The main building of the Temple was situated at the peak of the highest mountain. The whole building was built with slabs of huge square stones. The style of the architecture was somewhat similar to those in Sauron.
Ars.Lan walked across the suspension bridge between the mountains. As she glanced at the hundreds of devoted practitioners and pilgrims down on all fours beneath the flight of stairs, she had a weird feeling creeping in her heart. To her, these poor fellows were as pitiful as ants—perhaps in the eyes of the gods, they were indeed just ants.
The people who were praying on all fours saw Ars.Lan and recognized her as a noble Paladin of the Temple through her clothing. They chanted loudly pious praises, keeping their heads bowed as they dared not to look at Ars.Lan directly.
Even though she had seen this scene many times, Ars.Lan still could not help but look up at the Temple erected at the top of the stairs when she passed by these people as she walked up the steps...
Perhaps the feeling of being worshipped by millions of people was not bad after all...And Prometheus who stood in the Temple above every day overlooking all these beneath...this must be how it felt like to be a god!
After climbing a total of one hundred steps, there was a huge platform. Across the platform, further up was the restricted area of the Temple. During normal days, unless the Chief Elder called for a meeting, only the top-level clergies like members of the Elders Council, Saints and Paladins could go up there. Although there were no guards around when Ars.Lan passed by this place, she absolutely did not think that the Temple’s restricted area had no defenses as it seemed.
Despite not sensing any murderous aura and fluctuations of sorcery energy, every time Ars.Lan walked past this place, she could intuitively sense some danger. She quickened her pace and walked across the platform, continuing up the steps.
The main building of the Temple had several levels. The first level was a very magnificent great hall. The great hall was supported by twenty-four huge, beautifully carved pillars. The carvings on the pillars were from an unknown age, the designs and characters on it were beyond recognition. There were also some strange symbols which seemed like a kind of writing.
Below each huge pillar was a two-meter-high bronze stand which held candles made from butter. Though the flames were kept burning throughout the year, the overly spacious hall still looked somewhat dim.
At the center of the great hall was a thirteen-step staircase. On top of the stairs was a faintly visible lone figure. The figure was not tall but in the eyes of many, he was too superior beyond reach. His white robe seemed a bit worn out, but it still looked luxurious and sacred on him, emitting a dignified aura. His long black hair was simply tied at the back of his head with a silk ribbon...and his face...
His face was covered with a mask made of pure silver from the nose upwards; only his mouth was revealed. The two lips were gently pursed together and slightly curved upwards which made him look like he was forever smiling.
As Ars.Lan was studying him, she could sense a solemn glare from above. She immediately bowed her head and said loudly, "Your Excellency Prometheus, did you summon me?"
"Yes, Ars.Lan." Although Prometheus seemed like he was already sixty or seventy years old, his voice did not sound old but was instead gentle and pleasant to the ear. His tone was calm but grave, "I suppose you’ve brought me some extraordinary news. Am I right?"
The gaze came from behind the mask and lightly swept across Ars.Lan and she immediately felt a heavy sense of pressure. Although this was not the first time she met Prometheus, every time she met this mysterious legendary ‘man chosen by the gods’, she would always feel as though she was being crushed by a mountain. Prometheus’ eyes seemed like he could look through everything. For a fleeting moment, Ars.Lan actually felt panic rising in her heart.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Ars.Lan dared not raise her head. She could still feel his gaze lingering on her, so she bowed and continued, "I acted under your orders to go to Sauron’s Imperial City. I’ve met the Special Envoy from the Radiant Empire and he was willing to accept your summon. He will come to the Temple to meet you when the time is suitable."
Prometheus’ figure flickered under the dim lights of the great hall. His voice then came lightly from above. "The Special Envoy of the Radiant Empire, what is he like? "
Ars.Lan sighed, "Your Excellency, I can only say that he is very powerful! His power was so strong that I’m not his match! If you’re really curious about his power, I think His Excellency Augustine knows better than me."
Prometheus seemingly chuckled. His tone, though calm, had a hint of warning in it. "You don’t have to remind me about Augustine’s issues. The Elders Council will make a fair decision..."
