Chapter 383 Elf Prince, God of Greed

Jerusalem, Temple Mount.

For many eras, humans have waged endless wars over Jerusalem. Various major religions have fought for this holy place recorded in the scriptures. A bard said that thousands of years of blood and souls have caused the cracks in the "Wall of Sighs" on the west side of the holy place to ooze wet tears all year round, earning it the name "Wailing Wall."

A magnificent temple is located on the top of the Temple Mount——

The base of the Knights Templar was built on the ruins of the former Temple of Solomon, hence the name of the order.

Outside the carved brass gate of the temple, there were two Templar Knights stationed. They were wearing white robes embroidered with crosses, silver chain mail, and holding cross-emblazoned shields and fine steel spears. A pair of sharp eyes were revealed from the gaps in their helmets. When they saw the slowly approaching figure, they said in unison:

"Grand Commander!"

Chandler de Joltsus is an old man with a white beard and a Mediterranean hairstyle. This deliberate hairstyle and shiny head symbolize his loyalty and unreservedness to the Lord.

The Grand Master's eyes swept across the two Templar Knights, nodded slightly, and then fixed on the burning torches hanging on the wall. His brows knitted tightly together, and he said in a serious tone:

"I've mentioned this many times before. Don't light torches during the day! These are strategic materials. Save them if you can!"

The guard said ashamedly: "I am so sorry, Grand Commander, we were careless for a moment, we will withdraw now!"

"Give it to me." Chandler snatched the torch from the guard's hand, his knuckles flashed with light, and he put it into the gold ring on his knuckles, then nodded with satisfaction.

One of the knights looked a little confused, not understanding why the grand commander attached so much importance to a torch; the other knight was used to it and thought that he was careless for a moment and forgot about his commander's stingy temper.

Immediately, Chandler walked straight into the temple and ordered:

"No one is allowed to come in without my order, not even the Pope. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Grand Commander!"

The interior of the temple was magnificent and solemn. The majestic ceiling murals and magnificent wall carvings seemed to make humans aware of their own insignificance. However, Chandler's face was ashen, and he clenched his fists under his robe and murmured in his heart.

“If we could save even one-fifth of the gold coins used to build the new temple, it would be enough to fill up the entire treasury… What a beautiful scene that would be!”

Following the spiral staircase inside the temple and heading towards the sanctuary on the top floor of the temple, Chandler came to the most secret attic deep in the temple, rubbed his hands, and carefully pushed the door open.

Buzz——

Suddenly, the golden luster released by various gold and silver jewelry, treasures, necklaces, swords, and gorgeous clothes enveloped Chandler's face. Fanaticism appeared in the eyes of the Grand Commander, and his breathing became rapid.

On top of the treasure mountain made of gold bars, there is a golden chair. There is a beautiful woman dressed in jewels and gems, looking down at Chandler with a slight smile on her lips. Her captivating golden eyes contain a playful look.

Her skin was as white and delicate as snow, and she was adorned with gorgeous gold ornaments all over her body, making her radiant and dazzling. The gold rings on her body jingled with every frown and smile, and her temperament was noble yet a little charming.

The appearance of such a seductive being in this sacred temple is a great disrespect to God.

However, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, who should have been furious and drawn his sword, had a look of horror on his face.

"Master, Master..."

Chandler knelt down in fear and trembled like a mouse in front of the mountain of treasures. He said tremblingly, "I, I didn't know you were here... What do you want me to do?"

The woman wearing gold jewelry spoke, her voice was pleasant, like the sound of jade colliding.

"How's the investigation going on with the matter I told you to do?"

"Reporting to the master, I have found the whereabouts of the elf named 'Perun'!"

Chandler said cautiously, "But I'm not completely sure whether the Elf Prince named Perron you are looking for is the same person as that person, or whether they just have the same name..."

"Please give me a few more days."

Chandler lowered his head deeply and said humbly, "Master Mammon, please rest assured, I will definitely find that person and bring him to see you!"

A symbol of greed, and also regarded as the god of wealth, Mammon can rely on gold and treasures to bring down His miracles.

The jeweled, bright and beautiful woman leaned on the golden throne, one hand lazily resting on the side of her face, looking disdainfully at the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and said indifferently:

"There is no need to do this. You only need to hand over the [Ring] I gave you to the Elf Prince."

Hearing this, Chandler's body trembled slightly. He lowered his head to look at the gold ring on his knuckles. A twisted expression of greed, reluctance, and regret appeared on his face. There was a faint green light in his eyes. He said in a hoarse voice:

"But Master, I..."

