Void Beetle Evolution Guide

"What did she say?"

The samurai said that there was a girl from a samurai family who, distressed by her own weakness, was determined to climb the mountain, but was attacked by a pack of wolves on the way.

Fortunately, a healer appeared in time and drove away the pack of wolves. However, she did not kill the injured lone wolf. Instead, she healed the lone wolf after being bitten herself and then let it escape.

The healer had horns on her forehead and skin the color of lilacs. She told the girl that she would die if she continued climbing, because she was climbing for the sake of climbing, without choosing her own direction.

The doctor treated the girl's fatal frostbite, and the girl was moved by the doctor's kindness and took her advice to turn back.

"This is what the girl's parents told me. At the time, we thought she was making up a story to deceive people into believing she had climbed Mount Targon... It turns out she wasn't selected; I misunderstood her." (The last line appears to be a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

The older Raholak lowered his head in shame. He had judged others by his own standards without having the courage to climb the mountain; the girl must have suffered a great injustice.

"Where did the girl meet the doctor?" Diana asked.

"It seems to be on the hillside east of the sacred mountain, somewhere between the stars and the earth..."

"I hope you're not mistaken, otherwise you'll bear some responsibility for Leona's death." Diana snorted and picked up her climbing axe from the cave entrance.

May your light shine upon you / May your light shine upon you

Climbing to the summit is a life-or-death matter, and the two warriors wavered. Diana's willingness to sacrifice so much for Leona didn't seem like the wicked person the priest had described.

The two men made way for her, and after Diana confirmed that Leona was securely tied to her, she swung her axe and forcefully hammered it into the rock face.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Leona regained some strength, and Diana could feel a slight pressure from the hands that were wrapped around her neck, instead of being limp and hanging on her shoulders as before.

Feeling the warmth of the air hitting the back of her neck, Diana pushed off with her feet and plunged back into the snowstorm.

Rumble!

The sudden earthquake nearly caused Diana to fall off the cliff; the pickaxe hadn't cut deep enough, and she and Leona fell together.

She spun in mid-air, trying again to stop her fall, hammering her axe into the cliff face, but the axe slipped from her grasp. Had it not been for the wrist strap holding it in place, she would have lost the climbing axe.

The two fell forty feet, speeding past Kasha, whose amethyst eyes widened in disbelief.

"Syndra!" Kai'Sa shouted. Syndra, whose name was called, mouthed a curse, and then Diana was grabbed by an invisible hand.

The sudden pause made Diana feel like her bones were about to break, but she quickly regained her balance and immediately smashed the pickaxe into the wall, driving the spikes deep inside.

Then she turned her head to check on Leona's situation. But she saw that the latter's gaze was drawn to a strange phenomenon not far away, which seemed to be the source of the tremors.

Suddenly, the mountain peak in the distance split open, along with the large wall carvings that the Rakol people had carved on the mountain rock. A huge stone bull stood up from it.

Countless pebbles fell, and the stone ox roared like thunder, shaking the mountains. A golden archway sat atop the high, arched ridge, from which hung two thorny rings, one large and one small, from which shimmering sunlight easily blended into the darkness and snow.

Then the spot of light moved and aimed at them climbing the cliff.

Chapter 601 Colossus and Defense Tower

When they saw the towering stone bull that seemed to be carrying the mountain, Kasha and the others were stunned. No one had expected such a thing to suddenly appear during their climb.

"what is that?"

“The giant stone statues…and the Eye of Rakkor! These must be sent by the gods to stop us!” Diana gritted her teeth, her face showing deep worry.

This time, she didn't reach the summit as easily as before, and she realized that the gods did not want them to reach the top. They would set up all sorts of difficulties and obstacles along the way and do everything they could to hinder them.

The giant stone statue is like a living mountain. Under normal circumstances, it might not turn over even once every few hundred years, but it woke up just when she took Leona up the mountain to seek medical help!

I'm awake now, but to make matters worse, I'm carrying the Eye of Lakor on my back!

This arched building can focus and emit sunlight like the midday sun. Diana was once sentenced to three days of sun exposure for arguing with a priest in class, and she spent those three days under the shroud of the Eye of Lakkor.

The mere standby light had already sunburned her skin, caused her lips to peel off, and left her disoriented. Now, the focused beam of light was even more extraordinary; its intense heat easily melted the snow in its path and then locked onto the group climbing the sacred mountain.

Worse still, the Sun Guardians of the Solari Cult also began to appear around the giant stone statues. They floated in mid-air, casting huge shadows, like celestial bodies come to life.

