Planet Raal → (Y1010年 06月 27日)
Level Three → Day 126. (一百二十六)
All assembled at the base of the hill, where a straight path from the beginnings of Level Three was at a dead end. Julius stood at the front while Empress Cai performed a second round of checks and inspections. Fifty thousand cultivators were present, and each was divided into armed groups at various points of location by the end of the first inspection. About four thousand are with Julius and Empress Cai at the hill’s base.
Since the castle complex was so widespread, the entire army was set up by surrounding the target, using the landforms of the hills. That was around an hour before sunrise. Compensating for time, Empress Cai’s training provided her with an exception in speed and stealth through her Phoenix wings. Hence, she got through the circumference on a whim. Like his own unit, she checked each one by one with no mishaps. Julius viewed the entrance to the castle beyond the path’s dead end. There was a wide cobblestone bridge since the complex has a surrounding river. Hence, he fired a blast at it, triggering an invisible barrier to flash in front of every unit’s eyes. I knew it. He thought of it as a joke. A simple defense system. Julius gave another fire, shattering it apart. Skeletal creatures, naked and with no specific clothing other than a hat and armored joints, spawned out of the front, wide entrance and ran up to the end of the bridge. Some broke off from the spawn point and surrounded the circular river corresponding to the castle. The most Julius and his army could reach was the outer border. Once their feet touch the water or the bridge, the battle will set off.
There were two goals, but only one mattered. Julius desired to face Xavier face to face. The traitorous act was unforgivable. He found it embarrassing how it took a mental toll and the struggle to cope with it. Hu’s actions with Empress Cai’s words from training that lingered in his mind saved him from further turmoil that not even the first six months of the Underground Tournament torture could ever reach in matters of damage. No matter the circumstances, he won’t let Xavier leave this realm, or even let his foot touch the soil of Planet Raal ever again. Julius rubbed his forearms as Empress Cai returned from her second round, announcing her completion, and stood next to him. He then told her his sneaky way of dealing with Xavier since even though he intended to be like a duel, everyone could watch the scene. Empress Cai gestured her fingers to his unit, and Julius telepathically sent a brief, flowing message. Their humming confirmed the message had been received.
When the sunrise illuminated the sky and reached the morning, a scorching horn roared from afar in both directions. A cumulonimbus cloud summoned from a few dark cumulus clouds formed out of nowhere, blocking the morning sunlight. Thunder and strands of lightning bolts flashing white summoned across the region. Like a closing curtain, the lighting dimmed, and the entire region got dark, almost like it was still evening, minus the stars in the night sky, even if it wasn’t real. The rain came down and poured across. A thunderstorm happened specifically to the right, and Julius rose from the ground as the sides of the base of the hill blocked his view. He saw Victoria congested and overwhelmed with loads of flashing white sparkles. Two beams fired from her palms and struck inside the territory, hitting a portion of the skeletal mobs. Now it begins.
They growled like crying cheetahs, and a mix of green and red flames from the crowd emitted from their facial cavities. Their eyes and mouths glowed in either color. Immediately, they launched from the spot, going right to the supposed intruders. Julius summoned his greatsword, raising it high in the sky. “Prepare to launch!”
Everyone went into their positions, knees and legs flexed, and all hands were on deck. “Weapons ready!”
“Release the Blood!” Julius yelled, gesturing his sword right to the castle, prompting the army to march in. The demolition brawl has begun. He then watched and observed the conflict erupted on the battlefield. Making things more interesting, he transformed into his Heian 2 (黑暗二); an improvement of the first form by the darkness qi control. Julius didn’t know what potential it might provide, but he was prepared to test it out. In a glimpse, he eyed a spot and went hyper-speed, crashing right into a pile of skeletal mobs. Bones jumped into the air, along with swords and hats.
Clank! Brittle! Crack!
