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The Pope shook his head and replied, "The humans' claim is naturally a deliberate slander, but to say that we are a race created by the God of War... well... although I am the leader of the Temple of War, I am not a fanatical and ignorant follower of the Light God like those humans. The glory of the God of War does not need the adornment of falsehoods, so I am not afraid to tell the truth. The statement that 'the God of War created the beastmen race' is only half true, just like the elves' claim that 'the Nature Goddess created the elves.'"

"Half? Which half?"

"The God of War endowed us with spirituality, awakening us from the clutches of the world-destroying demons. Our bodies are born of destruction, and our spirits spring from creation." The Pope suddenly recited an ancient beastman language in a distant voice, then continued, "This is recorded in the oldest scriptures of the Temple of War, representing, the true history of a hundred thousand years ago."

Legend has it that a hundred thousand years ago, after the war between the goblin alchemists and the gods, the goblins' distant relatives—the elves and the dwarves—inherited a small amount of the legacy of civilization, thus giving rise to the later flourishing magical and forging civilizations. Of course, many other racial civilizations also emerged afterward, but few have survived to this day. Among them, only two can be considered latecomers who rose above the rest: the beastmen and the humans.

As for how the beastmen rose, few truly understand, not even among the beastmen themselves. It seems that for tens of thousands of years, the ancient beastmen had dwelled in the desolate lands of the north. Then, ten thousand years ago, they suddenly began to prosper, and soon after, they marched out of the north, beginning a ten-thousand-year rivalry with the elves.

However, today, the Pope of the Temple of War presented Chen Xuanfeng with another version of the story.

"In fact, whether they are the elves, the dwarves, or the beastmen, they were all originally created by the goblin alchemists... as biological weapons."

During the Goblin Empire's heyday, the alchemy masters wielded knowledge and power rivaling that of the gods. However, the overdeveloped civilization also caused the race's physical constitution and fertility to gradually decline, resulting in a negative population growth. Although the technology of that era could easily enhance the goblins' physique, the proud alchemy masters pursued perfection, and many goblins devoted themselves to seeking immortality rather than procreation. Thus, the 'virtual gods' were later created, and alongside them, a multitude of biological tools were manufactured.

The dwarves, masters of crafting, and the elves, skilled in energy manipulation, were both created as slave laborers for the goblin alchemists. The beastmen, however, were created to serve as expendable soldiers.

Initially, the warriors were goblin commoners lacking alchemical talent, known as 'Sith.' After their transformation, they became the well-known hobgoblins. However, due to the overall population decline, the number of hobgoblins soon became insufficient to support the vast imperial army. Thus, the alchemists found a now-extinct species called "proto-beastmen" in the northern wastelands, infused them with the bloodlines of various beasts, and created the later hundred races of beastmen.

"In fact, you should have noticed that the composition of our beastmen is inherently very unnatural," the Pope stated calmly, without any hesitation about how shocking his words were. "With over a hundred races, each with different appearances, body shapes, strengths, and living habits, yet all possessing the ability to 'compulsorily select bloodlines,' preventing interbreeding. Each race corresponds to a specific beast. If they weren't systematically created, it would be completely illogical."

This is the earliest origin of the beastmen.

Merely a group of mindless weapons.

In that era, all the biological tools or weapons created were puppets without self-awareness, only knowing to obey the Goblin Empire. Their fate, naturally, was the same as that of tools, repeating the cycle of "creation, use, and destruction."

Until... the divine war between the "virtual gods" and the gods erupted.

To enhance their combat power, the goblin alchemists greatly strengthened the dwarves, elves, and beastmen. Many of these steps were accomplished with the help of the virtual gods' power. Among them, the beastmen received the most significant enhancements. The final product was a group of "beastmen warriors" who could use several innate magics like magical beasts.

However, contrary to the expectations of the goblin alchemists, this transformation did not bring victory to the goblin army. Instead, it pushed them further down the path of defeat.

Because, not long after, these three races were incited to rebellion by the gods.

The goblins' transformation was exceptionally successful. While enhancing the abilities of the three races, it also enhanced their intelligence. Then, self-awareness emerged. Any being with self-awareness has an instinct for survival and can understand emotions like gratitude and resentment. Unfortunately, the goblins completely disregarded this, merely using these beings as tools in their eyes. Thus, in their despair, the gods timely brought hope to the three races.

The Fire God enlightened the dwarves, the Nature Goddess comforted the elves, and the God of War won the loyalty of the beastmen. What followed happened naturally. A wildfire-like uprising erupted at the most critical moment of the war, breaking the stalemate and causing the Goblin Empire to collapse in the war, ultimately leading to its demise.

From then on, the elves and dwarves lived happily ever after.

Only the beastmen were the exception.

As the main force of the rebellion, the beastmen warriors served as the vanguard of the gods' allied forces in the final major battles. The brutal combat was too much even for the most resilient beastmen. By the time the war ended, the entire beastmen army had been decimated, with not a single survivor.

"In the goblins' workshop, there is still a group of original specimens, fellow beings who have not been transformed into beastmen warriors. Please, God of War, return them to their homeland." These were the last words of the final fallen beastman warrior. The God of War fulfilled his wish, sending the last group of several thousand beastmen back to the northern wastelands, and promised: I will forever protect your descendants, never to forsake them.