System's POV

Chapter 610: The Final Trial [Part 4]



Sherry, who didn't know why Thirteen didn't attack her, stood rooted on the spot, unable to

move.

When she regained her senses, Thirteen was already dealing with the other Wanderers behind her, breaking their formation.

Diana, who was in charge of defense, hurriedly engaged Thirteen in combat, swinging at him her golden sword.

The golden staff and sword collided, creating a shower of sparks that made Diana's eyes widen in shock.

That single exchange almost made her lose her grip on her weapon due to the sheer power Thirteen's blow possessed.

Knowing that an opportunity had finally come, the Heirs of the Cygni Faction-Sean, Leon, Heidi, and Natalie, all attacked in four different directions, trapping the teenage boy with their coordinated attack.

The Wanderers who saw this believed that the teenage boy had nowhere to escape.

But as if proving them wrong, the teenage boy somersaulted dozens of meters in the air, completely evading the coordinated attack from the four Wanderers.

He then held the golden staff with both hands and swung downward.

The staff extended right before everyone's eyes, aimed at the members of the Cygni Faction who had missed their target.

"Block!" Kyle shouted as he and the other Wanderers, who didn't really specialize in fighting, raised their shields, creating a dome of steel to block the attack.

But as if they were fallen leaves on the ground that were getting swept away by a broom, all of them were blown away by the impact.

Fortunately, Thirteen had trained them how to roll properly, so they were able to mitigate the damage they could've received from their fall.

They thought that they would be able to block Zion's strike if they all worked together, but his blow was just as strong as a full-powered blow of a Rank 5 Sovereign.

The only saving grace was that they were already familiar with this situation because Thirteen made sure to make them understand their limits.

During their journey toward the Temple of Courage, the Wanderers took turns on getting bashed by Rank 5 Sovereigns on a daily basis.

But due to their formation and Adamantine-Grade Equipment, they didn't die and only received moderate to serious injuries, which could be healed by potions and Shana's healing ability.

Even the non-combatants were forced to do this death-defying act, which boosted their confidence.

There was a saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and this was the method that Thirteen had used to train all the Knights of the Apocalypse under his command.

So when these Wanderers, who received Thirteen's blow, had regained their composure, the muscle memory from the training they received kicked in, allowing them to assess the situation.

"His attack is as strong as a Rank 5 Sovereign," Derek commented. "But that is only true if we are hit by the staff."

"So, that means we can win, right?" Roland asked.

"As long as he doesn't get stronger than this, then yes," Derek replied. "He won't get stronger, right?"

"Don't raise a flag dammit!" Erica roared in anger as she hurled dozens of Flaming Spears toward Zion, giving her comrades time to regroup.

The teenage boy gave the Sorceress in the air a side-long glance before jumping to his right side to avoid the three magical arrows that flew past a few inches from his chest.

Stella unleashed a barrage of arrows in Thirteen's direction, with some of them being homing arrows.

Using this opportunity, all the Wanderers with long-range attacks joined the onslaught, giving the teenage boy no place to hide.

Those who were watching from the stands, couldn't help but cheer their comrades because the battle was making their blood boil inside their bodies.

If only they were only allowed to join the battle, they would have already jumped into the arena and joined the fray.

They watched as a thick white smoke started to spread, as the combination of long range spells, and attacks, descended on one location.

Erica no longer held back and dealt fire damage to a wide area, believing that flaming spears wouldn't be enough to deal damage to the "Fake Zion" who was fighting against them.

After a barrage that lasted for nearly three minutes, everyone finally stopped their attacks to check if their opponent was defeated.

One of the Wanderers, who was holding a fan, created a gust of wind to blow away the smoke that was covering a quarter of the arena.

When the smoke finally receded, a devastated battleground appeared in front of them.

But to their surprise, the teenage boy whom they believed should've been blasted to oblivion, was nowhere to be found.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Sh*t!" Erica, who was flying in the sky, cursed out loud because she finally understood what happened.

At the place where Zion was supposed to be was a hole that was deep enough to hide from the bombardment that they unleashed.

As if confirming her thoughts, something jumped out of the hole, and the teenage boy, whom everyone thought had died, reappeared in front of everyone.

But they also noticed that there was a magical arrow embedded on the teenage boy's shoulder, which he might have received during the first phase of the bombardment.

Still, Zion seemed unperturbed as if the arrow sticking out of his shoulder wasn't a problem.

Stella, who had fired the homing arrow, frowned. She had unleashed a dozen of them, yet only one landed on Zion's body.

Suddenly, a monotonous and almost robotic voice reached everyone's ears.

"Raising fighting prowess from fifty percent to eighty percent," Thirteen said. "Use of First Circle Magic approved. Loading Preset of Level 1 Fire Lord. Loading complete..."

Thirteen then raised his hands and pointed at Erica and the Wanderers in front of him.

A second later, countless Fire Bullets the size of golf balls appeared above Thirteen's head. "Lock on targets," Thirteen said coldly. "Fire Bullet Barrage."

Countless Fire Bullets followed his command and attacked the Sorceress, as well as the Wanderers en masse.

This was Thirteen's counterattack, which made everyone, who was watching from the audience seats, draw a deep breath as a hellish scene appeared right before their eyes.