Chapter 2493 – Holding Back a Demon

God “It’s over!”

“Isn’t this Demon God’s Phantom a little too strong?!”

Everyone gaped as they watched Atlock’s attack fly toward Shi Feng.

That attack was as powerful as a large-scale destruction Spell, and it didn’t even have a channeling time...

It was also the same move Atlock had used to injure the Higher Valkyrie and the Tier 4 Hero. If not even those two could endure the attack, what chance did a Tier 3 player like Shi Feng have of surviving it?

Not even a powerful Invulnerability Skill could save the Swordsman now.

There was no such thing as a true Invulnerability Skill in God’s Domain. The game’s so-called Invulnerability Skills and Spells were merely Defensive Skills and Spells that could block an opponent’s attack and absorb the damage. However, if the opponent’s attack were more powerful than the Defensive Skill or Spell’s damage tolerance, players would receive some of the damage.

Based on Atlock’s displays of power thus far, he definitely had Tier 5 strength. He might even be powerful enough to rival Tier 5 Dragons. Not even an NPC’s defensive magic array could handle that kind of power.

At most, players’ current Invulnerability Skills and Spells could block Tier 4 attacks; they’d be utterly useless against Tier 5 attacks. The few horribly unlucky payers to encounter Tier 5 beings had tried to use Invulnerability Skills and Spells, yet they had died instantly.

The shattered space within the temple rapidly reached toward Shi Feng, covering a large enough area that it was impossible to evade.

Suddenly, however, golden, divine runes appeared around the Swordsman, radiating an indescribably sacred feeling. Boom!

An intense explosion shook the temple, and the impact’s shockwave even reached the Hell Legion. Atlock certainly had the power to decimate heaven and earth.

“Sure enough, this trial is a trap. There’s no way players can clear it.”

Every member of the Hell Legion shook their head and sighed as clouds of dust obscured the temple.

If Atlock hadn’t used such an unbeatable move, Shi Feng might have secured the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest with the help of his Higher Valkyrie and Tier 4 Hero. Unfortunately, the Demon God’s Phantom was too powerful. Current players had no hope against it.

Seeing this, Zero Wing’s members wore grim expressions.

Shi Feng and Zero Wing could recover if he suffered a normal death, but if he died in this temple, he’d have to remake his account.

“Wait! I see a golden light within the temple!”

Just as everyone assumed the fight was over, someone noticed a faint, golden glow radiating from within the dusky temple.

“He blocked it?”

Hell Rush stared at the settling dust clouds and quickly spotted Shi Feng, still standing before the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. The Swordsman was battered and had lost more than half of his HP, but the Demon God’s attack hadn’t slain him.

“Is he even human?”

When the other Hell Legions saw this, they were beyond astonished.

A Tier 5 Dragon could destroy an entire city in one hit, but even after taking an attack of that caliber, Shi Feng had survived, only losing a little over half of his HP. His defenses were heaven-defying.

“You’re quite lucky, puny adventurer. You managed to break through at the last moment and strengthen the magic array in that despicable ring of yours,” Atlock said, glaring at Shi Feng. The Mana within the temple then turned frosty. “However, your luck ends here. That ring can only save you once. Do you think you can block my next attack?”

Atlock gripped his axe in both hands and raised it above his head. He closed his eyes and began to gather the ambient Mana to his weapon. The gathered Mana grew so dense that it soon took on physical form.

Black Hole!

With the axe as its core, a miniature black hole formed above Atlock, swallowing everything nearby. It’s incredible gravitational pull twisted space around it, sparing nothing...

He still hadn’t used his full strength? Shi Feng could only watch the Demon God’s Phantom with a bitter smile.

As Atlock had said, Shi Feng had broken through to the Intermediate Master Magician standard at the last moment and manipulated the Seven Luminaries Ring’s magic array. Even so, Absolute Domain hadn’t been strong enough to block all of Atlock’s attack.

Worse yet, he couldn’t use Absolute Domain again for another several minutes.

Even if he could use the Skill right now, it wouldn’t be able to stop Atlock’s miniature black hole...

“Run while the Demon God is charging his attack, Guild Leader! If you let it hit you, everything we’ve worked for will be over! We’ll have plenty of chances to acquire Fragmented Legendary items in the future!” Aqua Rose shouted in the team chat.

