Chapter 28 Poseidon

So they finally retreated back to the deep and secluded Temple of Poseidon.

The Temple of Poseidon resembles a giant lighthouse, with stone steps spiraling upward, revealing irregular terraces of varying sizes. Even at night, the temple is devoid of candles, lit only by a few jellyfish housed in glass jars embedded in the stone walls, emitting a faint, cold glow. The cold stone walls are dripping with water, and the strong, sea-smelling smell is almost choking. Intricate and mysterious patterns entwine the walls, leaving the ground slippery underfoot, as if treading on mollusk slime.

Odres, the god of the sea, is portrayed in mythological history as a dual being, sometimes appearing high-spirited, generous, and benevolent, other times brutal and merciful. His most devout followers call themselves "ship dwellers"—those who refrain from firing, pray only when they must, and even wish to live forever at sea. Officially, this god of the sea possesses both good and evil sides, but Nova suspects he suffers from a simple schizophrenia.

Of course, this cannot be written in a serious paper.

The professor came to his senses and quickly explained, "Whale bones would be quickly corroded by the decomposers in the ecosystem, making them difficult to distinguish. What the mercenary saw was a brand new oracle—at least, he thought it was a brand new oracle. But the gods have been silent for a long time. Where did this oracle come from?"

The thick stone walls blocked some of the sea breeze, making communication much easier this time.

"Priests of the sea god customarily carve oracles onto whale bones and throw them into the sea to demonstrate their knowledge of the god's will. However, what's lesser known is that they also keep backup copies of the oracles. When the sea god becomes angry and takes on an evil look, the priests offer the backup oracle, serving as both a carrier and a sacrifice, to demonstrate their loyalty and obedience. However, due to their perceived bloodiness and cruelty, these things are rarely mentioned openly."

Azuka had never heard his fellow sea-god worshippers talk about this before. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "What is the carrier?"

"Human skin," the professor said calmly.

The sea breeze roared outside the tower, mixed with cold water droplets. The damp, cold and eerie air rushed into the temple. The drowned jellyfish floated up and down, casting a fluctuating glow on the pale face of the black-haired young man.

"Seagod priests would tattoo oracles on the scalps, chests, and backs of slaves, primarily selecting strong male slaves. If the oracle was important, the priest himself would even bear the responsibility, only to be skinned alive when needed. And there was a time when Odileus was exceptionally active, and his evil face appeared unusually frequently. During those years, the remains of slaves and priests practically formed a new beach."

It was like a group of slaves trying to calm a mad baby.

Nova lowered his eyes in disgust and said expressionlessly, "So now we have to look for the backup oracle. There are traces of human activity all the way up the stone steps of the Sea God Temple. Let's go to the higher ground first."

The stone steps of the Poseidon Temple climbed against the tower wall, narrow enough for only one person. Beyond the irregularly shaped platform was a terrace, connected horizontally by several suspended, sloping stone paths with no regular pattern. There were no handrails beside the steps, and everything above and below was pitch black. A fishy wind blew in their faces. A massive statue stood silently in the hollow, like the eye of a storm, formed by the spiral staircase. They were currently at the statue's armpit, unable to see its head above or its feet below.

The brighter and more spacious ground floor housed the priests' quarters and served as an altar for believers to offer sacrifices and pray. The higher one climbed, the narrower and more confined the space became. As time passed, the professor's breathing became increasingly ragged and heavy. A dried-up jellyfish had been thrown onto the steps, and he stepped on it without seeing clearly. He stumbled and nearly fell, but someone behind him quickly helped him up.

They stopped at a small platform. Azuka touched his enemy's forehead, which was cold from the sea breeze, with some concern, but withdrew his hand before the enemy could come to his senses and glare at him.

"Something's not right," the professor said grimly. He simply squatted down, propped the parchment against the wall, and in the dim light of the drowned jellyfish nearby, he took out a charcoal pencil and began to sketch out calculations, muttering nervously, "...It gets narrower the higher you go. It doesn't look like there's extra space. So what are they doing upstairs... Where are they?"

Azuka's gaze suddenly fixed on the enormous statue of Poseidon. They were now at just the right height to see the upper half of Odileus's face. In the boundless darkness, the grayish-white eyes of the giant stone face gazed down at them.

Then he heard the professor say in a deep voice, as if in sync with him: "Statue of God."

The black-haired young man walked past him and swiftly climbed up a suspended stone path. There was no protection on either side of the stone path, and the road was too narrow. If you were not careful, you would fall into the dark bottom of the tower. It was really terrifying to watch.

For a moment, the savior felt the same as a cat owner who discovered his cat lying on the edge of a high-rise balcony.

But the professor seemed completely unaware of the danger he was in. He was adjusting his position to ensure that he could observe the statue closely.