Julius, with his arm raised directly in front of his face like a shield, stood and turned right behind him to find a part of the mob that tried to get him from behind was crumbled and laid on the grass. A pile of withered bones, much to the unfortunate. That got him thinking, but not without dealing with more skeletal creatures. While having a thought, his body naturally went through rounds of kicks and punches at an instinct. So, I can ram things out now. Finally, a personal demolition of fun chaos. When he returned to position, he found himself in the air and went for a motor drilling motion, cutting them up like screwing a nail. The tip was from his boot’s outsole. His aura felt more boastful and disruptive, ruining a lot of what was going on around him. It, being faster, eased the mood. Julius enjoyed the battle more this way as his whole direction went around the one big and wide circle. His Skoltor System counted an instant three hundred kill counts at a minimum. He looked at both of his arms, only to find two armored-like plates around each of his elbows. One flick followed a tingling and ringing noise that vibrated around his vicinity. His eyes watched the soundwaves strike a line, ripping through the bones of the mob. The green ground was torn and left with a hollow line of dirt, and a few mobs tripped and fell inside, much to their confusion. Because of their composition, it was difficult to get up from the back end. Hence, Julius discovered one weakness on the spot.
He fired a ghastly beam right at them with no mercy. It resulted in a qi burst like a smoke grenade. A clean outcome. When it cleared, no debris was in sight. The mobs nearby turned their directions right to him. Hence, he generated orbs of qi from both of his palms, giving it the ghastly color, and fired at will like a fan. His right foot served like a stand, spinning his body into a whirlwind. A funnel surrounded him wherever he moved, accumulating a ghastly aura.
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Whoosh!
Hu and Empress Cai were working together, back to back. Not a couple of feet separated. Hu lounged herself from the latter’s back and transformed into her hybrid form, revealing the nine tails. Empress Cai turned after slicing the upcoming mob's necks in a whiff. Six. She counted after forty. Her eyes saw something from Hu’s tail that looked odd. There was a ring-like color that surrounded one of her tails, prompting Empress Cai to teleport right next to her. While acting as Hu’s shield, she demanded one answer. “Why is your tail like that?” she asked with an eye glared at her face.
“It had to be done,” Hu said, with her claws out, and struck a skeletal creature’s jaw. She grabbed it fiercely and yanked it out. “Now, it’s your turn.”
“Woah, you’re taking it too suddenly. What do you mean it had to be done?! Was that what he wanted or part of the whole training?!”
“Why would I lie to you?” Hu asked, feeling a little tense. She threw the decapitated skull right to another group of mobs. The target group exploded in immediate contact. “You realized how much attention he is going to get as this entire journey of unity entails.”
Dang it. Empress Cai rubbed her emotions off while she raised up her phoenix wings, shooting parts of her feathers right at the mob crowd. The feathers manifested into arrows before piercing through the mighty but feeble bones. They collapsed at the behest, leaving with detonation. A flash of light blurted out of their bodies, followed by a loud roaring breeze. Empress Cai grabbed Hu and launched themselves out of the way.
Splash!
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Míngyuè and Mother Elaine came into contact while dealing with different mobs at the rear of the castle complex. The former was dealing with a row of gigantic orcs on the triangular roof at the section of the complex right near the wall and its entrance. They were armored to the core, minus the neck, and a few spots right near the joints. However, that didn't matter for Míngyuè as went full melee, striking their armored plates at exposure. The ice generated from the boots was the reason it worked. She wanted to try new things that didn’t get to see during the earlier days of Level Three. Not forgetting the newer abilities that she gained during her forty days at Zenith Skydome.
An unorthodox move, Míngyuè focused on her legs, extending both out almost like a sitting split. She grunted as quietly as possible and hissed through her nose and ears, exerting icy mist. That gave her unsuppressed strength and adrenaline and directed it to her muscular thighs. When more orcs climbed up in front of her, she sped along the roof. An endless clamp, like a mouth sideways, heading right at its target for its prey. A gush of ice launched from both of her calves and a snapping sound came. Míngyuè laughed like a maniac when she witnessed her legs decapitating the orcs’ legs. Her burning heart fueled this chaotic action, pouring and recharging the innate vengeance. Multiple orcs summoned and tried to leap and jump her from all directions.
