The Floater Reappears!
When the box was finally opened, it shone brilliantly! It was as if the entire underground palace was instantly illuminated. The dazzling silver light, accompanied by an indescribable sense of divine pressure, made everyone feel hesitant to look directly at it.
"Xiaolei!" Chen Xiaolian shouted as he saw his companion, Xia Xiaolei, who was closest to the box.
Xia Xiaolei suddenly realized and rushed over. However, just as he took a few steps, he heard Nicole's voice, "Don't touch it!"
Xia Xiaolei ignored the woman's words, but as his hand reached towards the box and his fingers touched the radiant light, his whole body shook as if he had been electrocuted. He was directly thrown away by a powerful force!
When Xiaolei hit the ground, his entire body was burning. He rolled on the ground in agony, emitting painful screams.
Chen Xiaolian didn't have much time to do anything else. He rushed over to grab Xiaolei and immediately administered a healing potion into his mouth before tossing him into a corner.
At this moment, almost everyone in the underground palace was rushing towards the box. In the four-person team, the tough guy with the knife was the second to arrive. Seeing Xiaolei being thrown by the light, he seemed to hesitate for a moment. Soon, a knight by his side rushed forward, raised his longsword, and forced him back two steps. However, this knight also seemed reluctant to touch the box. Instead, he gritted his teeth and stabbed the box underneath, sending it flying into the air!
Lun Tai leaped high and grabbed the box, but immediately, he let out a miserable scream as the light on the box burned him, and both his arms were on fire!
Unable to hold on, the box fell to the ground again.
The four-person group was blocked by the knight and couldn't get closer. However, at this moment...
Arte stood next to the box, bent over, and slowly extended his hand, gripping the box tightly.
"I am not the servant of the Master, so I cannot pick up the glory bestowed by the Master!"
There was pain on Arte's face, but evidently, he could endure it.
With the box in his hand, the holy light illuminated Arte's face. His expression became extremely peculiar, with a mixture of devotion, fanaticism, pain, anger... various emotions intertwined.
Arte knelt on one knee on the ground, biting his lip with force, and finally lifted the box above his head.
At this moment, the other knights exclaimed, and one of them shouted loudly, "Arte!!"
Arte smiled bitterly, "The sacred object has been opened, so there must be a sacrifice. My faith is the strongest, so it should be me!"
As he spoke, he made a strange move, lifting the box above his head and then flipping it over with his palm...
At this moment, within the holy light, something slowly descended from the box...
It was none other than...
A pair of pristine white wings!
Just like the wings of a swan, pure, holy, and each feather radiated with divine light.
But at the base of the wings, there was a scar as if they had been cut...
It was unmistakably a pair of...
...
"Angel's wings. They are indeed angel's wings..."
Nicole murmured to herself as she gazed at the pair of long wings floating before Arte.
Roddy, who had crawled up in the distance, had blood flowing from his chest. He forcefully administered a healing potion into his mouth and then, looking at Arte kneeling on the ground, he suddenly raised his arm. The beam cannon on his Floating Angel battle armor extended, and he fired a particle beam at Arte.
However, the beam was quickly intercepted by the divine light emanating from the angel's wings.
Arte then raised his head, his eyes filled with fierceness as he looked around, "Blaspheming the radiance of the Master, you shall all perish!"
He stood up abruptly.
As Arte chanted strange incantations, the wings quickly fused onto his back. The roots of the wings adhered to his armor, as if threads of flesh had pierced through the armor and deeply into Arte's back!
Arte let out a loud cry, filled with both pain and a certain fanaticism. His eyes, however, grew brighter and brighter!
"Don't stay here!" Nicole shouted loudly at Chen Xiaolian, "You can't defeat them! This is the power of angelic descent! The power of the Light, second only to divine power!"
The remaining knights had all gathered around Arte. They formed a line behind him, all kneeling on one knee, placing their hands on their chests in a posture of worship.
Silver light emanated from each knight, flowing into Arte's body!
Arte roared once again. Above his figure, the severed arm that had broken before suddenly emitted light. It quickly condensed into the outline of an arm and rapidly solidified, appearing as a luminous arm but with the substance of reality!
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and looked at his companions.
Tire lay on the ground, no longer able to fight. Roddy was covered in blood, Qiao Qiao was surrounded by dark energy, her body still burning, Soo Soo looked bewildered, and Xia Xiaolei was in the corner, Flagged and tightly holding Xia Xiaolei's shoulder.
Chen Xiaolian drew a deep breath and then charged towards Arte!
He raised the Stone Sword and it transformed into a ray of light, descending.