The statue of the sea god Odile is a middle-aged male statue. The sculptor focused on depicting his deep eye sockets, high nose bridge and broad and powerful chin - the facial features of the Ster people, a nation that has lived on the sea for many years.

Nova stared at the statue. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt a sense of unease, as if something was coldly watching him. But the divinely favored one had already cast a spell of confusion on both of them. At least according to them, no one except a Saint or above could see through it.

Someone suddenly held down his shoulders. Nova was startled and tried to struggle when he smelled a familiar smell.

"Be careful, someone is watching us," he heard the God's Blessed One whisper in his ear. The other party was too close, and the warm air blew on his ears, making him frown uncomfortably.

"You felt it too?" He quickly forced himself to ignore it and said quietly and quickly, "Pay attention to the statue's eyes. There are many scratches near the eye sockets, and there's space inside."

The peepers seemed even more impatient. As the professor finished speaking, accompanied by the harsh sound of stone rubbing against stone, one of the statue's eyes slowly moved upwards, revealing the dark chamber within.

A strange voice shouted from the center, "My god said that a guest is coming to visit me—how rude of you! Now that you have come before my god, why don't you show yourself?"

Nova suddenly felt his whole body lighten, and a sense of weightlessness came over him. The God-Favoured One was as light as a feather, carrying him to another staircase. Almost in the next second, a figure in a dark hooded robe landed heavily on the stone platform. A vortex appeared out of thin air and rose under his feet. Nova heard the dull sound of stone breaking, and several pieces of rubble fell to the bottom of the tower.

The temple was so dark that Nova squinted to make out the outline of the incoming force. It was obvious the other party couldn't see them, but as if guided by something, they always struck in their direction. Each strike destroyed a section of the stone steps. The roar continued inside the Poseidon Temple, and soon it was bombed to the point where there was almost no place to stand. Nova could faintly hear the panicked cries of the other priests at the bottom of the tower.

Nova suddenly whispered, "Watch his skin!"

The God-favored One moved his finger, and suddenly a strong wind blew in the narrow tower. The rubble blinded the other person's eyes. The man was caught off guard, and his robe was immediately pulled down by the wind, revealing his naked upper body.

With the faint light of the drowned jellyfish, Nova discovered that the man was a bald giant. His face was relatively smooth, with only a wave-shaped tattoo on his forehead. Starting from his scalp, his entire body was covered with dense tattoos. Upon closer inspection, he found that they were all oracles.

"...It's the High Priest of the Temple of Poseidon." The professor squinted his eyes. "It's too dark. I can't see what's written on it. I have a homemade flare in my left pocket. Keep steady. Close your eyes and follow my instructions to adjust the angle. I'll throw it."

The God's favored one who became a mount: "..."

How many dangerous items did this guy make?

The high priest over there had fallen into a rage, and the entire Temple of Poseidon was shaking. The waves outside the tower seemed to sense his emotions and surged higher and higher.

"You blasphemer, you're hiding behind your own actions! This morning, a priest reported that someone had sneaked into the temple, and yet you dared to come tonight!" He roared, "Whose worshipper are you? Carlos, the god of the west wind, or Kurakuken, the goddess of chaos?!"

The former is a minor local wind deity who is not very popular and has so few believers that she is almost on the verge of survival. The latter is a deity fabricated by a group of robbers, thieves and swindlers, who claim that the goddess will protect evildoers who create chaos. However, this so-called goddess of chaos is not recognized by major sects.

The professor had a blank expression on his face, as if he hadn't heard the other person's scolding at all: "Move a little closer to the right - okay, now!"

There was a loud bang, followed by a sudden burst of blinding white light.

The sudden burst of light in the darkness almost blinded everyone's eyes, but the professor was well prepared. After a brief period of adjustment to the brightness, he quickly memorized the tattoo on the other person's body.

The high priest's face was distorted in pain due to the stimulation of the light, but the next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were dull and tears were streaming down his face, but his thick and broad hands with bulging veins grabbed Nova precisely and fiercely.

In a trance, Nova seemed to see something twisted and ghostly rush out of the high priest's bloodshot eyes. Like a sea serpent, it pounced on him at unimaginable speed, attempting to sink into his brow. But before he could react, he heard a tiny, hallucinatory, shrill scream in his ear.

"——The Glowing Church!"

The High Priest of the Seagod Temple, Sekken, who had completely lost sight of the invaders without even seeing their faces, was utterly furious. The ball of light that had suddenly appeared was gradually dimming. He fell heavily to the bottom of the tower. Looking at his own people groaning and wounded by the falling rocks, he couldn't help but curse loudly, using vulgar words that were completely unbecoming of a clergyman: "Those despicable bandits and villains! Pretentious bastards! This is Gray Bridge Port, not their lair, and they actually dared to break into the Seagod Temple and bully me!"