Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1164 - 276 Temple

Although they followed two modified Bat Tigers, the group did not move quickly, allowing frequent stops for the magical beasts while maintaining their steady pace as they slowly made their way through the dense forest. Everyone remembered that many of their previous thoughts were just speculations, not necessarily the truth. Thus, even though they followed the Bat Tigers, varying their distance, and were fairly certain they would encounter no danger before reaching their destination, they remained vigilant, not missing any suspicious noise. After all, having adventured for so many years, they had seen enough people fail at the last step before victory. They knew that the closer they were to their final goal, the more vigilant they needed to be. A single oversight could often cost a life as payment for negligence.

Along the way, no one spoke, even Lina, who was usually the most curious, fell into silence. Amidst maintaining vigilance, the girls no longer engaged in casual chatter to ease the mood but silently moved forward, their expressions becoming ever more indifferent, their breathing steadier. Facing a possibly unprecedented formidable opponent, the girls’ moods shifted from tense to numb and from numb to calm. When they finally calmed down completely, they suddenly realized that under tremendous mental pressure, they had unknowingly overcome a psychological barrier. Although there was no substantial improvement in strength, they knew their ability to perform had become more stable. Indeed, as the ancients said, only those who constantly tread on the edge of life and death under tremendous pressure could break through their limits. It’s evident that this was indeed the best way to surpass one’s own boundaries. Of course, for the girls who had only recently become Legendary and whose powers were far from their limits, breaking through those limits was not yet possible. Nevertheless, this experience would plant a seed in their spirit that, should they manage to return alive, would slowly take root and grow at an unimaginable speed, eventually becoming a towering tree.

The question was, did they really still have a chance to return alive? After this battle, how many would be able to return safely to their homes in the Holy City?

The team advanced slowly, and this time the Divine Servants seemed to have truly set no ambushes. Nearly half an hour passed without encountering any enemies; besides the two undead magical beasts leading the way, they saw no other animals. All they could see were countless plants of various types growing at different levels, their brownish trunks and dark green leaves forming a dense barrier that obstructed everyone’s sight.

Thus, when the group took the last step and broke through the final barrier of plants, they suddenly found themselves in a bright clearing, looking up in astonishment at a magnificent scene they had never seen before.

The existence of the forest was inviolable—that had been common knowledge since the Fourth Epoch. Any attempt to damage the forest or build large constructions within it would face fierce backlash from the forest itself. However, this common knowledge did not apply in the face of battles involving Divine Power.

Perhaps due to the clashes of Divine Power, a huge plant-free void had emerged in the core area of the Forest of Death, replaced instead by a massive temple. From a distance, the temple occupied an area of about two or three square kilometers. Considering the outer square and the surrounding ancillary buildings, this number could even rise to five square kilometers. It was unclear what means the Divine Servants used to hide such a vast space. The girls had noticed nothing before taking the final step, at which the temple seemed to suddenly appear. Had Pannis not definitively denied it, the girls might have thought it was an illusion created by spatial teleportation. Of course, it was not a spatial teleportation, because looking back, they could still see the trees right behind them, showing that their location had not changed, only their visual perception had been disrupted.

The temple was vast, with a huge square in front of it. A corridor paved with jade stones ran through the square, connecting its front and back sides. The end of the corridor led to the main section of the temple, a grand structure that looked as if it were seated on the Divine Throne, overseeing all beings below. On either side of the temple were auxiliary buildings. During Danacus’s era, the priests and core believers lived there, rarely venturing outside the temple’s vicinity.

Pannis felt mixed emotions. He was very familiar with this temple, or rather, with its material projection, which he could not forget even if he wanted to. Undoubtedly, this was Danacus’s Halls of the Dead, and it was the actual entity of the halls. At the end of the First Epoch, when Danacus began his war with the Triclops, in order to strengthen his power, the Grimreaper projected his temple onto the battlefield with his will and gathered his most steadfast believers inside the projection to provide the power of faith. The will of a Deity was beyond mortal comprehension. Though what Danacus summoned was a projection, it was also materialized. Due to Danacus’s defeat, the temple and the Soul of Danacus together sank into what is now the Sighing Desert, eventually being cast out of the main plane of the Yarran World with the end of the Third Epoch, forming a unique Realm of the Dead.

