Embers of Embers

Chapter 711 Torch
His body was filled with unspeakable pain, every bone seemed to be broken, and his flesh and blood were falling apart, like a snowman exposed to the sun, heading towards irreversible destruction.
Figures outside the camp flashed, fire was radiating, and the fighting never stopped.
Anthony picked up a sharp sword and lifted it up with both hands to stabilize his body and prevent him from falling. He gasped for breath, and blood dripped continuously, staining the ground under his feet.
It was very painful, not only the physical pain, but also the scars engraved in the soul, which constantly detonated Anthony's nerves and tortured his mind.
Then came the fatigue. An unprecedented feeling of fatigue enveloped Anthony, and breathing became difficult. It was like a huge boulder weighing a thousand pounds, oppressing his chest. If Anthony hadn't been holding on, he might not even be able to hold the sword in his hand. Can't hold it anymore.
"That's terrible, Your Majesty."
Anthony muttered, with a helpless wry smile on his face.
Injuries, fatigue, and the pressure of responsibilities, all were imposed on Anthony, bombarding the hearts of mortals.
"You...are looking at me, right?"
Anthony moved his eyes with difficulty and looked into the shadows in the tent. I don't know if it was an illusion or something. Anthony could hear the surrounding conversations. Some strange and hateful things were lingering in his ears, whispering. With.
In a trance, one can see a hundred scarlet eyes and endless echoes of ridicule, peeping at Anthony, waiting for the moment he collapses.
Anthony held on, he couldn't lose, at least not yet.
The muscles in his body seemed to be petrified and difficult to drive. He couldn't help but close his eyelids, wanting to fall straight down and fall into sleep.
The loud explosion temporarily took away Anthony's attention. The explosion was very close, right nearby. Then a heat wave passed by, making the tent rattle. For a moment, Anthony felt that the world was spinning. He tried to walk for two days. He took a step, and then knelt down weakly, but he was leaning on the long sword tightly, and could not fall down completely.
"Your Majesty, I think... I have found the answer, although I am not sure whether it is right or wrong."
Anthony took advantage of the situation and sat down completely on his knees, holding his sword in front of him and praying.
That illusory thing that Anthony has been chasing, now Anthony seems to have caught its traces and will hold it firmly in his hands...
"You didn't lose..."
He took a deep breath and stood up again. This time, he did not hesitate in his movements, as if the broken bones were recast with steel, but the price was that the healed wounds were torn open again, exuding the smell of blood.
"So, I can't lose either."
A billowing whiteness rose in his eyes, and the secret blood was mobilized again, and this time it was much hotter than before. The high-temperature blood was rushing in the blood vessels, like red-hot magma. Looking from the wounds on Anthony's body, it could even be seen I saw the faint light of fire rising.
Like a burning dead tree, the shriveled and old trunks were burning with fire. Following Anthony's movements, sparks of fire overflowed from the wounds and dissipated into the air.
At this moment, Anthony was in a very calm mood, and all the previous anxiety and uneasiness had disappeared, and it was as if he was "enlightened."
He feels that there should be such an "enlightenment" moment in everyone's life. One second, you were still confused and doing nothing, but in the next second, at a certain appropriate moment, you seem to understand the world. Like the true meaning of all things, he found his mission and devoted the rest of his life to it.
It felt great, and for a moment Anthony felt that his life was suddenly meaningful and that everything he had done was not in vain.
A great sense of satisfaction surged from the bottom of my heart, even cruel death seemed like nothing more at this moment.
"Did you also have such a mood at that time? Your Majesty."
Anthony muttered to himself, still recalling that last scene in his mind.
Endless black mist overflowed from the well of sublimation, and the darkness was mixed with white, like burning turbid gas, and the new pope split through this heavy danger with one person's power.
At that moment, Anthony didn't have much fear in his heart. He just felt that this was just an accident. The new pope could deal with it all. He would kill these powerful enemies in less than a few hours. , and then slowly walked out of the Temple of Stasis, the wind was gentle and the clouds were calm.
In Anthony's heart, the new Pope is so powerful, as long as he stands by your side, you will not feel fear, he is the torch, the only light in the darkness.
