But a figure in a steel Exoskeleton Power Armor was faster.
"Roger!"
Liu Ling, clad in crude steel Power Armor, rushed in front of the flaming Satan. He carried a tal box at his waist and quickly pulled out a three-inch-long, bright yellow Crystal spike, driving it forcefully into the ground. He then rapidly hamred more Crystal spikes around Satan, forming a circle.
"—Demon Seal!"
Liu Ling activated it with Alchemy. Each spike lit up with a brilliant glow, the Alchemy Matrix engraved upon them shining resplendently. They linked together, forming a divine halo. As the screaming, struggling Satan touched the halo from within the pale flas, a scorching burst of Holy Light erupted, searing its flesh.
’This should hold it for ten minutes or so...’ Liu Ling exhaled, his hands never ceasing their work as he hamred another circle of Holy Light Crystals outside the Barrier, creating a second line of defense.
Just then, Zhou Chen arrived. He held a massive white Fireball aloft in one hand and hurled it at the struggling wreck inside the Barrier.
BOOM!
A wave of fire erupted, scorching the ground black. A searing wind radiated in all directions, igniting the surrounding plants and trees. Flammable objects burst into fla, and the air filled with the acrid stench of sulfur.
Satan was not incinerated by the terrifying heat. Its body grew more withered and emaciated, its three-ter fra shrinking to just over six feet tall, like the charred remains left after a great fire. Even so, it still radiated a terrifyingly malevolent aura.
Liu Ling unslung a large, turquoise bow from his back, drew four Rune Secret Arrows from the quiver at his waist, and let them fly in quick succession.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
The four arrows pierced Natas’s limbs, pinning it to the ground. Though the arrowheads had only sunk two inches into the earth, they seed to carry an imnse weight, making it impossible for Natas to break free.
—Alchemy Tool: Thick Earth Arrow.
Effect: Once connected to the earth, the arrow draws power from the ley lines, becoming incredibly heavy.
"Zhou Chen!"
Chengzi’s shout ca from a nearby rooftop as she threw down a steel javelin covered in engraved Alchemy Matrixes.
With a flash of fire, Zhou Chen appeared in midair. He grabbed the javelin, then teleported again and again, moving higher into the sky.
The bursts of white-hot fla that dissipated in the wind were like steps on his ascent to the heavens.
A thousand ters in the air.
The wind howled. Zhou Chen’s figure erged from a flash of fire. He looked down at the ground and, with all his might, hurled the steel javelin downward. "HAAH—"
SHIIING!!!
Like a pale teor streaking across the sky, the combination of powerful kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy accelerated the javelin to an incredible speed. It tore through the air, trailing a piercing white wake and creating a sonic boom.
With a razor-sharp tip, it tore through the atmosphere, leaving a straight contrail as it plumted toward its target on the ground.
In an instant, it pierced Satan’s chest.
Half of the two-ter-long steel javelin was buried in the Demon’s torso and the earth beneath it. The other half, exposed to the air, began to glow with a dreamlike moonlight as its Alchemy Matrix activated.
—Dream-Lurker β-Type Slumber Matrix!
Natas felt its consciousness grow heavy. The excruciating pain that had driven it mad began to fade. Its awareness seed to be peeling away, drawn into a void, replaced by a sense of peace and exhaustion that follows imnse agony.
It gradually fell asleep.
Peacefully slumbering in the roaring flas.
Like a pyre.
Flas flickered on the ground as Zhou Chen reappeared from the sky, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Plan A was a success.
It was all thanks to that mont of hesitation from Natas after it erged from the Glory Colosseum. They had seized the opening and locked it down with a nonstop combo.
—While Yao Hu had been buying them ti, Liu Ling and Chengzi had rushed out of Akita Town and returned to the icy Restricted Area. There, they gathered the leftover Alchemy Tools and precious resources abandoned by other contestants, processing them into new Extraordinary Artifacts.
Now that Natas was in a temporary slumber, they could catch their breath, recover their Essence, and hastily forge more Artifacts.
When Natas woke up, they would have to throw everything they had at it and knock it out all over again.
