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

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

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

Black 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 apparent lack of consciousness and merely relying on sheer instinct to fight, the players 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 to come to life, and their numbers far exceeded those of the first batch.

Initially unnoticed in the darkness, the escalation of the battle illuminated the palace 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 finally coming into everyone’s view.

To make the matters worse, one by one, these reanimated statues also began to move, joining the assault on the players.

In an instant, chaos erupted outside the palace as players and reanimated statues clashed in a fierce melee battle.

༺⟐༻

“So, that’s it,” mused Evé, whilst observing the battle unfold through each players’ 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 become 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 player was an experienced player and so they were able to quickly adapt to the situation.

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

The clamor of battle rang out loudly in the surroundings, as the clashing of blades, whizzing arrows, explosive magic, and the shouts and laughter of players 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 were composed of hardened flesh, the blood that oozed from them had an unsettling black tint, and their vitality was almost unnaturally resilient.

Unless their bodies were completely 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 conventional combatant.

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

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

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

Among them, even the fourth-beta players are no longer the same as before and have become more experienced in combat, 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 onslaught of the palace guardians.

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

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

༺⟐༻

“If I remember correctly, the number of upper Iron-rank players has already surpassed ten thousand. With over a hundred Silver-rank players added to that, handling these mindless palace 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 players must retrieve the last 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 palace quickly and retrieve the Heart of Life!”

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

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

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

Without further obstacles, the five players smoothly entered the underground palace.

Its inside was far larger 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 similar 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 players seemed to glimpse an ethereal network 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!

Calabash’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 players nodded and charged up the steps in unison.

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

The former cast [Mage’s Hand], while the latter released [Vine Surge], as both spells swiftly launched 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 accept defeat, they then tried again and again, but alas, each of their attempts failed.

It looked as if the Heart of Life were encased in an impenetrable 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 success.”

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

The body inside the coffin?

The five players 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 blade for another swing, Optimist’s eyes briefly landed 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?!”

— 448 —

【 THE GODDESS!? 】

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep