Chapter 490 Wuhu! What a huge mushroom cloud!

Bethlehem, a city located in the southern mountains, has always been called many things.

It is considered a holy city by the followers of the Church of Light.

Because this place is not only the core of the Church of Light, it also has the largest church on the continent - St. George's Basilica, and the residence of the Pope and cardinals - the Lateran Palace.

It is said that in the Star Cave under the Lateran Palace, the "Book of the Angel Raziel", known as the "First Scripture in the World", is preserved. Devout believers can communicate with gods through dreams in the Star Cave and receive the will of gods.

It is also known as the City of Spring.

Perhaps it is because the continuous mountains block the cold winter wind, or perhaps it is because there are rich geothermal resources around Bethlehem, this land located in the mountains can be said to be spring all year round, and the ambient temperature remains above zero degrees Celsius all year round.

It is for this reason that many ignorant civilians regard this as a miracle in the present world and have established an unshakable devout belief in it since childhood.

On a construction site outside the city.

The warm morning breeze blew through the evergreen treetops. Although the sky had just brightened, the civilians on the construction site had already begun a new day of work under the whip of their supervisors.

The construction site of the Colossus seemed to have no obvious difference from the past. At most, the number of people had quadrupled and the scale had increased several times.

Although the workers from Idar County had either died or escaped, and many were even imprisoned in dungeons, the construction methods from the eastern part of the continent were preserved by the Church of Light.

certainly,

Although they are retained, whips, shackles and intimidation are still the most commonly used and effective means of supervision by supervisors.

Russell is considered an old man on the construction site.

Although this construction site has only been in operation for a few years, the workers on the site have almost been completely replaced.

Poor living conditions, extremely poor food, and daily labor...

Not to mention that these conscripted civilians were already skinny and sallow, even those who were originally strong would probably find it difficult to sustain such heavy work.

so……

As for the fact that he was still alive today, even Russell himself was surprised at his tenacious vitality! However...

If there were anyone cheering for the victory of the Church of Light on the front line, the workers on the construction site, including Russell, were definitely among them!

The reason was simple. As the Church of Light won victory after victory, more and more prisoners and civilians were sent to this construction site without any explanation.

There is strength in numbers. Although these newcomers to the construction site will not directly share the construction tasks that fall on Russell and others, they have slightly reduced Russell's daily workload.

This might be the first time that Russell saw hope of survival in the hundreds of days and nights he had spent on the construction site.

The whips from the supervisors still hurt a lot when they hit you, but fortunately there were more people, so the probability of each person being hit was lower.

After all... supervisors will also get tired and exhausted.

Russell was pulling a huge stone behind him, and the rough hemp rope left a bloody mark on his shoulder.

While the supervisor was walking to the other side, he secretly stopped to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and raised his head to look upward.

The giant statue not far away has been completed for the most part. If he can endure for another half a year, he might be able to see the end of this nightmare.

Because according to what the Church of Light had said before, as long as the construction of the Colossus was completed, their workers would be able to go home with the travel expenses!

actually……

Russell no longer counted on travel expenses.

During the time he worked outside Bethlehem, he had clearly come to realize the brutality of the Crusaders' overseers and the hypocrisy of the priests and bishops.

Even if there is travel expenses, it will definitely not be given to me.

The only thing Russell begged for was that his family would still be alive and well after all these years of war and famine.

Although the hope is slim, it is the only belief that can support Russell to persevere.

“Bang!”

While thinking, Russell felt a sudden burning pain on his back.

He turned his head back while enduring the pain, only to see the Crusader supervisor holding the whip in his hand, staring at him fiercely: "What are you looking at?! Get to work!"

As soon as the words fell, another whip followed.

Fortunately, he was blocked by the thick hemp rope wrapped around his back by Russell, otherwise, the continuous whipping would have torn his skin apart.

The stones he was pulling behind him were already heavy, and coupled with the occasional stabbing pain in his back, Russell's steps became even more unsteady.

But he didn't dare to stop, because if he failed to complete today's work, he would definitely be beaten more cruelly.

The pouring sweat mixed with bloodstains gradually seeped out from the clothes on his back. The workers beside him looked at him with sympathy from time to time, but no one dared to leave his post, not even to take a break.

They have become accustomed to this.

But at this moment, some reckless guy was the first to scream.

But then they saw a huge monster floating in the air, gradually crossing a towering mountain on one side and appearing in front of everyone.

"What is that?"

There was an uproar on the construction site.

Even Russell, who had just been whipped a few times, couldn't help but slow down his movements.

However, at this moment, the Crusader supervisors present could no longer care about these trivial matters.

Because even they were a little dazed at this moment.

What is that? Most of the Crusaders know about hot air balloons.

Just as the Idar people have always regarded the Church of Light as their greatest threat, the Church of Light has also infiltrated and explored the land in the eastern part of the continent.

Especially after the annexation of the Kingdom of Basel!

The terrifying mobility and execution capabilities demonstrated by the Idar army have attracted great attention from the Church of Light.

The hot air balloon reconnaissance battalion, which has appeared in many wars, is naturally well-known.

But that thing was obviously not the legendary hot air balloon!

The war airships belonging to the Idar Air Force were much larger than ordinary hot air balloons. Their size alone was enough to be comparable to dozens of hot air balloons! And now, through the hazy morning mist, three airships appeared in the sight of the people on the ground.

"The Idars are coming!"

After hesitating for a moment, the Crusader soldiers on the construction site finally let out panicked shouts one after another.

Even though they didn't know what that thing flying in the sky was, but...

They all knew the Idar flag printed on both sides of the airship, they all knew the Stuart family emblem with a griffin pattern at its core, and they were even more familiar with the magical creatures roaming around on both sides of the airship!

