Chapter 278: 【Heavenly Curtain Mechanism (Divine)】
Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by a series of rumbling sounds, all the demigods felt a sense of earth-shaking tremors. Of course, the legendary players had no time to notice the shaking ground.
They just wanted to quickly escape the range of Endless Purgatory.
The legendary players soon resorted to their own abilities, frantically using various speed-enhancing skills to flee. However, even though these players managed to escape the confines of Endless Purgatory, they were being coldly observed by a gaze that seemed to look upon the dead.
The owner of that gaze was none other than Sterl. Shortly after the legendary players left Rosalie's domain, the demigods escorting them also departed.
The legendary players found themselves ensnared by a strange blood-red power, plunging them into a weakened state as the energy within their bodies was swiftly drained away!
Having already been siphoned by Endless Purgatory, they simply could not withstand another draining. Almost everyone collapsed to their knees.
"What's going on?!"
"The mechanism of Heavenly Curtain Canyon also drains life force."
"It's over; we're going to die here."
...
The legendary players were in a daze, not even knowing who their true enemy was, as they slipped away into the afterlife.
The four sub-arrays of Sterl's improved Blood Sacrifice Array didn't have any flashy effects; they were merely small energy extractors, equipped with a weak refining effect, essentially a weakened version of the complete array.
This weakened version was more than sufficient to deal with some legendary players.
Before long, these individuals were completely drained, becoming mere nutrients for the operation of the array…
Sterl wasn't holding a grudge against those legendary players for cheering him on when he had saved their lives earlier, nor did he feel it necessary to take revenge. They were loyal to their leader, and that was both reasonable and understandable.
However, once he chose to set up the Blood Sacrifice Array, Sterl decided not to leave any survivors.
Unlike before in the Principality of Florence, where he could easily disguise himself and escape, this time, if the second array were to be exposed, everyone would realize that Solomon was most likely connected to the Hall of Valor!
Individual pieces of information are isolated, difficult to trace. But two pieces of information could reveal commonalities, and if three or four more were added, Sterl would be at risk of exposure.
He would never allow such a flaw to occur.
At this moment, having easily silenced the legendary players, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
On the other side, the demigods were stationed in their location, with their avatars monitoring the area to prevent anyone from escaping.
Bionic Tear had just died once and needed some time to recover before being resurrected. Sterl monitored with his avatar, but due to its lower attribute values, the risk of exposure was still relatively high. Fortunately, everything was going smoothly.
The avatar had been drained by Endless Purgatory, but it had gathered information that the demigods were reluctant to leave. At this moment, Sterl could only utilize one identity. He took a deep breath, quickly flashed several times, and headed toward the location of the demigods, stopping just outside the range of Endless Purgatory to observe the situation.
Sterl opened his panel—
[Congratulations! You have met all the requirements for the third class.]
[① Kill one hundred level 100 units (completed).]
[② Collect Star Radiance (completed).]
[③ Obtain any golden skill (acquired).]
[④ Provide 100 purple coins (submitted).]
[Do you wish to start the third class? Yes/No]
"No."
Sterl shook his head. The upgrade of his radiant-level profession would attract too much attention and would take quite a bit of time. The third class could only be postponed.
...
On the other side, at the location of the sixth boss, only the demigods remained. The countless dark purple threads of Endless Purgatory filled the area like a deadly spiderweb, giving off an unsettling feeling. The core, Rosalie, sat like a black widow, waiting for her prey to approach. The other demigods waited in silence for the change.
"Is it coming?"
"It's coming!"
Excitement rose in everyone's eyes, barely contained. Just as expected, in the next moment, four towering blood-red pillars rose from the distant corners.
"Blood-red pillars?"
"And the aura of Blood Law… even Divine Power??"
"Could this be the hidden secret of Heavenly Curtain Canyon?"
The demigods analyzed, their excitement growing. Although they sensed Divine Power, it was only a trace and not enough to support the appearance of a divine-level unit. However, the mere existence of Divine Power indicated the creation of an exceptionally powerful entity.
In other words…
This time, the final boss of Heavenly Curtain Canyon was strong enough to yield substantial rewards while not being so powerful that the demigods would be entirely unable to resist. This was the best possible outcome.
Thus, faced with the gradually forming pillars of light, none of them harbored the idea of rushing to the source to destroy it. This allowed Sterl, who was observing from the periphery and feeling quite anxious, to gradually relax.
Inside his small world, the sixth special Heavenly Curtain core was rampaging but could not break free.
Indeed, this was another one of his plans. It wasn't complicated, but the likelihood of it being effective was quite high.
