Chapter 248: Refinement of All Things!
Amid the terrifying energy, dozens of legendary demons managed to use the blood-red energy as a shield, intertwining with one another in layers, effectively weathering this attack—or rather, this series of attacks.
Although the blood-red energy was nearly depleted, the players were now in a weakened state, and their combat power could no longer reach the terrifying heights of their previous onslaught.
It could be said that the demons had won!
Upon witnessing this scene, the Pope of the Blood Cult and the other members couldn't help but smile. They had achieved legendary strength themselves, and naturally, they could see the power dynamics of the battlefield clearly.
The players' strongest wave had been halted!
Thus, they directly commanded the numerous legendary demons to roar and charge forward.
At this moment, Sterl's Bionic Tear finally made its move; he felt the plan had been completed!
There was no need to hold back any longer!
Bionic Tear snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the Silent Domain activated.
An invisible wave of energy surged forth!
The demons, who had been enveloped in blood energy and seemed poised to unleash powerful abilities, suddenly found themselves comically frozen in place.
They exposed themselves to the players.
A few demons interrupted their non-essential abilities, but now they found themselves out of formation, charging recklessly ahead. Sterl casually unleashed a triple-enhancement Star Point Finger, featuring Stardust, Ancient Memory, and Inspire.
He struck the vital points of these demons, just slightly off-target.
They were instantly gravely injured but not in danger of death…
At this moment, the players looked to their previously unremarkable leader, who now wore a look of delight.
It turned out to be him!
The leader could easily annihilate even mid-tier legendary foes; as soon as he made his move, he kept the demons from lifting their heads!
The players were about to deal the finishing blow to the demons.
But Sterl proactively spoke up, "What are you waiting for?"
"Destroy the formation!"
The others were momentarily stunned but quickly realized that now was not the time to slay demons for rewards. If they didn't destroy the formation, everyone would die—no amount of rewards would matter.
However, Sterl's thought process was entirely the opposite of what he said.
Destroy the formation?
The Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array had been established, and it was even an upgraded version of the Blood Sacrifice Array.
How could a group of legendary players break it?
Sterl primarily didn't want these demons to die.
After all, his refinement targets were precisely these demons; each one would become a source of nourishment for him, and he wouldn't want to kill them…
Injuring them was more than enough.
Even Sterl had thought ahead; if a demon was about to be killed by the players, he would activate Moon Law to help it escape.
"No!"
"Stop them!"
The members of the Blood Cult looked panicked.
The Pope let out a piercing scream.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
Countless demons in the city had been searching for residents to throw into the streets.
At this moment, they all raised their heads as if summoned by something, their bodies igniting with blood-red flames, rushing frantically toward the palace.
But distant water cannot quench a nearby fire.
The many members of the Blood Cult stood at a distance from the array, unable to reach it in time.
The players, without hesitation, unleashed their strongest skills in another wave of legendary abilities!
At this point, it was impossible to distinguish which skills the players were using with the naked eye; all that could be seen was a fusion of various energies crashing into the array!
Due to the high-energy reactions, the Blood Cult members attempting to come to the rescue were blasted away and gravely injured.
The flaw of fanatics is that, in moments of crisis, they find it difficult to think rationally; their reckless charge toward danger was utterly meaningless.
The cult members could only watch in despair as the high-energy white light seemed poised to devour everything.
"How can such a person appear?!"
"How can a mid-tier legendary within the Hall of Valor possess such strength??"
They looked at Sterl's Bionic Tear with expressions of rage!
Who would have thought that a single player could turn the tide of battle?
How infuriating!
Seeing the Blood Cult members act this way, the players couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"Did we succeed??"
Someone couldn't help but ask.
Huh??
But the Blood Cult members quickly completed a maneuver.
As the dazzling energy light dissipated, the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array remained unscathed!
Instantly, the expressions of both sides on the battlefield changed!
"Very good, very good! This is the overwhelming Divine Power of our Lord; no one can resist it! You are but mayflies shaking a tree!"
The Pope spoke with arrogance, completely shedding the panic he had shown earlier, as if everything was under control.
At this moment…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by a series of earth-shaking sounds from above and below, as well as along the streets, hundreds of legendary demons rapidly gathered.
They surrounded the players and let out howls toward the sky, the blood-red energy enveloping the area, so dense that it was blinding.
The priest player who had previously unleashed purifying power had no choice but to activate his legendary ability once more.
