Nicole glanced at the candle in her hand.
The underground chamber was well-lit, and she immediately spotted Roddy standing next to Chen Xiaolian.
The entire Meteor Rock Guild was present, which confirmed Nicole's initial suspicion.
Roddy furrowed his brow as he looked at the woman emerging from the underground relief.
Nicole had made use of disguising props, presenting an ordinary and unremarkable face.
Seeing the members of the Meteor Rock Guild turning their attention towards her, Nicole smiled and loudly declared, "Dark Camp."
Chen Xiaolian swiftly put away the "Hymn of Life" sheet music in his hand and cast a deep gaze at Nicole.
Nicole tactfully stood at the edge of the underground chamber without making any moves to avoid misunderstandings.
A few seconds later, another figure emerged from the relief.
A knight named Arte walked confidently out of the relief.
He was tall, clad in knightly armor, and upon observing the people in the chamber, he seemed unperturbed by the presence of the Meteor Rock Guild. His expression remained calm, especially when his gaze locked onto Chen Xiaolian.
"I recognize you from Jerusalem," Arte sneered, "You killed my comrade."
Chen Xiaolian squinted his eyes. After a brief exchange of gazes, the others, including Lun Tai, quickly positioned themselves in front of Little Will.
Arte didn't hesitate and raised his knight's longsword, charging forward!
This time, it was Lun Tai who confronted him head-on.
Lun Tai let out a roar, and his muscular abilities surged. His body expanded, wielding a war blade as he intercepted Arte!
A silver radiance erupted from Arte's body. Wherever this silver radiance touched, it illuminated the chamber. What was even more astonishing was that this silver radiance seemed to carry a magical force! The area enveloped by the radiance caused the floor tiles and walls of the chamber to collapse!
"Be careful! This guy is of the Light attribute, standing here will damage the magic formation," Nicole remained standing in the corner, but she loudly warned.
Lun Tai had already lunged forward!
His long blade clashed forcefully with Arte's knightly longsword, and there was a resounding "bang"...
Surprisingly, Arte's body only swayed slightly, while Lun Tai, who was known for his strength, was sent flying!!
This sudden turn of events left everyone from the Meteor Rock Guild, including Chen Xiaolian, in a state of shock.
Lun Tai's strength wasn't considered top-tier, but after the burst of his muscular abilities, he was almost at an [A+] class in terms of sheer power!
Yet, with a single blow, Lun Tai was... sent flying?!
Arte roared loudly, the silver radiance on his body intensified. Seeing Lun Tai being knocked airborne and crashing to the ground, spitting out blood, Arte continued to loudly chant in a strange language. He kept advancing toward Little Will!
His pace was slow, taking one step for each uttered word.
With each step, his feet heavily stamped on the chamber's floor tiles, causing them to shatter within the silver radiance!
Chen Xiaolian recalled Nicole's earlier warning.
Clearly, this knight's strength attribute was indeed mysterious!
"Quick, kill him!" Chen Xiaolian shouted and brandished his stone sword, rushing forward!
Suddenly, Arte halted in his tracks. He abruptly stopped and made a peculiar gesture.
He forcefully thrust his longsword into the ground.
Then, he swiftly summoned something into his hand.
It was a... slender box!
This box was the very one that was returned to Meine by Chen during his visit to the Knights of Meine's headquarters on the night before this dungeon instance began!
At this moment, the slender box was held firmly in Arte's hand!
Chen Xiaolian had already charged forward with his stone sword, and Arte sneered, watching Chen Xiaolian approach. He casually opened the box just a crack... a crack aimed at Chen Xiaolian.
An incredibly dazzling beam of light burst forth instantly from the crack in the box, directly hitting Chen Xiaolian!
Chen Xiaolian felt as if he were surrounded by a blinding white light, and he had an overwhelming urge to kneel on the ground with his fighting spirit completely vanishing!
His heart trembled... was this a form of... mental attack?
The problem was, he had the stone sword in his hand, but the sword's ability to dispel all negative mental states hadn't been triggered?!
Chen Xiaolian's body went weak, and he found himself unable to muster even the slightest bit of fighting willpower.
He collapsed to the ground with a thud, holding the stone sword in his hand, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to swing the sword!
It was as if his mental consciousness, his body, the sword in his hand, were all...
Resisting him!
And the stone sword remained unresponsive!
Chen Xiaolian had charged fearlessly, only to kneel on the ground in an instant. This sight left the members of the Meteor Rock Guild in shock.
Qiao Qiao let out a piercing scream as she leaped over, placing herself in front of Chen Xiaolian. The light from the crack in the box struck Qiao Qiao, and she let out a sharp, agonizing scream!
