"Of course not!"

The Grand Sage of Crusen shouted at the Prophet of Guard, who was on his knees.

In the center of the temple is a statue of Artusso made of corundum, the statue is majestic and majestic, and the form is a stern-faced Velostan race, with a straight nose, thin lips, and sharp eyebrows. Artuso's left hand hung down naturally, and his right hand was held on the hilt of the long sword, which was inlaid with a dark red gem in the sword.

Around Peppu, the black-clad prophets stood silently, their faces shrouded in broad hoods, their eyebrows lowered and motionless on either side of the idol.

From the perspective of the Great Sage, the cold and hard posture on the Great Sage's face was almost the same as that of a stone statue, and he was silent for a while, and then said, "However, that is Igung, the destroyer of the world. ”

"Foolish judgment! Igon is not an ordinary thing, it appears to start a new cycle of reincarnation, and it is a supreme being worthy of your awe. The Great Sage forced him into the eyes: "And the monster in your mouth is just another Sea Clan beast that twists and filth." ”

"If it's not Igung." "Then why didn't the great god king descend his divine power and pinch these evil sea tribes to death?" ”

"Blasphemy!"

The scepter slammed into the ground with a muffled roar: "You think God is our servant?" God created us to speak and walk, and gave us life and wisdom. Now, you blame God for the incompetence and failure of mortals, are you blaming the gods? ”

Companion Pu trembled violently when he heard this, realized his problem, and immediately bowed his head and repented.

"I know the Golden King won't agree either. Why should we, obey the orders of the aliens? The Great Sage said, then relaxed his tone, and his upper body probed forward: "I know, the powerful power of that beast has shaken you, and you feel fear, right?" ”

He didn't dare to answer, and his forehead touched the ground.

"Fear is a good thing." "You are not the first, nor will you be the last, the mind of mortals is based on barren flesh, so it is easy to be afraid of those who are powerful and fierce, and this is why the temple exists, and we are ascending on the path of pursuing Artuso. When God provides, fear is out of the question. ”

"So, you're not afraid?" Companion asked in a tentative tone.

"Of course." The Great Sage nodded, "The path of seeking divine blessings has never been broken, but only the most pious and resilient prophets can pass the test and receive supreme divine power. ”

He raised his head and opened his eyes wide, he had been serving in the temple for half his life, but he had never heard anything like it, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Can I receive the test of the God King?" ”

"You?" The Great Sage shook his head: "Why? Why do you want Artuso's protection, you have disgraced the Prophet, the temple has lost its majesty, and the whole Golden City has despised it. ”

Companion Pu lowered his head and did not speak, in fact, he was not as devout as he imagined the God King, but seeing the black dragon destroy the entire tribal legion with his own eyes, Companion Pu's spiritual world was greatly impacted, he was afraid of such monsters, but deep down, he longed for that kind of omnipotent power.

The Great Sage looked at him kneeling on the ground and said, "A mortal who is not strong enough may lose his life in the test, do you have the consciousness to disregard life and death?" ”

"I ......" did not speak, and the yearning for power in his heart seemed to be magnified countless times in the words of the great sage, and that longing almost made him tremble, and he paused, and said loudly: "I think that none of the prophets present here is more determined than me. ”

"Stand up."

The Grand Sage of Crusen said that when the Prophet had risen, he looked at him meaningfully for a moment, as if he could see through all the Prophet's thoughts, and then said, "Because of fear, so desire, as is the case with all men." ”

The Great Sage suddenly raised his voice: "Are you willing to pursue the path of supremacy, even if it costs everything, your blood is drained, and your flesh and bones are turned to ashes, and you will accept this test?" ”

"I do!"

"Stand down!" The Great Sage drank.

This sentence was not said to him, and he knew it, because after the Great Sage finished speaking, the black-robed prophets on both sides immediately retreated into the shadows on both sides of the temple, as if they no longer existed.

At the same time, some kind of will came.

It was an indescribable experience, a surging force penetrating from the outside in, squeezing the soul little by little to the edge of the body, and the next moment, invisible steel needles came from all directions, piercing from the skin, churning in the body, from the brain to the internal organs, from the muscles to the bones.

"That's what you want – power." The Great Sage said faintly, "At the same time, it is also a test. ”

With the greatest will, he tore his chest with both hands, and there was a muffled sound in his throat similar to that of drowning, and a powerful force poured into his body, and the bursting blood vessels turned from blue to red, and finally burst, and he couldn't help but howl.

The Prophet's skin began to peel off in clumps, revealing blue-black muscles, and the Prophet shrunk into a ball like a suffocating fish, until his eyeballs burst and half of his face was covered with white, mud-like tissue.

- He couldn't make a sound anymore.

"Companion failed."

The Great Sage stood up with his staff on crutches, and looked indifferently at the unrecognizable human body on the ground: "The mortal whose body is not strong enough and whose will is not strong enough has not completed the supreme test, so he died." ”

There was a faint sigh from the temple of "......", like the whisper of a ghost.

The Great Sage took two steps forward, placed his hand on the pool of flesh and blood, and held it in a suspended position: "But you have proved your piety after all, and you have earned my respect. Companion, you are on the road to find Artuso, and I will complete the journey for you. ”

He withdrew his hand and stood in front of the blurred flesh, closed his eyes and opened his arms, and the surging holy power poured into his body from all directions.

After a long time, the Great Sage took a deep breath and reopened his eyes, his skin as tender as a baby, and a warm glow flowed over it.

……

The sound of trumpets drifted into the temple from far and near.

Today was the day of the execution of Garon Nephthicius of the Sea Clan, and in the central square, the soldiers had put it in a cage, and the abominable beast writhed wildly, covered in blood, and its chains were so suffocating that it could not make a sound, and hundreds of slaves shouted trumpets and pulled it into the air.

Krusen came to the outside of the temple and watched as the cage slowly ascended.

As the horn rose higher and higher, all eyes were drawn to the central square, some of them richly dressed nobles of the Golden City, and some of them were ragged refugees from other tribes.

The Golden King was guarded in the army, dressed in gray armor, cut and embroidered with gold thread from his broad shoulders, his breastplate inlaid with a roaring lion, and his eyebrows were surrounded by a crown of red gold, which seemed to be intertwined with flames.

In the cage, Garon Nephthicius tried to tear the chains around his neck with his claws, but in vain, he roared and cursed everything he saw in front of him.

"Forget it."

With Pel's report vividly in his mind, Grand Sage Krusen thought for a long time before finally speaking, "Inform the Golden King that the Temple wants to keep this beast alive. ”

"Now?"

The Prophet next to him looked at the much-anticipated scene in the central square, and everyone was waiting for the moment when the pyre was lit, and it would be very unsightly to stop the Golden King at such a time.

"It's more useful alive than dead." The Great Sage said.

"But didn't you say that the monster out there isn't Igung, and we don't need to submit to it?"

"Did I say I would submit to it?" Crusen turned his head: "I just said to keep this beast, not to send it away." ”

"This ......," the prophet puzzled.

"I'll go to Minn myself and erase the aliens for Willow." "But if I fail, I don't want the Golden City to be extinct," Crusen said. ”