Sterl swiftly killed the sixth boss with a single strike, naturally employing the method of severing the connection between the Heavenly Curtain core and the boss. He then intercepted the Heavenly Curtain core, storing it in his small world, making it impossible for it to break free and escape.
Meanwhile, the other demigods believed that the Heavenly Curtain Canyon was undergoing the mechanism to spawn the seventh boss. In reality, it was Sterl's Blood Sacrifice Array that was in operation. This ensured that the demigods would obediently wait in place, allowing the array to fully form.
Once the array was complete, Sterl would release the Heavenly Curtain core and initiate the true map mechanism.
Of course, this rough plan had its pain points. For instance, what if a demigod suddenly decided to try to interfere with the mechanism of Heavenly Curtain Canyon? Or what if there was a powerful Array Master among the demigods present who could discern some clues?
However, historically speaking, the more intricate and complex a plan is, the easier it is to fail. Conversely, a simple and straightforward plan that involves taking a gamble is often more likely to succeed.
In fact, Sterl's gamble paid off! The demigods remained obediently patient. They had come specifically for the final boss of the Heavenly Curtain Canyon and would not dare to interrupt the process of its appearance.
As time ticked away, the four towering light pillars successfully converged, gradually forming a semi-circular bowl-shaped barrier that covered the entire sky and nearly enveloped the entire Heavenly Curtain Canyon.
At that moment... Sterl, hidden from view, released the sixth Heavenly Curtain core.
The demigods initially wore puzzled expressions. "Why does it feel like the blood force is growing stronger, yet the boss hasn't appeared?"
"I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Wait! The BOSS is coming!"
Their confusion coincided perfectly with the reappearance of the six orange-yellow Heavenly Curtain cores in the sky, which then slowly shattered and disassembled into fragments.
These fragments were reassembled, and during this process, a faint yet powerful energy from the six cores rapidly intertwined with the final threads of energy, forming a shape reminiscent of a ball of yarn.
It was this ball of yarn that, amidst its constant surging, gradually emanated an aura that instilled deep terror.
From legendary peak to demigod, then to supreme being, and finally to pseudo-deity, the result was...
[Heavenly Curtain Mechanism (Divine)]
A term inexplicably surfaced in everyone's minds.
In an incredibly short amount of time, a divine-level unit was born.
"This… how is this possible!"
"A divine level!"
While the slower-reacting demigods were still in disbelief, the clever ones had already fled. Even the previously arrogant Rosalie didn't hesitate—she simply bolted!
The demigods were not oblivious to the fact that the aura of the [Heavenly Curtain Mechanism (Divine)] was powerful yet incredibly fragile.
They were quite certain that this divine-level unit wouldn't last long, but the problem was that before the [Heavenly Curtain Mechanism] collapsed, it would pose a threat to the demigods—like a child facing an adult. If they didn't leave now, wouldn't they just be paving the way for others?
At this moment, the [Heavenly Curtain Mechanism] had completed its assembly. Its core consisted of the six reassembled Heavenly Curtain cores, but there was no longer any Divine Power enhancement; they purely served as components.
The [Heavenly Curtain Mechanism] manifested as a massive mechanical giant seemingly connected by magnetic forces, with each part—head, torso, and limbs—controlled by one of the Heavenly Curtain cores.
"ROAR!!!"
This divine-level unit appeared to lack intelligence, but its mere roar caused countless demigods to vomit blood and collapse to the ground. Only Rosalie, in a slightly better state, was able to draw on the life force of others through Endless Purgatory to maintain her condition.
However, she was also severely shaken, suffering from a myriad of debuffs including dizziness, slow movement, and silence.
This was the essence of a god!
Below the divine level, whether they were supreme beings or pseudo-deities, or even ordinary people who weren't even professionals, they were all mere ants!
Despite the severe injuries from just one roar, not a single demigod opted to forcibly escape at the cost of their life. They keenly sensed that the [Heavenly Curtain Mechanism] had already weakened significantly after its initial roar.
No one dared to flee at that moment.
Except for one person, who frowned.
"Why is everyone running toward me?"
Sterl felt a bit speechless. As he watched the halo of Endless Purgatory about to envelop him, he also felt a headache coming on. He calculated the time: "It's fine, I can move now."
He casually gestured a few incantations, and instantly, the Blood Sacrifice Array of the blood-red Heavenly Curtain began to operate wildly.
Sterl couldn't activate the array in advance because he was unsure of the "type" of the fused six cores. Previously, Sterl had altered the sacrifice of the God-Eating Blood Sacrifice Array from the life of the main world to demons, allowing him to absorb the Archduke of Blood.
This was because there were already a significant number of demons in the city, and the array had been prepared in advance for this type of absorption.
In Heavenly Curtain Canyon, he could only wait for the final boss to appear before taking action.