Chapter 281 The peach matures
After a day and night of trekking, the Cretan clerk, who had been wandering for several months, finally returned to his loyal Mount Ares.
"Did you get it?"
Athena, who came out to greet him, looked at Lorne for a while and spoke playfully, feeling as sharp as ever.
Luo En nodded helplessly, and the sense of accomplishment in fooling various gods disappeared.
It has to be said that having such a smart leader over you is bound to be frustrating.
If he didn't knock her to the ground, he might never get ahead.
There was a meaningful flash in Loen's eyes, but he quickly collected his thoughts and asked in a deep voice.
"Where are the things and places I want?"
"Don't worry, everything is ready as you said."
After Athena finished speaking, she led Lorne to the top of the Ares Mountain. After looking around among the rugged rocks and withered yellow grass, she raised her hand and brushed away a huge blue-gray rock, revealing the magic array buried underneath.
The stars are twinkling, reflecting the constellations in the sky.
The base seems to be based on the Greek astrolabe.
Athena thought for a moment, reached into the astrolabe, skillfully caught a few stray stars, and turned them to the correct position.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the star disk lit up suddenly, and a surging golden light rushed straight into the sky, bringing with it a strong ether vibration. The Ares Mountain under the feet of the two people continued to shake, and a series of marble stairs spread upward, leading to the arch-shaped light curtain.
Seeing this magnificent scene, Loen couldn't help but look surprised.
There is such a place in War God Mountain? He actually never knew about it!
Athena's eyes met the surprise on that face, and a hint of pride flashed across her eyes. Then she pulled up Ron, who was still standing there in a daze, and stepped forward, reminding him leisurely.
"Get ready, we are about to enter the real sanctuary."
As the sound echoed, Athena took a step forward and pulled Lorne into the surging golden light.
Soon, Loen found out what Athena meant by "preparation".
The moment the two stepped into the light gate, their feet suddenly felt empty, the wind whistled in their ears, and a strong sense of weightlessness came over them.
This is... high in the sky!
The sudden change caught Loen off guard, and he staggered and fell rapidly.
After a moment, he quickly steadied himself and landed on a floating rock, then turned around and complained to Athena who had a smirk on her face.
"You are so wicked to install the connection point of the teleportation array high in the sky."
"Isn't it just right to use it to guard against foreign enemies and give early warning? Anyway, except for a few people, no one knows about this place, which basically eliminates the possibility of accidental intrusion."
Athena explained confidently, then spread the golden wings behind her, flew across the hollow abyss in front of the light gate, lightly stepped onto the small floating island connecting the stairs not far away, and waved to Loen.
"Follow me, this way."
With the previous experience as a lesson, Loen did not rush to take a step. Instead, he looked around, his pupils gradually dilated, and a look of shock appeared on his face.
This is the real [Sanctuary]? !
Looking around, the boundless sky is filled with shining stars, and the bright starlight is like gems embellishing the sky, within reach.
Under the starlight, there is a vast and magnificent world, stretching out from the chaos and vastness of the ancient times. Floating islands of varying sizes appear and disappear in the clouds, scattered in an orderly manner, like palaces of stars reflecting the celestial phenomena on the ground.
On the floating islands, some are covered with red flowers and green willows, and lush vegetation; some are covered with gurgling water and undulating mountains; some are covered with open plains and thriving fruits and vegetables; some are covered with sparkling crystals and glittering gems; some are covered with towering columns and numerous palaces...
The interconnected archipelagos seem like an independent paradise of God.
Loen counted them carefully and found that there were a total of eighty-eight larger islands with magnificent palaces built on them, guarding the throats of various places. Different lights of blue, silver and gold were flashing on them, which seemed to correspond to the constellations on the Greek astrolabe.
Among them, the twelve most magnificent golden temples occupy the center of the entire starry sky, like a gorgeous star ring, guarding the three huge statues of the goddess.
The goddess on the left wears a laurel wreath and armor, holding a shield in one hand to protect the weak and a gun in the other to fight against the strong enemy. Her high morale is like the thunder in the sky and the raging waves in the deep sea, fully demonstrating the original vitality and struggle of life.
The goddess on the right, with her eyes covered by a veil, holds a scale in one hand and a holy sword in the other, symbolizing judgment and punishment, impartiality, justice and selflessness, representing the order from the starry sky and the morality in the heart.
The goddess in the center is wearing a plain long dress with her hands clasped in front of her chest, protecting the eternal fire in her arms, dispelling darkness and bringing light. A touch of love for the world and joy for life flows between her eyebrows.
The three statues with distinctive features in front of you represent Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, Themis, the goddess of justice and justice, and Hestia, the goddess of fire and home.
Loen turned to look at Athena and asked the question in surprise.
"When did you arrange these?"
"When you were fooling around outside."
Athena snorted softly, a hint of pride on her face that was beyond words.
This project is outrageous! And it was completed right under Zeus' nose!
Loen automatically filtered out the sarcasm in the words. While admiring this complex of buildings that combined classical artistic beauty with magical defense capabilities, he glanced at Athena beside him and secretly complained in his heart.
Sister, you are so good at civil engineering, are you going to take over the job of plastering on the construction site in the future?
"The space in the sanctuary has been specially processed by my power. It's easy to get lost without a guide. Follow me closely!"
