Chapter 66: Statues [3]

"Tch!"

Atlas immediately understood that he wasn't fast enough to reach Horus. He had a split second to react and save him from major injuries.

Thinking on his feet, he could only experiment.

Atlas had been staying away from the Great Dao because he knew that his body wasn't currently equipped to proficiently use them. However, his flame abilities were still an important part of his strength.

Other than his general combat sense, the Dao of Fire was where his past life's abilities could shine the most.

In this moment, faced with a necessity to do something, he was forced to try and use an ability he knew he wouldn't be able to stand.

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Ka-boom!

An arc of something that looked like lightning and moved at the same speed as the element exploded at the back of the statue horde.

Flames spread across the ground, immediately grabbing their attention. Atlas felt the blood leaking from his lips as the aftereffects of the ability struck him.

[Flame Thunder] used the properties of both fire and lightning. Atlas didn't have the second of those two elements, and, his current body could not handle the sheer force released by the bolts as they left his palms.

His qi chaotically swirled in his body, kicking up a storm in his blood vessels. However, he knew he still had to move.

[Regeneration]

It was his first time attempting to actively use the skill, but it worked quite well. At a rate that was clearly delineated by his rapidly draining mental power, his body was returned to peak condition.

Well, not quite. Atlas couldn't use all of his mental power yet. While healing himself just enough to move properly, he dashed with bursts of flame under his feet, arriving in front of one of the final two statues.

He flung his chain sickle to the side with just enough strength to scratch the further of the two, but his main target was its friend.

Boom!

He jumped into the air and kicked its chest with all of its power. It was sent staggering back a few steps, which was more than enough.

Whoosh!

Atlas felt it in the wind. A spear was coming his way from behind.

He boosted himself with [Burst Steps] and returned to the floor, using the last moment to slide between the tumbling statue's legs and throw a [Flame Wheel] at its back, halting its movement.

Bang!

The spearman who couldn't stop his thrust in time impaled his fellow statue. As the rock began to crumble, Atlas jumped up and grabbed the gem before running over to grab Horus.

"Are you alright?" he asked, rapidly retreating with his ally in tow.

"I'll live. I just can't take more hits," Horus responded through gritted teeth.

"You must have noticed my intent by now. I will aim for the final crystal to complete this mechanism. You must distract the rest in the meantime. Can you do it?"

Horus' beak curved into a confident smile.

"Do you think that I can't?"

"That is enough affirmation for me."

Atlas nodded and helped Horus stand on his own. Looking back into the crowd of statues, he found the one he marked.

He only did it due to a last-minute consideration, but he was glad that he did. The statues had adjusted their ranks when they started chasing the duo. If it weren't for that singular small scratch, he would not have been able to find it.

'It is a bit inconvenient for it to stay in the middle, no?'

Atlas wished the statue had more consideration for his situation. He really didn't want to go directly into the middle of the horde.

Luckily, the horde wasn't his problem. As he contemplated, Horus dashed ahead of him and jumped high into the air.

"Take this, you pests!"

He raised his fist, covering it in golden qi. His body slammed down to the ground, creating a large impact that sent debris flying in every direction.

Two of the closest statues were staggered, but that was not the most important effect.

At the end of the day, they were also using vision to see. It was a strange thing to clarify, but necessary when the topic was non-living entities.

These statues were clearly designed and programmed by an individual. Their function relied on something similar to eyesight, likely another mechanism in place for the challengers to exploit.

Atlas didn't waste any time. Once he realized that the statues were blinded, he followed Horus into the fray.

[Intrinsic Foresight]

The debris cleared out of Atlas' vision. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the only statue with a distinct scar on its body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Horus was causing a large commotion behind him, which was drawing almost all of the statues' attention.

There were some that saw him. Atlas ran for his target as fast as he could, but he wasn't able to get there completely inhibited.

From the dust, a spear suddenly swung out, aiming to decapitate him. Atlas jumped over it and kept running. He could see around him, which meant he was also ready for the attacks of the next two statues.

Whoosh!

A sword slashed at him, which he slid underneath. The instant he stood up, he dashed back two steps and narrowly avoided a charging shieldbearer.

There was nothing else blocking his path until the three of them regained their posture. Knowing that this was his opportunity, he sprinted through the final stretch and summoned the smallest bit of qi that he possibly could.

[Flame Wheel]

A ring no more than two palms large shot towards the final statue at incredible speeds.

Boom!

It made contact, exploding and staggering the statue. While the statue took a step back, Atlas crossed the final few feet that separated them and pulled his fist back.

"Die."

Bang!

A small hole was formed in the statue's chest, but it was more than enough. Atlas stuck his hand inside, ignoring the rock that peppered his arm with scratches, and gripped the gem with all of his might.

He transferred strength into his legs and pushed off of the statue's chest.

With a loud sound, its chest collapsed as Atlas ripped the gem away. While still flying through the air, he put the final gem together with the rest.

Flash!

A bright light surrounded the jewels as they merged into a single milky white crystal.

The instant Atlas had it in his hands, he filled it with the remnants of his qi without caring about its function.

'Activate!'

He didn't know if he had enough energy, but he tried his best.

And in response…?

As if responding to the qi, the statues stopped in unison and stood with their backs straight and their weapons at their sides.

They turned to face Atlas. All of them, including the ones who were still on the wall.

And together, they kneeled.

Rumble!

The ground shook at their combined force. Horus and Atlas looked at each other with wide eyes before turning their gazes to the gem in his hand.

"Hahaha…" Horus laughed speechlessly.

"You're telling me something like this was possible?"

They both understood the identity of the artifact in Atlas' hand.

It was the control gem for these statues.

With this in their hands, if they made use of it properly…

Wouldn't the rest of this tomb be extremely easy to clear?