Chapter 461: The Temple's Hidden Saintess

Deathly stillness.

That was Kroger's only description of the land where he was born.

To escape death, he had returned once more to the deathly still womb where the undead were born.

There was no sun or moon here, not even a wisp of wind. The earth was carpeted with white bones, filled with the stench of dust and decay, but above all, there were the undead.

They wandered aimlessly, their broken skeletons dragging heavy footsteps across the gray-black earth, sparse clusters of soulfire burning in their hollow eye sockets.

Kroger walked among them, leaning on his staff.

He was taller than all of them. The undead only reached his knees.

With every step, he casually lifted his foot and kicked aside any undead blocking his path.

The undead that were knocked down didn't resist. They simply lay there motionless until he had passed by long ago, then slowly climbed back up and continued their aimless wandering.

He crossed this wasteland of the undead and arrived before an altar.

The altar was built from black stone, its surface covered in ancient inscriptions that were nearly illegible. The patterns spiraled round after round, as if praying to some ancient existence.

Kroger stopped before the altar, set his staff upright at his side, spread his bone-white hands wide, and began to chant.

As he recited, the inscriptions on the altar's surface began to glow with a gray-blue light.

The undead wandering the wasteland suddenly froze. Tens of thousands of soulfires were drawn from their bodies, like countless azure fireflies, converging toward the altar.

They coalesced above the altar and gradually took shape: a dark crimson robe, skin like rock scorched by magma, and curved goat horns.

Mamon slowly opened his eyes.

He lowered his head to examine his palms, flexed his fingers, then raised his head, his gaze landing on Kroger.

"Kroger." His voice was hoarse and low. "You betrayed me."

Kroger's lower jaw shifted slightly, emitting a hoarse laugh. "Don't say that. As long as the phylactery I made for you remains within the Father God's divine kingdom, you are immortal."

"And if I died, there would be no one left to perform the ritual for you."

Mamon stared at him for a long moment.

He said no more. Stepping down from the altar, his floating body settled onto the ground, and he walked side by side with Kroger toward the path ahead.

Before them stood a ruined temple.

From a distance, the temple looked like a giant beast whose flesh had been devoured by time, leaving only a colossal skeleton that still stubbornly held up a patch of sky.

Only half of the shattered dome remained, with debris piled haphazardly around it, each chunk large enough for a carriage to roll over.

Yet even as such a ruin, approaching it still evoked an overwhelming sense of oppression.

The stone pillars soared into the clouds, and the steps were equally enormous, each one so tall that an adult had to crane their neck to see the top surface. It was as if giants had once dwelled here, and every step they took required descending stairs of such scale.

Mamon sighed inwardly.

Every time he came here, the feeling was different.

Standing before such architecture, one couldn't help but feel one's own insignificance.

This was a pressure that had not dissipated across vast stretches of time, as if the temple itself were still breathing, still watching every visitor who set foot within its belly.

They climbed the absurdly towering steps, passed through the collapsed colonnade, and entered the great hall at the temple's deepest reaches.

The space of that hall was suffocatingly vast. Though half the dome was missing, the remaining portion still hung high above.

But what truly inspired awe was the skeleton seated upon the enormous throne at the hall's depths.

It was a giant.

A giant's skeleton so immense it seemed almost fused with the hall itself.

Mamon dared not raise his head to face the skeleton's countenance.

Blasphemy was a demon's instinct.

In his homeland, in the Abyss filled with slaughter and betrayal, he had witnessed all manner of blasphemous acts.

Shattering church altars, tearing down a knight order's sacred banners, defiling the bones of saints, these were all routine deeds he had once committed.

But before this skeleton, he dared not harbor a single blasphemous thought.

It was as if even the faintest irreverent notion would be crushed to dust by those hollow eye sockets.

He withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyelids, and only then spoke slowly: "How are things outside?"

Kroger sighed. "The word spreading everywhere is that we fled in disgrace. Gregor is blaming us for losing him an entire legion."

Mamon wanted to say something, but the words that reached his lips turned into a bitter murmur: "No one could have predicted that the Slime Emperor would be so terrifying."

"Perhaps he's already approaching demigod level."

As he said this, he suddenly felt a pang in his chest.

A demigod slime.

Even just saying that combination out loud sounded utterly absurd.

It was like a joke a drunk dwarf might have concocted.

And now, that absurd joke was becoming reality.

