Universe Infinite Canteen

Upon discovering that the Holy Stone was destroyed, Li Wei had no desire to continue fighting with the group of Fallen Witches before him.

He realized he had been duped, the attack on the Pope and the previous explosions were all feints designed to draw the main force of the Sacred Order of Knights away from The Great Tower.

The orchestrator behind all this had only one target from beginning to end, and that was—the Holy Stone.

The vice-captain of the Sacred Order of Knights had figured everything out in a flash, yet still couldn't bring himself to believe what was unfolding before his eyes.

From his understanding of the Witch Alliance, those Fallen Witches wandering in the wilderness were almost no different from savages, unable to establish a stable settlement, unable to manufacture weapons or equipment, not to mention being unable to produce even basic necessities on their own.

The reason they could barely survive until now was due to the supplies that flowed out of Holy Temple City through various channels.

In other words, once Holy Temple City was gone, they wouldn't be able to last long.

Without the protection of the Holy Stone, everyone would perish.

Not even five minutes had passed, and the number of Fallen Witches present had dwindled to single digits, soon to be completely eradicated.

However, it was at this moment that Li Wei issued the order to retreat. He did not want to delay another second and wished to return to The Great Tower immediately to confirm the condition of the Holy Stone with his own eyes. Your next journey awaits at empire

As long as the Holy Stone remained intact, the Fallen Witches who had infiltrated the city could be dealt with at any time; if it were otherwise, even slaughtering all these people would be of no help.

So in the next moment, the witches, who had been waiting for death, saw all the knights opposite them withdraw. Within less than a minute, they had all retreated cleanly.

The remaining survivors looked at each other in disbelief—if not for their comrades' bodies lying on the ground and traces of the previous battle in the vicinity, they almost doubted whether the fight had actually happened.

The Ouroboros Serpent also felt as if she had narrowly escaped death. At the beginning of the battle, her heart had been pierced by a shot. Normally, someone with such a serious injury had no chance of survival.

Even the Ouroboros Serpent's first reaction was that she was going to die. However, when she fell to the ground, her consciousness did not fade away. Although her heart had stopped beating, her blood was still flowing.

—The Second Heart.

This piece of Purple Equipment that Ma Lu had given her saved her; it continued to function in place of her heart after it had sustained a fatal injury.

Later on, other Fallen Witches realized she was still alive and dragged her into cover under a hail of bullets. Along the way, the Ouroboros Serpent was shot again, but this time the bullet did not hit her vitals.

The effect of another piece of Golden Equipment she wore, the Sage's Earring, was triggered, shielding her from the damage.

Immediately afterward, she used the Second Heart's Active Skill—Blood Production, to recover her HP, and gritting her teeth, she re-entered the battle.

While the addition of the Ouroboros Serpent certainly relieved some pressure on the side of the Fallen Witches, it was not enough for her to turn the tide of the unfavorable situation.

Watching her companions fall one by one, the girl's eyes reddened, overcome with a profound sense of helplessness.

They were already the main force of the Witch Alliance's action tonight, yet there remained an insurmountable chasm when compared to the elite of the Sacred Order of Knights.

The Ouroboros Serpent did not fear death, but considering the mission she carried on her shoulders, she was not willing to just fall here.

Unfortunately, the outcome had long lost its suspense.

In the end, the girl considered self-destructing to take out the enemy with her. This way, on one hand, she would not reveal her identity, potentially causing trouble for Ma Lu and others, and on the other hand, she could take a few back-cushions with her before dying.

Just as she made up her mind and was about to act, the enemies opposite her seemed to have sensed the danger in advance and retreated prematurely.

The Ouroboros Serpent certainly didn't think those guys had been scared off by her, and she suspected there might be another conspiracy afoot, while the other Fallen Witches who had narrowly escaped death were also filled with trepidation.

They didn't understand why the Church would be so kind as to spare them.

It was a moment later when another Fallen Witch spoke up, "What, what do we do next?"

The Ouroboros Serpent thought for a moment and said through gritted teeth, "We continue moving forward, we must complete the mission, otherwise the sacrifices of the others will have been in vain."

"But now there are only eight of us left," another person said, "Even if we find the Pope, we won't be a match for those guards by his side."

"We have come too far to turn back now." The Ouroboros Serpent's gaze revealed a renewed determination, "I promised Lord Shrike that I would fight for the freedom of our witch kind until the very last moment."

After hearing her words, the remaining Fallen Witches also said one after another, "Then we will follow you, until death overtakes us."

The group quickly treated their wounds and hurried towards Compassionate Square; to their surprise, they hardly encountered any obstacles along the way.

And when they arrived at their destination, it didn't take long to spot the figure of the Pope among the crowd.

At that moment, he was kneeling before the statue of Prophet Yongyi, surrounded by tens of thousands of believers, including guards and police officers, who were all praying to the statue along with him.

They were all so engrossed that not even the appearance of the Ouroboros Serpent and her companions caused the slightest ripple.

The eight Fallen Witches walked straight up to the Old Pope without encountering any hindrance.

One of the Fallen Witches placed her longsword against the Old Pope's neck, "Hey, old man, do you know who we are?"

However, he seemed oblivious, continuously murmuring, "May the Honorable Prophet guide our way, may the Honorable Prophet guide our way..."

"Wake up, old man. Your Prophet died hundreds of years ago and can't help you now. If you don't want to die, you'd better come and talk to us first."

However, as soon as she finished speaking, the Pope remained as if he heard nothing, his gaze fixed on the stone statue before him.

Seeing this, the Fallen Witch became somewhat angry. She swung her sword, cutting deeply into the Old Pope's left arm, and blood spurted from the wound.

The pain finally made the old man look up, but his eyes, full of wrinkles, were very empty.

"It's all meaningless now, all of it has lost its meaning..."

"What crap are you talking about? So many of us died, we paid such a high price to get here, to catch you. How can it be meaningless?" yelled the Fallen Witch. "Today, you have to return what you owe us!"

Yet, upon hearing this, the Old Pope remained silent.

The patience of the Fallen Witch was nearly exhausted. She raised her longsword again, intending to add another wound to the old man before her.

But she was stopped by the Ouroboros Serpent, "Something's not quite right here."

Even without her saying it, the other seven Fallen Witches also felt the strange atmosphere around them. Everyone seemed to suddenly lose interest in everything, and faint sobbing could be heard from the crowd.

It wasn't until the Ouroboros Serpent saw a group of children, who were the only ones not kneeling in the square, that when she looked towards them, their faces showed fear.

The Ouroboros Serpent went up to grab one of the boys and asked what had happened here. The boy stammered.

"I heard from someone at the Church, it seems the Holy Stone exploded."