“Take that, you filthy monsters!” Míngyuè yelled, deploying her katana and swirling it around the vicinity.
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Mother Elaine, who was across from Míngyuè, turned around and witnessed chaos unfold. Damn it, child. She sprinted to a wall and launched from it, shattering the stones. Her golden aura sparked as a gigantic orb summoned from her index finger. She gave a flick, throwing it right at what turned out to be a spawn box. Mother Elaine gave a one-swiping gesture, and gusts blew out of her forearm, clearing the abrupt smoke from reaching Míngyuè. One down. She descended on the roof, strolling right to her, who looked a little disappointed and unsatisfied.
“What was that for? I almost had it!” Míngyuè said, closing up her legs before standing back up.
“I saved you time. There was a spawn box where the orcs came from,” Mother Elaine said, pointing to the site.
“If I had known, I would’ve taken care of it myself.”
Mother Elaine blinked. “Not even a thank you?”
The other walked away, frustrated that even she couldn’t believe it. Wow. She’s so stubbornly innocent. Mother Elaine thought with a grin before following her.
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“Oof!” Julius grunted, crashing his face to the ground.
“Careful!”
Julius immediately stood up, finding himself confronted by Father Kang, Solomon, Victoria, and Helda. He looked behind him and his surroundings and realized that he had gone through a quarter of the complex. It was multiple football fields' worth of distance, so while it was a whirlwind, that was disturbingly fast. He gathered it into a note through his system and placed it on a journal’s spare page. “Another new ability on the paper,” Julius said.
Father Kang shrugged. “At least this spot is clear, thanks to that. We four were about to deploy a combination of our specialized attacks. Only then…well, your whirlwind comes to disrupt the party.”
“Since I ruined it, I’ll join you four.”
“That’s fair,” Helda muttered. “I need your appearance to see what I can do.”
Oh, right? She’s an adaptive cultivator. That’s some freaky shit. Julius nodded, and at the right time, a huge golem burst through from the castle’s interior. A reason to do it all together couldn’t come as a coincidence.
Whoosh!
Julius flashed a step away from the group, viewing a boulder-sized projectile that swarmed past them and splashed into the circular river. He wondered how it could fit inside as it stood taller than the height of the castle. Either way, that wasn’t important as its power escalated. Father Kang went with a straight dash, letting the pommel hit the abdomen. Black and white specs summoned around him and the golem upon contact, brightening the area. A whole beacon, making this spot the brightest of the castle under thunderous rain. A horizontal slash of white qi shaped like a spark of lightning thrust into the golem, sending it flying into the castle’s lobby.
The other four ran right into the building. They met with flying creatures of hell. Julius immediately recalled the Adlers and the moment he got impaled through the chest. His upper body burned upon recollection, and he roared, headbutting the creature before crashing right on top of the golem. The whole interior’s floors crumbled into a deep crater. A couple of boxes fell down. Father Kang noticed them and fired one away. “Take them down! Those are the spawn boxes!”
Helda, who probably saw the whole thing earlier, leaped into the air and headbutted the falling spawn box, cracking it. It exploded a volume of dusty gas as her head pierced through the metal frames. Solomon jumped right to her feet, grabbing both to not let her go off route and hit the depth’s walls. He took her right back like a plastic toy, not even revealing a grimace or heavy breathing.
“Thank you,” Helda said, wiping off the dust and debris from her pants.
“You could copy me with only one look?” Julius asked, turning to her.
Helda nodded. “It works. Is it reliable?”
“Of course it is. You might have done it countless times, but this is the first time I’ve seen where you can copy other than adapting.”
“No, Julius. This was my first. The training in the Zenith Skydome gave me the knowledge to allow this to happen, so I’m excited to see what I can copy.”
Julius and the other three reacted as if they didn’t want their secrets exposed. Helda looked at each of them. “Hang on, I’m not saying I can copy everything…Yet.”
“I’ll keep your word on that,” Solomon said, jumping up from the golem’s dead body. The rest went up and viewed the deceased golem. Afterward, Julius snapped his fingers, igniting sky-blue flames from the golem’s head. It spread to its entire body in a second and disintegrated in a blink. He then looked at Father Kang and his tang dao entered back into his sheath.
