After a while, the blood face in mid-air finally began to dissolve gradually.
Nevertheless, he still let out a piercing, maniacal laugh:
"Hahahaha, be ready to wait for your deaths at any moment!
"You cannot kill me!
"When I reach the 9th rank, it will be your doomsday!!
"..."
However, his voice soon weakened until it vanished completely.
As the blood face in the air disappeared, the dark red afterglow in the city also quickly faded away.
The Proxy, who had been looking down upon all living things from the sky, watched as the phantom of the angel behind her gradually thinned and vanished.
She slowly descended toward the ground, landing in the center of the ruins of the City Lord's Mansion, disappearing from the sight of the people who had been teleported to the distant high ground.
Emerald City was once again shrouded in night, with only the collapsed ruins and dried corpses speaking of everything that had just occurred.
Rod came running from a distance. In the battle just now, aside from instantly killing the City Lord at the beginning, he had played almost no role at all. In fact, if not for the Proxy, he might have been killed alone by the 9th-rank trapping array the enemy had laid out, becoming nothing more than fuel for another's plans.
He walked up to the Proxy and knelt on one knee:
"Thank you for the rescue, Your Eminence."
At this moment, two more figures turned into streaks of light and rushed over.
"It is thanks to Your Eminence passing by; otherwise, if it were just us, I'm afraid we really wouldn't have been able to handle the opponent."
The aura of these two was the same as Rod's, clearly also 8th-rank powerhouses.
In truth, Rod wasn't the only 8th-rank powerhouse involved in this rescue mission for Emerald City.
Two other 8th-rank powerhouses had been hidden in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.
This was because the Paladin Order was not entirely sure of the Holy Son's true strength.
Furthermore, they weren't clear about the background of this youth named Matthew who had suddenly appeared.
Therefore, to prevent intelligence leaks, many people involved in this operation were unaware of these two backup forces.
As for when Rod was trapped, they were busy investigating whether the opponent had any other hidden cards.
Evidently, Aaron Brightstar's preparations had been extremely thorough.
Even as 8th-rank powerhouses, they hadn't sensed anything abnormal.
Just as they were preparing to support Rod, the Proxy had suddenly appeared.
And thus, the scene from just now had unfolded.
The Proxy looked at the three of them and nodded slightly. Her gaze swept over the ruins before her, and she sighed:
"I still arrived too late...
"However, the fact that the opponent was prepared to this extent says a lot.
"The situation in Emerald City certainly didn't develop within just these past few years.
"Notify the temple headquarters of your Saintas Kingdom to strictly investigate whether a large-scale infiltration of secret cults has occurred in every city."
Hearing this, the three of them felt a bit of a headache.
If they could strictly investigate every city and root out the cultists, they would certainly be willing. The problem was that willingness didn't necessarily equate to ability.
The cultists they could find had naturally been identified and eliminated. The remaining ones were those who simply couldn't be detected by their usual methods...
Nevertheless, they still responded:
"As you command."
The Proxy nodded:
"Your Saintas Kingdom will handle the post-disaster relief work yourselves."
With that said, she vanished from Rod's sight.
In the next moment, she appeared before the group that had been teleported outside the city.
Her eyes, which carried a faint hint of divinity, swept over everyone present.
She then locked onto Jiang Lin, who was quite conspicuous in the crowd, and asked:
"What is your name?"
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment.
Huh? Why would such a big shot pay attention to him?
It wasn't until she walked right up to him that he saw her appearance clearly.
Blonde hair and golden eyes just like his, and also possessing a near-perfect appearance similar to his own. However, her features held more of a divinity that didn't seem like it could belong to a human.
He recalled her identity.
She had said she was the "Proxy" of the God of Holy Light.
In that case, she should be in the paladin class, just like him. However, he hadn't seen her summon her mount during the battle earlier.
Presumably, the battle just now hadn't been enough to warrant her summoning it.
After all, she had only used three moves in total.
The first spear strike had directly reduced Aaron Brightstar to blood mist. The second was still a spear strike, but it had directly shattered the third array buried deep beneath the city, causing the entire city's buildings to collapse.
The third move was that terrifying white flame, which had completely burned away the blood face Aaron had somehow managed to restore.
Although he couldn't sense an apostle's heart within her, Jiang Lin felt she should also be a member of the Apostles of God.
