Chapter 480: Floating Angel Reappears!

When the box was opened, a dazzling radiance illuminated everything. The entire underground palace was thoroughly lit up in an instant by the dazzling silver light. It brought with it an indescribable power of holy suppression and a desire to look away due to fear rose up within everyone’s hearts.

“Xiaolei!” shouted Chen Xiaolian. He had glanced at his teammates just now and saw that Xia Xiaolei was closest to the box.

Xia Xiaolei was quick to recollect himself and rushed over. After taking a few steps however, he heard Nicole’s voice. “Don’t touch it!”

Xia Xiaolei ignored her. Then, when he stretched his hand toward the box, his fingers making contact with the light, his entire being flinched. It was as though an electric current was coursing through his body and he was forcefully thrown backward by an unknown force.

When Xia Xiaolei fell on the floor, flames burst out from his body. He rolled around in desperation while howling in pain.

Chen Xiaolian ran forward to catch Xia Xiaolei and shoved a healing substance into his mouth. Next, he threw Xia Xiaolei to a corner.

By then, everyone within the underground palace was running toward the box. The blade-wielding man from the four-man team had reached it first. However, after seeing what happened to Xia Xiaolei earlier, he hesitated on what to do. It did not take long for a knight to reach his position. The knight raised his knightly sword and forced him to retreat. Likewise, this knight too, dared not make contact with the box. He clenched his teeth and stabbed his sword forward, sliding it beneath the box before flicking it up into the air.

Lun Tai leapt into the air and his hand grabbed hold of the box. However, he immediately screamed out in pain as the light coming off the box scorched Lun Tai, causing flames to burst out from both his hands.

As Lun Tai was unable to hold it, the box fell to the floor once more.

This time, the four-man team was intercepted by the knights and were unable to get close to the box. Finally…

Arte came to stand beside the box. He crouched down, slowly extending his hand out to grip the box tightly.

“Those who are not servants of the Lord cannot pick up the glory bestowed by the Lord!”

Pain was similarly etched on Arte’s face. However, it was clear that he was at least able to force himself to hold it.

The light coming from the box shone upon Arte’s face and the expression on his face became extremely peculiar. Devotion, fanaticism, pain, anger… … all kinds of emotions flashed across his face.

Arte knelt down on one knee, bit his lips and lifted the box above his head.

The other knights exclaimed in response. One of them shouted, “Arte!”

Arte responded with a wretched smile and said, “The sacred relic has been opened. Thus, there is a need to give an offering. My faith is the strongest. It is only natural for me to do it!”

After saying that, he performed a strange set of actions. He raised the box up above his head and with a flip of his palm, turned the box upside down…

Amid the holy light shining from it, an object slowly floated down from the box…

Surprisingly, it was…

A pair of pure white wings!

They were like the pair of wings on a swan, pure and holy. Every feather brimmed with holy light.

At the base of each wing was a scar, seemingly signifying that it was cut…

Shockingly, those were…

…

“Angel Wings. It really is Angel Wings…”

Seeing the pair of wings floating before Arte, Nicole muttered out subconsciously.

Some distance away, Roddy crawled up, blood flowing from the wound on his chest. He forced a healing substance down his throat. Next, spying Arte kneeling on the floor, Roddy raised his arm and the Floating Angel mech armour fragments formed a Beam Cannon. He aimed it at Arte and opened fire.

However, the light emanating from the Angel Wings stopped his cannon blast.

Arte raised his head and he glared at everyone in the vicinity. “You dare profane the glory of the Lord! Die!”

Suddenly, he got up.

Arte began chanting strange words and the pair of wings quickly moved to plaster themselves onto Arte’s back. The bases of the wings made contact with the surface of the armour on Arte’s back and threads of flesh reached out, piercing its way through the armour and into Arte’s back.

Arte gave a loud roar, one that contained pain and a certain fanaticism. The light in his eyes shone brighter and brighter.

“Hurry up and run!” Nicole shouted at Chen Xiaolian. “You guys cannot beat him! This is the power of an angel cometh! The power of the Light is only second to the power of God!”

The other knights had moved to stand by Arte. Then, they formed a line behind Arte, got down on one knee, placed their hands on their chests and performed a worshipping gesture.

Silver light extended out from each of the knights and moved into Arte’s body.

Arte roared out again. Above him, light suddenly shone out from the bloody part of his cut arm. The light quickly condensed and took the form of an arm. Although it was made of light, it seemed tangible.

Chen Xiaolian exhaled and turned to look at his companions.

Lun Tai was lying on the ground, incapable of fighting. Roddy’s whole body was stained with blood. Qiao Qiao’s body was still burning and black smoke swirled around her. Soo Soo had a lost look on her face… … Xia Xiaolei was down at a corner and Qimu Xi tugged his shoulder tightly.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiaolian abruptly strode toward Arte.

The Sword in the Stone was raised and it drew an arc of light as it descended.