The Demon God’s prior attack had already been terrifying, yet the move Atlock was preparing to use had already increased the temperature within a 600-yard radius to a scorching high. This attack was far more powerful than the previous one. If it hit Shi Feng, not even ashes would remain.

There’s six seconds left?

Hearing Aqua Rose’s urgent advice, Shi Feng glanced at the loading bar hovering over the treasure chest. What he saw left him speechless.

Atlock, Arslet, and the Higher Valkyrie had already exchanged over a dozen moves, and Shi Feng had deliberately remained motionless after the Demon God’s last attack had struck, trying to buy even more time. And yet, only 14 seconds had passed...

Shi Feng realized that he could no longer rely on the Higher Valkyrie and Tier 4 Hero, since both had lost a significant portion of their combat power.

“Escape? Do you honestly think I’ll let you?” Atlock realized what was going through Shi Feng’s mind when he saw the Swordsman’s expression. Sneering, he continued, “Since you’ve dared to plunder my treasure chest without passing my trial, only one outcome awaits you!”

The space around the miniature black hole froze, and Shi Feng could hardly move, let alone use teleportation magic. “Thief, begone from God’s Domain!”

Atlock’s eyes began to glow with a strange, crimson light, and he swung his axe in a downward arch, pushing the miniature black hole toward Shi Feng. The Demon God’s weapon crumbled and merged with the black hole in the process.

As the black hole pulled away from Atlock, the gravitational pull within the temple increased by several fold, and the miniature black hole left only a void in its path.

Don’t you dare think I’m that easy to kill!

Shi Feng realized that escape was no longer possible as he watched the miniature black hole approach. He decided to go for broke, pulling the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship from his bag and using a Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scroll to bolster the ship’s defenses.

The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had Upper-rank Tier 3 defensive capabilities, which was only slightly weaker than a major NPC city’s walls. Normally, only Tier 4 existences could damage the Flying Ship.

The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship’s colossal hull manifested between Shi Feng and the incoming black hole. Once it grew to full size, a magic barrier appeared around the ship.

Block it!

The miniature black hole that slammed into the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship.

As the attack made contact, the Tier 4 magic barrier around the Flying Ship disappeared, melting like a candle in a firestorm. Fortunately, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had fared better than that, although it rapidly disintegrated, losing durability by the hundreds.

After three short seconds, the Flying Ship’s durability had fallen from 5,000 to less than 2,000...

Although the Flying Ship continued to lose durability, the loss slowed. It was clear that the miniature black hole had lost a considerable amount of power.

You must block it!

Shi Feng’s anxiety spiked as he watched the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship’s durability fall to 500. If not even the Flying Ship could block the miniature black hole, it would kill him instantly with how little HP he had remaining.

Five hundred... Three hundred... One hundred...

Shi Feng thought everything was over the moment the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship’s durability hit zero, but the miniature black hole began to fade away. A short moment later, space within the temple returned to normal.

By the time the black hole had disappeared, the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest’s activation had ended. Colorful lights filled the entire temple, so dazzling that one could see them from anywhere on the Star Tomb’s second floor.

Success!

Shi Feng was ecstatic to see the treasure chest’s lid open. He reached into the chest without any hesitation, grabbing the items and tossing them into his Epic Spatial Bag, one after another, not bothering to inspect them.

Despite Shi Feng’s speed, however, the treasure chest was too large, and the items within weren’t organized. Moreover, the treasure chest contained over 20 items. By the time Shi Feng collected the 10th item, Atlock was mad with wrath.

“You’ll never leave this place alive, thief!” Atlock bellowed.

Shi Feng heard the sound of shattering chains, and the Demon God’s Phantom grew from Tier 4 to Tier 5. The phantom now exuded enough power that even Hell Rush and his Hell Legion, who had remained far away from the temple, shuddered in fear. Their instincts screamed at them to flee.

“Crap! Everyone, run!”

Shi Feng gave Atlock, who was going berserk, a grim look. He hadn’t expected the situation to develop like this. After he gave the command to retreat, he promptly used the Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scroll he had prepared beforehand.