[System Prompt: Magic circle activation runtime, remaining: 7 minutes and 33 seconds.]
Chen Xiaolian hadn't given up his efforts. He couldn't remember how many times Arte's radiance had forced him back.
With the Stone Sword in Chen Xiaolian's hand, he desperately knocked down one knight. After being immobilized once again by the radiance in Arte's hands, another knight, who had rushed in to fill the gap, pierced his shoulder with a sword. As he rolled away on the ground, he saw Roddy charging forward!
Roddy was sprinting at high speed, and at the same time, his body was enveloped in the Floating Angel battle armor. Quickly, metallic components covered his left arm along with his chest, and the thrusters behind him emitted a faint flame. Roddy's body shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring!
His target was Arte!
Chen Xiaolian caught the look Roddy cast towards him, and in an instant, the two longtime friends shared an unspoken understanding.
Suppressing the intense pain in his shoulder, Chen Xiaolian rolled over and jumped up. He ran up from the side. Seeing a knight blocking Roddy, Chen Xiaolian pushed the guy away with a sword and shouted, "Roddy! Go!!"
Roddy took advantage of the momentum to leap forward, narrowly passing by this knight. Meanwhile, another knight next to Arte, shining with a holy silver light all over his body, shouted loudly and blocked Roddy's path with a sword. But just as Roddy was about to collide head-on, Chen Xiaolian had already thrown himself forward, sword and all!
Chen Xiaolian pounced on the knight as if he were a starving tiger. They rolled on the ground in a tangle, and as the Stone Sword pierced the knight's waist, the knight's sword also plunged into Chen Xiaolian's chest!
Soo Soo screamed as a burst of flames erupted into the sky. Chen Xiaolian shouted, "Don't worry about me!"
Upon hearing his words, Soo Soo saw the direction Chen Xiaolian was pointing at, and she directed the flames towards Arte. Arte stood still and redirected the radiance, causing the flames to dissipate.
At this moment, Roddy had already closed in to a sufficient distance!
The ion beam sword emerged from the right hand covered by the Floating Angel battle armor. Roddy's tattered wings were behind him as he descended, swinging the sword down!
Arte held the box with one hand and desperately blocked Soo Soo's flames. Seeing this, he had no choice but to raise the knight's longsword in his left hand to block the incoming attack...
With a sharp sound...
The ion beam sword cut into the blade of the knight's sword!
The sword blade was instantly severed into two pieces, with the half-cut tip of the sword flying into the air. Meanwhile, the ion beam sword descended and cut into Arte's left arm!
The left arm that held the box!
In that moment, it felt as if time had slowed down, and Chen Xiaolian lay on the ground, blood oozing from his chest, staring intently at Roddy.
And Roddy's ion beam sword...
Bang!
Another knight attempted to rush from the side, this time serving as a human shield.
It was Lun Tai who threw himself almost wide open, exposing his entire chest to shield a knight who was knocked down. The knight's left fist pounded Lun Tai's chest several times, and the immense force shattered Lun Tai's sternum. He sprayed blood from his mouth but still let out an angry roar!
"Roddy!!!!"
Chen Xiaolian screamed frantically.
Roddy's strike... finally landed!
Sizzling sound – the ion beam sword sliced through the armor on Arte's arm, and the silver radiance beneath the blade of the ion beam sword severed without any hindrance!
Arte let out a heart-rending scream of pain, and in everyone's eyes, they saw his arm flying high into the air, still clutching the long box!
Arte's eyes were now filled with rage! He glared at Roddy, while the knight's sword in his right hand wildly thrust towards Roddy's chest!
The Floating Angel battle armor was already in a tattered state, and it couldn't fully protect Roddy. At this moment, it only covered Roddy's arm and shoulder, leaving most of his chest exposed outside the armor.
The knight's longsword pierced his chest!
Even though the knight's longsword had already broken, in Arte's frenzy, it suddenly plunged into Roddy's chest with a swift motion!
It pierced through his protective clothing and went straight into his chest!
Roddy let out a miserable cry, fell backward, and struggled to roll back a few times.
Arte, like a mad tiger, raised the broken sword as if he wanted to deliver another blow, but he was hit in the back by one of Soo Soo's fireballs, and his body was finally smashed open!
With no more interference from the radiance, the holy power on Arte finally dissipated!
Roddy desperately covered his chest wound but kept his eyes on the severed arm on the ground and the box it held. "Quick!!"
Chen Xiaolian had already rushed forward, and his target was the box in Arte's severed arm!
This thing was crucial! Arte also made a desperate lunge, grabbing Chen Xiaolian's neck with one hand and slamming his knee into Chen Xiaolian's abdomen. Chen Xiaolian shouted loudly, delivering a headbutt to Arte's forehead. Both of them were covered in blood.
Qiao Qiao, with a pale face, crawled over. The black flames on her body were still burning, but she struggled to reach for the box. However, the other knight who had been grappling with Lun Tai forcefully extended his leg and kicked the box away!
