"Guard athena?"

Gao Yuan muttered to himself. Although he didn't understand why this female statue was named athena,

He inexplicably felt it was very fitting.

Since the dungeon was successfully created, they naturally had to try out its effects first.

Zhou Huai immediately arranged for a ten-person team from the Eternal Night Guild to enter the dungeon.

"This dungeon is divided into four difficulties: Easy, Hard, Nightmare, and Hell."

Zhou Huai, controlling Zhuge Kongming, began to explain the rules to the members of the Eternal Night Guild.

"The rules are simple: protect the beautiful goddess athena in front of you."

"Successfully holding out against thirty waves of beast attacks counts as a success."

"During this process, you can revive infinitely after dying."

"However, if athena's health bar is depleted, your dungeon challenge is considered a failure."

The guild members nodded in understanding, their eyes gleaming with eagerness to try.

Zhou Huai smiled and said that since they understood, they could begin.

The captain of this team looked troubled and asked Zhou Huai, "Uh... what difficulty should we choose?"

Someone in the team immediately suggested, "Captain, why don't we go straight for Hard difficulty? I love a challenge!"

The members of this team were among the first recruits of the Eternal Night Guild.

They had experienced the Ruins Training and the East Sea City Defense Battle.

Their average Rank had already reached above thirty.

Such a team, in the former East Sea City, would definitely be the ace of any guild.

So, each of them was very confident.

Zhou Huai, however, suggested, "Let's start with Easy. The beasts' Ranks will match your current Ranks."

The team members nodded obediently.

Soon, this Guard athena dungeon welcomed its first dungeon challenge.

There was no buffer.

From the moment they selected the difficulty, exotic beasts surged from all directions.

"Roar!"

Groups of Shadow Wolves rushed out from the forest to the east, while countless Venomous Sand Scorpions crawled out from the western Gobi Desert.

From the southern volcano, flaming Lava Imps spewed forth, and from the northern snowfield, Frost Boars charged. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Tank hold the front! Mages prepare Fire Wall! Hunters focus fire on the Lava Imps!"

The captain reacted swiftly, immediately issuing commands.

The team members cooperated seamlessly, quickly forming a semi-circular defensive line in front of the statue of athena.

The Shield Warrior at the very front roared, slamming his massive tower shield onto the ground, causing an earthy-yellow energy barrier to rise.

The first wave of exotic beasts crashed violently against the barrier, making a dull thud, but unable to budge it an inch.

The Mages behind finished their incantations, and a surging Fire Wall appeared out of nowhere, engulfing large numbers of exotic beasts.

The Assassins' figures flickered in and out of the beast horde. Each flash of their cold daggers precisely reaped the life of an exotic beast.

The first wave was easily cleared.

"That's it?" The Archer in the team whistled, "Easy difficulty really is for kids."

The second wave, the third wave, the fourth wave... the team members found it increasingly easy, even starting to joke with each other.

However, by the fifth wave,

The situation suddenly changed.

"Watch out for the sky!"

Piercing shrieks came from the sky. Dozens of Frost Gargoyles with wingspans exceeding three meters swooped down from the direction of the snowfield, spitting deadly ice shards from their mouths.

"Damn it! Flying units!"

The captain's face instantly changed. Their formation was very effective against ground units, but against airborne enemies, it immediately seemed inadequate.

The Archers and Mages quickly redirected their firepower, sending arrows and fireballs into the sky.

But the moment they focused their output on the air, gaps appeared in their ground defense line.

Several thick-skinned Lava Trolls took the opportunity to break through the Shield Warrior's defense, roaring as they charged towards the backline.

"Pfft!"

A Mage, unable to dodge in time, was struck by a troll's stone club. His health bar instantly emptied, and he revived in a flash of white light beneath the statue of athena.

"I died?" The Mage looked at his hands in a daze, somewhat incredulous.

This was the team's first casualty.

Chaos began to spread.

As the number of exotic beasts increased and their types became more bizarre, the team continuously retreated.

People were constantly getting injured and reviving.

"Hold the line! Everyone hold the line! Healers, focus on healing!" The captain roared hoarsely.

But the battle line was still being compressed step by step.

Gradually, it reached the tenth wave.

"Boom!"

A colossal War Ancient Tree, its size comparable to a small mountain, emerged from the forest with heavy steps.

With every step it took, the earth trembled.

"It's over..." The Shield Warrior looked at the massive, sky-obscuring body, despair in his eyes.

The War Ancient Tree swung its thick vine arms, lashing furiously at the team's defensive line.

"Bang!"

The defense line completely collapsed.

Countless small exotic beasts surged through the gap like a tide, frantically pouncing towards the pristine goddess statue in the rear.

"Oh no! Stop them quickly!"

"athena is losing health!"

The team members' eyes were tearing, wanting to defend, but they were tightly entangled by even more exotic beasts.

The sharp claw of the first exotic beast scratched the base of the statue.

Buzz!

A faint golden shield appeared on the statue of athena, and its health bar instantly dropped by a small segment.

Its hundred thousand health points instantly became ninety-nine thousand.

This seemed to be a signal.

Hundreds of exotic beasts bypassed the defense line, surrounded the statue of athena, and launched a frenzied attack.

The statue's health began to plummet at a terrifying speed.

Ninety thousand... eighty thousand... seventy thousand... The golden shield flickered violently, its brightness unstable, as if it could shatter at any moment.

Until the twelfth wave of exotic beasts refreshed.

Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the statue of athena's shield completely broke apart.

The statue's health was rapidly depleted.

The entire statue was covered in hideous cracks, its light completely dimming.

【Dungeon Challenge Failed】

The cold System prompt sounded in every team member's ear.

Gao Yuan and Zhuge Kongming watched the entire process from the spectator space.

"This... isn't this difficulty too high?" Gao Yuan clicked his tongue.

Such an elite team, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° on Easy difficulty, could only last until the twelfth wave.

Zhou Huai smiled, "Difficulty makes it interesting."

"Their coordination still has many flaws. If they did better, holding out until the fifteenth wave wouldn't be an issue."

Actually, there was one point Zhou Huai didn't mention.

Members of the Eternal Night Guild had one huge difference from Professionals of ordinary guilds.

They entered a Night Demon state at night, and their strength would greatly increase.

By then, they would still have a good chance of clearing it.

Therefore, the dungeon designed by Zhuge Kongming for Zhou Huai was, from the beginning, intended only to serve the members of the Eternal Night Guild.

Other Professionals would find the challenge Heaven-Defying.

A flash of white light.

The failed team members were teleported out.

Their faces were all filled with indignation and frustration.

"Damn it! That was too stifling!"

"That War Ancient Tree was too overpowered, we couldn't even damage it!"

"Our formation had problems; we were too passive against flying units."

Although the members of this team failed, their faces were all filled with unwillingness. They immediately gathered to summarize their experience, preparing to continue the challenge.

News spread quickly.

More and more Professionals from the Eternal Night Guild arrived and participated in the dungeon challenge.

Zhou Huai didn't let his Clones stay idle either.

Before long, Moria, Sona, Da Yi, Xiang Yu, and Yaso, five SS-Rank individuals, stood at the dungeon entrance.