When Eddie was teleported to the Aries Chamber, he found himself on a massive island suspended in mid-air. Below lay an endless abyss.
Curiously, Eddie dropped a stone down, but there was no sound of it hitting the bottom, even after a long wait.
Stepping away from the rune-embedded pillar, a golden light surged from beneath Eddie's feet, forming a faint golden shield around him.
Grey, the Iron Ridge Demon Wolf, was also enveloped in the shield, though it could move in and out freely, unlike Eddie, who found the shield moving with him.
"This feels like playing a dungeon in an online game! Well, existence is reason enough. Let's go see what the three-headed Chimera is like!" Eddie didn't bother to ponder the forces or principles at play.
He had seen many unexplainable phenomena, both in this world and on himself.
Choosing not to dwell on it, he summoned the Shadow Barbarian Bull to scout ahead.
After crossing a hundred-meter-long straight pathway and passing through a massive stone gate, Eddie was met with a vast complex of dark buildings. Dozens of battle puppets roamed the perimeter.
These three-meter-tall war machines, made of some unknown metal and shaped like sheep-headed humanoids, reacted to Eddie's presence and surrounded him.
Their sheep heads, marked with strange rune patterns, had ruby-like eyes flickering with fiery red light. Having previously fought rock puppets, Eddie knew these battle puppets lacked life and intelligence and only attacked the nearest enemy.
Hard combat was disadvantageous, but a little strategy could easily manipulate them.
Eddie didn't let the Shadow Barbarian Bull engage. Instead, he nudged Grey, signaling it to distract the puppets. Though slow and clumsy, the puppets attacked the nearest enemy, making the swift and agile Grey the perfect decoy.
Grey, finding the sheep-headed puppets easy targets, playfully darted around them, attracting their attention and even cheekily lifting its leg now and then to urinate on their metallic legs.
"Dolt, lead them away, don't waste my time!" Eddie was unimpressed with Grey's brashness. The wolf, typically a bully towards the weak, had been reluctant to confront more formidable foes in the Dragon Valley.
Yet, it eagerly attacked the weakest creatures like stink bugs and vomit maggots, even greedily feasting on their eggs.
Eddie knew their journey could have been smoother had Grey not provoked so many insect swarms.
If it weren't for Eddie's timely intervention, Yehken, Lyqeen, and Lyken might have become dinner for the insects much earlier.
Hearing Eddie's reprimand, Grey quickly got its act together and earnestly began to lead the battle puppets away.
Approaching the entrance of the building complex, Eddie encountered yet another battle waiting for him.
Guarding the massive entrance stood a group of demonic creatures, the sheep-headed monsters, their eyes also glinting red. Unlike the puppets, these creatures were alive, not very smart, but definitely not dumb enough to be easily lured away.
They wielded black iron spears and prepared for an attack, boosting each other with a green light before charging.
Grey, the Iron Ridge Demon Wolf, would be at a disadvantage against these demonic creatures, but the Shadow Barbarian Bull was a different story.
Eddie transferred the power of the Giant's Shadow to the Shadow Barbarian Bull, turning her into a formidable humanoid tank.
She charged into the fray, flailing wildly at the sheep-headed monsters. These two-meter-tall creatures seemed dwarfed by the three-meter-tall Shadow Barbarian Bull.
Their spears barely made a dent against her tough hide, and since she was more of a shadowy entity than a living being, she didn't feel pain like typical life-bound beasts.
The Shadow Barbarian Bull, under Eddie's command, grabbed two of the sheep-headed creatures and used them as weapons against the others, swiftly turning the tide of battle.
Although the Shadow Barbarian Bull was only at Bronze Level Three, matching the level of the sheep-headed monsters, her actual strength far surpassed them, even exceeding the typical prowess of a creature at her level.
The Bronze Barbarian Bull that she had possessed had been Level Five, but Yehken's "Shadow" ability, being only Level One, had brought down the overall level.
Eddie mused that once the Shadow Barbarian Bull advanced in level and improved in various aspects, these sheep-headed monsters would stand even less of a chance against her.
The only disappointment was that despite the chaos, she didn't use the 'Death Gaze.' It seemed that the triggering chance for Death Gaze was quite low, relying purely on luck.
The sheep-headed creatures and the humanoid battle puppets were mere time-wasters, a test for anyone aspiring to challenge the Zodiac Halls.
Any challenger with a bit of skill should be able to deal with them, but wasting too much time on these creatures meant the protective shield would disappear, dooming the challenger to failure.
Before obtaining the Silence Scepter and Blindness Stone to counter the three-headed Chimera, it was a fool's dream for any warrior below Level Five to think they could defeat a Golden Sovereign Beast like the Chimera.
Although the sheep-headed creatures weren't particularly strong in attack, they were defensively tough and hard to kill. Moreover, they recovered quickly, standing up to fight again even after being knocked down.
Their bloodthirsty and frenzied eyes seemed hypnotized, relentlessly attacking the Shadow Barbarian Bull without thought of retreat or surrender.
Noticing this, Eddie quickly hastened his pace, bypassing the battlefield and heading straight into the White Aries Hall, where the Golden Sovereign Beast guarded.
To Eddie's disappointment, the White Aries Hall was nothing like the stone palaces of the Saints.
This hall resembled a colossal colosseum, several times larger than a football field. In the center lay a huge creature, coated in a pale golden hue, lazily sprawling across the ground in deep slumber.
The creature's massive body was akin to a small hill, yet it inexplicably had a pair of thin, red, fleshy wings. Eddie couldn't fathom how such wings could possibly lift its gigantic body.
The creature had three distinct heads: a ferocious dragon's head on the left, resembling a Western dragon with sharp fangs and a tongue dripping with venom; a massive lion's head in the center, its mane ablaze with flames, breathing fire with every exhale; and on the right, a benign white sheep's head, giving an illusion of sanctity and kindness.
Around the sheep's neck hung a small, delicate golden bell. The three heads, so different from each other, created a bizarre yet oddly coherent presence.
Eddie gazed at the creature, radiating a faint golden light. Even in slumber, the three-headed Chimera exuded an indescribable sense of oppression, causing Eddie's brow to furrow in concern.
The Chimera's formidable strength was undeniable. Yet, Eddie felt that the most powerful part of the creature was not its venom-dripping dragon head on the left, nor the flame-maned lion's head in the center, but the seemingly harmless white sheep's head.
Facing a Golden Sovereign Beast of Level Six, while not as terrifying as the Infernal Demon King Hades, still exerted a profound sense of pressure on Eddie.
After shaking off the war puppets and sneaking into the hall, Grey, the Iron Spine Wolf, lost all its previous arrogance.
Witnessing the Chimera's mountain-like stature, the wolf trembled and sought refuge behind Eddie, not daring to advance any further despite Eddie's urging kick.
Indeed, Grey, being merely a Level Three Bronze Iron Spine Wolf, was relegated to the role of a spectator in this battle. With the Golden Thorn Blossom still digesting Hades' arm and thus unable to join the fight, Eddie had to rely on the Shadow Barbarian Bull and Little Wenli.
"How can I approach this battle?"