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"Yes, five months of secluded training allowed His Majesty to successfully integrate the power of a War Beamon crystal core, doubling his strength. With that absolute and overwhelming power, he eradicated the influence that the human had over him," the Pope nodded and said, "This is also why he has been unable to effectively respond to the northwest rebellion for the past six months—he had no time to command the army. If he cannot deal with the human Pope, then all strategies become difficult to execute. In comparison, the issues in the northwest are merely minor problems."

...So that's why... I was indeed being presumptuous...

Chen Xuanfeng's thoughts raced, and then he asked, "Then do you know what is behind the human Pope's power surge? Why has it increased so much?"

The Pope nodded slightly and said, "We were indeed negligent before. It was only half a year ago that we discovered through an investigation that it was a hidden covenant granted by the Light God to humans. When the territory controlled by the Light God's followers falls by more than 70%, and the number of believers decreases by more than half, the current Pope can draw immense power from the deity through the 'Eternal Holy Grail' to defend the Church. The greater the casualties, the greater the power bestowed by the deity. However, it seems this power does not come without a price. It is said that over three hundred years ago, when the first Pope was assassinated and the entire Light Empire collapsed, with various restored dynasties besieging Saint Spirit Mountain, the second Pope relied on this covenant to single-handedly repel the armies. Yet, less than a year later, that Pope, who was only in his fifties, died. It is said that at the time of his death, his body looked like that of a hundred-year-old man."

While Chen Xuanfeng and the others whispered among themselves, the Orc King and the Pope on the battlefield did not pause. After deflecting an attack from the Pope, Samantha laughed heartily and shouted at the Pope in the sky, "Human, if every attack of yours could reach this level, I would turn and leave right now. But if you can't, then you will die here today!"

The Pope in the sky did not respond. Instead, he suddenly took a deep breath, and the light power in the air surged into his body in a frenzy. His aged face transformed magically into youth, his white hair and hunched body reversing time in a short span. In the time it takes for an ordinary person to breathe twice, the Pope transformed from an eighty-year-old man into a handsome youth of about twenty.

The only thing that set him apart from an ordinary youth was the depth of experience in his eyes and the six long, snow-white wings of light on his back.

Then, he removed his outer robe, spread his arms, and chanted, "Summon—Thorn Crown! Summon—Ancient God Armor! Summon—Radiant Holy Sword!"

In a flash of light, a black thorn-like circlet, an ancient and heavy full-body armor, and a large sword with gold, blue, and purple hues flew out from the temple behind him and equipped themselves on his body.

"Haha, the 'Thorn Crown,' a cultivation artifact capable of transforming pain into infinite Divine Light Power, and the 'Ancient God Armor,' the only armor in the top thirty of the epic divine weapons. Truly remarkable equipment," the War God Pope sneered as he evaluated the Pope in the sky, now armed with formidable power. "It's a pity there's no matching sword. Although the 'Radiant Holy Sword' is also an epic weapon, its ranking falls below 250th, not much stronger than legendary equipment."

Listening to the Pope's commentary, Chen Xuanfeng looked closely and immediately recognized the armor, the circlet, and the ancient book in the Pope's right hand. These were treasures he had seen in the treasure vault of the underground palace when he went to steal the "Doomsday Horn." He had later investigated them based on his memory: the "Thorn Crown" was also a Divine Light artifact, though its grade was far inferior to the "Eternal Holy Grail" and not much stronger than epic equipment, but it was still a treasure bestowed by the Light God. The "Ancient God Armor" was the 18th-ranked powerful armor on the continent, with astonishing defensive capabilities and the ability to absorb various energy attacks to enhance its defense. Attacks below its energy threshold were completely ineffective. As for the ancient book the Pope originally held, it was the most renowned scripture of the Light Temple, the "Book of Revelation," said to contain the divine decrees of the Light God from the time of the Church's founding. Though not powerful in itself, it could enhance the effects of the "Divine Prophecy" and held a status among humans no less than that of a divine artifact.

This time, the Pope had brought out all three treasures, clearly going all out. Unfortunately, he did not have a weapon of the same level. The two strongest light-based divine weapons among the epic equipment had already been lost. The "Holy Lance Quinilon," along with its holy emblem, had fallen into the hands of Jin Luosha, while the higher-ranked "Sword of Light" was in the possession of the "Dark Eagle" Ziegfried. He had no choice but to make do with a light-based great sword ranked much lower.

"Hahaha, very well. Since you're ready, let's fight!"

Seeing the Pope transform into the form of a six-winged youth, Samantha naturally knew that this was a sign of the Pope pushing his light power to the limit, triggering angelic sanctification. Without further ado, he waved his hand backward, and a massive two-headed scorpion dragon flew to his side. On the scorpion dragon's back was a saddle, from which hung Samantha's weapon, the "Cataclysm Demon Axe." With his right hand, he took the demon axe, and with his mutated left hand, he pressed against the scorpion dragon's back, shouting, "Armorize!" The colossal ninth-level magical beast immediately turned into a ball of light and merged into Samantha's body. When the light dispersed, the scorpion dragon had transformed into a half-body armor covering Samantha, and most importantly, a pair of scorpion dragon wings had sprouted from his back.

In the next moment, the Orc King had already soared into the sky.

Heroic Werewolf Scroll Chapter 78: Desperate Resolve Reaches the Clouds

"The Lord says..."

"He says bullshit—"

"Ah, sinful beast, you..."

"You were born from a whore!"

The most resounding echoes in the sky were not the explosions from the clashes of power between the two supreme masters, but their mutual roars of insults.

Pope Paul VIII, having spent half his life cultivating the "Divine Prophecy," had developed a habit of starting his sentences with "The Lord says" during battles, exuding authority and grandeur. Unfortunately, this time he encountered Samantha, who had grown up on the battlefield. Though he had been the Orc King for twenty years, the crude language he learned in the military camps had not been forgotten. Now, mixed with the rolling combat energy of the "Emperor Martial Overlord Art," his shouts overpowered the Pope's words, leaving him speechless. The Orc warriors below were also stunned. They had never imagined that their stern and majestic king could be so formidable when cursing.