Chapter 397: The Holy Son’s Barrier, Battle Resumes

"Princess Lily?"Besides Lin Mo, Lily also emerged from her portable space and stood at his side, since she knew people from the Church.

Seeing Lily, Lyons froze for a moment, then his face broke into rapture as he hurried over and stepped forward, grabbing... Lin Mo’s hand.

"That barrier just now, you created it, right?"

"Uh... yes."

Lin Mo blinked at the young man in front of him, then glanced at Lily, waiting for her to explain.

Lily blinked and finally snapped back to reality, then explained, "This is the Holy Son of the Holy Light Church, His Eminence Lyons."

She then pointed to Lin Mo. "Your Eminence Lyons, this is Your Eminence Lin Mo..."

She stopped there and did not say anything more about Lin Mo.

In fact, there was no need to say more. As the Holy Son of the Church, Lyons understood Holy Light Power even better than Lily did. He knew exactly what it meant for someone to be able to use Holy Light of that caliber.

So after Lily’s introduction, he put a hand to his chest and bowed slightly. "I was overly excited earlier. My apologies, Your Eminence Lin Mo. Nice to meet you, I am Lyons."

"Yes, hello."

Lin Mo took the hand and shook it, studying the Holy Son with some curiosity.

As the Holy Son of the Holy Light Church, this man was undoubtedly one of the continent’s top figures; his status likely exceeded that of Aaron, the Vice Dean of the Violet Empire Academy Lin Mo had met before, and by quite a margin.

I use Aaron as a reference because up until now, Lin Mo had not met anyone stronger than Aaron.

Nuolun’s mother, though a noble of the Empire, was still young and had not reached very high strength herself. Besides her, the only one Lin Mo had seen who was stronger than Aaron was the Ice Dragon King.

As for the Church’s Holy Son in front of him, Lin Mo could not determine his exact strength, but by intuition he could sense that this man was very likely above Aaron.

Still, Lyons seemed affable and easy to get along with.

If the Empire’s people knew what Lin Mo was thinking now, they would probably be furious.

"Now is not a good time to chat. When this incident is over, I will speak with Your Eminence in detail."

Though he had many questions he wanted to ask, Lyons prioritized the bigger picture. After briefly parting with Lin Mo, he hurried off.

Lin Mo watched his retreating figure, sensing that the Holy Son probably already had a plan and felt relieved.

It looked like the Church had prior warning about this situation and had dispatched someone substantial as the Holy Son.

Since the Church’s Holy Son had appeared, Lin Mo no longer needed to worry about the next steps. He would simply follow the Holy Son and see how he handled things.

After Lyons, personnel from various factions continued to arrive one after another.

Among them, Blin Zhenghuai spotted acquaintances—Nuolun and Shirleyas.

Before the battlefield’s situation dramatically changed, the Oxivis Family’s people naturally allowed Nuolun’s future successor to behave arrogantly. The family’s protection force slowly led the two of them into the battlefield area to rendezvous with retreating family troops, then advance together.

Come to think of it, was this the third "chance meeting"?

After considering it, Lin Mo decided to let her off this time and did not go over to greet her.

After all, ending the cat-and-mouse game just like that would be too dull, and Nuolun would probably not accept defeat gracefully. It was better to make her lose convincingly.

After waiting a while longer, the main force finally arrived.

A massive number of soldiers and adventurers ran toward the area as fast as possible. Because of the Holy Light Barrier Lin Mo had created, the Dark Tide was greatly blocked, so more than two-thirds of the soldiers and adventurers had not been affected and evacuated the front lines smoothly. The remaining third were not entirely wiped out, though some individuals had been swallowed by the Dark Tide.

Once Lin Mo confirmed that the vast majority had retreated safely, he stopped hesitating and prepared to fall in with the ranks.

The reason he had not left immediately and waited so long was fear that the Holy Light Barrier he had created would run out of energy. He still had some Holy Light Power left, not because he was reluctant to spend it, but because the barrier he had formed earlier was already close to the limit of what he could control and could not be extended much further. Even if he poured his remaining Holy Light into it, the barrier’s range would hard to expand.

That part of his power would still be useful in subsequent fighting, but if something major happened here and the barrier showed signs of fracturing prematurely, he would have to keep investing into it.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and no emergencies occurred.

Another reason was that Lin Mo, who had Teleport, was in no rush; he could teleport anywhere he wanted at any time.

With a thought, the next moment Lin Mo appeared more than ten kilometers away. This teleport was relatively short because he could see that a new defensive line was already being constructed nearby.

Behind him, the Holy Son Lyons floated in midair above a tremendously complex magic array, with many magic stones and materials laid on it.

Was he planning to set up a large magic array?

No, it didn’t seem to be just a magic array...

Lin Mo watched with curiosity. It looked like Lyons had been preparing for some time—now was the critical moment.

Soon the array beneath him began to operate, and the magic stones placed on it were consumed rapidly as the array solidified.

Then an immense Holy Light Power radiated from Lyons.

In terms of purity, this Holy Light was not as refined as Lin Mo’s, but compared to Lily’s it was at least comparable; this was already exceptionally high quality.

