Chapter 508: Eight-winged Bright Angel
A figure descended from the divine pillar of light that stretched to the sky, eight golden wings unfurling from its back.
The Light God himself, of course, wouldn’t appear in just one form.
The sight was somewhat familiar to Li Wei, and he quickly recalled the Four-winged Bright Angel he had killed in the past.
This time, the Bright Angel descending upon Ice and Snow City was even more powerful than the Four-winged Bright Angel.
An Eight-winged Bright Angel.
The Eight-winged Bright Angel descended above the altar, hovering in mid-air. Its body was over ten meters tall.
The eight golden wings unfurled behind it spanned over forty meters.
The golden wings emitted a faint, holy glow, which materialized into Light Feathers that drifted down to the world below.
The crowd below scrambled to snatch the Light Feathers.
The Legendary Paladin hurriedly saluted and called out, "Lord Russell."
The three people behind him also quickly offered their salutes.
Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell glanced at them, nodded lightly, and then looked toward Gu Sewei, who was presiding over the ceremony.
Gu Sewei was so stunned by the sight of the Eight-winged Bright Angel that she fell into a momentary daze.
Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell extended his right hand, and a golden Angel’s Feather floated out from his palm, drifting down toward Gu Sewei.
This was her gift from the Divine Spirit.
This time, the Light God had not come personally and was unable to bestow a divine blessing.
Instead, Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell was bestowing a gift from the Divine Spirit.
When Gu Sewei saw the Angel’s Feather floating down before her eyes, she finally came to her senses, hurriedly extending her hands to receive it.
The moment she touched the Angel’s Feather, she knew its purpose.
By holding the Angel’s Feather, after she died, she could be reborn as a Holy Spirit and enter the Light God’s Heroic Spirit Hall.
It was a treasure countless people could only dream of obtaining.
Gu Sewei, however, wanted to keep her distance from it.
She had no desire to become one of the Light God’s angels.
She dared not let Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell see her true thoughts.
Gu Sewei hurriedly lowered her head and said respectfully, "Thank you, Light God. Thank you, Lord Russell."
Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell didn’t pay too much attention to Gu Sewei.
He had only given her this opportunity because he saw she possessed such strength at such a young age.
This was not the purpose of his journey.
The Eight-winged Bright Angel gazed toward the distant sky, sensing a faint and wicked presence on the horizon.
The Divine Spirit had sensed the Demon God Race’s invasion and sent him to the mortal realm to investigate their whereabouts.
And while he was at it, to deal with the human who had killed the Four-winged Bright Angel.
The Eight-winged Bright Angel stared at the distant sky for a moment before turning to look toward the Ice Jade Palace.
Before setting out to subjugate the Demon God Race, there was one more, very important matter to attend to.
That was to harvest the Power of Faith.
The seed here had already accumulated a large amount of Power of Faith and was ripe for harvesting.
The Eight-winged Bright Angel turned and flew towards the Ice Jade Palace.
The Holy Knights and Gu Sewei stared blankly as the Eight-winged Bright Angel flew away, wondering what he was about to do.
Gu Sewei had a vague, ominous feeling in her heart.
After seeing the Eight-winged Bright Angel fly towards the Ice Jade Palace, Li Wei recalled the Ice Queen’s strange behavior before the Divine Worship Ceremony.
He was extremely curious about what would happen next.
Li Wei used the Illusion Technique to create a sparrow double, which flew toward the Ice Jade Palace.
By the time the sparrow double reached the Ice Jade Palace, the colossal figure of the Eight-winged Bright Angel was gone.
Li Wei saw the Ice Queen sitting on the throne in the Ice Jade Palace, her form transparent, as if she were made of mist and could dissipate at any moment.
’What’s going on?’
Li Wei was extremely puzzled; the Ice Queen’s Power seemed to have weakened a great deal.
It wasn’t even a matter of weakening; she looked as if she was about to disappear completely.
’What did the Eight-winged Bright Angel do?’
The Ice Queen glanced outside the Ice Jade Palace, and her voice reached Li Wei’s ears.
"Come in. It has already left. It’s safe here for now."
The sparrow flew into the Ice Jade Palace and transformed into Li Wei’s figure.
Li Wei looked at the transparent form of the Ice Queen and asked with a frown, "What happened to you?"
The Ice Queen said calmly, "It’s nothing. I’m just about to disappear."
"Disappear? What do you mean? What did it do?" Li Wei asked, confused.
The Ice Queen didn’t answer Li Wei’s question. She gazed at the sky outside, a look of reminiscence on her face.
"A long, long time ago, I was just an ordinary Ice Elf, just like the ones you’ve seen. I had only the most basic instincts, with no self-awareness at all."
"Until one day, I suddenly awakened to self-awareness and obtained a special kind of Power. The more life gathered around me, the stronger my Power became."
"For a long time, I didn’t understand what that Power was. It wasn’t until I met a Divine Envoy who walked the mortal world that I learned it was the Power of Faith."
"It is a Power that belongs to the Divine Spirits, not to me."
"The Divine Envoy told me that one day, the Divine Spirit would take this Power back."
"This is fate’s design. A thousand years ago, I received the Divine Spirit’s gift and gained self-awareness. Now, I am merely returning everything to the Divine Spirit. It is all... fate."
"No, this isn’t fate!" Li Wei interrupted her.
"It’s a conspiracy by the Divine Spirits," Li Wei said, his words blasphemous.
