Divine Colossus (2-in-1)

What Bai Xiaowen didn't know was that Richard had paid a hefty price for this special item, the "Royal Document." He personally funded the Imperial reinforcements with gold and silver from the Spirit Realm and volunteered to go to the battlefield, which won him the favor of the old Emperor Tiberon III.

Furthermore, the application scope of Royal Document is very narrow; they must be "ownerless" items! Generally speaking, spiritual items have owners, and ownerless items are only some treasures buried deep underground and unknown to anyone. Even the native inhabitants of the Spirit Realm may not be able to find these treasures, let alone awakened individuals who only stay for ten days or half a month.

The Holy Casket containing the hand bone of the Death God Naraku, was originally unclaimed; using the Royal Document on it would be an absolute bargain.

In conclusion, even with his special status as a prince, Richard cannot do whatever he wants. The Spirit Realm Rules always follow the principle of equivalent exchange; awakened beings must pay the corresponding effort and cost if they want to reap good rewards.

Richard's status as a prince served as a stepping stone, giving Richard an opportunity to get close to the old Emperor Tiberon III and exchange military funds for Royal Document. Other awakened individuals of lower status might not even have been able to find a way to offer such funds.

Richard began using the Royal Document, their light shimmering.

The cloaked man Holy Word, raising his hand to release a dazzling holy shield that protected Richard.

[Divine Protection: Grants a Divine Shield to a friendly target, absorbing damage equal to 3 times the caster's Spirit.]

The samurai swordsman "Demon Cutter" vanished from sight as a phantom. Although he disappeared, everyone knew he was near the altar, ready to deliver Deadly Strike to any enemy charging at him, like a venomous snake Incarnation in the shadows.

Melda gasped, "We absolutely cannot let him acquire ownership of the Holy Casket! Stop him!"

Sanya agreed and stepped forward. Not far away, Grand Lord Galandis, under the watchful eyes of the others, had no choice but to begin chanting a spell and attack Richard.

Richard harbored a deep resentment; that Awakened One using the alias "Dio" was utterly despicable. In their recent exchange, "Dio" had not only explained the situation, giving the Spirit Realm Boss Tier a clear objective, but had also bound Glandis's side to Dean Melda's cause.

If it weren't for the interference of the other party, Richard might have already successfully obtained the Holy Casket and could have used Glandis's side to eliminate those in the know. In that case, he could continue to use his identity Richard to seek benefits in the Northern Frontier during his remaining stay.

Bai Xiaowen, Stealth in the shadows, chuckled to himself. His conversation with Richard was actually meant for the Boss Tier of the Spirit Realm Spirit Realm. Otherwise, the Boss Tier, who didn't know enough about the Awakened, wouldn't be able to outsmart Richard.

"We also need to be prepared to take action. These Spirit Realm Boss Tier might not be able to defeat Richard and his group," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Why... there are so many Boss Tier in the Spirit Realm, and they are all Advanced Boss, that Sword Saint is even level 8..." Li Shuyi said.

"Glandis's actions now are merely a pretense to distance herself from the fake prince; she's not going to fight to the death. Look at that Sword Saint Carlisle, he's been guarding Glandis the whole time. What a joke it is that a melee fighter isn't rushing in to attack; he's just slacking off. With only the injured Melda and the rough-looking Sanya, it'll be difficult to take down Richard and his Richard."

Bai Xiaowen analyzed the situation for a while, then squinted and said, "Moreover, I always felt that Richard's trio was extremely strong. That Killing Shot just now was truly terrifying."

As Bai Xiaowen had predicted, Glandis only managed to distract the Awakened One's Holy Word, who even had the energy to wave his wand at Melda and cast basic spells to hinder her actions.

Tap tap tap...

The rough-looking old lady Sanya, charged forward, her target Richard.

Richard needed to maintain the progress of the Royal Document and was clearly powerless to dodge or retaliate.

Suddenly, a venomous blade flashed past.

The rough-looking old woman Sanya, had her thick arm severed at the elbow, and blood was flowing freely!

"Iaijutsu!"

Not far away, Demon Cutter appeared, slowly sheathing his spotless katana. Without even glancing at the rough-looking old woman, Sanya, he said calmly:

"I have studied Iaijutsu for over fifteen years. As a child, I defeated adult samurai with a wooden sword! After becoming an Awakened One, I was fortunate enough to learn the Rinki Meishin Musō-ryū swordsmanship from Master Tamiya. I fought in hundreds of battles, large and small, slaying thousands of enemies, and finally grasped its essence. I killed my master on Mount Fuji to prove my Dao. Since then, my Awakening Skill has Iaijutsu perfected. Whether it is Hero Class Awakened One or Spirit Realm Boss Tier, none can escape my Blade!"

[Pretentiousness is like the wind, always with me. This was a masterful display of arrogance; I concede defeat!]

There were too many flaws in what Demon Cutter said, Bai Xiaowen didn't know where to begin. He could only offer an eight-character mantra as a form of evaluation, acknowledging Demon Cutter's excellence.

However, Demon Cutter's Iaijutsu is indeed incredibly powerful. Sanya, Boss Tier specializing in strength and possessing a high physique, was crippled by a single blow, losing an arm and suffering Severe Bleeding.

Bai Xiaowen discovered that both Demon Cutter's Iaijutsu Slash and Richard's "Killing Shot" used to ambush Dean Melda had one thing in common...

Its power is unbelievable!

"What Demon Cutter said just now might not have been just bragging. He mentioned the words ' Awakening Skill,' could that also be related to his Star Alliance background? In any case, we can't sit idly by any longer."

Demon Cutter's stealthy Iaijutsu Slash severely injured Sanya; if they continued to stand by, Richard's trio would succeed.

However, just as Bai Xiaowen was about to make his move, a rumbling Earthquake sounded, and even the dome shook, with sand and gravel of varying sizes falling down.

All the Boss Tier, including the Awakened, looked around in astonishment. If Earthquake were to occur here, it would truly be a disaster.

"It's not Earthquake! It's a statue!"

Sword Saint Carlisle said in a deep voice, "Lady Glandis, be careful!" He waved his right hand, and a flash of sword light burst forth, splitting a rock that had landed on Glandis's head in two.

The seven colossal statues surrounding the altar had come to life! The eyes of all seven statues gleamed with white light, as if sleeping giants had opened their eyes.

A emotionless voice echoed in the underground space.

"A risk factor has been detected."

"Defense mechanism activated."

"Initiate the purification process; eliminate all living organisms."

After just three sentences, the seven statues had fully "awakened." Although their hoods were still on, they all raised their greatswords! Behind each statue, blazing white flames surged forth, forming wings like fluttering ribbons.

"What... what's going on?" Richard and his trio were also dumbfounded. Clearly, this situation was beyond their intelligence.

Bai Xiaowen then used his Insight on one of the statues.

The Spirit Realm Rules indicated. "Insight failed."

Immediately following, another message arrived. "Unknown factors are interfering, Data Disorder... You can spend 1500 Psionic Points to obtain the target object's data. Yes/No?"

Bai Xiaowen pressed down on the throbbing in her left eye and selected "agree".

[Divine Colossus: A statue infused with a trace of Divinity, possessing incredible power. Strength 100, Agility 30, Constitution 300, Spirit???; Unique Skill: Sluggishness Aura.]

"My God... what kind of monster is this? With 300 resistance to both physical and magical damage, who can even scratch it? And it has 3,000 Life Value!" Li Shuyi exclaimed in the Team Channel.

"Their survivability surpasses that of a lord, meaning these seven statues are virtually unkillable by awakened beings. However, their offensive capabilities aren't as monstrous. While their strength is extremely high, their agility is low, and they only possess one skill, making them inferior to a typical strength-based Boss Tier. Furthermore, the sheer size of these statues means that the energy consumption per second of movement is astonishing. I suspect this battle is a stalling tactic; surviving the statues' attacks for a certain period will lead to victory," Bai Xiaowen said.

The instant the Eye of Evolution consumed 1500 Psionic Points, Bai Xiaowen seemed to see seven invisible threads, one end of which connected to the heart of the colossus, and the other end to the Holy Casket in Richard's hand.

And the seven seals on the Holy Casket began to burn.

The Awakened One shouted, "Richard Holy Word, we can't fight these guys head-on! The seal is their power source; once the seal's power is exhausted, they'll stop on their own!"

Boom!

A giant sword from a statue came crashing down, or rather, smashing towards Richard, who was holding the Holy Casket.

"Damn it..."

Richard cursed. Facing a Divine Colossus with 100 points of strength, he dared not gamble that his head was as hard as a stone greatsword. He could only retrieve the Royal Document, interrupt the process of forcibly taking possession of the Holy Casket, and rush away to avoid it.

With a thunderous boom, the giant sword Knockdown heavily onto the altar. However, the altar seemed to be a single entity, distributing the force of the blow evenly across its entire surface.