“You’re a dashing type of guy, aren’t you?” Julius asked.
“A lot more now, thanks to you.”
“Fair enough.”
Ahead of Julius was the last part of the hallway that led to the grand double-door entrance. The only checkpoint left beyond the complex’s exterior walls and entrance. He doesn’t see any issue with it other than destroying it. Hence, Julius fired a humongous beam, revealing and breaking a hidden trap that was set as a camouflaged shield. Upon contact, it brought out a barrage of lasers shooting all over the place. The five had to jump when one turned in their direction. Then more came midair, pointing at Julius’ face. He reacted with a heavy hand that reflected the thin red beam away. His palm thrust in a pulsar energy, destroying it. He crashed down to the floor, hard on his back. Helda grabbed Solomon and Father Kang and threw them down next to Julius.
Victoria, in the air, summoned a swirling wave. Using hydrokinesis, the water wave hit right at her and Helda, splashing right at the two. They crashed to the floor a couple of feet away from Julius’ head. Victoria slid further in, but she gestured her fingers forward, pushing the wave right to the entrance. It passed the trap Julius set off as the shield surprisingly forced his beam to an erupt end before it completely diminished. The wave knocked off the grand entrance and that specific part of the lobby collapsed. A portion of the lobby fell into the empty crater. The exterior wall had successfully broken down along with a few metal frames laid nearby that were from different spawn boxes.
Julius lifted himself up, witnessing Empress Cai, Hu, and his army ran inside. Hence, he stood and turned right in the opposite direction that led further into the castle. The four caught their breath and stood next to him. All agreed with possible more hidden traps ahead, so they went carnage and poured out destructive moves into everything in sight. Julius lifted his greatsword, Licht. One arm forward, he summoned an entire wall that was taller than the lobby, slicing through the vaulted ceiling. Rain came in, wetting the floor. The wall of qi roared through the lobby and probably beyond it, reaching the other parts of the complex. Suddenly, it went quiet, and he felt a heavy weight on the hilt and on his wrist. It pressured his forearm to lower, but he wouldn’t budge. Julius tried to talk to Licht about the issue, and the latter, too, was confused.
Solomon cut through the tiled floor with his battleaxe, creating a lengthy rift. One rub of his grip triggered a lightning bolt into the ridge’s depths. He forced it out of it and ran down the hallway as the orange light brightened from within. Father Kang sighed but then pulled out his tang dao, summoning another front dash. He beat him by almost a mile and already dealt with another trap that Julius’ wall missed. Those two were on his left. Victoria teleported to her opposite side, leaving Helda alone with Julius while she surfed on her generated waves along her feet.
“Gosh damn it,” Julius grunted.
Helda looked at him for a moment before kicking the wall, causing it to vibrate. “Wow. It’s solid. For qi to transform into such a material that quickly is astonishing.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Try again. Try kicking it again.”
Slam!
Helda let her entire boot’s soles strike it. Julius’ hand felt the greatsword move. He demanded her to do it again until he said stop. More. More…More. The blade’s weight resisted his wrist, but he refused to give in. One madlad thought he came up with swam through his mind. He put his left hand over the hilt’s open space, enough to put the other hand on it, double-wielded. However, he didn’t do that.
Slam! Slam!
“Are you crazy?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? I guess Mayor Burman never told you!” Julius bent his knees, aiming his back in the opposite direction. He leaned straight back without letting go. He could hear footsteps ramming on the ground. Helda had already stopped kicking and directing the army to diverge on two sides. She pointed in the two directions while urging them to move quickly before Julius lifted his greatsword’s wall. “I’m an unstable person by heart. It is only now that I can control myself to a degree,” Julius said, hearing the floors crumbling. The weight on his wrists eased, and he lifted it upward. A rectangular structure made of qi by his blade cut through as he unleashed his signature move. The tsunami wave purged through the walls and forced it to detach from the greatsword’s tip.
“Watch out!” Julius and Helda yelled.
