Chapter: Chapter 498
Without words, without action, Yuan proved her identity. She was the deity that these divine officials believed in. Even though she was surrounded by dragons, even though her appearance differed greatly from the true image of a deity, she was still that deity.
The oppressive aura lasted for nearly ten minutes before slowly dissipating. The divine officials, soaked in cold sweat, finally had the strength to look up and gaze at this extremely young deity.
At a glance, they seemed to see the illusory golden bird reappear in the sky, frightening them into lowering their heads, daring not to look at Yuan again.
Yuan did not speak. She merely frowned slightly.
The hawk-headed beastman, who had perfectly transformed into a flattering subordinate, immediately understood Yuan’s meaning. The deity was unhappy, so as the number one henchman, he naturally had to speak up to resolve her worries!
“You people… are simply blind! This is the deity! How dare you speak so rudely to her? You deserve to die!” With a sharp voice, the hawk-headed beastman, who was the first to speak rudely to Yuan, began his furious tirade.
All sorts of vulgarities spewed from his mouth, causing the black-robed divine officials kneeling on the ground to reveal expressions of resentment. However, what he was saying wasn’t entirely wrong, as they had indeed done something wrong by drawing their swords against the deity.
Being cursed was considered a light punishment. Not being burned to ashes on the spot by the deity was already an act of mercy.
“Alright, they should know they were wrong by now. Calm down.” After waiting for a moment, Linglong stepped forward and stopped the hawk-headed beastman’s scolding.
She walked slowly to the front of the beastman who had shouted about the dragons earlier, crouched down, and looked at the pale-faced beastman with her golden eyes, “You know about dragons?”
The leader of the divine officials, who was almost dead from the flames within his body, nodded. His eyes were filled with confusion. Weren’t dragons enemies? Why were these three dragons standing with the deity?
This couldn’t mean the divine oracle was wrong, could it?
“What exactly is going on? Why are you with the deity?” the divine official asked.
As for the answer to this question, Linglong could only smile helplessly. She couldn’t say that this little one was an accident, could she?
“Let your deity enter first. As for the question you want to ask, you will know later.” Linglong chose to be a riddle-teller, speaking with a mysterious and unfathomable expression.
The divine officials, no longer doubting Yuan’s identity, had no other opinions. They surrounded Yuan and entered the Hawk Tribe.
“The chieftain is still waiting in the main tent…”
“Go directly to the divine temple. Do you expect your deity to personally pay respects to that chieftain?” Linglong said coldly with a soft snort.
Why did it feel like this dragon’s attitude towards the deity was even better than ours, the divine officials? The black-robed divine official, who followed Linglong step by step, had his brain in a muddle. He completely couldn’t figure out the current situation.
His confusion continued until Yuan arrived at the great divine temple of the Hawk Tribe. When he saw Yuan wave her hand and summon a piece of golden bird feather hidden within the statue, his confusion gradually disappeared, replaced by overwhelming joy.
This, this was definitely the deity!
When they transported this divine feather back then, it took an unknown amount of effort to transport this sacred object here.
And now, with just a wave of this girl’s hand, the bird feather, which was extremely violent and attacked everything in its vicinity indiscriminately, was as well-behaved as a kitten. If this wasn’t the deity, what else could it be?
The deity had truly been resurrected!
Great! This is wonderful!
So, were these three dragons turncoats from the dragon race, who had joined the deity’s side, wanting to serve the invincible deity?
The divine official felt as if he had figured everything out. So, everyone was on the same side!
Alas, I was too impatient just now. I didn’t even consider the possibility of turncoats within the dragon race and attacked rashly, nearly offending the deity. I truly deserve to die.
“Turn back, turn back. We welcome all followers of the deity to join us, even if you are from the dragon race, it doesn’t matter.” The divine official said to Linglong with understanding, “Moreover, you found the deity, which is a great accomplishment. I will immediately report your merits to the Great Priest and others, and I will definitely get you a position as a high-ranking divine official!”
Huh? What is all this? Linglong was a little stunned. Had this beastman divine official overthought things? Why was it them who should turn back, and not you guys?
Forget it, the minds of the beastmen are all problematic anyway. Who knows what they are imagining? It’s better to drive these irrelevant people away and let Yuan stay here by herself for a while.
Linglong knew that the first thing Yuan would do upon arriving at the divine temple was to devour the consciousness of Huang within the divine statue. This commotion, to be honest, was quite significant.
If these people saw two large birds fighting in front of them, their minds would probably explode. There was no other way; things like past and present lives were too mentally taxing.
Was Huang fighting Yuan like a mother hitting a daughter, or like hitting oneself?
It seemed to be a bit of both, yet neither felt quite right either. The relationship between these two was a complete mess, and it was better not to delve too deeply into it.
Using a casual excuse, she brought the group of divine officials away from the divine temple, leaving Yuan alone inside to ‘duel’ with Huang. Linglong seemingly unintentionally asked the divine official beastman beside her, “Do you know where the deity’s remains are?”
“Why are you asking this?” The divine official beastman glanced at Linglong questioningly. Although he now considered this dragon an ally, he couldn’t casually tell Linglong something as sensitive as the deity’s remains.
Besides, he didn’t know the exact location of the deity’s remains either.
“Do you think we’ve been heading north all this time for no reason? Isn’t it for that corpse?” Linglong began to recite the rhetoric that Lixia had personally taught her, “A newly revived deity is relatively weak. She needs to retrieve her former powers, and a significant portion of those powers exists within that body.”
This seemed to make sense? The divine official beastman pondered for a long time and found that what Linglong said seemed to have some logic to it.
The newly revived deity was still very weak. She needed to retrieve her former powers. This was probably why she could only maintain such a small form at the moment.