In terms of sheer volume, however, it far exceeded Lily’s by an unfathomable multiple…

That boundless power seemed to bathe the whole world in golden light for an instant.

Under the influence of that Holy Light, the array below began to transform. After the magic stones formed the array’s foundation, Lyons’ Holy Light became the core sustaining power of the formation.

The array spun rapidly. Under its influence, the Holy Son Lyons’ Holy Light shaped with great efficiency, constructing a vast barrier around them!

This appeared to be the method he had chosen.

Lin Mo nodded.

Within this barrier’s domain, the Dark Tide could not spread, so soldiers and adventurers sheltered inside were protected. The barrier itself became a natural defensive line; not only could the Dark Tide not penetrate it, but Goblins and Gnomes affected by the Dark Tide outside were similarly blocked by it.

Those inside the barrier were relatively safe; the only threats were ranged attacks from outside.

To conserve Holy Light Power and use energy correctly, the barrier did not directly block every attack. That was enough for now...

This meant that as long as the barrier remained, choosing to attack or defend was entirely their decision. If the situation turned unfavorable, they could retreat inside the barrier to rest.

Of course, maintaining the barrier would increase the Holy Son’s energy burden.

So the best tactic was to fight along the barrier’s edge.

With the array’s support, the barrier could be maintained for a long time. Barring unexpected complications, it should hold until the battle ended.

But that did not make the upcoming fighting any easier.

On the contrary, under the Dark Tide’s boost, even ordinary Goblins were far stronger than before, so the challenges ahead would be harder.

Moreover, to sustain the barrier Lyons, as Holy Son, could not join the battle directly.

Still, as long as the Dark Tide could be suppressed, this was not an insurmountable issue.

The Roxez Empire likely had already dispatched high-value personnel to wait for the right moment to strike...

The major troop transfers were mostly complete. A huge number of people crowded within the relatively narrow barrier, making the space a bit cramped.

This was Lyons’ limit; if the Pope Himself had come, a somewhat larger barrier could have been formed.

After confirming that the vast majority had entered the barrier’s protection, senior officers immediately began command and coordination, quickly reconnecting with officers at all levels and restoring the army’s chain of command.

As they made these preparations, the large pale-gold barrier Lin Mo had left behind shattered.

Within minutes the fractured barrier collapsed completely and could no longer block the Dark Tide’s advance.

The time left for them to rest was short.

Soon after, a large number of green figures reappeared in sight.

Compared with earlier, these Goblins had undergone visible changes.

Besides their usual green hue, they now bore gray-black mottling. Their aura had become more eerie and powerful. Their expressions were neither fierce nor sly; instead they were calm and numb.

This was the most dangerous condition. It meant the Dark Tide had robbed them of thought; they no longer feared; even instinctual retreat might be gone. What they faced now was a truly fearless Goblin horde.

"Prepare for battle!"

A general amplified his voice with qi and blood, making it boom through the area.

One after another, voices answered from all directions.

Soldiers and adventurers had already gotten into position and responded, and the battlefield rang with high morale.

It must be said, even after days of fighting, the allied forces’ morale remained high. They all knew that if they failed to stop these Goblins from entering the Empire, their families and friends would be harmed by these beasts.

In a war to defend one’s home, all armies can be driven to their utmost.

Of course, there were exceptions...

In short, this war, far from over, had started again.

To conserve Holy Light Power and allow the war to continue while eliminating the Dark Tide–tainted filth, Lyons’ barrier retained only protective properties; its Holy Light was fully contained and not projected outward. Since its purity was not as high as Lin Mo’s, it would not frighten the Dark Tide away.

Soon the Goblin horde reached the barrier’s edge and launched their assault.

Intense fighting erupted again!

Soldiers followed orders and fought along the barrier’s perimeter. Because the barrier’s coverage was limited, many could not participate all at once, which conveniently allowed for a rotation system: those temporarily unable to fight would rest and later replace front-liners.

Thanks to the barrier’s protection, numerical superiority of the Goblins was less overwhelming.

But there was a cost... Many Goblins bypassed the barrier entirely and moved toward areas beyond the forest.

That was unavoidable. The Dark Tide’s emergence meant the previous strategy of completely blocking Goblin advance routes could no longer be implemented, so many Goblins would inevitably slip through.

Those near the barrier could actively counterattack and defend. Farther away, defenses could only watch helplessly.

However, news of the surprise had already reached the Roxez Empire, so a second defensive line would soon be built on the imperial border.

As for the Elven Royal Court...

Although mostly composed now of the elderly, weak, and sick, the Elven race’s powerful bloodline still gave them decent capability. They were not something these vermin could shake; unless a mass Goblin invasion occurred, neither the Empire nor the Elven Royal Court faced catastrophic threat.

So their task was simple: hold the main force here as best as possible and block this disaster!

Lin Mo did not immediately join the fighting. He observed briefly, wanting to see exactly how much the Dark Tide affected and enhanced the Goblins.

First was the Dark Tide’s control effect beyond stats: the Goblins had become far more fearless—each appearing like emotionless, mindless war machines.

Beyond that, the Dark Tide also boosted Goblin attributes—direct combat power was significantly increased...