Since obtaining the ring granted by the god of greed, Chandler found himself living the life he had always dreamed of as a child.

No matter where you go, you may get unexpected wealth, such as a money bag picked up from nowhere, gold sand deposited in the riverbed, or gems exposed in the rock strata...

The power of this ring can be simply summarized as: [Wealth].

Even with this ring, Chandler was invincible in the casino. If it weren't for the restrictions of his status as the grand master, Chandler would have wanted to stay in the Florence casino all day long.

At this moment, when Chandler heard the God of Greed ordering him to hand over the [Ring of Mammon] to the Elf Prince, he felt a heart-wrenching pain and even his breathing became rapid.

Mammon's deep golden eyes glanced at Chandler, and he chuckled and said, "When you finish this, I will give you a new ring, and... its power will be ten times greater than this one."

As if infected by greed, Chandler's eyes turned from green to red, veins on his temples throbbed, and he kowtowed quickly, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord! I'll do it right away!"

Looking at the captain's ugly appearance, Mammon smiled, crossed his long legs, and looked at him with contempt and sarcasm.

Wealth can shake even the most determined monk.

Even the Pope on earth would sell official positions and titles for wealth.

Whoever controls the wealth of the world controls the human world.

It was so easy to control humans. Mammon's golden eyes flashed with joy. He chuckled and said, "As for the operation of the banking industry, I will give you the parchment scroll later. With the knowledge I teach you, wealth will become just a number to you."

Mammon, the god of greed, is the largest businessman in the human world and possesses knowledge that is beyond the reach of mortals.

The banking industry she created by the Knights Templar and the Medici Family of Florence helped her accumulate astronomical wealth, enough to buy a kingdom.

But Mammon’s vision is not limited to this.

Elves, the race that is most indifferent to material things and wealth.

Mammon wanted to try whether he could use money to win the elves' minds.

If the plan succeeds, it will also promote the spread of greed in the elven kingdom, thereby further strengthening Mammon's own power.

The target chosen is one of the elves with the noblest bloodline in the human world.

The exiled elven prince, Perun.

“Thanks be to my Lord, praise my Lord!”

Chandler could see nothing but gold, and he knelt down in front of the golden chair in enthusiasm.

After waiting for a long time, he came to his senses and found that apart from the treasures he had piled up in the temple, there was no trace of Mammon.

And the magnificent golden throne had disappeared, as if the throne was the holy revelation of the god of greed.

Gently stroking the golden ring in his hand, a flash of regret flashed across Chandler's eyes. Thinking of the tenfold reward promised by Mammon, his eyes gradually became sharp.

"We must find that elf, and put this ring into his palm!"

…

Giant Rock Strait, port.

The harbor is located at the border between Roland and the Empire, and ships travel frequently. However, because the giant whirlpool monster and the mermaid Scylla occupy the main sea area, there is only a narrow channel for ships to pass through.

Even the most experienced captain must be extremely careful when crossing the Rocky Strait. A single mistake can result in death.

"It's very quiet here, and there are hardly any passers-by."

The carriage was driving on the desolate street. Grey looked out of the window. It was clearly daytime, but there were very few pedestrians. The air seemed to be shrouded in an invisible atmosphere of oppression.

"Once we get to our residence, let Jero and the others look around to see if they can find Peren." Ye Zhi said.

The group settled down in the nobles' guild hall at the port.

Jello demonstrated his professionalism as an old demon hunter, suppressing the soul realm in the tavern, knocking down a group of provocative drunkards, and came back to report:

"We didn't find the singer, but we did find a few Templar Knights in white robes. They are now surrounding the castle on the mountain. They said they wanted to catch a sea witch."

Please...collect 6...9...books...!

"Sea witch?"

"It seems that she is a famous witch in the local area. Her prayers can temporarily calm the anger of the whirlpool monster and the sirens. The captain will ask her for blessings before going out to sea..."

Jello shrugged and said, "But now that the Knights Templar have come to our door, I guess this won't end well."

Just as Ye Zhi was about to speak, there was a sound of chaotic footsteps outside the guild hall.

Bang, bang, bang! The violent knocks on the door revealed impatience.

Yeats stood by the window and looked down, and saw the Knights Templar wearing white robes embroidered with crosses gathering outside the mansion.

"It should be outsiders who have arrived and were ordered to investigate." Hildegard speculated.

