Chapter 262 Chapter261-Soulstone Temple, Ancient Holy Light Seal
[System Notification: You have entered the Soulstone Temple (Dungeon Unopened).]
Almost simultaneously with the system's notification, John became instantly vigilant, admonishing, "Everyone, be careful. The enemy could potentially be watching us from some corner…"
Without needing John's reminder, all other members of the squad had already tightly gripped their weapons.
Apart from John, the rest of this Devil-hunting Elite Team were the top-notch powerhouses among the local NPCs.
They understood even more profoundly what the abyssal Devils represented — terrifying entities comparable to deities.
Ordinary professionals, even those masters who had reached levels two to three hundred, were merely slightly stronger than ants when faced with beings like the abyssal Devils.
If they hadn't known in advance that these abyssal Devils were severely injured before their descent, their situation would have been dire.
They essentially lacked the courage and gall to challenge such a formidable boss.
Standing at the forefront of the team was Hills from the Holy Light Church's tribunal, the biological son of Duke Dinan.
During this Devil-hunting mission, this young man was the most proactive.
It might have been due to the na?ve courage of youth, or perhaps Hills was eager to prove himself to his father, Duke Dinan.
Within the entire team, he was the most active individual.
Hills gently flared his nostrils, and a touch of chill instantly displayed on his handsome face. "Captain, I smell a very strong evil energy. Although it seems faint, just this little bit makes me feel somewhat nauseous…"
John nodded in understanding.
When he turned his head to look around, he realized that the others in the squad wore perplexed expressions.
Apart from the deputy captain, the only person whose strength was second only to John's in the entire Elite Team was the Northern Myst Empire Chief Palace Guard Dragonfang, still enveloped in a black robe, his face unclear.
But John knew, this fellow must have perceived something too.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so tensely poised, resembling a cheetah ready to pounce.
Assassins were inherently the most sensitive of all the classes.
Coupled with a dark attribute stemming from the same origin, it allowed Dragonfang to detect the fluctuations in the atmosphere here even without having encountered the abyssal dark energy before.
Meanwhile, as a professional from the Holy Light lineage, Hills was most familiar with the naturally antagonistic dark energy; he had personally slain countless dark creatures and heretics within the Holy Light Church's tribunal...
John lifted his head, staring intently at the mottled grey and dreary stone walls of the Soulstone Temple.
In his eyes, a sudden flash of deep black light flickered.
Eye of Artemis, activate!
His view underwent a massive transformation instantaneously; the previously solid scenery continuously disintegrated within his field of vision, eventually forming lines of light in various colors.
[Eye of Artemis (Divine Talent): You are favored by the god of the night, granting you the Eye of Artemis. Possessing this talent allows you to directly witness the dark and the abyss, uncovering all truths concealed within darkness and the abyss; any illusion is ineffective against you. You can discern the reality of any matter and harbor many mystical powers. With this talent, you can look directly at the deities.]
Such was the perverse nature of the Eye of Artemis talent. It pierced through all truths of the abyss and darkness, permitting John to see through all invisible energies hidden in the air just with his gaze.
At this moment, those lines of light in various hues that danced within his field of vision were the embodiments of all attribute energies lingering around the Soulstone Temple.
Among them, the pristine Holy Light energy was the most pronounced and abundant.
The Holy Light permeated through the stone walls of the Soulstone Temple, tightly enveloping the entire edifice, and staunchly sealing all nefarious forces within.
Yet now, John could distinctly observe that Holy Light gradually melting away as if snow under the sunlight.
With every dispersion of a strand of Holy Light energy into the cosmos, a stream of dark energy would burrow out from the Soulstone Temple's walls.
John's brows slightly lifted; he recognized that within this sealed Soulstone Temple, there were entities relentlessly eroding the sealing barrier, striving to break free entirely.
Furthermore, John sensed a familiar evil aura emanating from the seeping dark energies, seemingly identical to that of the Desire Devil Mammon.
John stroked his chin, his face revealing a contemplative expression.
It seemed that this place indeed harbored an abyssal Devil...
The Elite Team stood momentarily halted at the periphery of the Soulstone Temple.
Perhaps it was the fruits of their recent training that even though this was their first foray into a Devil hunting quest, their coordination bore no signs of rawness.