Like...like a savior.
But now that the savior has fallen, there is no light in the darkness, Anthony has fallen into incomparable despair, and those who fell with him are those who are desperately hacking and killing.
"It's time to go, Savior."
Anthony whispered, not sure if he was talking to the new pope or to himself.
He drew his sword and walked towards the blazing fire and into the darkness.
……
"Continue to suppress and fire, don't let even a single demon come here!"
Swino stood on the raised slope, brandishing his sword and shouting. As his order was issued, another round of intensive artillery fire viciously hit the city gate.
The ancient city wall has guarded the Cathedral of Saint-Naro for countless years and has gone through countless fierce battles. Now it is crumbling under constant artillery fire, with gravel and dust constantly falling, hitting the broken corpses. On the wall, fine cracks are all over the wall. Perhaps another round of shelling will completely collapse it.
"Charge up! Kill them all!"
The bombardment was over, and Swino shouted again.
The heavy projectiles smashed most of the monsters into pieces, but some of them survived by chance. They passed over the corpses and moved forward on the burning land, breaking through the bursts of gunpowder smoke.
Sweeno had experienced the night of Advent firsthand, so he knew exactly what to do now.
The suppression of artillery fire is only temporary. They do not have endless ammunition and cannot waste it at will. Instead, they must cooperate with each other. The rain of bullets has cleared away the enemy's main force. Now they need to rush forward to stop this round of demons. tide.
After hearing Swino's instructions, a team on the other side began to take action. They were not far from the city gate. They raised their firearms and opened fire on the figures who were still able to move in the thick smoke.
The blazing bullets passed through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, hitting the monsters' bodies accurately, hitting their bodies like heavy hammers, exploding blood holes one after another.
The artillery fire has stopped, and now it is time for the Templar Knights to fight. After years of changes, it is no longer knives and swords that dominate the battlefield, but sophisticated firearms and gunpowder.
The remaining demons swarmed towards the crowd, but under the bursts of gunfire, most of them were shot to death on the way, and their bodies were broken into countless pieces of flesh.
Swino had a gloomy face. Everything was under control now, but he was not happy at all.
The erosion will continue to spread outward, affecting people's minds. The morale on our side cannot be kept so high. Sooner or later, it will fall into collapse at some point. More importantly, relying only on his identity as the leader, he cannot inspire Arouse everyone's hope.
"Your Majesty, where are you?"
Swino whispered. In fact, he had vaguely guessed the ending, but he didn't dare to think about it. Once he thought in that direction, he would also fall into defeat.
He cannot be defeated.
Now it seems that Anthony is obviously unreliable. The only one who can defend the Holy City is Swino himself. He cannot fall no matter what. Even if he is holding on, he will lead these people to death and kill the demon. Wasted to death here.
As for what happened after that?
Swino didn't think too much. He only thought about the present and didn't dare to imagine the dark future.
"Alternate fire!"
Someone commanded, and the flying bullets weaved into a line of defense of death. After the baptism of artillery fire, most of the demons lost most of their strength. They stumbled and then fell, bleeding all over the ground.
Suddenly a blazing firework rose from the smoke of the city gate, and it was thrown high into the air, illuminating everyone's faces.
As the stars rose, Swino's heart was consumed by fear.
He still remembered that nightmare-like night. On that Holy Night, there was also an out-of-control demon hunter who released such bright fireworks. He was like a walking sun, burning through all the steel and burning all the things under his feet. Every inch of land was turned into a pitch-black scorched shell.
The spark exploded with a bang, scattering into countless star clusters, and smashed into the Templar Knights' position. They screamed for a while, the soil was overturned, and the pieces of meat were thrown into the air.
The joy that had just risen was immediately extinguished. Most of the Templar Knights did not know about the battle on the night of Holy Advent. Under this sudden change, everyone was stunned on the spot, even the continuous The sound of gunfire also stopped at this moment.
The battlefield fell into rare silence.
Amidst the billowing smoke, the soul-returning corpses walked out of the broken city gate, with blazing white fireworks attached to their bodies and scattered sparks.
