[The Third Temple]
Everyone entered one after another through the gate of the Third Temple.
However, this time was completely different from entering the Second Temple. The moment they stepped through the entrance of the Third Temple, everyone felt their vision go dark almost at the same time.
Then it brightened again, and the scene before them changed completely.
The narrow, dark cave was gone.
In its place was actually a forest?
The forest wasn't large. It was roughly an oasis of nearly a hundred square meters. In the middle stood a large tree. Beside the tree was a small pond, along with a patch of grass that wasn't particularly sparse.
Beyond that hundred-square-meter area was a stretch of yellow desert.
The surroundings seemed endless.
Above them, everything was covered by a layer of gray mist, making it impossible to see the sky.
But since it was still bright out, everyone could at least confirm that it was daytime.
"What... is this supposed to be?"
An oasis of only a hundred square meters could be understood at a glance with a quick walk around it.
Everyone was somewhat confused, 'What exactly are we supposed to protect in the Third Temple? Could it be the tree behind us?'
"Why don't you predict it?"
After entering, the prompts Ethan saw were all ordinary.
Big tree, pond, sand, grass, and things like that.
There was no danger warning and no special directional hint.
So for now, he couldn't tell how this stage was supposed to be cleared.
But since they had someone like Charlie, a prophet, why not make use of him?
After all... there was no reason not to.
"Charlie."
Although Harriet was unwilling to be ordered around by Ethan, the gap in strength between them, along with her own desire to clear the stage, left her no choice but to use Charlie's ability.
"I'll... try."
After making prediction after prediction, Charlie's originally pale face had begun to look somewhat green.
But he didn't dare resist.
He could only obediently mutter to the crystal ball again before saying, "The prediction says we need to protect the tree behind us. There will be many monsters. We must repel the monsters to obtain the reward."
"So that's what Guardian Temple means."
Harriet pretended to have suddenly understood.
However, just as Charlie finished speaking, everyone heard a rustling sound coming from somewhere not far away.
The sounds didn't seem to be coming from the ground.
Instead, they sounded as though they were coming from underground or somewhere beneath them.
[A nest of Strong Acid Ants has appeared ten meters underground. Their mouthparts have powerful corrosive properties and can dissolve various metals and weapons. They can even corrode protective barriers. Be careful!]
'They're underground?'
When Ethan saw the prompt, he immediately frowned and warned everyone, "Everyone, get into the tree! The monsters are underground!"
"Yes, Lord!"
Without hesitation, the Birdmen transformed into their birdman forms and flew up into the tree.
As for Daji, relying on a cat's instincts, she climbed onto a branch using her claws.
Ethan's method was even simpler.
He directly activated the Domain ability of a Level 2 Lord and teleported into the tree.
[Level 2 Lord Authority: Obtain a Lord's Domain. Within this domain, you may move freely and can even ignore gravity, moving through the air. (Duration: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.)]
Although his domain currently lasted only three seconds and could only be activated once every hour, it was absolutely a trump card for surprise attacks or escaping.
If this skill could level up along with his Lord rank, that would be amazing.
"What?", Harriet said doubtfully, "It sounded like it was coming from somewhere nearby. Are you sure you didn't hear it wrong?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she realized that Ethan and the others were already in the tree.
They looked down at her from above.
None of them seemed interested in answering her.
Their expressions practically said, believe it or not. If you don't, stay down there and keep waiting to die.
This made Harriet grit her teeth in anger.
In the end, she followed their example and quickly jumped onto the trunk, planning to climb the tree by brute force.
But Charlie didn't have that ability.
He was just a frail prophet.
How could he possibly do something like that?
"Sister Harriet, I can't climb trees. What should I do?"
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Harriet could only hurry back down and prepare to bring Charlie up with her.
But Charlie was too heavy, and Harriet had overestimated herself.
Climbing a tree alone and climbing a tree while carrying someone were completely different things.
"Help!"
Harriet gritted her teeth and shouted up at Ethan.
Ethan glanced at her.
In the end, he lowered a rope from the tree.
After all, Harriet could be left alone.
But Charlie, the diviner, was still very useful to Ethan and the others.
He couldn't just be allowed to die.
When Harriet saw the rope, she immediately tied one end around Charlie.
But before they could escape into the tree, bulges had already begun appearing across the ground of the oasis.
It looked as though something was about to break through the surface.