Half a day later.
A wave of powerful figures arrived at the Dark Church headquarters from afar. From a considerable distance, the woman leading them could already smell the potent, overwhelming scent of blood, and the direction of the blood scent pointed directly towards the Dark Church headquarters.
"Go!"
A sense of foreboding struck the woman. She then transformed into a black streak of light and vanished from her original spot, arriving shortly thereafter in the courtyard of the Dark Church headquarters, which resembled a living hell.
A surge of anger instantly erupted from the woman's entire being. The aura she exuded was that of the peak of the Half-step Heavenly King realm, merely one step away from true Heavenly King status.
This woman was none other than Hera, the Heavenly Queen, one of the twelve Archgods of the Dark Church.
"Scum!"
As the icy-faced Hera spoke, the four Archgods and ten God Guards behind her all swallowed hard, not daring to make a sound. They understood very well that Hera's wrath was far beyond their capacity to withstand.
*Hiss~*
At this moment, figures appeared in the courtyard. Those arriving were the severely injured Sun God, Kres, the four surviving Archgods, and over twenty God Guards. As for the Half-step War Gods and top experts, there were only just under a thousand remaining.
"Kres, what happened?"
Aphrodite, her face grave, radiated killing intent. She could not fathom the scene before her.
"This..."
Hearing Aphrodite's question, Kres's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Heavenly Queen Hera, Kres is incompetent. I failed to protect the headquarters. I beg for your punishment."
"Heavenly Queen Hera, this is not Kres's fault. The enemy was simply too strong. They brought not only a Half-step Heavenly King realm expert but also a black-robed man whose strength surpassed that of the Half-step Heavenly King. With a single move, he killed Poseidon, the Sea God..."
The messenger of the Top Ten Archgods, Mos, who was on good terms with Kres, spoke. Upon hearing Mos's words, the four Archgods behind Hera flinched. A Half-step Heavenly King, and an additional mysterious black-robed figure even stronger.
Even Hera's brows furrowed. "Above the Half-step Heavenly King realm? Could it be the peak of the Half-step Heavenly King realm?"
"No."
Before the messenger Mos could speak, Kres, his face grim, cut in. "That black-robed man killed three of our Archgods consecutively. His actions were so decisive that I feel the three Archgods didn't even have a chance to resist. Though I hate to admit it, that person's realm has likely already entered the Heavenly King realm!"
Kres spoke with certainty, the scene that had just transpired at the headquarters replaying in his mind like a movie.
He had never witnessed such power before!
In fact, that person was stronger than Hera standing before him. Kres understood that their Dark Church had likely encountered an enemy of unprecedented magnitude.
"Is that so."
Hera's expression also turned grim. Then, her brow furrowed even further. "You just said that mysterious black-robed person killed three Archgods. What were the exact losses?"
Hearing Hera's question, Aphrodite and the other four Archgods behind her also turned their gaze to Kres. Their intuition told them that this was bad news.
As expected, Kres sighed. "We lost a total of four Archgod experts, 86 God Guards were killed, and over 300 peak Half-step War Gods..."
*Boom!!!*
Upon hearing Kres's words, Hera's terrifying Half-step Heavenly King peak aura surged forth, forcing the Archgods behind her to stagger back several steps.
"What did you say!"
Hera was completely beside herself. "Four Archgods, 86 God Guards, and over 300 peak Half-step War Gods!!!"
A short while later.
A look of ferocity spread across Hera's face. "How audacious! To inflict such losses upon my Dark Church! Whoever it is, they must die!!"
"I'm going to the forbidden area in the back mountain. No one is to approach without my command!"
As Hera's voice faded, she shot towards the forbidden area in the back mountain of the Dark Church headquarters. Upon reaching the forbidden area, she retrieved a diamond-shaped key and inserted it into a slot. Then, with a rumbling sound, a massive stone slab weighing over ten tons rose, and Hera slipped inside. The moment the stone slab lifted, several powerful auras, each far stronger than Hera's, emanated from within.
...
Meanwhile, at the War Department of the capital of China.
In the office of the Military Commander, Wang Zhantian.
*Ding-a-ling~*
As Wang Zhantian was handling departmental affairs, he received a phone call. At this time, Long Aotian, the War God of the Northwest border, had also arrived at the department. As Long Aotian just entered the office, he saw Wang Zhantian suddenly stand up from his seat.
"What did you say!"
"The Western power, the Dark Church, has suffered unprecedented heavy losses, with four Archgods fallen, 86 God Guards killed, and over 300 peak Half-step War God experts deceased..."
"Good, I understand!!"
Wang Zhantian hung up the phone, his shock evident. Was this a joke?
This was tantamount to poking a hole in the heavens of the Dark Church!
Four out of twelve Archgods had fallen. This was an event unprecedented in the history of the Dark Church.
"The Dark Church? Military Commander Wang, is this..."
Only after Wang Zhantian finished his call did Long Aotian ask suspiciously. From the information just received, he knew something major had happened to the Dark Church.
Hearing Long Aotian's question, Wang Zhantian pondered for a moment, then roughly relayed the information he had received. Upon hearing Wang Zhantian's words, Long Aotian's pupils contracted sharply.
"Military Commander Wang, what did you say!"
"Four Archgods of the Dark Church have fallen, 86 messengers were killed, and over 300 peak Half-step War God experts are dead. This..."
Long Aotian took a deep breath. Wang Zhantian's gaze passed through the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking towards the direction of Tianhai. "Aotian, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that after my father and the Southern Heavenly War God left the Temple of Light, Ye Xuan, the Underworld Palace, and the Black Heaven organization, along with many experts, headed towards the Western Dark Church. They said they were going to carry out a certain mission. What do you think..."
"Could this mission have been a surprise attack on the Dark Church."
Hearing this, Long Aotian's mind roared like a thunderclap, leaving him stunned. "This... Military Commander Wang, cough, cough, it couldn't be."
"If that's the case, it will be troublesome if the Dark Church finds out Ye Xuan was responsible."
"Indeed."
Wang Zhantian took a deep breath. "The Dark Church is not as simple as it appears on the surface. Decades ago, the previous twelve Archgods of the Dark Church vanished simultaneously, as if they had evaporated from the earth. This matter is very bizarre. No one knows if those old fellows are dead or alive."
As the two conversed, the atmosphere in the office grew increasingly heavy. Both of them couldn't help but worry for Ye Xuan and the Underworld Palace.