Now, after a hundred years, Pannis finally saw the actual temple, the real-world Halls of the Dead. The past was irretrievable, and the comrades by his side were no longer those of old, yet the ultimate goal remained unchanged. No matter what the enemy planned to do, no matter the form in which the enemy appeared, whether that person was still waiting or not, he had to stop their plans, protect the world cherished by that person, and fulfill the goal that person, as well as he himself, had not yet achieved.

A hand covered in metal quietly grasped Pannis’s slender fingers, but the knightly girl did not feel the tremble she might have imagined. Pannis turned around, his expression indescribably serene, as if he had let go of all concerns, and said with a faint smile, "This, is Danacus’s Halls of the Dead, the final resting place of all souls."

"Were you fighting in such an environment originally?" Lina poked Catherine’s hand aside, seemingly unintentionally squeezing between the two, asking with a face full of curiosity, "It looks quite vast too, almost comparable to our lord’s Holy Sanctuary."

"No, we initially fought only inside the temple, and all we saw was that single building. The rest had already been covered by yellow sand and white bones," Pannis shook his head. "Now what we see is the complete version. Hah, it really has been pulled back from its ancient slumber."

"The enemy’s preparation for the welcoming ritual is indeed not simple," Catherine slowly raised her shield, her right hand on the hilt of her knight sword, sneered, and said, "So many magical beasts, they really do appreciate our strength. It seems the only choice is to fight our way in, isn’t it?"

Just as Catherine had said, a large number of magical beasts had gathered in the plaza before the temple, around sixty or seventy in total. These magical beasts were utterly unlike the dead ones they had seen earlier, which even when gathered were lax and disorganized. However, the beasts before them seemed like a disciplined troop, neatly lying on either side of the temple’s front corridor, motionless as if they were a collection of sculptures—until the members of the expedition team appeared at the opposite end of the corridor. Then, these lying beasts simultaneously stood up and let out a uniform roar towards the sky.

"Such a dense death aura," Lina couldn’t help but frown. "The degree of Undead Transformation in these creatures is far higher than those we’ve seen before."

"Thus, their strength and controllability are not something those half-finished products can compare with," Pannis slightly nodded. "It looks like breaking through would be a tough battle. Dillie, are we using your domain or mine?"

Dillie was not surprised by Pannis suddenly raising this question. Considering the number of enemies before them, using domains to divide and conquer was the best strategy. Nonetheless, the domains of two demigods inevitably conflicted, even between Pannis and Nellie who had good understanding. This conflict was an inevitable result of the rules, and therefore, one demigod had to restrain their domain power, letting the other take the lead. This was why Pannis had brought up this seemingly odd question.

However, this simple question made Dillie very hesitant. No one had ever seen his domain, not even Maya or Tiya knew the secrets within it. If possible, he would prefer to keep that secret for a lifetime. Seeing Dillie’s hesitation, Pannis nodded and said, "No matter, let’s use mine then, as many have already seen it."

"Boom," before Pannis finished speaking, the energy around them suddenly fluctuated violently, stronger than the previous ones. The mere flaring of energies made everyone feel as though the space itself was vibrating. The source of the energy fluctuation was the grand temple, suggesting some ominous changes were occurring.

"Welcome to the final ritual," the temple’s firmly shut doors slowly opened, and two figures clad in long robes walked slowly out from inside. They stood across the wide courtyard, making eye contact with the expedition team members. One of them spoke in a soft voice, yet amplified by magic so that it filled the entire area, "It’s been many years, Mr. Kyle, Mr. Dillie, and to the five ladies, we meet for the first time. We were just conducting a ritual and couldn’t break away to welcome you. Now, only the final step of the ritual remains. I must say, your timing is just perfect."