Chapter 474: I Feel Like Giving It A Shot

A thick layer of ice enveloped Natasha as she charged forward. At the sight of her running out from the cave and onto the mountain path, several arrows flew at her from the opposite side. The arrows struck the durable layer of ice and were deflected.

Like an ice hockey’s puck, the layer of ice around Natasha’s body slid forward. As she was about to make it past 50 metres, a gust of wind suddenly blew out and the members of the Demon Faction exclaimed. A spear pierced through the air and slammed viciously into the puck like layer of ice, piercing through it all the way into the ground. The spear pinned the layer of ice on the ground!

Thankfully, the layer of ice was very thick. Although the spear managed to pierce through the layer of ice, it failed to land a fatal strike on Natasha. The spear wounded her arm and a part of the outer surface of her ribs, causing blood to flow. Although the wound was not fatal, Natasha was now stuck.

More arrows followed, all aimed at Natasha.

The attack had clearly injured Natasha, who appeared to be suffering from disrupted thoughts as well. Her skill was seemingly affected and the layer of ice protecting her grew thinner. Judging by how badly things were progressing, several more arrow strikes would probably kill her off.

Tian Lie watched from behind and knitted his brows as he observed the others. Next, without making a single sound, he quickly strode out.

The moment Tian Lie’s head poked out, an arrow shot toward him. Clearly, Mene and his team’s proficiency in cold weapons was extremely extraordinary. They possessed exceptional marksmanship as well. The arrow sped toward Tian Lie’s head and he tilted his head slightly, allowing it to hit his shoulder instead.

Seeing the arrow pierce his shoulder, Nicole, who was still in the cave, cried out subconsciously. However, Tian Lie merely gave a grunt in response to the arrow wound and continued moving forward.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! …

Several arrows shot toward him once more. After taking tens of steps forward, Tian Lie’s back – his shoulder, arms, waist and thigh – was struck by arrows and he became like a hedgehog. Blood flowed out, but he appeared unaffected as he continued to walk briskly to Natasha’s side.

He shouted, “Diamond Barbie! Are you dead yet?”

As he shouted, he sent a kick toward Natasha’s body. Natasha responded while clutching her injured shoulder. “No!”

“If so, get ready! I am going to send you up!”

After saying that, Tian Lie got into a posture. It was a posture performed by soccer players who were about to kick the ball. He pulled his legs back up high and vigorously kicked the ice shield protecting Natasha’s body.

Natasha was sent flying together with the ice shield as a result. Like an artillery, she flew in an arc and landed exactly on the entrance to the cave up ahead.

Tian Lie laughed out before pulling up the spear on the ground. He weighed it for a bit before turning around to look at the opposing side.

There, Mene cast a savage stare at Tian Lie, who grinned in return. Next, he got into a javelin-throwing stance.

An air piercing sound whistled out.

Tian Lie had ferociously tossed the spear forward.

On the other side of the chasm, one of Mene’s subordinate, the one who was charging forward on his unicorn along the mountain wall was about to reach the cave entrance when the spear slammed into him.

The knight screamed wretchedly and his body fell off the unicorn. His head struck the surface of the mountain wall and… bounced in an arc before falling into the chasm…

Mene raged. He abruptly pulled his helmet off, turned around to grab a spear from one of his companions and unleashed a roar. After that, he leapt forward, soaring into the air. He was vaulting over to Tian Lie’s side.

Tian Lie responded with a sneer and he simply stood there with his arms crossed as he looked at Mene.

This jump by Mene was astonishing. He had already crossed more than half of the 100-metre wide chasm.

Seeing Mene vault over the chasm to his side, TIan Lie suddenly broke into laughter.

Following his thunderous laughter, Mene, who was in the middle of the air, was suddenly greeted by a bolt of lightning. The lightning bolt slammed into him heavily, sending him flying away.

Mene’s body flew back like an arrow before falling down upon the mountain wall like an artillery shell. He struggled to get up before howling at Tian Lie.

“The instance dungeon has yet to let us meet, Mene!” Tian Lie laughed. After that, he muttered in a hushed tone. “Brainless nutjob.”

