Final Life Online-Chapter 239: Sun Island IX

Lyra shouted back,

"BECAUSE WE’RE IN A HIGH-LEVEL REGION NOW!"

Caria was already charging straight at the Warden.

Rhys yelled,

"WAIT—DON’T GO ALONE—"

Too late.

Caria leaped and swung her axe at its knee.

The blade hit the stone armor...

TANG!

...and bounced off like she’d struck a mountain.

Caria blinked.

"...Huh."

The Warden casually backhanded her.

Caria flew across the platform, screaming,

"RHYYYSSSS—!"

Rhys dashed forward and caught her before she skidded off the edge.

Caria groaned,

"Okay... maybe don’t let me do that again."

Aria sent a strong wind barrier to push the Warden back for a moment.

"Everyone spread out! This thing controls the whole field—we need to break that!"

Sophia nodded and raised her staff.

"I’ll try weakening its mana pressure."

She cast a spell—freezing air swirled around her, lowering the surrounding density.

The platform felt slightly less crushing.

Puddle floated higher, trembling but determined.

"Puddle help too!"

She fired Shadow Tendrils and Light Bullets, trying to disrupt the wind around the Warden.

This time, the Warden reacted.

It turned toward Puddle.

Its eyes glowed brighter.

Rhys froze.

"Puddle—back!!"

The Warden opened its chest like a hollow armor—

and a swirling vortex began forming inside.

Aria’s eyes widened.

"It’s pulling her in!"

Puddle screamed,

"PUDDLE NO WANT TO GET SUCKED—!!"

Rhys sprinted, activating Mana Shield and Swift Cut.

He grabbed Puddle out of the air just as the pull intensified.

The vortex exploded outward—

WHOOM!

Everyone was thrown off their feet again.

Sophia coughed,

"It can create air implosions... that’s dangerous."

Lyra regained her stance.

"No weak points so far. We need to force one."

Aria nodded.

"Look at the back of its legs. The armor there is thinner."

Caria wiped some dust from her face.

"Then we break its legs first."

Rhys took a deep breath.

"Alright. We go with a coordinated attack.

Aria, push the wind from behind it.

Sophia, freeze its joints.

Puddle, slow it with Dark Mist.

Lyra, Caria—go for the legs.

I’ll hit the other side with Water Blade."

Everyone moved at once.

Aria’s wind forced the Warden to lean forward.

Sophia cast freezing ice at its joints—making the stone crack.

Puddle released a cloud of dark magic that blurred its movements.

Lyra sprinted in and slashed with enhanced speed.

Caria followed, planting her feet and hitting the same spot with all her strength.

The stone cracked—

Rhys appeared on the opposite side and brought Water Blade down hard.

CRRRRAAACK!

The Warden buckled.

Aqua screamed excitedly,

"It’s working!! Break its legs!!"

The Warden roared—wind blasting outward to defend itself.

Aria countered with a wind barrier.

Sophia froze the arms to slow them.

Puddle fired another round of light bullets.

Lyra and Caria hit the weak spot again—

KRSHHH!

The entire leg shattered.

The Warden fell to one knee.

Rhys shouted:

"NOW! GO FOR THE HEAD!"

Everyone charged.

The Warden tried to rise, but its leg gave way.

It lifted its arm—

—and Aqua suddenly threw a water blast into its face.

Aqua yelled,

"I WANT THIS TO BE OVER—GO DOWN ALREADY!!"

The water hit its eye-slots, blurring the glow.

Rhys jumped high.

Lyra and Caria followed.

Aria boosted them with wind.

Sophia fired a beam of ice straight into its chest.

Puddle released every spell she had—

Light Bullets

Shadow Tendrils

Abyssal Grasp

Water Jet

The team’s attacks all hit at the same time.

BAAAAAAAAAAM!!

The Skybound Warden’s head cracked—

glowed brightly—

and then exploded into blue mist.

Its body collapsed to one side.

A system message appeared:

[ Entrance Gauntlet – Stage 1 Cleared ]

[ Next Trial Unlocking... ]

[ Preparing Stage 2: SKY TURRET SWARM ]

Aqua went pale.

Lyra groaned.

"No rest?"

Caria sighed.

"Bring it."

Puddle flopped onto Rhys’s shoulder.

"Why... sky so mean...?"

Aria pointed up.

Mechanical floating turrets were materializing all around them—

dozens... no, hundreds.

Sophia inhaled sharply.

"...Everyone. Get ready."

Rhys raised his sword again.

Rhys lifted his sword, trying not to show how tired he already felt.

Above them, the air shimmered as more and more floating turrets appeared—each one glowing with a bright blue core.

Lyra stared.

"...There are way too many."

Aria narrowed her eyes.

"They’re spreading out. They want to surround us."

Caria cracked her neck.

"Good. Let them try."

Sophia raised her staff again, though her hands were shaking.

"These things look like ranged attackers. We need to move fast or we’ll be full of holes."

Puddle peeked from behind Rhys’s shoulder, horrified.

"Rhys... sky is spawning scary toasters..."

A loud click echoed across the platform.

All the turrets turned toward them at the same time.

Rhys swallowed.

"Everyone—move!"

A second later—

BZAAAAAAP!

BZAAAAAAP!

BZAAAAAAP!

Hundreds of light beams fired down like rain.

Aria reacted first, slamming her hands forward.

"WIND WALL!"

A huge gust shielded them, deflecting several beams—but not all.

Caria grabbed Rhys and dove aside.

Lyra rolled behind a broken stone pillar.

Sophia pulled Puddle into her arms and teleported a short distance back.

Beams scorched the floor everywhere.

Rhys got back on his feet.

"We can’t let them fire like that again!"

A turret fired a focused blast at him—Rhys blocked with Mana Shield.

The impact still pushed him several steps back.

Sophia shouted,

"These things have low durability—but you need to hit them!"

Aria nodded.

"Then we break as many as we can before they shoot again! Lyra—boost!"

Lyra activated her speed skill and vanished in a blur.

She leaped upward, cutting a turret clean in half.

It exploded into dust.

Caria roared,

"My turn!!"

She jumped and threw her axe like a spinning wheel.

It tore through three turrets in a row.

Aria sent sharp bursts of wind, slicing through four more.

Sophia fired ice beams to freeze groups of turrets in place.

Puddle flew up shakily.

"P-Puddle shoot too!!"

She unleashed Light Bullets, popping several turrets like balloons.

But more kept appearing.

Rhys dashed forward, activating Whirlwind Slash.

A spinning wave of cutting mana ripped through a cluster of them.

For a moment, they were winning.

But then—the turrets changed.

Their cores glowed red.

Sophia’s eyes widened.

"Everyone DOWN! They’re charging a full-power volley!"

All turrets aimed again—

Puddle squeaked,

"OH NO NO NO—!!"

Rhys grabbed her and ran.

"GET BEHIND COVER!"