So, was the advancement for an Apostle of God what was known as a Proxy?
"I am Jiang Lin,"
he replied.
Hearing this, Aria turned her head to look at Jiang Lin in astonishment.
Wait, isn't your name Matthew?
The buff guy beside him also widened his eyes.
Well, well! To think that you, with your honest-looking face, were actually guarding against your own people?!
The Proxy's divine golden eyes lingered on Jiang Lin's face for a moment, then she nodded and said calmly:
"I see. I will remember you.
"I hope you are still alive the next time we meet."
Leaving behind these words, she vanished from everyone's sight once again.
Not a single person present saw how she disappeared.
Looking at the empty ground where she had stood, Jiang Lin stared blankly for a while, mulling over the meaning behind her words.
Then, he looked at the two people beside him and asked:
"By the way, do you know what the deal is with this 'Proxy'?"
The two of them also snapped out of their shock.
The buff guy replied:
"A 'Proxy' is the level above us 'Apostles of God'.
"They are essentially the agents of the gods in the mortal realm.
"They don't take orders from any of our kingdoms or temples.
"It's just that if we ask for help, they might step in when they have some free time. We probably got lucky this time, running into her while she was coming to provide support.
"Otherwise, things probably would have ended very badly."
Jiang Lin nodded silently.
Then he asked the two again:
"Do you know what she meant by that last sentence?
"Why did she say she hopes I'm still alive next time? Do I look like someone who dies easily?
"Also, is that guy named Aaron Brightstar dead or not? I saw that when the Proxy finally killed him, he was still yelling about coming back to kill us."
To these questions, both the buff guy and Aria simply shrugged:
"We don't know."
As expected, no answers were to be found with them.
The two then began to question Jiang Lin:
"Brother Matthew, should I call you Matthew... or Jiang Lin..."
Jiang Lin rubbed his nose:
"Ahem, one has to be a little cautious when out in the world.
"Besides, Brother Buff, surely one of your name or appearance is fake, right?"
How could such a massive hulk of a man be named Lilith? Either his buff image was fake, or his name was.
However, to Jiang Lin's surprise, Aria seriously explained on behalf of the buff guy:
"Lilith's name really is Lilith. I was shocked at first, too, but you get used to it. I see you call him Brother Buff; you must have seen his true form. His original self is indeed a big, muscular guy."
The buff guy nodded:
"Yeah, exactly. Aria is right."
Hearing their words, Jiang Lin turned to stone on the spot.
So... was I really the only one being cautious?
However, Jiang Lin and the others soon put the matter out of their minds.
Now was not the time for idle chatting.
There were still many citizens of Emerald City buried under the collapsed ruins waiting for rescue.
At the same time, a question occurred to Jiang Lin.
Wait... did that fellow Little Black make it out of the city? If he was still inside when the sacrifice array was activated, would he have been sacrificed?
Even though Little Black was a scrap of an evil god, he surely wouldn't be sacrificed to another evil god by someone else, right?
At that moment, Jiang Lin felt a shackle within him being released. It seemed his assessment mission was complete, officially making him an Apostle of God.
Holy light radiated from Jiang Lin's body, and his aura began to climb steadily.
He had finally broken through the limits of the 1st rank and reached the level of the 2nd rank!
Simultaneously, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind from the apostle's heart within him.
【Mission complete: Major cult members in Emerald City have been eliminated】
【Acquired 'Apostle of God' status. The apostle's heart has advanced. Your current apostle rank is: low-level apostle】
【Apostle rank can be increased in the future by completing missions, plundering equivalent resources such as 'Demon Lord Seeds', 'evil god marks', or 'apostle's hearts', and by subduing or occupying new territories】
【Missions can be accepted at statues of the God of Holy Light】
【Based on your performance in this mission, you have obtained a large amount of holy light origin and one opportunity for holy art evolution】
【The holy light origin has been used to strengthen the apostle's heart】
【You may proceed to the nearest statue of the God of Holy Light in a temple to perform the holy art evolution】
【Holy art evolution requires a skill you have already mastered as a sample. Based on your personal circumstances, it will evolve into the holy art most suitable for your physical structure and soul form】
【The strength of the holy art evolution is unrelated to the strength of the skill sample; simply choose the skill that suits you best】
【Holy arts have no rank and no upper limit to their power】
【Please cherish this opportunity】
At the same time, the 【apostle's heart】 within his body began to take root and sprout, blooming with a warm and vast divine aura.