The army ducked and dodged simultaneously in a rhythm. Counterattacks interacted with the wall as it flew away, sliced through the tower in half, and collapsed outside, ending with a roaring crash somewhere. The vaulted roof that Julius cut through earlier separated into a wider gap. Creaking sounds came along the way.
Creak! Slam!
Both walls collapsed flat to the ground, leaving only dust to levitate into the air. The gusts blew it away along with the rain, cleaning up the dirtiness. There was nothing left of the lobby or the hallway that led to the main part of the castle complex. Especially, the view of the tower and spire to be completely toppled, as it couldn’t stand tall anymore. Only a side chunk was left to signal its last presence. Like one big domino, and one tap or knock will take it down. Solomon yelled back at the two, blurting the region was safe to pass.
Julius looked at Helda. “I’m going to need your help once we get to the final chapter,” he muttered.
“Am I going to copy?”
“Yeah, various ways that we will find out.”
“Then yes, I will,” Helda said, nodding with a pleasant smile.
The two then sprinted to the main part of the castle complex. Licht dissipated from his grip. Julius and Helda caught up with the rest of the army and the group. Father Kang directed them through the entryway that led to the primary complex. After witnessing the House of Kang’s expansion, upcoming projects, and the Zenith Skydome, this castle complex was seriously dull. He even blurted to the open space with everyone nearby. An absolute piece of garbage. Julius was about to wreck this whole place, only to be stopped by multiple of his men. They wanted to scavenge the place, much to the contested Julius, who only wanted to leave this realm. Both sides had a fair point, but the dull vibe emitted from this castle only led to such an opinion to disagree with looting or scavenging anything worth here. However, when he thought about it, Julius decided to separate all of them around while he and Helda went to the arena. At the last minute, Empress Cai flashed through the crowded space, holding Qiang Zhao and Hu’s arms. They caught up with Julius when he was opening the door.
A vacuum force pulled all five through the door. They crashed to the floor, witnessing the door immediately slamming shut. Despite it being pitch black, Julius could hear the door altercations on the other side, attempting to open.
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Blind Vision.
Negative Darkness Inflicted.
Confusion Inflicted.
Counteracting All Negative Ailments.
--
Julius’ eyes overwhelmed the darkness and such void, enabling him to see everything inside. Hence, he rotated from his back to his knees and stood.
Breathe…
He heard something but went to others who might not have the immunity. Helda and Qiang Zhao got inflicted and didn’t beat it. Julius gripped Qiang Zhao’s shoulder, transferring a little of his qi over. Her upper body went up from the floor. When he went to Helda, she knew he was there. She wasn’t having the best of it, and the darkness caused her to bleed through her nose and eyes. Julius crammed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to mutter in disregard for his need. She wanted to get herself adapted to it, reducing external dependence. Mentally worried, Julius instead gave half through his right hand. That eased her symptoms at an immediate exposure to his qi, but it also allowed her to get a level of adaptability. Thank goodness her body didn’t take long to adapt. Everyone else stood as Julius glared up into the ceiling in search of the breathing noise echoing the arena-like chamber.
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Fear inflicted
Ailment Counteracted.
--
Above him was a large chandelier. A beast hung with its four grips upside down, breathing into the chamber’s floor. He had embraced such fear, showing no reaction amid the assist from the Skoltor System. It had five tails, five heads, and all glorified red, evil eyes. When Julius stared right at them, they reacted with a jump, deploying off from the chandelier. The titan-sized beast showed itself as the king of the place. Before he could proceed, Helda and Qiang Zhao screamed. Damn it. The five-headed beast launched right at the group, and Julius twirled his right foot like it was a dance. He went for a small, complete circle and then slammed fully right on the hard concrete floor. His foot summoned an expanding puddle of sky-blue qi with traces of his darkness. It reached up to Helda and Qiang Zhao’s feet, stopping them from involuntarily fearing the five-headed beast’s presence.
