2800  Holding The Line

Far ahead, Lin Mu sensed the approaching storm.

"Someone's coming," he muttered, halting midair. "You all go on ahead. I'll block them."

"Alright," Daoist Chu nodded. He had his own task—namely, hijacking the teleportation gate's defensive arrays.

It wouldn't be easy, especially with hostiles inbound, but he wasn't alone. Several other formation masters accompanied him, and together, they might just manage it.

"Kill them all!" one of the enemy cultivators roared as they stormed the teleportation building.

SHUA SHUA SHUA

The defensive arrays activated, light weaving into barriers to block the intruders. But under the relentless pressure of hundreds of high-level cultivators, those arrays could only hold for so long.

Two minutes at most.

Lin Mu was determined to make sure those two minutes counted.

He turned toward the source of the surging aura and saw the man approaching through the sky.

A bald-headed figure clad in white and gold, emanating divine pressure. At least fifth tribulation stage of the Immortal Realm—possibly more.

"YOU HERETIC!" the man bellowed, his voice echoing across the battlefield.

The Inquisitor raised his sword—a gleaming weapon inscribed with radiant holy scripture, similar to the one Lin Mu had seen in Bernard's office. The runes glowed with concentrated faith energy.

"I guess I'll get to experience their strength for real," Lin Mu muttered, shifting into a battle stance.

The distance closed rapidly as the Inquisitor slashed out.

SHUA!

A brilliant golden sword slash tore through the air like a divine verdict, surging toward Lin Mu.

But he didn't move—not yet.

His eyes narrowed as he observed it, breaking it down in real time.

'There's Qi in it… but it's not alone. It's mixed with something else. Likely the power of faith,' Lin Mu thought, dissecting the attack's construction.

Just as the sword slash was a meter away, Lin Mu acted.

SHUA

He gently raised his own sword and thrust forward.

HONG!

The seemingly effortless thrust roared like a beast, smashing through the golden attack like a meteor through glass.

And it didn't stop.

It continued forward—unstoppable, aimed directly at the Inquisitor.

"What?!" the man's eyes widened. He barely raised his weapon to block.

CLANG!

The shockwave forced him back hundreds of meters, his boots digging trenches in midair as he fought for balance.

WHOOSH!

Lin Mu gave him no reprieve.

He shot forward, slashing three times in rapid succession—each strike from a different angle, fast and sharp enough to make the air itself scream.

"Damn it!" the Inquisitor cursed, overwhelmed.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The man blocked all three, but his form faltered with each one.

Then Lin Mu vanished.

SHUA!

He reappeared beside the man—too fast to track—with his left fist already swinging.

"You faith-users are interesting," Lin Mu said, voice calm.

SMACK!

His punch crashed into the side of the man's skull like a divine beast's charge.

The Inquisitor's head snapped to the side. Blood spurted from his ears. His vision turned red as the impact rattled his brain like a gong struck at full force.

"But if this is all you've got… it's nothing," Lin Mu said coldly.

His sword followed through.

"NO—!"

THUD!

The man's head fell before he finished the word. His body collapsed soon after, lifeless.

Lin Mu looked down at the corpse, watching the man's aura rapidly dissipate. His Dao Embryo faded within seconds.

'It disperses even faster than I expected,' Lin Mu thought, analyzing the aftermath.

He'd also studied the power of faith during the fight.

In terms of raw strength, it was comparable to Qi. But in every other aspect—versatility, control, adaptability—it lagged behind.

'There's no special trait that sets it apart. It just makes accessing power easier… but not more refined.'

In Lin Mu's eyes, the Inquisitor's use of faith energy was no different from someone swinging an immortal tool without understanding it.

Precise? Not at all.

'It's more like the power of faith coerces Qi to obey. No harmony—just force.'

Before he could ponder more, a fresh wave of presences entered his divine sense.

"Head Inquisitor!"

"He killed the Head Inquisitor!"

"KILL HIM! KILL THE HERETIC!"

A group of Inquisitors charged in, fury overriding their common sense.

'So dumb,' Lin Mu sighed.

If they were cultivators, they'd at least assess the threat first. Maybe test the waters. Use tactics.

But these zealots charged like headless beasts—desperate to avenge, not survive.