The light hit Qiao Qiao, and with a loud "thud," a silver flame suddenly erupted around her, engulfing her entirely!
Black mists also rose within the flames.
Seeing Qiao Qiao blocking the light in front of him, Chen Xiaolian regained his ability to move. However, witnessing Qiao Qiao's suffering, he hurriedly rushed to her, embracing her, and the two rolled to the side swiftly!
"Natasha! Attack that knight!"
It was Nicole's voice.
Because at that very moment, the second entrant from the Dark Camp, Natasha, had already emerged from the relief.
Though Natasha was uncertain, she trusted Nicole's words implicitly. Upon hearing Nicole's voice, she immediately raised her hands, and a series of icy powers surged towards Arte!
Arte sneered and lightly moved the box in his hand. The light burst forth from the crack and quickly dissipated all the icy powers before they reached him!
As the light passed over Natasha, she let out a shriek, and her Barbie-like figure emitted a burning flame, writhing in pain on the ground.
Nicole quickly pulled Natasha away and dragged her to a corner.
At this moment, the second knight emerged from the relief. As soon as he appeared, he immediately strode toward Arte. He stood in the crack of the box as if completely unaffected, raised his longsword, and fiercely thrust it toward Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao on the ground!
Chen Xiaolian held Qiao Qiao with one hand and raised the stone sword with the other!
The stone sword shimmered with a golden light!
The power of the Skyblade surged forth!
A crisp sound, and the knight's sword in his hand was instantly severed! He staggered back, bathed in the golden light, his helmet cracking open with a snap!
Blood gushed from his chest!
However, at that very moment, Arte behind him swept the light from the box over him. The injured knight was bathed in the light, and his body immediately quivered. The blood on his forehead vanished in an instant, and the broken section of his chest armor rapidly healed!
"What the hell is this cursed item?!" Chen Xiaolian lay on the ground, taking a deep breath.
Soo Soo took action!
Soo Soo was running toward Chen Xiaolian, who shouted urgently, "Protect Little Will!"
Seeing Arte's strange smile on his face as he once again approached Little Will in the center of the magic formation with the box raised, Soo Soo had no choice but to obey Chen Xiaolian's command and rush to confront Arte.
The little girl spread her arms, and a blaze soared into the sky. Within the flames, a fiery phoenix instantly materialized, emitting a resounding hoofbeat. The fire phoenix, with its long flames, pounced toward Arte!
Arte still held up the long box!
The light from the box was released once more, and as the fire phoenix reached Arte, it was as if it had been directly blocked by some force!
With a loud hoofbeat, though it sounded majestic, it carried a faint hint of... submission!
Then, it suddenly soared into the sky, circled twice above the underground chamber, and with a loud "bang," it dissipated and disappeared!
This unexpected turn of events left Soo Soo stunned.
She had used the fire phoenix skill many times before, but she had never encountered such a situation!
The fire phoenix was either blocked by enemies or directly dispersed.
Never before had she seen the fire phoenix retreat without a fight!
In the brief moment of confusion, Arte had already approached Soo Soo.
Arte glanced down at Soo Soo, his face showing a hint of concealed anger. "As a being of the Light attribute, you have fallen into darkness!"
Saying this, Arte's other hand raised his longsword and thrust it towards Soo Soo!
Qiao Qiao watched in horror, and just as the sword was about to pierce Soo Soo's chest, she suddenly heard a "clang"!
A bright sword light descended, accurately intercepting Arte's blade, deflecting it away. Bai Qi had already transformed into a beam of light and landed by Soo Soo's side.
Arte was furious, and the light from the box swept over. Bai Qi had already embraced Soo Soo and turned into a beam of light, about to escape. However, as the white light from the box passed by, Bai Qi suddenly trembled in mid-air.
He held onto Soo Soo and dropped to the ground from mid-air. Silver flames had erupted from his legs!
Although his pale face appeared calm, there was a faint hint of pain in his eyes.
"Spirit of Resentment! You do not belong to this world! Daring to defile the radiance of the Lord, you shall be cleansed!" Arte roared, and the light from the box turned back, ready to shine on Bai Qi once more.
Bai Qi snorted and suddenly swung his sword, fiercely severing his burning legs! He detached the legs, which were engulfed in silver light, and then grabbed Soo Soo and tossed her away forcefully. At the same time, he himself shot out like a rocket!
But he was still half a step too slow.
The light from the box shone on Bai Qi's arm, and he landed beside Chen Xiaolian, frowning as he examined his burning arm.
