Chapter 399 I'll take you to find it
In the grove, dwarves and goblins sat on the roots of trees on the swamp ground, holding food in their hands and eating with a look of satisfaction on their faces.
They hadn't eaten so much for a long time, let alone eaten delicious fruits.
These human magicians were so kind-hearted that they were willing to give them so many fresh and juicy fruits that they simply couldn't stop eating them.
"Eat slowly, there's still a lot here." Shu Li took out a basket of fruit and placed it in front of the dwarf.
The seven or eight-year-old dwarf bit his finger and timidly looked at the elder beside him. Only after the elder nodded did he dare to pick up the fruit in the basket and whispered to Shu Li, "Thank you."
Shu Li reached out and touched the pale, skinny dwarf. "No need to thank me. Eat!"
"Hmm!" The dwarf was already half full and slowed down the pace of eating the fruit.
Sam finished a glass of water and finally began to tell their story.
"Ten years ago, the Cecilia Kingdom and the Dark Elves joined forces to launch a war against the Enkak region. Not only did they invade our land, they also captured dwarves and goblins everywhere..."
"Why did they arrest you?" Angel asked.
Sam's eyes flashed with hatred, and he said in a gruff voice: "Those niggers, they arrested us for the damn Dark God Statue!"
As expected of a dwarf, he speaks rudely and calls the dark elves niggers.
"Give the statue of the God of Darkness?" Shu Li frowned, remembering when he had just left the Fairy Forest and entered Kesheng Town, where he helped a wealthy businessman eliminate rat infestation, and then found a statue of the God of Darkness in the businessman's yard.
It was a statue filled with dark power, possessing the magical power to corrode everything.
Even mice have evolved with the help of the power of darkness, let alone humans?
The Mother Tree once told him that the Temple of Hodhe was popular in the Izerafar Empire, and the people were almost obsessed with it.
If the temple wants to preach, it needs the statue of the Dark God.
The dwarves and goblins were both masters of manufacturing, possessing exquisite craftsmanship. Once they were captured, there would be a large number of free laborers who could continuously create countless statues for the Temple of Hodhe.
The Temple of Hodhe used these statues filled with dark power to recruit believers, spreading darkness on a large scale across the Austin continent, contaminating more humans and other races.
The God of Darkness doesn't even need to show up in person, he can gain a large number of loyal believers just by relying on his statues. It's really amazing.
"I was seriously injured during an adventure and could no longer lead the team, so I returned to my hometown to recuperate. However, my village was invaded by the Black Knights and Dark Elves. A large number of young and middle-aged people died in the battle, and only the elderly, weak and sick were left." Sam said with a heavy heart.
Eventually, they were unable to defend the village and were captured by the dark elves. They were shackled with chains and shackles that imprisoned magic, and could no longer resist.
They became slaves of the dark elves, treated worse than pigs and dogs, and suffered torture.
In order to protect the few remaining villagers, Sam and two young dwarves silently endured the evil tactics of the dark elves.
Seven days ago, they were driven by four dark elves across the swamp to the country of Cecilia.
"What are you going to do in Cecilia?" Shu Cheng asked with a frown.
Cecilia is a human nation and the headquarters of the dark forces. Uncle Sam and the other dwarves went there, which was like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth.
Sam introduced the elderly dwarves sitting next to him. "They are all skilled in carving idols."
It was obvious that the old dwarf had such good skills that he was targeted.
Most of the captives were relatives of the old dwarf.
The dark elves threatened the old dwarf with their relatives, forcing him to leave his homeland and be escorted to the country of Cecilia.
As for the goblins in the team, they were purely an unprovoked disaster.
When the dark elves were escorting the dwarves through the swamp, the goblins had the misfortune to run into them and were also captured.
The journey to Cecilia is long and difficult. The dark elves, who know magic, have to watch their loved ones fall into the quagmire and die.
If Sam had not met these kind human magicians, he would have returned to the earth today and would never see tomorrow's sun.
"Thank you!"
He thanked him again from the bottom of his heart.
The other dwarves and goblins all bowed in thanks.
"It's a piece of cake." Shu Li said seriously, "The dark forces are too arrogant. They must be eliminated!"
"That's right!" Dizio clenched his fist. "All races on the continent should unite as before and resist the God of Darkness together!"
Sam shook his head and sighed, "How can it be that easy? If the dark forces hadn't invaded the Enkak region, the goblins would still be fighting with the dwarves for territory!"
When the goblins heard this, they immediately retorted: "If we don't fight for our territory, we goblins will be driven into the swamp by you dwarves!"