All the players could only gather around him to barely maintain their mobility; otherwise, they would be immediately controlled by the blood-red energy.
…
As the saying goes, "One strong push leads to success; a second push weakens, and a third leads to failure."
At this moment, although the players had not yet suffered any casualties, their fighting spirit had nearly evaporated.
They felt hopeless, thinking, "We can't win!"
In terms of direct combat power, they struggled to break through the blockade of these legendary demons.
Even after their leader had made a move to create an opportunity, they still couldn't break the array!
If they could at least leave a crack, the players might have wanted to attempt it, but now? Throwing their heads against it?? There was no way to win; they would definitely lose!
"Roar!!"
The demons howled, charging forward with great speed!
They had no time for complicated emotions; they only knew—fight, and enjoy!
Even in such a dire situation, the members of the Hall of Valor still managed to maintain a formation where the front lines absorbed damage while the back lines provided support.
However, this time the players could hardly mount any effective counterattacks.
The front-line players could only rely on their legendary abilities to endure the damage while the back-line players did their best to heal and boost them, allowing them to hold out a little longer.
In one moment, the front-line players were seen either raising shields to block in front of them, donning heavy armor, or transforming into a semi-transparent state, their bodies glowing with energy as it flowed within them—clearly entering a special state.
The massive axes and heavy fists swung by the demons were met by shields, deflected by armor, or struck the illusions as if they were hitting empty air…
Then, from the back line came the thunderous Flame and Frost, crashing forward in a frenzy, catching the demons off guard and sending them flying with direct hits.
Afterward, a faint healing glow surged into the bodies of the players on the field.
Additionally, Sterl's Bionic Tear had inadvertently hindered the players, feeling guilty about letting them face real danger while continuously maintaining the Silent Domain state.
From time to time, a demon would suddenly freeze mid-attack and suffer heavy damage.
If not for the demons having elite templates and considerable health, casualties would have already appeared.
…
The situation had indeed reached a stalemate.
However, the mentalities of the two sides were completely different.
On the Blood Cult side, the members had grown tired of dealing with the players and instead knelt before the array to pray.
"Thank you for all that our Lord has bestowed upon us."
"We will refine the city of Florence Radiance to provide you with the key to mastering the power of light."
"May our Lord's name resonate throughout hell."
"Thanks…"
…
They chanted one after another, as if entering a realm devoid of any presence.
The surrounding players finally reacted upon hearing this.
Since they knew that they were facing opponents who were suspected to have demons among them, many had researched the relevant texts before coming, easily piecing together the truth.
"I understand! This array is meant to help a demon seize the bloodline of the House of Radiance, enabling it to master the Radiance Law!"
"No wonder this cult is so insane; if successful, a demon with Law Power will become incredibly powerful!"
…
Some shouted in terror, but it was meaningless; in a life-and-death situation, who cared if a demon would become strong in the future?
Meanwhile, Sterl among the crowd showed a knowing expression…
From the very beginning, he understood the purpose of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array. It was easy to deduce, and the array's influence was too vast—it had swallowed an entire city.
Therefore, the Archduke of Blood's plot would inevitably be exposed. If Sterl wanted to benefit as a bystander, he had to keep himself well-hidden.
However…
That was a matter for later.
At this moment, Sterl was constantly unleashing Celestial Stars, dealing damage, healing teammates, and providing controlling shields.
The azure Celestial Stars descended from the sky, emitting terrifying shockwaves and intense heat.
For a time, he single-handedly pushed back numerous legendary demons.
However, he had to pause occasionally to regain his energy, resulting in the demons looking battered yet not a single one had died.
The players present naturally caught sight of this.
They had no doubts that Sterl was holding back; rather, they felt even more despairing—if even the strongest leader could only maintain a stalemate, wasn't that a death sentence?
They had already begun to sense the blood-red light points in the sky siphoning away the life force of everything around them, feeling increasingly weakened. With the current stalemate, things would only get worse…
"Go! Follow the leader's movements!"
…
Soon, someone shouted in anger, unwilling to accept the situation and wanting to make a final push.
But Sterl was also very alert; as the players intensified their attacks, he immediately slowed down the frequency of the Celestial Stars.
As a result, a warrior and an assassin player broke from the formation—one wielding dual blades, spinning wildly to create a terrifying whirlwind, while the other transformed into a ghostly shadow, directly tearing apart the space around a nearby demon!