BXBX NOVEL Chapter 246: You’ve Caught the King, Yet You Dare to Threaten Me?
Sterl charged ahead toward the area in the palace that blocked detection. The players beside him understood the urgency of the situation and hurried to keep up.
...
As they made their way, an eerie silence enveloped the palace. No one spoke, no one walked, and even the usual attendants and servants had vanished. The players felt a chill run down their spines. However, given the critical nature of the situation, they had no choice but to press on.
The legendary players moved with lightning speed, and within just a few seconds, they found themselves standing at the edge of the palace cellar.
In the distance, they spotted a graceful figure clad in a blood-red gown. It was the queen. "Esteemed members of the Hall of Valor," she called out, "there are some royal secrets in this cellar that are not convenient for you to inspect."
"I wonder if you could grant us a favor."
Yet at that moment, how could the players possibly listen? Seeing someone attempting to obstruct them, even if she was a beautiful woman, they were all ready to unleash their skills and take her down. Unfortunately…
"Uh uh~"
With the queen\'s movement, they suddenly realized she had the king by the throat, holding him in front of her.
"Sorry, everyone, but if you step any closer…"
"I may have to resort to some extreme measures."
Immediately, the players fell silent in shock.
Before they could react further, a Celestial Stars attack came crashing down from the sky!
Their leader had launched an attack, disdain dripping from his words.
"You\'ve caught that king, yet you dare to threaten me?"
"Have you lost your mind?"
In an instant, the queen\'s expression changed drastically. Hesitating for a moment, she flung the king toward the players and activated a blood-red talisman to burrow underground.
Boom!!
In the next second, a terrifying wave of heat and force was unleashed, slamming against the blood-red shield surrounding the cellar, causing it to sway dangerously.
This was, after all, the stronghold of the Blood Cult\'s leaders, and its protective measures far exceeded those of the other sub-array locations.
Of course, this was not because Sterl had miscalculated the power of his attack; rather, he needed to hold back and control the players\' advance into the Blood Cult\'s base. At that moment, seeing their leader\'s strike fail to achieve its intended effect, the other players began to unleash their skills in a bombardment.
Blazing streams of skill effects lit up the area, and soon the blood-red shield was shattered. At this point, the king of Florence was tossed aside, his chest rising and falling slightly as if he were still alive, but no one had the heart to pay him any attention.
Sterl continued to lead the charge, diving into the base. As he jumped down into the cellar, he discovered that the underground space was surprisingly vast, surrounded by walls made of some kind of marble, with various gemstones illuminating the area.
Piles of ice cubes were stacked at the edges of the cellar, clearly remnants of the cellar\'s original storage; the Blood Cult seemed to have occupied this place not long ago and hadn\'t managed to clear out all the ice.
At that moment, under the players\' relentless bombardment, the ceiling of the cellar had been completely blown off. Once Sterl landed on the ground, he only needed to look up to see the sky—
and above him, a gigantic array crafted by the Blood Cult pulsed slowly.
In the center of the cellar stood a group of about fifty to sixty individuals clad in blood-red priestly robes. The former queen, now dressed in a different outfit, stood in the middle, her aura no longer concealed—she was clearly a mid-tier legendary!
It was apparent that she was the Pope of the Blood Cult. Sterl couldn\'t help but think to himself how poorly the followers under the Archduke of Blood were doing. The strongest among them was only a mid-tier legendary?
Upon witnessing this scene, the players\' fighting spirit surged even higher. In such a critical situation, there was no better news than discovering that their opponents were not particularly strong.
In an instant, without needing any words, the players began to coordinate their efforts. A young man with a muscular build activated his legendary ability, a faint golden shield appearing in front of him as he charged forward furiously.
The members of the Blood Cult, clearly lacking discipline and without the Pope\'s commands, began to throw their blood-red nets and bomb-like creations haphazardly. However, these seemingly powerful devices all crashed against the shield, turning into nothingness! The muscular man led the charge into the crowd.
While his damage may not have seemed particularly strong, the front line and casters of the Blood Cult were thrown into a state of chaos.
At that moment, the other players sprang into action. First, a brilliant flash of lightning descended from the sky, striking with the force of thunder!
Boom!!
A buzzing sound filled everyone\'s ears.
Then, countless light swords rained down rapidly, slicing through the Blood Cult\'s healers and front-line warriors, creating chaos. In an instant, many figures clad in crimson robes fell to the ground, clearly meeting a tragic end!
