With a ripple in space, the yers arrived one by one.


    As each of them had already prepared everything they need for battle beforehand, the summoned yers immediately located the ‘reanimated’ statues upon entering the battlefield and began engaging them inbat.


    At this moment, however, these reanimated statues underwent a strange transformation.


    ck miasma began to wrap around them and sinister patterns emerged upon their surfaces, which somehow made their aura and strength surged to an even greater degree.


    If not for their apparentck of consciousness and merely relying on sheer instinct to fight, the yers might have found themselves overwhelmed in an instant.


    And with the ‘reawakening’ of the first batch of statues, more and more stone guards which was situated further at the rear continued toe to life, and their numbers far exceeded those of the first batch.


    Initially unnoticed in the darkness, the esction of the battle illuminated the pce grounds due to a bursts of magic, thereby revealing the sheer scale of the enemy.


    Thousands of these statues stood ready at the rear, their overwhelming numbers finallying into everyone’s view.


    To make the matters worse, one by one, these reanimated statues also began to move, joining the assault on the yers.In an instant, chaos erupted outside the pce as yers and reanimated statues shed in a fierce melee battle.


    ???


    “So, that’s it,” mused Evé, whilst observing the battle unfold through each yers’ perspective from the World Tree’s Divine Kingdom.


    “These reanimated statues must contain the spirits of those fallen ancient elves. As for those who don’t resemble elves, they likely must be the devout believers of the God of Creation who perished sometime in the past.”


    Evé, having a divine sense had easily recognized the true nature of these statues.


    “It seems that they did not be petitioners, but their bodies were preserved as statues, corrupted and demonized by the power of the Abyss, thereby granting them a twisted form of new life.”


    Evé shook their head in quiet disapproval.


    “In essence, they’re no different from the undead.”


    This realization of hers also brought about another troubling issue to light:


    By now, the souls inside these stone guards had likely been fully corrupted by the Abyss.


    As such, they had already lost their sense of self and any chance of entering the cycle of rebirth, reduced to mere puppets destined to fight endlessly at the whims of their evil master…


    For any sentient being, such fate is far crueler than death.


    Sighing softly, Eve’s gaze returned to monitoring the ongoing battle.


    ???


    Every summoned yer was an experienced yer and so they were able to quickly adapt to the situation.


    Each of them had formed a small partyposed of three to five members while also coordinating their attacks with the other parties to better counter the pce guards.


    The mor of battle rang out loudly in the surroundings, as the shing of des, whizzing arrows, explosive magic, and the shouts andughter of yers blended into a chaotic symphony within the battlefield.


    The weaker reanimated guards were swiftly defeated, either cut in half by concentrated attacks or obliterated by waves of magic spells.


    Though the statues’ bodies wereposed of hardened flesh, the blood that oozed from them had an unsettling ck tint, and their vitality was almost unnaturally resilient.


    Unless their bodies werepletely destroyed, even decapitation barely diminished their fighting capabilities.


    In every sense, they resembled the undead, both in characteristics and mannerisms.


    Fight against such abominations would no doubt terrify any conventionalbatant.


    Unfortunately for them, the opponents they were facing at the moment are the yers.


    The stone guards’ undead-like tenacity only served to ignite the yers’ fighting spirit.


    Every yer on this battlefield was at least an upper Iron-rank expert.


    Among them, even the fourth-beta yers are no longer the same as before and have be more experienced inbat, after experiencing prior battles and refining their skills.


    They coordinated perfectly with one another, remaining calm as they tenaciously held their ground against the relentless onught of the pce guardians.


    Although some unlucky individuals fell to the enemy’s attacks, anyone that died were swiftly reced by newly summoned yers, which continuously bolster their ranks.


    Overall, the number of yers on the battlefield was steadily increasing.


    ???


    “If I remember correctly, the number of upper Iron-rank yers has already surpassed ten thousand. With over a hundred Silver-rank yers added to that, handling these mindless pce guardians shouldn’t be too difficult for them.”


    Eve reflected.


