Chapter 010: The Great God’s Temple

The barbarian quickly picked up a large sword and held it in his hands, saying, “This is the best thing in my shop… If you want it, I’ll sell it to you for fifteen wolf skins… no… no… sixteen wolf skins.”
Before he could finish speaking, someone else entered.
Du Fan turned around and saw Reine. Her mask showed no expression as she spoke in a tone devoid of emotion, “Young Master Du Fan, it’s almost time. If you’ve had enough playing, come with me.”
Du Fan frowned. He turned to the barbarian and said, “I’m truly sorry, but I really don’t have any wolf skins. I’ll just pass on this item!”
With that, Du Fan left the small wooden house under Reine’s guidance and headed toward the Sacred Mountain.
After walking for a while, no one else was in sight. Yet Reine still remained silent, as if suddenly remembering something. What Du Fan had done earlier couldn’t possibly be known by this shaman priest, so he had nothing to say either. The atmosphere between them became somewhat awkward.
Finally, they reached the foot of the Sacred Mountain, where a cave could be faintly seen.
Reine suddenly stopped and turned her back to Du Fan, asking, “Young Master Du Fan… do… do you really care about my face?”
Du Fan was puzzled. “No! Why?”
Reine hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s nothing. Let’s hurry. The Great God’s Temple is right ahead. Although the High Priest granted you, a Rolandian, special permission to enter this time, please refrain from talking recklessly inside. After all, not every Karan will treat you as kindly as I do.”
Du Fan nodded slightly but said nothing more.
The two walked for a while longer and arrived at the base of the Sacred Mountain. There was a quite large cave at the foot of the mountain, with rows of barbarian warriors standing on either side. These warriors showed surprise upon seeing Du Fan and Reine, but they didn’t dare express it when they saw Reine.
Reine made a gesture and led Du Fan into the cave. Torches were lined along both sides of the cave, emitting a strong pine resin smell as they burned. At the same time, the sound of dripping water could be heard inside, which was rather eerie.

Du Fan looked at it strangely and couldn’t help but feel some interest in this so-called Great Temple. Less than a day had passed since he arrived at this barbarian tribe, yet he had stopped by this place over ten times already. He wondered if this Great Temple was an expanded version of a regular temple; if so, it seemed rather absurd.

Following the cave all the way, they finally reached its end. But when they looked around, they saw a spacious open area. It seemed to be a pool nestled within a mountain. In the exact center of the pool was a high, raised stone platform. In front of where Du Fan and the others stood, there was a ramp leading over the water, seemingly allowing one to reach the stone platform in the middle.

From a distance, it seemed there was a strange building on the stone platform, of an indescribable shape. People kept walking back and forth in front of it, but none of them dared speak loudly; instead, they spoke in hushed tones, like ghosts.

Du Fan took a quick glance. There were no more than a hundred people on the stone platform, and most of them wore masks. He guessed they were all shaman priests. Before he could ask anything, Ling Yin whispered, “Apart from the leaders of a dozen tribes, everyone here is a shaman priest. Our shamans have never had any good feelings toward you Roland people. So later, you must stay close to me…” With that, Ling Yin led the way.

Du Fan sighed but had no choice but to follow.

The floating bridge swayed unsteadily, making it extremely uncomfortable to walk on. Although Du Fan could have jumped across with just a bit of combat energy, he noticed that Ling Yin was also walking step by step. There must be some reason for this, so he had no choice but to obey and follow.

After finally reaching the stone platform, Du Fan first looked up at the Great Temple. It didn’t seem particularly dilapidated. At the entrance were tall steps, with twelve thick stone pillars above them. A dark passage appeared right in the middle of the pillars. With just one glance, Du Fan felt his heels start trembling uncontrollably. A fear deep in his soul warned him that this Great Temple was by no means ordinary.

At that moment, a few people came forward to greet them. One of them laughed and said, “Young Master Du Fan, are you having a good time today?”