Arte’s eyes promptly swivelled over. His gaze shone like a bolt of lightning and he seemed capable of looking through Chen Xiaolian’s body with his eyes.

“You whose power come from the Lord, how dare you profane the dignity of the Lord?! Kneel!”

After Arte shouted those words, Chen Xiaolian felt himself facing a difficult time holding on to the Sword in the Stone. It was as though the sword had become self-conscious and was fighting against him. Even though he was no more than three feet away from Arte, the powerful atmosphere of suppression emanating from Arte caused the Sword in the Stone to rebel against his commands.

Plop!

Chen Xiaolian was forced to kneel down on one knee. The Sword in the Stone that he was holding had become as heavy as Mount Tai. No matter how he tried, he was unable to lift it up at all.

“So sayeth the Lord: Those not of mine may not tread upon my land!”

After Arte shouted those words, Chen Xiaolian felt a power bursting out from the Sword in the Stone. The power pummelled through his body, causing him to spray out a mouthful of blood.

Arte’s face was solemn and commanding. The expression on his face made him appear beyond secularism and he looked down on Chen Xiaolian.

At that moment, he truly seemed to have become an angel incarnate.

The arm made of light created a sword of light and Arte pointed it at Chen Xiaolian…

Every muscle in Chen Xiaolian’s body was fighting against that force scouring his body. Then, seeing Arte step toward him, he suddenly let out a deep sigh. He looked down at the Sword in the Stone in his hand.

“This sword is formed from your Lord’s power? In that case…”

Chen Xiaolian abruptly loosened his grip and the Sword in the Stone finally fell to the floor.

He then pulled out an ordinary hammer from his Storage Watch. Gripping the hammer, Chen Xiaolian swiftly ignited his power. Jumping into the air, he roared, “Your Lord, is not my Lord!”

The hammer rose up.

The hammer fell.

Golden light flashed out as Skyblade’s power erupted!

…

The moment the hammer collided against the sword of light brandished by the angel form Arte, the golden light smashed against the holy light to create a comet-like radiance.

Chen Xiaolian’s roar resounded throughout the entirety of the underground palace.

The sound of the collision was like a thunderclap that pierced its way through everyone’s ears and into their very souls…

At that very moment, the image of Chen Xiaolian smashing the mighty hammer down while in mid-air was etched into everyone’s hearts.

At that very moment, his entire silhouette was shockingly gold in colour.

A thundering shock!

…

Chen Xiaolian could feel a mighty force scouring his body, akin to that of electrical currents zapping him. It felt as though every metal part of the hammer he wielded was wailing… trembling… shuddering…

Skyblade’s power was formidable, a match for the power of the angel. However, the hammer in his hand was simply an ordinary item.

Finally, the hammer broke apart with a loud “bang”.

Arte’s body was forced back as he took three steps backward. His body staggered.

Chen Xiaolian on the other hand, was forced to take seven to eight steps backward. After that, he fell down the floor. He flipped up and was barely able to get into a crouching position, one knee on the floor. The only thing that remained of his hammer was the hilt.

“Blasphemy! Blasphemy! This is blasphemy!” Arte bellowed furiously.

Chen Xiaolian grunted. Minute amounts of blood trickled down his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He simply wiped it off. At the same time, he pulled out a military blade from his Storage Watch and held it with both hands.

Next, he stood up and placed himself between little Will and Arte.

At that moment, his relatively tiny body appeared like a mountain.

“Don’t even think about going forward! Neither you nor your Lord are allowed!”

Golden light shone with intensity upon the surface of Chen Xiaolian’s body.

…

“[S] class, this is the power of [S] class… … when did he actually get to [S] class… … during Blood Verdict, that power was actually his?” Nicole stared at Chen Xiaolian, her expression one of confusion as she mumbled to herself. She watched as Chen Xiaolian raised his military blade and pounced forward. Arte reacted by raising his sword of light and stepped forward to confront Chen Xiaolian once more.

The angel form Arte’s holy light clashed against Chen Xiaolian’s golden light and the two disengaged once again. Chen Xiaolian’s rate of breathing grew ragged and the military blade in his hand broke. Both his hands were bleeding, but he continued to stand before little Will, not backing off in the slightest.

This time, he pulled out a long blade from his Storage Watch.

Chen Xiaolian watched as Arte stepped forward in his direction and the powerful wings flapped. The rays of light seemingly twisted before his very eyes and the sword of light in Arte’s hand grew brighter and closer…

At that moment, Chen Xiaolian was suddenly reminded of the words he exchanged with Skyblade back during Blood Verdict.

“What should I do now?”

“Hack it!”

“Just hack it?”

“Just hack it!”

…

“Aaaaaarrr!!!” Chen Xiaolian roared loudly. He was suddenly no longer able to feel the muscles in his body, no longer able to feel the pain in his every cells, no longer able to feel the blood dripping down from both hands. He raised his blade up high and swung it down with all his might.

