Chapter 246: You’ve Caught the King, Yet You Dare to Threaten Me?

The reason Sterl was being so cautious was primarily to avoid any suspicions after the plan succeeded, particularly regarding his potential rise in power after sacrificing numerous demons. After all, if the word got out that Sterl had the ability to "stably exploit bugs to obtain hell," he would likely find himself targeted by many deities! Even the Hall of Valor wouldn't be able to protect him.

He would never find peace again.

Sterl charged ahead toward the area in the palace that blocked detection. The players beside him understood the urgency of the situation and hurried to keep up.

...

As they made their way, an eerie silence enveloped the palace. No one spoke, no one walked, and even the usual attendants and servants had vanished. The players felt a chill run down their spines. However, given the critical nature of the situation, they had no choice but to press on.

The legendary players moved with lightning speed, and within just a few seconds, they found themselves standing at the edge of the palace cellar.

In the distance, they spotted a graceful figure clad in a blood-red gown. It was the queen. "Esteemed members of the Hall of Valor," she called out, "there are some royal secrets in this cellar that are not convenient for you to inspect."

"I wonder if you could grant us a favor."

Yet at that moment, how could the players possibly listen? Seeing someone attempting to obstruct them, even if she was a beautiful woman, they were all ready to unleash their skills and take her down. Unfortunately...

"Uh uh~"

With the queen's movement, they suddenly realized she had the king by the throat, holding him in front of her.

"Sorry, everyone, but if you step any closer..."

"I may have to resort to some extreme measures."

Immediately, the players fell silent in shock.

Before they could react further, a Celestial Stars attack came crashing down from the sky!

Their leader had launched an attack, disdain dripping from his words.

"You've caught that king, yet you dare to threaten me?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

In an instant, the queen's expression changed drastically. Hesitating for a moment, she flung the king toward the players and activated a blood-red talisman to burrow underground.

Boom!!

In the next second, a terrifying wave of heat and force was unleashed, slamming against the blood-red shield surrounding the cellar, causing it to sway dangerously.

This was, after all, the stronghold of the Blood Cult's leaders, and its protective measures far exceeded those of the other sub-array locations.

Of course, this was not because Sterl had miscalculated the power of his attack; rather, he needed to hold back and control the players' advance into the Blood Cult's base. At that moment, seeing their leader's strike fail to achieve its intended effect, the other players began to unleash their skills in a bombardment.

Blazing streams of skill effects lit up the area, and soon the blood-red shield was shattered. At this point, the king of Florence was tossed aside, his chest rising and falling slightly as if he were still alive, but no one had the heart to pay him any attention.

Sterl continued to lead the charge, diving into the base. As he jumped down into the cellar, he discovered that the underground space was surprisingly vast, surrounded by walls made of some kind of marble, with various gemstones illuminating the area.

Piles of ice cubes were stacked at the edges of the cellar, clearly remnants of the cellar's original storage; the Blood Cult seemed to have occupied this place not long ago and hadn't managed to clear out all the ice.

At that moment, under the players' relentless bombardment, the ceiling of the cellar had been completely blown off. Once Sterl landed on the ground, he only needed to look up to see the sky—

and above him, a gigantic array crafted by the Blood Cult pulsed slowly.

Although the divine power summoned by a group of mid-tier legendaries was mostly underwhelming, it was still far beyond what these players could contend with!

God!

Was a new level of existence!

Below the divine, everyone else was but an ant.

Even if the Hall of Valor sent demigods to undertake this task, facing divine power was a certain death sentence!

In an instant, the players frantically hurled various rare items without concern for the cost, simply wanting to break through the Blood Cult's defenses.

Sterl casually scanned the area with Star Insight and discovered a potion that instantly restored energy: Death Moss, which permanently decreased their life limit with each use. There were also Legendary Energy Crystals that doubled the next skill's power. Many players took two or three at once, leading to a sharp decline in their life force but a significant increase in the power of their attacks.

It was a complete expenditure of money! A gamble with their lives!

One by one, their expressions turned frenzied!

Soon, the cellar had completely vanished, and an area of nearly a hundred square meters was directly dissolved by various high-energy attacks! It made the area where Sterl and the others stood appear completely flat!

If it weren't for the friendly fire immunity among the players, this environment alone could have killed them.

The cult members were even more desperate; some legendary-level members, after exhausting their energy, committed suicide to further accelerate the operation of the formation!

Yet the scales of victory slowly began to tip in favor of the players.

It was evident that the Blood Cult couldn't hold on for much longer.

Sterl then secretly activated Moon Law, freezing the thoughts of everyone around him for a few seconds.

As a result, the progress of the formation advanced once again! It had reached the limit where it could officially activate!

At that moment, the sound of cracking and shattering filled the air...

The energy shields created by the Pope of the Blood Cult and other members exploded violently!

The players didn't even have time to pay attention to these enemies, who were left immobilized by the backlash, as they charged straight for the core of the formation, intent on causing chaos!

However...

Sterl activated Moon Law once more, pushing time back a few seconds.

So, just as the players' attacks were about to hit the formation, countless Blood Cult members revealed expressions of ecstatic joy, for they saw the rainbow patterns had fully formed— the grand array was about to activate!

Yet—

Pfft!

Like a balloon being popped, the energy of the formation rapidly dissipated, and the rainbow light in the sky began to fracture and fade away.

In that last moment, the players thwarted the Blood Cult's "Conspiracy"!

The cultists' faces changed drastically, revealing disbelief.

Such a poignant and dramatic moment, reminiscent of tales from storybooks, made Sterl unable to help but silently nod in approval...