No sooner had they stopped that Dragonfang, of the assassin class, seamlessly transitioned into a stealth mode, conscientiously embarking on a reconnaissance and vigil mission for the group.
Following a past confrontation with John, berserker Balga took it upon himself to move to the forefront of the formation.
Conjuring a mammoth shield from seemingly nowhere, he gripped it in one hand while the other wielded a sizable battle ax.
It was evident that this military-bred berserker was now assuming the role of the team's shield, the tank.
Behind Balga, Spellblade Alcys and Battle Priest Hills stood shoulder to shoulder, the close-combat professionals naturally gravitating towards the frontline, ensuring their readiness to charge at adversaries at the onset of battle.
Meanwhile, John positioned himself at the rear alongside the ranged professionals — the fire lineage Grand Archmage Saphir and Yunis, the archer with elfin heritage — tacitly acknowledging the protective barrier formed by the rest of the team members.
It was customary for ranged professionals to hold the safest, rearmost positions, a tactic adhered to not only by players in team combats but also by the native NPC professionals, the culmination of countless warriors' experiences in the Godslayer Continent to forge the optimal team battle formation.
John's place at the end was not dictated by fear but was the necessity born from his role as the team leader — the indispensable nucleus and the most potent force within the group.
In the orchestration of team battle strategies, the leader bore the dual responsibility of commanding and fighting, restraining the instinct to lead the charge head-on.
John watched as the group quickly fell into their respective combat positions, a distinct gleam flickering in his eyes.
It was indeed an Elite Devil hunting team assembled by Duke Dinan, pulling together the finest from the Northern Myst Empire.
The class and prowess exhibited by these individuals were far from ordinary; a few short days of training had fostered such harmonious synergy.
"Captain, should we try to find a way into the Soulstone Temple next?" Dragonfang silently emerged from the back of the group, his voice raspy as he posed the question.
John turned to look at him, and perhaps perceiving the investigative gaze of John, Dragonfang spoke up again, his voice a harsh whisper, "I've already surveyed the surroundings; there are no traces of any creatures. Clearly, this place has become a forbidden zone for life..."
Scratching his head, John responded with a nonchalant demeanor, "Well, in that case, let's find a way to venture in and see what's going on..."
Truth be told, this was John's inaugural experience leading a team of NPC powerhouses.
He had previously commanded team operations in other games, back when things with SoulSong were harmonious, overseeing ordinary gamers whose backgrounds were known to each other.
Since stepping into the world of Godslayer, John had been a solitary player, forging his path alone.
During the few collaborative missions with Blue Sea and Adam, he had adopted a spectator's role.
Now, finding himself in a leadership position in team combat felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Thankfully, the strength harbored by this group was formidable; even without specific instructions from John, they instinctively knew their roles.
Upon hearing the captain's words, a renewed vigor swept across the team members, their eyes ardently fixed on the ominously silent and eerie Soulstone Temple before them.
The group gradually advanced, soon finding themselves before the grand doors of the Soulstone Temple.
There stood a pair of massive stone doors ajar, their surfaces marred with splotchy gray traces of age and an array of mysterious patterns, evidently engraved later in time.
The patterns radiated a gentle, faint white glow, bestowing an inexplicable sense of peace upon those who beheld them.
"My goodness, could this be the long-lost Ancient Holy Light Seal?!" Hills gazed at the patterns on the door, momentarily lost in a trance before exclaiming in astonishment, as if a revelation had struck him.
Noticing the puzzled looks of everyone, Hills hastily elaborated, "In our Holy Light Church, there once circulated a very ancient secret art, reputedly bestowed by the great God of Holy Light himself. This art enabled the crafting of a Holy Light sacred energy barrier through the engraving of divine-like patterns on objects…"
"However, due to the extremely difficult cultivation method and its restriction to a unique class of practitioners, this secret art became utterly lost to time, particularly after the mysterious disappearance of the last practitioner of that special class a thousand years ago…"
"I have merely encountered some records of this secret sealing technique in an ancient tome within the church. I never expected to witness it firsthand here today."
A collective gasp escaped from the group, faces filled with disbelief as they turned their gaze back towards the stone gates.
If Hills was speaking the truth, then wouldn't it mean that the Holy Light Seal surrounding the Soulstone Temple had been in existence for over a millennium?
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