Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

Due to years of oppression from the Astralrealm Kingdom, not many citizens in New Parristol had ranked powers. But somehow, more than ten people had come out searching for their king.

"Thank goodness you're safe, Your Majesty! What would we do without you in New Parristol?" In an empty building where both groups finally met, everyone started catching up. A maid-looking lady held Adrian's hands tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Don't worry, I've awakened Battle Qi, right? This kind of thing won't stop me! But you all shouldn't have come out to find me - it's too dangerous!" Adrian calmly comforted them.

"Hey, if you know it's dangerous, why keep talking? Shouldn't we be running away?" Nicola, who knew well how dangerous the Ancient God Religion was, stood aside with folded arms watching. She couldn't stay quiet anymore and urged them to move.

She was quite surprised - she never thought Adrian would be so popular and loved. But there were too many people here, even civilians mixed in! It would take forever if everyone came up to greet him.

"Your Majesty, the enemy forces outside the city have stopped firing! We think they might be running out of ammunition. Some ships are already retreating," a scout rushed over to report to Adrian. Then came the bad news: "But some troops that entered the city are heading towards this area. We must move quickly!"

The Lantine Oasis defense system proved its worth. Even though enemy fire had torn some holes in the shield, by gathering the whole city's power output, it managed to block most of the enemy attacks!

"How many enemies are left?" Adrian asked worriedly after thinking for a moment. The Lumina Sanctum forces outside were probably clearing the way for the airships that got in.

"Three large airships, all carrying Lumina Sanctum Royal Guards! They've gathered at Central Tower Plaza and are now spreading across the city!" the scout reported seriously.

"Three airships..." Everyone sighed hearing this. Three airships meant hundreds of soldiers. New Parristol, having just escaped from Astralrealm Kingdom, probably couldn't even gather one-fifth that many fighters. Things were still looking bad.

"The nearest entrance should be within a few kilometers, where they came up from underground. Let's retreat that way!" Adrian wasn't panicking since he had planned to lead the enemy into Lantine Oasis's automatic defense system. He signaled everyone to move and explained the plan to Nicola.

"What about the Ancient God Religion's leaders? How many bishops and priests are there?" Nicola wasn't worried about the Lumina Sanctum Royal Guards - to her they were just normal humans. She was more concerned about the Religion's powerful leaders, so she asked the scout since the report hadn't mentioned them.

"There should be only one bishop, in theory. For large military operations like this, the Ancient God Religion usually sends just one regional bishop to command from a safe position in the back..." The scout hesitated, looking at Adrian as he explained this common knowledge.

As for priests, according to him, a Lumina Sanctum Royal Guard squad usually had fighting power beyond that of priests! Plus, priests normally worked alone on special missions, so they didn't need to worry about running into any priests.

"Better safe than sorry! Ancient God Religion bishops are said to be incredibly strong, at least sixth rank. We should assume the bishop commander might have entered the city with the airships. If that happens, we'll need to lure them into the underground defense facilities," Adrian added, not minding Nicola's questioning despite her being a former prisoner.

Generally, a bishop commander wouldn't come this far forward, but given Lantine Oasis's special nature and how many resources Lumina Sanctum had committed to this invasion, it was worth preparing for unexpected developments.

"So really just one bishop at most? I was so worried - if I wasn't injured, I would've gone and wiped them all out already." Nicola sighed with relief. Her previous attack on an important Ancient God Religion base had been different. While one bishop would still be tough to handle, they had a good chance of success if they planned carefully, knowing what they were up against.

Of course, that would only work if she was at full strength. For now, her only option was to follow Adrian underground to hide.

"I've heard that angels like you are born at least fourth rank, and eight-winged ones are close to seventh rank! Maybe you alone could barely beat a bishop, but the remaining hundred-plus Royal Guards aren't pushovers! Ancient God Religion troops are famous for their tight coordination and strict discipline - they won't let their leaders fight alone! When they work together, it's not just simple addition. Besides, you're not fully recovered, right? Better stick to the plan!" Adrian patiently explained, worried Nicola's overconfidence might cause problems.

"Don't worry, I'm actually more interested in seeing how amazing this automatic defense system you keep praising is." In Nicola's eyes, Adrian was clearly underestimating her abilities. But since she couldn't even heal herself properly right now, she just snorted dismissively instead of bragging.

The retreat started smoothly, but with civilians in the group, they couldn't move very fast. When they were just a few hundred meters from the underground entrance, urgent horn signals rang out - the Royal Guard had caught up!

"Get the non-combatants into the underground passage first. The rest stay with me to hold off the enemy and buy time!" The Lumina Sanctum Royal Guards had already half-surrounded them. In this desperate situation, Adrian took out his bow while hiding behind a building and calmly ordered his subordinates, also pushing Nicola.

"You go with the others! I can see you're still badly hurt. Don't know how you're managing to walk, but you're clearly unsteady when running - I can even hear you breathing hard! There's no point staying here!"

Adrian's observation was incredibly sharp! Though Nicola had healed her limbs, she was forcing through her other injuries with willpower and her high-rank angel constitution. She could handle normal movement, but intense fighting would be too much.

"What? You want me to run with the civilians - you think I'm Feliciana or something?" But Nicola, even badly injured, couldn't easily agree. The words just slipped out. After all, she was facing Adrian - even if she really couldn't fight, she instinctively couldn't show weakness in front of him.

"Who's Feliciana?" Adrian's confused response immediately poured cold water on Nicola.

"...Never mind! Just give me a weapon... a sword will do. I won't run away - it's not my style!" After taking a second to calm down, she sighed and spoke more softly to one of Adrian's subordinates.

"Why are you so stubborn! His Majesty isn't even punishing you for attacking the city before, and lets you run first, but you insist on staying!" This subordinate, probably fourth or fifth rank and one of New Parristol's top fighters, was clearly unhappy with Nicola's attitude and suspicious. "Who knows if you're actually working with the Ancient God Religion?"

"Enough talk - give her the sword. The enemy is charging!" Adrian suddenly spoke up, though not because Nicola's determination had convinced him. He took out an arrow, which soon glowed red with the word for 'explosion' appearing on the arrowhead. He nocked it to his bow and shot hard while shouting:

"For New Parristol!"