"What's happening?" Chen Xiaolian was surprised to see even someone as powerful as Bai Qi rendered powerless under the light from the box.
"That light... counters me," Bai Qi said, uttering a few words before shaking his head. "I'm leaving. Don't die."
After that, Bai Qi cast a deep look at Chen Xiaolian and then rapidly disappeared, returning to Chen Xiaolian's system.
Chen Xiaolian was momentarily stunned. He checked the system and found that "Soul of Qi" had returned but was in a "battle-damaged, repairing, unable to summon" state.
The box in Arte's hands was extremely strange, and once used, no one from the Meteor Rock Guild could stop it!
Xia Xiaolei and Qimu Xi rushed to help Lun Tai and Chen Xiaolian, trying to lift their injured comrades.
Meanwhile, Roddy swiftly pulled out his gun, running and firing at Arte and the other knight.
Amid the gunshots, the other knight raised a shield, protecting Arte, and advanced towards Roddy. At the same time, Arte raised his long box and continued to stride towards Little Will.
"Natasha! Go help!" Nicole pointed at Roddy, then herself rushed towards the other knight!
Nicole gripped the military bayonet in her hand and launched a series of attacks against the knight. The knight displayed exceptional combat skills and skillfully countered Nicole's moves. After a few exchanges, he summoned a shield, clad in armor from head to toe. Despite Nicole's continuous attacks, he easily deflected her strikes.
Natasha unleashed successive blasts of frosty power, but the knight radiated a silvery light that effortlessly dissipated Natasha's icy abilities.
"All these powers are being countered by them!" Nicole growled in frustration. She saw the knight kicking Natasha and quickly rushed to block his sword, then pushed Natasha away.
Just at that moment, a burly man from the four-person team inside the relief appeared.
As soon as he appeared and saw the chaotic battle in the underground chamber, he heard Natasha and Nicole shouting simultaneously, "Help quickly! Protect the one in the middle..."
The burly man immediately understood the situation, seeing Little Will in the center of the chamber and Arte slowly approaching with the long box in hand. He immediately brandished his knife and charged towards Arte!
Arte sneered as he saw the burly man with the knife coming at him and swept the long box.
However, something strange happened.
The box's destructive light, which could overpower even experts like Bai Qi and Chen Xiaolian, seemed to have no effect at all when it touched the burly man's body!
Arte furrowed his brows and put away the box. With his left hand, he fiercely blocked the knight's long sword.
A loud crash echoed through the chamber.
It was a replay of the previous encounter with Lun Tai. The burly man wielding the knife was sent tumbling once again.
Arte possessed astonishing strength in addition to the overwhelming power of the box's light.
The burly man crashed into the chamber's wall before collapsing to the ground, coughing up blood.
On the other side, Lun Tai had risen to his feet and pushed Xia Xiaolei away, saying, "Harass him from a distance with your gun!"
With determination, Lun Tai unleashed his Muscle Fruit power once more, charging at Arte.
This time, he didn't attack head-on but aimed a strike at Arte's back.
Arte turned to counter the attack with his longsword, but Lun Tai quickly retreated and then lunged at Arte's side.
After several consecutive assaults, Lun Tai had given his all. However, on the fourth attempt, he was once again sent flying by Arte's sword.
Two minutes later, more people arrived in the chamber.
Members of the Knights and other individuals from both sides had gathered, turning the underground chamber into a chaotic battlefield.
Six knights from the forces of light, including Arte, formed a tight circle with Arte at the center. Arte slowly advanced toward Little Will with the box in hand, while the other five knights remained close, guarding him vigilantly.
If it weren't for the mysterious box in Arte's hand, it seemed impossible for him to move quickly. With each step he took, it appeared that he was slowing down, to the point where he needed to rest for over twenty seconds after every step.
He continued to draw nearer to Little Will.
Each step he took seemed to slow him down further, requiring over twenty seconds of rest between each one.
However, even with his gradual approach, Arte's box emitted an eerie light that had a profound effect. Chen Xiaolian, Qiao Qiao, and Soo Soo found their abilities completely nullified by the box's light. Whether it was Chen Xiaolian's Stone Sword, Qiao Qiao's Dark powers, or Soo Soo's Child of Light Phoenix, none of their abilities could break through its influence.
The rest of the team faced their own challenges. Lun Tai, while unaffected by the light, struggled in close combat against Arte and the other knights due to their superior skills. Xia Xiaolei, Qimu Xi, and Roddy, who relied heavily on their equipment, were limited to using firearms for harassment, which had limited effectiveness.
As for the newly joined comrades, the four-person group seemed unaffected by the box's light, but their combat abilities were limited, making it difficult to break through the formation of the five knights.
