As Erwin led the Universal Church Freedom Army of over 800 troops onto the Canston Plain, he was well and truly stunned by the chaotic sight of the battlefield before him.

Of course, there were bodies littered everywhere, and there was a wide variety of flags on the ground that were stained with blood and horse hoof prints. In fact, there were so many different types of flags that it was impossible to tell how many mercenary legions were involved in this battle.

However, this was still within the realm of Erwin's expectations.

What was most surprising to him was the legion of cavaliers sweeping horizontally across the battlefield before his eyes. In particular, the leader of the legion was someone very familiar to him, because it was none other than Cheren, whom he had sparred with during the Onen Family's tea party.

This was rather perplexing to him until he spotted Theresa standing on the northern side of the Canston Plain, upon which a faint smile appeared on his face. "Looks like things have gotten very interesting here."

He then turned to glance at Onean, and the look in his eyes seemed to be saying: "With that little witch here, it looks like things aren't going to be as easy for us as we planned."

At this point, he was beginning to wonder if Lia had a point. Could it be that he really had oversimplified things in his own head? Lia and Turan had already been assigned a spot at the back of the freedom army. After all, once the freedom army entered the fray, things would become quite perilous, and a pair of defenseless old men would be nothing more than dead weight.

However, Onean's expression was very indifferent, and it seemed that nothing could possibly faze her.

"Have you noticed Onen's expression?" Onean asked as she gestured toward the west.

"I did as soon as we arrived," Erwin said as a hint of mockery appeared on his face. "Looks like Theresa has the exact same plan as us to take out Onen and Mackney in one fell swoop. I didn't anticipate something like this from her. Just from a quick glance alone, I can tell that her legion of cavaliers isn't going to be easy to take care of."

"I'm sure you've noticed it as well, right?" Onean asked as she turned to glance at Erwin.

"I have," Erwin replied with a nod. "All of them have been magically modified, just like Cheren."

While Erwin was remaining on the spot, observing the state of the battlefield, all of the other forces on the battlefield were also observing them, and they couldn't help but wonder what Erwin was doing here, particularly with so few men under his command.

It was so absurd to see such a small unit here that it was almost comical.

At a rough visual assessment, there only seemed to be around 1,000 troops among their ranks, and no one had ever seen the flag that they were bearing.

As for Onen and Mackney, who were in a dire situation, they had no interest in dwelling on this absurd interlude. Their top priority was thinking of a way to retreat.

The strange legion of cavaliers led by Cheren had already stormed through both camps and completely torn their formations apart.

Onen and Mackney couldn't afford to wait for their remaining troops to assemble again, and both of them were considering retreat.

Right at this moment, Erwin's side finally sprang into action.

Under Sherry's command, all of the martial artists who were clad in Xuanwu armor and holding giant Xuanwu shields arranged themselves into a horizontal formation, forming a thin line on the southern side of the plain.

Theresa, Onen, and Mackney were even more perplexed to see this, wondering exactly what purpose this mercenary legion was supposed to serve.

Erwin and Onean exchanged a glance, following which the latter rose up into the air.

Her white dress was flapping in the breeze, and she resembled a celestial maiden who had descended from the heavens.

Her flowing silver locks were giving off a luscious gleam, while her golden eyes were filled with a cold indifference toward all those beneath her.

As she raised her staff to the sky, heaven and earth began to gradually change in complexion.

The scorching midday sun was concealed behind a dense layer of dark clouds, and the entirety of the Canston Plain was plunged into complete darkness.

Everyone on the ground below, regardless of which side they belonged to, couldn't help but look up at the sky with alarm and fear in their hearts.

No one knew what laid behind the forbidding blanket of dark clouds.

Immediately thereafter came the sound of rumbling thunder, and glimmers of fire began to peek out from behind the clouds.

All of a sudden, Onean spread her arms wide open, and the entire heavens imploded!

The scintillating red light that was released by the explosion was so bright that all of the onlookers down below were forced to shield their own eyes.

Once they were able to open their eyes again, they were greeted by the sight of a boundless sea of fire, while the dark clouds were nowhere to be seen.

This spell of Onean's was known as the Heaven Incinerating Inferno.

Turan often said that he had seen everything in his life, but even he couldn't help but be rooted to the spot by the sight of this doomsday-like scene. Only now did he realize that he had just been conversing with an incredibly powerful magician who truly had the power to evaporate the seas.

At this moment, the "sea" was the Canston Plain, and it was about to be reduced to a sea of fire.

Standing beside Turan was Lia, who had a solemn look on his face, but that was unable to disguise the shock and astonishment in his heart. He was stunned by Onean's terrifying power, so much so that he felt like the fundamental concepts in his mind of what was humanly possible were being shaken. Never did he think that a single person would be capable of creating such a spectacle.

Young missionary Joe was standing behind the two elderly men, and his face was illuminated bright red by the light of the flames as she looked up at Onean with a reverent expression. In his eyes, this was the image of a goddess descending into the mortal world, and before he had even realized it himself, he had already fallen to his knees in silence.

Erwin was standing at the forefront of the group, so he was naturally unaware of the reactions of those from the Universal Church. He was looking up at Onean with a calm expression, and his reaction was nowhere near as strong as the others. After all, he had personally witnessed how those twin-foot flying dragons had perished beneath this very same spell.

