Chapter 1317 - 1316: Aid

Chapter 1317: Chapter 1316: Aid

There was a thunderous roar, exploding suddenly from the distant earth, like meteors crashing to the ground, and then crushing and rampaging across the mountains.

Then, a majestic aura rose up between the wasteland and the Sacred Stars Temple, nearly shattering the layers of polluted clouds high above; the foul winds that kept surging from the direction of the wasteland were also blocked by some invisible force, as if hitting an unseen barrier, suddenly halting near the cliffs on the north side of the Sacred Stars Temple and then recoiling directly back a dozen kilometers away.

Finally, Queen Belsetia and Handmaiden Elaine saw a towering and sacred silhouette appear amidst the clouds and mist in the distance, that silhouette rushed from the western side of the Sacred Stars Temple, enveloped in a chaotic mist of luminescent illusions, enormous as a fortress, its outline resembling a colossal white stag. It charged with the momentum of thunder and crushed the leaning sentinel towers and remnants of ruined walls into powder, while the chaotic energy already spreading along its path was directly evaporated by the illusions it carried, the aberrant creatures that had formed nearby were drawn to this colossal energy and let out chaotic and piercing roars in the direction of the Giant Stag — only to turn into scattered fragments and wreckage under its feet in the next instant.

Many of the creatures didn’t even touch the Giant Stag, as they were evaporated and disintegrated into dust by the brilliance it radiated from a distance.

Queen Belsetia was dumbfounded. She recognized the identity of the Giant Stag, yet never thought she would encounter it here, and in a flash, countless thoughts and doubts appeared in her mind, but she simply didn’t have time to voice any before watching that enormous figure race past her, not looking back as it rushed towards the other end of the Sacred Stars Temple.

Fierce winds howled by her side, powerful energy exploded overhead — but as it fell upon Belsetia and Elaine, it instantly weakened like a gentle drizzle, causing no harm to them whatsoever.

As the rumbling sound gradually faded away, Elaine, still in shock, stared at that direction for a long while before finally turning back, with a face filled with lingering terror and horror, she looked at Belsetia and uttered: "Your Majesty, that just now..."

Before she could finish, the rumbling, which had just moved afar, sounded again, as the sacred white Giant Stag burst through the surrounding thick fog once more, trampling everything in its path and returned, destroying those aberrant creatures regrown from residual chaotic magic along the way, finally halting before Belsetia and Elaine.

Belsetia couldn’t fathom what this sacred being before her was doing, but she was greatly astonished, and had a suspicion that it might have carelessly run further than intended — yet she had no evidence and dared not speak out.

Meanwhile, behind that sacred Giant Stag, the chaotic magical environment underwent two massive impacts, its energy cycle was thoroughly disrupted, and the previously persistent foul aura in the upper area of the Sacred Stars Temple began to dissipate, the surroundings gradually became clearer in visible degrees — only then did Belsetia realize that much of the dust persisting around her were abnormal shadowy mists rather than normal dust, and as they vanished, she felt her breath suddenly become much lighter.

It appeared that, at least in the short term, those aberrant creatures would no longer regenerate from the nearby air.

Silence of an unusual kind descended, and Belsetia found herself unable to remember how many years it had been since she experienced such a state of chaotic confusion, yet within seconds, she forced herself to calm down, barely maintaining a composed expression as she looked up, meeting the gaze of the towering white Giant Stag — who at that moment was slowly lowering its head, the eye akin to molten crystals in its eyes flowing with gentle light, quietly gazing at the two elves standing on the ground.

"...Why have you come here?" Belsetia’s lips trembled slightly, but she finally took the initiative to break the silence, "Shouldn’t you be..."

"I’m here to help," Amon interrupted before she could finish, "I sensed that you were in danger, I ... simply couldn’t sit down."

Belsetia never expected to hear such words from a former "god," and a sense of enormous absurdity arose within her, yet it didn’t affect her judgment. She stared at the towering and sacred being before her, her tone barely containing her urgency and tension: "But wouldn’t this mean... our three thousand years of efforts will all crumble into nothing?!"

