Chapter 175: A Stir

"No one will call for me?" Seeing the remaining five temple guards unmoving, Muria shook his head.

"If so, I'll find them myself!"

Saying this, the young man with black hair and golden eyes walked towards the temple under the watchful eyes of all.

"Stop!"

"What are you trying to do? This is the great temple of the Dawn Lord."

As Muria made his move, the faces of the five temple guards changed, and they, holding their swords, bravely blocked Muria's path.

Muria's expression remained unchanged as he slapped the last of the guards who had insulted the boy, sending him flying. Then, with a flick of his fingers, four streams of spiritual light flashed.

Second-level spell, Human Paralysis!

Under the shocked gaze of the temple guards, their bodies stiffened, unable to move. They, guards of the temple, should have been immune to such a low-level spell. Why did it affect them?

"Four bronze third-ranks, and you thought to be immune to my spell!" Seeing the puzzled and horrified looks of the temple guards, Muria scoffed, "What do you think I am? Even the first generation of human godly offspring would barely suffice."

Muria confidently approached the temple's entrance, and as he was about to step in, divine runes from the temple's walls and floor emerged, quickly connecting to form a divine array. A light screen with a faint golden glow like the first light of dawn rose, encasing the entire temple in a semi-circular shield.

This all happened in an instant. Muria had the chance to stop and destroy it, but the fleeting divine runes caught his attention.

"Simplified ancient divine script?" Muria narrowed his eyes in thought, but the runes vanished too quickly, forming the light screen, leaving him with little memory, "Interesting, the gods of today really know how to play."

Seeing the temple activate its defensive divine array, the crowd immediately buzzed with excitement.

"This young man is doomed. Assaulting the temple is akin to assaulting the gods themselves, a capital offense."

"Hey, I'm not thinking about that. I'm wondering what he'll do now."

"Maybe he'll break the temple's shield and drag out a priest to expel the curse from this ugly... uh, girl." A bystander dressed as an adventurer said cheerfully, clearly seeing the young man with black hair and golden eyes as lacking any respect for the temple.

"Break the temple's defense? What nonsense are you talking about? This is the great temple of the Dawn Lord, the largest and most fortified temple in Redleaf City."

"Indeed, I heard that seventeen years ago, three golden-level monsters led a monster wave that breached the city's outer walls. All the city's residents hid in the temple district, with the Dawn Lord's temple sheltering the most people, thus attracting the most monsters."

"Three golden-level monsters led thousands of monsters in besieging the temple for three days and nights without breaking its magical barrier, eventually retreating in frustration."

"He has a silver-level giant wolf at most; how could he challenge the temple's magical barrier?"

"Tsk, too impulsive. If he were truly gold-level, our Redleaf City's temple would have to give him some respect and send a priest to heal the girl."

"Exactly, too impulsive. Now that the temple has activated its barrier, it's too late for anything."

Listening to the discussions behind him, Muria's lips twitched slightly. Summer insects cannot discuss ice; the people here, confined to this small city, are like frogs in a well, unable to see the broader world outside. To them, the temple's defense is the strongest in the world, unbreakable.

But,

"Merely a gold-level barrier, powered by a divine force diluted beyond measure." Muria looked at the light screen, placing his hand on it, "This defense..."

"Can be broken with a wave of my hand!" Web-like cracks appeared under his palm, spreading rapidly. "Crack!" A crisp and piercing sound of shattering echoed, and in a few breaths, the light screen encasing the temple shattered into a myriad of light particles, beautifully dispersing in the air.

In the moment the divine array shattered, the bustling crowd, previously engaged in loud discussions, fell silent, staring dumbfounded at the unfolding events.

"What joke is this?" A civilian murmured, a follower of the Dawn Lord, now questioning his faith.

For he had believed in an indestructible barrier that could protect them from harm, yet it was effortlessly shattered by a single hand.

As the temple's barrier broke, Redleaf City, this small city, was instantly abuzz. The temple of the Dawn Lord, the city's largest and highest-ranking building, was visible to all when its defense was activated.

So, when Muria shattered the divine array, all forces were alerted. Temples of other gods and the city's nobility sent teams to investigate, eager to understand what had happened.

But, these matters temporarily did not concern Muria. At this moment, he had already entered the temple, heading towards the strongest presence he sensed—a mere silver-peak strength aura.

"Audacious, who dares offend the great Dawn Lord."

"Insolence, evil being, leave."

As Muria entered the temple, a dozen guards dressed similarly to those outside, wielding swords, didn't hesitate to attack him, clearly mistaking Muria for an evil intruder. Good-aligned individuals wouldn't assault a temple.

But alongside the guards were white-robed priests, wielding staves in one hand and either a spiked mace or shield in the other, appearing more formidable than warriors.

"Melee priests!" Observing these priests, who seemed even more formidable than warriors, Muria's expression showed a hint of a smile.

Then, a staff as tall as he was appeared in Muria's hand. Holding the staff, he gently lifted it and lightly tapped the ground. Endless blue-white lightning burst from the staff's silver-white base, adorned with nine-colored spiritual runes, striking all attacking temple personnel.

Outside, the crowd, having seen Muria shatter the temple's defense and enter, only to witness flashes of lightning followed by dense screams and curses, then silence.

The onlookers exchanged glances in silence. Was this the rhythm of slaughtering everyone inside the temple? With this thought, many felt their legs weaken as they looked at the giant wolf Muria left behind, then shakily left the scene.

Zolong, holding a dagger, watched everything unfold with a blank expression. He saw the four temple guards lying on the ground, bleeding and unable to move.

What exactly was the being he sought help from, who directly stormed into the temple? The boy's mind went blank.

Not long after, a steady pace of footsteps echoed in the silent temple square. Those remaining on-site focused on the temple entrance, vaguely anticipating something.

Soon, the young man with black hair and golden eyes appeared before everyone, seemingly holding a chain, dragging something out of the temple.

As Muria emerged from the temple, the crowd immediately saw what was being dragged behind him—a middle-aged man in a white robe with golden patterns, floating in the air.

"High Priest!"

"High Priest!"

The cries of terror rose in the temple square as believers and adventurers recognized the middle-aged man's identity.

The crowd buzzed again.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT