Chương 488: Chapter 457: Scarlet Continuum

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Eric roared in his mind. Why did Thalion let the prince live? This monster would kill countless souls without someone strong enough to stop him. The prince was also not from Earth, which meant he might become even stronger than he already was. His progress was already crazy—with that boosting skill and the word magic. What would this maniac come up with in a year? Or ten? But now wasn't the time. More and more of the truly powerful trial takers had entered the fray.

Besides the two termites and Morgana's Chosen, the vampires had also found their way downward.

"Eric, is everything all right? I need you!" Elaria almost shouted through the telepathic link. The Second Daughter had changed into the form of a four-and-a-half-meter-long centipede that was taking her images out in rapid succession while smashing Elaria's mana barriers like they weren't even there. One beat of Eric's light wings brought him before the beast, his broadsword already coming down toward the head. Yet the Second Daughter was an excellent fighter.

She twisted to the left while a spike dislodged from her armor and shot toward Eric. He tried to deflect it with his armor, but the power in the spike was too overwhelming and destroyed parts of it while ripping a chunk of flesh out of his arm on the way. Elaria immediately cast a healing skill that felt like a warm embrace and instantly closed the wound. Then his power skyrocketed as Elaria pushed more and more strength into his body through her boosting skill.

The Second Daughter raised her body into the air, standing on her back legs, and spat out a green beam—which was likely either poison or acid. Could it be both? Eric had not the slightest idea. The only thing he knew was that he didn't want to get hit by it. He summoned a light beam erupting a few meters above the Second Daughter's head. It wasn't strong enough to damage the armor, but it violently forced her head downward.

In the meantime, Eric had sprung up and was going for her head again, his sword raised high above him. A hair's breadth before he could cut her in two, her form shifted into something almost human. Since that form was much smaller, it allowed her to evade the swing. Additionally, she grabbed his sword arm and dove under him almost like a wrestler trying to secure a hold. This close, the sword was useless. He put it back into his spatial amulet and tried to grab her and pull her off his legs.

Pain flooded his vision when she bit straight through his armor. It also gave him a good dose of poison his body couldn't clear instantly. Eric thrashed— Then the Second Daughter grew again as she shifted back. This close, that wasn't good. One bite of her pincers and he might be out of the fight. Her many sharp legs penetrated his armor as she tried to get a better hold of him while Eric tried to free himself with bursts of light waves.

It was Elaria who blasted the centipede off him with a powerful mana barrier—but it also tore large wounds into Eric's body and broke multiple bones. That she hadn't managed to bite him was a miracle. Instead of going for Elaria—who was currently without protection—the Second Daughter simply left them and shot toward another part of the chamber, where a vampire was fighting an elf. By now, there were over fifty trial takers in the room, and most of them were Chosen. The intensity increased further and further.

The biggest obstacle was the king, who seemingly saw everything happening around him. His power also kept rising—which should have been impossible. The king was not even twenty levels above Eric, yet he fought multiple Chosen on his own. Could it be that someone with such potential had remained undiscovered by the gods? There wasn't another explanation—besides the king having an absolutely monstrous bloodline. The king must also have lived for hundreds of years.

Eric immediately noticed the skillful movements of the king. Not one action was irrational. Not one movement wasted energy.

"Are you okay?" Elaria asked him through the link. Hearing her this worried wasn't a good sign. Had it really been that dangerous? No. He couldn't waste time thinking about such things. This was the final fight of one of the longest and toughest system events a new universe had ever seen—with rewards worth dying for.

"Yes, I'm fine. What are we doing next?" Eric asked through the link. The others were fighting the king while trying not to get too close to any of the other trial takers.

"Help us with the king. Getting him down will reward us with a hundred million leaderboard points. I suspect it will also stop the Scarlet Continuum, which would give us another hundred million points. One minute of going all out should also be enough to get a few more kills in," Ethan's strained voice shot through the link. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! Eric didn't hesitate a second and shot forward like a streak of light.

While running, he summoned a bow made of light and charged four arrows that all shot at the king. The air vibrated around the arrows, but in the last second a wall of blood formed behind the king. The arrows detonated on impact, releasing a shockwave that destroyed the wall—but it didn't seem to do any damage to the king. The king had already killed three trial takers. One orc shaman and two vampires lay dead on the ground. Their bodies were slowly drained of blood that flowed toward one of the rifts.

"I don't know why, but he can see everything!" Felix shouted through the link. Almost as if to prove what Felix had just said, four blood arrows formed above the king's head, pointing right at Eric—who was in the opposite direction from where the king was currently looking. Eric had no time to comment and jumped out of the way as the arrows shot at him like heat-seeking missiles. The king was absolutely dominant.

Standing in the middle of everything, he spun around, endangering the lives of everyone near him with lightning-quick swings of his weapon while wielding the most powerful blood magic Eric had ever seen. His flesh was still hurting from the poison, and he was exhausted from the constant fighting over so many stages—always giving his best to stay near the top.

In the corner of his eye, he saw how an incredibly strong vampire was devouring one of its own kind, while the First Daughter bit into the head of an elven mage. Eric pushed his boosting skill to the limit, which only increased the pressure on his body—but he couldn't hold back. It was now or never. It wasn't only his boosting skill that made his strength and speed rise to such levels, but also Elaria's support skill.

At the moment, the big orc was fighting the king—and the orc actually seemed able to keep up with him. Eric decided to help the brute. Maybe if he didn't use the moment to kill the orc, they could try forming an alliance. He knew it was only a distant hope, but right now he wouldn't lose anything by not trying to stab the orc while they fought the king. Right before Eric got close enough for a swing, the king turned around, kicking the orc and swinging his weapon at Eric.