The dwarf youth was furious. "You're clearly pushing your luck! We originally agreed to divide the Enkak region equally, with autonomy for both north and south, but you're greedy and want to seize Mabaka City!"
"Mabaka City has been a city of goblins since ancient times!" The goblin blushed.
"Bullshit! As early as seven thousand years ago, the city of Mabaka was managed by the dwarves." The dwarf youth retorted.
"Ten thousand years ago, the city of Mabaka belonged to the goblins!"
"Why don't you just say that 20,000 years ago, when Mabaka City was still a small village, a dwarf was the village chief?"
"There are many statues of goblin ancestors in Mabaka City! This proves it belongs to the goblins!"
"There are also many statues of dwarven ancestors..."
Seeing the dwarves and goblins quarreling, Shu Li hurriedly stopped them: "Stop arguing, calm down! Now is not the time for internal strife."
"snort!"
The dwarf and the goblin glared at each other, neither willing to give in.
Shu Li looked at the Elf King with a headache.
How did he convince all ethnic groups on the mainland to unite and fight the enemy together?
The process must have been very difficult.
The Elf King received his pleading look, smiled slightly, and asked, "Where are you going now?"
Dwarves and goblins are both stubborn people. When they get stuck on a certain point, the best way is to change the subject and distract them.
Sure enough, the dwarves and goblins no longer worried about the territory issue.
"We want to go back to Acre!" Sam said. "It's the central city of the dwarves and the safest place."
The goblin hesitated for a moment and said, "If possible, please send us back to Hamisa Town. Once there, my uncle will give you a lot of gold coins."
Shu Li took out a map and looked for the locations of Acre City and Hamisa Town.
The city of Acre is in the northwest, and the town of Hamisa is in the southeast, and the two are quite far apart.
A slender finger stretched out and touched the middle point between the two cities.
"We can send them to Atari City."
The Elf King's sweet voice rang in Shu Li's ears.
"Yardali City is a transit point with well-developed transportation. As long as you find a mercenary group to escort you, you can safely reach the city you want to go to."
Sam said excitedly: "Why didn't I think of that? Thank you for reminding me!"
The goblin said with some embarrassment: "We are penniless now and don't have money to hire a mercenary group."
Budno patted his chest and said generously: "I have gold coins and I can give you some."
"This..." The goblin's eyes flickered and his heart was beating fast.
The dwarf refused: "No! You saved us, we can't ask for your money anymore!"
The goblin curled his lips and squatted aside without saying anything.
Kumandi pondered, "Do you know where the Temple of Ersid is?"
"Temple of Erst?"
The goblins and dwarves exclaimed in unison.
Shu Li's eyes lit up. Judging from their reactions, she knew what was going on.
"Are you looking for the Temple of Erstde?" The old dwarf looked a little defensive.
"What are you looking for in the Temple of Erstde?" the goblin asked sharply.
For dwarves and goblins, the Temple of Ursed is a holy place and outsiders are strictly prohibited from desecrating it.
Even if the six magicians in front of them are their saviors, they cannot offend their beliefs.
Sam said with a dull expression, "The Temple of Erstde disappeared ten thousand years ago. No one knows where it is now."
Shu Li breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Uncle Sam's relatively calm demeanor. She explained, "The great God of Time, Ronos Clotho, once predicted that the God of Darkness would rule the Austin Continent, and all races would become his slaves, living in darkness. The War of the Gods ten thousand years ago was merely the prelude to the war between light and darkness. Now, peace has been broken, and darkness has returned."
"The fall of several southern countries and the invasion of the Enkak region indicate that the forces of darkness are spreading and expanding across the continent. Do you wish your people to be enslaved by darkness?"
Shu Li looked directly at the dwarf and goblin and asked solemnly.
"No!"
The dwarf and goblin shook their heads resolutely.
They had just escaped from the dark elves and were no longer willing to go back to that kind of life without dignity.
"Therefore, in order to stop the Dark God's conspiracy, it is crucial to find the Temple of Erstde." Shu Li said.
The goblin frowned, "But I still don't understand. What is your purpose in seeking the Temple of Erstde?"
Shu Li couldn't tell him the truth about her search for the Earth Spirit, so she could only say tactfully, "I speculate that the temple is a bridge connecting to the Heavenly God."
The passage between the heaven and the human world is cut off, and the gods will never descend to the human world again.
This is a well-known fact.
The dwarves and goblins knew it, and they remained silent.
Is it really possible to let the Earth God return to the human world?
