The power of the Universe was a force discovered by the scholars of the Choir, the high-ranking members of the Healing Church.
The poor Nona Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos, failed to Ascend with her kin and secluded herself in the mortal realm, only to be found by the Choir.
As a silent Great One, she was incredibly generous with her followers, rarely restricting the Choir's pursuit of knowledge and power, only occasionally making small demands—namely, that they be a bit ugly.
By adopting specific, strange poses, the members of the Choir could communicate with the power of the Universe and unleash powerful Spells, like a shower of meteors; Goki had been hit by these insane people's explosions more times than he could count in the upper echelons of the Healing Church.
However, in the end, these flashy Spells were no match for Goki's greatsword and firearm; he cut them down one by one—Harry, these were far more useful than Spells!
Nonetheless, it was undeniable that if they maintained their distance, these people's attacks were indeed very threatening.
After all, an Old Hunter had no long-range attack capabilities; losing lock-on after a few meters, how could one attack from afar—unless the Hunter's Workshop could issue a sniper rifle?
And in Terra, those who called themselves the Unification Sect, hoping to summon their True God and reunite the stars and the earth, had greatly developed the Choir's Spells.
When eradicating various sacrificial sites, Goki and Skadi would occasionally encounter sorcerers brimming with the power of the stars.
They used powerful Originium Arts; some Spells were pure white like light, others as black as ink, and they also relied on poses to activate their Spells—only to be chopped into mincemeat by Skadi.
Clearly, these 'researchers' of the Unification Sect were no less capable in their development than the Choir.
But evidently, in this world where the atmosphere was saturated with Originium energy, with the aid of casting units and Originium staffs, the terror of Universe Spells greatly increased—even to the point of being able to snipe!
A dazzling white light, accompanied by specks of starlight, instantly pierced through the already fragile window glass of the Nearl Family home, shooting towards the several people on the bed.
Boom—
With a thunderous roar, the entire room was enveloped in brilliant white light, giving no one a chance to react.
And soon, nearly ten shimmering Spell lines also fell into the room; some were for binding, some for frenzy, some for piercing—but each had far greater power than an etched sniper bullet.
This was not some specialized weapon, but a unique Spell of the Unification Sect.
Only beneath the stars would the intensity of this Spell reach its peak, destroying all enemies who dared to stand in its way.
"Hit—"
"Target hit!"
Hundreds of meters away, outside the Nearl Family mansion courtyard, on the roof of a secluded two-story building, a sniper in tactical gear quietly cheered, while the spotter beside him opened his eyes, stopped his actions, and, like his other companions, reported the successful hit over the radio.
Neither of them wore the robes of the Unification Sect, and their heads were covered by high-magnification night vision goggles; their equipment was exceptionally modern, and the sniper rifle-like weapon was not a large firearm, but a genuine staff.
In modern society, cultists also had to keep up with the times; this modern equipment was of excellent quality and expensive, and even with Allens Choice's support, the entire Unification Sect only had a few sets.
"Ha, these old-fashioned Knights were fooled by our previously evacuated sacrificial sites; they probably thought we were all sorcerers who had to get close to cast Spells, but our Lord's Divine Might is far beyond that!"
For the final battle, the Bishop had never activated these special sorcerer units; decades of planning were all for flattening all enemies at the last moment.
Even if the opponents were Knight Families and some inexplicably appearing enemies, these combat cultists were always ready to die.
This modified high-altitude Spell was incredibly powerful; once it hit, its immense energy could even pierce alloy, and the accompanying frenzy effect could drive the most devout Knight mad.
Previously, to maintain a low profile, even though several sacrificial sites were raided, the Bishop had not approved the use of these special sorcerer troops.
But now—salvation was within reach; soon, the Bishop would welcome the Savior from the stars to descend upon Terra, and every Gods People of Kazimierz devoutly believing in the Lord of the Stars would be saved and Ascend.
Therefore, the Bishop would not allow any unstable factors to affect the great cause of the Unification Sect.
"...Alright, contact His Excellency the Bishop; no one dares to stop the Unification Sect's actions, no one at all, this is the downfall of those who defy the True God—"
In the room, the brilliant light had not yet dissipated, but before that, a bone-chilling cold instantly froze the sniper's hand as he was dialing the phone.
It was not an ice Originium Art, but a pure gaze that could not even be called Killing Intent—the sniper only felt as if he had been caught in a trap like a rabbit, with death only a hunter's reach away from his spine.
"The enemy is still active! Keep firing—"
Bang————
Before he could finish speaking, a mercury bullet passed through the cultist's forehead, blooming into a splash of blood.
The brilliant starlight dissipated, and behind the window, which had been pierced, heated, and shattered by several Spell shots, a shield with black X-shaped reinforcements extinguished the flames on it.
