Chapter 392: Chapter 391: The Comoros Empire
The first layer of the underground world, vast and boundless, is usually divided into four territories: east, west, south, and north.
The Kemor Empire, situated on the Ye Song Great Plain within the southern territory, had become the dominant ruler of the southern lands thousands of years ago, with all surrounding races submitting to it.
Yuyue City, located at the central point of the Ye Song Great Plain, is also the capital of the Kemor Empire.
In recent days, however, Yuyue City had been far from calm; the source of all turmoil had begun with the High Priest welcoming back a new prospective Holy Daughter.
“Have you heard? The new Holy Daughter is from the Alien Race; she shares not a drop of blood with us Dark Elves.”
“Not a drop of blood? That means she’s of mixed blood. How could such a mixed-blood serve the Mother God? This is a terrible disrespect to the most exalted Mother God.”
…
“Listen carefully, she’s not even of mixed blood. It’s said she was found from the barren surface, an Alien Race indeed.”
“This is outrageous, sheer blasphemy against the Mother God.”
“Shh! Speak carefully. I’ll tell you in secret. I heard from the son of a relative of my neighbor that the whole thing might be a scheme plotted by the High Priest and the Great Mother Lulusiya, aiming to control all power within the Empire.”
“That’s not right; I heard it’s purely the High Priest’s conspiracy and has nothing to do with Lady Lulusiya.”
Ever since the Holy Daughter had returned, discussions about her within Yuyue City had never ceased, especially as of late, with various theories emerging incessantly and becoming increasingly intense.
More and more Dark Elves began to believe that the entire affair was a conspiracy, an extremely filthy one.
“This is outrageous!”
In a tavern, the voices of a few discussing were not low, this scene was fully heard by someone at the opposite street corner, who looked at the two in anger and cursed under her breath, but restrained the restlessness in her heart.
After all, she had seen such things more than once, and it was impossible to arrest all these gossiping residents.
If arrests were made indiscriminately, more rumors about the temple would surface, and the number of gossipers would only increase, causing the matter to spiral even further out of control.
“Forget it, I’d better hurry back to report to the captain.”
Caroline, with a steely expression, listened for a while, stamped her foot, and turned to jog in the opposite direction.
Soon, she arrived at a resplendent grand temple and bypassed it from the side, heading to a palace near the drill ground at the back. This place was the encampment for the temple guards.
After entering the encampment, Caroline immediately reported the information she had gathered to Rosa, the captain of the guards, informing her of the severity of the situation.
“I understand.”
Rosa rubbed her head, comprehending this wasn’t the first captain to make such a report to her in similar terms, none of which was particularly good news.
Without need for analysis, it was clear someone was behind this.
Except for the other Great Mothers, there seemed to be no one else bold enough to spread rumors about the High Priest and the Great Mother. The matter implicated the Empire Council, which controlled the power of the Empire, and she couldn’t help but worry for High Priest Kolebas.
If things continued this way, the temple would surely become a target of many arrows.
An hour later, Rosa arrived at a side hall within the temple, where she detailed the situation in Yuyue City to High Priest Kolebas.
“These fools are all blinded by greed, daring to speak carelessly even about the will of the Mother God. It’s heartbreaking to see how far our Kolebas Empire has fallen, after eight thousand years of founding,” Kolebas lamented with profound sorrow.
“Your Majesty, if things continue this way, they will undoubtedly cause more trouble, and then we’ll be at a disadvantage,” Rosa said worriedly after listening to the reprimand.
She was well aware that although the temple held a transcendent status in the empire, in terms of power and strength, it still couldn’t compare with the various tribes that made up the empire.
In truth, each tribe also had its own temple branch, but under the wooing of the major tribes’ matriarchs, many of the priests had sided with them, only superficially obeying the orders of the High Priest.
“Afraid of them? I, Kolebas, am the esteemed High Priest of the temple, acting entirely in accordance with the oracle. If they dare to break into the temple and defy the will of the Mother God, I will stake my life to invoke Divine Punishment and let them experience once again that my Lord’s dignity must not be offended,”
Kolebas said with a chilling gaze.
She could tolerate the sordidness among the tribes and the superficial loyalty of the branches, but she would never allow anyone to question the will of the Mother God.
The Mother God had appointed Jenny to serve her; hence, Jenny was destined to be the new Holy Daughter and the next High Priest.
That was something no one could stop, including the matriarchs of the various tribes!
“Understood, Your Majesty,” Rosa, realizing the determination in the High Priest’s heart, immediately spoke with a grave tone: “No matter what happens, I, Rosa, guarantee that the temple guards will be united as one and will not allow anyone to set foot in the temple lightly.”
“Well said, Rosa. The temple guards should have such resolve. Our temple holds a status in the empire equivalent to that of the council. I recall at the dawn of our founding, the High Priest was only slightly inferior to the Kemor Empress, truly second only to one and above tens of thousands.”
Kolebas looked at her with appreciation, reassured by having such a guard for the temple.
At that moment, the sound of gentle footsteps echoed within the temple. The two looked over and saw Jenny, who was about to assume the role of Holy Daughter.
“Holy Daughter, did you hear all that?” Kolebas smiled, stepped forward, and continued when she saw Jenny nod, “They are mere jesters, banding together for power and profit, not worth mentioning at all.”
“That’s good,” Jenny nodded again. She wasn’t particularly concerned about these matters; she was ready to walk away from it all, as she had little desire to stay in the Kolebas Empire.
“High Priest Your Majesty, Holy Daughter Your Highness, I shall take my leave,” Rosa signaled to the two before preparing to depart.
“Wait, Captain Rosa of the guards,” Jenny called out to her.
“Holy Daughter Your Highness, what are your orders?” Rosa had a bad feeling.
“What about the matter I asked you to inquire about? Any leads?” Jenny asked bluntly.
“This— I apologize, but there hasn’t been any news of the Centaur tribe,” Rosa glanced at the High Priest and replied tactfully.
“Hmph! Don’t think I’m unaware, you didn’t inquire at all, so don’t blame me for investigating on my own. If any trouble arises, I won’t take any responsibility,” Jenny scoffed coldly, her voice becoming stern.
“I am deeply sorry, Holy Daughter Your Highness, it’s just that things have been too hectic lately. From now on, I’ll make every effort to inquire and will report back immediately if there’s any news. How does that sound?” Rosa was at a loss for words, but fortunately, the High Priest had given her a silent directive,
“I’ll trust you one more time,” Jenny left first.
Before leaving, she gave the High Priest a meaningful look.
Rosa hesitantly looked towards the High Priest.
“Ah! Just do as she says.” Kolebas was somewhat helpless,
She was content with the Holy Daughter, who was too exuberant, even putting pressure on herself as the High Priest. It wasn’t until she came to the temple that she realized the Holy Daughter, truly chosen by the Mother God, was extraordinary in strength.