Ars.Lan frowned. "Your Excellency, when I was coming back, something else happened..."
She seemed like she could not withstand Prometheus’ imposing manner and kept her head bowed, continuing in a deep voice, "At the Sauron Palace, His Excellency Paladin Fielding had a duel with that Special Envoy from Radiant Light Empire. Unfortunately, Fielding was defeated in the end. The King of Sauron has wild ambitions, and the other Roland kings too seem ready for actions...I was thinking…"
"Enough." Prometheus calmly stopped Ars.Lan and said in a light voice, "I’m not concerned about those things."
The expression on Ars.Lan’s face was hesitant. She deliberately sighed and said, "It’s a pity that His Excellency Fielding was defeated by the Radiant Empire’s Special Envoy. The Roland kingdoms are now more determined to rebel. And I’m afraid it won’t be easy for Elder Gu Ming and His Excellency Fielding to deal with matters regarding Black Veil’s apostasy in the Sauron Kingdom."
Prometheus was silent for a moment. Ars.Lan stood there with her head bowed, waiting for the voice above. But after a while, Prometheus suddenly said softly, "Ars.Lan, you’re one of the few clever ones I’ve met in the Dragon Tribe." He sighed suddenly, "This was why I’ve chosen you among others of the Dragon Tribe to come with me to the Temple. It’s a pity that..."
His tone gradually became gloomy, "You’ve never really understood my intentions."
Ars.Lan’s heart pounded, but she remained silent.
Prometheus continued lightly, "Use your intelligence in the right place. Ars.Lan, do not try to provoke me...I think the chief of your Dragon Tribe must have warned you before regarding this."
"Your Excellency, I don’t understand what you mean! " Ars.Lan felt uneasy, but she replied humbly.
Prometheus gave out a soft sigh, "I hope you will remember this. I’m a man of my word. Because of the agreement, you and your people from the Dragon Tribe were forced to support me, but I will keep my promise. When this matter comes to an end, the agreement which was chained to the heads of the Dragon Tribe for thousands of years, I will seal it up forever!"
Ars.Lan’s lips curled into a sneer, but she bowed her head low, so it was impossible for Prometheus, who was standing above, to see her expression. She spoke in a solemn and respectful tone, "Thank you for your kindness."
"Kindness?" All of a sudden, Prometheus laughed; his laughter was filled with mockery. "You’re wrong, I’m not a kind person...Although I’ve decided to forgive your sin this time, I will not allow this to happen again."
"Your Excellency, I still don’t understand what you mean!" Ars.Lan frowned.
Prometheus seemed like he did not want to continue any further. He stated lightly, "All you have to do is remember what I said."
Ars.Lan stood for a while and realized that Prometheus did not seem interested to continue the conversation. She felt a growing sense of oppression under his gaze. This pressure made Ars.Lan feel icy cold from head to toe, and deep in her heart, she had a strong urge to run. She could not help but raise her head and glanced at Prometheus who was standing high above.
The figure up there stood in loneliness, and it was empty in here without another person in sight...Under the ominous pressure, Ars.Lan panicked and a thought which frightened herself popped up in her mind, ‘He is now less than twenty steps away from me. If I go all out and strike him with my sword, I might be able to kill him!’
When this ruthless thought came to her mind, Ars.Lan herself was terrified. But deep inside her heart, there was a faintly discernible voice which enticed her telling her to give in to the temptation of this thought...She had the power of a Paladin. If she suddenly attacked now...
But then Ars.Lan felt chills running down her back, and she immediately forced herself to dismiss this tempting idea.
Prometheus’ voice came from above, "Ars.Lan, next time after you’ve killed someone, remember to remove the traces completely. If you can’t even learn this, I will be very disappointed with your intelligence."
Ars.Lan suddenly froze. A frightening thought came up in her mind, ‘Does he know already?’
"Hehe…" Prometheus’ smile looked somewhat warm, "You don’t have to be afraid, I’ve already decided to forgive you for acting without authorization."
Ars.Lan bit her lower lip subconsciously. She then made up her mind and asked, "Your Excellency, what are you trying to say exactly? If you’re doubtful about my actions, please send His Excellency Augustine or His Excellency Fielding to complete the task in place of me instead!"
Prometheus seemingly smiled, and he spoke with a mocking tone, "Augustine? Do you really wish for him to be released from confinement? As for Fielding...Ars.Lan, do you think Fielding will still come back after what you’ve done in Sauron’s Imperial City?"
Ars.Lan was immediately lost for words and cold sweat broke out from her forehead. She gritted her teeth and looked up but as she was about to say something, Prometheus waved his hand and spoke again. There were no traces of anger in his voice, "I just want you to understand that Paladins are valuable assets of the Temple! I’ve already lost Augustine, and your stupid move caused the loss of another trustworthy warrior of the Temple...although..." He seemed to have thought of something, "Although your actions did have some effects, if only such a meager result was obtained in exchange of a Paladin’s loyalty, it makes me feel very dissatisfied."
His words struck Ars.Lan hard like a hammer hitting on her heart. Her body involuntarily trembled, and she asked in a hoarse voice, "Your Excellency, you already knew?"
Prometheus sighed, "The relationship between me and Gu Ming is not as simple as you think. Before he died, he sent me a magical seal!" The pair of eyes behind the mask stared at Ars.Lan intensely — Although there were rumors saying that one of his eyes was blind, his gaze was as sharp as a blade, "If it was not because I need your ability now, the Dragon Tribe will suffer a great calamity due to your foolishness!"
Ars.Lan plucked up her courage and asked, "Is that so? Your Excellency! But what I did will undoubtedly be of great benefit to you! Some in the Elders Council has always been against war, and now with this incident as a trigger, the opposing voices will soon vanish...Isn’t this what you’re hoping for?"
Prometheus was silent for a moment before he continued slowly, "You are well aware of this which was why you dared to do so? You knew that even if I find out what you did, I will not punish you severely, isn’t that so?"
Ars.Lan did not say anything because she knew Prometheus was not finished yet. Sure enough, Prometheus continued, "I did hope that the opposing voices will vanish, but if the price of that is losing a trustworthy great warrior, then I will not be happy about that! And you, Ars.Lan, after Augustine was imprisoned and now if Fielding is also forced to apostatize, I’m afraid this is the situation you’re hoping to see! Do you really think that, by getting rid of the two human Paladins, this will be of great benefit to your Dragon Tribe? Or do you think that after losing the only two human Paladins, I will have no other choice but to depend on you?"
Ars.Lan remained silent—she had no idea what to say now! Prometheus had completely spoken out her true thoughts with such a casual tone!
Yes! Augustine was already imprisoned for committing a great sin, and after Gu Ming’s death, Fielding would have believed what she said, thinking that Prometheus wanted to get rid of him. If so, Fielding would have apostatized just like Black Veil Saint!
The only two human Paladins had collapsed, so the only person Prometheus could rely on from now on, was her, Ars.Lan!
The Dragon Tribe and the Temple were never true friends—Strictly speaking, the relationship between Dragon Tribe and the Temple should be enemies! Thousands of years ago, during the era of war between Gods and Demons, the Dragon Tribe had betrayed the Gods. They were subdued after being defeated, and an agreement between the Dragon Tribe and the Gods had been passed down since ancient times! The terms of the agreement were very simple: firstly, the Dragon Tribe must stay in their own territory and never ever step out from their territory!
Secondly, whoever possessed this agreement could request the Dragon Tribe to do anything! Nobody knew how Prometheus got ahold of this agreement, but one day he came to the Dragon Tribe’s territory alone bringing with him this agreement and from then on, he got the support of the Dragon Tribe!
Putting the agreement aside, the Dragon Tribe and the Temple were archenemies!
"You are indeed intelligent, Ars.Lan." Prometheus sighed. "How smart of you to be able to think of using this opportunity to weaken the Temple’s strength. You caused me to lose an Elder and a Paladin at once! But too bad you’re not a human after all so no matter how hard you learn, you won’t be able to master the scheming and conspiracy tactics of the humans!"
