Bear School Astartes-Chapter 849 - 832: Armor in the Divine Hall

Holder of the Divine Artifact...

Though among such roles, formidable ones are like Cassandra. But under ordinary circumstances, such adversaries aren’t much of a threat in the eyes of Lann and Cassandra.

They’re just troublesome individuals who need a few more slashes due to the protection of the Divine Artifact.

However, for those who don’t possess a Divine Artifact or cannot be recognized by one for use... how is this different from encountering a Plate Armor Knight in the Bronze Age?!

On the battlefield, there’s still a possibility of exchanging lives, but in ordinary battles that are open and allow for free movement, how can this be fought?

Ordinary Plate Armor Knights may be cumbersome, but the functions of these Divine Artifacts are extremely varied, and protection is just a basic ability.

Cassandra’s current pair of [Amazon Shin Guards] can even burst out with power.

Under the pursuit of a Divine Artifact holder, Phoebe’s sense of crisis is now unprecedentedly swelling, causing her heart to pound intensely.

Her vision seems to blur with the disarray of her heartbeat.

This isn’t right.

Phoebe thought to herself.

Even if she’s panicking, it shouldn’t be to the extent that her vision blurs, right? The year and a half of life in Athens wasn’t for nothing.

Have I caught a plague, fallen ill? Or was I poisoned just now?

Thoughts swirling in her mind, Phoebe could only take things step by step.

She tried to find a denser crowd, drilling in, and then out again.

Yet the feeling of being watched, being tailed, lingered inseparably.

Even the person tracking her was getting closer, almost giving up concealment, starting to rudely shove aside pedestrians in their path.

The sounds of pedestrians’ curses, the sound of falling, have already reached Phoebe’s ears.

In such a situation, Phoebe hurried forward without caring which path she took, only knowing she was heading in the general direction of Pericles’ Mansion.

There she would find Lann, Cassandra, and even Rong Buqiu. With them there, dealing with a few Divine Artifact holders from who knows where would surely be no problem!

But soon, Phoebe found trouble due to her blurred vision.

She discovered she had inadvertently walked into a building with only two entrances.

Pericles Theater, another contribution Pericles left for the Athenians.

The thick columns made of stacked marble, the artistic wall paintings, the neatly arranged audience benches, and the theater stage upfront.

These things ordinarily appear quite artistic, reflecting Athens’ emphasis on art and cultivation of character.

But now...

The exit in front of Phoebe was blocked by two warriors holding sickle-blades and Shields, wearing masks of old men and helmets with black and purple alternating tassels.

And just as she walked in, two other similarly dressed warriors entered behind her.

The door Phoebe had entered through was right next to a pile of burning plague victims’ corpses.

One of the Divine Guards even reached into the fire, pulled out two burning corpses, dragging them to block the theater’s exit.

The sound of sandals clacking on the marble floor echoed, slow and heavy.

The sound of dragging corpses and the crackling of burning bodies reverberated more deeply through the theater’s resonating structure, with an eerie and haunting echo.

"Sorry, child."

The Divine Guard, barehandedly dragging the burning corpses to block the door, spoke under the mask of an old man while drawing his sickle-blade.

The twin snake entwining pattern on his Shield reflected golden light in the fire’s glow.

It didn’t appear sacred, but rather eerily cold.

"We have orders: eliminate Maurice Dit, leave no one alive."

"...You really shouldn’t have gone to his house today."

Phoebe’s throat moved up and down as she swallowed hard.

Her body subtly crouched, like a cat ready to pounce.

She slightly moved her left wrist, feeling the mechanism and binding firmness of her sleeve sword.

At the same time, perhaps because her sense of crisis had swelled to its peak, Phoebe’s once blurry vision suddenly cleared.

Additionally, some differences appeared compared to normal vision.

She seemed to have suddenly ’marked’ these Divine Guards.

After marking them, even if they moved behind structures, she could ’see’ their outlines and positions clearly.

She could even see their hand movements behind their raised Shields!

Phoebe, temporarily unsure of what was happening, wasn’t planning to sit and wait for her fate now that her vision was clear again.

-----------------

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lann, also guided by Rong Buqiu, brought Pericles to his cherished Parthenon Temple.

"The ship Aspasia contacted is the Adrestia, also Cassandra’s."

Lann, guiding the frail elder, arrived at the highest point of the Acropolis of Athens. From this cliff, one could overlook the entirety of Athens.

The Parthenon Temple was built here, both to allow everyone in the city to see this miraculous structure and to emphasize Athena’s exalted status.

The grand and magnificent temple wasn’t entirely pure marble; during its construction, famous artists from Athens gathered here to contribute their skills.

On the temple walls, artists painted murals depicting Athena’s mythological stories and tales of Athens.

Inside the temple, there stood Phidias’s sculpture of the bronze Athena Statue, which he carved himself.

The design was identical to the immense statue in the city, yet even scaled down, it was over ten meters tall and exhibited even more intricate craftsmanship in its details.

Even in this plague-ridden period, Athenians continued to scatter petals inside the temple, placing offerings in bronze jars and bottles at the feet of the Athena Statue.

The incense smoke curled into lines, swirling around the statue. It appeared even more ethereal, almost imbued with divinity.

Lann led Pericles inside, his ears twitching slightly, hearing several breaths near the side door of the main hall.

He didn’t think much of it, considering that even during a plague, there would always be priests in the temple.

In fact, during difficult times, priests were certainly present.

Lann supported Pericles to the Athena Statue, then stepped aside.

While he didn’t believe in gods, he wouldn’t interrupt others’ worship.

But as soon as Pericles knelt devoutly before the Athena Statue, interlocking his fingers, Lann’s brow furrowed sharply.

His eyes shifted to the temple’s side door.

The breathing sounds there were approaching, sandaled footsteps tapping crisply on the marble.

But the problem was... those sounds were accompanied by the clinking of armor pieces!

Priests wouldn’t wear armor in a temple!

"Pericles, stand up for a moment."

Lann’s left hand rested on the hilt of his blade at his waist, eyes fixed on the side door, and his footsteps moved toward the Athenian Governor kneeling on the ground.