He said in a low voice: "We must complete the ritual as soon as possible. We can't delay any longer. Who knows what this Empire will do next."

Kroger pondered for a moment, soulfire flickering in his hollow eye sockets, before finally speaking: "Abandon the Totem Ice Pillar."

Mamon whipped his head around: "Abandon it?"

"Correct." Kroger confirmed. "Even without the authority of frost, the ritual can still be completed."

"We have other options. We can even use the Totem Ice Pillar as bait."

"We don't know why the Slime Emperor needs the Totem Ice Pillar, but isn't this a perfect opportunity for us?"

Mamon stared at him intently, trying to pierce through Kroger's bone-white skull to see the true calculations within his mind.

"What gives you that confidence?"

Kroger raised his head, gazing at the massive skeleton deep within the temple, soulfire flickering faintly in his eye sockets.

"Apart from the Father God, the giants once had several other deities."

"My birth and resurrection are the Father God's will, and also the last legacy left by the giants. In theory, my rank is no different from those lesser gods."

His bone-white fingers slowly closed, as if grasping something invisible in the void: "All we need is to collect their authorities... The power of a demigod may very well fall within my grasp."

"And the giants will finally return, standing once more upon the earth as the undead."

Mamon nodded, then reminded him: "Don't forget that Shadow Giant. Perhaps it can cause some trouble for the Slime Emperor."

"All we need to do is subtly release word about the Totem Ice Pillar, and the Slime Emperor will naturally go looking for trouble with it."

"We can also fulfill our agreement with Gregor."

......

Slime City Palace.

The afternoon sunlight was warm and lazy, with faint birdsong drifting in from outside the window.

Chen Yu was squatting at his oak desk, a stack of official documents spread out before him.

He didn't really want to deal with this paperwork.

The characters on the pages lay there like rows of ants, utterly uninspiring no matter how he looked at them.

He symbolically used his gel hand to flip a page, glanced at the contents with his round little eyes, then flipped back.

On an afternoon like this, he should be doing something more meaningful, like basking in the sun, hopping around outside for a bit, or checking whether any little slimes had gotten lost on the grasslands beginning to turn green.

But before he could leave, Silver Sparrow's voice sounded in his mind first.

"Master, there's news about the Dawn Council inspection team for you to review."

"The inspection team has already left Misty Bay Harbor and returned south."

"But that's just the official itinerary. In reality, several mages have remained within the Empire's borders, apparently traveling on their own."

Chen Yu wasn't too surprised.

These mages were interested in this newly rising Empire and wanted to see more of it. That was only natural, and he was happy to let them, allowing them to bring back what they'd seen and heard to the south.

He knew that among the mages who stayed behind, one seemed to have settled in Oakwood Town on the Empire's border, and another orc scholar was traveling east along the trade routes, saying he wanted to see the eastern scenery.

"Let them go." Chen Yu shook his gel body. "Don't disturb them. Just follow quietly, record their movements, and report to me."

"Yes, Master."

Silver Sparrow's voice paused briefly, as if reviewing intelligence. A moment later, her voice sounded again.

"Aside from that, there's some good news."

"The Empire's inspection report has been delivered to the Dawn Council, and the archmages of the Construction School have also received it."

Chen Yu's little eyes brightened. "Oh?"

"According to word from Master Samuel, because of this report, the archmages of the Construction School have softened their stance considerably."

"While they still haven't agreed to come to the Empire in person, they've relented and allowed the school's students to visit the Empire for exchange and study."

Chen Yu thought for a moment. "In other words, if things go smoothly, quite a few mages should end up staying."

He had great confidence in the Gelda Plan. As long as these students personally came to the Empire and visited the industrial city of Mudun, they would understand what true magical engineering was.

His thoughts were interrupted by Silver Sparrow's voice: "Additionally, Master Anvil has already arrived at the Forge Mountain Kingdom."

"After arriving, he went straight to participate in the southern dwarves' annual Ale Festival, declaring he would bring home the championship."

Chen Yu: "..."

Anvil was definitely guilty of using public funds for personal travel here.

But the Empire could afford this small expense. Consider it a paid vacation for this elder of the Empire.

Besides, while Anvil's drinking occasionally caused mishaps, he was generally very reliable.

Maybe this was all part of his plan.

At that, Silver Sparrow fell silent, as if attending to other matters.

Chen Yu had grown accustomed to her brisk efficiency, coming and going in an instant.

