Chapter 842: 324: Seeking Help and Refusal

Chapter 842: Chapter 324: Seeking Help and Refusal

“Jingle, jingle…”

The sound of wind chimes gently rang, growing closer from afar.

The temple atop the high cliff barely showed signs of age, maintaining its old appearance inside and out.

Hundreds of years had passed; today’s Silver Moon City had transformed greatly.

Yet, the changes were more evident in the outer areas; the center, however, appeared more like it did a millennium ago.

Just like this ancient temple, built by the first High Priest, and never relocated since.

...

Clip-clop…

Clip-clop—

Outside the temple, the sound of hooves grew nearer, stirring the wind chimes into a clearer melody.

Inside the temple’s front hall, an elderly woman with white hair furrowed her brows slightly. However, not far from her, another old man merely shook his head with a smile.

“Don’t take it too much to heart, heh heh… he’s just a bit anxious.”

“If he cared about God’s matters as much, he wouldn’t have ended up here.”

The merciless rebuke showed the elderly woman’s longstanding dissatisfaction with the person outside.

Yet when she finished, a third person in the temple cleared his throat softly.

Unlike the two clearly aged elders, the third person seemed notably younger.

Apart from the silver hair hinting at his real age, he merely appeared to be a young man in his twenties.

“Ahem, Your Excellency, regarding this matter, perhaps there’s no need to express it that way.”

“With all due respect, you should know too. Silver Moon City has never had any ‘God’s matters,’ only those we believed would be of interest to God.”

“For thousands of years, only the High Priest had actually seen God—at least that’s how the books record it—beyond that, God gave no decrees.”

“Even our faith in Him merely stems from the teachings of angels and our own admiration.”

“…So what then?”

“Regardless, that is not a reason that will persuade me.”

After a moment’s silence, the elderly woman did not argue, but her attitude remained stern.

The other two understood why she acted this way; despite each having different interpretations of faith, hers was particularly intense.

They had no objections to this, ultimately it was just a difference in beliefs; the path was still the same.

Still, in such a situation, expecting her to have a good face toward someone who taught The Faithless was naturally impossible.

“Alright then, let’s let him in.”

“No matter what, we should give him an answer, yes?”

With a gentle smile, the second speaking elder resumed, and this time, no one objected.

The elder lifted his hand slightly, and with a small sound, the temple’s outer door slowly opened.

Light shone into the hall, casting a long shadow.

As the door fully opened, the long-waiting centaur finally entered the temple.

But unlike usual, Chiron’s face now bore traces of guilt, with more regret and tension.

“Lord Chiron, thank you for waiting, please forgive us.”

“However, since this is the abode of the deities, even the outermost areas cannot allow others to enter at will.”

“Of course, regarding the matter you mentioned yesterday, our discussion has reached a conclusion.”

Speaking calmly, the elder’s words were straightforward.

And as he entered the grand hall, Chiron bent his tall frame, seemingly paying respect to the deity.

“I understand, maintaining silence in the temple is only right.”

“Moreover, due to my mistake, the Divine Sword Levatin finally fell on Mount Olympus—I failed to prevent my student from making mistakes, thus as his teacher, I should bear this responsibility.”

“As I requested before, please give me a chance to rectify everything; I promise not to disappoint you again.”

The voice echoed within the temple, and Chiron vaguely knew what the outcome would be.

Yet he still wished to try because since learning the consequence of the change on Mount of the Gods, he knew that he alone could not alter the outcome.

However, matters do not shift with personal will, and the three priests within the temple exchanged glances, then the elder slowly gave the final answer.

“According to Her Highness Evangeline, regarding the Divine Artifact Levatin Sword, Destiny will guide it to its true owner.”

“Therefore, while you led it to fall into the place of the Fake God, considering you did not intend this, our final decision is not to hold you accountable.”

“As for your student…”

Pausing briefly, the elder looked up.

While they had differing opinions on Chiron, he and the longtime colleague old woman had no differing impression of the young man.

Arrogant, thinking he could stand beside angels. Such an entity, completely unaware of what ‘humility’ was, was not worth their attention.

“Regarding Achilles, the bishop council’s resolution is as follows.”

“Since he himself is not a resident of Silver Moon City, merely staying due to you, his life or death is not under our protection.”

“Further investigation showed he wasn’t a devout believer, thus according to doctrine, we have no reason to aid him.”

“Finally, his behavior was often improper, directly responsible for the loss of the Divine Sword; his actions and words contradicted doctrine.”

“Upon final approval by the bishop council, expel him from Silver Moon City, regardless of life or death, and never allow him to tread the holy site again.”