Arte's eyes suddenly locked onto Chen Xiaolian. His gaze was like lightning, as if it could penetrate Chen Xiaolian's body.
"The power from the Master shall not be defiled! Kneel!"
With a commanding shout, Chen Xiaolian felt that the Stone Sword in his hand suddenly seemed to possess a consciousness of its own. He could barely control the Stone Sword, as a strong awareness washed over him. Even though he was standing less than three steps away from Arte, this overwhelming pressure made it impossible for him to wield the Stone Sword with any resistance.
Thud!
Surprisingly, Chen Xiaolian knelt down on one knee, and the Stone Sword in his hand, as heavy as a mountain, resisted his every effort to raise it!
"The Master says, 'None but my own people shall tread upon my kingdom!'"
With another resounding command, Chen Xiaolian suddenly felt a burst of power erupt from the Stone Sword, surging through his entire body. He opened his mouth abruptly, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out in front of him.
Arte's expression remained stern and majestic. His gaze seemed devoid of any earthly flavor as he looked down at Chen Xiaolian.
At this moment, he truly seemed to have transformed into an angelic presence.
The ethereal light-arm formed a beam sword in its palm, pointing it at Chen Xiaolian...
Every muscle in Chen Xiaolian's body struggled desperately. As he saw Arte take a step toward him, Chen Xiaolian suddenly took a deep breath and looked at the Stone Sword in his hand.
"Is this sword powered by your Master's strength? Then..."
Chen Xiaolian suddenly released the sword, throwing it into the dust!
From his storage wristwatch, an ordinary war hammer materialized in his palm. Chen Xiaolian suddenly leaped high into the air, shouting loudly, "Your Master has never been my faith!"
Hammer raised!
Hammer fell!
Golden light erupted, powered by the strength of the Skyblade!
...
When the hammer and the beam sword in the hands of the angel Arte collided, golden light and divine light intertwined, bursting forth like a comet!
Chen Xiaolian's roar echoed throughout the entire underground palace.
The intense collision pierced into everyone's ears and souls like thunder...
At this moment, almost everyone's eyes were fixed on the image of Chen Xiaolian leaping into the air and delivering a mighty blow.
At this moment, his shadow was unmistakably golden!
Thunderous shockwaves echoed...
...
Chen Xiaolian felt a tremendous surge of power coursing through his body like electricity. The war hammer in his hand seemed to wail, tremble, and quiver as if every piece of metal within it was in agony.
The power of the Skyblade was formidable enough to contend with this so-called angelic power, but the war hammer in his hand was, after all, just a common weapon.
Finally, with a loud bang, the war hammer shattered!
Arte's body staggered backward, taking three consecutive steps, and he stumbled.
However, Chen Xiaolian was forced to retreat seven or eight steps, then tumbled to the ground. He managed to kneel back up with great effort, but in his hand, the war hammer was reduced to just a handle.
"Blasphemy! Blasphemy! This is blasphemy!!" Arte shouted angrily.
Chen Xiaolian snorted. His ears, eyes, nose, and the corners of his mouth were all oozing threads of blood. He wiped them away with determination and then pulled out two military daggers from his storage wristwatch, gripping them in both hands.
Chen Xiaolian stood up, positioning himself between Arte and Little Will.
At this moment, his frail body was like a mountain!
"Don't even think about going any further! Neither you nor your Master!"
Golden light blazed from Chen Xiaolian's body...
...
"[S] class, this is [S] class power... when did he truly become [S] class... is the power he gained from blood refining real?" Nicole stared at Chen Xiaolian, her eyes somewhat bewildered. She muttered to herself as she watched Chen Xiaolian raise a pair of military daggers and engage in a fierce battle with Arte.
The angelic holy light and Chen Xiaolian's golden light clashed, and they quickly separated once more. Chen Xiaolian's breathing became increasingly heavy, and the military daggers in his hands broke again. His hands were covered in blood, but he still stood in front of Little Will, not giving an inch!
This time, he once again retrieved a long knife from his storage wristwatch.
Chen Xiaolian looked at Arte before him, and Arte took a step towards him, his angelic wings flapping. It seemed like the light before his eyes was distorting, and the light sword in his eyes grew brighter and closer...
At this moment, it was as if his consciousness recalled the two sentences he and the Skyblade exchanged back on the blood-refining trial platform.
"What should we do?"
"Strike through!"
"What?"
"Strike through! Just strike through like this!"
...
"Aaaaahhh!!!" Chen Xiaolian roared as if he couldn't feel the pain in every muscle, every cell of his body, as if he couldn't feel the blood covering his hands. He raised the knife high and brought it down heavily!
