Chapter 350

Chapter 350

Johan’s mouth twisted.

He knew that Sand Soldiers were one of Zeon’s Skills.

The soldiers made of sand had, at some point, become one of Zeon’s symbols.

The fact that Zeon had summoned Sand Soldiers meant he would not retreat and intended to fight.

Johan knew that as well, so he did not hide his hostility.

“Everyone, kill Zeon.”

“Waaaaah!”

“Everyone, attack.”

The moment Johan’s order fell, the Paladins charged toward Zeon.

The sight of hundreds of knights clad in heavy armor rushing forward at once was truly overwhelming.

Johan spread both hands wide and murmured,

“May God’s protection be upon them…….”

At that moment, a brilliant cluster of light fell from midair onto the Paladins.

A faint glow settled over the heavy armor of the Paladins touched by the light. At the same time, the energy radiating from them increased explosively.

Zeon immediately realized the nature of the light.

“A buff?”

Johan’s Skill was an ability that temporarily strengthened the target’s abilities and Skills.

Johan was a Grade S buffer.

His own combat ability was not particularly impressive, but in exchange, he could temporarily raise the combat power of any target he wished by several times.

That was Johan’s secret.

There was a difference as vast as heaven and earth between Paladins who received Johan’s buff and Paladins who did not.

The buffed Paladins could not contain the exhilaration swelling inside them and burst into cheers.

“Woooo!”

“Waaaaah!”

Their atmosphere and momentum were not those of Paladins, but of berserkers.

At that moment, the Sand Soldiers behind Zeon rushed out.

They did not shout like the Paladins, nor did they raise their momentum.

They simply carried out their assigned mission like precision machines.

Their mission was to stop the Paladins.

The Sand Soldiers blocked the Paladins without fear.

The Paladins swung their swords and maces, destroying the Sand Soldiers.

“Move, you sand monsters.”

“We’ll smash every one of you.”

BOOM!

Thud!

With explosions, the Sand Soldiers burst apart miserably.

Sand grains scattered in every direction as the Sand Soldiers collapsed.

Stopping the buffed Paladins with Sand Soldiers had been impossible from the start. But Zeon was not disappointed. He had already expected this much.

The Sand Soldiers’ combat power was not that strong to begin with.

Even a Grade C martial-type Awakened could handle one Sand Soldier well enough. Every Paladin here possessed abilities of Grade C or higher. Moreover, right now, the Paladins had received Johan’s buff, and their combat power had swelled severalfold.

There was no way soldiers made of sand could withstand such Paladins.

Boom!

BAAANG!

Under the Paladins’ attacks, the Sand Soldiers shattered into pieces.

Dozens of Sand Soldiers were neutralized in an instant and returned to sand.

Like that, the Paladins broke through the Sand Soldiers in an instant and reached Zeon.

They had entered a range where they could reach him by extending their swords or maces.

The Paladins swung their weapons without mercy. But their weapons never touched Zeon’s body.

Thud! Thud!

The Sand Soldiers that had been summoned again before anyone noticed blocked their attacks with their bodies.

The Sand Soldiers were certainly weaker than the Paladins. But as long as Zeon supplied mana, he could create as many of them as he wanted.

In other words, they were cost-effective.

Zeon summoned Sand Soldiers as if stamping out fish-shaped pastries.

The Sand Soldiers were destroyed miserably by the Paladins’ attacks. But the Sand Soldiers revived faster than they were destroyed.

Even the Paladins grew sick of the majesty of Sand Soldiers that regenerated endlessly no matter how many times they were destroyed.

The fact that they could not advance even a single meter with Zeon right before them left them dumbfounded.

It was then.

Whoooosh!

A group of priests leaped into the air.

They were the Dark Saints, Dongdaemun’s hidden force.

From midair, they poured attacks down toward Zeon.

Just before the Dark Saints’ attacks struck, a sand-laden wind blew.

