The erratic situation continued for a few more minutes before they reached the ruins and arrived at their specific location for the ambush.

  In the front were the ruins. There were many big structures, buildings, all broken and in various stages of decay. There was one high building, half-destroyed, its upper floors open to the sky. This half-destroyed structure would serve as their ambush point.

  There was still some loot in the building—just some food, water, and a few pill pouches scattered among the debris.

  During the brief window of ransacking, Lu Er encountered Yao Ming repeatedly, and every time their eyes would meet, Yao Ming would either make a sour expression or constantly study him on how to get close to Xia Sahui.

  Lu Er wasn't annoyed or angry at him. If anything, he rather appreciated the hustle. That man right there was doing everything he could to lick that boot, scraping for favor with the kind of desperation that only the desperate could muster. It was commendable.

  If Lu Er didn't have other plans for the moment, he knew he would be giving Yao Ming a serious competition on who's biggest sycophant. After all, who would not want a rich and powerful backer like hers? Not to mention himself, who was already bankrupt.

  After looting the place on a first-come-first-served basis, they all quickly took their spots and hid in the building, pressing themselves against shadowed walls and behind toppled pillars.

  Diagonally opposite their location stood another cluster of ruins, where the Chen brothers and Zhu Yan had positioned themselves; their figures barely discernible among the broken colonnades.

  "Remember, even though the other groups have the responsibility to stop the temple from moving, there is still a chance that Hua Yong might not stop. So, just as the temple reaches halfway in front of us, jump." Xia Sahui delivered her final command as they all settled into tense anticipation.

  "Yes!"

  Everyone replied together. Though many of them were still and hesitant, they themselves had chosen this, they had to agree and follow. There was no turning back now.

  Lu Er looked at the map. The temple was still some distance away; it would take about five more minutes for it to reach where they were.

  But they didn't have to wait long.

  The temple already loomed visible on the horizon, growing larger with each passing second.

  The sight made all the Unawakened tense. The ambush squad hid even deeper in their positions, their breaths held. They couldn't let the enemy know what was coming, the element of surprise was their sole, fragile advantage.

  The temple, stood on an enormous stone disc, built from pale stone blocks that had weathered to a soft gray. Its structure long and rectangular, with high walls reinforced by evenly spaced external supports that arched outward before connecting back into the upper masonry. Tall, narrow windows filled the gaps between these supports, their patterned glass casting muted colors across the stone during the day. The entrance fa?ade was layered with carved arches, each one depicting scenes of mythology and conquest.

  Above, the roof rose steeply in multiple sections, crowned by three pointed spires that tapered cleanly toward the sky. Smaller pinnacles and decorative ridges lined the edges, giving the silhouette a jagged, vertical profile. From a distance, the entire temple appeared orderly and symmetrical.

  The entire stone disc was moving closer to them as it slowly floated in the air.

  Surprisingly, Lu Er felt extremely odd after looking at the temple. The sight was magnificent, but it was odd, it didn't really fit into the place.

  All in all, it looked more like a church than a temple. The dissonance nagged at him, but there was no time to ponder it.

  Soon, the entrance of the temple reached all the way to the ruins they were hiding in, but it wasn't time yet. Slowly, the front entrance moved away, then halfway, and a few moments after the temple crossed halfway through their position—

  "Halt!"

  A youth donning full metal armor on his body came forward and shouted from the entrance of the temple. This was Hu Jian.

  The temple continued its forward momentum briefly before gradually settling to a motionless hover, suspended in midair.

  "Chen Yuan, Chen Tao, and Zhu Yan!" Hu Jian shouted, his voice carrying across the distance. "Why are you all here?" His eyes scanned the ruins. "We already had an agreement; do you want to fight us?"

  A few moments ago, just when the temple crossed halfway—

  "Go, go, go." The group leaders whispered urgently, and all of them ran straight forward at full speed, their feet pounding against the broken stone.

  All of a sudden, five figures emerged out from the seemingly broken ruins and shot straight toward the stone disc. And yes, only five. Even after all that planning, they still hesitated in the end.

  Though both temple and disc were substantial in size, the gap between ruins and stone platform remained considerable. If they didn't reach the disc, they would be critically injured if not die after falling from that height.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  And if they did make it, they had to make sure they landed properly, otherwise they would hit the walls of the temple and fall back, and the result would be the same.

  And doing all that while the temple was constantly moving? It took a lot of courage and self-confidence.

  The five figures—Xia Sahui, Lu Zhiheng, Cai Hong, Xu Qin, and Yao Ming—all jumped out, Xia Sahui and Lu Er both landed cleanly on their feet, absorbing the impact with bent knees. Xu Qin and Cai Hong also somehow stood on their ground, swaying but stable. Yao Ming, on the other hand, couldn't make it, he was barely a step away from the disc, but Xia Sahui caught him by his robe, the fabric straining, and pulled him up with a grunt of effort.

  “Th-thank you, Lady Xia” He stuttered, breathing heavily.

  The stone disc was still moving at that time, so they all moved quickly toward the back entrance of the temple, their footsteps echoing against the ancient stone.

  After the temple stopped, four more Unawakened jumped after them. Three of them made it—one didn't.

  …

  "Hu Jian, what you did is not fair to us." Chen Yuan's voice rang out, accusation and anger warring in his tone. "First you took our painstakingly obtained reward, and now you are also hunting our side’s people. Xu Qin and Yao Ming also left because of you. You people are the ones who broke the agreement—"

  "Ahhh…"

  THUD.

  A screaming voice, followed by the sound of someone falling to the ground, broke their conversation mid-sentence.

