Chapter 479: The Box

[System prompt: Magic array countdown timer: 7 minutes 33 seconds.]

Chen Xiaolian did not give up, but he had lost count of the number of times he was forced back by the light emanating from the box in Arte’s hand.

He struggled to swing the Sword in the Stone, knocking one of the knights down. Then, the light shone upon him again and another knight rushed forward and succeeded in stabbing him in the shoulder. Chen Xiaolian rolled himself away. In that instant, he saw Roddy charging forward.

Roddy was running as fast as he could. The Floating Angel mech armour flashed into existence and the metal armour fragments immediately enveloped his left arm. The thrusters were formed on his back. Light flames shot out from the turbine and Roddy’s figure shot forward.

His objective was Arte!

Chen Xiaolian caught sight of Roddy’s expression for an instant. Through that exchange, these two good friends immediately understood each other.

Chen Xiaolian endured the intense pain in his shoulder and jumped up. Next, he darted to the side. Seeing a knight stepping forward to cut Roddy off, Chen Xiaolian brandished his sword to force the knight back and shouted, “Roddy! Forward!”

Roddy took advantage of the opening and shot forward, slipping by the knight. Another knight who was beside Arte noticed Roddy. This knight’s body was enveloped in holy, silver flames. He gripped his sword with both hands and roared loudly as he stepped forward to block Roddy’s path. Seeing how Roddy was about to slam into the knight, Chen Xiaolian leapt forward, throwing his sword and his body forward.

Like a starving tiger, Chen Xiaolian threw the knight down the floor and the two of them rolled around. As they rolled around, the Sword in the Stone stabbed into the knight’s waist. At the same time however, the knight’s sword stabbed Chen Xiaolian in the chest.

Soo Soo screamed and flames rose up. Chen Xiaolian shouted, “Don’t worry about me!”

Hearing that, Soo Soo turned to the direction pointed by Chen Xiaolian. Her flames swept toward Arte, who reacted by turning the direction of the light toward the flames, extinguishing them.

By then, Roddy had managed to get up close.

An Ion Beam Blade slid out from the hand wearing the Floating Angel mech armour. Then, the damaged pair of wings behind him entered a diving position and he sent a slash down.

At that very moment, Arte was raising the box to block off Soo Soo’s flame attack. When he saw Roddy’s attack, he could only use his other hand to raise his knightly sword to block…

Chi!

The Ion Beam Blade cut its way through the knightly sword.

The blade of the knightly sword was cut into two. One half flew up into the air as the Ion Beam Blade continued descending, moving toward Arte’s left arm.

That was the arm he was using to raise the box up.

Time seemingly slowed down. Chen Xiaolian, who was lying on the floor with blood trickling out from his mouth, stared intently at Roddy.

Roddy’s Ion Beam Blade…

Bang!

Another knight attempted to rush forward from the side. However, Lun Tai jumped forth and used his body to protect Roddy.

Lun Tai opened up his arms, exposing his chest. He pounced and knocked the knight over. The knight responded by punching Lun Tai’s chest area several times with his left fist. The immense power behind those punches broke Lun Tai’s chest and blood sprayed out of Lun Tai’s mouth. However, he only bellowed furiously in response.

“Roddy!”

Chen Xiaolian screamed.

Roddy’s blade… … finally descended.

A shearing sound echoed out as the Ion Beam Blade cut into the armour protecting Arte’s arm. The silver glow was unable to put up any defence against the Ion Beam Blade and it cut through the silver glow as though there was nothing there.

Arte howled out in pain with all his might. Before everyone’s eyes, an arm flew into the air. In the palm of the arm was the box.

Arte’s eyes had turned red. He glared angrily at Roddy. At the same time, he thrust the knightly sword in his right hand with a mad fervour toward Roddy’s chest.

The Floating Angel mech armour was in a damaged state and was unable to display all its abilities. At that moment, it was covering only Roddy’s arm and shoulder, leaving his chest and other areas vulnerable.

Arte’s knightly sword stabbed into his chest.

Although the knightly sword was cut earlier, Arte, in his madness, continued to pounce at Roddy. The broken sword blade penetrated Roddy’s chest.

It pierced his protective suit and into his chest.

Roddy screamed out wretchedly and fell to the floor. He struggled a few times to roll his body backward.

Arte had become akin to a maddened tiger. He raised his broken sword, seemingly intent on stabbing Roddy again. However, a fireball from Soo Soo slammed him from behind, blasting him off.

Without the light from the box to block the flames, the holy power on Arte’s body finally disappeared.

Roddy struggled to press the wound on his chest. However, his eyes were glued to the cut off arm lying on the floor and the box it held. “Hurry!”

Chen Xiaolian had already rushed forward. His objective was the box held by the cut off arm.

This item was the crucial factor here. Arte too, rushed forward. His hand shot out to grab Chen Xiaolian by his throat. At the same time, he sent his knee up, slamming Chen Xiaolian’s chest with it. Chen Xiaolian screamed loudly and sent a hammer smashing into Arte’s forehead. Both their faces were completely stained with blood.

Qiao Qiao crawled forward with a pale face. Flames continued licking her body, but she forced herself to move toward the box. Unfortunately, the knight who was tangled up by Lun Tai saw her and he pushed his leg out to kick the box away.

