I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 328 - 328 327. Invader_1

Chapter 328: 327. Invader_1 Chapter 328: 327. Invader_1 Just as that maid spoke and led everyone into the side hall, Lu Ban also noticed the calligraphy and paintings hanging in the room. The characters twisted and skewed, forming the System’s indifferent and icy cold text.

[He Dao]

[Shengwu Thirty-second Year, a time to revive all that has fallen into ruin]

[The current Chief Priestess is about to retire, the political circles of He Dao teeter on the edge of chaos, far more fearsome at times than those life-devouring abominations, political enemies can be.]

[A long journey, solely to escort a Shrine Maiden, history will not remember your existence, people will not know your name, only Pure Fire will embrace it all, illuminating the murky seas]

[Days of Spring Without War, full only of the sorrow of parting]

[Mission Requirement: Escort the Shrine Maiden to the Great Shrine of Harmony Island]

[Mission Requirement: Bear witness to the birth of the new Chief Priestess]

[Difficulty: Mutation]

At the sight of these words, Lu Ban felt a subtle dizziness.

This was an unprecedented occurrence.

At the same time, Lu Ban saw changes occurring beneath the System’s text.

[Detection of a Chosen by Gods incursion, mission altered]

[Mission Requirement: Escort the Shrine Maiden to the Great Shrine of Harmony Island]

[Mission Requirement: Bear witness to the birth of the new Chief Priestess]

[Mission Requirement: Locate and eliminate the invading enemy Chosen by Gods]

[Difficulty: Mutation]

“A Chosen by Gods incursion?”

Lu Ban immediately thought of the three individuals from the Foreign Domain he had seen on Pohnpei Island. Their goal was to awaken an Evil God in Lu Ban’s world. So, could these hostile Chosen by Gods be attempting to thwart Lu Ban’s escort mission in He Dao?

He thought of many possibilities.

For example, according to previous conjectures, the Silent Lands could control the timing of when a Chosen by Gods would arrive in a Foreign Domain. Thus, it was possible that Lu Ban was currently in a future version of He Dao. If the prodigious Shrine Maiden he was escorting failed to reach the Great Shrine of Harmony Island and become the Chief Priestess, He Dao might be ravaged by the upper echelons’ power struggles and the abominations, leading to its ultimate doom.

Therefore, other Divine Beings’ Chosen by Gods would naturally come to kill the Shrine Maiden.

Of course, as someone who had studied materialist philosophy and embraced the people’s historical perspective, a good youth of the new age, Lu Ban thought this mission might not be as crucial as it seemed.

After all, it was a “scenario” constructed by the Divine Beings.

Perhaps Lu Ban would successfully save the Shrine Maiden, or maybe he wouldn’t. However, it wasn’t that the demise of He Dao would be sealed with her death.

It could simply mean that without the Shrine Maiden, the Great Shrine of Harmony Island’s ability to purge the abominations weakened significantly, hastening the island’s destruction. Or perhaps it was the Shrine Maiden’s formidable power that caused He Dao to be cleansed by Pure Fire ahead of time.

That was the extent of influence on history such an event could have.

The ruin of a world, apart from the impact of one or two heroic figures, is driven more by the course of history. It is not heroes who shape the era but the era that shapes the heroes.

Just as what Lu Ban did during the Demonic Tide in the Night Country, even without him, the Night Country would still exist hundreds of years later. His presence could mean fewer deaths and some historical changes for the Night Country over the next few centuries, but the overall trend would remain the same.

If He Dao continued as Shobu mentioned, relying on those few powerful families to determine the next Chief Priestess candidate, its destruction was almost inevitable.

The survival of this Shrine Maiden merely affected whether that event would occur sooner or later.

“Be polite, don’t stare at others,”

Shobu chided next to him, prompting Lu Ban to snap back to reality.

As he had been looking at the System prompts, his gaze had settled on the young girl sitting across from him.

