Page 45

Prepared and ready, I embarked on my journey to explore the enigmatic temple.

From the outside, the ruins of the temple were in a state of utter disrepair, with most of its original roof vanished, massive stone pillars lying askew, and weeds thriving amidst the chambers. The murals were faded, and the statues were severely damaged. However, when compared to the completely erased "Fontainebleau," one couldn't help but marvel at its preservation. Despite being subjected to the super taboo curse "Twilight of the Gods," an amalgamation of twelve prohibitive spells, some intact structures still stood, strengthening my determination to acquire the city's magical defense array.

Upon entering the temple, I immediately detected suppressed breathing amidst what initially appeared to be an abandoned ruin. It seemed there were hidden experts here; judging from their breaths and heartbeats, they likely matched the level of Ork Golden Warriors, making them the true backbone of the temple's defense.

Sure enough, as I ventured deeper into the temple, red figures emerged from every corner, surrounding me. These were the real "Red Boar Guards," identical to the legends - crimson skin, clad in simple beasthide armor, wielding various weapons, all well-maintained despite their age. They covered for each other strategically, forming a tight yet agile encirclement, revealing them to be a battle-hardened unit.

"Hiding because you saw my cavalry tactics outside, waiting for me to enter the temple so you could restrict my movement and surround me, huh? Seems my previous assessment of your intelligence was off. But such a formation won't be enough against me."

The Red Boar Guards surrounding me numbered in the dozens, with the weakest at the Golden Warrior level. Ork warriors typically surpassed their human counterparts by half a rank in combat strength. Thus, these Red Boar Guards were no less formidable than Sword Master Lanster himself. A few months ago, I would've had to rely on my Golden Bell Shield to break free and then defeat them individually. But now, with my martial arts greatly improved and the divine weapon Huo Po in hand, I felt no fear.

Huo Po unleashed its Moon Flame Blade Aura once more, conjuring countless blades that didn't stack but instead surrounded me, forming a massive blade formation. Simultaneously, I activated "Yellow Springs Phantom," diving into the midst of the red half-orcs.

My "Yellow Springs Phantom" movement technique surpassed Ice Wind's speed, and my maneuvers were unpredictable, bordering on supernatural. While these Red Boar Guards were skilled, their experience was limited to battles with beasts. Facing an opponent like me for the first time, they couldn't leverage their numerical advantage. Moreover, their weapons and armor proved useless against Huo Po, and they were swiftly defeated.

"Impressive, impressive. The essence of just over forty elite half-orcs is comparable to that of hundreds of ordinary ones. It seems the richer the opponent's aura cultivation, the more abundant the essence they provide. However, the inherent contradictions within their essences also become more intense."

After eliminating the obstacles, I could thoroughly search the temple ruins. Previously, I had consulted Hai Ruo about defensive magic arrays. Typically, such artifacts were installed underground, suggesting that there was something concealed beneath this temple. Now, all I needed was to find the entrance.

To my surprise, the orcs hadn't hidden the entrance; it seemed they couldn't have if they wanted to. The entrance was a large hole several yards in diameter with a broad spiral staircase descending into the depths. Judging from the wear and tear on the steps, the orcs had been living underground for centuries, continuously entering and exiting, leaving a myriad of marks on the stairs and walls.

Given the uncertainty of the situation, I decided to take Icewind with me as a precautionary measure. On the ground, there were not only orc footprints but also traces of various magical beasts, suggesting that the orcs had indeed been hunting these creatures to replenish the magic array's energy with their crystal cores. Those "Red Pigs" beasthide armors we saw earlier must have been byproducts of their hunts.

The subterranean part of the temple was unexpectedly vast. After descending the staircase, I found numerous empty chambers. Some contained the skeletons of magical beasts, others stored food supplies, and one held thousands of orcish weapons and armor pieces. What caught my attention, however, was in the largest warehouse where I discovered countless red, translucent crystals, filling a space spanning dozens of yards. At first, I thought it could be the chieftain's treasure trove or an excavated crystal mine, but I quickly dismissed those ideas. These crystals weren't any gemstone I knew of, as even my Tiger Essence, enhanced by Moon Flame's edge, could only leave faint scratches on them. This meant that the hardness of these crystals rivaled that of the golden crystals on Tiger Essence – I believed that apart from the dwarves' divine artifact, the "Soul Forge," nothing else could shape them.

Despite finding a treasure, it was worthless if it couldn't be processed or utilized. Abandoning my treasure hunt, I discovered another downward staircase amidst the many rooms, revealing that this temple had multiple subterranean levels.

The second level clearly served as living quarters for the orcs, but there was nothing remarkable about it. What puzzled me was the absence of females and children, which led me to wonder if these orcs had somehow sprung from rocks. Additionally, I found the remains of several red orcs, their bodies bearing burns from flames. Coupled with the corpse of the Level 8 peak fire-type magical beast, the Roman Sand Snake, on the first level, I inferred that many orcish experts had recently fallen, otherwise, my intrusion might not have been so effortless.

The second level was significantly smaller than the first, and when I reached the third level, I confirmed that it was even more cramped. In fact, the third level was merely a spacious hall spanning tens of yards.

At the center of the hall's front wall stood a colossal statue, but it was evident that it wasn't a statue of the God of War. Behind the statue was a crescent moon, not the familiar red, white, and blue moons, but black. In the middle of the hall stood an ancient, three-story altar, flames of emerald hue rising around it. Dozens of magical beast crystal cores hovered in the air, radiating diverse colors, ascending and descending rhythmically. It seemed that the focal point of the magic array lay within this altar.