    “My real concern though is that this battle could awaken the slumbering God of Creation. So the yers must retrieve thest fragment of the Scepter of Life as soon as possible.”


    With a slight movement of her divine power, Evé once again sent a message to every member of Boxlunch’s team:


    “Don’t get bogged down in fighting—enter the pce quickly and retrieve the Heart of Life!”


    Her crisp andmanding voice echoed in the minds of these five people, which instantly extinguished their enthusiasm for battle against the stone pce guardians.


    Exchanging quick nces, the five of them nodded in agreement and decided to leave the battlefield.


    Using the distraction created by the other yers battling against the stone guards, everyone in Boxlunch’s team covertly sprinted toward the pce.


    Without further obstacles, the five yers smoothly entered the underground pce.


    Its inside was farrger and more opulent than they had anticipated.


    Its central hall was dominated by countless steps leading upward, where at the summit rested a dazzling crystal coffin.


    Behind the coffin loomed an enormous mural, depicting a hooded figure strikingly simr to the statue of the Creator they had seen at Elder Roergue’s abode.


    Above the coffin, a radiant diamond-shaped crystal hovered, pulsating with brilliant light.


    It shimmered with a grandeur as if it were the center of the world itself, and in that fleeting moment, the five yers seemed to glimpse an etherealwork spreading outward from it, connecting the world with invisible threads.


    At this very moment, they all had some kind of enlightenment within their hearts.


    This crystal must be what they are looking for!


    Cbash’s voice trembled with excitement as he pointed to the glowing crystal ball in Boxlunch’s hand.


    “That crystal is definitely our target—the Heart of Life!”


    Boxlunch’s eyes sharpened with determination.


    “Let’s go!”


    The five yers nodded and charged up the steps in unison.


    As they advanced, Cbash and Chopin chanted some spells, whilst their staffs glowed brightly.


    The former cast [Mage’s Hand], while thetter released [Vine Surge], as both spells swiftlyunched towards the Heart of Life.


    Both spells soared toward the hovering crystal, but just as they were about to reach it, they struck an invisible barrier and dissipated into nothingness.


    The two spellcasters paused, clearly stunned that their spells failed to do anything at all.


    Refusing to ept defeat, they then tried again and again, but s, each of their attempts failed.


    It looked as if the Heart of Life were encased in an imprable shield, and each spell that drew near it immediately faded into oblivion upon approaching within half a meter of the crystal.


    “Is this… magic immunity?”


    one of them muttered in disbelief.


    The Heart of Life floated high above the crystal coffin, suspended at least ten meters above the floor, which was too high for any melee attacks to reach.


    At that moment, the voice of Godwarden Zero, resounded within their ears:


    “It’s the crystal coffin! The coffin is engraved with a magical formation that’s protecting the Heart of Life.”


    “To retrieve the Heart of Life, you must first destroy the formation that was engraved into that coffin.”


    “The magic formation looks integrated with the coffin itself. If you can open the coffin, then the formation will be disrupted!”


    “Focus on opening that coffin!”


    “Additionally, the body within that coffin is also crucial to your mission. Securing it is just as important to your sess.”


    “Both the Heart of Life and the body must be obtained at all cost. This is the key to defeating the God of Creation.’”


    <em>The body inside the coffin?</em>


    The five yers hesitated for a moment, exchanging puzzled looks.


    At the front, the tank Optimist took the lead.


    “I’ll handle it!”


    With a mighty leap, he swung his greatsword down toward the lid of the coffin.


    The glowing edge of his weapon struck with full force, sparking brightly against the coffin’s crystalline surface.


    Yet it still remained unscathed.


    Undeterred, Optimist jumped again, this time aiming to strike from above.


    However, as he rose in mid-air and raised his de for another swing, Optimist’s eyes brieflynded upon the figure inside the crystal coffin.


    In that instant, his eyes widened in sheer disbelief, as if he had just seen a ghost.


    “What the hell?!” he blurted out, his voice cracking.


    “The G-Goddess?!”


    — <strong>448</strong> —


    <strong>【 THE GODDESS!? 】 </strong>


    —  —