars reflected in the sea.
Those are not reflected stars.
Those were warships moving forward silently, one after another, breaking through the wind and waves, full of monsters with secret blood.
They came chasing the war, and now, they are finally reaching the end.
"We are about to arrive at the Holy Gospel Papal State. Once we enter the sea, it will be difficult for us to hide ourselves. What are you going to do next? A surprise attack?"
Corey looked at Lawrence standing at the bow of the ship. To be honest, he resisted this crazy move at first, but seeing the sacred land so close, the evil in his body was aroused again, igniting a fire in his chest. .
"There is no need for a surprise attack, we just need to join the battle."
Lawrence's voice came slowly, and he opened his hands to try to catch all the sea breeze.
"It feels so familiar..."
Lawrence stared at the blurry light spots in the distance and sighed.
"A familiar homeland."
"The familiar sea breeze."
"Familiar... Xie Yi."
Lawrence felt that every inch of his body was restless, fearful, and joyful. All of this was so familiar, as if a piece of history had been cut out and pieced together again before his eyes.
Everything is so similar, just like that night.
Advent night.
(End of this chapter)