Those things were mechanical puppets modeled after the sun. The huge golden spheres could reach more than ten meters in diameter, with only one side engraved with a totem resembling a human face. The holes in the eyes and forehead burned with orange-red light like furnaces, ready to shoot out a towering sun at any moment.

All the facilities the Solari used to protect the sacred mountain suddenly appeared. Perhaps they were just trying to snatch Leona back from the enemy, but the giant statues couldn't possibly have such convenient attributes to become accomplices, could they? Diana was more inclined to believe that the Titans were manipulating everything behind the scenes.

The beam of light cast by the Eye of Lakor grew increasingly dazzling and scorching. A deafening roar was heard as the mountain wall above Diana was blasted into a charred crater by the beam of light.

The cliff crumbled under this powerful force, with huge boulders mixed with ice shards and rock fragments falling like a raging avalanche.

If Diana wanted to avoid being crushed, she would have to hold onto her axe tightly, but that would prevent her from protecting Leona; the Celestial power could only protect herself.

With no other option, she chose to rappel down the rocky waterfall after it hit her head, then crawl back into the cave.

The cave was collapsing too, but it was still much better than outside. Diana held Leona tightly beneath her, the rocks slamming into Leona's back, the violent impact forcing air out of her lungs. "You Lin, Meimei, are you free? You Lin, are you here...?"

Before the tremors had subsided, the giant stone statue not far away once again emitted a deafening roar from the depths of the mountain. The stone ox bent its knees and leaped, landing directly on the sacred mountain.

The impact was no less than if an entire mountain had crashed into them. An even more violent earthquake completely destroyed the cave, and the figures of the two Protoss were instantly buried deep beneath tons of debris.

Beneath the avalanche, the mountaineering team members swayed precariously. Although Syndra used her vast magical power to forcefully stop the collapse, leaving the rubble suspended in mid-air, the tremors generated by the mountain could not be stopped.

She let out a low roar, and the falling rocks began to spin, transforming into a tsunami-like torrent that crashed into the stone bull, causing its majestic body to sway uncontrollably and its four hooves to slide hundreds of meters downhill.

In the chaos, several boulders were kicked aside. Inside the collapsed cave, Diana, who had barely managed to withstand the falling rocks, squeezed through a crack while carrying Leona, taking a deep breath as she covered in dust and dirt.

The icy air filled her lungs, making her shiver. She couldn't understand why they were stopping her when she was only going up the mountain to save someone. Or was it that Kasha and her group had brought these calamities upon them?

"You two go up first, we'll take care of these things!"

Thinking this, she saw Kai'Sa shout and then leap into the air. The Void Hunter plummeted thirty feet, and then an ice dragon suddenly appeared beneath her, carrying her towards the giant statue.

Seeing Kasha draw the attention of the giant stone statue, Diana felt only gratitude. Regardless of who these calamities were aimed at, Kasha and her companions' loyalty was truly commendable.

"Hang in there, Leona." Under cover, Diana carried Leona on her back again and continued climbing toward the summit with unwavering determination, even though they hadn't even seen the top yet.

Portil carried Kai'Sa toward the stone bull, the blizzard relentlessly lashing their faces, but the Void Hunter had already donned his helmet, staring intently at the colossal stone statue ahead through his narrow eye sockets.

The stone ox displayed unimaginable agility, leaping and bounding across cliffs. Apart from being a "billion" larger, it was no different from a mountain goat that lived on the snow-capped mountains.

Placed atop the exceptionally towering Mount Targon, the massive stone bull doesn't seem out of place. If it could be controlled to climb, it would probably reach the summit in no time.

Kasha was curious: could such a creature made entirely of rock be considered a living being? Using the Foundation Stone, she sensed that the giant stone statues also belonged to the category of living beings.

Above its head was something like a lifeline, meaning that through the Resolute Foundation, Kai'Sa could control its life and death. In contrast, the surrounding Sun Guardians were merely mechanical puppets.

The Radiant Guardian noticed that the human and dragon had entered its attack range, and its furnace-like, intensely hot eyes immediately shot out lasers, seemingly trying to melt the person under the midday sun's gaze.

The ice dragon spun its body to perform a three-dimensional maneuver to dodge the beam of light. The temperature was already extremely low in the sea of ​​clouds thousands of meters high. She opened her throat, and her extremely cold breath instantly formed a smooth ice staircase in mid-air. Then, she flapped her wings and disappeared into the blizzard, causing the guardians to lose sight of their target.

Kaisa jumped off the dragon's back ahead of time and slid down the ice steps. The lasers that followed shattered the ice steps behind her, but they still couldn't stop her from landing on the towering ridge of the giant stone statue.

She crouched down on the snow and rolled a few times, the thick snow helping to absorb much of the impact. Then she immediately rushed towards the Eye of Lakkor, arriving at the base of the giant golden archway.