Griffin!

It is no longer a secret that only the Idar army has adult griffins.

so……

The answer was clear—the Idar people were coming! Russell was filled with awe as he looked at the huge creature floating in the sky.

After all, he had worked on a construction site with the Idar people, so several years ago, he had heard from his co-workers at that time about the unusual features of that country in the east of the continent.

However, as the labor on the construction site became more and more arduous and his body became thinner, Russell had not thought about the words the Idar people had said to him for a long time.

Although they were on the construction site, Russell and others were able to vaguely hear some gossip about the current situation on the continent from the words of the Crusaders in between work.

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The Principality of Idar (not a typo), located in the eastern part of the continent, has become the mortal enemy of the Church of Light and a vital player on the continent!

And now... they are here! Not only are the Idar people here, but they are also flying in front of everyone in a way that is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people! It happened so fast that when most people were still in a state of confusion, the "Sorenburg" airship flying in the front finally dropped the first upgraded version of the magic crystal bomb!

Everyone watched helplessly as a dark object fell from the sky, and then gradually got closer and closer...

The moment the bomb touched the ground, a dazzling light suddenly lit up, and then expanded rapidly, merging with the smoke, dust and sand splashing around.

Boom! It was at this moment that the roar of the magic crystal bomb explosion echoed among the mountains in the southern part of the continent for the first time!

The earth was shaking, and the air was filled with a burnt smell from smoke and fire.

The holy city of Bethlehem, a holy place in the hearts of all believers of the Church of Light, finally faced the impact of war at this moment.

…

On the airship, after the order to drop the bomb was officially given, Major General Rolf Hawthorne stared closely at the colossus that was under construction.

Of course, he saw countless civilian laborers around the colossus, but... he also saw the Crusaders surrounding the colossus! War is undoubtedly cruel.

At this moment, all Idar Air Force had only one common goal in mind - to destroy the Colossus! The first bomb was more like finding the right position.

After the first bomb exploded on the left side of the Colossus, the "Sorenborg" airship quickly adjusted its flight direction while dropping more magic crystal bombs one after another.

Boom boom

At this moment, thunder seemed to ring out in the mountains in the south, like a purple gold hammer that was causing the sky to collapse and the earth to sink. With a deafening sound, it destroyed all the buildings within the ground coverage area and took away one life after another.

The division of labor among the three airships is very clear.

The "Sorenborg" was responsible for destroying the Colossus, while the other two airships, the "Valens" and the "Basel", were responsible for bombing buildings in the holy city of Bethlehem.

The airship's unimaginable carrying capacity allowed the Idar Air Force to carry more ammunition.

Therefore, this time, they not only have to destroy the colossus outside the city, but also the Lateran Palace, St. George's Cathedral and important buildings of the Church of Light in the holy city, which are also the main targets of the Idar Air Force!

It is impolite not to return the favor! Before this, the Church of Light had launched an assassination attempt against Bruno. (Chapters 426-427) And this time, Bruno wanted to return the favor and let the Church of Light have a good taste of the taste of air raids!

…

The construction site outside Bethlehem was in chaos.

Bombs fell from the sky one after another, some landed around the colossus, and some landed among the crowd, making the scene very chaotic for a time.

You know, the explosion of the magic crystal stone bomb will not only create a rolling heat wave, but also burst out countless shrapnel and debris.

And this...

It was enough to cost someone their life! Many workers, including Russell, took advantage of the chaos and fled frantically outside the construction site.

If they don't run now, when will they? The Crusader soldiers present were too lazy to suppress the fleeing laborers, because at this moment, they were already busy with their own affairs! In this era, attacks from the air can be said to be hard to defend against.

The mage does have the ability to attack from a distance, but the problem is... this is a holy city!

How could there be a mage in the headquarters of the Church of Light? The Crusaders could not fight back, and naturally could not protect the colossus they had built for several years.

The only thing they could do was to watch the magic crystal stone bombs pouring down, and then see with their own eyes the giant statue that was dozens of meters high, collapsed under the impact of repeated violent explosions!

At the moment the colossus collapsed, dust flew all over the ground. After a violent shaking, huge rocks fell from the sky and killed countless Crusaders and unfortunate laborers around the colossus.

The collapse of the Colossus was not the end, but more like the beginning of a bombing.

The Crusader soldiers stationed in the holy city had already seen the terrifying scene outside the city.

They wanted to give warning, but also wanted to escape.

But……

It's too late now!

In the sky above the holy city of Bethlehem, two other airships, one in the south and one in the north, began to drop the bombs they were carrying without hesitation.

These upgraded and improved magic crystal bombs are more powerful than previous bombs.

In just a moment, thick gray-black smoke and blazing flames rose in the holy city.

What’s even more exaggerated is…

For this bombing plan, each airship was equipped with at least one "T" type magic crystal bomb specially customized by the Idar Air Force. The damage caused by its explosion was even more than ten times that of the ordinary version of the magic crystal bomb! The "Sorenburg" airship used this bomb to bomb the Colossus, while the "Valence" airship responsible for bombing the Holy City used this customized and improved bomb on the St. George Cathedral in the center of the city!

so……

Almost at the moment when the "T"-shaped magic crystal bomb landed, an overwhelming heat wave exploded in the city center, accompanied by flames rising into the sky and a sharp roar that tore through the air. The earth-shattering explosion almost instantly lifted the dome of St. George's Cathedral...

Amid the billowing smoke, a huge hole seemed to have been torn in St. George's Cathedral. The entire church was almost collapsed, and the temple was full of devastation.

At the same time,

A huge mushroom cloud also slowly rose in the holy city...

(End of this chapter)