As a barrage of golden lightning bolts rained down on the giant Skeleton Cauldron, Vera shifted her gaze to the giant Flame Tiger, as well as the High King of Lunaria.
Although it didn't show on her face, she felt as if it was her heart that had been pierced by the Spear of Longinus after it broke past her defenses and attacked her grandson.
Not even sparing another thought for the giant Skeleton Cauldron behind her, Vera once again unleashed a devastating attack on her enemies.
This time, she no longer targeted a single individual.
She targeted all of them at the same time!
The countless puppets under her command moved as one as they relentlessly attacked the Flame Tiger's body, creating shockwaves with each punch, kick, and slash they made with their fists, legs, and weapons.
The High King of Lunaria was also feeling a lot of pressure as the puppets, who seemed to be out for blood, attacked him from every direction, making him struggle with fending them off.
Although he was a Saint, he could feel his strength gradually decreasing for each minute he stayed in the Necromancer's Ancestral Grounds.
The barrier that protected this Holy Land was still down due to Lux's breakthrough, but it was slowly regaining its former environment, repelling those who were not practicing the arts of Necromancy.
"It's no use, let's leave!" the High Templar, who had attacked Lux earlier, shouted at his comrades before flying away to escape Vera's grasp.
"And what makes you think that you are allowed to leave?" Vera sneered as she created more puppets, enclosing the entire Ancestral Lands with her Unholy Might.
As if to prove her words to be true, the Flame Tiger's wings were torn off from its body, making it roar in pain as countless puppets swarmed its body, pinning it to the ground, unable to break free.
Vera then clenched her fist tightly, compressing the countless puppets that covered the Flame Tiger's body.
A moment later, fiery blood oozed out of the small crevices between the puppets, signaling that she had successfully crushed her foe, squeezing all life from within.
The Champions of the Light, who witnessed this grim scene, hastily backed away as they did everything in their power to run away from the Puppet Slaughterhouse that Vera had created to deal with them.
Left with no choice, all of them gathered together in order to repel the attacks that were coming from all directions.
The five remaining Champions of Light stood back to back with each other, attacking the puppets surrounding them with great ferocity.
With each attack, the Ancestral Grounds of the Necromancers shook, creating cracks in the ground that extended for hundreds of meters.
Dracul, who saw this, immediately went pale, knowing that the battle could truly destroy the place that he had protected for decades.
He then flew towards Vera with the intention of pleading for her to stop.
"Your Excellency, Lady Vera, please stop!" Dracul shouted. "The Ancestral Grounds will be destroyed if you continue fighting against the—argh!"
Several puppets slapped the Vampire King, sending him flying away as if he was a nuisance.
Kieran, Lorelei, and the other Necromancers who saw this winced as they collectively made a vow in their hearts to never offend the silver-haired lady, who would stop at nothing to have her vengeance.
Suddenly, the dome of puppets that Vera had created to prevent the Champions of Light from escaping exploded.
A golden flying ship, which had the banner of the Divine Army, arrived at the battlefield, carrying with it over a dozen Saints.
"Hurry and come!" the Oracle of the Army of Light shouted.
After her comrades had left to carry out their mission, she felt a nagging feeling at the back of her head, telling her that something might happen to them.
Because of this, she asked the Sovereign of Light for permission to use the Golden Ark, which was the flagship of the Divine Army of Light.
She also asked twelve more Saints to accompany her to act as reinforcements, just in case something had really gone wrong with her comrades' mission.
The Oracle of Light had been using her divination to monitor the battle, and after seeing that one of their comrades had died, she decided that she could no longer stand still and used the Golden Ark's special ability to travel at great speeds.
The Golden Ark was also a Divine Artifact, which meant that it was an exceptional flying ship.
Although it wasn't easy, it managed to break through Vera's Slaughterhouse at the most critical moment, giving the five Champions, who had accepted the mission to kill Lux, a chance to escape.
Without even wasting any time, the five flew towards the flying ship, while the Oracle of Light, as well as the twelve other Champions, unleashed a barrage of attacks aimed at Lux, making Vera focus solely on defending him.
These attacks came from Saints, and their power mustn't be underestimated. Even Vera, who could now fight dozens of Saints at once, dared not take any chances and defended with everything she had.
She didn't want to see another artifact as strong as the Spear of Longinus pierce through her defenses again.
"We'll be taking our leave now, but remember this," the Oracle of Light declared. "This isn't over! The Divine Army will not stop until that Heretic is destroyed!"
With those words spoken, she commanded the Great Ark to fly away, leaving the Ancestral Grounds of the Necromancers, as well as the corpse of their fallen comrade behind.
Vera watched them go with cold eyes as she hovered above the sky.
Right now, her priority was Lux's safety.
She would deal with the aftermath once her grandson had successfully managed his breakthrough to become a Ranker.
Behind her, Lux stared absentmindedly at the space in front of him, while the giant Skeleton Cauldron continued to process the Divine Power of the Spear of Longinus.
Because everyone was too focused on the fight that had happened, as well as the departure of the Champions of Light, they didn't notice that the corner of the giant Skeleton King's lips rose ever so slightly.
It was as if it was watching an entertaining show…
And it found it to its liking.
