Chapter 508: Eight-Winged Light Angel

Chapter 508: The Eight-Winged Celestial Angel

From the sacred pillar of light that reached toward the heavens descended a figure with eight golden wings spread wide behind.

The God of Light, naturally, could not appear in just one form.

Li Wei felt somewhat familiar with this sight and quickly recalled the four-winged Celestial Angel he had once slain.

This Celestial Angel descending upon the Ice City was far more powerful than the previous four-winged one.

An Eight-Winged Celestial Angel.

The Eight-Winged Celestial Angel hovered above the altar, suspended mid-air, towering over ten meters tall.

Each of its eight golden wings extended beyond forty meters.

A faint divine radiance emanated from these golden wings, transforming into feathers of light that fell to earth.

Below, crowds scrambled for these luminous feathers.

The legendary paladin hurriedly bowed and called out, "Lord Russell."

The three people behind him also bowed respectfully.

Russell, the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel, glanced at them briefly before nodding slightly, then turned his gaze toward Gusewei who presided over the ceremony.

Gusewei had been momentarily stunned by the appearance of the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel.

Russell extended his right hand, from whose palm floated a golden angelic feather toward Gusewei.

This was her gift from the deity.

Since the God of Light himself did not come personally, there could be no direct blessing from the gods.

Instead, Russell would bestow this divine gift on behalf of the god.

Only when the angelic feather drifted before her eyes did Gusewei regain her senses, hastily extending both hands to catch it.

At the moment she touched the feather, she understood its purpose.

By holding the angelic feather, after death, she would reincarnate as a holy spirit and enter the Hall of Heroes under the God of Light.

It was an invaluable treasure many desired but could never obtain.

Yet Gusewei kept it at arm's length.

She did not wish to become an angel serving beneath the God of Light.

She dared not let Russell perceive her inner thoughts.

Quickly lowering her head, Gusewei said respectfully, "Thank you, God of Light. Thank you, Lord Russell."

Russell paid little attention to Gusewei.

He merely granted her this opportunity because such strength at such a young age intrigued him.

That wasn't his true purpose here.

Russell gazed into the distant sky, sensing a hidden evil aura at the horizon.

His divine intuition warned him of the invasion by the Demon God race, prompting him to descend and investigate their traces.

Incidentally, deal with the human who killed the Four-Winged Celestial Angel earlier.

After staring at the distant sky for a while, Russell looked back toward the Jade Ice Palace behind him.

Before going forth to confront the Divine Demons, there remained something very important to do.

Harvesting faith power.

Here, the seed had already accumulated vast amounts of faith power—it was time for harvest.

Turning around, the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel flew toward the Jade Ice Palace.

Both the paladins and Gusewei stared blankly at the departing angel, wondering what he intended to do?

In Gusewei’s heart arose a vague sense of foreboding.

Seeing the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel fly toward the Jade Ice Palace, Li Wei remembered the unusual behavior of the Ice Queen before performing the ritual.

Curiosity surged within him about what might happen next.

Using illusion magic, Li Wei created a sparrow clone flying toward the Jade Ice Palace.

When the sparrow clone arrived at the palace, the massive silhouette of the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel had already vanished.

Inside, Li Wei saw the Ice Queen seated upon her throne, translucent like mist ready to dissipate at any moment.

"What happened?"

Confusion filled Li Wei’s mind; the queen’s power seemed greatly weakened.

Not merely weakened—she appeared nearly gone.

What had the Eight-Winged Celestial Angel done?

The Ice Queen cast a glance outside the palace, her voice reaching Li Wei’s ears.

"Come in. It has left. This place is safe for now."

The sparrow transformed inside the palace into Li Wei’s form.

Frowning at the transparent figure of the Ice Queen, Li Wei asked, "What’s wrong with you?"

Calmly, the Ice Queen replied, "Nothing much. I’m simply disappearing."

"Disappearing? What do you mean? What did it do?" Li Wei questioned, puzzled.

The Ice Queen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she gazed at the sky outside, lost in memories.

"A long, long time ago, I was nothing but an ordinary ice elf, like those you’ve seen. Only basic instincts, completely devoid of self-awareness."

"One day, suddenly, I awakened consciousness and gained a special kind of power—the more life gathered around me, the stronger I became."

"For a long time, I couldn’t understand what that power truly was. Until I met a divine messenger walking among mortals, I learned it was faith power."

"That power belonged to the gods—not to me."

"The divine messenger told me that someday the gods would reclaim that power."

"It was fate’s arrangement. A thousand years ago, I received the gods’ gift and gained myself. Now, I return everything to them—that is destiny..."

"No! That isn’t destiny!" Li Wei interrupted.

"This is the gods' conspiracy," he declared boldly.

The Ice Queen silently observed Li Wei.

Li Wei thought of the Flower Goddess. Before leaving Flying Blossom City, she too had mentioned something similar.

She said she might vanish one day.

Now it seemed clear—the Flower Goddess, like the Ice Queen, had accepted gifts from the gods and become seeds of faith.

Until the day the faith power bore fruit,

the gods would send someone down to reap it. All of this was part of the gods' scheme, not some so-called destiny.