The blade emerged!
A golden blade light emerged!
The golden blade light transformed into a massive virtual shadow, as if carrying an unstoppable momentum!
The blade light fell on Arte's light sword with a hiss. Under the divine light, the light sword was actually split in two by the golden blade light!
The blade light seemed to pass directly through Arte's body. He let out an angry roar, and finally, the blade light cut into his shoulder and then passed through his body, landing on his wings!
The golden light was blocked here.
Chen Xiaolian roared loudly, and the golden light emanating from his body made him appear like a sun descending to earth!
Finally, the golden blade light cut into the base of the angel's wings...
One feather was finally severed within the golden light, followed by the second, the third...
Arte let out a sharp cry, and his body was thrown into the air. When he landed on the ground, a silvery liquid splattered on the floor.
Soon after, the ground of the underground palace, soaked in the silvery liquid, ignited and turned into a black haze.
Arte wailed as one of his wings, originally a pair, was severed!
His wings turned into a single wing!
[System Notification: Magic circle operational time remaining: 2 minutes and 36 seconds.]
The blade in Chen Xiaolian's hand finally shattered again. His body trembled, and blood continued to flow from his mouth.
Arte climbed to his feet. Behind him, more and more silver light emanated from the knights, flowing into Arte's body. As the silver light left the knights, they quickly fell to the ground.
"Damn it, damn it... the power of heretics, damn it..."
Silver radiance filled Arte's eyes. He shook his body lightly, straightened himself, and once again approached Chen Xiaolian.
At this moment, Chen Xiaolian was completely exhausted.
The recent series of attacks had completely drained the Skyblade's abilities.
After all, it was [S] class power, and it did not belong to him. Chen Xiaolian's body and consciousness were unable to bear the strain of [S] class power.
Forcing the use of this ability, even overextending it, had put the Skyblade into a cooldown period.
One strike that severed the angel's wings demonstrated the formidable power of the Skyblade. However, it had reached its limit.
After all, it was not his own power. Chen Xiaolian was now utterly spent.
As he watched Arte stumbling towards him, despite having dealt him a severe blow...
"It was still... just a little bit short..." Chen Xiaolian thought bitterly.
When the light sword pierced towards Chen Xiaolian...
Boom!
A figure shot forward like a meteor under the propulsion flames of a thruster, crashing into Arte's path.
A light beam military blade blocked Arte's light sword!
Roddy's chest wound hadn't even healed yet, and it burst open again. His mind was in excruciating pain, and the overload from the Floating Angel nearly made him black out. However, he stood firm in front of Chen Xiaolian!
Finally, Arte's light sword shook, and Roddy rolled to the side.
"Heretics, all must be purified!"
Arte roared angrily.
Roddy gasped and forcibly activated the Mechanical Heart's skill again, but he felt his mental consciousness drying up like a desert. Just as he was struggling to get up, a hand rested on his shoulder.
"You fool, Roddy, this is not how it's used."
Roddy was startled and recognized the voice of the unfamiliar woman from his own camp.
Then he saw Nicole walking toward him. She turned her back to him and then took a step towards Arte.
Roddy's heart skipped a beat, but he noticed that the Floating Angel battle armor wrapped around him was rapidly shedding and transforming into metallic components, then swiftly leaving him...
It quickly attached to the woman's body!
Nicole sighed, holding a knife in her left hand.
She gently cut her own shoulder, arm, and palm with the blade, allowing her blood to flow.
Her blood sprinkled onto the damaged Floating Angel, and the battered armor suddenly radiated a stunning light.
Arm, intact!
Chestplate, intact!
Forearm, intact!
Wings, intact!
Upon the helmet, the liquid metal-like visor dropped down...
Standing in front of Roddy, he stared in astonishment at the graceful figure and the silver Floating Angel that enveloped her entire body...
Roddy was left dumbfounded!
"System prompt: Floating Angel host confirmed, host bloodline repaired, repair completion rate 86.7%, insufficient energy source, maximum power activation, capable of sustaining combat... 26 seconds. Do you want to activate?"
Nicole, hidden behind the visor, smiled with a complex expression on her face.
In her hands, the ion beam energy blade materialized, and flat beam cannon muzzles appeared on her shoulders. Two floating cannons hovered by her side.
"Activate, maximum power, full combat mode!"
In Roddy's eyes, he watched as this woman, in a complete Floating Angel form, with propulsion thrusters blazing, turned into a streak of light and charged towards the angel Arte!
[System prompt: Magic Circle operational time remaining: 1 minute and 51 seconds.]