After seeing that the number of Saints in the Sacred Land wasn't that many, the Champions of the Light decided to carry out their mission as soon as possible.
One of their members had extraordinary hearing, and he managed to pick up what Dracul had said earlier.
Since the Guardian of the Ancestral Ground had no intention of protecting their target, they no longer had any reason to hesitate and began their operation.
Of course, they also heard that Kieran might help Gaap, but that didn't matter. There were six of them, and dealing with two threats wasn't that big of a deal.
The High King of Lunaria even ordered for Kieran to just be contained and not killed. Even though they were not afraid to have an all-out war against Memento Mori, they would still consider this as a last resort.
Gaap wasn't a member of Memento Mori, so technically, they weren't breaking their agreement.
Since the old Halfling wasn't part of the notorious Necromancer organization, that also meant that his Disciple was not a member of it as well.
The High King of Lunaria wanted to end Gaap's life first but understood that their mission took priority.
Dodging the attacks of Gaap's subordinates, he flew toward the Giant Skeleton King, aiming for the blood dome in its hands.
At that moment, a gigantic palm tried to swat him away, but anticipating this move from Antero, the High King of Lunaria used an artifact that allowed him to use instant teleportation, taking him a good distance away from where he was.
Within a span of a few seconds, the High King of Lunaria materialized in front of the Dome of Blood.
The Giant Skeleton King remained unmoving, as if it wasn't aware of the battle that was happening in front of him.
With this, the High King's assumption had been confirmed.
'I knew it,' the High King thought. 'Whoever is undergoing his breakthrough inside the Blood Dome is in an unconscious state.'
As the High King was about to unleash an attack that would destroy the threat in front of him, he felt the wind around him shift ever so slightly, forcing him to back away in haste.
A second later, a death scythe slashed the place where the High King was earlier, cutting even the fabric of space.
"Undertaker, you shouldn't mess with something that has no relation with you," the High King stated as he looked at the black-haired Kieran, who stood between him and the dome of blood.
Kieran didn't bother to reply and simply engaged the High King of Lunaria.
Just like Gaap, he also had a beef to settle with the person that killed Hereswith, the woman whom he treated as an older sister when she was alive.
Gaap, who saw this from the ground, shifted his attention to the five other Saints who were also attempting to attack his unconscious Disciple.
His thirteen Named Creatures had only managed to block two of them using the teamwork that they had honed over the years.
All of Gaap's Named Creatures were Peak Empyrean Ranked World Bosses. Although they weren't walking Calamities, their strength was something that Saints wouldn't be able to handle easily.
This was especially true since these thirteen monsters were working together.
Antero laughed as he dealt with the other Saint, who specialized in fighting against giants.
Due to Gaap's extremely weakened state, he was unable to fully unlock Antero because doing so would kill him in mere minutes. Although he would be able to fend them off during that time, after his death, his Disciple would become helpless with no one to protect him.
Because of this, he gritted his teeth and did his best to repel the Champions of the Light. With four of the six Saints taken care of, only two remained.
However, those two had managed to break past Antero's defenses and were now heading toward the Blood Dome, where his Disciple was sleeping.
"Ender of lives, kill those who stand before me!" the old Priest shouted as a flaming tiger appeared above his head. "Primal Fury!"
"I will put an end to this heresy!" the High Templar roared as he raised his sword, making it shine brightly. "Destruction Slash!"
The Flaming Tiger and the Slash of Destruction flew toward the Dome of Blood with the intention of wiping it out completely.
Just as their attacks were about to hit the dome, a ten-meter-tall Corpse god appeared and used its shield and weapons to protect its Master.
However, it was not strong enough to resist the attack of two Saints, making their attacks break past its defenses, hitting the Blood Dome that it tried to protect.
A moment later, a powerful explosion reverberated in the surroundings, making a rain of blood fall from the sky.
The Skeleton King remained unmoving as smoke rose from his hand.
The High Templar waved his sword and blew away the smoke in front of him. He wanted to see with his own eyes if his attack had connected and killed the evil spawn that had tried to usurp the laws of Heaven.
The first thing that the old Priest and High Templar saw was a pair of black, dragon-like wings spread wide.
Then, they saw a red-headed teenager standing on the palm of the Skeleton King with his eyes closed.
His clothes were in tatters, but no injuries could be seen on his body. Clearly, the attack of the two Saints only managed to destroy his clothes, leaving him unscathed by their combined assault.