“I will kill you! I will definitely kill you! Who are you?!” Mene roared hoarsely.

“Who is he?” The same question reverberated in the minds of the four-man team.

The solo participant’s face was pale as he asked, “Just who is he?”

Nicole was dead silent. She bit her lips as she looked at Tian Lie with a tangled expression. Her eyes were focused on Tian Lie’s body, the parts where the arrows had pierced into him… … naturally, those wounds had healed up and the arrows had all fallen down the ground.

“He is…”

A thought flashed through Nicole’s mind.

…

Mene swept the rubble off his body vigorously before rushing forward.

The Demon Faction continued to fire upon him. Mene reacted by howling out loudly. Next, he reached out with both hands and tugged.

An ear-piercing sound rang out as he personally tore off the heavy knight armour he was wearing.

His fingers tore the breastplate into two and tossed it aside. Then, he dashed forward again.

Tian Lie narrowed his eyes and quickly ran forward as well.

The two of them reached their respective caves at almost the same time. Mene stood there at the edge of his side’s cave… … his gauntlet was peppered with bullet marks and he showed no hesitation in discarding them into the chasm.

The clothes he wore over his body were stained with blood. Seeing that some of the bullets had grazed his arm, he tore off his sleeves as well. After doing that, he stared at Tian Lie, who was standing 100 metres away from him.

“See you later!”

Someone from both sides had made it into the two caves. After a few seconds of silence, they all seemingly came to an understanding. Everyone stopped firing at each other… … because there was no more meaning to it.

Tian Lie stood there at the entrance to his side’s cave and watched as the knights from the Light Faction walked into their cave. Then, he turned to look at his own side.

Nicole was the last to come forward. Facing Tian Lie’s outstretched hand, she revealed what appeared to be a smile before grabbing it.

“What skill was that? Gunblade Imperviousness? Or some type of Body Technique?” Nicole gave a faint smile. “Regeneration? It doesn’t seem like it to me.”

“Didn’t we agree not to probe each other? You women really don’t keep your promises.”

…

The members of the Demon Faction continued moving forward. They spent another 2 minutes walking past another cave.

[System prompt: Magic array countdown timer: 20 minutes 26 seconds.]

Tian Lie looked at the time in his personal system.

Sensing something amiss with Tian Lie’s expression, Nicole asked, “What is it?”

“The duration did not decrease.” Tian Lie shook his head. “The system had mentioned before. By killing one, the duration in the quest countdown will be reduced by 10 seconds. It seems… … the knight I sent into the chasm earlier did not die.”

“It would appear that these mad men from Jerusalem have some special means of surviving.”

Tian Lie sneered. “It is not that simple. Things like avoiding death and resurrection is not something that can casually be done in this game.”

Suddenly, he leaned over and whispered into Nicole’s ear, “That Mene has got some tricks up his sleeves. I once heard that the mad knights’ guild possessed a certain wondrous power. They would place the lives of every member inside a totem, which Mene will personally carry with him. Thus, they can be brought back to life as long as Mene lives. Even if every one of them died, as long as Mene lives, those who died can be resurrected. However…”

Nicole’s eyes lit up. “If Mene is killed, then…”

“Bang! Team wipe!” Tian Lie clapped his palms together. After a while however, he shook his head. “But Mene is no pushover. He is an old freak who has lived for a long time.”

Nicole frowned. “Is that so? Why do I sense eagerness in your tone?”

“I really feel like giving it a shot.” Tian Lie chuckled.

They reached the end of the cave.

Light shone before them as they reached the opening. Another dark chasm awaited them; this time, there was a rope bridge connecting the two sides.

On the opposite side, Mene’s team of knights walked out from their cave opening. The two parties stood at the respective ends of the bridge.

There in the middle of the bridge was a circular plate enclosed by a transparent cover. Through the transparent cover was a row of candles.

Strong winds blew across the chasm and the bridge swayed from the force of the winds.

The two parties stood there on the two ends of the bridge, staring at each other for a few seconds. Then, they charged forward in unison. Suddenly, all of them received a system prompt.

