Why must the devil be Defeated?
Chapter 350 - 349 The Dark Beastman Temple

Chapter 350: 349 The Dark Beastman Temple

The night in Cosmos was not suitable for going out.

Not just because of the chaos, but because venturing out at this time increased the chances of encountering those who fish in troubled waters.

Moreover, with the Knight Order constantly patrolling every corner of Cosmos, if they discovered you, you’d likely be caught without a second word, subjected to a barrage of questioning, and possibly even arrested as a suspect. Therefore, no one dared to wander the night in Cosmos anymore.

But under Jade’s lead, Shane stepped out of the inn.

"Have you been to Cosmos before, Jade?"

Watching Jade walking ahead as if she knew the place like the back of her hand, Shane was indeed surprised.

Mainly because even if someone had been to Cosmos, the current state of Cosmos wouldn’t allow anyone to be familiar with the geography here.

Who could blame this, when the position of the buildings here could change at any time, and even the passable areas were uncertain?

So reasonably, even those who were most familiar with Cosmos shouldn’t be able to navigate as effortlessly as this, let alone the fact that Cosmos’s layout had been randomly shuffled by Shane today, leaving the city’s arrangement no longer in its original state.

Yet Jade was leading the way with a clear purpose, her steps showing no hesitation, truly puzzling Shane.

"..."

Jade, noticing Shane’s amazement, turned her head back, looked at Shane, said nothing, and simply took his hand, continuing forward.

Seeing this, Shane could only suppress the doubts in his heart and, carrying the Holy Sword, followed Jade, turning left and right down the alleys.

This turn and that took them almost two full hours before they finally emerged from the complex maze of alleys into an open field.

Shane felt a sudden openness before his eyes, the disorderly cluster of buildings disappearing behind him, leaving only a vista of forest meeting his gaze.

"Is this... the outskirts?"

Shane looked around, verifying their location.

With this verification, Shane dismissed his previous statement.

"This isn’t the outskirts."

If it were the outskirts, then one should be able to see the city walls of Cosmos.

As a fortified city, Cosmos was entirely surrounded by tall walls, which should be more visible the closer one got to the outskirts.

But now, Shane saw no city walls around, proving that not only was this not the outskirts, it likely was a region closer to the center of Cosmos.

"To be in the city center yet completely devoid of buildings?"

That seemed unlikely.

Unless...

"The buildings here have all been moved away."

If that were the case, things just got interesting.

Because an entire region, without a single building remaining having all been moved, Shane did not believe it was mere coincidence.

Furthermore, upon entering Cosmos, Shane and Ai Yi had already discovered the magic anomalies present.

And after entering this region, the magic anomalies in the air became even more apparent and intense.

Thus, Shane had reason to believe one thing.

"This is the source of the strange occurrences... right?"

Shane narrowed his eyes, looking out at the forest before him.

Jade too quietly observed the area, until after a moment she tugged Shane’s hand again, signaling him to move forward.

"Alright, alright, let’s go."

Shane naturally wouldn’t refuse, nodding with a wry smile as he walked on.

This walk took another full half-hour or so.

Until under Jade’s guidance, Shane arrived at a certain place.

It was where a temple was located.

The temple was large and tall, standing like a small mountain in the midst of the plain, and it gave off an imposing feeling.

Yet such a lofty temple exhibited a jet-black color and was covered with thorns and vines.

It didn’t resemble a dignified and sacred place in the slightest; rather, it looked like a dark castle imprisoning vampires, sending shivers down one’s spine.

"Where did such a bizarre temple come from?"

Shane blinked, his expression somewhat taken aback.

Jade also stared at the temple, her eyelids drooping, a fleeting irritation and repulsion crossing her eyes.

Even though there was a feeling of repulsion, Jade still pulled Shane towards that dark temple.

"Uh..." Shane said as if realizing something, "You want me to go in?"

Jade immediately nodded her head.

"Fine," Shane said, somewhat helplessly.

There was no other choice.

Thanks to the skill "Magic Perception," Shane had discovered that all the eerie magic power within Cosmos was flowing out from that temple.

The temple was like a vortex of magic power, constantly flowing around it—not drawing in, but expelling energy, as if rejecting everything nearby. The waves of magic power were striking the surrounding area with spectacular force.

Shane even felt that the reason for the mysterious displacement phenomena occurring in Cosmos was due to the magic power released from the temple.

The magic power seemed to be pushing away the buildings and life forms in the vicinity, leading to their disappearance and transport to other locations. Moreover, the power was gradually expanding its influence, causing more displacement phenomena in the surrounding areas.

