Chapter 393: Chapter 392: Dark Moon Trial
What puzzled Kolebas was that the overwhelmingly powerful Holy Daughter, nonetheless, was absolutely submissive to a human man. Thinking of this, her chest felt as if it were blocked by a stubborn stone.
“I wonder how the Hidden Guards fared. Did they succeed?”
While feeling itchy with hatred, Kolebas couldn’t help but feel somewhat expectant.
However, after witnessing the Holy Daughter’s formidable strength, she had an ominous premonition that the human man might not be so easy to deal with.
“A race that has never even entered the underworld, no matter how cunning their means, should not escape the assassination by the temple’s elite Hidden Guards.”
She then thought to herself that she had dispatched four elite Hidden Guards and even equipped them with tools like the Shadow Cloaking Tents. From any angle, that human man was doomed.
…
Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, Norma, the leader of the Hidden Guards, hastily arrived and delivered some unwelcome news.
“Your Eminence, all the Hidden Guards left on the surface have been sacrificed. The assassination likely failed.”
“What was the time interval between their deaths? How long apart?” Kolebas’s face turned rather unpleasant.
“According to records from the Life Dark Hall, two died almost simultaneously, and another ten seconds later, with the last one passing away half a minute after,” Norma faithfully reported.
The Hidden Guards, meticulously trained by the temple, always undertook perilous missions. To ensure their grasp and control, the temple had means to track all their conditions, including life and death.
Once a Hidden Guard died during a mission, the Life Dark Hall would receive the feedback.
“As expected, that human man is not simple.”
Kolebas’s premonitions became reality, causing her brow to furrow tightly, failing to relax for a long time.
This meant that the man might indeed be capable of entering the underworld and even secretly infiltrating the Kemor Empire. Thus, Holy Daughter Jenny—matters were getting increasingly troublesome.
Kolebas waved her hand, agitated, and Norma silently exited the hall.
In the side hall, all was exceptionally quiet except for occasional faint crackling sounds from the Night Deluge Lamps. After thinking for quite some time, Kolebas’s gaze fell upon her staff, and she finally made a resolute decision.
“No matter, for the stability of the Kemor Empire, Jenny must ascend to the role of Holy Daughter as soon as possible.”
“As the person ordained by the Mother God, advancing the timeline slightly, Jenny should be able to smoothly complete the Dark Moon Trial and acquire the Holy Artifact bestowed by the Mother God, leaving no room for objections.”
Unlike previous Holy Daughters, Jenny was not originally from the temple, which posed a problem as Jenny barely understood the teachings bestowed by the Mother God.
Worried about potential issues, she fixed a schedule with Grand Mother Lulusia, giving Jenny ten months to study the temple’s teachings, to deeply comprehend the vast benevolence of the Mother God, before undergoing the Dark Moon Trial.
Now, with the tribe Grand Mothers being aggressively demanding and a human man lurking with dubious intentions,
what was more pressing was that Jenny herself was still preoccupied with thoughts of the man, showing no interest in delving into the teachings of the Mother God.
She had seen all this and felt compelled to change the original plan.
“Once Jenny feels the supreme radiance of the Mother God, she will naturally forget the affection between her and that man, and everything will get back on the right track.”
Kolebas was utterly convinced of this.
That very night, Kolebas discreetly approached Grand Mother Lulusia and informed her of her decision.
Lulusia was the Grand Mother seated in Yuyue City of the Kemor Empire, the top-ranking Grand Mother in the Imperial Council, the Chairperson of the Council, and also the granddaughter of the previous Kemor Empress, nominally holding the power over the entire empire.
“Can it be done? From what I know, this would-be Holy Daughter has hardly perused the temple’s scriptural books. If someone challenges her on this ground, the consequences may be unpredictable.”
“Lulusia, you dare to spy on the temple, you, you, you—”
Hearing this, Kolebas glared at her disapprovingly, somewhat at a loss for words. The very reason she hadn’t allowed Jenny to leave the temple was precisely to prevent this issue from being exposed.
Yet now, someone had reached directly into the temple itself.
“Calm yourself, Your Holiness the High Priest.”
“As a Grand Mother, yet spying on the temple, what more do you have to say?”
“Giggling, with the current state of the temple, it’s too simple to bribe some people or to plant a few inside. Don’t look at me like that. It’s not just me doing this; if everyone else does and I don’t, wouldn’t that show my incompetence as the chairperson?”
Facing her accusation, Lulusia showed no embarrassment; on the contrary, she spoke with confidence.
Kolebas stared at her with wide eyes for several seconds, finally sighing deeply in resignation.
“So you know, but regardless, Jenny is appointed by the Mother God, and that’s a fact no one can change. If anyone dares to challenge it, they’re questioning the Mother God’s will. Then, let them contend with my Gray Shadow Staff.”
She tapped her staff, her eyes filled with deadly intent as she spoke.
Everyone seemed to bring her trouble, and she was too lazy to preach morals when the Holy Artifact in her possession was not to be trifled with.
“Hahaha, High Priest, your authority is overwhelming. Just for your words, I, Lulu Xia, agree to open the Dark Moon Forbidden Forest and allow the Holy Daughter to undergo the Dark Moon Trial,” Lulu Xia said cheerfully, her flirtatious manner blooming.
Unfortunately, the person standing opposite her was the famously ‘stiff’ High Priest, utterly immune to her charms.
“Put away that nauseating demeanor, and don’t forget, you’re a few years older than I am.”
“What few years? Less than one year, I remember clearly, just six months and nine days.”
“That still makes you an old woman.”
“Stubborn old fool, I should never have sneaked into the back of the temple when I was little, I should never have met you so early, allowing you to seize this leverage.”
“—–”
Leaving the royal court, Kolebas felt undoubtedly lighter.
With Lulu Xia’s support, and on her own authority, she could directly open the Dark Moon Forbidden Forest; other High Priestesses, even if they knew, couldn’t stop her.
However, before that, she needed to communicate with Jenny, hoping she would understand.
“Jenny, what do you think?” Kolebas quietly returned to the temple and promptly visited Jenny’s residence to inform her of the early commencement of the Dark Moon Trial.
“Am I to understand it this way, that by passing the Dark Moon Trial, one could acquire a fantastic item, gain a status equivalent to that of the great matriarchs of all races, and also roam beyond the temple bounds, free to do as one pleases?”
“Yes!”
“I agree.”
Seeing Jenny agree so straightforwardly, Kolebas was not overjoyed but instead sighed quietly again.
Ever since the Mother God had designated the next Holy Daughter, she didn’t know how many times she had sighed.
“What, any other requests?” Jenny asked somewhat coldly.
“That’s it, as long as you agree. Rest well, the Dark Moon Trial is in seventeen days, coincidentally on the Dark Moon Night.” Kolebas forced a smile, reminding herself silently that everything would be better once Jenny became the Holy Daughter.
…
Elsewhere, on the first underground level of the eastern territory.
Ivan and his group were following the trail markers left by Jenny, heading towards the southern territory.
He realized that the underground truly deserved the title of ‘world’; its vast area probably exceeded the Chanay Continent. He also noticed that not every location underground had a high concentration of energy particles, but rather they varied by region.
Some areas had unusually high particle concentrations, while others were significantly lower, making the land barren.
High particle concentration areas were usually occupied by living beings, which might be beasts or possibly different intelligent species.
They had encountered quite a lot on their journey, seeing many species dependent on the Son of the Sun, and discovering the rich underground mineral resources.
“Indeed, this is a good place,” Ivan marveled.
Who could have imagined, that merely passing through, he would stumble upon a magic stone mine, accompanied by a side deposit of magical clay stone? The extent of reserves remained unknown, but if this were on the Chanay Continent, it would be a mad scramble.
Here, however, it drew no interest.
“Of course, this is just the first layer; if you went to the second or third layer, the situation there would exceed your imagination,” Meg agreed.
“Do you know the way to the second layer?”
“I don’t, after I escort you out, I’ll search the world. Someday, I’m sure to find it.”
“You’re not really planning to go to the seventh layer in search of some throne, are you?” Ivan turned his head to glance at him pondering.
“Why not?” Carmel retorted.
“Credit to you for your ambition,” Ivan was left speechless.
This guy must have been misled by someone; let him be. After all, the path to the second layer wasn’t easy to find, let alone the seventh underground layer; he might never reach it in his lifetime.
Subsequently, Ivan announced the continuation of their journey.
After they had left, from the magic stone mine emerged one peculiar creature after another, their bodies like enormous gas-filled balls covered in dense layers of eyes and spikes, silently watching their departure.