With no time to spare, they launched themselves at the five-headed beast. Julius punched right to the central’s neck. He felt a forced swallow down the chief head’s throat. A gush of force distanced the group away. No spill, but a stain showed vividly amidst the black fur. The beast growled madly and teleported right behind them, inflicting a slash. They jumped with only a few inches to spare. Before they could turn completely to face its eyes, bright and orange flames burst out from all of its mouths.
“Shit!” Hu muttered, getting hit by the flames.
Julius was blown away next. His back exerted an aura, counteracting and dissipating the flames. He regained traction upon landing back on the concrete floor. He unleashed an abstract two-dimensional attack, keeping the qi on a straight path. It inflicted a gash on the bruise, causing the beast to let go of the other four and become disorientated. Payback for that, you foul beast! Julius summoned his miao dao, going into an upward rear stance. The blade exerted his qi, transforming it into a congested frost. A little precipitation occurred from the blade’s tip because of the high potential energy. He then swirled his blade, deploying spiky discs made of hard ice. It spewed flakes of snow and ice bits as it sped right to the five-headed beast, striking at the same spot. A bucket’s worth exited the wound. His arms went berserk, amping the energy levels beyond control. Multiple discs came out each time instead of three right at the target. Everyone dashed away as the discs lacerated to the other four necks.
That was when Empress Cai pulled her brakes, going to an abrupt stop. “NECK!” She yelled and then launched right at the beast with her katana drawn. She transformed into her phoenix form in a millisecond and performed an upward slice attack through the central neck. The head collapsed to the floor, splattering all the chunks of red blood and nasty stuff. The other three also successfully decapitated the remaining heads. Qiang Zhao’s revolver blasts took off two by luck. While Hu, having the power of a beast herself, took on a more maniac approach, biting the leftmost head with her ferocious fangs. The bite got deeper as she transformed into her miniature nine-tailed fox. Finally, she yanked the last head off from the five-headed beast’s torso. Julius teleported right to the decapitated torso and kicked it away from them, watching it disperse beams of light. The light engulfed the body and exploded into five different spectrums.
Each hard landed back on the concrete floor, triggering a rumble. Beams of light erupted in all five upwards. No breaks, each swarmed right at the group. Julius clashed right with one, recognizing the swordplay from within. He heard gun blasts from Qiang Zhao’s end. Then followed by a couple of sounds of sword clashes and a loud thump around the vicinity. A health bar flashed on the top left corner, revealing who under this light was.
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Xavier (Armored Boss) HP: 100%
New Mission Created:
Kill all of the Five Armored Bosses.
--
The revelation was enough. Julius began transferring his past negative emotions from the betrayal he locked away. He slowly untied the lock and broke off the clash, shoving his opponent. The light beam instantly dissipated, revealing a gigantic, armored figure. There was no light in the eyes within the helmet’s tiny visors. It was dark and deadly cold, and the wonders of humanity remained and went into slumber. In fact, his opponent was the sole enemy without reflections of light. All black and white. Nothing to accompany him. Hence, that could only mean one thing.
His miao dao was cloaked in ice cold, and Julius dashed right at Xavier. It reacted back instinctively, clashing at him once more. The former received a payback when Xavier broke off the clash before he could and thrust his sword right at Julius’ abdomen. One made him nearly gagged. He was forced back, slamming right to the concrete floor. The blocks tore off, debris shot up, and ground through solids; he almost felt like it had torn through his defense’s layers and left only his bones exposed.
The black armored giant launched up high, almost hitting the ceiling. He articulated his hands, and both gripped on the hilt, heading for a downward thrust. Come on! Damn it! Julius lay stuck in a new deep crater, trying to force himself to move again.
Bang! Spurt!
The four ladies’ fight noises came to an abrupt stop, calling out Julius’ name only to be a distraction advantage for their opponents. Hence, they got hit.
God damn it! You shouldn’t have done that!
A hollow gasp, almost like a grunt, came behind Xavier’s helmet. He surrendered the silence to Julius’ counterreaction to what should have been a fatal move. Julius’ miao dao had multiple hair fractures highlighted on its blade. His right hand shook violently as he lifted Xavier’s sword away, much to the latter’s dismay and struggling effort.