  Chen Yuan: "…"

  Hu Jian: "…"

  "Run, run! Run back into the ruins, scatter!" Chen Yuan shouted while running away from the sudden violence.

  "Move the temple! Quickly! Drop it onto them!" Hu Jian also erupted, giving orders, his face twisted with panic and fury.

  "No." A voice came from inside the temple.

  It was Hua Yong, sitting on a throne on the exact opposite side of the entrance. He had a narrow, well-defined face with a straight nose and sharp jawline. Eyes long and relaxed at the corners, framed by light lashes and thin brows. His hair was warm copper-orange, thick and slightly tousled as the front fell in uneven bangs that partially framed his forehead, while the back was gathered into a single loose braid that rested over one shoulder.

  "It's not necessary," Hua Yong continued, his voice echoing through the stone chamber. "Continue moving the temple on the original route. As for those who entered—" He paused, a smile curving his lips. "—humph, let me see what they had planned. How dare they go against me. I'll show them just how helpless they are."

  In front of him was a high altar, on which was a projection of another Unawakened.

  "Yes." The Unawakened replied, and the stone disc started moving once again.

  "Also, be ready," Hua Yong added, his smile widening. "It seems some of them had snuck in. They'd definitely come for you."

  "Yes—hey! Fan Chun! What are you doing! Someone just came in!"

  "Help! There are five of them here! How am I supposed to stop them all?"

  "Young master—"

  "I've already sent Lei Nin, Zi Taro, and others to help."

  "Ah, thank you—"

  "Argh!" The Unawakened's cry cut off sharply as something struck him. Another figure materialized in the projection, displacing the previous image.

  "Oh! Hua Yong." Xia Sahui's face appeared, her expression radiating mock contrition. "My apologies, but this temple will be mine."

  Her foot lashed out, connecting with devastating force and sending the Unawakened tumbling from the formation circle that controlled the temple's movement.

  Instantly, the entire stone disc shuddered to a halt, then began a slow, controlled descent toward the ground.

  “Xia Sahui…” Hua Yong grumbled before erupting in a small murmur of laughter.

  "Haha, sure, sure, but you do know that in order to become the guardian, you have to come here and seize the control of this altar, right?" He spread his hands, palms up, a gesture of invitation. "So, come and fight me here. Let's decide who gets to keep the temple."

  "Alright then." She replied and moved out of the formation circle, her movements smooth and deliberate.

  'She seems way too confident,' Hua Yong thought, his eyes narrowing. 'Does she have something that can defeat me? Even if she has a soul gift, she still won't be able to defeat me. Does she want to rely on numbers to beat me? But our side has full body armor, and I have both a soul gift and a skill… I will win. There is no doubt. And after I win, hehe.' He licked his lips as a wide, hungry grin appeared on his face.

  BOOM.

  The temple finally settled on the ground with a tremendous tremor that shook dust from the ceiling and sent loose stones clattering across the floor. All the running Unawakened saw the colossal monument settling, and suddenly everyone went into an uproar.

  The temple in front of them was a treasure trove waiting to be ransacked, and the gates were open.

  Suddenly, all of them ran straight toward the entrance, their footsteps thundering against stone.

  The Chen brothers and Zhu Yan and the one girl with her stood outside, watching all of them flock headfirst into the temple like moths to flame. Then they also entered, their expressions grim, their hands tight on their weapons.

  Some ran to the other rooms; some went toward the places they had stayed earlier. Others remained in the entrance hall, their eyes searching for enemies. They had clear instructions to fight Hua Yong's subordinates and kill them. They had been assigned accordingly, so they followed what they were ordered to do.

  Fights erupted immediately, whenever they found their targets. A dense cacophony of roars, metal clanking, arrows piercing the air, and screams filled the air—the symphony of violence that marked every battle. And amidst all of these, Hua Yong was still sitting on his throne in the middle, unbothered, watching the chaos unfold like entertainment. His subordinates fought multiple Unawakened at once—but even then, they were still not at any disadvantage because of their armor. The metal plates turned aside blades and absorbed impacts that would have been crippling otherwise.

  The brawl continued as the main star of the show finally appeared.

  "Kept you waiting, huh."

  Xia Sahui came from the left side of the temple and shouted in a playful tone, her voice cutting through the din of battle.

  Hua Yong scoffed at her, his expression cycling through amusement and contempt. "So, what are you planning?" He leaned back onto his throne after the provocation, spreading his arms wide. "If you want to attack, then I am sitting right here. Go ahead."

  Xia Sahui looked around a bit, studying the surroundings and the altar. The other Unawakened were already subconsciously moving aside, creating a circle of empty space around the two leaders. No one wanted to be the one to interfere between them.

  "Don't mind if I do, then—"

  She moved instantly. Unslinging her bow with fluid grace, she quickly nocked an arrow and shot at him—a single motion, perfectly executed, the arrow streaking through the air like a meteor.

  Clink.

  The arrow was stopped! The throne he was sitting on had morphed and formed a thin metal wall in front—interposed between himself and certain death.

  "So, that throne is actually metal." Xia Sahui's voice carried a note of appreciation, even as she prepared another shot.

  "You are smart to use stone arrows and wooden bow instead of metal. But if this is your only method of attack, then you will lose." Hua Yong's voice echoed from behind his shield.

  Xia Sahui looked at him and smiled—a cold, calculated expression that didn't reach her eyes. "But you know, that wasn't the only thing I did."

  "What do you—"

  Tink.

  His eyes widened from the sound and then—

  Boom!