The 【apostle's heart】 that had merely been residing on his heart now fully merged with him, plating everything within his body with a faint layer of holy light.
Furthermore, Jiang Lin was surprised to discover that the nature of the magic power within him had changed.
Previously, the 【saint concealment rune】 could only be used with the magic power from his 【apostle's heart】.
Now, he could use the 【saint concealment rune】 with his own magic power as well.
It was as if the original "special MP bar" had altered the nature of his own regular MP bar.
Simultaneously, Jiang Lin felt the surging new power within him; it was a sense of fulfillment entirely different from before.
Every inch of muscle and every wisp of magic power seemed to have been tempered by holy light, becoming more condensed and pure.
Upon careful perception, Jiang Lin was shocked to find that this wasn't just a simple numerical increase.
Rather, the power of his entire being had been upgraded on an essential level.
This might be difficult to understand, but an example could illustrate it.
Originally, his stamina value was '100', and those '100' points of stamina could at most produce '100' units of power.
Now, his stamina value was still '100', but those '100' points of stamina could produce power equivalent to a normal value of '200'.
And this wasn't even factoring in combat techniques, skills, or other variables.
It was as if every point of his stamina had become more valuable.
Of course, the proportion of his current increase wasn't as exaggerated as doubling. It was currently about a ten percent increase.
But that was no small amount.
After all, once his base grew large enough, even a one percent increase could equal ten of his former selves.
Moreover, Jiang Lin estimated that this growth rate could be increased.
However, that would require him to upgrade his apostle's heart.
"Did you succeed in advancing?"
Sensing the change in Jiang Lin's aura, the buff guy turned to look.
Jiang Lin nodded:
"By the way, if I talk about this identity now, I won't be judged and stripped of it, right?"
The buff guy nodded:
"You are now officially one of us. You can absolutely tell others about your identity. However, we don't recommend doing so."
Jiang Lin asked:
"Is it because you're afraid someone will come and dig out my apostle's heart?"
The buff guy nodded:
"Exactly.
"We here are all internal members; we can be fully trusted and are very tight-lipped.
"But if the number of people who know grows, the information might spread.
"This kind of thing spreads easily from one to ten, ten to a hundred, until everyone knows.
"Your current strength is also not enough for you to clearly state your identity like the Proxy.
"Besides, your appearance is very conspicuous. If you don't use a disguise, people with ill intentions could easily recognize you in a crowd."
After a pause, he continued:
"Also, you should have felt the increase in your attributes, right?"
"Yeah, it's about ten percent."
Jiang Lin nodded.
"Yeah, it might not be high at first... wait? How much?!"
The buff guy dug at his ear in disbelief, making sure he hadn't misheard.
"You just became an apostle and you already have a ten percent increase?"
Jiang Lin hesitated upon hearing this:
"What's wrong? Is that increase high?
"Brother Buff, what was yours back then?"
Hearing this, the buff guy fell silent.
He felt a bit hurt.
But on second thought, the other guy had faced a mission of this intensity at the 1st rank; it made sense for the holy light origin reward to be a bit higher.
After all, they had all nearly lost their lives.
He sighed, refusing to be jealous of Jiang Lin's gains, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, gather yourself. Get ready for the rescue work."
Jiang Lin thought for a bit and felt there wasn't much to gather, so he followed:
"No problem. So Brother Buff, what was yours back then?
"What about you, Aria?
"Why isn't anyone talking?
"Why are you all cold-shouldering me?"
...
Walking into the city, the Emerald City before them had become a scene of devastation.
Dawn passed amidst ashes and blood.
And the morning light struggled to pierce through the dust that had yet to settle, illuminating the broken walls and ruins.
The light of a new day would arrive after all.
At that moment, Jiang Lin noticed a black shadow darting over.
It was Little Black!
That scrap of an evil god really wasn't dead!!
"Holy crap, you scared the life out of me! What's wrong with you people at the temple?
"That guy spent so long setting up an array underground and you didn't even detect it?"
"Didn't you fail to detect it as well?"
"That's none of your business..."
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