"Lady Artemis, are you still resting now?"
"Well, I need a good rest now."
"Mr. Link was so amazing just now!"
A girl ran over and congratulated Link, but Link just smiled and responded modestly.
Artemis didn't interfere with her Familia members approaching Link; she just watched silently without saying a word.
Fortunately, Link came here this time; otherwise, it wouldn't have been as easy as it is now for them.
However, considering Antares' situation, she frowned again.
The clan girls lit a bonfire.
They planned to continue resting here tonight and wait until daylight to go to the Ersos Ruins.
After Link was pestered to tell some stories about Orario's adventures, the girls finally went about their own business.
He found a secluded spot a little further away and sat down on the treetop in a single leap, leaning against the tree trunk.
He wiped the light towel in his hand under the moonlight.
Artemis surveyed the camp before returning to her tent. She looked around, subconsciously searching for her Orion.
She saw Link sitting idle on a branch, between the starlight and the moon, wiping the sword in his hand with concentration.
There was no wind, but for a moment, Artemis felt a breeze blowing from her heart.
Her Orion also cared a lot about her. He must have known that this situation was not simple, so he tried his best to follow her without getting upset.
Considering the current situation, the goddess quickly realized that Link was not here just for the commission. The kind of reward without any substantial materials explained everything.
She stood still, and it took her a few seconds to react and enter the tent.
After resting for the entire night, the family members set off again.
But this time, just as they reached the forest, Link pulled out his sword again.
Lot of scorpion monsters attacked everyone once more. Link raised his hand and slashed out a giant tornado.
It was Yasuo's Q-Scroll.
Because he used a lot of magic power, the powerful wind tornado formed could wipe out hundreds of scorpions in the blink of an eye.
But even though he kept clearing the area with various large-scale skills, these monsters continued to appear one after another.
This group of scorpions consisted mostly of level 1 individuals, with a few reaching level 2.
For the members of the Artemis Familia, who had reached level 2, it was not difficult to handle them under normal circumstances.
However, there were too many monsters.
The forest was so filled with ants that they bit the elephants to death. It was truly challenging for the mere twenty people to survive.
"Surrounded!"
Rhetusa slashed the scorpion in front of her with a knife and anxiously looked at her main god.
The ruins of Ersos lay in the distance, but the long bridge leading to the ruins was already covered with the weakened forms of the Disaster Scorpion, and more monsters were still pouring out.
Link appeared calm, and his attacks remained simple yet deadly, dispatching all the monsters around him with just a few knife strikes.
He glanced at Artemis:
"We must escape."
Artemis nodded.
Under her command, the deputy captain of the Familia stayed behind to lead, while Rhetusa and five level 2 members, along with Link, formed a team to explore the ruins before splitting into two directions.
After clearing the monsters once again around him, Link sheathed his sword and took out the red rose.
He slightly bent his knees, gazed into the distance, and slowed his breathing.
The strongest thing is not his sword!
Behind his back, countless spears condensed from light flames shot forward in a flash of red light.
——
"Twilight - hunting weapon!"
The powerful thrusts condensed by the flames of light flew straight ahead, instantly clearing a path behind everyone.
The team that had been prepared to stay back rushed toward the passage.
At the same time, Link kept moving and continued to wave his hand toward the long bridge, the red spear piercing through the air and clearing a route. Link took the lead and ran forward.
Artemis and the others quickly followed. Some of them guarded both sides, while others continued to shoot arrows.
Link, who was at the front, transformed into the blade of the sword, facing the oncoming monsters without retreating.
The arrows flying from behind passed by him and pierced the monsters' bodies.
He advanced while swinging his spear.
The monsters waved their claws and took advantage of the chaos to leave several scars on Link's armor.
Fortunately, he had this armor; otherwise, he would have been seriously injured by this relentless assault.
There are too many monsters!
Link became increasingly courageous as he fought, pushing forward and attacking simultaneously, embodying the momentum chaotic army, bringing Artemis closer and closer to the ruins.
After swiftly passing through the lake passage and arriving in front of the ruins, finally, no new monsters emerged.
It seemed that Antares inside also realized that something had to be done.
Link took the opportunity to take a deep breath to adjust his condition and took the time to look around.
The carvings of the ruins exude a rich historical atmosphere. The height of the stone door in front of the ruins exceeds ten meters, and the main hall behind it is even more vast and magnificent.
However, such a large ruin looks dark.
There are numerous cracks on the ancient stone pillars.
The trees in front of the ruins are also covered with twisted and fierce vines, while the walls are mottled and covered with vines and moss.
Walking through the hall, there were still a few scorpions crawling around.
Link casually waved his sword energy and slashed them to death, then looked at the blue fluorescence revealed in the cracks of the bricks.
"What are these lights?"
"The light of the seal," Artemis said as she pointed at the carving of the great elves shooting giant scorpions on the mural.
"This is the seal built by a group of great elves who sacrificed themselves for my dependents long ago."
The group continued to move forward, their footsteps the only sound in the silent hallway.
In front of the sealed door, everyone stopped.
Artemis took a few steps forward, raised her hand, and touched the lines on the stone door.
She then touched the bow and arrow emblem in the middle with her hand, which represented the Artemis Family…
"Buzzing…"
It seemed that she had used magic power?
Link saw Artemis radiating golden fluorescence, her long light blue hair not moving in the wind, exuding the majesty and solemn aura of a goddess.
The crest of the sealed door seemed to sense divine power and began to rotate on its own, and the thick stone door slowly began to open.
After everyone entered through the sealed door, the corridor was still normal at first. The mottled stone walls were covered with moss, but there was no scattered light from the seal.
However, just after walking through this corridor, a terrifying scene shocked all the team members, including Link.
"How can this be?!"
Artemis covered her mouth.
The originally wide passage had become filled with disgusting reproductive tissue.
The entire passage had transformed into a breeding corridor for alien creatures.
Densely packed insect eggs piled up on the walls and above, and disgusting mucus dripped down.
Strange tissue fell as well.
"Did this entire temple become a parasite? Did it become their… breeding ground?" a young girl asked in surprise.
At that moment, bursts of strange crawling sounds came from behind.
Everyone quickly turned around, just in time to see the disgusting proliferating tissue covering the temple walls swiftly sealing off the entrance to the passage they had come from.
"The exit was…!"
Link had no time to comfort the shocked girl.
He focused on what was in front of him.
Along with the disgusting sound of mucus, the openings of the insect eggs opened, and small disaster scorpions fell to the ground.
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