CA – Chapter 116
Chapter 116
With the emergence of the temple, an ancient and awe-inspiring presence pressed down heavily on everyone present. Golden sunlight filtered through the yellow sand, casting a glow upon the temple that made it seem illusory and transparent, as if it might vanish in the next second.
No one cared about Evan's fate anymore; everyone began preparing to enter the temple.
When Erin arrived at the Mentos Desert, the temple had just appeared. She hid behind a ruined wall behind the Holy See's contingent, peeking out to look at the row of people standing on the high wall. She immediately spotted the blond bishop at the center.
Even standing beside the three Cardinals, the blond bishop's presence didn't diminish; she remained eye-catching.
Erin stared at Tang Qiu's back, then looked up at the sun obscured by the sand. Because the high wall was in the way, she could only see the four towering stone pillars inside the temple.
A figure suddenly appeared beside her. Erin jumped in fright, her hand already reaching for the Little Fur Ball sleeping in her hood. When she turned and saw it was the red-haired vampire, she breathed a sigh of relief and complained in a low voice, "Don't just appear out of nowhere and scare people like that."
She thought she had been discovered.
With her identity as a Black Witch, she wouldn't be treated "kindly" by any side. Going to the Black Witches' side might even be worse.
Erin and Lucille didn't have to worry about their auras being detected, so hiding behind the Holy See's forces was the safest option.
Besides, the blond bishop was over here.
"Are you also going into the divine ruins?" Lucille asked faintly, her gaze fixed on the blond bishop on the high wall.
Although Lucille's tone was flat, Erin still felt a sense of being looked down upon. She crossed her arms and said defiantly, "I'm going in to protect Grace."
Lucille glanced at her. Erin silently lowered her hands and coughed lightly. "I can protect myself, don't worry."
With an indifferent expression, Lucille shifted her gaze away, continuing to watch the blond bishop's back.
The Vampires had been scattered by the Holy See, and even Evan had fled in disgrace. The territory they had long occupied was now empty. The Holy See's forces marched out of Anersai City in a grand procession. Holy Knights, holding golden longswords, cleared the path ahead as the Holy See's contingent forcefully occupied the Vampires' former territory.
After the temple appeared, the violent sandstorm had stopped. The surrounding temperature began to rise, and the scorching heat of the yellow sand could be felt even through their boots.
Only by approaching the temple could one realize how majestic and magnificent it was. Reese gripped her staff and pondered for a moment before asking for Vogt's opinion. "Shall we go in?"
The temple flickered between solid and illusory, and it was impossible to know when it might disappear.
Vogt's expression was somewhat grave. He took out some defensive equipment from his Space Gem and handed it to Reese and Audrey, saying in a deep voice, "Be careful to protect yourselves."
Losing any Cardinal would be a loss for the Holy See, and the vacant position could cause chaos.
Although Vogt never participated in the Holy See's factional struggles, it didn't mean he wasn't disgusted by the internal strife.
The Holy See was no longer what it once was. Vogt knew this in his heart, but he lacked the power to change it.
He could only do his best to maintain the Holy See's stability.
After Reese and Audrey accepted the equipment, Vogt took out a few more pieces and handed them to Tang Qiu. Tang Qiu was a little surprised but accepted them. She thanked Vogt for the equipment, kept only a ring for herself, and distributed the rest to the other bishops beside her.
Vogt said nothing upon seeing her distribute the equipment. He waved his staff, casting a light barrier over the Holy See's forces, and said in a low voice, "Let's go."
No matter what was inside the temple, they could not retreat now.
Not everyone in the Holy See's contingent would enter the temple. The priests and clerics were left outside; only the Holy Knights and the bishops who could protect themselves went in.
As she followed the group into the temple, Tang Qiu deliberately slowed her pace to walk at the very back. She turned her head to look behind her, her eyes searching for something.
Lucille, whose gaze had been following the blond bishop, saw her searching and stepped out from her hiding place. However, the distance between them was too great, and many people were blocking the view, so the blond bishop ultimately failed to see Lucille's figure.
Tang Qiu withdrew her gaze, frowning as she followed the Holy See's contingent, the last one to step into the temple.
The Holy See had left a team of priests to guard the temple entrance. It would be troublesome to sneak in from here. Lucille pursed her lips, turned, and left the Holy See's territory, preparing to slip into the temple from another direction.
Because she was short and a Black Witch's eyesight wasn't as good as a vampire's, Erin had no idea the blond bishop had already entered the temple. Seeing Lucille turn and leave, she was stunned for a moment before quickly following.
Only by sticking close to this vampire would she have a chance to see Tang Qiu in the divine ruins.
What Erin had just told Lucille about wanting to protect the blond bishop was not a lie. The Black Witches had been too active in the Gosse Empire, which made her uneasy. She had a feeling the Black Witches had definitely planned something for the appearance of these divine ruins.
By staying with Tang Qiu, if they encountered Black Witches or any dark array attacks, Erin could help her deal with them.