·
Pantheon.
The High Priest watched the scene on the screen and nodded slightly.
He had to admit, if the goal was to save as many people as possible, stalling for ti until Akita Town could Reboot was indeed the best course of action.
It was just a sha that the next half-hour or so would be nothing but a boring wait.
"Oh, right. How are our Heroic Trials coming along?" the High Priest suddenly asked.
The Priests beside him wore complicated expressions. ’So you *do* rember the Heroic Trials are ours?’
Ever since the Heroic Trials began, the High Priest hadn’t paid any attention to their progress. Instead, he had been watching the live broadcast of the Sword Forging Competition, where he had even sent Zhou Chen several "Super Rockets" and muttered things like, ’As expected of soone Tyrant has their eye on. Not bad at all...’
"’Saint’ and ’Tyrant’ have both reached the Trial of the Golden Apple," a Priest replied.
This was the ninth stage of the Heroic Trials.
Of all the challengers in the Heroic Trials, only twelve now remained.
Saint and Tyrant were the first to reach the ninth stage; the remaining ten were still stuck on the seventh and eighth.
Hearing this, the High Priest turned his attention to the large light screen in the hall.
Inside a magnificent palace built in the style of Ancient Greece.
Three goddesses stood before Li Xiye.
One wore a coronet of flowers and leaves; she was majestic and regal, her noble and elegant bearing that of a true queen.
Another was clad in magnificent Golden Armor that shimred beautifully. She held a long spear, exuding the heroic air of a Valkyrie ready for war.
The third had skin like white porcelain and a beauty that shone like the light of day. Her cheeks were pink as peach blossoms, her long, curly golden hair glead, and her eyes seed to hold the azure sea. Her face and figure were nothing short of perfect.
They were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.
The three stunningly beautiful goddesses from the myth who vied for the Golden Apple.
In the Greek myth, Eris, the Goddess of Discord, presented a Golden Apple to the guests at a wedding. On it was inscribed the phrase, "For the Fairest."
This sparked a quarrel among the three goddesses. The other Deities, afraid to offend any of them, dared not speak. Zeus therefore tasked a young shepherd boy from the mountains, Paris, to be the judge.
To win the Golden Apple and the title of "the Fairest," the three goddesses each made tempting offers.
Hera offered him supre power, promising to make him a ruler above all others.
Athena granted him wisdom and Power, enabling him to walk a glorious, heroic path and be worshiped by the masses.
Aphrodite promised to make the most beautiful woman in the World his wife, and even offered him a night of passion with herself.
And now, this very trial had fallen to Li Xiye.
Under the ntal influence of the Heroic Trials, Li Xiye would perceive the three goddesses as the most beautiful beings in the World, and their promises would be exceptionally tempting.
"So, what is your choice?"
The three goddesses smiled, staring at Li Xiye with anticipation, each hoping to be chosen.
At the sa ti, their smiles carried a hint of warning and pressure.
It was a difficult choice. There was only one Golden Apple, and no matter whom she gave it to, she would face the wrath of the other two goddesses.
In the original myth, the shepherd boy chose the Beauty God. He received his beautiful wife as promised, but in doing so, he incurred the wrath and vengeance of the other two goddesses, which ultimately led to the fall of Troy.
Li Xiye feigned a thoughtful expression, casually tossing the Golden Apple in her hand.
Finally, she smirked, took a bite out of it herself, and then casually tossed aside the Golden Apple that the three goddesses treasured so dearly.
"Like I even have to think about it."
Li Xiye flashed a brazen grin. "—Of course *I’m* the most beautiful!"
With that, a pair of Iron Fists wreathed in cyan lightning slamd toward the three goddesses.
In the Pantheon, the Priests’ eyes all widened in horror.
’This stage isn’t a test of Power!’
"Hahahahaha..." The High Priest, however, let out a hearty laugh.
"That’s exactly the choice she’d make!"
"High Priest, brute-forcing your way through isn’t the answer... Besides, she might not even be able to win," a Priest reminded him.
"Can’t win?" The High Priest chuckled. "Then just you watch."
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