The four-man team rushed desperately toward the box.

The blade-wielding tough man had also understood the critical factor in this battle. However, two knights were standing before them.

At that moment… … a hand finally made contact with the box…

It was…

The solo participant!

This fellow was the most inconspicuous one among those from the Demon Faction. During the ongoing battle, he spent most of the time engaging in sneak attacks from the side or back.

Presently, he was the least injured.

At this moment when all the main powerhouses of the Demon Faction were being obstructed, this fellow slipped through the cracks and arrived before the box. His hand had already made contact with it.

Not far away, Xia Xiaolei, who was running over, shouted loudly, “Toss it over!”

The solo participant took a deep breath. His fingers gripped the box tightly. Despite hearing Xia Xiaolei’s words, he did not toss it over. Rather, after picking up the box…

Light shone out from the hairline opening on the box, striking the solo participant’s face. Suddenly, a change washed over his face.

Flames seemingly burst into life from within his eyes.

His fingers reached out to grip the opening on the box…

“Don’t open it!” Nicole threw herself at Roddy, pulling him away from a knight’s sword slash. Then, she turned to look at the solo participant before shouting out anxiously.

As for the solo participant… … his entire being became like a statue as he stared stupidly at the box in his hand. His body had seemingly frozen…

Pu!

Silver light flashed as Arte gave up on fighting Chen Xiaolian. He performed a backhand throw, sending his broken knightly sword flying like a meteor toward the solo participant’s back.

Arte put all his might behind the throw and his broken sword stabbed right through the solo participant from his back.

The solo participant’s eyes immediately cleared up. Next, he issued out a painful cry and fell to his knees. Blood gushed out from his mouth and the box in his hand fell to the floor.

Xia Xiaolei rushed forward.

Qimu Xi was right beside him with a rifle in hand. She opened fire at the knight closest to their position. However, the holy light glowing on the surface of the knight’s armour deflected the bullets. The knight ignored Qimu Xi and instead scrambled for the box that was lying on the floor.

Xia Xiaolei, who was closest to the box, quickly decided on his next course of action.

He chose not to crouch down and pick up the box. Instead, he sent his leg out to kick the box. His kick sent the box flying into a corner.

Behind him, the knight finally descended upon him. The knight’s sword cleaved down and Xia Xiaolei clutched his head as he threw himself to the floor and rolled away. His battle strength was too lacking and he was unable to face the knight head on.

Thankfully, after forcing Xia Xiaolei to back off, the knight lost interest in him. Instead, he turned to go after the box.

At that very moment, the eyes of every person within the underground palace were trained on one thing.

The box!

The box was within a corner of the underground palace and the distance between it and them were: seven to eight feet for Chen Xiaolian, 10 plus feet for Qiao Qiao, 20 feet for Lun Tai and even more for Nicole and Natasha.

The one closest to the box was…

Soo Soo!

Soo Soo ran.

The instant this little girl’s hands grabbed hold of the box, she screamed out in misery.

It was as though what her hands were holding was not a wooden box but a piece of burning red iron.

The pain from the scorching fire caused Soo Soo’s hands to lose all their strength and she was no longer able to grip it.

This feeling came as a shock to Soo Soo. As someone with the fire element, any fire in this world could not harm her. Now however, the intense pain she felt from holding the box felt as though even her soul was being scorched.

Soo Soo bit her lips and turned to look at Chen Xiaolian, her face pale to the point of being transparent.

Chen Xiaolian shouted, “Toss it over!”

Soo Soo saw a knight disengage from the four-man team to rush toward her. She endured the intense sensation of pain and sent a blast of flames at the knight, blocking his way. Next, she used all her might to toss the box toward Chen Xiaolian.

Soo Soo did her best. However, in her hands, the box seemingly weighed a thousand pounds.

The box drew an arc through the air and everyone attempted to jump and catch the box. The knight and the four-man team all jumped…

As Chen Xiaolian was about to catch the box…

Bang!

An object hit the airborne box, knocking it off its original trajectory.

That object was none other than… … a cut off arm.

Arte stood there, glaring at the box that was knocked away. He was the one who threw the cut off arm.

It was as though destiny was preordained and the box fell down once more before the solo participant.

The solo participant was critically wounded, the broken sword piercing through his body. He was kneeling on the floor and blood continued gushing out of from his mouth. However, when the box landed before him, his eyes turned most peculiar.

The solo participant attempted to reach out toward the box, his fingers struggling in the air. Then, he fell to the floor with a plop. As he did, his fingers finally made contact with the edge of the box. Coincidentally, his fingers struck the hairline opening on the box…

[System prompt: Magic array countdown timer: 6 minutes 01 seconds.

[System prompt: One member from the Demon Faction had died. Duration for the countdown timer increased by 10 seconds. Time remaining in countdown timer: 6 minutes 11 seconds.]

After everyone from the Demon Faction received the prompt…

Pa!

It was not a loud sound. However, the sound reached the ears of everyone within the underground palace.

The box… … was opened!

In his final moment, the solo participant pushed his fingers into the opening on the box and…

Opened the box.

In an instant, a blinding radiance encompassed everything!