Lord of Prayer - Chapter 366 - 241: The Exiter

[Final Trial (Emergency Mission): Snap the six controlled individuals out of it, kill them, or be killed by them.]

An emergency mission notification popped up on Zhou Chen’s System Panel. It was followed by the penalty for those who had violated the rules by infighting during the first stage.

[Due to violating the rules, the violators’ personal power will be restricted to 50% until they kill their target or are killed by their target.]

The attackers’ power would be cut in half. This was a rule established by the organizers to prevent infighting during the first stage, serving as an effective deterrent.

In a one-on-one fight, the party with their power reduced by 50% would normally lose. Of course, there were exceptions. For instance, if Yao Hu wanted to kill Chengzi, he could do so easily even with his power halved. But during the first stage, everyone’s main objective was puzzle-solving, so no one would rashly initiate infighting.

But under an unseen, corrupting influence, Yao Hu and the others had become extremists. Their emotions were amplified without limit, to the point they became sources of pollution affecting the surrounding area. Coupled with the deliberate manipulations of a mastermind behind the scenes, this led to them joining forces to ambush and kill Zhou Chen.

If one person couldn’t beat him, they’d just get a few more.

With six of them joining forces, even with their overall power cut in half, they were certain Zhou Chen wouldn’t make it out alive!

Of course, thanks to Zhou Chen’s ploy, Yao Hu and Chengzi hadn’t attacked yet. Therefore, they weren’t yet considered violators, and their power hadn’t been reduced. Only when they made a move would the restriction take effect.

WHOOSH!

A piercing whistle cut through the air.

Zhou Chen tilted his head to the side as a lightning-wreathed Flying Sword grazed past his cheek. It was so fast and its edge so sharp that even with his timely dodge, the keen Sword Aura still cut a wound across his face, leaving a scorched black line from the electric current.

Behind him, the lightning-infused Flying Sword whipped around like a darting fish and shot toward him again.

At Zhou Chen’s command, the reinforced concrete rooftop beneath his feet abruptly rose up, instantly solidifying into a hard metal wall.

CLANG!

The front half of the Flying Sword sank deep into the metal wall. The breached section immediately sealed shut, clamping down from above and below like iron pincers, gripping the blade tightly. The Flying Sword vibrated violently, trying to pull free, but it was stuck fast as if glued in place, unable to budge an inch.

The next second, a Flying Sword wreathed in lightning shot out from the side of the metal wall, dazzling as a Thunderbolt.

’How is there another one?!’

Zhou Chen’s eyes narrowed. He instinctively activated Flame Jump to dodge, but the speeding Flying Sword still managed to slash his shoulder. Electricity surged into his body, instantly paralyzing his entire arm.

He reappeared on the street fifty meters away from the others, blood flowing from his shoulder where a brutal gash had been carved. The Cyan Flame ignited, cauterizing the wound into a scar and forcing it to stop bleeding and heal.

At that moment, the high-tech Cyber Flying Sword hovered in the air. It split from one into two, then four, then eight. In the span of a single breath, it had multiplied into twenty-four blades, radiating a chilling aura and filling the air with killing intent.

“It can do that?!”

Zhou Chen was stunned. ’How in the world did Han Danqing make this thing?’

The twenty-four Flying Swords converged as if performing the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root. Their sharp, lightning-wreathed blades formed a Thunder Sword Storm, transforming into a Sword Aura dozens of meters long that shot forward to impale him.

At the same time, Liu Ling and Yan Wu charged in. One held a Great Halberd, the other a Warhammer, and both were equipped with several Extraordinary Artifacts.

“Don’t let him escape!” Liu Ling shouted.

Han Danqing pulled a massive Bronze Cauldron from a leather pouch at his waist. The cauldron weighed a ton; it crashed to the ground with a deafening BOOM, cracking the road and shaking the earth as dust and smoke billowed into the air.

The Alchemy Matrix inscribed on the cauldron’s body lit up. A cyan light blossomed, rippling outward like a tide to form a Barrier that enveloped the surrounding two-hundred-meter area.

Immediately after, the Bronze Cauldron released a wave of Gravity that locked onto Zhou Chen.

—Alchemy Tool – Boundary Gravity Cauldron PO-37.

“Ten Times Gravity!”

Han Danqing poured his Essence into the Bronze Cauldron, pushing it to its limit. He shouted through gritted teeth, “My Essence is cut by fifty percent! I can only hold him for three minutes!”

Zhou Chen’s body suddenly sank, leaving two deep footprints in the ground. An invisible weight pressed down on him from all directions, like being plunged a hundred meters into the ocean, crushed by the pressure until he couldn’t breathe.

He tried to move his body, but every motion was exceptionally difficult, requiring several times more strength than usual.

Watching Liu Ling and Yan Wu draw closer, along with the twenty-four menacing Cyber Flying Swords, Zhou Chen used all his strength to retreat, flinging out dozens of Fireballs in an attempt to slow them down.

With a sweep of the Great Halberd and a swing of the Warhammer, the two of them scattered all the Fireballs. The stray flames dissipated into the air, but the Thunder Sword Storm tore through everything in its path as if it were splitting bamboo.

“His Flame Jump only has a sixty-meter range. Don’t let him get near the cauldron,” Liu Ling privately messaged Yan Wu using his Essence.

“He’s far enough! Just watch me smash him to pieces!” Yan Wu shot back impatiently.

In the distance, Yano also made his move. As he ran, he pulled a Talisman from his pocket, crushed it, and shouted the corresponding Spell:

“Chaotic Thoughts!”

Zhou Chen’s steps immediately faltered.

Yano pulled out and crushed several more Talismans:

“Weak and Powerless!”

“Essence Seal!”

“Heart Stop!”

“Thought Deprivation!”

These Talismans hadn’t been made by Yano; they were from Liu Ling, Han Danqing, and Chengzi. All of them were expensive Second-level Talismans, each capable of having a crucial impact in a fight, to say nothing of all of them being used at once.

Sure enough, Zhou Chen froze in place.