As the cruiser’s enormous cannons pivoted downward towards the Holy Justice Citadel, within the cruiser, translucent lenses began to swirl open, revealing ethereal cores where raw destructive energy gathered.
There were 108 cores divided among each cannon, and they were actually soul totems, and the weakest soul totem among them belonged to a Tier-6 Legendary Lord!
At that moment, the entire prow of the Shattered Star Cruiser seemed to hum with the eerie rumble as crimson runes spiraled faster and faster.
The Champion King’s eyes flickered with dark anticipation as he gazed at the citadel as if it were a graveyard.
But then, before the cannons could fully charge and unleash, the space around the cruiser suddenly rippled subtly.
The Champion King instantly noticed the change in the space as he looked towards it.
Thereafter, from the golden light that pierced through the gloom, nine radiant figures emerged from the space, one after another, until they stood in a perfect ring around the Shattered Star Cruiser like a formation!
Each was draped in robes of purest white, their features veiled by halos of light so intense it seemed to burn through the air.
Their combined radiance spilled outward, washing over the Cruiser like a tide. It was not an attack, but the effect was immediate—every cannon’s gathering soul totem sputtered, the beams dimming as though smothered by invisible chains.
A holy seal in the form of a nine-pointed sun bloomed beneath the ship, locking it in place.
The crew staggered from the sudden suppression, curses spilling from their lips. Dark Wing’s face hardened as he gripped the railing.
The Champion King, after a moment of stupor, however... laughed. A deep, rumbling sound that echoed from his chest, bewildering Dark Wing and the other pirates.
Champion King arrogantly yet murderously spoke as he coldly looked at the radiant figure standing in line of his sight, "Finally showing yourselves... Archpriests of the Nine Great Temples."
The Champion King has guessed correctly, as the nine radiant figures belonged to the Nine Great Temples of the Cardinal Spirit Temple.
As a Tier-3 Legendary King, standing at the peak of the Legendary Rank, Champion King was well aware of the existence of the Archpriests because each of them belonged to the same rank.
Furthermore, the Nine Great Temples were the first line of defense against any possible invasion or attack.
But today, because of the sudden disruption caused by the fading faith power, the mysterious formation formed with the nine Great Temples also stopped working, giving the Shattered Star Pirates a chance to invade the Holy Justice Citadel easily.
Moreover, the nine Archpriests also suffered a mental breakdown because of the fading Faith Power, and almost fell into despair like the natives of the Holy Justice Citadel.
However, because the Archpriests didn’t live within the Holy Justice Citadel, and they were at the peak of the Legendary Rank, the impact on their mind and souls caused by the lack of faith power also decreased.
Although their power was weakened by 40% due to the lack of faith power, they managed to resist with their strong souls and wills and keep their sanity.
Nonetheless, they were still shaken by the sudden calamity and instantly rushed towards the Holy Justice Citadel as they all knew the source of the faith power was the citadel, and something must’ve happened to it to cause all of this.
But the moment they reached the citadel, they saw it was besieged by the Shattered Star Pirates and the Champion King, which led them to misinterpret the situation and blame everything on the Champion King.
Despite their boundless fury, they didn’t confront the Champion King instantly and hid within the folds of space to get a good grip of the situation. After all, they weren’t at their full capacity, and if they confronted the Champion King one by one, it would be akin to suicide.
Furthermore, the situation of the citadel was extremely dire, and the Holy King was nowhere to be seen despite the Champion King’s blunt provocations.
So, when the Champion King drew his weapons to destroy the citadel, no matter how cool-headed they were, they couldn’t just watch because they knew if the citadel were to be destroyed, they might never recover their faith power.
That’s why they couldn’t only reveal themselves and use a secret method of the Cardinal Spirit Temple and form a formation while working together to suppress the Shattered Star Cruiser and the Champion King, while hoping the Holy King would arrive in time.
Yet, the Champion King didn’t seem to be afraid despite being locked within their formation, and instead he laughed, as his gaze swept over the glowing figures of Archpriests like a predator sizing up its next hunt, sending chills down their spines.
"You guys come in a timely manner, yet I still couldn’t find the old hag among you, which means, if I deal with your lot, the entire Cardinal Spirit Temple will be at my mercy..." The Champion King causally stated with derision.
"Umm... Captain, why don’t we retreat? They are all peak Legendary King and..." Dark Wing tried to advise the Champion King, as he couldn’t understand why the Champion King was being so reckless.
Granted that the Champion King was a menace and had never lost one-on-one with any Legendary King, but against nine of them working together, even the Champion King would fall.
However, before the Dark King could finish his words, he was cut short by the Champion King’s confident voice, "No need to worry. If it was in the past, I might’ve really considered retreating; however, I’m different from my past self..."
Dark Wing was astounded by the Champion King’s words as he looked at the towering giant with a hint of confusion.
"Don’t you guys always wonder how I was able to get rid of my Star Criminal status?" Champion King then suddenly added, making Dark Wing and the star pirates look at him with widened eyes and curiosity.
Just as the Champion King said, his crew has always been curious about how the Champion King suddenly got rid of his status as the Star Criminal and was able to enter the Virtual Star World.
Not only them but the entire legendary plans, especially the Champion King’s enemies, were curious about this specific fact. But the Champion King never even revealed it to his crew, much less outsiders.
Yet now, they all became even more curious about how the Champion King was able to get rid of his star criminal status, and this secret also seemed to be the reason behind his current confidence!