NOVEL NEXT Chapter 881: Natalie's Trump Card
As if summoned by her words, a blinding bolt of lightning tore through the sky and slammed into the northern rampart with a deafening blast…
The impact sent a shockwave across the shelter's perimeter and briefly distorted the golden shimmer of the holy barrier that had, until now, held firm against the storm.
The steel plating along the wall was scorched black in an instant, and the air around the impact zone began to ripple unnaturally, as though something far more dangerous than the weather had arrived.
Natalie's eyes widened as she leaned forward… She felt the energy outside and realized what was going on.
She didn't need confirmation. She had seen this kind of distortion before, once, during the Zombie Wave Event, when a Zombie Lord had emerged from a crater of fire and ash. This time, it was lightning…
The tactical screens inside the shelter flickered briefly before stabilizing, and then, everyone got the confirmation they needed.
[ Zombie Lord Lightning Boros has entered the battlefield. ]
There was no need for explanation.
Everyone who saw the message understood what it meant.
The Priests who had been chanting paused mid-incantation, their voices faltered as they turned toward the northern wall.
The Bishops, already forming defensive lines, tightened their grips on their halberds. Even the Holy Knights, summoned only minutes earlier, shifted their stances, their glowing swords raised slightly higher as they sensed the shift in the battlefield's rhythm.
Natalie didn't speak.
She didn't need to. Her silence was enough to convey the gravity of the situation.
A lightning Zombie Lord would definitely not be an easy opponent…
From the smoke and static near the northern rampart, a figure began to emerge.
It was tall and seemed to rival the size of a Tyrant Zombie…
Its silhouette flickered with arcs of unstable energy that danced across its limbs like living chains...
Then, its movements was filled power as if its body couldn't fully contain the energy coursing through it. Flesh and metal were fused together and it had conductor rods jutting from its spine and shoulders.
As everyone took a closer look, they also noticed that it blue eyes glowed slight and it made even the seasoned soldiers hesitate.
Was the even more terrifying was the fact that it didn't seem to be walking. It looked like it was gliding or hovering 3 inches off the ground!
***
Raizen, still beside Natalie with his hood pulled low, opened his eyes slowly.
The glow around him had dimmed slightly, and his breathing was steady but strained.
"I can't summon again yet…" he said quietly, his voice barely audible beneath the storm. "Cooldown still active…"
Well, he had just summoned another set and sent them to the side that needed help. He needed a few more minutes to summon more Holy Knights.
Natalie nodded, her gaze never leaving the figure now fully visible beyond the barrier.
"Then we hold," she replied, her voice firm despite the tension in her shoulders.
She activated her comms with a single tap.
"New Haven Clan… Focus all ranged units on the northern wall. Priests, reinforce the barrier. Bishops, prepare to intercept. Do not let it breach the wall.
Indeed, the Lightning Zombie Lord Boros was still outside the tower… However, it would surely pass through their barrier really soon.
Boom!
The Lightning Zombie Lord raised its arm, and another bolt surged forward, striking the barrier with enough force to send a ripple through the entire shelter…
The golden shield held, but the strain was visible now… There were cracks of light across its surface, and several Priests staggered from the feedback, clutching their staffs as they struggled to maintain the flow of holy energy.
Natalie had to use her next trump card.
Natalie grabbed the radio receiver from the command console, adjusted the channel to the Sanctum Warehouse frequency, and pressed the transmit button.
"This is Commander Cross. Mossad, do you copy?"
A brief crackle came through before a calm, steady voice responded.
"Copy, Commander. Bishop Circle is standing by."
Natalie didn't waste time.
"We're activating the Saint-Class Knight. Begin the invocation immediately."
There was a pause on the other end. Mossad understood what that meant. They were only six hours into the Red Night Event. The Saint Knight was supposed to be summoned at the twelve-hour mark. But with Lightning Boros already attacking the northern wall, there was no room for protocol.
"Understood," Mossad replied. "We'll begin the ritual."
Natalie released the button and exhaled slowly.
She had just committed to one of their strongest asset.
And once summoned, the Saint-Class Knight would only last twelve hours.
There were still eighteen hours left in the event.
But she had no choice.
Deep within the central sector of New Haven Shelter, a warehouse unlike any other stirred to life. It wasn't used for supplies or weapons. It was a sanctified chamber, sealed from public view, and guarded by silence and prayer.
Inside, twenty-four Bishops stood in formation.
Each of them held a Holy Stone… It was smooth, radiant, and pulsing faintly with holy energy. Their robes were marked with silver thread, and their staves rested against the invocation altar at the center of the room.
At the head of the circle stood Mossad, the eldest Bishop and leader of the invocation unit. His eyes opened slowly as the command reached him.
He didn't speak as he simply raised his hand.
The others followed…
Soon, they began to chant.
The Holy Stones responded, glowing brighter with each verse… Soon, the temperature within the chamber changed.
As the chant reached its peak, a beam of light erupted from the altar, piercing through the ceiling and into the storm above.
The clouds parted briefly, and a radiant figure descended.
It was a figure armored in white and she was carrying the blade of judgment…
"This should do it… Even Shane is not capable of defeating that…" Natalie muttered as she felt confident that as long as they could summoning this being, no one would be able to defeat them for at least 12 hours…