The Holy See entered the temple first, followed by Patricia and the Dark Elves. Delphine, who had led her people away to avoid the Light Purification Spell the Holy See had used against Evan, was temporarily far from the Mentos Desert, so she entered a step behind them.
The three parties entered from different directions, so they wouldn't meet for a while. Unwilling to hand over the Godhead, Evan, along with Eric and Delia, also stepped into the temple from this direction after Delphine and the others had entered. However, once inside, he chose a path opposite to the Elves to avoid running into them.
No one knew what would happen inside the temple, so avoiding unnecessary battles before finding the Godhead was a consensus among almost everyone.
Although the Mentos Desert was vast, the commotion caused by the Holy See's light magic and the Elves' flying arrows was immense. The Black Witches, who had remained unscathed during the chaotic battle, stood on the bone bridge. After watching the show, they surprisingly showed no hurry to enter the temple.
Noah, dressed in a blood-red robe, stood on the stark white bone bridge. Her hands rested on the railing made of interconnected hand bones, her body leaning forward. Her eyes held an irrepressible excitement as she gazed at the temple and let out a low laugh.
Glanna discreetly glanced at the few red-robed witches beside Noah. Like Noah, they were all staring at the temple with extreme excitement.
She frowned slightly, folded her hands in front of her, and after a moment's thought, tentatively asked, "Aren't we going in?"
The Holy See and the Elves have been inside for a while.
Noah didn't answer. Instead, she turned and grabbed Glanna's arm, saying excitedly, "Did you see that? How lively it was just now."
"They've already started preparing to welcome the Dark God." The more chaotic this continent became, the better. The moment war ignited on the continent, it would be time for the Dark God to descend.
Their Garcia Family would ensure this continent was shrouded in darkness before the Dark God's arrival.
Noah's grip on Glanna's arm tightened. Glanna glanced down, her gray eyes narrowing slightly as she placated her with a gentle voice, "I saw. This is truly good news." She could tell that Noah's mental state was no longer normal.
Noah's eyes sparkled as she looked at her, like a child happy to have received approval.
Glanna gently pulled Noah's hand away and asked again, "Aren't we going in?"
This time, Noah answered her question. "Not for now." She gave a meaningful look to a red-robed witch beside her, then said to Glanna, "The time isn't right to enter yet."
The red-robed witches beside her began to disperse. They took out bone staves and started chanting in low voices. The Power of Darkness gathered in the domain, slowly forming several vortexes. The towering figures of Half-Human Monsters emerged from within, carrying several frail humans on their shoulders.
The humans were still breathing, but had fallen unconscious from fear and hunger.
One after another, Half-Human Monsters and lion-men emerged from the vortexes, all carrying living humans.
Soon, the open space was filled. The unconscious humans were piled carelessly on the ground, while more monsters continued to emerge from the vortexes, carrying humans.
Noah watched the vortexes and nodded in satisfaction. She spoke in a low voice to several red-robed witches, "Set up the array."
Glanna observed for a while and couldn't help but click her tongue. "It seems you came prepared."
When setting up a dark array, using fresh blood and living humans would make it more powerful.
Glanna hadn't expected Noah to capture humans for this purpose. But what was the use of setting up a dark array outside the temple?
A trace of doubt rose in her heart, but seeing Noah's confident appearance, she didn't ask. Instead, she chose to watch quietly.
The people inside the temple were, for the time being, unaware of what the Black Witches were doing outside. After entering the temple with the Holy See's contingent, the first thing Tang Qiu felt was a suffocating pressure.
Once inside the temple, she discovered it was completely different from how it looked outside. Here, even an ordinary stone bridge was dozens of meters high, and the magnificent palaces were absurdly tall. Humans walking within seemed exceptionally small.
Tang Qiu disliked the environment here. She frowned, glanced at the three figures of Reese and the others walking ahead, and raised her hand to lightly touch a stone pillar, leaving a mark that only she and Lucille would recognize.
Before coming to the Mentos Desert, she and Lucille had discussed their plan after entering the temple. Tang Qiu didn't intend to follow the Holy See's group the entire time, as she was also interested in the Godhead.
Sticking with the Holy See's group would severely limit what she could do, and there was also the risk of her identity being exposed.
However, just after entering the temple was not a good opportunity to leave.
She needed to wait patiently for the right moment. Tang Qiu didn't think this trip to the temple would be peaceful. Even if the temple itself was very safe, the different factions within it wouldn't behave themselves.
Of course, the temple might not be safe either.
Tang Qiu observed her surroundings as she walked. They had already gone deep enough that they could no longer see the entrance they came from. But aside from the occasional gust of sand, they hadn't found anything suspicious.
However, because the buildings in the temple were too tall, they couldn't open the doors of any of the palaces.
If they continued, they might run into the Elves or Dark Elves who had entered from other directions. Reese signaled for the Holy Knights to stop, then turned to look at Audrey and Vogt, frowning. "I don't think we need to keep going."
They were essentially just wandering around outside the palaces.
Audrey toyed with her staff and nodded in agreement. "We should try to see if we can open that door." She pointed her staff at a grand and magnificent palace to their right.