Over the years, no matter how much they prayed or how many temples they built, it was of no avail.
Sometimes they couldn't help but wonder whether the great earth god Hedphis Loverne had abandoned them, his faithful believers.
Sam looked down at the half-eaten fruit in the basket and said hesitantly, "I can take you to find the Temple of Erstud."
"Sam!" The old dwarf looked at him in surprise. This was a dwarf secret that must not be told to outsiders.
Sam waved them down for silence.
"The Temple of Ersid has indeed been missing for ten thousand years, but the ancient books passed down by our ancestors record that it sank into the ground."
He looked at the six magicians with bright eyes.
"You made the right choice to search in the Unibal Swamp. The only mistake was that you went in the wrong direction."
Shu Li and the other goblins looked at each other in bewilderment.
Wrong direction?
He took out a map and pointed to the four red-circled areas. "Take a look. Is there one of these four ruins that's correct?"
After a careful review, Sam shook his head and said, "They're all wrong."
Shu Li was stunned: "None of them are right?"
He searched many ancient books and let the roots of the mother tree search underground. He then combined the location of the temple in the Elf King's memory and finally summarized these four ruins.
The main reason is that the area where the original Temple of Ersted was located has become a swamp, and the topography has changed dramatically, completely different from what it was ten thousand years ago. Even the Elf King cannot determine its true location.
The four relics he had finally found were all wrong, and Shu Li couldn't help feeling discouraged.
The Elf King reached out and touched his head to comfort him.
Shu Li looked up and smiled at him, indicating that she was fine.
"Uncle Sam, can you tell us the exact location of the temple?" Desio asked anxiously.
Now that they had come to the swamp, they could not return empty-handed.
"Yes, Uncle Sam, please~" Budno clasped his hands together and begged pitifully.
"Finding the Temple of Ersted will bring only benefits and no harm," Kumandi said earnestly. "You also want to drive the dark forces out of the Enkak region, right?"
"Yes - they are so young and shouldn't have to go through the pain of war." Angel pointed at the dwarfs who were about seven or eight years old.
The old dwarf who had originally opposed it fell silent when he looked at his thin and pale grandson.
The forces of darkness are coming in with great force. Sooner or later, the entire Enkak region will fall. At that time, the dwarves will have no choice but to flee their homeland and become rootless wanderers.
Moreover, other countries exclude foreign races and do not allow them to migrate on a large scale.
The only way to defend your land is to fight back.
Sam pointed his finger firmly at a certain spot on the map and said solemnly, "Here—is the true location of the Temple of Erstde."
Shu Li looked closely and found that the place he pointed to was between the Enkak area and the Unibal Swamp.
However, the map shows a blank area around here, without even a sign of a town or village.
"Great!" Budno clapped his hands. "Thank you, Uncle Sam!"
Disio couldn't wait any longer: "Let's go over there quickly!"
With the help of the mother tree's roots, it would only take a few minutes to get there.
However, there is still a problem to be solved.
Sam said, "I want you to take them to Atari City first. After I make sure they are safe, I will take you to the ruins of the Temple of Ersid."
"No problem!" Shu Li agreed.
It is much more convenient to have someone guide you than to find it yourself, so why not do it?
Once both parties reach an agreement, take action immediately.
It was easy for six magicians at the level of a saint to carry more than twenty old, weak and sick people across the swamp.
The monsters encountered on the road felt the terrifying gap in strength and gave way.
Three days later, Team Light successfully transported the dwarves and goblins to Atari City.
Shu Li considerately lent them some gold coins as travel expenses.
Originally wanted to give it to Sam, he strongly refused and insisted on writing a promissory note, promising to return the gold coins when he had money in the future.
The goblins wanted to take advantage of the situation, but the dwarves forced them to write the IOU, so they had no choice but to do so.
Watching the dwarves get on the mercenary group's carriage, Sam said to Shu Li, "Let's go. I'll take you to find the temple."
Shu Li looked at the exhausted middle-aged dwarf and smiled, "Uncle Sam, let's rest in the city for a night! We've been traveling for three days and everyone is exhausted."
Sam was stunned, his nose a little sore, but he didn't refuse. "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Shu Li took out a small bag of gold coins from her storage ring and handed it to him. "This is our advance commission for hiring you. Please accept it."
"This..." Sam hesitated.
Shu Li said, "We post the missions, you take them, and we collect the commissions, isn't that natural?"
As the former leader of an adventure group, Sam was deeply touched. Without hesitation, he accepted the gold coin and said solemnly, "Thank you for your trust! I will do my best to complete the mission!"
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