I Started My Redemption by Raising Believers in the Wasteland-Chapter 6 : The Descent of the Divine Knight! One Strike to Kill!

Chapter 6: The Descent of the Divine Knight! One Strike to Kill!
The sudden divine oracle left Liz’s mind momentarily blank.
Then— an unprecedented, vast, and majestic torrent of will, carrying unimaginable holy power, forcefully surged into her body!
Ah.
This power was so strong! So pure!
It far surpassed the faint Holy Light that had just revived within her.
In an instant, it filled every meridian, every cell, every fragment of thought within her!
“Ugh—ahhhh!!!”
Liz completely lost control, letting out a cry that mixed both pain and joy!
Her eyes were filled with pure golden radiance!
The knight’s sword in her hand erupted with brilliance as dazzling as a small sun!
And that shard of the Holy Bone, under the infusion of immense Holy Radiance, truly came alive!
The Holy Bone shard became a miniature energy core, storing the excess power Liz could not withstand within it.
It spared her from the risk of bursting apart and raised the limits of her combat strength!
At this very moment— on the dim battlefield, the valiant and beautiful female knight had completely transformed into a blazing golden being!
Her power was forcibly elevated to a level she had never imagined before!
Liz lifted her head.
Her golden eyes locked tightly onto the twisted green shadow above the church, the one madly attacking the cross!
No thought, no hesitation— only the purest fury from the depths of her soul toward the desecrator!
“Filth that defiles the Sanctuary! Evil trash!!”
“——Die!!!”
The condensed golden arc of light roared forth from the tip of her sword.
It seemed to ignore the distance of space itself, piercing through the night sky with the will to purify all things.
It split the heavens!!
The Mutated Ghoul finally felt the fatal threat.
It let out a shriek so sharp it surpassed the limits of human hearing, trying to dodge.
But— too late!
Shhh!!!
The golden light arc struck its grotesque torso squarely!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a chilling, teeth-grinding hiss!
The Mutated Ghoul’s rock-hard body, at the instant it touched the divine light arc, turned into wisps of foul black smoke!
At last— its entire form melted into a pool of viscous dead water, no longer moving.
……
The battlefield fell into utter silence.
All the ghouls seemed frozen, their movements stiff.
In those murky eyes of theirs, for the first time, appeared instinctive fear toward a higher power!
In a swarm, they fled deep into the forest and disappeared…
The refugees on the defense line stood dumbfounded, staring at the figure like a golden war goddess, standing tall on the steps, sword pointed to the heavens!
Their minds went blank, their hearts shaken to the core.
Without a doubt— at this moment, Liz was the embodiment of the Lord’s will!
Radiant beyond compare!
Brilliant to the extreme!
Worthy of worship!
As for the one who made all this possible—Lynn— his soul felt an overwhelming weakness, as if recovering from a grave illness.
That desperate divine descent blessing had drained all his reserves and strength.
“Thankfully… we won.”
Lynn felt deeply relieved.
As a church, a sanctuary— he had succeeded in protecting his believers and his people!
This battle was not in vain!
However— after a brief moment of peace,
Liz’s figure suddenly wavered.
The knight’s sword in her hand, its glow now dim and cracked, fell with a clang to the ground, and crumbled completely into powder.
The divine golden brilliance on Liz’s face faded quietly away, replaced by extreme paleness and unbearable pain!
Forcibly bearing the vast power that far exceeded her own limits, even with the Holy Bone shard as a medium— it had still been too much…
The dual burden on her body and spirit was catastrophic.
The Holy Bone shard embedded in her octagonal cross emblem grew dull gray, its fine cracks spreading into dozens of web-like fissures.
Soon, like the knight’s sword, it too completely shattered.
It could be said that in this battle—
Liz had consumed all her meager extraordinary reserves.
“Ah! Aunt Liz!”
“Oh no, Lady Liz!”
The refugees on the defense line awoke from their daze, their cries breaking the silence.
Ulf and the few warriors still able to stand rushed forward to support the fainting Liz and carefully carried her into the church.
“Quickly! Lay her flat!”
“W-we need clean bandages—Lady Liz has so many wounds, we must stop the bleeding quickly!”
Without Liz’s command, the church fell into utter chaos.
The anxious rustling of warriors searching through packs, the groans of the wounded, and the cries of those who had lost loved ones intertwined together.
It took them quite some effort to finally finish bandaging Liz’s wounds.
Seeing this, Lynn felt helpless as well.
If he had Holy Radiance, he could have helped Liz recover quickly.
But it seemed that the increase of Holy Radiance had its limit!
The dozens of believers today had provided him with nearly a hundred points of Holy Radiance, yet all of it was now consumed.
At the moment, it was no longer increasing.
“It seems that each person can only provide a fixed amount of Holy Radiance per day.”
“I just don’t know how exactly it’s calculated…”
That was something Lynn would have to slowly figure out in the future.
Right now, he could not afford to waste time.
Liz, as the leader of this group and as his first Knight of Light could not be allowed to die so easily!
Moreover, there were still many ghouls wandering through the forest, preying on other survivors.
At any time, they might turn their eyes toward this place again.
Therefore, Lynn had to repair himself—his church body—and quickly restore his living strength!
His divine consciousness gathered within the vast church hall.
Lynn could neither speak nor directly command, but he could offer a certain degree of guidance.
Buzz…
The damaged cross atop the church spire flickered faintly.
A warm current carrying a clear will quietly brushed against the heart of one of the survivors.
…It was Ulf, who had been frowning over the chaotic scene before him.
He suddenly lifted his head, his mind becoming much clearer.
He looked at the unconscious Liz, then at the wounded companions and those who had lost their loved ones around him.
A heavy sense of responsibility welled up from within him!
Lady Liz was gravely injured and unconscious.
Now, the only one who could shoulder responsibility was him!
“Everyone, calm down!”
Ulf’s loud voice shattered the silence.
His tall figure appeared exceptionally firm.
“Lady Liz shed all her blood for us!”
“The Angel’s protection allowed us to survive!”
“So we can’t just lie here waiting to die!”
“Those filthy beasts outside are still watching us!”
“They’re eager to bite into our flesh and tear open our hearts!”
“We must rebuild the Sanctuary’s defenses!!”
Hearing his words— the refugees who could still move struggled to stand up.
A faint light rekindled in their eyes.
“Ulf, what should we do?”
Marianne wiped her tears away, her expression resolute.
“First, clean up the battlefield!”
Ulf pointed outside the door. “Drag those filthy remains as far away as possible.”
“Their very existence is a desecration of the Sanctuary!”
“Also, gather all the usable wood and stones.”
“We’ll reinforce the gate and repair the breaches of the Sanctuary!”
He swept his gaze over the disorderly, decaying interior of the church and said seriously, “Inside the Sanctuary must be cleaned as well.”
“We’ll wipe away the blood and move the rubble aside.”
“The Angel needs a clean place! Our wounded need a clean environment to heal!”
“Quickly! Everyone, start moving!”
“The injured—those who can still move, help each other first!”
“The women, use snow water to boil water, and boil all the cloth strips you can find!”
His orders were simple and effective.
The men gritted their teeth, enduring fatigue and nausea, as they began cleaning the charred corpses outside the door.
With crude tools, they dragged the foul-smelling remains toward the edge of the forest, far from the church.
Others started gathering the relatively intact wood and stones scattered from the battle, piling them by the inner side of the church gate to repair and strengthen the defenses.
Inside the church, the women and children also began moving.
They soaked torn cloths in snow water and vigorously scrubbed the dried, blackened blood from the floors and walls.
The acrid stench made them gag again and again, but once cleaned, the smell slowly faded away.
As for the children— they were given simpler tasks, such as collecting scattered stones and sweeping dust from the corners.
Even a few women who knew a little about herbs gathered what they could and ground them, tending to the severely wounded with what limited means they had.
A scene of bustling activity was slowly reborn upon the ruins.