The palace doors were shut tight, flanked by a row of stone pillars. At the base of each pillar stood a statue of a knight in armor.
The statues' faces had no carved features, and their armor was molded from yellow earth, but the swords at their waists glinted with a metallic sheen.
While Reese and the others were discussing, Tang Qiu walked to the base of a statue. She looked up, observing it carefully, then curled her finger and tapped the scabbard of the sword. The crisp sound made her raise an eyebrow.
Unlike the armor carved from yellow earth, this sword was a real knight's sword.
The crisp sound echoed in the vast temple. The echo grew louder, eventually reverberating in everyone's ears.
The moment the echo appeared, Tang Qiu vigilantly moved away from the statue. Listening to the reverberating sound, her brow slowly furrowed.
"Ah, these statues are moving," a bishop suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Tang Qiu turned her head in the direction of the voice. Where that bishop was, the statue at the base of the pillar was not only moving, but its once-blank face now had features. They rested their hands on the swords at their waists and began to patrol the temple.
Tang Qiu was stunned. Looking at these walking statues, a flash of realization crossed her face. The divine knights they had vaguely seen from outside before entering the temple were these statues.
The suddenly "living" statues interrupted the discussion between Reese and the others. Reese walked over to Tang Qiu's side, and together they watched the statue knights. She frowned and asked, "What do you think these are?"
After coming to life, these statues hadn't attacked them.
Tang Qiu thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "They're probably the temple's guardians."
They weren't attacking them now, probably because they hadn't attacked the temple.
Reese shared Tang Qiu's view, and her thoughts went even further. "Divine knights won't fear the Power of Light. That doesn't give us an advantage."
The Earth Mother's divine power came from the earth element, which was not countered by the Power of Light.
"I wonder if we can get out by going back the way we came..." Reese said thoughtfully, gazing at the path they had taken.
Risking her life to obtain the Godhead for the Holy See would bring her no benefit. Reese was already thinking of giving up. The main reason was that the temple seemed fraught with danger, and Reese had no desire to die here.
If she died, the darkness she had fought so hard to suppress would all surge toward Monica.
That was not a scene she wanted to see.
Tang Qiu understood the meaning behind Reese's words and said with some resignation, "I don't think Head Inquisitor Audrey and Archbishop Vogt want to leave just yet."
Reese shrugged and said casually, "Once they know the strength of these divine knights, they might reconsider." Although she said this, she knew in her heart that Audrey and Vogt would not give up easily.
Just as Reese thought, after seeing these statue knights, Audrey and Vogt also guessed they might be the temple's guardians. However, they had no intention of retreating. Instead, they considered testing the strength of these statue knights.
Audrey called out to Reese, who was still talking with Tang Qiu, and beckoned her over.
Reese and Tang Qiu walked over and saw Vogt, protected by Holy Knights, choosing a relatively safe position. He was attempting to attack the door of the palace they had initially decided on to see how the statue knights would react.
Tang Qiu looked at Vogt, who was waving his staff and chanting a spell, then at the statue knights striding around on patrol, their hands on their swords. For some reason, a sense of unease suddenly rose in her heart.
After a moment's thought, she took out her staff and held it in her hand.
Vogt condensed the Power of Light in the air into a light sword over ten meters long, then swung it toward the palace.
As the light sword fell, the surrounding space seemed to distort. The blade struck the palace door with a piercing shriek, and the ground beneath their feet trembled from the impact.
Tang Qiu steadied herself, her eyes never leaving the statue knights. Thus, she didn't miss the moment their steps suddenly halted as the light sword fell.
"Careful." Tang Qiu raised her staff and unleashed the light spell she had prepared. A wall of light flames, over three hundred meters high, erupted in front of her, Reese, and Audrey, trapping a tall figure within.
The statues holding shields, which had been motionless at the base of the pillars, also "came to life." They, along with the sword-wielding statue knights, began to attack the Holy See's contingent for illegally invading the temple.
There were ten "living" statues in total, and four of them were besieging Tang Qiu, Reese, and Audrey.
Tang Qiu's light flames bound one statue. Reese and Audrey also reacted, immediately raising their staves and chanting spells. The area where they stood was completely engulfed in light flames.
The light flames only temporarily halted the statues' advance. Because the flames had a wide attack range, they inevitably burned the area near the palace, which invisibly deepened the statues' hatred for the Holy See's forces.
After the light magic bound the statues, the Holy Knights, who had been trying to intercept them, finally gained an advantage. The statues were five meters tall, making the Holy Knights seem tiny in comparison, but they were agile. They used sword energy to slice at the statues' limbs, causing them considerable trouble.
The Holy Knights accompanying the Cardinals were not weak, and they also had the support of healing magic. After a moment of chaos, the situation was gradually brought under control.
Tang Qiu took advantage of this lull to lower her staff and take out a bottle of Holy Water of Light. She drank it while observing the situation. Vogt's side had also brought the statues under control, and the situation seemed to have stabilized.
It would just take time and coordination with the Holy Knights to take down these statues one by one.
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