Eric jumped into the air and punched downward, impacting a blood barrier before the king's chest—which a second later shifted into a hand trying to grab him. The orc took the chance and brute-forced his way through the blood constructs the king was conjuring behind him. The king turned again, punching at the orc. The orc didn't try to dodge but instead traded blows, swinging his axe downward. The king's fist connected first, forcing the orc a few steps back, the swing missing in the process.

Multiple blood spears formed around the king—but before they could shoot out, the strong vampire Eric had noticed earlier appeared beside the king and stabbed forward with an ornate spear. The armor didn't hold and shattered, allowing the spear to punch a hole into the king's side. The blood around the vampire bent to his will as he devoured it in short order.

"Insolence!" the king growled, his elbow already coming down toward the vampire's head—a devastating blow. Yet before it could land, the First Daughter moved before the king and drove her claws into his chest, ripping apart the armor on the way. With a quick rotation, the king was flung to the side. The pain seemed to be something the king wasn't used to, as he held his chest for a moment. The First Daughter didn't stop there and shot forward again, moving faster than even the king.

It seemed like the tables had turned, as the Chosen now ganged up on the king for the first time. In the back, it was still pure chaos—but those attacking the king seemed to work together. The king's aura didn't rise any higher—but his rage did. His movements became far more violent, as did his blood skills. The blood magic turned out to be quite useless against the vampire, who simply fed on it.

Eric slid past the king, cutting open his right leg, while the big green orc grabbed him by the neck and headbutted him so hard that the helmet bent. This must have been the turning point for the king, as he spoke, his voice infused with mana:"NOW!" The First Daughter was about to finish the king off with a swipe of her claws when suddenly a dark red string connected to her right shoulder. The moment it connected, the First Daughter was flung upward.

Eric followed her movement in confusion, his eyes widening in shock when he spotted the massive spider hanging beneath the ceiling. The First Daughter seemed helpless as she clawed at the string, which only immobilized her further. Then she bit into the string, using some powerful skill. Eric wasn't sure what it was—but judging by how everything vibrated around her, it had to be something impressive. The string was cut. She landed hard on the ground—one of her wings still entangled.

Yet the spider wasn't willing to let its prey escape like that, and in the fashion of"if you don't want to come to me, I will come to you," the spider launched itself down from the ceiling. The spider was way too fast for the First Daughter to react—but in the last instant, the Second Daughter jumped in the way, pushing her sister aside. Sadly, she didn't make it out as well. Instead of the First Daughter, her sister was pierced by both massive fangs.

A loud and painful screech echoed through the chamber, making all fights stop for a moment. Even with both massive fangs in her body, she wasn't giving up. Her body burned with power as she transformed, trying to bite the spider back. The First Daughter also exploded with even more power, jumping upward. Yet it was futile. The spider was no simple creature, and within mere seconds you could see the power being drained from the Second Daughter along with all her blood.

Just a moment ago she had been like a blazing beacon, unwilling to die—and in the next, an empty husk with open, glassy eyes landed on the ground. While everyone was caught by the display, the king made his move. He punched the big orc in the belly, forcing him to bend forward—where a knee was already waiting. The impact broke his chin and sent one of his big tusks flying.

Spinning to the side, the king rammed the shaft of his long scepter into the side of the vampire's head before grabbing him by the throat and holding the scepter right before his mouth. The vampire began to scream, red vines erupting from his body as blood flowed from his mouth, ears, eyes—even the veins in his face burst. Eric tried to interrupt the king and dashed forward, swinging at him.

In the last second, the king threw the vampire into the air—where he unfortunately landed in the path of a charged wind arrow. Eric's swing only ended up destroying a bit of armor, which earned him a headbutt from the king that made his vision spin. The next thing he saw was the red scepter before him—and then pain rocked his body as his blood suddenly began flowing toward the king's weapon. Then the pain stopped as quickly as it had come. Eric was thrown aside and saw an arrow sticking out of the king's back.

His mind raced. The king hadn't seen Ethan's arrow coming from behind. But why? His eyes darted around before fixing on the massive spider—which currently had the First Daughter on its back as she began to eat her way into the creature. The spider had followed the king's command before, and from the ceiling it must have had a clear view of everything… The king huffed in annoyance and then disappeared in a bloody shroud—only to reappear on the throne.

He let go of the scepter in his right hand and spoke, his voice filled with determination." Activation code: Blood Answers Only to Its King." With that, he moved his hand down toward a rune on the throne that had begun to glow ominously after the words were spoken. Yet right before his hand could touch the rune, a beam made of blue starlight slammed into his right shoulder and catapulted him off the throne.

Eric channeled everything he had left and screamed in rage as he shot forward, cutting deep into the king's chest and kicking him backward, shards of the king's destroyed armor falling to the ground. It didn't end there. The big orc seemed quite upset with the king too. The orc had lost his weapon, but that didn't stop him from slamming his fist into the king's face, grabbing his left foot and throwing his body from left to right, then grabbing neck and leg before bringing the king down across his knees.

Another punch blasted the king away from the throne, where he barely managed to get back on his feet. His helmet was gone, and many wounds were placed across his body where the armor had been shattered.

"You can't win. I will— Ey! GET OFF MY THRONE!" the king roared. Everyone spun around. There stood a man in a red robe—the kind only the highest cultists in the city dared to wear—and a red mask. He was standing atop the throne in the same position the king had occupied moments ago. His voice, infused with mana, carried far and wide." Activation code: BLOOD ANSWERS ONLY TO ITS KING!" With those words, he placed his hand on the glowing rune.