Julius heard the rest had gotten into an unfortunate turn of leaving themselves in the open because of his circumstances, only causing him to grow more frustrated. His mouth opened hot and exhaled whiffs of smoke directly at Xavier’s blade. There was a staggering effect that took him away in a trance. Hence, Julius thrust a kick right at him, sending him off, and crashing away. The former got up and found his chest hemorrhaging, despite being a bare inch away from the tip of Xavier’s blade. His robe on his chest was torn into shreds, leaving it exposed. He stood still on his loose knees and pinpointed a central spot on his chest. His qi recharged and instituted a healing mechanism, closing up the laceration. Ending with one inhale and exhale, settled his sudden ailments.
He jumped out of the crater, finding the other four had recovered their standings. Hence, Julius returned to focus on Xavier, who stood up just fine but with a little limb from his back. Despite that, he didn’t emit any further noise.
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Xavier (Armored Boss) HP: 75%
--
Julius didn’t know if that was the kick or the crash landing that took a quarter of Xavier’s health away. Fortunately, his noticeable limping steered the situation of the battle. Julius glared at left and right to see if the other four were safe before dashing forward. He and Xavier went at each other like two opposite sources of light illuminated right at the same spot. The former nudged his foot outward, teleporting in a glimpse. Xavier surrendered his silence again, but now with an angry grunt. Julius was behind him, going on roof guard. Ice qi already filled his blade. He then finally unleashed a huge slicing motion, not giving the enemy a chance to reflect. The hammering motion came from the swipe, knocking the armored beast down by the head. He crashed down, followed by a shatter; likely, the helmet broke.
“Bastard,” he muttered, then kicked Xavier up. To his surprise, the latter fired a projectile, slicing off a bit of his long hair. He dodged in time and what was supposed to be the trump card, an orb made as a bomb summoned from his chest and ignited.
Julius hovered his arm over his head, generating a shield. When it was safe, he rose back up and looked at all the energy he had released. “Not going to work!” He yelled and ran right to the shield, ramming right to its core. The shield flew from its stationary position, and Julius didn’t budge away until it was on target. Subsequently, he kicked the surface, projecting it right to Xavier, who was at the point of detonation.
The shield broke into shards, redirecting it back up. Oh, no. You got to be kidding me. Julius thought, forming an aura sphere around himself. It detracted the barrage of shards, but the patience deteriorated. He wanted no more part of this. Screw this. He dropped the miao dao, letting it dissipate back into his body. Licht returned to his grip.
< So, are we doing this? >
<< Hell to the yes, we are! If we destroy this damn place, then so be it! >> Julius telepathically screamed.
Licht’s qi manifested with Julius’ aura, which gushed from his waist and back. All the weight from the greatsword went into the latter’s arms. The manifestation was shaped into replica wings of his giant form and definitely lengthier than Empress Cai’s. His shadow reflections from below showed to be monster-like. Once Julius’ qi all accumulated and were in sync with his greatsword, his wings arched up, and he glided downwards right to the blast zone, slashing right at the spot.
Tremendous gusts overwhelmed the whole chamber. The outer wall layers tore off in chunks, pulling the main frame of bricks along with it. Empress Cai, Hu, Helda, and Qiang Zhao wasted no time unleashing their trump card. Four energy spheres joined Julius’ bigger energy sphere, demolishing everything. Even the sealed-shut doors went into defeat as they were crushed and disintegrated, letting all the qi gush out to the open lobby where a decent portion of the army was still there.
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Xavier (Armored Boss) HP: 75% ↓↓↓
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Solomon wasn’t that far from what used to be the entryway into the chamber as he, along with Father Kang, remained put. The two ran to the commotion and went full of custodians. Father Kang led the way with his right palm extended to the fullest, aiming right at all the smoke and qi. He meandered through, and his palm projected a pressurized kinetic force, crushing away the mess and rubble. Solomon followed behind, doing the same.
“Swords out,” Father Kang said, summoning the tang dao from his left grip. He let the sword swirl to depart the remaining dust that his right hand might have missed.
