301 Surprise

"Open the Fifth Seal in my name!"

Thundering came from deep within Avalon. Lightning shot out from the endless black clouds in the eerie sky. It illuminated the ghastly white palace. Within the palace, the queen sleeping on the throne opened her eyes.

"Allowed."

Sir Lancelot stood below the throne. The seal in his hands, created by royal blood, instantly began to shake. The bell at the top of the Elizabeth Tower began to ring. The ringing cut across the skies and earth, resounding nine times.

Dominic stood before the door of the Jianlan Underground Palace. The bell slowly pushed the door open. Darkness no longer resided in the world behind the door. Endless light rolled out like a tidal wave.

The sound of a choir singing in a low voice resounded in everyone’s ears. The tide of light surged and shot into the black sky. The fog was swept away and the aura of the abyss no longer remained because an immense sun was rising slowly. The world was instantly brightened.

A ray of red light brewed within the sun and descended from the sky. The frozen world was shattered by its power and light fell into the Shaman’s palms. He clenched his hands.

It was as if all the power in the world was in his hands. The light illuminated the true appearance of the beam of radiance. It was an ancient and majestic sword! The hole in the Shaman’s chest was quickly repaired. His bones grew and mended the crack. He instantly recovered.

Blazing wings of light burst from his back. The large wings created a flood in the aetheric sea. Endless strength converged above the Shaman, transforming into a halo. Now, the Shaman was no longer the lord of darkness. He was now the only king of the world—the noble one who ruled over the world with dignity. It was as if King Arthur had come back to life.

After centuries, the absolute power given to Anglo by the heavens, the legendary weapon that had killed the natural catastrophe Leviathan—the Sword in the Stone—had finally re-appeared! This world had changed drastically.

In the mud, Ingmar finally processed everything. He gaped at the glowing figure. His muddled mind was somehow stimulated. He shuddered and finally became clear-headed again. However, he felt ineffable fear.

How could this be? How could this be? How could this be?!

"Ma-Ma-Maxwell!" His features twisted. Pointing at the one shrouded in light, he shrieked as if in a nightmare, "How can you be here?! You clearly…this is impossible…this is impossible!"

"It’s simple." The majestic man with wings stood in the light and looked back coldly at him. "Because I am the Shaman."

The wings of light flapped. Ingmar’s body sagged and scattered like dust. The Shaman—no, Maxwell—flew into the sky, reigning from between the heavens and earth. He asked gravely, "Where are the knights?"

The sound of swords unsheathing came from every corner of Avalon like thunder. Eight beams of light shot into the sky. The knights clad in armor had finally regrouped.

Galahad, Geraint, Gareth, Bedivere, Kay, Lamorak, Aglovale, Tristan…The knights of the Round Table were ready to fight!

"Good." Maxwell nodded. "Royal Musician Division."

In an instant, overlapping waves of aether flashed from every corner of Avalon. In a hidden room, six grandmasters and hundreds of musicians resonated with the sword. There were even two Scepter-level waves that surged from the end of the sea. They came from thousands of miles away and contained all the strength.

The light around Maxwell burned brighter as if he truly was the sun.

The sunlight shrouded the Round Table Knights. It cut the barrier between the aetheric and material world and fell into the black shadow realm.

Immediately afterward, wild thundering resounded in the air. "Men, follow me to kill the god!"

-

The shadow realm instantly shook. Amongst the earth-shattering thunder, a blazing sun rose from the eternal night. It illuminated the world from its place high up in the sky. Blazing sunlight fell and swept the gray fog away from the city.

The countless black dust wailed and shook. They shot up into the sky and scattered under the violent brilliance. The still city awoke again under the light and finally resonated again.

At that moment, Maxwell had already descended from the sky. The Sword in the Stone played the Chapter of the Golden Victory, awakening the lost royal power in Avalon’s Shadow. Four immense shadows emerged under the brilliance. They carried terrifying auras and slammed down on the aether world. They said, "Come."

The sun that descended from the sky contained the king’s crown and descended onto the ground. The control of Avalon’s Shadow was instantly robbed. Maxwell entered the shadow world easily and swung his sword down with might.