Ye Zhi was too lazy to waste time talking to these knights, and said, "Jero, send them away."

"Yes, sir!"

Squeak——

The gate of the mansion opened.

The knights wearing bucket helmets were all startled, and saw a scarred man with two swords on his shoulders walk out. He exuded the solemn and murderous aura of a veteran of many battles, and he folded his arms and looked at everyone.

The heroic will weighed on everyone's shoulders like a physical entity, and no one said a word for a moment.

"In the name of the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, anyone entering or leaving the Strait of Rocks needs official approval. Your Excellency, please show us the official document." An officer took off his helmet and spoke.

Jello raised his eyebrows and said, "I didn't hear of such an order when I entered the city just now."

The officer remained calm: "It's the order that was just issued."

Jero laughed and said, "In my opinion, you guys are clearly looking for trouble so that you can make some money, right?"

The already tense atmosphere became even more tense.

The officer stopped the knights who were ready to move and said coldly: "Since you are a Five Rings Hero, you must be a well-known person in the empire. Please tell me your name so that I can explain to the captain."

Although the officer could not determine the other party's origins, he could see at a glance that the other party was quite powerful. It was definitely not a wise move to confront him head-on!

"People used to call me the Lone Wolf of the Wolf School, but now they call me the Watchdog of Honeysuckle."

Jello grinned, revealing his big, brilliant gold teeth.

"It's not bad to be a lackey chosen by many gods. What do you think?"

The Knights Templar were all stunned.

The tense atmosphere suddenly became strange.

The Duke of Honeysuckle! A legendary figure in the Kingdom of Golden Lion, his deeds are known even within the Empire!

There were rumors that he was chosen by the God of Art, and later some people said that he was chosen by the God of the Moon. The support behind this was amazing.

Even Hastings, the Grand Master of the Black Cross Knights, one of the three major knightly orders, had not been qualified to be elected by the polytheistic gods a long time ago!

The officer knew how powerful and formidable Hastings was, and compared to him, the Duke of Honeysuckle seemed unfathomable.

To be able to make the Five Rings Hero say that he was willing to be a lackey... The officer felt heavy-hearted and suddenly regretted going out today. He gritted his teeth and took on the responsibility under the complicated gazes of the knights. He said in a deep voice: "It turns out that the Duke of Honeysuckle lives here. I am really sorry for disturbing you. The Grand Master will surely come to visit in person some other day... We will leave first today. Goodbye."

“Wait!”

How can we let them go back like this when they are sent to our doorstep? But thinking that Ye Zhi's order was just to send them away, and he didn't say to teach them a lesson, Jerlock suppressed the urge to cause trouble and frowned:

"I'm going to ask you a question, and you answer it honestly. Do you hear me?"

Facing the threat, the officer remained neither humble nor overbearing, and said calmly: "If your Excellency asks, I will certainly answer truthfully if I know the answer."

It's not that I'm afraid of the Duke of Honeysuckle, it's mainly about being helpful!

Jello asked a few key questions, nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand to tell everyone to disperse, and then swaggered back to the mansion.

"Why did you take so long to go out?" Ye Zhi looked up from reading the local sea monster legends.

According to legend, the siren Scylla was originally a lake fairy. She was cursed by a witch and turned into her current horrific, half-human, half-ghost image.

It is said that once the curse is lifted, Scylla will be able to regain his human form.

But this is just a legend, and the local civilians still treat Scylla as a terrifying monster.

"I asked the Knights Templar what their intentions were here."

Jello said, "The officer said that they were ordered to fight against the sea witch on the mountain. They are currently in the negotiation stage. Once the negotiations break down, they will officially go to war. The reason why they don't allow civilians to enter and leave the town at will is because they are worried about hurting innocent people..."

"They are obviously hiding something." Hildreth said calmly, "In my opinion, the castle of the sea witch must contain something that the Knights Templar values."

"For example?" Gray tilted her head.

Yeats boldly hypothesized:

"For example, an elf who was pursuing a sea witch and accidentally got trapped in a castle?"

Zuanya: "There was a legend about the sea witch more than a hundred years ago. The sea witch is estimated to be over a hundred years old..."

“To elves, even a 200-year-old human is no different from a little girl,” Gray said.

Ye Zhi: “…”

I once heard from Richard, the dean of the Poets' College, that Perren was exiled from the Elf Kingdom.

So, what did Perun do that was so outrageous that he was banished by the gentle elves? (End of this chapter)