"Hiss... Really, I was having a rare heart-to-heart with three, well, four beautiful Young Misses, and then these blind idiots have to come and disturb the peace, it's really—"
Pushing the three young mares onto the bed, Goki straddled the somewhat dazed Margaret, shielding Maria behind him, and embracing Zofia.
In Goki's left hand, the most accurate Hunter's Pistol was emitting wisps of smoke, and in his eyes, an eye rune flashed and disappeared.
"What do you mean, I shot pretty accurately, didn't I?"
This was absolutely true; hitting a cult sniper with a pistol from eight hundred meters away, even using rune observation for weak points, was a matter of luck.
Goki felt it was time to get himself a sniper rifle.
And on his right shoulder, where he held the shield, a cylindrical gap had appeared; the flesh there had been completely gouged out, and black charring prevented the blood from seeping out.
Rhine Lab's specialized shield provided good protection, but it was still just a shield; after blocking for three people, Goki himself couldn't possibly protect himself completely.
"Goki, what are you doing!—Margaret! Heal!"
Embraced by Goki, seeing his damaged shoulder beneath his shirt, Zofia's blue eyes, as a Tournament Knight, constricted into tiny dots; she instantly understood the change in circumstances, her expression calming from initial panic.
There was no time to be sentimental about being rescued by a hero; Zofia immediately tore open her silk nightgown, ripped off the soft, quick-drying fabric, and began to wrap it around Goki's wound.
Behind her, Margaret, seeing such a severe wound for the first time, immediately unleashed her Originium Arts with all her might, her hands trembling slightly.
Almost instantly, a golden radiance covered the entire room.
"No—Margaret, prioritize defense, take care of Zofia and Maria."
But before Margaret could cover Goki's wound with the radiance she held, another Rhine Lab riot shield was thrown to her by Goki, who, enduring the intense pain, used his damaged arm to inject a blood-filled syringe into his thigh.
Thanks to the concern of his old leader and new wife Saria, Goki had an inexhaustible supply of riot shields—these were far more useful than small wooden shields.
"Eh, but Brother Goki, you—"
Although Maria had trained in basic Knight skills, she was still a big child who had never been on a battlefield and had never seen blood; seeing Goki injured, she immediately panicked, also raising a flickering radiance in her hands.
But then, she was astonished to see Goki's flesh rapidly regenerating as if in reverse, his bones, nerves, and muscles recovering at an utterly unreasonable speed.
Soon, Goki's shoulder was fully restored, the new skin even noticeably different from other areas.
"Uh, never mind what I said."
The next second, Goki threw three weapons to the three weaponless young mares.
The heavy Church Stone Hammer went to the strongest, Margaret; the Hunter's Staff, transformed into a whip-blade, was given to Zofia; and the elegant Church Silver Sword was handed to Maria.
"Protect yourselves, wait for me to deal with this—the Old Man is probably awake by now; old people don't sleep soundly."
Finally, Goki retrieved a composite bow and a quiver filled with pitch-black armor-piercing arrows, which he had just confiscated from the dream, and tossed them onto the bedside table.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be your old employer, right? Why are they so unethical, double-crossing you—I'll give you their position."
Beside him, Platinum, who had just been wearing only cute underwear, was now fully dressed, covering her fair and delicate skin; she took the weapon, her expression complex.
"We only take orders; we don't ask about or understand the employer's business, but backstabbing is common... But that doesn't mean we're comrades, Goki, you just wait! I don't need your help either!"
Her pretty face flushed red, Platinum glared fiercely at Goki, drew her bow, and directly rushed out of the room.
If an employer turned hostile, Armorless Union couldn't work for free—if they didn't teach these treacherous people a lesson, they would easily be taken advantage of.
"Alright... About that, I'll explain later, okay?"
Watching Platinum flip out the window, Goki casually flicked his hand, completely neutralizing another incoming attack, and looked apologetically at the three young mares of the Nearl Family.
"We'll go with you!"
The three sisters and niece exchanged glances, gripping their weapons, seeing a certain resolve in each other's eyes—this guy actually had other mares outside! How could they let the two be alone!
"...Alright, let's teach these bastards a lesson—ha, in Yharnam, I wouldn't dare to aggro such a large group of monsters."
Feeling guilty, Goki pulled out his Saw Cleaver, raised his shield, and, enduring the rain of star Spells, rushed straight out onto the Nearl Family's balcony.
And the next second, Goki saw a dazzling radiance on the other side of the mansion, accompanied by a booming explosion, rushing directly towards the source of the attack.
That speed was more than twice as fast as when he had sparred with Goki—the Old Man had indeed not used his full strength.
"Then... let the war begin."
Feeling the familiar and intense Great One power in the air, Goki knew... that mad True God had declared war on him.
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