This result didn't deter the two Saints and only made their desire to kill the red-headed teenager stronger.
They knew in their hearts that they must not allow someone like him to live, or else, he would become a variable that could destroy the peace that they had sworn to protect.
The two Saints didn't even need to look at each other as they charged toward the Half-Elf with the intention of decapitating him.
"Die!" the High Templar shouted as he swung his sword, intending to end the Half-Elf's life once and for all.
But a second later, he heard a voice that was filled with killing intent, which almost made him stop his attack mid-strike.
"You wish."
Those were the words he heard before something appeared in front of his eyes.
A wooden puppet, which was commonly used to train children and young teenagers who wanted to become Knights, blocked his path.
The High-Templar roared in anger as he empowered his weapon with great sharpness, with the intention of cleaving the wooden puppet and the Half-Elf at the same time.
However, something unexpected happened.
His sword was stopped by the wooden puppet's fingers, holding it in place and not allowing it to move an inch closer.
"Trying to kill my Grandson in front of me?" a beautiful lady with long silver hair said in a cold voice. "Since you wish for his death, I'll be taking your life instead."
With a flick of her finger, another wooden puppet appeared. This puppet delivered a kick that landed on the side of the High Templar's body, sending him flying away from the Half-Elf he wanted to kill.
The Old Priest who saw this, looked at the lady in front of him. From what he could tell, the person that was getting in their way was a mere High-Ranker, which was not a cause for concern.
However, after seeing how the silver-haired beauty dealt with his companion, the Old Priest didn't dare to underestimate the new enemy that stood before him.
"Who are you?" the Old Priest asked as he summoned four Fire Tigers around him.
"I am your worst nightmare," Vera replied before spreading her arms wide.
The Ancestral Lands of the Necromancers suddenly shuddered as its power came back to life.
Black and purple mists appeared in the surroundings, and all of them flew towards Vera, as if she was absorbing them all.
A-Ranker…. S-Ranker… SS-Ranker… Saint.
Vera's Rank rose drastically until she stepped into the realm that was considered to be a true powerhouse in the world.
"It has been a while since I felt this powerful," Vera stated. "This makes me remember the old days."
The Old Priest who was paying close attention to Vera suddenly gasped in shock as a distant memory resurfaced in his mind.
"Puppet Master Vera!" the Old Priest gasped in shock. "How?! I thought you were dead!"
Vera smiled because that was a name that she hadn't heard for a very long time. Long ago, she was also one of the Powerhouses in Solais and Elysium.
However, to save Alexander, she transferred all of her powers to him, harming her body irrevocably and making her Rank regress to that of a C-Ranker.
Originally, she was supposed to remain as a C-Ranker until her death. However, after Lux placed her inside the Black Coffin, Black Fire, Vera's body was remodeled to perfection, giving it a new breath of life.
Because of this, she decided to take her time in order to regain her previous strength by staying inside Blackfire and being nourished by its nearly limitless power.
When Lux stepped into the Necromancer's Sacred Lands, Vera felt a very strong connection with the Holy Land.
When Dracul tried to kill her grandson, Vera was enraged and decided to forcefully snatch away the power of the Vampire King and take it for herself.
Since Lux's breakthrough weakened the power of the Ancestral Land, Vera took this opportunity to fully establish her connection with the Sacred Land.
Although it was very close, she managed to succeed at the last minute, allowing her to once again make her appearance in the world.
Dracul's eyes widened in shock after sensing the familiar feeling that was coming off of Vera's body.
"T-The Ancestral Grounds had recognized her as the new Guardian!" Dracul muttered in disbelief after realizing what had just transpired.
Vera gave the Vampire King a side-long glance, which made the latter shudder.
The glance Vera gave him was filled with killing intent, which made the Vampire King feel as if his nearly-immortal life was about to come to an end.
"I'll deal with you later," Vera said before shifting her gaze back to the old Priest, who also realized what just happened, making his face turn extremely pale.
Vera spread her arms wide, and countless puppets appeared around her.
Their numbers were so many that they blocked out the light of the sun, covering the entire Holy Land in darkness.
"I'll clean up this trash first," Vera declared as all the puppets locked unto the body of the old Priest, making him regret the fact that he volunteered to go to the Necromancer's Ancestral Lands, only to meet an untimely death in the hands of the silver-haired beauty, whom he felt would become their Organization's worst nightmare.