The blade descended.

The golden blade of light descended!

The golden light formed a large translucent image of a gigantic blade that could seemingly cleave through anything.

The gigantic blade struck Arte’s sword of light. A sizzling sound resonated and the holy sword of light was cut into two by the golden blade.

The golden blade seemingly cleaved its way into Arte’s body and he howled in rage. The golden blade cut into Arte’s shoulder and continued cleaving its way in until it made contact with the wings.

Here, the momentum of the blade made of golden light was hindered.

Chen Xiaolian bellowed out and the golden light radiating from his body gave him the image of a sun that had descended upon the human world.

Finally, the golden light blade cut into the base of the pair of angel wings…

A piece of feather was cut and it fell to the floor, then a second, a third…

Arte released a sharp cry and his body was thrown backward. When he fell on the floor, a silver coloured liquid spilled on the floor.

The parts of the floor in the underground palace that made contact with the silver liquid burst into flames and black coloured smoke rose up into the air.

Arte released a wail. There on his back, one of the wings had been cut off.

Only one wing remained of the pair of wings.

[System prompt: Magic array countdown timer: 2 minutes 36 seconds.]

The blade in Chen Xiaolian’s hand crumbled to pieces and his body shuddered as blood continued to trickle down from his mouth.

Arte got up and silver motes of light shone out from the knights behind him. The motes of light flowed into Arte’s body and the knights all bowed down on the floor.

“Damn, damnable… …. power of heresy, damnable…”

Silver light glowed from within Arte’s eyes. He shook his body as he straightened himself. Then, he strode toward Chen Xiaolian once more.

By now, Chen Xiaolian had completely exhausted himself.

He had utilized Skyblade’s skill in the last few engagements.

That was an [S] class power after all, a power that was not actually his. The present Chen Xiaolian’s body and mind was unable to bear the burden of utilizing [S] class power.

He forced himself to utilize those skills, over exhausting himself to the point where Skyblade’s skill had entered a cool down period.

Cutting off one of the angel wings was testament to Skyblade’s herculean power. However… … that was the best he could manage.

It was not his own power. Thus, Chen Xiaolian was now over exhausted.

He could only watch as Arte stumbled toward him. Although he managed to wound Arte heavily….

“Still… lacking somewhat…” Chen Xiaolian said bitterly to himself.

When Arte’s sword of light was about to strike Chen Xiaolian…

Bang!

A figure shot forward as the turbines on his back ejected streams of flames and the figure slammed into Arte.

His Beam Blade collided against Arte’s sword of light.

The wound on Roddy’s chest that was in the process of healing was reopened and pain seared through his mind. Additionally, there was the overload effect of the Floating Angel mech armour. The pain nearly caused Roddy to black out. Despite that, he forced himself to defend Chen Xiaolian.

Finally, Arte’s sword of light released a pulse, which caused Roddy to fall to the floor.

“Heretics must all be purified!”

Arte growled angrily.

Roddy panted and attempted to trigger his Mechanical Heart skill once more, only to find his consciousness drying up like a desert. As he was forcing himself to get up, a hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“Fool, that is not how you use a Floater.”

Roddy was taken aback. Then, he identified the owner of the voice. It was the strange woman from their Demon Faction.

Next, he watched as Nicole stepped forward to stand before him. Then, with her back against him, she continued walking toward Arte.

Roddy’s heart gave a pound but he soon realized that the fragments of Floating Angel mech armour on his body were coming off him. They transformed into metal components and quickly left him…

The parts promptly stuck themselves onto the woman’s body.

Nicole sighed. With the blade in her left hand, she drew a light cut on her own shoulders, arms, palms…

Her blood flowed out.

Her blood sank into the surface of the Floating Angel mech armour and the damaged armour suddenly released a dazzling glow.

Arms, perfect state.

Breastplate, perfect state.

Gauntlets, perfect state.

Wings, perfect state.

Like liquid metal, the part forming the helmet flowed down her face…

Roddy looked at the back of the graceful figure, the body that was fully clad in silver coloured armour, the Floating Angel…

Roddy was dumbfounded!

[System prompt: Floating Angel host confirmed. Host blood restoration in progress. Restored up to 86.7 %. Insufficient energy. Maximum operational state for combat purpose can only be maintained for… … 26 seconds. Do you wish to activate it?]

Nicole’s face was hidden beneath the visor and the corners of her mouth formed a tangled smile.

An Ion Beam Blade shimmered out from her gauntlet. At the same time, the flat muzzle of a blaster appeared on both her shoulder plates and two Floating Cannons appeared to hover around her.

“Activate maximum operational state and enter full combat mode!”

Roddy looked at this woman who was wearing the perfect form of the Floating Angel mech armour. The thruster turbines on her back whirred and her figure transformed into a beam of light as she shot toward Arte.

[System prompt: Magic array countdown timer: 1 minute 51 seconds.]

…