"Doesn't matter," Lin Mu muttered, raising his sword. "They'll meet the same end."

SHING!

Afternoon Pine glowed golden-yellow as he slashed the ground.

A massive metallic pine tree erupted from the earth, each branch covered in gleaming, blade-like needles.

SWOOSH!

The pine tree launched a flurry of sword-lights in every direction, cutting through the Inquisitors like wheat before a divine scythe.

"ARGH!"

"MY HANDS!"

"MY BACK—!"

Limbs flew. Heads rolled. Screams echoed and faded in seconds.

Thirty Inquisitors came.

None remained standing.

"If this is the level they're sending… this will be easier than I thought," Lin Mu muttered, eyes scanning the carnage.

He pulled out a formation disc and pressed it.

"I'd better not let them regroup."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions echoed across the city.

Churches. Cathedrals. Defensive spires.

Gone.

All detonated in coordinated bursts of flame and rubble.

Even from here, Lin Mu could see the Holy See as a distant silhouette—a white dot on the horizon.

'Still no response from them… good. That means they're busy with the other teams.'

He nodded and turned to his next task.

WHOOSH!

He dove underground like a fish into water, moving swiftly through rock and soil.

One by one, he placed the remaining Demolishing Arrays in a wide perimeter around the teleportation gate.

Eighty-five in total.

Enough to level a mountain—or anything foolish enough to follow him too closely.

If enemies came while he was queuing up for teleportation, they'd be greeted with fire and fury.

Just as Lin Mu surfaced from the last placement, more presences surged toward him.

More zealots.

Lin Mu exhaled slowly and raised his blade again.

Time to keep clearing the path.

"A lot more this time," Lin Mu muttered, narrowing his eyes.

From his elevated vantage point, he could see at least a hundred individuals—Inquisitors clad in divine armor, clergy robed in white and gold. But his senses told him the truth.

There were more.

Far more.

"Better to stop them before they become trouble," he said, summoning a second sword into his hand. "Afternoon Pine. Ocean Raker."

The twin blades vibrated in response, humming with ancient power.

Without another word, Lin Mu spun midair, slicing through space with both weapons.

"Great Ocean Rake. Great Slaughter Pine!" he intoned.

SHUA!

Twin sword slashes—one golden yellow, the other ocean blue—shot downward like twin comets crashing from the heavens.

The moment they struck the ground, they bloomed into two massive constructs.

The first: a colossal golden-yellow pine tree, forged from what appeared to be pure, radiant metal. It rose five hundred meters into the sky, towering above the city like a divine monument of wrath. Its branches stretched wide, every needle glinting like a honed blade, threatening to tear the sky itself.

The second: a massive pillar of swirling ocean-blue energy. It twisted violently like a living waterspout before splitting into five ethereal claws. With a deafening roar, the claws raked across the earth.

KRRRAAAK!

At the same time, the ocean claws dug trenches in the city, demolishing structures and bodies alike. But the devastation didn't stop there.

From the claw marks surged waves—massive, roaring waves of blue Qi, each one hundreds of meters tall.

The tidal surge rolled through the city like a living tsunami.

BOOOOM!

Buildings crumbled like sandcastles beneath its fury. Towers collapsed. Sanctuaries were reduced to rubble. Holy symbols were drowned in crushing waves.

Nearly an entire kilometer of the city was wiped clean in a single moment.

Not one enemy had managed to get within a thousand meters of Lin Mu.

And still, the constructs remained.

The golden pine tree stood proud, its radiant slashes continuing to sweep the battlefield.

The ocean waves churned on, flowing with unnatural persistence, as though a divine sea had been summoned into the heart of the city.

'It should last a couple more minutes,' Lin Mu estimated, watching the energy persist longer than expected. 'It'll hold the line while I finish the rest.'

He didn't wait.

WHOOSH!

He shot toward the teleportation tower like a bolt of Qi, landing in front of it moments later.

A quick scan told him all he needed to know.

'All dead,' he confirmed, sensing no life within. 'Looks like they finished up nicely.'

Inside, his companions worked with utmost focus.

"Lin Mu," Daoist Chu greeted without looking up, still inscribing floating runes in the air.

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