Dust billowed everywhere, and the enormous altar was shaken so badly that it sank several inches, demonstrating the terrifying power of the attack.

After the Divine Colossus missed its target, a thunderous sound rang out, "Holy... Freeze."

With a boom, a pale blue halo suddenly extended from beneath the giant statue's feet. Instantly, a chilling aura spread out, filling the entire underground space.

[Holy Frost Aura: A unique skill of the Divine Colossus, reducing the movement speed and attack speed of all enemies within a large area by 5%. This effect can stack, up to a maximum of 10 layers. When the Holy Freeze stacks reach 10, the target will be Deep Freeze for 3 seconds. Deep Freeze will clear all Holy Freeze stacks.]

"Such a powerful aura!" Bai Xiaowen was astonished after receiving the notification from the Spirit Realm Rules. However, he breathed a sigh of relief, because he and Li Shuyi were still invisible, and if they carefully dodged, they wouldn't become the primary target of the Divine Colossus's attack.

Furthermore, the activation of the Holy Frost Aura increased the energy consumption of the Divine Colossus. Through the Eye of Evolution, Bai Xiaowen clearly saw that the Sealing Incantation connected to the Divine Colossus was burning at about twice the speed of the other six Sealing Incantation, and it might burn out completely within a few minutes.

Watching Richard's trio tumbling and struggling under the onslaught of the seven Divine Colossus, Bai Xiaowen felt a surge of satisfaction. The Holy Freeze stacked every 3 seconds, quickly reaching 5 layers. With their movement speed reduced by 25%, Richard's trio was finding it increasingly difficult to dodge the Divine Colossus's attacks.

"Mass Dispel!" When the number of frozen layers reached 9, the Awakened Holy Word raised his wand, the tip of which flashed with holy light, and a circle of light quickly spread out.

The Holy Freeze effect on Richard's trio was cleared, and because Awakener Holy Word had already leveled this skill to a high level, the three of them also had a beneficial buff that made them immune to slowing effects for the next 5 seconds.

However, this spell skill of the Holy Word also triggered a counterattack from the Divine Colossus.

From the heart of the other Divine Colossus came a thunderous voice. "Sluggishness."

A purple halo unfolded at the feet of the Divine Colossus.

[Sluggishness Aura: A unique skill of the Divine Colossus, reducing the spellcasting ability of all enemies within a large area, increasing casting time by 300%, increasing Divine Might by 100%, and extending cooldown by 100%.]

A bitter feeling welled up in the heart of the Awakened Holy Word. This Sluggishness Aura was practically the bane of spellcasters; he was almost crippled.

"Then!"

Richard starting to struggle under the combined assault of several Divine Statue. As a power-type awakened being, he excelled at head-on combat, but dodging wasn't his strong suit. After letting out a cry, Richard tossed the Sealed Holy Coffer to Demon Cutter beside him.

Demon Cutter caught the Sealed Holy Coffer, twisted his body and turned into a black shadow, disappearing from everyone's sight.

Using invisibility to delay the Divine Colossus is indeed a good idea.

However, yet another Divine Colossus unleashed its power. "Truth."

[Truth Aura: A unique skill of the Divine Colossus, revealing all invisible enemies within a large area, destroying all illusions, and applying Truth Mark to all enemies. While the Truth Mark is active, the target enemy cannot become invisible, create clones, or disguise themselves.]

A colorless halo bloomed beneath his feet, accompanied by a series of popping sounds.

Demon Cutter, who had just entered stealth mode, was immediately "illuminated" by the Truth Aura. He was holding the Holy Casket, looking completely bewildered.

"Hahaha hiccup..."

Bai Xiaowen laughed for 0.1 seconds before quickly realizing what was happening and yelling, "Oh no!" The effect of the Truth Aura spread extremely fast, revealing the invisibility effect of the Night Raven Feather on him and Li Shuyi, and even showing a phantom eye mark above their heads...

But that wasn't all. The fourth Divine Colossus boomed, "Despair!"

Well, the Despair Aura... Bai Xiaowen had already experienced it before. Its effect was similar to Yin-Energy Envelopment, reducing the natural regeneration rate of Life Value and Divine Might to zero, and making it impossible to restore Life Value and Divine Might through potions, food, or skills. Fortunately, this Despair Aura didn't have the immobilization effect that he had encountered before at the Dead Spirit Lake.

"This is... the true difficulty of the SS-Tier Scavenger mission, it's absolutely insane!"