Next came—
A player summoned numerous mechanical fortresses resembling cannon emplacements, which began to unleash a furious barrage. Others transformed the ground into a strange quagmire, dragging many of the Blood Cult members down into it with dark, ghostly hands…
Various legendary abilities erupted in a frenzy!
It looked chaotic, but it still adhered to the basic principle of having the front liners hold the line while the rear dealt damage. Many members of the Blood Cult, some of whom had reached legendary status, fell victim to the surprise attack!
Although Bionic Tear was merely pretending to throw a few fireballs, the tide of battle remained overwhelmingly one-sided. The talents of the Hall of Valor were far superior to those of the Blood Cult\'s ragtag army.
Even among legendaries, there was a significant difference!
"How dare you!!"
"Ughhhh!!!"
The Pope of the Blood Cult, nearly stunned by the onslaught, hurriedly organized a counterattack. The legendary members of the Blood Cult seemed to have awakened a similar type of legendary ability, channeling the blood around them to form strange patterns that created spherical shields in front of them.
Only the Pope had a unique legendary ability that allowed her to control all the spheres, forming barriers. It seemed she did not desire victory; her goal was simply to withstand the players\' assault.
Meanwhile, some protected members of the Blood Cult began to pull out daggers, cutting their own throats to bleed into the formation, willingly sacrificing themselves. Their flesh and blood were rapidly absorbed and refined, causing the formation to become increasingly active.
A towering pillar of blood-red light shot up!
Unlike the glow of other formations, this one shimmered with rainbow-like patterns, shooting straight into the clouds, dyeing the entire sky over Florence a vibrant red.
Upon seeing this, the players\' expressions changed dramatically.
"Rainbow patterns, divine power!"
"It\'s over! We have to stop them!"
"Use any secret weapons you have! If you don\'t use them now, you\'ll just take them to your graves!"
...
They were thrown into a panic!
Although the divine power summoned by a group of mid-tier legendaries was mostly underwhelming, it was still far beyond what these players could contend with!
God!
Was a new level of existence!
Below the divine, everyone else was but an ant.
Even if the Hall of Valor sent demigods to undertake this task, facing divine power was a certain death sentence!
In an instant, the players frantically hurled various rare items without concern for the cost, simply wanting to break through the Blood Cult\'s defenses.
Sterl casually scanned the area with Star Insight and discovered a potion that instantly restored energy: Death Moss, which permanently decreased their life limit with each use. There were also Legendary Energy Crystals that doubled the next skill\'s power. Many players took two or three at once, leading to a sharp decline in their life force but a significant increase in the power of their attacks.
It was a complete expenditure of money! A gamble with their lives!
One by one, their expressions turned frenzied!
Soon, the cellar had completely vanished, and an area of nearly a hundred square meters was directly dissolved by various high-energy attacks! It made the area where Sterl and the others stood appear completely flat!
If it weren\'t for the friendly fire immunity among the players, this environment alone could have killed them.
The cult members were even more desperate; some legendary-level members, after exhausting their energy, committed suicide to further accelerate the operation of the formation!
Yet the scales of victory slowly began to tip in favor of the players.
It was evident that the Blood Cult couldn\'t hold on for much longer.
Sterl then secretly activated Moon Law, freezing the thoughts of everyone around him for a few seconds.
As a result, the progress of the formation advanced once again! It had reached the limit where it could officially activate!
At that moment, the sound of cracking and shattering filled the air…
The energy shields created by the Pope of the Blood Cult and other members exploded violently!
The players didn\'t even have time to pay attention to these enemies, who were left immobilized by the backlash, as they charged straight for the core of the formation, intent on causing chaos!
However…
Sterl activated Moon Law once more, pushing time back a few seconds.
So, just as the players\' attacks were about to hit the formation, countless Blood Cult members revealed expressions of ecstatic joy, for they saw the rainbow patterns had fully formed— the grand array was about to activate!
Yet—
Pfft!
Like a balloon being popped, the energy of the formation rapidly dissipated, and the rainbow light in the sky began to fracture and fade away.
In that last moment, the players thwarted the Blood Cult\'s "Conspiracy"!
The cultists\' faces changed drastically, revealing disbelief.
Such a poignant and dramatic moment, reminiscent of tales from storybooks, made Sterl unable to help but silently nod in approval…