It was short as they were then met by some tall silhouette, standing within the tiny area of smoke. That figure wasn’t alone, revealing its hand grabbing a large silhouette, which was definitely huge. Solomon and Father Kang looked at each other briefly and rushed into a full-offense stance. Three, two, one…
“Stop,” the voice said, coming from the silhouette. It strolled out of the flames, revealing to Julius, and appeared fine, minus some head scratches and a scarred chest. His right hand was gripping on an enemy cultivator. “It’s done. Here’s Xavier.” He then threw him across the arena, sliding up next to Father Kang, head down. Blood all over his body, mainly the head’s rear, where a vast gap filled with blood over it.
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Mission Completed: Kill all the Five Armored Bosses.
--
“So, it’s over,” Solomon said, looking around the demolished chamber. “Where are the other four armored bosses?”
“We don’t need them,” Empress Cai responded. “They are all decomposed to withered bones…Dust.” Her left-closed fist rose, opening to reveal a handful of ashes.
“Nothing beneficial?”
Empress Cai shook her head. “No, unfortunately. There are no mission rewards other than leveling, and we haven’t received it yet.”
“Oh, man. What a joke!” Father Kang shouted, erupting the chamber’s remaining floors.
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Julius’ Skoltor System sent him a new pop-up. It should have been sent earlier, but better than nothing.
--
Head to the throne labyrinth (250 m).
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He turned around, according to its directions. The spot where he killed Xavier turned into a wide, square opening. He saw the stairs form and headed downwards into the void. Interestingly enough, despite there being no obvious source of light, the stairs were always illuminated. Hence, Julius looked at the rest of the group, all gathered behind him. The army, which was definitely separated to loot the place, returned to the lobby only to find havoc.
“Guard the place!” Julius ordered the army. “While we head down the stairs…You guys follow me.” He also asked Míngyuè, the Skolritters, and Feng to join him.
They effortlessly joined, and all trailed behind him as he descended the stairs. It was long and a little spooky, as one whisper was enough for a loud echo. When everyone had entered the depths, the entrance didn’t close, which was a rare scenario. Either way, Mother Elaine generated her own light source through her hair, and it helped with the last steps. Finally, the floor.
Julius stepped down on the flat surface. He made sure it was sturdy and not some trap. One stomp flushed a puddle of qi, while also causing the dark space to switch on its torches. This is a throne room. He thought, looking straight ahead where a grand chair was stationed on a platform. Others came down the stairs or jumped straight to the floor. Julius was a little suspicious, but the Skoltor System’s mission stated that he had to take a couple more meters. Hence, he went along with it.
“At long last…The prophecy was true,” a male’s voice muttered, getting louder and more coherent by near the end.
“Who’s this?” Julius asked, still on guard.
A giant walked out of the entryway that was directly behind the throne. Similarly, he wore similar armor to the five bosses. The immediate difference was the lack of silence, and he sounded old. It all made sense with the widest chair Julius had ever seen, and the lengthy stairs to compensate for the underground height. The armored giant sat down on his throne and took off his helmet, revealing to be a long-haired and rough, bearded man of grey. He breathed hoarsely, much to his apparent discomfort. Hence the pain he had. He was probably at least a hundred years old, filled with decades of horrific experiences. His dark eyes were focused. The armored giant placed his helmet on his right armrest before leaning to his left. His sorrowful expression turned to relief and a little gratefulness once he sent his attention to the entire group, mainly Julius.
“A prophecy? What kind of prophecy?” Julius asked, reluctantly lowering his guard.
“I can’t tell if all of you are agitated and concerned that I might send you into a trap,” the armored giant said, pointing out their anxieties. “Relax your internal qi, lads. The whole level is over. You all made it.”
“Are you certain of it?!” Empress Cai asked with minor frustration. “A hundred and fifty days here and all the extra training days at the Skydomes! This better be worth our time or I'll—”
Solomon teleported in front of her. “Woah…woah. Relax. Let’s hear it.”
The armored giant sighed. “I guess we will start with you, Julius.”
Me?