When Katrina and the elder exchanged places, the Divine Beasts started having a hard time. An awakened White Specter which reached the Exalted God Realm is on whole other level than the old men they were fighting a while ago.

Furthermore, the matriarch was determined to dispose of the four Divine and permanently weaken the undead army. Sadly, just as she was about to attack them, she caught the sense of a very familiar person. Upon stretching her sense a bit further, she was shocked to see a bound Angelina, who was covered by Dark Magic and only her face could be sen, barely.

A pigolo was standing behind her daughter and staring right back at the matriarch with a fearless expression. He was certain of safety as long as Angelina is next to him. After all, Katrina wouldn't dare risk her daughter's life.

While clenching her teeth and glaring at Gutcha then at the four Divine Beasts, she backed down but still kept an eye on the enormous beasts, keeping them in check and blocking their way.

The situation reached a stalemate as the Divine Beasts surrounded Katrina while she crossed her arms and maintained her passive stance.

"Matriarch, what are you doing? Finish those pests."

The old Archcardinal shouted at Matriarch while blocking the endless blue thunderbolts descending at him.

"I can't, they have my daughter as a hostage."

"Tsk"

The old man clicked his tongue and pointed his cane at the four beasts before chanting a quick spell. The red sky above the Divine Beasts quickly became covered in arrows made of golden lights. The arrows rained down on the four monsters, however, they only lasted for a short time before a storm made of Death Energy absorbed half of them.

A violent and invisible gale of wind shattered the other half, ending this dangerous and swift spell of the Archcardinal. After deflecting the old man's attack, Radolf joined Astrith and Midolf stuck close to Saly.

****

"I hate annoying brats like you!"

The woman fighting Saly was seething with anger as a bloody injury could be seen on her shoulder. Her opponent was already covered in blood but she showed no signs of exhaustion, in fact, she became fiercer the more she fought, frightening the woman.

The disadvantageous situation of Saly was gone the moment Midolf joined the battle. His supportive skills and deadly attacks were exactly what the little girl needed.

"Don't worry about avoiding her attacks, just kicks her motherfucking ass."

Midolf whispered into Saly's ears while gluing himself into her back and readying himself. Saly nodded her head, wiped the blood leaking out her lips and lunged at the annoyed woman.

Another thorny whip appeared on the woman's free hand, allowing her to attack the incoming little figure with two lightning-fast whips. The crisp sound of the swinging whips and their speed were just too much for Saly.

She closed her eyes and raised her hand, intending to receive the blow head-on only for her body to be pushed by a gentle gust of wind, surprisingly allowing her to dodge the snake-like whip.

The girl's fist started glowing with a silvery light which then went all the way to her shoulder and covered all of her arms. Midolf, who was on her back, used his wind skills to push her faster toward the enemy, rendering the enemy unable to back away in time or retract her whips to block.

Nonetheless, the woman was still an Exalted God, she let go of the whips and flashed a bracelet at the incoming Saly. A pink color emanated from the bracelet and within a split second, a pink dome enveloped the woman and protected her from the enemy.

Saly's bright fist clashed with the pink dome, shattering it instantly and hitting the woman's abdomen. Though the power behind Saly's punch was monstrous, it was still unable to heavily injure a Celestial Body.

Nevertheless, the woman was pushed back a few steps and held her stomach while groaning in pain. As for Saly, she jumped back and held her fist, feeling a bit of pain. It felt like she hit a metal wall rather than someone's body.

*******

The Orb of the Fallen Overgods' spinning speed never ceased increasing. It was rotating so fast that it became hard to see it, furthermore, a pillar of light was unleashed by the orb, piercing the bloody canopy and continuing all the way up, seemingly about to grab the high heavens.

Arthur, who was the center of this all, was still unable to move freely, however, something strange started to happen outside and inside of his consciousness.

The bright blob of light inside of his consciousness started pulsating with a purple light, clearly in synch with the strange orb. However, this wasn't everything, the stranger occurrence was the countless cries coming from within him.

They reverberated across the whole battlefield and alerted everyone. The cries were a mix of monsters and humans but one thing they had in common is that they were ear-deafening and filled with a suffocating aura.

After a few minutes passed, illusory images started appearing next to Arthur, each had a different form, size, and color. There were bears, wolves, fish, dragons, gargoyles, humans, etc…

As he witnessed this sight, Arthur was confused and very much wanted an explanation, which he isn't going to get, of course. The countless appearing forms around him were resonating with the big orb above him and granting him unimaginable power.

It was different from the increase in states or cultivation, this felt distinct and heavily relying on his soul. His physical prowess remained the same but he could feel his sense stretching farther than the whole battlefield, moreover, he could clearly pinpoint anyone's location and the state of their soul.

In a way, this was like an upgraded state of the past Ethereal state as it calmed his mind and relieved him of all his anxiousness. Very soon, a blinding light emitted from his chest before it transformed into a flashing silhouette.

Holding a golden sword in one hand and a white shield in the other, a blond-haired chivalrous knight stood before Arthur and faced all the other surprised enemies.

This was none other than Curtis, who heard his master's call and summoned himself to do his duty.

"A T-transcendent knight?"

The Archcardinal was flabbergasted when he saw Curtis and felt the Holy aura revolving around him. In comparison, his aura was like contaminated trash which could only disintegrate before the knight's brilliance.

"You can rest at ease, I will take care of them."

Curtis bowed toward Arthur before he focused his gaze on the surprised old man, who even forgot the existence of Radolf and Astrith. The two beasts used this opportunity to strike the Archcardinal.

In addition to the blue tail Astrith had, two other tails suddenly appeared, one covered in purple lighting and the other in red thunder. The wolf howled loudly before he transformed into a bolt of multi-colored lightning which rose high-up and became part of the interconnected thunderbolts dominating the sky.

As for Radolf, his two creepy looking heads bit each other and strangely became one. The newly formed head, made of only blackened bones, opened its humongous mouth and unleashed a death storm.

Every passing second, the death storm became larger in size until it reached the lightning-covered sky. With the old man as its center, the death storm depleted the old man of his Holy Magic and created a path for Astrith to strike.

From within the net of lightning, An enormous wolf covered in red thunder descended and like a falling meteor, struck the Archcardinal, who appropriate retaliated despite being stuck in a tight spot.

He made use of the Holy Chapters and summoned several white silhouettes which surrounded him and blocked Astrith's way. Loud and deafening thunderclaps resounded across the whole area and when everything cleared, you could see a lonely figure standing amidst the charred ground and corrupted earth.

It was none other than a bloody old man who waved his cane around, quickly healing himself while spitting some blood. Unfortunately for him, Curtis appeared dozens of meters away and raised his sword above his head and swung down, showing no hesitation or mercy.

The old man, surprised by Curtis' antagonistic actions, tried to explain himself only to be cut down by Curtis' slash and being engulfed by a golden light.

After several seconds, there Archcardinal was no more and Curtis' figure became a bit illusory, after all, he expanded quite a bit of energy to kill an Exalted God.

Astrith and Radolf may have injured the old man but the latter could have healed himself and continued to fight. Curtis' decisive slash was what mattered most in the previous battle.

What was left now was the woman fighting Saly. As for Marshall Albert, he won't be able to escape from Wrath anytime soon. They drifted far away from the battlefield but the collateral damage caused by their violent fight could be felt even from this place.

Literally, it was a battle between two old and undying warriors and to expect to see a victor this early in this fight is but wishful thinking.