The golden orb of light in Song Jie's palm grew larger and larger before he hurled it forward!
Mo Fan watched intently, unable to blink as the radiant sphere streaked through the air.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive golden explosion erupted within the horde of demons!
Blinding rays of golden lasers burst out, slicing through the monsters in every direction.
In an instant, every demon caught in the blast was shredded by beams of light.
"Move!" Song Jie shouted.
He knew those monsters wouldn't survive that attack. Mo Fan, stunned by what he had just witnessed, hurried to follow.
He had thought that after absorbing the Holy Spring, the gap between him and Song Jie wouldn't be too large.
But now, after seeing that terrifying magic—was this really the same Song Jie he knew?
The power difference between them wasn't just a gap—it was an unbridgeable chasm!
If that spell had been aimed at him, he wouldn't have survived at all.
The two of them ran quickly through the ruins and didn't stop until they were far away from the explosion site.
Seeing no demons chasing them, Song Jie finally let out a breath.
He turned to Mo Fan, his eyes narrowing.
"Mo Fan, this is my secret. You know what to do, right?"
"Brother Jie, don't worry," Mo Fan said seriously. "You only revealed your power to save me. I'll keep it secret."
"Good." Song Jie smiled faintly and looked toward the road ahead.
Just then, a series of deep, echoing roars erupted from the distance.
Both of them stopped and looked toward the source of the sound.
"What the hell is that?" Mo Fan muttered, his face pale.
In the center of Bo City, a giant demon sat cross-legged—a Winged Wolf Commander!
Among demon ranks, slave-level beasts were the weakest, followed by general-level, and above them—commander-level demons.
A single commander-level creature could lead thousands of monsters, and this Winged Wolf was the one commanding the demon army assaulting Bo City.
Mo Fan stared at the enormous creature, trembling.
"Isn't a commander-level demon something only high-level mages can handle?"
"Let's move first," Song Jie said calmly, already mapping out an escape route in his mind.
Although he was powerful, he knew acting alone wasn't wise. Finding the military or other magicians would increase their survival chances.
After walking for a while, they came across two people in gray robes standing at the end of the street.
"Those robes…" Song Jie frowned. "The Black Vatican."
The two gray-robed figures turned toward them. One of them glared, his killing intent clear.
"Let's go. Those two are as good as dead," one of them said coldly.
"You go first," the other replied. "There's someone here I must kill."
"Fine, but don't forget our mission," the first one said before disappearing down another path.
Song Jie narrowed his eyes. "They're members of the Black Vatican. I'll go after the one who left. You handle the one who stayed. Afterward, wait for me."
"The Black Vatican?" Mo Fan froze. Then Tang Yue's words echoed in his mind—The disaster in Bo City might have been caused by the Black Vatican.
Song Jie nodded grimly. "That's right. Tang Yue suspected them, and now we have proof."
The realization made Mo Fan's blood boil.
Those maniacs had brought ruin to Bo City!
"Mo Fan, I didn't expect to meet you here."
A masked man approached from the shadows, his tone dripping with resentment.
At the same moment, Song Jie had already taken off, pursuing the other member.
Mo Fan frowned. The man's voice sounded familiar.
"You are…?"
"Don't you recognize me?" the masked man snarled. "You humiliated me in front of everyone!"
Mo Fan's eyes widened. "You're Mu He's nephew—Mu Yuang!"
"So, you remember." Mu Yuang sneered, hatred burning in his eyes. "You'll regret that day."
"I didn't expect you to be a dog of the Black Vatican!" Mo Fan shouted.
"Enough talk. Today will be your death anniversary!" Mu Yuang snapped, summoning a pack of dark beasts that surrounded Mo Fan.
Meanwhile, Song Jie was tracking the other Black Vatican member.
He followed him silently for several minutes until he spotted a group of gray-robed believers gathered around a black-robed priest.
In the Black Vatican's hierarchy, gray-robed followers were the lowest, followed by the black-robed clergy, then the blue deacons above them.
"Where's Mu Yuang?" the black-robed priest asked coldly.
"He said he wanted to take care of someone and would meet up later," one of the followers replied.
"This fool acted on his own and ruined my plan! He won't escape punishment!" the priest growled.
"Master Priest, are you injured?" a believer asked cautiously.
"Those damned people from the Inquisition chased us endlessly," the priest said, his voice trembling with fury. "If not for a demon attacking them, we would've completed our mission by now!"
He clenched his fist, blood dripping from his palm. "Forget it. Let's go get the Holy Spring!"
The followers nodded and began moving out.
From the shadows, Song Jie had already learned everything he needed.
A cold smile appeared on his lips.
"You're looking for the Holy Spring?" he said, stepping out of the darkness. "It's right here with me."
The priest and his followers froze, turning toward him.
"You're… Song Jie?" the black-robed priest asked in surprise.
"So, you know who I am. Then you must also know I entered the Holy Spring," Song Jie replied evenly.
"Hand it over," the priest demanded. "Do that, and I'll grant you a painless death."
"The Holy Spring of the Earth is right here." Song Jie lifted the bottle, the golden liquid glowing faintly within. "Come and take it."
The believers' eyes lit up greedily.
"Kill him! Take the Holy Spring!" the black-robed priest roared.
At his command, black beasts were summoned, their red eyes glinting in the shadows.
Song Jie smirked. "Perfect. Now I don't have to hold back."
He raised his hand, light magic already building in his palm.
The battlefield was his now.