The four of them desperately rushed towards the box!
The tough guy with the knife also understood the importance of the battle, but the two knights were blocking their way.
At this moment... finally, a hand grabbed the box...
It was that...
Lone wanderer!!
This guy was the most inconspicuous member of the Dark Camp, always skirmishing in battles.
And at this moment, among everyone, he had the fewest injuries.
Ironically, at this critical moment, the main forces of the Dark Camp were all blocked, and this guy, like a fish slipping through the net, finally reached the box. His hand had already touched the box!
Not far away, Xia Xiaolei, who had arrived, shouted, "Throw it over!!"
The lone wanderer took a deep breath, his fingers gripping the box. He heard Xia Xiaolei's words but didn't do as instructed. Instead, he swiftly lifted the box...
Through the gap in the box, the radiance shone on the lone wanderer's face, and suddenly, his eyes underwent a transformation!
It was as if two flames had ignited in his eyes.
His fingers were already gripping the gap in the box...
"Don't open it!!" Nicole was rushing towards Roddy, just managing to pull him away from a knight's sword. She saw the expression on the lone wanderer's face and shouted in desperation.
But the lone wanderer seemed... as if his entire body had frozen, staring blankly at the box in his hand, as if he had become stiff...
Swoosh!
A silver light, Arte abandoned Chen Xiaolian, turned around, and threw his knight's sword, the broken sword like a shooting star, pierced through the lone wanderer's back, and went straight through his body!
The knight exerted all his strength, and this strike, despite the broken blade, pierced directly through the lone wanderer's back, shooting straight through his body!
The guy's eyes instantly cleared, but then he let out a painful scream, kneeling on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, and the box he had been gripping finally fell to the ground.
Xia Xiaolei rushed over!
Qimu Xi stood behind him with a gun, shooting fiercely at the nearest knight. The knight's armor deflected all the bullets with holy radiance, paying no attention to Qimu Xi and instead went madly towards the box on the ground.
Xia Xiaolei was closer, and he reacted the fastest!
He didn't bend down to pick up the box; instead, he kicked it away, sending it flying into a corner!
The knight behind him had already rushed over, and when the sword's edge fell, Xia Xiaolei could only roll away with his head covered. He was too weak in combat to confront the knight head-on.
Fortunately, the knight who had driven Xia Xiaolei back didn't linger and immediately ran towards the box.
At this moment, in the underground chamber, all eyes were locked onto a single target.
That box!
The box was in the corner of the chamber, twenty steps away from Lun Tai, farther from Nicole and Natasha, and about a dozen steps from Qiao Qiao. It was seven or eight steps away from Chen Xiaolian.
And closest to it was...
Soo Soo!
Soo Soo had already rushed over.
When the little girl's hands grabbed the box, suddenly, Soo Soo let out a scream!
She felt as though her hands were not clutching a wooden box but a red-hot branding iron!
The searing, burning pain made Soo Soo's hands go weak, and she almost couldn't hold onto what she was gripping!
This sensation shocked Soo Soo. As a fire elemental being, no fire in this world could harm her anymore. However, the box in her hand right now was causing her intense pain as if her very soul was being scorched!
Soo Soo bit her lip forcefully, turned around, and her face became so pale that it was almost transparent as she looked at Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian shouted, "Throw it over, Soo Soo!!"
Soo Soo, with a knight who had given up on the four-person group rushing towards her, forcibly endured the excruciating pain. She created a wall of fire to block the knight and exerted all her strength to toss the box towards Chen Xiaolian!
Soo Soo had done her best, but the box in her hands felt as heavy as a ton!
The box traced a parabolic path in mid-air, and almost everyone was leaping desperately, trying to catch it – the knight jumped, the four-person group jumped...
And just as Chen Xiaolian was about to grab the box...
Bang!
Something in mid-air struck the box, sending it flying!
The one who hit the box mid-air was not something else but... a severed arm!
Arte stood there, glaring fiercely at the flying box, and the severed arm that hit the box was the one he had thrown!
As if it were destined, the box actually flew back, landing in front of the lone wanderer once again!
The lone wanderer had the broken sword embedded in his body, kneeling on the ground, blood continuously flowing from his mouth. When the box landed in front of him, his eyes seemed to become strangely altered.
The lone wanderer made a final attempt to reach for the box, his fingers desperately grasping at it. With a sudden thud, he collapsed to the ground. His fingertips finally touched the edge of the box, and they just caught the seam at the box's opening...
[System Alert: Magic circle activation runtime remaining: 6 minutes and 01 seconds.]
[System Alert: One member of the Dark Camp has died, extending the magic circle's remaining time by ten seconds: 6 minutes and 11 seconds.]
After everyone in the Dark Camp received these messages...
A soft, subtle sound.
The sound was not loud, but it seemed to echo in the ears of everyone present.
This box... was opened!
In the lone wanderer's final moments, his fingers slipped into the seam of the box and finally...
Opened the box!
Instantly, a brilliant radiance burst forth!