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nBang!

nGrey slammed into the ground heavily. They had been battling with the metal warriors for over two hours now. Since there were five metal warriors, they fought them two against one. Klaus and Alice teamed up, given he was the weakest, while Grey and Reynolds teamed up against one of the warriors.

nThe others also teamed up, for now, they put down their guards against the other since if one of them died, it would spell disaster for the others. They had only been able to barely hang on against the metal warriors, if they were to attack each other, they will all die for sure.

n“These things seem indestructible”

nReynolds used his movement technique to dodge the fist the construct sent towards him.

n“It’s not them being indestructible, it’s just our attacks not being strong enough”

nGrey rolled to the side while still on the ground as the monster stomped towards his head with its right foot.

nHe suddenly had the urge to try using elemental fusion, but given the current space, it might probably affect them all. If he was able to do it, the attack should be strong enough to destroy these things. Only, they might also die in the process.

nFor things made of metal, they were surprisingly very agile. Paired with the wings on their backs, they were difficult to deal with.

nAlthough the group hadn’t been able to cause any major damage, they had been able to at least leave some dents on the body of the metal warriors.

nThey were all starting to get tired since they had been expending energies since the battles started. The metal warriors on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine, except for the dents on their bodies. While the battle was still ongoing, Klaus suddenly realized something, one of the hands of the warrior they were battling seemed slower compared to the other one.

n‘How come that hand seems slower?’

nKlaus asked himself.

nOf the ten people fighting, he was the one who was having a relatively easier time since Alice was able to hold off the warrior. Although just barely, but it was enough for Klaus to think and move more freely. Once he gets an opportunity, he attacks the metal warrior. And whenever he notices the pressure on Alice was getting too much, he would distract the warrior to relieve the pressure.

nTwenty minutes later…

n“Shit! We can’t go on like this”

nReynolds said in frustration, they almost couldn’t hang on anymore. He already had some slight injuries, luckily, the warriors were only using their fists. If they had been equipped with weapons, they would have definitely been in a more difficult situation.

n“That’s it!”

nKlaus suddenly yelled after he sent an attack towards the metal warrior.

n“What?”

nAlice who was once again pushed back by the warrior asked.

nIf not for the speed the lightning element gives, she would have already had multiple injuries. Some of the others were already injured with one being almost dead. The only other person in the Ninth stage of the Arcane Plane had to shoulder the pressure of battling a warrior on his own for the rest of the time, so his partner could assist the youth whose partner was severely injured.

n“The reason one of its hands is slower than the other one”

nKlaus gave a slight chuckle.

nWith this discovery, they would be able to defeat the metal warriors before the time is up. Well, given the way things were going, they might not be able to last that long if they didn’t defeat them.

n“I don’t understand”

nAlice said as she sent out an attack towards the incoming warrior. She couldn’t be blamed for not noticing it, she was already having a tough time keeping herself alive, there was no way she could notice the slightly slower hand.

n“One of… *Sigh* Forget it”

nKlaus wanted to explain, but it would take too much time. He decided to try out his hypothesis.

nWhile Alice was entangling with the warrior, he carefully aimed for the space which was in the shoulder of the warrior. Since it was a construct, there was no way it would be fully covered like humans were. He carefully manipulated the water he created and tried to put it in the space between the shoulder. But he unfortunately, failed that attempt.

nIt was expected though, given the fact that the construct was moving.

n“Try to keep it still”

nKlaus said to Alice.

n“It’s not going to be easy”

nAlice replied.

n“I know, just try. Even if it’s for two seconds”

nKlaus urged.

n“Okay”

nAlice continued battling with the construct.

nShe was able to keep it still sometimes, but Klaus wasn’t able to hit it.

n“Klaus whatever you want to do, do it fast”

nAlice yelled.

nNow she was facing more pressure since she had to face the construct alone.

nTwo minutes later…

n“Success”

nKlaus said in glee.

nHe was able to finally get some water into the space in between the shoulder of the construct. When the water entered the space, he froze it.

nThe right hand of the construct suddenly stopped moving. Since one of its hands was incapacitated, the pressure reduced greatly.

n“So that’s it”

nAlice was quite impressed with Klaus’s quick thinking.

nThey were able also to immobilize the second hand shortly.

n“Yes”

nKlaus and Alice said simultaneously.

nThe shout from them drew the attention of the others. Well, the ones who could afford to be distracted, that is.

n“Good job buddy. Now try to get that done and get your ass over here”

nGrey yelled in excitement when he saw the construct Klaus and Alice were battling was unable to move either of its hands.

nKlaus told the other two Water Elementalist in the group. On hearing the way to defeat the constructs, they all quickly put it to use.

nThirty minutes later…

nBoom!

nThe last construct fell on the ground, immobile. The group all sighed in relief. Although they were unable to destroy the constructs, they were able to immobilize them. At least now they could take a rest. They were still trapped in the place though since the time wasn’t over yet.

nThey all took the time left to recover their essence.

n……

nOne hour later…

nA door suddenly opened up at the other side of the hall.

nThey all looked at the door which opened up. It was the only door they could pass since the one they used in entering the place was still shut. They didn’t go in immediately though. It was only after another hour did they all stand up and walked towards the door.

nThe youth who was injured was carried along by his friends he came with since he couldn’t be left in the hall.

nAfter passing through the door, they entered a room. Inside the room, three boxes were lying on the floor by the side, there was a bed, and also a door which led outside the room.

nThey all stared at each other with cautious eyes. They knew the rewards for passing the hall were likely to be in those boxes.

nGrey looked at the others before dashing towards one of the boxes. He wasn’t the only one who made a move, the others all made a move as well.

nNow the group who fought as a team moments ago were against each other.

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