"This creature is somewhat similar to the monster that destroyed the secular kingdom in the 'Biography of the Saints of the Church of God'," Brother Joe said, stroking his chin as he looked at the creature sketch drawn by Todd.

Kendi, a southerner, thought for a moment and said, "It looks a bit like the 'Thuban' from the mythology, a fire-breathing demonic dragon, the servant of Yipulisi."

Todd stared at the two people before him, his mind racing. So, does that mean these dragon-like monsters exist in both the Church of God and Southern religions?

But are there similar legends in Beidao mythology?

Thinking about this, Todd became increasingly curious about the "sacred forest." He made up his mind to hand over the work of developing the electron microscope to the scholars and go to the North Island again as soon as possible.

After inquiring about the deployment from Cumberland and making arrangements for everything in Muxi Town, Todd took a boat, loaded it with necessary supplies, and set off again for Claw Island.

During Todd's absence from the North Island, Huggins led his soldiers to defeat several groups of infidels who hated the heretics, hanging their corpses from the treetops as a warning to others. Craftsmen on Claw Island and Blackskull Island helped the two tribes repair some buildings, build basic living facilities, and construct a makeshift trading post. The accompanying monks spread their teachings and treated the North Islanders for illness. Through this combination of kindness and severity, the relationship between the Twilight Knights' expeditionary force and the local tribes grew increasingly harmonious, and everything seemed to be progressing in a positive direction.

Todd's arrival surprised both the tribe and the expeditionary force. The cautious Huggins, after repeatedly confirming that there was no major problem between Twilight Town and North Island, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Todd found the chieftain and elders of the Claw Clan and showed them the 'dragon' he had drawn. The oldest elder recognized the creature at a glance and found several old shields in the tribe's warehouse, which he placed in front of Todd.

Pointing to the faded, barely discernible patterns on the shield, the elder spoke with an unprecedented solemnity: "Long, long ago, the gods and their world faced an apocalypse—Ragnarok. Three harsh winters descended, ferocious beasts roamed freely, and war engulfed the universe. The serpent Jormungander awoke from its seabed, and the churning seas submerged Asgard; the fiery legions rose from the earth, their waves of flame scorching every corner; the goddess of death, with her frost giants and the undead, hunted down every living being. In the end, the gods chose to perish together with the invaders, and the entire world was destroyed..."

As Todd listened to the elder's words, memories of Norse mythology from his past life flashed through his mind. The two legends shared many similarities, almost identical. Was it merely a coincidence? Or was there a deeper truth at play?

The elder took the dragon image drawn by Todd and pointed to a huge figure on the shield, saying, "This painting looks a lot like the black dragon Nidhogg. In legend, it spews venom and plague, destroyed several branches of the World Tree, and is the Lord of Despair in Ragnarok."

Todd stared at the dark figure soaring through the sky above the shield, his mind piecing together recent events in an attempt to find the most plausible answer.

A strange world similar to my previous life, a species existing because of microorganisms, the Sutherland archaea, the apocalypse, the appearance of dragons...

The more he thought about it, the more his head ached. In his view, it was like a jigsaw puzzle; to get to the truth, several important pieces were still missing.

"I want to enter the Sacred Forest."

Todd's request caused the people of the Claw tribe to frown. The elders looked at each other, but no one responded to his request.

Todd lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "I can provide the Claw Tribe with ten sets of heavy armor and ten greatswords, guaranteed to be of the highest quality."

The eldest elder said to Todd, "Lord Todd, it's not that we don't want to help you. It's just that the 'Sacred Forest' is guarded by Valkyries, and anyone entering needs their permission, especially since you are not a follower of the gods..."

Looking at the expressions of the others in the room, Todd finally understood that due to events such as the "Siege of Twilight Town" and the "Duel of Honor," the Claw Tribe had not yet let down their guard against him, and it seemed that entering the "Sacred Forest" could not be rushed.

After bidding farewell to the elders of the Claw tribe, Todd found Huggins, who had stayed behind, and asked him about everything that had happened recently.

Based on the information he and his men had gathered, Huggins summarized several things that Todd might be interested in:

I. Although the Claw Tribe and the Blackskull Tribe signed a peace agreement and began trading together, their long-standing feud was not so easily resolved. Several small-scale clashes occurred between the two tribes, but fortunately, they were detected in time and ultimately suppressed by Huggins.

II. There's an interesting story about Little Jerry. It started with a gladiatorial contest held by the Black Skull tribe. By a twist of fate, Little Jerry participated and won. After the contest, a woman from the Black Skull tribe noticed the birthmark on Little Jerry's back and exclaimed that he was from their tribe. According to the Black Skull elder's recollection, when the tribe was forced to relocate from Black Skull Island, a child did indeed fall overboard from a ship and was never heard from again. The tribe had given up hope, but they never expected to see the child again here.

Thirdly, the last message concerned the Valkyries. Following Todd's instructions, Huggins delivered wine, meat, weapons, and shields to them. Unexpectedly, the Valkyrie leader, Brunhilde, refused the gifts, declaring she would not accept offerings from heretics. Frustrated, Huggins inadvertently discovered that every so often, the tribe would place newborn female infants at the entrance to the Sacred Grove, whereupon the Valkyries would take the babies away. Upon inquiry, he learned that long ago, the Claw tribe had upheld an ancient oath, offering their female infants to the Valkyries in gratitude for their protection. Hearing this, Huggins, on a whim, collected some goat's milk suitable for infants and regularly delivered it to the Sacred Grove. To his surprise, after a moment's hesitation, the Valkyries ultimately accepted the gifts.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!