His eyes focused, and he found that she was staring back at him, as if to silently reproach Lu Ban’s rudeness.

She was a young girl dressed in red and white garments, the attire of a Shrine Maiden, which Lu Ban had once seen on Song Island.

She was beautiful, with the freshness of youth and a hint of mature elegance, thick hair as dark as ink, and amber-colored eyes. She sat with impeccable posture, meticulous in every detail.

“Sorry,”

Lu Ban averted his gaze, but she continued to look at him.

“I am Shobu, the mercenary hired to navigate this journey, and this is my subordinate, Lu Ban.”

Shobu spoke, aiming to lighten the mood.

“Amber.”

The girl simply stated.

Moments later, Lu Ban finally realized that was her name.

Was it because her eyes were amber in color that she was called Amber?

“Lady Amber, we will do our utmost to ensure your safety on this journey, and we only hope that we can be open and honest with each other and trust one another,”

Shobu continued.

“Regarding the route for this time…”

As Shobu spoke, the girl Amber listened very intently, as if she wanted to memorize everything, just in case the escorts encountered any problem, she could still make it to the Great Shrine of Harmony Island on her own.

Having said that, she looked at Lu Ban again.

“Is there something on my face?”

Lu Ban asked curiously.

Amber hesitated, and finally placed her hand in front of herself, tugging at her neckline.

“Your clothes, the collar…”

Lu Ban looked down and saw it was the collar she had loosened earlier because the warm wind outside was too stuffy.

He adjusted his collar and then saw Amber finally relaxing.

Is this guy OCD?

Lu Ban promptly sat up a bit straighter.

Watching the girl in red and white clothes depart, neither of them immediately stood up.

“So this is the strongest shrine maiden of the current age. If she could become the Chief Priestess, perhaps the seas would indeed become a bit calmer,”

Shobu said somewhat poignantly.

“Let’s go back and pack up. We leave first thing tomorrow morning,”

Lu Ban followed Shobu back to where the mercenaries were staying.

It was a separate compound provided by Amber’s family, which housed several mercenaries. Through chatting, Lu Ban roughly found out that the composition of these mercenaries was very complex; there were former soldiers, martial artists, and even priests who had been expelled from shrines. These people could be pirates from a different point of view, but as mercenaries, they were paid to perform specific tasks, usually had a decent official status and were more familiar with complex waters because they dared to undertake adventures.

That night, having finally eaten a proper meal on Harmony Island, Lu Ban was deeply moved and wolfed down three large bowls.

While his companions were all getting drunk and singing, Lu Ban decided to go out for some fresh air.

The separate compound was large, with lush greenery, and under the cold and bright moonlight, one could see cherry blossoms fluttering in the wind. The fallen cherry blossoms at night displayed a faint purple hue, appearing even more enchanting.

After watching the flowers for a while and doing some stretching exercises, Lu Ban heard some strange sounds.

Whoosh—

Thump—

Following the sounds, he found a spacious courtyard.

Rather than a courtyard, it was more like a dojo, an archery range.

On one side hung several targets, and at a distance, on the wooden floor, stood a girl.

Amber, wearing a top that bound her chest and white socks, held a longbow in her hands, standing there.

She focused intently on the emptiness ahead, her gaze not on the target but as if staring at some more distant matters.

After a long pause, enough to make one think it was a still image, Amber slowly raised the arrow in her hand, gracefully pulling the bowstring in a posture that looked as elegant as a dance.

With such a stance, the arrow would surely hit.

Upon seeing this posture, Lu Ban couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder.

Another long wait went by, and just when Lu Ban thought he should perhaps leave, Amber released the taut bowstring.

Without any suspense, boringly and monotonously, the arrow buzzed through the air and hit the dead center of the target, splitting the previous arrow shot onto it right down the middle with precision.

Amber maintained the archery posture for a while longer, and after a long time, she finally relaxed.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,”

She looked towards Lu Ban on the side.

*

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