The darkness shook. Infinite light pierced into the depths along with the blade. It instantly crossed thousands of miles straight to the heart! Before the palace, the Dark Lord froze. The ancient sword pierced his chest and shone with royal power, imploding. Lit on fire, he roared.

One moment he still had control. The next moment, Kingdom Come’s strength fell from the sky and fatally wounded the Dark Lord who had been focused on opening Avalon’s Shadow.

"Sword in the Stone?" he asked hoarsely, looking down at the sword in him with shock.

"Yeah, you didn’t expect it, right?" Maxwell sneered behind him. "It’s finally awakened after being hidden away for so many years. The sheath was even repaired. Mr. Deity, are you surprised?"

It suddenly dawned on the Dark Lord. "This was all your plan."

Maxwell leered from within the flames. His smile was filled with malice and craze.

For centuries after Arthur had fallen, this Dark Lord’s influence had been seeping into Anglo and snooping from the shadows. For all these years, the royal family had cast a blind eye, allowing it to become stronger.

Downtown, the Parliament, the Blood Path, Avalon’s Shadow, the Bell Authority… Everything—all the years of quiet endurance and waiting—were done in order for this deity to lower his guards and walk his incarnate into the prepared trap. For this, so many people had lost their lives, so many had died soundlessly. They even used Arthur’s corpse as bait just for this moment to arrive. They uprooted the evil hand that reached into the mortal world and destroyed it completely! They would even kill the incarnation of a deity! This was a battle between men and gods. After centuries of planning and decades of acting, it was now…just starting!

Boom! Flames shot from the Stone in the Stone. It shattered the Dark Lord’s chest. The strength from the abyss shook and collapsed. The root was cut off.

"You’ve been watching from the side all these years, making everyone panic. We put in so much to invite you down so we’ll definitely welcome you warmly." Maxwell asked, "What do you think about my Starry Sky? I personally made it. Does it suit your taste?"

The Dark Lord growled. His broken chest seemed to contain a bottomless abyss. Inside it, countless faces continuously appeared and hoarsely chanted a blasphemous song. Darkness swept through again.

Light and darkness battled amidst the turmoil. Tsunamis were formed in the aether sea. The aftershocks and waves shook the shadow world, pushing it close to collapse. The war was only just beginning in the realm of the fallen scepter, before the aether and material world.

Amidst the resonance, Ye Qingxuan hid under the Elizabeth Tower. He closed his eyes and cut off all communication with the aether. Even so, he was practically paralyzed by the wild ripples from the core.

Lofty beams of light hacked down from the Sword in the Stone. Each movement caused floods that disappeared once it flowed into the darkness. The sun and dark night crashed and wrestled in the sky. Everything swept into the air waves were scattered like dust.

But this was Avalon, after all. It was the home turf of the Sword in the Stone. Even faced with the majestic incarnation of a god, Maxwell was able to have the upper hand for a bit. In addition, he had the Round Table Knights to add some hits in between. The phantom beast in the holy armor had been completely awakened too. Nine different beastly features materialized.

The claws, eyes, flames, teeth…the nine features combined and formed the Red Dragon. It let out an earth-shattering roar. Spitting fire, its majesty became tangible and spread. It destroyed all the demons in its way and restrained a portion of the abyss’ power.

It was nine against one. The royal musicians were also sending reinforcement from the outside too. All of Anglo’s strength was united to fight against the god.

Soon the world shook and the darkness was furious. A giant crack opened leading to the abyss. Countless demons swarmed from the crack. Dozens of big demons appeared and wrestled with the Red Dragon.

The Dark Lord’s figure flickered and dissipated.

"You want to leave?" Maxwell scoffed. "The door’s closed. How can I let you escape? That guy over there, stop wasting time! It’s time for you to shine!"

Ye Qingxuan froze. He flew toward the top level of the Elizabeth Tower. Pressing down onto the center of the enchantment, his heart flashed behind the crack in his chest. The core had been activated. He immediately felt immense power surge into the enchantment from the outside world. He could barely control the waves from the aether sea! He looked around carefully and realized the power was right beside him.

"Outside Avalon’s Shadow?" he murmured. An old man stood under the moonlight at the top of the white tower outside Avalon. He seemed to be meditating. The young musician beside him lowered his head respectfully. "Grandmaster Hadyn, you can begin now."