Staring intently at the Ice Queen, Li Wei said earnestly, "Though I don’t know how to help you yet, so-called fate should never be your reason to give up."

The Ice Queen's eyes shifted slightly, her form growing even fainter.

"There is no need," she said. "I have felt your sincerity. I only hope that after I depart, you will not tell Vivi about this. Please, help me keep it from her."

Levi watched as the Ice Queen's figure dissolved bit by bit, melting away into snowflakes.

An indescribable pang of sorrow gripped his heart.

There had not been much affection between Levi and the Ice Queen; theirs was merely an exchange of mutual benefits.

Yet, seeing the Ice Queen reduced to a puppet under the manipulation of the gods, stripped of everything without the slightest power to resist, sent a deep chill through him.

Was he, too, perhaps the puppet of some deity?

The mere thought brought an involuntary shiver to his spine.

Levi had no desire to become the next Ice Queen.

Witnessing her final disappearance, Levi turned and walked away from the Ice Jade Palace.

He remained at a loss as to how he would explain this to Gusevi.

Beneath the sacrificial altar, countless citizens knelt upon the ground, prostrating themselves toward the heavens.

Infected by the luminous feathers, a fervent faith in the God of Light had already ignited within their hearts.

Though this passionate emotion might fade within a short time once the ritual concluded, the seeds planted in their souls would eventually sprout, birthing true believers of the God of Light.

A single divine sacrificial ceremony had caused a city to change hands silently, without a single drop of blood spilled, completely unbeknownst to its people.

There was no need for the Church of Light to erect a temple here; those with faith in their hearts would spontaneously build a temple to the God of Light, solely to better worship their deity.

Gusevi carefully tucked away the Angelic Feather.

An Angelic Feather represented an extra life.

At any given moment, it was the most precious of treasures.

However, once resurrected, one's life would no longer belong to oneself, but to the God of Light.

Unless driven to the absolute final resort, Gusevi had no desire to use the Angelic Feather at all.

In fact, should she wish it, she could use the Angelic Feather right now to reincarnate into a Holy Spirit.

With her current strength, she would be at least a four-winged angel.

Levi's consciousness returned from his phantom avatar back to his true body, and he gazed up toward the mountain.

The four Holy Knights had all vanished from sight.

Just moments ago, the four seemed to have received tidings from the eight-winged Archangel of Light, Russell, and had rushed out toward the outskirts of the city.

Levi glanced in the direction they had departed, uncertain if they were pursuing the Emperor of Ice and Bassam.

He looked back toward Gusevi, plagued by a headache over how to explain the Ice Queen's disappearance to her.

Though the eight-winged Archangel of Light and the Holy Knights had departed, the ritual of divine sacrifice was not yet over.

As the conductor of the ritual, Gusevi had to carry the vast and complex sacrificial ceremony through to its absolute completion.

By the time the ritual finally drew to a close, dusk had already fallen over the afternoon.

Gusevi massaged her aching arms as she walked toward the Ice Jade Palace.

Though a few unexpected incidents had occurred during the sacrificial ceremony, fortunately, everything had remained within her sphere of control.

The only thing that surprised her somewhat was the sheer fervor of the populace.

Stepping into the Ice Jade Palace, Gusevi sought to find the Ice Queen to share her sentiments regarding the sacrificial ritual.

Yet, she found only the empty throne resting quietly within the palace.

She searched everywhere, but the Ice Queen's figure was nowhere to be found.

Attempting to contact her through magic yielded no response whatsoever.

Deep bewilderment filled Gusevi's heart; where could the Ice Queen have gone?

To Gusevi, the Ice Queen was akin to both an elder sister and a mother.

With the sudden loss of contact, her heart felt utterly hollow.

Recalling how the eight-winged Archangel of Light had abruptly flown into the Ice Jade Palace earlier, a dark premonition arose within Gusevi's mind.

She hurried outside, hoping to catch up with the departing Holy Knights to demand what exactly had transpired.

A figure stood at the threshold, blocking her path.

"Levi!"

Gusevi was somewhat startled to see the figure before her.

Then, her face filled with anxiety as she spoke hurriedly, "You must leave quickly, do not stay here. Those Holy Knights are still searching for you."

"I know," Levi replied.

After prolonged deliberation, Levi ultimately resolved to tell Gusevi the truth.

The Ice Queen had wished to conceal the truth because she feared Gusevi would be heartbroken, and at a deeper level, she feared Gusevi might also suffer harm at the hands of the gods.

This was something entirely beyond her control.

Since the gods could strike at her, they could just as easily strike at Gusevi.

Levi spoke, "The Ice Queen is gone..."

Having listened to Levi's recount, Gusevi froze in place, utterly stunned.

A few seconds later, tears as large as beans welled up and spilled from her eyes.

"Why, why! Why..."

Gusevi asked "why" several times in succession.

Levi knew what it was she wanted to ask, yet he too was powerless to explain it.

The only thing he could do was offer her an embrace.

Gusevi held Levi tightly, weeping aloud.

On this day, she had lost someone of paramount importance to her.