The dense sand-laden wind swirled around Zeon and knocked away every one of the Dark Saints’ attacks.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Dark Saints’ Skills and weapons shattered with explosive sounds.

At that broken display of power, the Dark Saints and Paladins could not hide their appalled expressions.

It was the first time they had experienced something like this.

It was then.

“Do not fear. I shall be with you. No hardship or adversity will stop you.”

Along with Johan’s recitation, red light fell upon the Paladins and Dark Saints.

In that instant, fear vanished from their hearts, and courage welled up within them.

“Lord Johan is with us.”

“Glory to Lord Johan…….”

The Paladins and Dark Saints radiated madness as they hammered at the sand wall and Sand Soldiers.

At that moment, Zeon murmured,

“Sand Viper.”

Swoosh!

No sooner had he spoken than countless snakes burst from the sand.

Hundreds of sand snakes flew at terrifying speed and bit into the Paladins and Dark Saints.

“Not a chance.”

“Holy Shield!”

At that moment, the Paladins deployed Holy Shield and blocked Zeon’s attack.

Before the sacred light, the sand snakes lost cohesion and turned back into sand.

At that moment, Zeon murmured,

“Claymore!”

BOOM! BOOM!

The sand particles triggered explosions.

Under the tremendous explosions, the Holy Shields shattered to pieces.

“Craaaagh!”

“Kgh!”

The Paladins and Dark Saints caught in the blasts screamed and were sent flying.

The Paladins wearing heavy armor were better off.

They had received a great shock, but thanks to their armor, they avoided fatal wounds. However, the Dark Saints, who were not wearing heavy armor, all suffered serious injuries.

“Damn it!”

“Cursed Sandmancer!”

The Paladins cursed as they rose.

Thanks to their naturally sturdy bodies, their incredibly thick heavy armor, and Johan’s buff on top of that, they had not suffered even a single wound.

They released killing intent and rushed at Zeon.

Swoooosh!

Greatswords and maces tore the air apart as they flew toward Zeon. But once again, their weapons did not reach Zeon.

That was because the Sand Soldiers stopped their attacks with their bodies.

Thud! Thud!

The Sand Soldiers broke apart and returned to sand. Then the sand particles became sand snakes again and attacked the Paladins.

The Sand Vipers that struck the Paladins returned to sand, then became Sand Soldiers to block the Paladins’ counterattacks.

The sand particles of the Sand Soldiers destroyed by the Paladins’ attacks then caused explosions again.

It was truly an infinite cycle of sand.

Unless all the sand in the world disappeared, and unless Zeon’s mana was depleted, the cycle of sand would never be broken.

“You Satanic bastard!”

“Die!”

While the Paladins were being battered by sand, the Dark Saints, who had recovered some of their strength, attacked Zeon.

Countless Skills poured down toward Zeon like rain.

Zeon used Sand Walk and avoided their attacks.

BOOM!

A mace struck the spot where Zeon had been standing, gouging out a huge pit.

If he had taken a direct hit, all his bones would have shattered.

Swoosh!

By a hair’s breadth, a greatsword grazed past Zeon’s back.

“Strike of Punishment!”

Along with someone’s shout, a powerful beam of light fell from the sky toward Zeon.

Zeon hurriedly formed a Sand Curtain above his head.

BOOM!

With an explosion, the beam of light struck the Sand Curtain.

Under the tremendous impact, the Sand Curtain broke apart. But that much was enough.

Enough for Zeon to dodge.

Crackle!

The Strike of Punishment fell where Zeon had evaded, scorching the ground black.

It was a Paladin Skill that summoned a sacred beam of light from the sky to attack the target.

Once one person opened fire, the other Paladins used Strike of Punishment one after another.

BOOM! BOOM, BOOM!

Sacred beams of light fell repeatedly where Zeon had been.

It looked like rain was falling.

Johan murmured,

“He is finally caught.”

Strike of Punishment was a Skill all Paladins learned in common.