Prometheus paused and gave out a light laugh, "Ars.Lan, you should feel lucky! You are a Paladin, so I will not punish you for now as I still need to utilize your ability! But just this once! If next time I find you doing something ‘smart’ again, I will let you experience a special emotion of the human beings: regret!"
Ars.Lan knew it was useless to say anything now, so she bowed and waited for Prometheus’ final decision on her punishment. It suddenly occurred to her that, perhaps what that guy said just now did make some sense. Prometheus was definitely a person whom she could not easily deal with!
"Your Excellency, what’s your decision?" Ars.Lan’s voice was deep and heavy.
Prometheus replied lightly, "Now that you’ve done it, regardless of it being right or wrong, at least reduce its negative effects to the minimum! If Fielding truly apostatizes due to your presumptuous act, well, I hope that you will be fully responsible for this matter..."
"What do you mean?"
"Kill him!" Prometheus’ voice was emotionless, "If Fielding apostatizes and joins our enemies, then kill him! Since his ability cannot be of use to us anymore, then we must not let our enemies have his assistance too!"
"Okay, I will take care of this matter." Ars.Lan seemingly heaved a sigh of relief.
"Meanwhile..." Prometheus’ voice gradually became cold, "Although I will not condemn you for your actions, in order to express my discontent, a little punishment for you is necessary."
As he was saying, he slowly held out his palm.
A greenish flame suddenly appeared on his palm, and the flame shot towards Ars.Lan at high speed! Ars.Lan clenched her teeth and forced herself to refrain from dodging or resisting. She knew Prometheus only wanted to deter her and did not intend to take her life.
The green flame went straight at Ars.Lan’s face. Immediately, she grunted, and her body trembled. Obviously, the pain on her face was excruciating, but she endured it with her strong willpower.
The green flame shot by Prometheus came and went quickly. It retracted after brushing slightly on Ars.Lan’s face.
Ars.Lan’s face was disfigured. Her lips turned purple from biting, but she dared not make a single sound. Her originally beautiful face now had a deep burn mark on the left cheek! The burnt flesh was gnarled, and it looked extremely ugly and scary.
"I know that with your ability, this kind of scar might be painful, but your face will return to its normal appearance within less than half a day...but my punishment for you is not only this!" Prometheus said coldly, "I order you to not heal your face using any method within a month! I want you to carry this scar on your face and work for me! At the same time, this scar will remind you what are the things that you can do, and what are the things that you should not even think about!"
Ars.Lan trembled in pain. She had no idea what kind of sorcery Prometheus used to produce the green flame. Though it just brushed slightly on her face, the excruciating pain was as if the flame was not only burning her flesh but also vigorously burning her soul! The pain did not only come from her body, but it was the pain of the soul burning in a conflagration! The pain went deep into her bones!
She knelt down on one knee and clenched her teeth, "I will bear in mind every single word you said today...Your Excellency!" She paused, and her voice trembled as she continued, "I will bring you Fielding’s head within a month!"
Prometheus seemed tired, he waved his hand carelessly, signaling that Ars.Lan could leave now.
After the injured female Paladin walked out from the great hall, Prometheus was still standing there alone.
He glanced at the empty great hall and mumbled, "Why is it that in this world, there are so many seemingly intelligent people who always do stupid things?"
He slowly turned and walked towards the door at the back. Behind the door was a spiral staircase, and his lonely figure went up the stairs. After walking for some time, he finally reached the top of the stairs.
This was an open-air round shaped rooftop. It seemed to be the highest point of the Temple’s whole building.
His hair was blown up high by the strong, cold wind at the peak. He stood beside the rooftop’s golden rail, and let his long robe flutter in the wind.
Looking beneath, he could see the scattered devoted practitioners on all fours below the Temple’s steps, looking up and praying to the Temple. Though they were so far away, Prometheus was certain that right now, they must be muttering words of praises to the gods…
"Pathetic and naive people…" The supreme leader of the Temple at present, the authority figure of the divine religion of the whole Roland Continent, was currently sighing and speaking in a strange tone, "Do you all think that God will truly pity you?"