Swino stared blankly ahead. After pausing for a few seconds, he gasped like a drowning man, swallowing the hot, blood-stained air into his belly.
"Night of Holy Advent..."
He told it in horror, and sure enough, everything was still slipping in the worst direction, another nightmare, another disaster.
"Don't panic!"
Swino tried to stabilize the morale of the army, but the zombies did not give him this chance.
Fireworks overflowed, and streams of fire streaked across the battlefield, hitting the crowd, overturning the artillery and the crowd, and smashing them into pieces. Some people survived, but their bodies were burning with fire and they were wailing in pain. , into death.
The screams continued, and death occurred repeatedly.
More soul-returning corpses walked out of the thick smoke, with dense iron armor hanging on their bodies. Some tried to fight back, but the bullets landed on the armor and bounced off at will, leaving no scratches.
Their faces were wrapped in ferocious masks, and the iron twisted and crawled on their bodies, like wildly growing thorns or cold poisonous snakes. They wrapped their bodies and turned them into deadly weapons.
Swino was completely stunned. He began to understand Anthony's fear. The fight to the death that he had imagined before was gone in the face of the cruel reality.
His hands were trembling, and a whimpering sound came from his throat. He tried hard to say something, no matter what it was, but it was like his throat was being strangled by invisible hands, and he couldn't make any sound.
Sure enough, he is just a mortal, and he will shrink back when faced with fear that exceeds his cognition.
The formation began to scatter. The Templar knights at the front were already exchanging fire with the zombies. Bullets had no effect on these monsters with strong resilience. The distance was getting closer and closer. Driven by instinct, they pulled out their weapons. Draw out your long sword and slash at the enemy.
Massacre, this is a one-sided massacre.
The Templar knights threw away their helmets and armor, and it was impossible to stop the advance of the zombies.
They need a direction, someone to encourage them and give them orders.
A beacon, a torch, a light that cuts through the darkness.
They looked at Swino, looking at him almost pleadingly, hoping that he could do something to become the light in the hearts of the Templars in the face of this dark fate.
But what they don't know is that Swino is also longing for all this. The zombies are like an advancing city wall. Every time they take a step forward, countless people will be crushed, and at the same time, the suppressed fear will spread.
Who...who will save them, save them from this fear.
Suddenly, the dark night sky became bright again, and another stream of fire rose, but this time it rose from the Templar Knights' position, and then slammed into the path of the zombies, temporarily forcing them back. got them.
Swino looked at the place where the fire was rising. Someone was coming. The Templar Knights got out of the way one after another, revealing the ten thousand feet of light.
For a moment, Swino's breathing stopped. He looked there in disbelief, and his horrified eyes were gradually swallowed up by the rising fireworks.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid of them."
A firm and steady voice echoed, and the narrator did not use too much force, but it was so clear that even the roars and explosions could not cover it.
The demon hunters were guarding him with nailed swords in their hands. The Templar knights who passed by also put down their swords and knelt down to him. For a moment, fear and darkness disappeared, leaving only the silent glow, shining. A mind swallowed by darkness.
He walked up the high slope and finally stood beside Sweeno.
"If you need a sharp sword, then I am the thunder that cuts through everything. If you need a shield, I am the wall that isolates disasters. If you need fireworks, then I am the torch that dispels darkness."
Listening to his voice, Swino was stunned for a long time, then slowly knelt down and offered his sword.
Seni Lothair...or Anthony, he took Swino's sword and raised it high. Everyone's eyes were looking here, Anthony also saw them, and the power spread at this moment. To the maximum, implant this false pretense in everyone's eyes.
The secret blood was stirring, almost burning out Anthony's internal organs. He thought this was the most powerful power he had ever released in his life, and it might also be the last time, but it didn't matter.
They need a torch, then Antony becomes the torch, they need a new pope, then he becomes the new pope.
Raising his sword with all his strength, the new pope said loudly.
"Royal drive and personal expedition!"
Countless swords were lifted up, like a dense forest of swords, and the cold metal reflected the blazing white light of fire as they responded.
"Royal drive and personal expedition!"
(End of this chapter)