Kai'Sa looked up at the two metallic thorny rings, one large and one small. The powerful, blazing sunlight emanated from these seemingly ordinary structures. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that they were engraved with dense runes, transforming the sun's rays into a powerful enchantment.

The Sun Guardians ceased their attack, seemingly also concerned that the laser might shatter the Eye of Lakol.

Seeing this, Kai'Sa did not destroy the ring directly, but instead used the World Rune to create several vines to bind the ring.

The ring absorbed the heat of the scorching sun, reaching extremely high temperatures. The vines she summoned soon caught fire.

So Kai'Sa aimed at the iron chains that held the rings in place, and used tree roots, which were tougher than vines, to align the two rings in a straight line, pointing them toward the guardians floating in from the sky.

The solar flare struck the Guardian, and as the heat intensified, an even more scorching energy erupted forth. The Guardian was engulfed in the pillar of sunlight, washed away by the waves of flame, and transformed into molten gold, plummeting from the sky.

The remaining guardians attacked, but the ice dragon turned back from the blizzard and froze them with the icy north wind, making them easy targets for Kai'Sa to hit, and they crashed after hitting the floating island.

With the help of the Eye of Rakkor's powerful attack, Kai'Sa successfully defeated the Sun Guardian and then aimed the light at the Minotaur's head.

Seemingly sensing the danger, the giant stone statue frantically shook its body, trying to throw Kai'Sa away. Although it didn't succeed, it prevented Kai'Sa from aiming at its head.

She tightened the lifeline of the colossus with runes, and it immediately fell into a bizarre state of suspended animation, lying motionless on Mount Targon. Then, the Eye of Rakkor activated with a roar, and the outer shell on the colossus's head burst open.

Portil turned back again, this time swooping down with the Ice Spine Greatsword, aiming it at the breach in the bull's head. The sword tip plunged straight into the bull's head, and the colossus, writhing in agony, broke free of its grip, raising its head and letting out a desperate, dying roar!

However, its life had come to an end. As Potil's dragon body slammed heavily onto the hilt of the sword, the blade was completely submerged in the bull's head. The colossal statue, which had only recently awakened, instantly turned into a pile of lifeless rocks, its massive, mountain-like body crashing down from Mount Targon into the sea of ​​clouds below.

If the indigenous people at the foot of the mountain looked up and saw this scene, they might feel like the sky had fallen.

Chapter 602 A Night for Two Women

With the crisis resolved, they could finally continue their climb. Kassa sent Portil to fetch her, and after scanning the battlefield, they found Diana nowhere to be seen.

"Have they gone far already?"

Kasha squinted as she pondered. They were actually quite different from those pilgrims determined to reach the summit; there was no need for them to climb step by step.

They didn't climb the peak to gain the approval of the Titans and become Protoss, so they didn't need to worry about being disqualified for reaching the summit through cheating. They just needed to focus on escorting Diana up the mountain.

But to think that way would be incredibly disregard for others' lives. The difficulty of climbing Mount Targon is dynamic; if they come on strong, Diana will inevitably be affected.

Moreover, Kai'Sa recalled Zoe's no-fly warning when she first arrived at Mount Targon. When the dynamic difficulty exceeds a certain threshold, even the most troublesome Twilight Protoss might be attracted.

After thinking about it, unless there's an emergency, it's best to be safe and climb up step by step.

……

Diana climbed until late at night. Although the blizzard had stopped for a while, the summit was still far away.

From her perspective, the distance between her and the mountaintop never seemed to shorten; it was as if she had been standing still for the entire day, a truly frustrating feeling.

But she knows she's not going to the summit, so she's still able to maintain a relatively positive mindset and climb steadily step by step.

To the east is a rugged flat area on the mountainside, which is much easier to walk on than the steep cliffs covered in frost and mist to the west. In some sections, you don't even need a climbing axe, and you have to find a place to rest from time to time.

But don't underestimate Mount Targon because of this. Precisely because the eastern side is easier to climb, many more people choose to ascend from this side.

Every few meters, you can see a hard, cold, frozen corpse. Most of these bodies are in the posture of climbing, still striving to reach the summit in their last moments. But this also proves that they were taken away by the cold wave in an instant. In the end, human beings are powerless to fight against nature.

There were also some frozen corpses curled up, covered in a thick layer of ice and snow, seemingly blending into the rocks, slowly twisting and turning with the winding ridge. One can imagine how they died—either injured or exhausted, falling asleep and never to rise again.

These corpses of those who came before vividly illustrate the cold realities of life. Diana remarked with emotion, "Only after climbing Mount Targon again did I realize how difficult this path is."

