Chapter 2312 - 2315: The Last Hope

The swirling blood mist exploded in the water, the elongated traces were as mesmerizing as a beautiful otherworldly flower, but at the moment, the besieged sea demons had no time to pay attention to such things. Indeed, the only thing that mattered to them now was to hold out, fight till death, or hope for a miraculous reversal.

Safe time, thirty seconds!

Shen Qiang's mind had never been so clear.

The powerful aura of the Sea Emperor was rapidly approaching.

With Shen Qiang's current strength, even with the Great Sea Demon King Yu Jiang and Uncle Gui, it was impossible to defeat him.

Shen Qiang had known this long ago.

Otherwise, there would be no need to take risks.

That's why Shen Qiang had meticulously planned from the beginning, crafting a tight-knit raid plan: lure the tiger away from the mountain, forcefully attack, and within five minutes, if he could hold on until Qingxuan was resurrected, then there was at least a fifty percent chance of escaping unscathed.

Yet this entire plan was ruined by this Crystal Coffin.

Shen Qiang calculated everything.

Everything was following the trajectory he had set.

Gazing at the War Goddess Athena inside the Crystal Coffin.

For a moment.

Shen Qiang felt this must be fate.

She was Qingxuan's past and present.

So she was meant to be taken by him.

This was the only chance.

The same opportunity would not present itself twice.

The Sea Emperor would not be fooled again.

Gong Ziyi would not smile and say, it's okay, everything can restart.

So if he took her now, all problems would be solved.

And once he gave up, there would never be another chance to come here.

Thus, with a deep breath, Shen Qiang told himself.

He must remain calm enough!

It can be done!

If everything is truly destined, then now, there must be a way to open this Crystal Coffin!

Safe time, twenty-seven seconds!

As the powerful aura of the Sea Emperor rapidly approached.

Not only did the sea demons of Atlantic City become more ferocious, but the sea demons on Shen Qiang's side also started to suffer more casualties.

One severely wounded sea demon after another collapsed at Shen Qiang's feet after exhausting their efforts.

Shen Qiang could immediately treat them.

But he chose not to intervene.

Even if he healed them, it wouldn't immediately change the current battle situation.

The key to reversing everything was on the Crystal Coffin.

Think calmly, aren't you usually very smart?

Shen Qiang shouted internally.

But as the pressure from the Sea Emperor intensified, Shen Qiang could hardly stay focused.

Because in Shen Qiang's mind, there was always a seemingly rational voice also shouting.

"You will die! There's no way; all routes of escape have been cut off, everyone will die here!"

Nervousness, anxiety, deafening sounds of combat echoed around.

The violent True Yuan surged.

The thick scent of blood, almost tangible.

Even the seawater swirling in front of him was red, stunningly vivid like yellow broth flowing off red paper.

"Thirteen seconds remaining."

Shen Qiang's expression seemed calm, but his mind was turbulent inside, because as someone skilled in using his mind to defeat enemies, Shen Qiang knew better than anyone that if he couldn't open the Crystal Coffin before the Sea Emperor's return, there would never be another chance.

An angry Sea Emperor would certainly not give Shen Qiang and his team any chances, and once he returned, the strongest Yu Jiang and Uncle Gui would be suppressed, faced with numerous sea demons from Atlantic City, with what could they resist?

"Safe time, ten seconds."

Shen Qiang took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.

But up until now, almost all the usable methods had been exhausted.

Yu Jiang's spear was ineffective, couldn't smash it open, Shen Qiang's power couldn't lift it, the secret technique of sealing couldn't be cracked.

A large group of sea demons and himself trapped seemingly endlessly among sea demons.

Boom!

Another giant sea beast fell before the temple gates.

Seven seconds!

Poof!

A bowl-sized hole appeared on the chest of an accompanying Great Sea Demon.

Six seconds!

Bang, the sealed rear was broken open, with sea demons from Atlantic City attempting to break in.

Uncle Gui charged through alone.

Bang!

A punch with great force sent the first incoming sea demon flying, and then his form suddenly enlarged, the armor as huge as a mountain rock abruptly appeared, thoroughly blocking the rear door with a rumbling sound.

Four seconds!

Completely unable to marvel at Uncle Gui's strength, Shen Qiang, not only could he clearly perceive the overwhelming momentum of the Sea Emperor, within his Divine Sense, the Sea Emperor's figure had already appeared.

Three seconds!

This was the last chance!

There must be a way to solve the problem of this box.

Suddenly raising his eyebrows, Shen Qiang was flooded with fragments of various memories.

"The reason why brute force couldn't lift it is that this Crystal Coffin is sealed, like it's been locked. The reason why only a white dot appeared when the spear struck is that it's as flawless as the front of an iron box, therefore Yu Jiang's spear lacked the power to break it..."

"Wait, this seems so familiar!" In an almost instant flashback, Shen Qiang remembered the iron box in his family's old desk drawer, with its small lock attached, that was his mother's savings box. Shen Qiang had once attempted to secretly open it in order to buy a game console, the initial situation was similar.

One blow to the front, due to flexibility, made a dent on the box.

Then, using his hands, he tried to pry it open without success because the iron box had a lock attached.

But later, Shen Qiang inserted a screwdriver into the gap of the iron box, with just a bit of force, the iron box opened immediately, the lock almost existed in name only.

Thinking of this, Shen Qiang reversed his grip on the Black Blade and drew it.

But then, in just a moment, Shen Qiang's heart sank completely.

Because the exquisite Crystal Coffin didn't have any gaps for Shen Qiang to leverage.

In an instant of furious anger, Shen Qiang swung his blade fiercely.

Boom!

Half of the temple collapsed like a hot knife slicing through tofu.

But when the Black Blade struck the Crystal Coffin, it bounced off instantly, it felt like striking condensed True Yuan.

This stunned Shen Qiang.

Meanwhile, the numerous sea demons present, feeling the overwhelming aura of the Sea Emperor rapidly arriving, and seeing Shen Qiang helplessly hacking at the Crystal Coffin to no avail, couldn't help but sigh dejectedly.

"Defeated, the Sea Emperor has returned, there's no chance of winning anymore."

"All efforts in vain."

"No plan is one hundred percent accurate, and once unexpected events occur, it often means, total defeat."

Their morale dwindled, along with their weakened momentum, consequently being driven into disarray.

At the same time, Jinli Qianning, controlling numerous great sea monsters through song, was equally drenched in fragrant sweat, but with beautiful eyes, she looked at Shen Qiang with relief.

"This bad guy seems to be losing, huh? But who cares, don't the female leads in those TV dramas always say, dying beside the protagonist is also happiness? And now, I'm with him."

Boom!

The seawater trembled with a buzz.

The Sea Emperor's figure appeared.