A light sound rang out as Richard replaced the drum magazine of the Magic Gun he was holding, he looked towards the distant giant turtle and aimed at its weak spots.
The giant turtle roared, turned around, and charged at high speed again. Richard did not hesitate to pull the trigger, aiming at the limbs of the giant turtle.
In the blink of an eye, several minutes had passed.
Richard and the giant turtle had fought for more than ten rounds and had come to a standoff.
At this point, the limbs of the giant turtle were bleeding, injured by Richard’s Magic Gun. However, the injuries were superficial and not serious; rather, they had incited the ferocity of the beast. The giant turtle looked exceedingly fierce now, its eyes turning blood red, as if flames were burning within.
Richard looked on with a somewhat serious expression. During their recent clash, the giant turtle had displayed even more magical capabilities, growing increasingly powerful. If this dragged on, there really was no telling how long it would take to resolve.
Several members of Teddy’s team were still waiting on the ground; they had to find a fast way to end this.
After a moment of standoff, the giant turtle lost patience. It stamped its limbs on the ground and charged at Richard, biting down. Every time its limbs hit the ground, the earth shattered a bit, its momentum terrifying, clearly using some special Earth Magic capabilities.
Richard narrowed his eyes. This time, he chose not to dodge; instead, he took the initiative to meet the charge.
The giant turtle immediately opened its mouth wide, ready to swallow Richard whole. Richard flipped his hand, and a hand cannon belonging to Pandora appeared in his hand. Taking advantage of the open mouth before it shut, he shoved the hand cannon into the giant turtle’s mouth, deep into its throat, then pulled the trigger.
The heavy cannonball shot out, travelled down the giant turtle’s throat, and exploded violently inside its body.
The giant turtle’s eyes suddenly widened in agony, and it made a pitiful sound; then, its entire head fell off.
Along with it, the giant turtle’s limbs and tail also fell off. The body within the turtle shell had been blown into pieces, mixing with the viscous blood flowing out through the cracks in the shell, forming a bizarre little stream.
Richard pulled Pandora’s hand cannon out of the giant turtle’s mouth, wiped it casually, and returned it to the Space Iron Ring. He glanced at the giant turtle’s corpse, sighed lightly, and turned to walk towards the distant dark gate.
After two steps, he stopped, then slowly walked back.
Standing beside the giant turtle’s body, he closely inspected the remaining shell. After some thought, he opened the Space Handbag and put the shell inside.
Considering the battle, the defensive capabilities of the giant turtle’s shell were evidently remarkable. Even the bullets from the Magic Gun could be defended against head-on; theoretically, it could withstand physical attacks from top-tier Second Circle Magic and even Third Circle Magic without any problem.
With limited time now, he couldn’t do much; later, when he had time, he could completely try slicing the shell, making a few small shields to use. Or he could study the material of the shell thoroughly to see if he could manufacture a superior Non-Newtonian Fluid to improve the fourth form of the shield.
With these thoughts firmly in mind, Richard took a deep breath and finally stepped towards the distant gate.
His footsteps sounded, drawing ever closer to the gate; only when he neared did he truly sense its extraordinariness.
The gate was nearly ten meters high and over twelve meters wide, imposing as if it were the entrance to a giant’s palace. Standing before it, one couldn’t help but feel the insignificance of humankind. Richard tried, using the Eye of Gaze but was unable to see what lay behind the gate. Pressing his lips together, he reached out his hand, ready to push the gate open.
The moment his hand touched the great door, it buzzed loudly and began trembling, followed by Richard hearing a loud "bang" from behind.
Turning his head to look, the corridor he had come through was sealed shut by a stone gate that had suddenly dropped. Although it could definitely be opened by some means and there was no need to worry, Richard’s heart still skipped a beat. No matter how it looked, the situation did not seem favorable.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the black door trembled even more violently, almost to the point of shattering. Richard was planning to move away from the stone door and proceed with caution when an extremely terrifying and powerful aura suddenly emanated from within the stone gate.
The presence was like a mountain, was like the sea, a presence that spontaneously generated fear, much like a small animal encountering its natural predator.
Despite Richard’s usual control over his emotions, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat again.
Richard clearly sensed that alongside the powerful aura, a will descended and enveloped the entire hall, as if it could destroy everything at any moment. Then, that will quickly swept over his body.
Could this be...identity verification?
Just as Richard thought of this possibility, he noticed that after the will swept over him, the aura emanating from behind the door changed. If previously it was merely powerful, powerful enough to induce fear, now it was powerful and angry, almost irresistible, making one want to prostrate in supplication.
The angry, hoarse, authoritative, and ancient voice came from behind the door, appearing to vent its emotions, "Who is it! Who exactly is it!"
"Which ignorant fool has intruded into my resting place?"
"Is it that despicable thief, trying to steal the great Black Spirit King’s treasure?"
"Do you know what resides here? Here lies power enough to kill you a thousand times, ten thousand times!"
"You are not my descendant, yet you dare come here, not worthy of inheriting my treasure, yet you dare harbor greed? Damned intruder, die! Let my anger destroy you!"
The entire hall trembled violently, and Richard could clearly feel the terrifying energy gathering from all directions, ready to erupt at any moment.
Richard’s hand clenched tighter, already prepared to resist with all his strength, either to retreat or to forcefully bust through the great door in front of him and break in.
At that moment, there was a warmth in his chest.
Richard paused, then felt a rush of hot energy surge out of his chest, spreading rapidly around him. Wherever it reached, the gathered energy quickly dissipated, and the powerful and angry presence swiftly calmed down.
The black door trembled even more intensely, as if thrown into some disarray.
The previous voice rose again, this time with a hint of confusion, "You...what is this? You are not my descendant, but you possess the credentials to inherit my treasure, why is that? Could it be that my descendants have been annihilated? Then..."
The voice quickly faded, "Well, well, if they did it, it’s possible. Since that’s the case, then stranger, come in. Take a good look at what I’ve left for you, I hope you can fulfill my last wish."
After the last word, the voice vanished, and the trembling of the black door also subsided.
"Click, click, click..."
The great door slowly opened, revealing everything inside.
Richard looked, blinking several times, his hand slowly reaching inside his clothes, to his chest, where he took out an object— it was the mysterious gift from Mr. Clown, the Judgement Feather.
"This gift may not seem useful at first glance, but if you discover its correct usage, you will definitely find it valuable."
The words Mr. Clown had once said resounded in Richard’s mind.
"Valuable?" Richard muttered to himself, appearing thoughtful. After a moment, he looked up towards the inside of the door, steadied his mind, and then strode in.