Infinity, The Arcade Age-Chapter 425: The Sword of Destiny

The sudden sound of wind behind him made Qin Ming's pupils contract instinctively.

Even before his brain could react, the combat suit from Sound Nest had already issued a warning, and he instinctively raised his arm to protect the back of his head.

Almost in the same instant that he lifted his arm, a massive sword came crashing down, slamming violently into it.

With a thunderous boom, brilliant sparks scattered in all directions.

The legendary sacred artifact—the Sword in the Stone—had landed a direct hit on Qin Ming's arm, slicing deeply into it, nearly severing the entire limb in one strike.

The edge of the Sword in the Stone! It had forcibly pierced through the Steel Body's immunity to damage!

His arm seriously injured, Qin Ming grimaced in pain.

With a sharp flick, he swatted the weapon aside, suddenly turned, and raised his other arm toward King Arthur. As the flesh twisted and deformed, it transformed into a thick, muscular cannon.

K-Type Genetic Arm! Cannon Form!

Boom!

With a deafening roar, King Arthur—who hadn't expected this move—was blasted away before he could react.

Before he could even hit the ground, Qin Ming was already advancing while firing nonstop.

The other arm, which had been badly damaged, still hung naturally at his side, but the gaping wound was visibly healing at an astonishing rate.

As the wound fully regenerated, Qin Ming lifted both arms and launched an all-out bombardment head-on.

After hammering King Arthur with over twenty cannon blasts, and seeing him raise his sacred sword to block, Qin Ming realized his attack was no longer effective. In one fluid motion, he swung both arms outward.

With a fleshy squelch, his arms twisted and reshaped into blades.

K-Type Genetic Arm! Blade Form!

Letting out a furious roar, Qin Ming, with white flames wrapping around his arms, swung one arm fiercely at King Arthur.

Hearing the whistle of wind, King Arthur responded without backing down, swinging his sacred sword in return.

With a sharp clang, sparks flew as flesh-formed blade clashed directly with sacred steel.

One was indestructible, the other unstoppable. Their clash resulted in a deadlock, neither able to overpower the other.

Seeing that neither side had gained the upper hand, Qin Ming and King Arthur locked eyes and struck again.

Sword and blade danced wildly, colliding over and over. After exchanging more than twenty blows, both men simultaneously slid back under the force of their strikes.

Qin Ming skidded over three meters before coming to a halt and sharply lowered his head.

Looking at the countless gashes along his arms, his expression darkened.

Across from him, King Arthur had also slid several meters back. He forcefully shook off his sword—still gleaming like new—his momentum unbroken.

Even Qin Ming's S-rank skill, Steel Body, couldn't block the sharpness of the sacred Sword in the Stone head-on!

But instead of fury, Qin Ming's face lit up with elation. His twisted arms returned to their natural shape as he suddenly bellowed:

"What a weapon!"

The stronger the Sword in the Stone was, the more Qin Ming liked it!

After all, a weapon was only valuable if it could break through his own defenses!

If it couldn't even scratch him, what use did he have for it?

As long as he could kill King Arthur, the Sword in the Stone would be his!

He charged forward, accelerating instantly while sliding.

Skill—Heavenly Slide!

As he shot forward, the flesh of his arm reshaped into a drill.

Skill—K-Type Genetic Arm! Drill Form!

The high-speed rotating flesh drill surpassed all of Qin Ming's other abilities in frontal destructive power.

King Arthur's expression changed dramatically at the sight. He quickly raised his sacred sword to defend.

A-Rank Skill—Knight's Guard!

His reaction was fast, immediately taking a defensive stance. However, it was clear he underestimated the destructive force of this charge.

The acceleration from Heavenly Slide, combined with the impact of the flesh drill—at this moment, Qin Ming was like a high-speed charging locomotive!

King Arthur braced the sword's spine against his shoulder, fully pressing the Sword in the Stone to himself. But the moment the drill struck, his body was sent skidding uncontrollably backward.

Qin Ming drove him back over twenty meters, crashing through soldiers from both sides along the way.

King Arthur's palms split open from the shock, blood flowing freely. With a furious roar, he suddenly swung his sword and forcibly pushed Qin Ming back.

Then he slashed down with a mighty blow—striking Qin Ming square in the shoulder!

C-Rank Skill—Knight's Heavy Slash!

With a sharp crack, the strike hit dead-on, and the sword's power was fully unleashed.

The massive sword cut through Qin Ming's shoulder armor, tore into flesh and bone, and cleaved deep into his body at an angle.

Qin Ming was nearly split in half by the diagonal blow, his face contorting in agony.

Seeing the ecstatic look on King Arthur's face, Qin Ming suddenly raised an arm and pointed at him.

That arm had already transformed into a cannon barrel at some unknown point.

Point-blank cannon blast!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid a series of deafening explosions, King Arthur staggered backward, his footing unsteady.

His ornate silver armor was now warped and dented, with blood spraying from behind.

Worst of all, under the barrage of close-range attacks, he finally lost his grip on the Sword in the Stone!

With one final blast, King Arthur was sent flying.

Having burned through a massive amount of blood in one go, Qin Ming took a deep breath and raised his arm with force, pulling the Sword in the Stone from his own body.

As the wounds on his body quickly healed, Qin Ming looked down at the sacred weapon in his hands, his face lit with uncontrollable joy.

Just as he was about to check the weapon's attributes, he suddenly felt it grow heavy in his grasp.

The next second—the Sword in the Stone suddenly became as heavy as a mountain! It dragged Qin Ming's arm down and slammed into the ground!

Shocked, Qin Ming tugged with all his strength, but the Sword in the Stone didn't budge an inch.

Only the Chosen One can draw the Sword of the Chosen! This was a universally acknowledged rule in the world of the Round Table Knights!

And now, with the sword no longer in King Arthur's hands, it clearly didn't recognize Qin Ming!

[Name: Sword in the Stone]

[Category: Weapon (Ordinary Legendary Quest Item)]

[Effect 1: Chosen One (Upon killing an enemy, there is a chance to permanently gain 1 point in a random attribute. The greater the difference in attributes between you and the enemy, the lower the chance of gaining.)]

[Effect 2: Stone Sword (Ignores defense)]

[Description: This is the Sword of the Chosen, which only the chosen one can draw. It is one of the two great sacred artifacts of the Round Table Knights' world, symbolizing supreme kingship.]

[Note: This item is not recognized by the space and cannot be taken out of the mission zone.]

Staring at the sword embedded in the ground and its attributes—especially that first effect—Qin Ming's eyes widened in astonishment.

A divine weapon that could permanently boost attributes by killing?! This was a first for Qin Ming!

Excited, he reached out again, trying to pull the sword free.

But even with all his strength, the sword in the ground remained unmoved.

Before he could try again, King Arthur came charging back once more.

(End of Chapter)