"No," Amon’s voice was gentle yet deep, his body rapidly diminishing before Belsetia and Elaine, reducing from a towering small mountain to a house, and then to a height of several meters — still a form to be looked up to, but at least compared to before, his posture had barely moved away from the sensation of being "divine," "This isn’t a miracle, nor is it a descent — I’ve only come here as a friend to mortals, to help out."

He paused briefly, seemingly allowing Belsetia time to ponder, before slowly continuing, "I shall not reveal myself before ordinary soldiers and citizens, nor perform any acts that might lead to a resurgence of faith. You understand the cycle of the gods, as long as no perception of ’miracles’ is born among mortals, those miracles shall not occur, as long as no one believes a god has descended, then a god shall not descend..."

As he spoke, he lifted his head to look at Handmaid Elaine, who had only just managed to ease herself from the shock, a gentle smile emerging deep in his gaze: "Belsetia won’t speak of it, neither will you, child?"

"Ah..." Elaine was startled with a jolt, evidently not expecting such a vast entity to suddenly converse with her, but she quickly responded, "Of course, I understand the discretion, I won’t... I won’t speak recklessly..."

"Then that’s good," Amon gently bowed his head, touching the tips of Belsetia and Elaine’s hair, before he lifted his head to observe the surroundings with seriousness, his tone suddenly filled with some surprise, "Wait, this is... the Sacred Stars Temple?!"

"Yes, this is the Sacred Stars Temple, it has... crashed," Belsetia’s tone was somewhat low, then she added with some curiosity, "Didn’t you notice just now?"

"No, I locked onto the source of the polluted leak and confirmed only your two presences here, then charged out directly from the ’layers’, trampling over all things appearing threatening — I’m not clear on the specifics here," Amon shook his head, delivering a rather blunt statement, "What exactly happened—why did the Sacred Stars Temple crash? Why has this place been polluted so badly?"

Belsetia offered a bitter smile, but just as she was about to explain something further, Amon suddenly lowered his head once more to speak to her: "Explain later, get on first."

The Silver Empress was taken aback completely, looking at the "God of Nature", clearly intending to let her and Elaine ride on his back, utterly stunned: "On... you want us to ride on your back?!"

"This place is not safe. I can feel the deep collapse still continuing, uncontrolled energies leaking chaotically, and the aura of pollution from the wasteland continuously spreading—come, let’s move to a relatively safer place, you can tell me the situation on the way," Amon said, as vine-like stairs spontaneously formed in the air nearby, one end resting on the ground and the other extending near his neck, "the north is anxiously awaiting information from here; I can take the messages back."

Queen Belsetia and Handmaiden Elaine exchanged glances; everything happening before their eyes had exceeded their usual understanding. Even the wise and iron-fisted Empress and the resourceful maid were slightly out of their element, but soon the sound of breaking from a collapsed chamber nearby and distant, faint roars interrupted their hesitation, prompting them to act swiftly.

The master and servant duo skillfully climbed onto Amon’s back and sat down steadily on the broad spine. Belsetia placed her Longsword between the thick fur, grasping her Combat Staff with one hand and clutching the fur near the Giant Stag’s neck with the other, leaning forward and saying, "We are seated."

A slight tremor came, as Amon stood up. Yet, before moving to the safe area, this former God of Nature seemed suddenly somewhat absent-minded, pausing as if lost in memories—this piqued Elaine’s curiosity as she sat behind Belsetia: "What’s wrong? Do you still have..."

"Oh, nothing. I just suddenly remembered some things from the past," Amon gently shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of nostalgia and amusement. He stepped forward towards a slope on the eastern side of the temple, with all surrounding smoke and toxic fog respectfully dissipating, and even the tremors from the earth temporarily quelling, while countless dense, lush flowers and vines thrived below his feet, forming a clean trail. Though these flowers and vines soon withered in the gradually regathering pollution, as long as Amon moved forward, vitality would continually rejuvenate, renewing and reborn.

"Some things from the past?" Belsetia asked instinctively.

"A very long time ago, when I could still maintain myself in the mortal realm, my first Priestess rode on my back like this as well—though it happened only once," Amon spoke softly, "I never expected such a thing to occur a second time... Belsetia, theoretically speaking, aren’t you also my ’Priestess’?"

"Well, yes, theoretically," Belsetia felt somewhat awkward at this, but soon realized that even Amon himself seemed entirely unconcerned with this issue, she laughed self-deprecatingly, and a hint of question rose, "With me and Elaine in close proximity to you like this, and without any protection... wouldn’t we suffer spiritual contamination?"

"After cutting the final chains, I am no longer a god like Lady Enya, and naturally will not release any spiritual pollution," Amon spoke with a gentle tone, but soon shook his head again, "However, under certain circumstances, even when faced with a god like me who has detached from divinity, you might still be susceptible to spiritual contamination—it depends more on yourself."

"Certain circumstances? Depends on myself?" Belsetia’s expression immediately turned stern, "What circumstances are you referring to?"

"If you still have faith in me," Amon said with amusement, "you will be polluted by your own faith—the deeper the faith, the heavier the pollution."

Belsetia hesitated for a moment, then looked down at herself with a peculiar expression, glancing at the maid Elaine beside her, who likewise showed a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness.

"Lack of faith is a good thing," Amon’s voice sounded at this exact moment, seemingly noticing the change in expression from the elves on his back, laughing as if a joking elder, "The Age of Mythology for the silver elves is over; they need worldly monarchs like you—and I need them too."

He looked up, as the ending point of the Sacred Stars Temple’s Upper Layer fracture zone had arrived, a near-vertical cliff standing before him, and beneath this precipice were the collapsed temple bones and buffer chambers. The shimmering glow of the great walls extended from afar among these skeletal ruins, with parts stretching to the temple’s core structure, like an awe-inspiring aurora waterfall descending from the clouds.

And deep within the collapsed ruins, swirling dust clouds were rising continuously.

Some of these dust clouds originated from within the Sacred Stars Temple, while others came from the aberration Legion crushed and buried during the great impact—many of those monsters had not completely died even now. Their vast numbers, sufficient ’luck,’ and tenacious vitality kept them barely surviving deep within the ruins, yet as time passed, they were swiftly becoming part of the swirling dust clouds.

"...A fitting end."

Amon stood at the cliff’s summit, speaking in a low voice, whether referring to the grand temple or those monsters buried within the ruins, dissipating endlessly.

He then turned towards the dense forest covered in scorching smoke on the southern side of the temple wreckage area, stepping forward towards the earth.

At the same time, in the northern part of the Highmountain Kingdom, southern forest of the temple wreckage area, blood and fire continued to surge.

The scorching smoke irritated the nostrils, mingled with the fermenting scent of blood and foul matter pervading the battlefield. The distant cries of battle were ripping at the nervous system like an unstable hallucination. Within the field of vision covered in bloodstains, the blazing forest and endless monsters emerging from the dense woods intertwined into a nightmarish scene from which one cannot awaken, pressing the mental limits of every mortal warrior continuing to organize resistance in the Forest Defense Line.

Since the fall of the Sacred Stars Temple on the horizon, the dreadful gap between the wasteland and the civil world was finally sealed. But this did not mean the monsters that had crossed the gap and invaded the forest would simply vanish. Uncontrolled and driven by instinct after losing the command nodes in the rear, these aberrations continued wreaking havoc in the forest defense, spreading chaos towards the civilization-rich south. To block this deadly ’aftermath,’ the surviving Ranger Corps in the forest, humans and elves alike, had been fiercely battling for a whole day and night.

At this moment, the first light of dawn was gradually spreading across the distant forest sky, yet the battle within the Forest Defense Line continued...