The Ice Queen looked at Li Wei quietly.
Li Wei thought of the Flower God. Before leaving Flying Flower City, the Flower God had also told him something. She had said that she might disappear.
It seemed now that the Flower God, like the Ice Queen, had accepted a gift from a Divine Spirit, becoming a seed for faith. Once that Power of Faith blossomed and bore fruit, the Divine Spirit would send someone down to harvest it.
This was all a conspiracy by the Divine Spirits, not so-called fate at all.
Li Wei stared at the Ice Queen and said earnestly, "Although I don’t know how to help you right now, this so-called ’fate’ is definitely not a reason for you to give up."
A flicker of emotion crossed the Ice Queen’s eyes, but her form grew even more transparent.
"There is no need," she said. "I appreciate the sentiment. I only hope that after I’m gone, you will not tell Weiwei about this. Please, help me keep it a secret."
Li Wei watched as the Ice Queen’s figure slowly dissipated, turning into snowflakes that melted away.
An indescribable heaviness settled in his heart.
Li Wei and the Ice Queen didn’t have a deep emotional connection. Their relationship had been purely transactional.
But seeing the Ice Queen, manipulated by a Divine Spirit like a puppet, lose everything without any ability to resist, sent a deep chill through him.
’Is it possible that I’m also just a puppet for some Divine Spirit?’
The very thought made him shudder.
’I don’t want to become the next Ice Queen.’
After seeing the Ice Queen disappear, Li Wei turned and left the Ice Jade Palace.
He didn’t know how he was going to explain this to Gu Sewei.
Below the altar, countless citizens were kneeling and prostrating themselves toward the heavens in worship.
Influenced by the Light Feathers, a fervent faith in the Light God had already ignited in the hearts of the crowd.
After the ceremony ended, this fervent emotion might disappear in a short time, but the seeds planted in their hearts would sooner or later sprout, giving birth to true believers of the Light God.
A single Divine Worship Ceremony had allowed a city to change hands without a single drop of blood being shed, all happening quietly without its people’s knowledge.
There was no need for the Light Divine Sect to establish a Divine Hall here; the faithful would spontaneously build a Divine Hall of Light themselves, simply to better worship their Divine Spirit.
Gu Sewei carefully put away the Angel’s Feather.
The Angel’s Feather was an extra life.
It was a most precious treasure under any circumstance.
It was just that after being resurrected, one’s life no longer belonged to oneself, but to the Light God.
Gu Sewei had no desire to use the Angel’s Feather unless it was the absolute last resort.
In fact, if she were willing, she could use the Angel’s Feather right now to be reborn as a Holy Spirit.
With her current strength, she would become at least a Four-winged Angel.
Li Wei’s consciousness returned from the Illusory Body to his physical form, and he glanced toward the mountain.
The four Holy Knights had all disappeared.
Just now, the four of them seemed to have received a message from Eight-winged Bright Angel Russell and had rushed out of the city.
Li Wei glanced in the direction they had left, uncertain if they were going after the Ice Emperor and Basam.
He turned to look at Gu Sewei, a headache coming on as he wondered how to explain the Ice Queen’s disappearance to her.
The Eight-winged Bright Angel and the Holy Knights had all left, but the Divine Worship Ceremony was not over yet.
As the one presiding over the ceremony, Gu Sewei had to see the long and complex Divine Worship Ceremony through to its very end.
By the time the ceremony ended, it was already dusk.
Gu Sewei stretched her sore arms and walked towards the Ice Jade Palace.
Some unexpected things had happened during the ceremony, but fortunately, they had all been within her control.
What surprised her a little was the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Walking into the Ice Jade Palace, Gu Sewei wanted to find the Ice Queen and share what she had experienced during the Divine Worship Ceremony.
But all she found was an empty throne inside the Ice Jade Palace.
She searched everywhere but couldn’t find any sign of the Ice Queen.
She used Magic to contact her, but there was no response.
Gu Sewei was bewildered. ’Where did the Ice Queen go?’
For Gu Sewei, the Ice Queen was like an older sister and a mother.
Suddenly losing contact left a hollow feeling in her heart.
Thinking of how the Eight-winged Bright Angel had suddenly flown into the Ice Jade Palace earlier, Gu Sewei had a bad feeling.
She hurriedly ran outside, wanting to catch up with the departing Holy Knights and ask them what had happened.
A figure standing at the entrance blocked her path.
"Li Wei!"
Gu Sewei was a little surprised to see the person in front of her.
Then, she said with an anxious look, "You have to go, don’t stay here. Those Holy Knights are still looking for you."
Li Wei said, "I know."
After thinking for a long time, Li Wei finally decided to tell Gu Sewei the truth.
The Ice Queen had wanted to hide the truth because she was afraid of hurting Gu Sewei. But the deeper reason was her fear that Gu Sewei would also be harmed by the Divine Spirits—something the Ice Queen couldn’t control. If the Divine Spirits could move against her, they could certainly target Gu Sewei as well.
Li Wei said, "The Ice Queen is gone..."
After hearing Li Wei’s explanation, Gu Sewei stood frozen in place.
A few seconds later, fat teardrops welled up and streamed from her eyes.
"Why? Why! Why..."
Gu Sewei repeated the question several times.
Li Wei knew what she wanted to ask, but he couldn’t explain it either.
The only thing he could do was give her a hug.
Gu Sewei threw her arms around Li Wei and burst into sobs.
Today, she had lost someone very important.