191: Chapter 191 Divine Projection!

[Golden Soul Fragment (1/1)]

[Use: Contains a portion of a Golden Fighter's soul fragment. Collect ten...]

Looking at the fragment in his hand, which pulsed with a golden halo, a flicker of thought crossed Lu Yin's eyes.

Collecting ten fragments to assemble a complete golden soul.

This might allow him to add another mythic-level general to his ranks.

This would definitely be a huge help for the upcoming great war.

Then, Lu Yin looked at the unlocked Legion Commander slot and slowly raised his hand.

"Return, for your monarch!"

Hum!

A complex, pitch-black magic circle formed instantly, and a dense aura of death surged forth like a tide.

A figure clad in a luxurious deep-purple priest's robe slowly rose from the boundless darkness.

The robe was embroidered with countless patterns of twisted, wailing souls. Grayish-white mist seeped continuously from the cuffs and hem, as if the robe itself were woven from death.

He held a bone scepter nearly two meters tall, its staff constructed from countless vertebrae coiled together.

A fist-sized ghostly green gem was embedded at the top, like the single eye of some gargantuan creature, gazing coldly at the world.

His face was shrouded in the shadow of a hood; only two points of icy-blue soulfire could be seen burning in the gloom—a state of pure, extreme silence and darkness.

[Great Priest of Death, Herl]

[Level: 7 (Increases with the monarch's level)]

[Strength: 75,000, Constitution: 800,000]

[Agility: 72,000, Spirit: 145,000]

[Skills: Rain of Death, Requiem, Withering Chant, Unholy Frenzy... Final Requiem, Soul Erosion, Dark Elegy]

[Legion Commander Talent: death god kingdom: The monarch, Legion Commanders, and all members of the Death Legion gain a one-time death immunity effect when their HP reaches zero.]

[Artifacts: Death's Grasp: Elois (Sealed), Dark Annihilation Robe: Zephyr]

"Greetings, my Lord."

Herl bowed slightly, his posture elegant and respectful.

His cold voice sounded like water dripping from a frozen spring, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet conveying absolute obedience.

"Rise."

Lu Yin nodded, his gaze sweeping over Herl's attribute panel.

Herl, the Great Priest of Death, was undoubtedly a support-type commander.

In terms of skills, he had a complete set of recovery, buff, and damage reduction abilities.

His talent, death god kingdom, was a life-saving skill that could be described as heaven-defying.

This skill not only protected him but effectively gave his entire legion two lives, greatly enhancing their survivability.

"Master, it seems the trial isn't over yet. Look over there."

Just then, Yarberna suddenly spoke.

Lu Yin looked in the direction she pointed; the temple atop the distant mountain peak suddenly burst with incredibly brilliant light.

[Ding! Detected that the Dungeon's core area, "Holy Mountain Temple," has opened!]

[Ding! Dungeon main quest has been updated!]

[Quest Content: Enter the temple to complete the final challenge!]

Lu Yin looked up to see the gates of the towering temple wide open, with golden light gushing from within.

This formed a sharp contrast with the deep death energy radiating from Herl; light and shadow were clearly demarcated at this moment.

Ghostly light flickered in Lu Yin's eyes. He could feel that the level of holy energy surging from the gates was far beyond that of the Golden Fighters from before.

"Could it be that the projection of the real Athena is inside?"

To confirm his suspicion, he stepped into the pillar of light for teleportation.

Yarberna, Herl, and the other Legion Commanders followed closely behind. Amidst the shifting light and shadows, they found themselves inside the magnificent temple.

The space here seemed like a world of its own, far more vast than it appeared from the outside.

Dozens of milky-white divine jade pillars, each requiring ten men to encircle, supported a ceiling too high to measure with the naked eye.

Faint golden divine scripts flowed across the pillars, vaguely outlining ancient scenes of warring gods and falling Titans.

Above them was not a stone ceiling but a slowly rotating, brilliant starry sky.

The constellations of the zodiac lit up one by one, casting a cool and majestic glow that illuminated the entire temple like daylight.

The air was so heavy it almost felt solid, each breath containing a mountain-like holy pressure.

Even the death energy rising from the seven Legion Commanders involuntarily retracted a bit.

Everyone's gaze was drawn instinctively toward the end of the temple.

There, atop ninety-nine white jade steps, stood a towering divine throne.

The throne was made entirely of a material that looked like gold but wasn't jade, shimmering with starlight.

Upon the throne, light and shadow intertwined as a figure gradually solidified from nothingness.

It wasn't a physical body, yet it was more majestic and real than any physical entity.

She was clad in silver-white divine armor flowing with starlight, its lines elegant yet powerful.

The spaulders were shaped like folded wings, and an emblem of an eye surrounded by olive branches was engraved on the breastplate.

A pure white cloak draped from her shoulders, fluttering even though there was no wind.

She held a golden spear longer than her own height, but its tip was not a sharp edge.

Instead, it was an eternally burning, shapeshifting ball of pure white flame—the manifestation of wisdom and victory.

Her face was shrouded behind a hazy halo.

Only those eyes, which seemed to gather the galaxy and time itself, could be seen—calm, deep, perceiving everything yet indifferent to it all.

Just being swept by that gaze made the air in the temple feel completely frozen.

[Goddess of War and Wisdom, Athena (Divine Projection)]

[Level: 145]

[Strength: ???, Constitution: ???]

[Agility: ???, Spirit: ???]

[Skills: Spear of Victory, Aegis, Eye of Wisdom... War Domain, Holy Fire of Olympus, Light of Judgment, Sacred Formation, Oracle: Heavenly Punishment]

[Special Status: Divine Pressure (Suppresses all units' attributes by 2%), Immortal Divinity (Immune to instant death, curses, and erosion effects)]

The string of question marks highlighted the insurmountable chasm between mortals and gods.

Athena's projection merely sat quietly on the throne, yet an invisible pressure spread like a tide.

She said nothing, only casting her gaze upon Lu Yin and his legion below the steps.

There was no anger or contempt in that gaze, only an absolute calm, as if looking down at dust.

Yet, beneath this calm lay a divine might capable of crushing mountains and evaporating oceans.

Beside Lu Yin, death aura and killing intent rose silently.

They stood their ground against the holy pressure filling the temple, creating invisible sparks and a low hum.

"It seems this is the final 'challenge'."

Lu Yin's voice rang out in the silent temple, calm and steady.

It was as if he weren't facing the projection of a deity, but just another obstacle to overcome.

Athena remained silent, only slowly raising the arm holding the spear.

The movement was slow, yet it tugged at the laws of the entire temple.

The stars on the ceiling began to rotate faster, and the zodiac constellations burst into blinding light one by one.

Endless divine power gathered from the void, pouring into the pure white flame.

The tip of the spear pointed at Lu Yin.

No proclamation, no judgment—with just a simple movement, the final challenge had begun.