Du Fan took a closer look and saw it was indeed Magnus, accompanied by a dozen people dressed in similar attire. With a quick glance, he noticed that aside from them, everyone else wore masks—symbols of the shaman priests. These shamans stood in sharp contrast to Magnus and his group, looking lifeless, as if they owed them millions of gold coins.

After a quick glance, Du Fan didn’t dare think too much and quickly said, “With Miss Lingyin by my side, how could I get bored?”

Magnus nodded and said, “Good, then you won’t be bored. Let me introduce you. Young Master Du Fan, this is Alades, the chief of our Fire Tribe of the Kara clan. I’m sure you’ve long heard of him.”

Magnus’s words carried deep meaning, but Du Fan pretended not to hear them. Instead, he bowed to Alades and said, “It’s an honor to meet Chief Alades…”

Alades appeared to be around fifty or sixty years old, a few years older than Magnus. His face was still covered in runes, but they seemed slightly different from Magnus’s. Yet Du Fan couldn’t pinpoint the difference. He looked energetic, with a deep gaze, and the smile on his lips made Du Fan feel uneasy. No matter how you looked at him, he seemed like a master schemer.

But as soon as Du Fan saw him, he knew this guy was no match for Magnus. How could someone whose emotions were so obvious possibly compete with Magnus, who remained inscrutable even to him?

Alades gave Du Fan a faint smile and spoke in standard Rolandian, “You must be the third young master of the Green family. Our Fire Tribe still remembers the Northern Legion from those days. Seeing Young Master Du Fan’s prowess today, it seems our defeat in that battle wasn’t entirely unjust.”

Du Fan inwardly groaned. Alades was deliberately trying to stir up tension between him and Magnus—how utterly foolish. But he couldn’t show it and could only smile faintly and say, “Chief Alades, you’re too kind. It was just luck back then. Who on the Roland continent doesn’t know the bravery and fighting skills of the Kara people? They have the most warriors on the continent. In front of you Kara people, ten Rolandians are not even worth one!”

But a hundred of you aren’t worth me either, Du Fan thought to himself.

Alades laughed heartily but said nothing more.

Magnus, on the other hand, appeared like an elder. He introduced Du Fan to the remaining dozen or so people, all of whom were chiefs of barbarian tribes—meaning that all the powerful figures among the barbarians had gathered here. Suddenly, Du Fan had a bold idea: if he could keep all these people alive, the northern lands would be safe for at least a decade. But upon seeing the eerie-looking shaman priests around him, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. He had to save his own life first. Judging from Aldais’s appearance, he seemed to show everything on his face; even if he were useful, it would be hard to rely on him! After standing there for most of half an hour, Du Fan managed to exchange a few words with these so-called tribesmen, but the looks they gave him were strange—likely either wanting to kill him or chop him to pieces. Most of the time, they spoke in that strange barbarian language. Although Du Fan tried hard to listen, he still couldn’t understand anything, so he gave up in the end. Finally, everything stopped. A strange flute sound rang out, and the shaman priests along with the barbarian chiefs quickly walked up to the Great Temple and knelt down. Ringtone pulled Du Fan along and tried to push him down as well. Du Fan waved his hand, knelt down halfway, but looked up toward the Great Temple. In the darkness, it seemed someone stepped out and said something in an unknown language. The barbarians then bowed in worship. This ritual lasted about two hours, driving Du Fan to the point of wanting to vomit from boredom. Finally, the person standing in the darkness stepped back, and the barbarians stood up and entered the Great Temple in groups. Du Fan frowned and asked, “What are they going to do?” Ringtone replied, “They’re going to pray for blessings at the Great Temple’s priests.” Du Fan frowned slightly, about to say something, but at that moment, someone came out of the Great Temple and spoke loudly. Ringtone quickly pulled Du Fan away and said, “The High Priest wants you to come in.” Du Fan nodded. At this point, he had no choice but to go in. With a faint smile, he strode forward. Ringtone called after him, “Lord Du Fan, don’t disobey the High Priest’s orders later… Listen to me… I won’t harm you…”