Whenever he thought back to the previous occasion that Onean had used this spell, all of the memories that he didn't dare to think of would involuntarily surge into his mind. They were like countless thin needles that were mercilessly striking at his nerves one by one.

Hence, Erwin was overcome by a string of complex emotions at the sight of the devastating storm of fire.

Count Onen and Mackney Farody were about to issue an order for retreat to their respective armies, but they were both stunned by the doomsday-like scene that they were witnessing. Their hands began to tremble as they held onto their reins, and both of them were rooted to the spot.

Thankfully for them, they were situated on the eastern and western edges of the battlefield, respectively, so even if the sea of fire were to descend from the heavens, they would be outside of its scope, which was why they dared to hang around without making an immediate escape.

"Has Erwin Friar come here?" Lucidy asked in a surprised voice as he stood beside his father while looking up at Onean with tightly furrowed brows. He then cast his gaze toward the group of troops gathered in the south, and he wasn't able to see them very clearly, but he felt like he was able to just barely make out Erwin's figure among them.

"Who's that?" Mackney asked after hearing what Lucidy had to say.

"Do you recall that artist from Zans that I was telling you about not long ago? That female magician is his wife," Lucidy explained as he pointed up at Onean.

"He's an artist?" Mackney asked with a perplexed expression. "What could they have possibly come here for?"

Lucidy was staring up at Onean with an entranced expression, completely bedazzled by her incredible beauty, so much so that he forgot to answer his father's question.

"That little silver-haired lass is quite the capable magician, isn't she?" A faint smile appeared on Mackney's face as he caught a glimpse of his son's expression. It was immediately clear to him that Lucidy was absolutely smitten with Onean.

As for why Onean had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, Onen was just as perplexed.

He had met Erwin and Onean in the past, so he was naturally able to identify her from the instant she rose up into the air. The fact that Onean was here meant that the unit of several hundred men in the south had to be under Erwin's command, but he couldn't understand the objective for Erwin's arrival on the battlefield at a time like this.

Furthermore, Theresa had arrived on the battlefield at a very interesting time.

Onean's Heaven Incinerating Inferno was supposed to be reserved for Onen and Mackney, but Theresa had arrived before Erwin, and her Demonic Puppet Legion had overrun the entire battlefield.

Thus, Cheren and his subordinates would have to be subjected to the devastating sea of fire.

The first wave of fire was already close to reaching the ground, and Theresa hurriedly yelled out in a loud voice, "Disperse! Hurry!"

Cheren was naturally aware that he had to command the cavaliers to adopt a more loose and spread-out formation, but the scorching fire descending from the sky was like a dense red blanket, and there was nowhere for them to hide or evade.

The first fireball slammed into the ground with a resounding boom, followed by a second one, then a third...

Countless massive balls of fire surged through the air amid bursts of incessant rumbling, ravaging the battlefield in the most spectacular and brutal way imaginable.

It was as if this place had somehow incurred the wrath of the heavens and was being subjected to divine retribution.

Cheren and the Demonic Puppet Legion were at a complete loss for what to do. In the face of this all-devouring sea of fire, they didn't display any fear for their own safety. Instead, they were simply completely bemused.

Heaven and earth trembled violently as chaos ensued, and the strong and acrid aroma of burning human flesh began to permeate over the Canston Plain again.

Not only was Theresa's Demonic Puppet Legion affected, the tens of thousands of remaining troops in the Wild Ax Legion and the Striking Salamander mercenary legion were all instantly reduced to ashes amid a universal sense of awe and despair.

The awe-inspiring scene, coupled with the ghastly smell wafting through the air, made all of the bystanders feel as if they were witnessing the depths of hell.

The descriptions of hell in religious scriptures were almost identical to the scene unfolding before everyone's eyes.

What was certain was that this scene had most definitely left an unforgettable impression in the hearts of Onen, Mackney, Farody, and Theresa.

As for Erwin, he was still as calm and indifferent as ever. In fact, he even had the presence of mind to observe whether the fireballs, which were erupting in all directions after landing on the ground, were able to knock the Xuanwu shields aside. The bouncing fireballs erupted haphazardly in different directions amid bursts of loud rumbling, but they were unable to knock over even a single one of the martial artists under Sherry's command.

With that in mind, Erwin couldn't help but wonder what was the upper limit of the impact that could be tolerated by these shields.

Furthermore, he had also noticed something rather peculiar. Most of the cavaliers under Cheren's command had been hammered into the ground by the descending fireballs, while others had been knocked down from their horses, and their bodies were burning with scorching fire as they rushed over the battlefield like madmen, presenting a rather comical, yet unsettling sight to behold.

However, Erwin couldn't hear any screams or howls of agony that one would expect to hear from these cavaliers in this situation.

In the face of the devastating waves of fire, the members of the Wild Ax Legion and the Striking Salamander mercenary legion were still yelling out in horror, panic, and pain, yet there wasn't so much as a single sound coming from the Demonic Puppet Legion.

Even if these people were all mutes, surely they'd still make some sounds in the face of such horrific agony.

Given this observation, Erwin was even more curious about how exactly Theresa had magically modified these people.