Leona nodded gently on her shoulder. She remained awake throughout the rest of the night, and the two occasionally exchanged physical gestures.

She hadn't seen the corpses on the road before; she was just curious about what Diana was up to, so she followed her for most of the night and unknowingly reached the mountaintop.

Looking back, that night felt like a dream.

Now, after climbing for almost a day and a night, they are still halfway up the mountain. You can imagine how lucky they were back then; they were practically two handpicked lucky ones.

Noticing that Leona was looking up at the sky, Diana also looked up and saw that the moon had just risen to the top of the mountain.

Whether due to altitude or some kind of magical influence, the moon appears unusually large, a common sight on Mount Targon.

However, the members of the Sun Cult rarely look up at the sky at night because of their beliefs, and have missed this breathtaking view countless times.

“The moon, isn’t it beautiful?” Diana stopped and asked softly. “Every time I see the moon, I feel peaceful. Perhaps this is the feeling that you say the sun should bring.”

Leona, who had been speechless, nodded blankly before she continued talking to herself: "I don't know why they call the night 'darkness.' It's not dark at night—at least not completely dark. There's a gentle light at night, not hot or scorching, but cool like a summer stream, illuminating our path along with the starlight. They can see it if they just look up a little."

"Leona, do you know when you first attracted me?"

Diana's question made Leona blush and shake her head. How could she know this? Even she didn't realize when she started to feel anxious if she didn't see Diana for a day.

"It was during that debate class, when you helped me refute Priest Nemya. Although it wasn't a particularly eloquent rebuttal, you said that darkness is dim—not evil, but dim, which are two completely different assessments. From that moment on, I noticed you and felt that you might be someone who could understand me."

Diana's words reminded Leona of something. In that class, she had been captivated by Diana's novel thinking and clear, concise logic, and had even passed her a note inviting Diana to practice and improve her debating skills. However, at the time, she had only approached it with a learning attitude and had no other intentions.

Recalling that innocent era, Leona's mature face revealed a sweet, girlish smile, a genuine laugh from the bottom of her heart.

“When I was little, I heard that you could reach the stars if you climbed a mountain, but when I finally reached the top, I realized it was all a lie.” Diana tried to keep the atmosphere from getting cold, because she didn’t want Leona to fall asleep and never wake up.

Leona nodded in agreement. They had gone up the mountain together, but they hadn't actually picked any stars. All they had was a duel started because of a mission imposed on them. It was the first time they had faced each other with swords drawn.

“In the blink of an eye, you’ve become a star in other people’s eyes.” Diana sighed at how things had changed. Unlike those steadfast pilgrims, she was never prepared to become a Protoss.

Leona wanted to say "You too," but a sharp pain in her throat robbed her of her voice, and she could only hold Diana tightly.

"Are you cold? Do you want to stop and warm yourself by the fire?" Diana thought Leona was freezing.

Leona shook her head, wanting to say that Diana's body was already warm enough. She buried her face in Diana's shoulder and rubbed against her, feeling the warmth from the latter entering her chest.

The comforting feeling, as if bathed in sunlight, drew her closer, her chest pressed tightly against Diana's back, as if she wanted to merge into her and become one with her.

"Actually, there are stars during the day too, but the sun's light is too dazzling, obscuring their presence. Only at night, under the relatively soft moonlight, can you see them shyly. Look, that's Sabertooth... that's Cloudpiercer... that's Piscis..."

Diana continued to keep the conversation going, guiding Leona's gaze to the sky. Several constellations identified by the Moon Spirit seemed to sense this, displaying nebulous illusions in the Milky Way to make themselves easier to spot, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

Leona looked at them one by one, feeling like lovers sneaking out for a secret rendezvous in the middle of the night. Her restless heart pumped the flower poison through her veins to every part of her body. To avoid ruining this beautiful moment, she could only endure the pain, not letting Diana notice a thing. "You Lin, Meimei, where are you? Are you Lin here...?"

Chapter 603 A Hundred Dragons Pay Homage to the Peak

Perhaps it was a celestial connection, but as Diana pointed, the constellations revealed the outlines of nebulae, captivating Leona, who rarely looked up at the night sky.

The constellation Asclepius is a crane with outstretched wings; the constellation Pisces is a pair of yin-yang fish without a distinction between black and white; the constellation Sabertooth is, as the name suggests, a fierce tiger descending the mountain; the constellation Cloudpiercer is an unstoppable ram; and the constellation Curved Lightbearer should be a giant lizard or a wingless dragon.

To be honest, even Diana herself was seeing what these constellations looked like for the first time. Perhaps this is what the so-called astral beings look like.