“And concerning this matter, we will not react directly.”

The elder’s voice was calm, yet as he concluded, the tension on Chiron’s face slowly shifted to disappointment.

He wanted to speak, but ultimately remained silent.

He understood that these Godhood Practitioners were not something else; decisions made in the deity’s temple were irreversible.

“…Alright, I understand.”

“Regardless, thank you for your prior help… if there’s anything else I am needed for, I won’t refuse.”

Sighing, Chiron prepared to leave.

But just as he was about to step out of the temple, he was suddenly called back.

“Wait, Lord Chiron, in truth, regarding this matter, there is indeed something we need you to do.”

Turning to look, Chiron glanced at the ‘young man’ who spoke.

Like the elderly woman, he had remained silent until now.

“The specifics aren’t complicated; if you’re willing, why not take on the task yourself, Your Excellency.”

Speaking with a smile, meeting Chiron’s gaze, the young man slowly said,

“Our matter is solely that the life and death of Achilles have nothing to do with Silver Moon City, and we don’t care about Levatin’s whereabouts.”

“But knowing he wielded the Divine Sword given by angels, although mercilessly killed, we cannot act as though we know nothing of this.”

“Thus, following the bishop council’s deliberation, we intend for those who worship Fake Gods to make the necessary response.”

Strictly speaking, the young man’s words were baseless, yet at this moment, Chiron felt no surprise.

He knew, regarding how Western nations handled matters, Silver Moon City was perpetually divided, never reaching a consensus.

Perhaps influenced by the angels, some believed in ‘changing’ The Faithless, while others thought they should be ignored.

Yet now, due to Achilles’ recklessness, circumstances might be changing.

At least from this moment, Silver Moon City decided to take its first step forward.

“Alright, I accept.”

Taking a deep breath, Chiron instinctively straightened his back.

He knew Silver Moon City, but he also knew Olympus.

This was destined to be a question without resolution; the gods would never bow, and Silver Moon City would not either.

The conflict between the two was not stirred by this small matter; it was a continuation of millennia-long disputes.

Since the Bronze Age, various grievances converged, the old hatred never erased, many remembered the legends told by their ancestors.

The Fake God once sent a great flood down from the skies, destroying the civilization of the Bronze Age.

“Whoo—”

Chiron knew that once he took this step, as long as the god-king on Mount of the Gods did not step forward to suppress the Olympian gods, as long as the ‘Lord’ worshiped by Silver Moon City remained silent, a conflict would be almost unavoidable.

And serving as the ‘envoy,’ he might also end up with a fate as uncertain as his student.

“But it doesn’t matter…”

Exiting the temple, Chiron looked up at the sky.

Achilles wasn’t his first student, nor his favorite, yet most of those before ultimately died due to the divine court.

Perhaps every presumptuous human hero ultimately challenges the dignity of gods… Initially, Chiron understood, but gradually, he no longer wanted to.

Life or death was irrelevant to him. Sometimes, he too wished to ‘shine’ as his students did.

So though this mission was dangerous and might earn him a spot in the minds of the Olympian gods,

for the centaur, he savored it completely.

······

At the same time, just as the centaur exited the temple, the twelve high towers suspended around Silver Moon City stood.

Each high tower distinguished by different symbols, within the one marked with a sundial, a witch appearing to be in her thirties watched the instruments before her listlessly.

It was a simulated city, or rather a replica of Silver Moon City.

Various buildings were accurately reproduced on it, and stars-like dots covered it.

This was the projection of Silver Moon City, emerging as a byproduct in the process of unraveling the ‘puzzle lock.’

The goddess of the magic net hadn’t directly passed down this profound knowledge, yet she never stopped people from attempting to learn it.

Thus, during the study of the puzzle lock, this unique projection came forth.

Each light point represents a life; their very existence exerts minor influences on the magic net. Being woven from the strings of the magic net, the puzzle lock was meant to react to this.

People analyze this feedback, displaying it in a comprehensible way to ordinary folks.

Although they can’t truly control the puzzle lock, the wizards found a way to use it for city security monitoring.

“Heh, they claim it’s important, but how many times has Silver Moon City been infiltrated over a thousand years?”

“I recall the last time was over a hundred years ago when a part of an ancient evil attempted to sneak into the city, yet before we could react, the puzzle lock automatically eliminated it.”

Scoffing, if it weren’t her turn, she wouldn’t want to watch this boring monitor.

At once, the witch almost hoped something could genuinely happen.

“Come on… come on… a little evil or something would be nice.”

Murmuring, she silently vowed.

“Come quickly, I promise. If given a choice, I wouldn’t eliminate you immediately.”