[System prompt: Go to the end of the Demon Abyss. Take a candle from the Abyssal Plate and you will be teleported into the magic array area. After picking up a candle, you must ensure that the candle flame does not go off. Regardless of what happened, if the candle flame were to go off, the one bearing the candle will be exterminated instantaneously!]

After receiving the system prompt, the two groups that had already rushed into the bridge suddenly halted.

This damned condition!

They had to pick up one of the candles and wait 10 seconds for the teleportation process.

Ten seconds!

Within these 10 seconds, the flame of their candle must not go off. How were they supposed to do that?

The bridge lying across the chasm swayed around as the strong winds blew their hair, leaving them in a dishevelled state.

Even if there was no need to do anything else after picking up the candle, protecting it so that its flame would not go off was not easy.

But with so many enemies eyeing them with tiger like gazes? At present, neither Tian Lie nor Mene had any assurances that they could pick up the candle and ensure that the candle flame stay lit in face of the enemy attacks.

An extinguished candle flame meant death!

Who would dare act first to pick up the candle?

Once someone picked up a candle, that person would become the focus of the enemy attacks, regardless of who that person might be. This… … the level of danger here was too high.

Tian Lie took a deep breath and looked at Mene, who was standing on the other side.

Mene’s face was extremely ugly to behold.

“Let us talk.” Tian Lie sneered. “You want to kill me. I too, want to kill you. However, this is not a suitable place for a decisive match. After we enter, we will have the opportunity to duke it out. If we fight here and someone’s candle flame accidentally gets extinguished, that person would have died a meaningless death.”

“What do you want to do?” Mene retorted coldly.

“It is very simple. Both of us will take turns to send someone forward to take a candle and enter the magic array. After entering, all of us can duke it out based on our real abilities. Dying to someone stronger is simply how things work. But dying because your candle flame got extinguished would be truly sad. So? At any rate, facing off like this without being able to enter would be pointless.”

Mene was a very decisive person. He only hesitated for three seconds before shouting loudly, “Fine!”

After a pause, he looked at Tian Lie and said, “I will be the last to enter. You too!”

“It is a deal.” Tian Lie smiled cheerfully.

“So, who will be the first to take the candle?” Mene looked at Tian Lie. “I will let your side go first.”

Tian Lie laughed. “If so, I won’t be shy. Who wants to go first?”

However, when he turned back to look at the members of his own faction, he saw them backing back slightly. The four-man team were silent while the solo participant lowered his head. Natasha appeared somewhat eager. Yet, for some unknown reason, she chose to remain silent.

Everyone shared the same concerns: Although the other party had given their word, what if, when they stepped forward to take the candle, the other party suddenly attacked… … even though they could say that the other party had reneged on the agreement, the one to die would be them, the one who took the candle.

“I’ll do it.” Nicole suddenly smiled and walked forward.

Tian Lie glanced at her and nodded his head. “All right, you go first.”

After saying that, Tian Lie patted Nicole’s shoulder. “After going in, remember to hide your identity. You don’t want Chen Xiaolian to find out, do you?”

There was a slight frown on Nicole’s face as she looked at Tian Lie. “Your tone… … it seems you have no intention of going in?”

“Mene and I will be the last two… … after you have all gone in, we would be the only ones left. By then, neither of us will be going for the candle.”

Nicole was quick to understand. She glanced at Tian Lie and said, “Be careful.”

After saying that, Nicole walked forward. Before the eyes of the members of both factions, she moved until she was standing in the middle of the bridge.

Although there were strong winds blowing, the transparent cover protected the candle flames, allowing them to burn steadily. After thinking about it, Nicole took off her jacket and wrapped it over her hand. As she was about to reach for one of the candles, she noticed something and her face sank.

“The candles! One of them is missing!”

Her sentence caused both sides to become shocked.

Both Tian Lie and Mene took a few steps forward. A distance of 10 metres separated them as they examined…

Inside the transparent cover was a circle of candles. The candles were placed in a proper sequence on a metal candlestick. However, one of the holes on the metal candlestick…

Was empty!

One of the candles was missing.

“Someone went in ahead of us?”

“Who?”

…