Naturally, every Paladin could use it.

The true power of Strike of Punishment appeared when hundreds of Paladins unleashed it at the same time.

Countless beams of light pouring down like rain.

It was impossible for human reflexes to dodge all of those beams. Nor could they be blocked.

One might somehow block one or two, but no one could remain unharmed after being struck by hundreds of Strikes of Punishment.

On top of that, the Dark Saints were waiting along the perimeter.

Even if one were lucky enough to survive, there was no way to avoid the Dark Saints’ attacks.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

As the Strikes of Punishment poured down, explosions erupted in a chain.

The skin of the earth overturned, and thick dust rose.

It was truly terrifying power.

It seemed impossible for any living being to survive inside that. But Johan never let his guard down.

His opponent was Zeon.

Earth’s only Sandmancer.

The depths of power he had shown until now were not so weak that he would die from attacks of this level.

Johan gave the next order.

“Deploy the Heresy Inquisitors.”

Shing!

Before his words had even ended, masked priests appeared.

In their hands were large chain sickles.

The combat priests raised to hunt heretics were the Heresy Inquisitors.

The corners of Joshua’s eyes trembled as he stood behind Johan.

He, too, was a Heresy Inquisitor. But because he often acted publicly, he did not use such a hateful weapon.

After all, he had to consider people’s eyes. But they were different.

They almost never revealed themselves in public.

Like the Dark Saints, they too operated strictly in the shadows.

The ones who took joy in killing the enemies of the Church were the Heresy Inquisitors.

Without the slightest hesitation, they threw themselves into the battlefield where the Strikes of Punishment were pouring down.

“Exterminate the enemy of the Church.”

“Die, heretic.”

Countless chain sickles cut through the space where Zeon stood at terrifying speed.

BOOM, BOOM! Slice! Swoosh!

Explosions and cutting sounds echoed without pause.

It seemed no living being could survive on this battlefield. Yet neither Johan nor Joshua relaxed their vigilance.

Johan secretly prepared his trump card Skill.

No matter how much he unleashed the wave tactics of Paladins, Heresy Inquisitors, and Dark Saints, in the end, the one to cut off Zeon’s breath had to be himself.

Only then could he establish his majesty and prove to Neo Seoul that he was the savior who delivered God’s will to all beneath heaven.

“I will show you why God chose me, Zeon!”

Pure madness filled Johan’s eyes.

The opposite of blessing was curse.

If he could grant allies buffs that raised their strength, then conversely, he could spread curses that robbed his enemies of strength.

That was what a true buffer was.

Johan knew his own ability well.

“Angels of hell shall seize your feet and drag you down. Fall into Avici Hell, unbeliever!”

Every kind of negative curse, such as decay, decline, thirst, aging, and worsening, poured into the space where Zeon, the Paladins, and the Heresy Inquisitors were tangled in battle.

Curses did not work on those who had received Johan’s buff, such as the Paladins and Heresy Inquisitors. But to Zeon, who was fighting against them, it was no different from a sudden calamity.

Zeon’s body, covered in all kinds of curses, staggered.

Not missing that moment, the offensive of the Paladins, Dark Saints, and Heresy Inquisitors poured down.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted.

The explosion was tremendous enough to collapse one corner of the slums, and dense dust rose.

A smile formed on Johan’s lips.

“It is over.”

It was an attack that mobilized Dongdaemun’s forces.

No being could survive such an attack.

At least, not as far as Johan knew.

Just as Johan’s body trembled with extreme delight—

“Lord Johan!”

Joshua urgently called Johan.

Johan glared at Joshua with an irritated expression.

“What is it?”

“The, the ground…….”

“What about the ground?”

Johan casually looked down at the ground, and his face cracked.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

He did not know when it had happened, but the sand on the ground had melted and turned into lava.

At that moment, Zeon’s low voice came from within the dust.

“Sand Gehenna.”