From the moment I was chosen by the holy relic

The tomb raiders exchanged glances, their hearts filled with doubt and apprehension, but their greed for the treasure outweighed their fear.

"Stop dawdling, let's go in!" The leader waved to his men, his tone full of impatience. Several tomb raiders, carrying torches, cautiously walked ahead. Eric and Eileen exchanged a glance and followed.

As the group stepped into the temple, the sight before them caused them to gasp in astonishment. The temple's interior was incredibly spacious, far surpassing any other building in the outside world. The surrounding stone walls were covered with intricate bas-reliefs depicting ancient mages, clad in long robes and holding scepters, as if performing some kind of mysterious ritual. The high, arched dome overhead was inlaid with countless shimmering gems, like a sky full of stars, and a deep blue light bathed the entire space.

In the very center of the temple, a tall altar stands abruptly. The altar is made of black stone with a smooth, mirror-like surface, and is engraved with circles of ancient runes that shimmer faintly in the pale blue light.

At the top of the altar, a knight statue clad in heavy armor stood silently, his eyes lowered and his expression solemn, as if guarding some sacred secret. The armor was covered with the marks of time, yet it still gleamed with a cold metallic luster.

The knight gripped a sword tightly with both hands. The scabbard of the sword was exquisite, inlaid with several azure gems, each crystal clear and shimmering like pearls from the deep sea. The hilt was decorated with intricate patterns, and at the top was a huge ruby, its color as deep as blood, as if containing endless power, firmly drawing everyone's attention and making it impossible to look away.

The tomb raiders' eyes lit up when they saw the sword. The leader let out a low exclamation, as if unable to contain his joy: "What a treasure! This trip was worthwhile! This sword is priceless!" He waved his hand, signaling the others to prepare to take the sword.

"This kind of sword shouldn't be touched lightly," Eileen whispered a reminder, her gaze fixed on the sword, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

The leader scoffed dismissively, ignoring Eileen's warning, and waved for his men to fetch the sword: "You all, get it down here!"

The dwarf rubbed his hands together, cautiously approached the altar, and greedily reached out to slowly grasp the sword hilt, his eyes revealing undisguised excitement.

He slowly exerted force and easily pulled the sword from the statue's hand. The dwarf excitedly waved his arms.

A deep rumble came from underground, causing the entire temple to tremble slightly. The smiles on the tomb raiders' faces froze, their expressions turning to terror. They looked around, puzzled as to the source of this unusual tremor.

"Wh...what's going on?" the leader asked hurriedly, his eyes filled with confusion and unease.

The ground trembled more violently, and just as the tomb raiders scattered, a crack slowly opened up in the stone ground beside the altar. Then, a pair of huge claws emerged from the crack, followed by a strangely shaped guardian beast that slowly crawled out of the ground.

It was a monster that seemed to be pieced together from rocks, with four thick legs and its skin covered with dark red magical runes that shimmered with a chilling light. Its eyes were as fiery as lava, and it looked at the tomb raiders with intense hostility.

"Ah! Monster... Monster!" The dwarf who had just grabbed the sword stumbled backward in fright, his eyes filled with terror.

The guardian beast let out a deep roar, the sound seemingly coming from the depths of the earth, echoing throughout the entire temple. It slowly lowered its body, its gaze fixed directly on the tomb raider.

A flicker of panic crossed the leader's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and commanded in a low voice, "Don't panic! It's just a guardian beast! Everyone, attack together!"

After a moment's hesitation, the tomb raiders finally gripped their weapons and pounced on the guardian beast.

The dwarf picked up the double-edged axe, his eyes bloodshot, and leaped forward, hacking fiercely at the guardian beast's forelimbs. A clang of metal rang out, the axe blade bounced off, and his force had no effect on the monster.

"This thing's skin is harder than rock!" The dwarf winced and shook his hand, his eyes filled with fear.

Another tomb raider gritted his teeth, held his longsword, and stabbed at the monster from the side. The tip of the sword touched the monster's skin with such force that the sword was knocked out of his hand, but it only left a shallow white mark on the guardian beast's skin.

The guardian beast's eyes blazed with fire, as if its provocation of these people had reached its limit. It suddenly raised its claw and slammed it down on the dwarf, striking him heavily in the chest. The dwarf flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the stone wall with a dull thud. He twitched a few times on the ground and then lay still.

"Damn it, get back! This monster isn't afraid of weapons at all!" the leader shouted, quickly retreating.

The guardian beast moved swiftly, its massive forelimbs slashing out and sending another tomb raider flying as he tried to escape.

The leader was sweating profusely, staring intently at the faintly glowing sword in his hand. Suddenly, he kicked Eric and Eileen to the ground, then turned and ran quickly toward the temple entrance, with the other tomb raiders in close pursuit.

"You two can play with it for a while!" The leader sneered mockingly, and his figure quickly disappeared outside the door.

Eric, who was locked inside the temple, glared fiercely: "Beast!" He struggled angrily, trying to break free of his restraints, but the ropes were tied so tightly that he could not budge them at all.

Eileen felt her magic power slightly recovering, her fingers moving subtly in the shadows as she chanted softly. A faint light enveloped the ropes, slowly corroding them until, in an instant, the ropes binding the two of them turned to dust and fell to the ground.

"Let's hurry up and go!" Eileen said eagerly.

Eric nodded, and the two of them quickly ran towards the entrance.

Just a few steps from the entrance, Eric suddenly heard a heavy growl from behind. He turned around sharply and saw the guardian beast suddenly bend down, raise its huge claws, and pick up a boulder that was almost half a person's height from the ground.

"Run!" Eileen exclaimed, her voice tinged with a rare hint of panic.

The guardian beast swung its claws sharply, sending the boulder flying in an arc towards them. Eric's eyes narrowed, and he instantly realized that its target was the entrance to the temple.

"Oh no!" he cursed under his breath, and forcefully pulled Eileen aside.

With a deafening roar, the boulder crashed heavily onto the entrance, sending up clouds of dust. When the dust cleared, the entrance was completely blocked, with massive rocks stacked together to form an impenetrable stone wall.

Eric froze, turned to look at Eileen, and said with a mixture of frustration and helplessness, "What do we do now? Looks like we have no choice but to confront this guy."

Eric picked up the longsword from the ground and stared at the guardian beast before him.