Athena interrupted Loen's thoughts with a deep voice, and then took him towards the starry sky, to the huge floating island and temple at the feet of the three goddess sculptures, which were connected like petals.
The temple, that was their destination.
In theory, there is only one way to pass through the entire sanctuary where space has been specially processed and reach the end.
“According to my design, outsiders need to pass through the twelve zodiac signs that are the main body of the sanctuary. In theory, each zodiac sign will be guarded by a gold saint who is above the level of a demigod. In order, the corresponding constellations are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
When they reach the end, they will be greeted by the altar seat in charge of guarding the [Temple] and coordinating the operations in the center. Depending on the severity of the situation, he will decide whether to awaken the servants of the three goddesses, or the three goddesses themselves.
In addition, drawing on the experience of the previous Crete attack and defense, the entire [Sanctuary] is actually an attack and defense entity, with the Zodiac as the axis, and the silver and bronze Saints scattered in the other constellations connected to it. Through the connection of the eighty-eight constellations, they can gather at the Zodiac or the [Sanctuary] at the first opportunity to provide support..."
On the way, Athena couldn't help showing off her masterpiece and told Ron beside her all about her elaborate design.
Lorne listened quietly, nodding in praise of certain features, asking for more details, and giving his suggestions and opinions without any perfunctory or impatient attitude from beginning to end.
As the goddess of wisdom, few can match her in terms of scheming and vision.
She is too lonely.
It was a rare opportunity to take a walk together and feel her inner self beneath her shell, so Loen naturally tried his best to satisfy her.
After all, this journey is not long, but the road ahead will be very long.
"Unfortunately, with the Father God watching over us, there aren't many heroes we can win over. I also don't want to reveal the secrets of the Holy Land to them, so now it's just a gorgeous empty shell."
Athena looked back at the empty Zodiac, as well as the other star palaces and floating islands that were also dead silent, her face full of regret.
"Don't worry, there will be some, there will be some."
Lorne comforted him softly, his eyes filled with an indescribable firmness and depth.
Athena nodded and took Lorne to the floating island at the end and to the open square.
Suddenly, the altars in front of the statues of Hestia and Themis, which respectively enshrined a ball of golden flame and a scabbarded sword, attracted his attention.
"That is..."
"Yes, just as you thought." Athena nodded and replied faintly, "They are sleeping down there. One of them is because her godhead is broken, and the other is because her godhead is missing..."
When Luo En heard this, complicated thoughts surged in his mind.
"Okay, don't look so sad. They are just temporarily asleep. They are not in a life-or-death situation yet. As long as we gather enough faith for them in the future, they will wake up sooner or later." Athena on the side waved her hand and pointed to the void under the floating island where starlight gathered and flowed. She added unhappily, "Also, the base of the sanctuary itself can provide them with some recovery power, but it will take a longer time."
Lorne nodded, not dwelling too much on the useless question.
Whether it's Themis or Hestia, they will choose to put everything on him.
As long as he is alive, as long as he can win, he will awaken Themis and Hestia sooner or later.
In order to dispel the somewhat dull atmosphere, Lorne pointed to the statue and altar of Athena and asked jokingly: "So, yours is ready too?"
Hearing that deliberate misleading, Athena couldn't help but roll her eyes at Lorne: "I really don't understand why you want me to prepare that kind of thing."
"Is there a time when you can't guess?" Loen asked back with a smile and a teasing look on his face.
"I just don't want to bother with these insignificant matters." Athena snorted and turned her head away proudly. In order to maintain her face, she did not continue asking questions and took Loen into the temple.
In an instant, the light disappeared, darkness emerged, and an indescribable feeling of confinement and isolation spread.
It seems as if everything around has no time, no space, and no dimension.
As a ray of starlight lit up from Athena's fingertips, Loen saw the entire picture of the Temple.
——This is a man-made cave. The dark stone walls are all engraved with dense spells, leaving no space. Countless stars are twinkling among the words, like a miniature universe.
After taking a closer look, and sliding his fingertips over the surrounding stone walls and runes, Loen suddenly realized.
"We are in the belly of Ares Mountain?"
It turns out that the so-called "temple" is just a cover-up, and the real face of this place is a "prison" that imprisons gods.
"That's right, this is your main battlefield. At the critical moment, the power of the entire sanctuary can be used by you."
Athena nodded and sneered confidently.
"If she dares to come, she will definitely be in big trouble!"
"That's what I said, but just to be on the safe side, please call one more person in for me after I'm ready."
"who?"
"Melinoë!"
Lorne uttered the answer leisurely, a smirk on his face.
"Ask her if she wants to play a big game and plot a world-shattering conspiracy with me."
Athena looked at Loen deeply, said nothing more, nodded slightly, then stood up and left the Temple to go outside to make preparations.
Watching the figure full of security and oppression disappear in the starlight, Loen shook his head, sat on the ground, and began to absorb the divinity of Zeus in his body, gathering the twelfth incarnation, and slowly ripening the [fruit] on his body.
~~
A few days later, a loud eagle cry was heard in the dark space, and a pair of purple eyes slowly opened, with divine light as fast as lightning!
At the same time, his body exuded a faint fragrance, like a ripe peach, which was delicious and juicy to some beings, and it was the time to harvest and taste.
(End of this chapter)
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