If not for Silver Sparrow, processing all this complicated intelligence and paperwork would be a headache.

But just then, it seemed there was some important news, as Silver Sparrow spoke up again.

"Master, Grand Sage Selene has sent word back."

"The elven infiltration plan has made progress. Lady Selene has seen Lady Eserin, who is imprisoned, in the temple of the Ancient Tree Council."

Eserin had news?

......

Two days earlier.

Silverleaf City, Tree Root District.

The Sacred Oak's trunk was so thick it pierced the clouds, its canopy blotting out the sky, its roots winding like serpentine rivers beneath the earth. The Tree Root District was a palace complex built upon those very roots.

Under the Ancient Tree Council's rigid bloodline hierarchy, only high elves could enter the Tree Root District.

High-born elves deliberated here, cultivated here, and touched the ancient power of the Sacred Oak here.

Low elves could only move about the outskirts of the Canopy District of Silverleaf City, let alone non-elven outsiders.

And at the center of the Tree Root District, besides the Elders' Council Hall, the most important place was that temple closest to the heart of the tree.

Elf priestess Alia, as usual, walked with her companion to deliver meals to the temple.

She carried a silver tray on which sat several plates of exquisite food.

There was a thick soup stewed from forest mushrooms, roasted venison, a small bowl of sweet sauce brewed from mountain berries, and thin cakes baked with honey and oats.

These were all carefully prepared to elven tastes, though she wasn't entirely certain what preferences the Saintess had for food.

Walking through the corridor, she tilted her head slightly to glance at the companion walking beside her, feeling something was a bit off.

The Seline she knew was a lively young priestess, almost excessively so, always chattering endlessly, either complaining about the temple's food or telling strange tales she'd just heard from some traveler.

Today, however, Seline was unusually quiet.

Maybe she was just in a bad mood.

Alia thought this to herself and didn't dwell on it.

She let out a light sigh and asked with some concern: "Seline, Lady Eserin didn't eat any of the food delivered the day before yesterday. Could she not like it?"

Seline replied calmly: "Maybe she's just in a bad mood."

Alia didn't notice the subtle difference in her companion's voice and sighed again: "True enough... If you had to spend your whole life inside a temple, no one would be in a good mood."

"I hope she can eat at least a little. Otherwise her body will give out..."

She didn't continue.

Because they had reached the end of the temple corridor. Ahead, the oak door carved with vine patterns was slowly opening, warm light spilling through the gaps.

And right beside Alia, "Seline" was studying every detail of the temple.

She was not Seline.

Selene could feel the outer skin mimicked by the slime avatar perfectly conforming to her body, reflecting her into the likeness of an elf priestess.

She had to admire how useful slime mimicry was.

Seline's appearance, figure, even the aura about her, all of it could be flawlessly replicated within the gel's embrace.

The mimicry level was exceptionally high. She had walked through the elven city for so long without being seen through even once.

Ever since the Empire began its infiltration plan against the Ancient Tree Council half a year ago, they had been working tirelessly to get closer to the core Tree Root District.

First, they disguised themselves as wandering elves and settled on the fringes of Silverleaf City. Then, step by step, they passed the traveler tests, faith examinations, and family connections to infiltrate the lower levels of the temple.

The Forest Sage Council constantly probed for information, constantly changed disguises, carefully managing every detail.

Until today, they had finally seized this rare opportunity, to enter the Sacred Oak Temple and meet the imprisoned Eserin face to face.

But the Sacred Oak Temple was the heart of the Council, and getting inside wasn't that simple.

Even having reached the end of the corridor, elven eyes were still everywhere. The Moonlight Elf guard passed by here at least once every minute.

Such tight defenses, had it not been for His Majesty's gel, she probably wouldn't have made it even this far without being discovered dozens of times over.

But at least for now, everything had been tense but safe.

They passed through the final archway, and the temple's main doors lay just ahead.

Yet it was precisely at moments like this that accidents were most likely to happen.

Just then, Alia, walking ahead, suddenly stopped and quickly lowered her head, her voice carrying obvious tension.

"Master Lothlorien."

Selene's heart sank.

Lothlorien.

That name was all too familiar to her.

The legendary archer of the Ancient Tree Council, the captain of the Silver Oath Knights. It was he who had found Eserin and brought her back to the Emerald Crown.

He was also, by blood, Eserin's elder brother.