Under such circumstances, Shane felt that if he got too close, he would immediately be transported somewhere else.

"If that wasn’t the case, there’d be no way the members of the First Knight Order and the Broken Blade Knights wouldn’t be here, right?"

That’s what Shane thought.

However...

"It seems like there are people unaffected by this magic power..."

Shane’s gaze instantly shifted to the surroundings of the Dark Temple.

There, silhouettes were moving about.

"Beastmen...?"

Yes.

The figures moving around the Dark Temple were indeed Beastmen.

They were all dressed in beast skins, but their attire was different from that of ordinary Beastmen. They would paint mysterious tattoos on their bodies and wear headgear made of animal fur, creating an aura akin to tribal priests.

The Beastman Priests seemed to be guarding the Dark Temple, their expressions filled with vigilance, displaying a level of caution comparable to a military stronghold.

Using the skill "Identification," Shane was able to discern the levels of these Beastman Priests.

"All above Level Sixty?"

This strength was far greater than that of a typical knight order, nearly approaching the kingdom’s Guard Knight Order in terms of level standards.

Why would such a powerful group of Beastmen appear here and stand guard around that temple in such a manner?

"I recall Vivian mentioned that Beastmen, like humans, have faith but only worship the Life Goddess among the Three Great Goddesses."

Shane couldn’t help but recall details about the Beastmen.

Sub-humans with characteristics of wild beasts—that’s what Beastmen were.

If Elves were renowned as a Magic Race, then Beastmen were known as a Warrior Race. Though they generally lacked magic ability, they were naturally gifted with sharp senses and physical prowess, making their close combat abilities unrivaled among the Human Race.

Depending on the breed, Beastmen had disparate racial advantages.

For instance, Catmen in the Beastmen Race had keen hearing and exceptional agility, making them excellent at swiftly taking down enemies. Dog-men had sensitive noses and powerful limbs, often serving as guerrilla-type or reconnaissance-type figures.

There were also Pigmen with extraordinary resilience, Werewolves with both agility and finesse, and Rabbit-men with astonishing leaping abilities—Beastmen had various breed-specific talents that even significantly influenced their personalities.

Characteristics such as the solitude of Werewolves, the excessive wariness of Catmen, and the Dog-men’s undying loyalty once they pledged fealty were all typical of Beastmen.

Such Beastmen also had extremely robust reproductive abilities, rivaling humans in population among the people of the Human Realm. However, instead of establishing their own nation, Beastmen lived in tribes and occupied territories within various human kingdoms.

Because they revered the law of the jungle and acknowledged the fragility of life, the Beastmen saw the Life Goddess as the ultimate deity among the Three Great Goddesses and solely accepted her Blessing.

The way Beastmen received blessings differed from humans.

Humans would take their newborns to the nearest temple, where Priests would guide them through blessings performed by Goddesses of the Divine Race.

Beastmen, on the other hand, did it differently.

It was said their blessings were mediated by the Holy Daughter of the tribe.

The Holy Daughter was the most devout follower of the Life Goddess, dedicating herself entirely to the deity. When a child was born within the tribe, the Holy Daughter would pray to the Life Goddess, seeking the power to bestow blessings on the tribe’s children.

Of course, these blessings weren’t directly granted by the Life Goddess herself.

Since the Life Goddess was the mother of all things, the mother of all life, she was able to bless all existence with her Authority.

Such blessings were essentially seen as a degraded version of those given by the Life Goddess. The strength of the blessings varied; some were comparable to those from Upper-level Gods, while others were akin to those from Lower-level Gods. Nonetheless, they couldn’t match those given by the Life Goddess herself.

This way, the Holy Daughter of the Beastman Race could offer everything to the Life Goddess, pray to her, and seek the temporary powers to perform miracles within her race.

Because of this, the Holy Daughter’s status within the Beastman Race was extremely high. Before she was even born, she was seen as someone who needed to be protected. The tribe would train a Priest Group from her childhood specifically to safeguard her, providing an escort and counsel for the Holy Daughter.

Generally, the role of Holy Daughter was taken on by a Foxman, who would also have magical abilities that other Beastmen lacked. This Foxman would be protected by her tribe from birth, rarely revealing herself to the world.

And now, here was a temple guarded by Beastmen dressed like priests.

Could it be...

"Are they the Priest Group of the Holy Daughter of the Beastman Race?"

If so, whose temple were they guarding?

"The Life Goddess?"

Shane was left deep in thought.