Only God
Chapter 297 - 255 Sinister Secret Forest

Chapter 297: Chapter 255 Sinister Secret Forest

Bennice stood in front of the Temple’s gate.

She looked in astonishment as an inconspicuous maid, holding a sword, slowly ascended the Temple’s steps.

"What is that for?"

Bennice stepped forward and asked.

After performing a courtesy with the steel sword to Bennice, the maid spoke:

"This is what the Holy Maiden asked for; she previously commanded me to find a blacksmith and buy her a one-handed sword."

Bennice was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.

Why did the Holy Maiden want a one-handed sword?

A Priest holding a one-handed sword was too ridiculous.

"Bennice."

A voice called out from within the Temple, and a female Priest slowly emerged and said to Bennice:

"Grandmother wants us to go out for a bit to prepare for the upcoming ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Bennice nodded gravely.

In the city recently, there were strange incidents of female ghosts appearing, but despite this, the Water God ceremony was a grand sacrifice that couldn’t be neglected—the fortunes of the upcoming fish tide depended on it, a lifeline for countless people. Should there be any mishaps, provoking the wrath of Water God Angel, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, the female Priests of the Water God Temple still needed to prepare the sacrifice, only they minimized going out and did not permit Solamus to step out from this Temple.

The Main Priest of the Water God Temple, Lula, was an old woman nearing eighty, the oldest person in the entire city-state, kind, amiable, and knowledgeable, dearly loved by her Priests and adored by her Believers.

When Solamus had just arrived, it was she who wholeheartedly believed the golden-haired woman to be the Holy Maiden.

When the Priests asked her why, she simply said:

"I have never seen such a holy person...beyond the Water God, who else could give birth to such an unblemished woman?"

In this seaside city-state, the status of Water God Angel was the most supreme. This shows just how highly Main Priest Lula regarded the woman of unknown origin.

"Old lady, where shall we go?"

After stepping out of the Temple’s great door, Bennice asked so.

"To that Secret Forest up north, we need to draw clear water from a lake in Alian Lake."

Contrary to her usual kindness, today, old Priest Lula’s face bore seriousness and solemnity,

"Besides that, we also need to pick the newly ripened wild mulberries and the dew-covered Dusk Grass."

Due to the importance of the festival, the materials used in the Water God ceremony were numerous and exceedingly intricate; many of them required fresh harvesting and not the slightest mistake, thus only then can the most sincere offerings be presented to the Water God.

As they were about to descend the Temple’s long staircase, Main Priest Lula paused her steps and instructed in a low voice:

"Remember, when we get there, do not run around—stick close to me,

and moreover, without my nod, no matter what you see or hear, do not make a sound..."

This warning was severe, yet imbued with a hint of the supernatural, as if an elder touched upon some fearsome memory that couldn’t be looked back upon.

The words of the Main Priest still lingering in their ears, Bennice and another female Priest couldn’t help shivering.

Just as they were about to ask something, Lula turned her head away and closed her mouth, ceasing to speak.

The three priestesses walked out from the high walls of the city-states amidst this indescribable atmosphere, heading towards the Secret Forest in the north.

Before long, Bennice had followed Main Priest Lula to the foot of the mountain. Looking up from below, the northern Secret Forest was shrouded in a chilling darkness. Although the sun had not set completely, the forest before her eyes was dim and unclear, brimming with a deep aura of death.

The intricate and dense foliage twisted eerily like writhing worms.

Bennice felt a flicker of panic in her heart, her hands clasped together and continuously rubbing against each other.

Lula led Bennice and another priestess into the forest without a word.

The twilight grew more somber, and Bennice followed closely after the senior priestess. She surveyed the trees around her; they appeared ancient and desolate. Despite being covered with leaves, their bark was as gnarled as dead wood. The ground was overgrown with weeds, and the trees, with their contorted and slanted stances, looked terrifying.

Squeak.

Bennice felt she had stepped on something and looked down.

It was a warning sign, broken so that only half remained, the blurred characters on it cautioning passersby to turn back promptly and not to venture in unless necessary.

As for the reason, since the warning sign was broken in half, Bennice could only see the fractured cross-section.

She looked up to see a dreadful hole in the bark of a nearby tree; the sign had been firmly nailed there before. Now with the warning sign fallen, the hole seemed profoundly empty, like an eye about to weep tears of blood.

Thinking this, Bennice felt a chill and her skin prickled.

How could trees weep?

Bennice reassured herself and hurried to catch up with the steps of the elderly priestess Lula and another priestess.

In the dark, dense forest, trees were tightly packed, the path beneath them winding and obstructed, countless ants moved through the crevices of the bark, Bennice felt her scalp tingle amidst the sinister surroundings.

The girl heard the breathing of Main Priest Lula, walking in the front, grow heavier and coarser as they neared the depths.

In the strange atmosphere, Bennice wanted to softly chant the name of Water God Angel to seek protection but abruptly remembered the elder priestess’s earlier warning.

Here, no matter what you see or hear, don’t make a sound...

Bennice immediately pursed her lips tightly; the girl’s mouth was a bit dry and had turned pale under the faint fear.

Gradually, she followed Main Priest Lula into a clear area.

Just as Bennice thought to breathe a sigh of relief, she was suddenly startled by the view ahead of her.

In front of them lay a long-abandoned village in ruins. On top of the broken walls, crows could be seen everywhere, their pitch-black eyes flickering with a sinister gleam. Bushes were overgrown on both sides of the paths, weeds blanketed every inch of the ground, and tree roots burst from the earth—there was only silence here.

Bennice looked at the crows and, for some reason, felt as if they were watching them.

In the air hung a faint scent of charring, with barely perceptible ashes drifting mid-air.

This village seemed to have suffered through a devastating fire before being abandoned in this eerie Secret Forest.

Bennice did not know where this was but dared not ask aloud.

A breeze swept through, the silence was still deathly, and it seemed like a chilling wind from the woods, stirring the leaves, making the village under twilight even more derelict.

Hiss...

Bennice shivered.

In the sound of the wind, she thought she heard someone laughing.

Ahead of her, she wasn’t sure if she was seeing things, but following that wind, it seemed like the old grandma Lula was trembling slightly.

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