"Those Bastards from the alliance will have to fight me when this is over. This is bullshit"
Bato couldn't help but laughed his ass off, he couldn't ask for more in terms of a challenge. The Pearls of Enlightenment provided him with very unique abilities that excel on 1 vs. 1 challenges or in the present challenge, it gave him an opportunity to survive even if he messed up.
The Electro Cannon was for individual use and it was activated via a 2 step process. The user needed to don a helmet that would control the angle of the cannon while the energy was zap from their bodies to power the machine. The more power they supplied, the stronger the propulsion at the moment of release. Theoretically, they could even skip the platform all together but the price to pay would be pretty big.
"I will go first, " said Bato while carrying the helmet.
The Helmet had some suction like equipment inside that immediately adhere to the top of the monk's head while he jump into the barrel. The no fly zone of the Barren Palace was a problem for Xiao and Vulcan but it caused less of a concerned to Bato that had the ability to enhance his physical and mental prowess and an indestructible rope.
The second bead shone with magical light while many symbols started to manifest all around him and the sound of a buddhist prayer reverberated inside the cannon. The second Bead was the bead of enlightenment and it allowed him to calculate the angle he needed to land safely into the platform with more accuracy. The cannon move up and down according to Bato's thoughts while he supplied the energy necessary to activate it.
ZOOPP!!
Bato left that cannon faster than a champagne cork after being severed from a bottle and flew through the air in a beautiful arch.
The moment Bato flew into the air, in the deepest part of the palace, laughter echoed non stop.
"YES!! Ha ha… It works… and I was able to absorb plenty of energy. Quickly activate anti-aerial defenses " Said the Earth Dragon looking at a projection of Bato flying through the air.
"OH SHIT. NOT GOOD"
The calculations were good for distance but Bato didn't account for any other inconveniences since he couldn't see them.
SHHH BOOM BOOM BOOM
Six Electric Spheres launched towards Bato with great speed but their aim was not to hit him directly but to create and electric field around that will stun him cutting his path of travel and forcing him to fall straight down while the moving platform started to head back thanks to the recoil from the projectiles.
Buzz!!
Batos momentum was cancelled mid air and when he started dropping Vulcan sighed and gave him a Warrior salute thinking that Bato was done for and that he was a brave man that would be remembered.
Xiao Niu just sneer and shook his head while a rope made of prayer beads extended in a second and wound around the platform and pulled him on.
"Make Sure to fire yourself when the platform is on his way towards the middle and don't change the position of the cannon, just fill it with energy"
The words of Xiao Niu woke Vulcan up that was amazed at the versatility of the prayer beads.
"Hmmm… I guess I am next"
The Earth Dragon was a little disappointed that none of the "invaders" met their timely demise but at the same time her excitement was starting to reach the peak. The energy extracted by the cannon was not small by any means. Lines made of elementum came down into three separate locations and started to power up a giant magic circle that covered the entire floor where the dragon was licking her lips.
"I hope that you like my little surprise"
Thanks to the cheat like abilities of the Pearls of Enlightenment, the trial and error portion of the challenge was diminished and the team was able to reach the door of the temple that didn't stand a chance against the might of the Sword of the Conqueror.
SLASH!
The Door split in two while the excess energy was absorbed by the walls in an instant and a barrier similar to the one in the fifth gate appear in front of the group. The Barrier was the real door to the building and stopped them from peeking inside.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Massive impacts that could demolish any building down resounded throughout the island but no matter what Vulcan and Xiao did in terms of attacks worked.
" Now...What?"
"GRRRHH… STOP HITTING THE BARRIER! THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN DESTROY IT!
(Why can't I get someone that uses their brain and not their muscles).. cough...DO YOU SEE THE RUNES AROUND THE DOOR YOU CUT THROUGH? ACTIVATE THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER AND VOILA PROBLEM SOLVE. EASY RIGHT? NOW DO IT. DON'T LET ME WAIT TOO LONG!"
"Easy?"
Vulcan looked around and was perplexed by the sheer amount of runes inscribed around the 15 ft by 20 ft doorway. The runes looked like engravings but every time someone touched one, a little of their energy was zap from them and the rune lit up; however, it quickly went back to being inactive. The process repeated itself many times until they finally were able to leave one lit up without worrying about going off.
"Man I am exhausted. I need to take a break" Said Bato.
"We should have only one person doing this task... if we get attacked, we won't be able to defend ourselves properly"
The strategy of the Earth Dragon was very obvious for warriors of their level but they had no other choice. The Owner of the Barren Palace was one of the leaders of the Dragonkin and needed to be defeated in order for a unification of the realm to happen.
Buzz!
"NO ...NO...Fuck!!!"
Not even five minutes had passed since they started resting and the Rune they thought was lit up forever quickly went out. The new development show them that any lack of stimulus to the whole system would just turn the whole thing off and they would have to start all over again.
Bato decided that it was wise to continue experimenting while he rest so he told Xiao to put some energy into the rune once more so they could observe the process.
Buzz!
Five minutes passed and the rune went off again with Xiao repeating the process for a few cycles and then stopping.
"Looks like we are in the right direction and that one is the first one in the sequence" said Vulcan
Nod
"Since you like to fight, I'll take care of the Runes and you are responsible for our safety if something happens, I wasn't expecting the Electric Spheres in the previous challenge"
The first rune activated like the many times before but the moment he tried to light up a second one right beside it, both went out violently and immediately the magic barrier started to blink with excess energy and two golems double the size of the ones that attacked them on the chains came through and started swinging their giant fist.
Crack!
Bato reacted pretty fast and covered his body with KI to brace himself for an impact that never came.
"I got you!"
The Barbarian King was right on cue and his sword was very swift. The Golems that came out of the barrier were turned to dust by the God of War Divitiny and just crumble into a little pile of rubble.
The little event brought a new variable to the task but there was no way they could stop trying to get in. Bato lit up the Rune he was now sure was the first one and tried his luck with a different one around the door with the same results after failure. Two Golems came out each and every time until they finally didn't and two runes remain standing.
In the meantime the Earth Dragon rolled around doing air barrels while she laughed at the frustrated faces of her invaders. The Earth Dragon did not have wings and instead used the laws of repulsion to float in the air, she had beautiful gold scales that shone very brightly but without a doubt the most dazzling thing in the room was the giant circle made out of countless magic symbols that was slowly being completed.