In the midst of the chaos, Natasha had already sustained injuries. If not for her Frost Armor briefly delaying the attacks and Nicole quickly pulling her out of danger, Diamond Barbie would likely have fallen by now.
Seeing Arte getting closer to Little Will with only a few steps left.
At this point, Nicole shouted, "Chen Xiaolian! If the mission fails, it fails! You can't defeat him! That box in his hand must be a relic! It's the pinnacle of light power!"
Chen Xiaolian, after hearing Nicole's call, was startled and looked strangely at the woman.
How did she know my name?
Then he thought, "A relic? The pinnacle of light power?!"
Chen Xiaolian instantly understood.
He realized why he and others had been pushed back so easily under that box's light.
His Stone Sword was indeed a divine artifact, but fundamentally, it was also a relic with light attributes. The Stone Sword was derived from King Arthur and drew its power from faith in the Lord of Light.
In a situation where both parties had the same attributes, if the opponent's level of light power was higher, his Stone Sword would naturally be ineffective.
As for Qiao Qiao, her power was of the dark element. However, it was clear that her level was inferior to that of the box. In a situation where attributes countered each other and the opponent's level was higher, Qiao Qiao's dark power would have no effect.
Soo Soo's situation was probably similar to his own. She was a Child of Light, a phoenix with light attributes, but it was clear that the relic in the box had a higher level.
Abandon the mission?
Definitely not!
While the other members of the Dark Camp might not have this limitation, the Meteor Rock Guild couldn't give up.
They had completed a side quest in this dungeon and obtained a feather of the Demon King as a reward.
The cost was that they had to complete this dungeon.
If Little Will died, two members of the Meteor Rock Guild would be forcibly eliminated!
This was a price that Chen Xiaolian could not afford to pay.
With determination, Chen Xiaolian slashed one of the knights in front of him, and seeing the knight being pushed back to Arte's side, the knight rapidly recovered to full health under the box's light.
Chen Xiaolian shouted at Nicole, "Who are you, and if you have a way, speak up! We absolutely cannot give up the mission!"
"Why won't you give up?" Nicole asked anxiously.
Chen Xiaolian snorted in response.
Roddy had already attracted one of the knights with several consecutive shots. Seeing the knight charging towards him, Roddy, who had strengthened his body with enhancement potions, raised a longsword and clashed with the knight a few times. He then quickly retreated and turned to shout at Nicole, "Hey! Missy! We can't afford to give up the mission!"
"How stubborn!" Nicole didn't understand the situation. "Do you mean that the punishment for failing the mission is worse than this? That guy has a relic!"
Roddy had reached Nicole's side and fought alongside her, catching his breath. "Our mission restrictions are different from yours... the punishment is too severe, we can't afford it... and, who are you?"
Standing next to Nicole, Roddy, with blood and sweat on his forehead, felt a bit strange as Nicole's familiar gaze swept over him. Nicole took a deep breath and replied, "It doesn't matter who I am!"
With that, Nicole suddenly acted, using her sword to deflect an attack from one of the knights towards Roddy's sword. She said, "Don't zone out! Do you want to die?"
"Thanks..." Roddy sighed and thought for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "If we fail the mission, we'll be punished by death! That's why we can't give up the mission."
Nicole was taken aback. "Punished by death? What have you guys done?"
Roddy chuckled awkwardly.
Nicole immediately shook her head and said, "The chances are too slim!"
She grabbed Roddy and dragged him to the back, pointing at Arte and speaking quickly, "The relic he has in his hand counters your main fighting abilities! At the same time, that relic possesses incredible healing and regenerative powers! Even if you manage to injure any of them, they will be healed instantly... which means they are virtually unbeatable as long as they have that relic!"
"Isn't there any power that isn't affected by that thing?" Roddy frowned.
"It's difficult," Nicole shook her head. "Unless... the source of power is unrelated to faith! Look, Lun Tai isn't affected, but he can't defeat his opponent either. The others who aren't affected are too weak."
Roddy's eyes darted around. "How do you know Lun Tai?"
"I also know your name is Roddy," Nicole sneered.
Roddy frowned and quickly said, "Alright, I won't ask about that now. So, what if there's a power unrelated to faith that can break through their defenses and is not affected by that relic?"
"It won't be enough," Nicole said impatiently. "Even if you have such power to match them, you won't win. With that relic, they can heal infinitely! Do you understand?"
"No need to win... just need to buy time," Roddy's eyes flashed with determination.
"You..." Nicole immediately had a bad feeling. "You're not planning to use..."
Roddy had already charged ahead!