“So that’s how it is. But I also don’t know the exact location of the deity’s remains. I only know that it’s in the great desert.”
You don’t know either? Linglong showed a doubtful expression. This guy was definitely a high-ranking follower of Huang, right?
If even he didn’t know where Huang’s corpse was, would anyone else know?
Seemingly noticing Linglong’s disbelief, the divine official explained, “Even when I went to the sacred land, my eyes were covered, and I was led forward by an envoy who had been guarding the sacred land. So, I only know that the sacred land is in the great desert, and I don’t know the specific route to it.”
“I only know that the sacred land is not close to the great plains. In my perception, it should have been several hours of bumpy driving to reach the sacred land.”
“If you wish to bring the deity to the sacred land, I can contact our kin stationed in the sacred land. They have been waiting for the deity’s resurrection for a very, very long time.”
Linglong showed a conflicted expression. She had to ask Lixia about this matter before making a decision. “We’ll make a decision after the deity comes out. I cannot use my own thoughts to speculate on the deity’s thoughts.”
Hearing this, the divine official immediately nodded in strong agreement.
Afterward, this divine official, who now considered Linglong one of his own, began to ask Linglong all sorts of questions, such as why Linglong was following the deity and how Linglong had come to the Northern Territories.
Linglong answered them all. These questions were easy to answer, as Lixia had already prepared the answers for her. Linglong now only needed to recite them.
“I see. There were some problems with the deity’s resurrection, which led to her not being resurrected in a perfect state in the sacred land.” In their brief conversation, the divine official gradually understood Yuan’s situation.
Just as he had expected, this petite deity was not a normal deity. It was because of a small problem during the resurrection process that she had become like this.
However, even though the resurrection had not been fully successful, her divinity still shone as brightly as the sun in the sky, proclaiming her noble identity to all who saw her.
Now, the deity’s primary goal was to return to the sacred land to complete her resurrection. How could he not contribute?
“I will immediately inform my brethren in the sacred land about these matters!” The divine official, unable to contain his excitement, wanted to immediately contact the guards stationed in the sacred land and have them send people to welcome Yuan back to the sacred land.
“Impossible!” Linglong immediately stopped him.
“Why not? Can’t we let the deity recover her strength quickly?”
“I cannot be sure if there are any among you who harbor ill intentions towards her.” Linglong said with a serious expression. Her reason was also very sufficient: Yuan was very weak now, and if she encountered malicious attacks from these believers, she could easily be injured or even imprisoned if she wasn’t careful!
As the saying goes, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. In the face of such great benefits, Linglong dared not trust these people who claimed to have been waiting for the deity’s revival.
“Our loyalty to the deity is evident to the heavens! Those who dare to betray the deity will be consumed by the flames within!” Hearing Linglong’s words, the divine official said with some dissatisfaction. How dare they doubt their loyalty to the deity? Such stubborn dragons.
Do you really think we noble bird-beastmen are as cunning and deceitful as you evil dragons?
“Perhaps you are, but what about those people of higher status than you? Have they also taken their medicine? Do you have proof?” Linglong retorted. Her words were like sharp knives, piercing directly into the divine official’s heart. “This is a matter concerning the deity, and not a single bit of carelessness is allowed!”
“If something really goes wrong, can you afford to take responsibility? Do you dare to guarantee with your life that there won’t be an ambitious person among them?”
“Even if you guarantee with your life, it’s useless. Compared to the deity’s safety, what is your life worth?”
The rapid-fire accusations left the divine official speechless. His face turned red, as if he had many things to say, but Linglong’s words sealed his mouth, preventing him from saying anything.
Only after Linglong finished her tirade did the divine official weakly ask, “Then what should we do?”
He admitted that his brain was indeed not as good as this evil dragon’s. So, what should be done now? This dragon had just spoken so righteously, she must have had an idea.
Then, Linglong shook her head.
“I’m not a local here. Shouldn’t you guys handle this?” Linglong asked with wide eyes, feigning confusion, “Hold a meeting, brainstorm ideas together. Are you expecting this outsider to make decisions for you?”
“My only responsibility is to protect the deity’s safety. Distinguishing between traitors and compatriots is your responsibility.”
Linglong clearly demarcated herself from these divine officials. In her own view, she and these divine officials were not a group.
Although we all believe in Yuan as the deity, we are two groups. Noble dragons would not condescend to join such insignificant organizations like yours. We are directly under the deity, and we are not on the same path as you people.
Our status is much higher than yours!
“This is probably the first test you’re facing. If you want to be remembered by the deity, you must show some usefulness.” Linglong puffed out her chest, her face filled with pride. “I fought with all my might to kill several terrifying ferocious beasts for the deity, and only then did I gain the deity’s recognition!”
Hmph, isn’t she just a brute? The divine official snorted in his heart, but he also felt that what Linglong said was correct. He indeed needed some achievements to prove his worth.
“I’ll go and inform the chieftain about the situation first, and then I’ll summon all the divine officials to brainstorm together on how to safely escort the deity to the sacred land.”
With that said, the weak divine official flapped his wings and flew unsteadily into the distance.
Linglong watched the divine official disappear into the horizon, then turned to look at the divine temple behind her and sighed softly. Although she had felt very pleased just now, the feeling of being in enemy territory was indeed quite stimulating.
She needed to calm down, really calm down.
“You performed very coolly just now, Little Linglong.”
“Huh? Lixia?” Hearing the voice from behind her, Linglong turned her head in surprise and found Lixia, dressed in a black dress, already behind her.
Lixia today looked even more majestic than usual. Her deep black eyes were surveying the large tribe in front of her, as if she were contemplating how to carry out her subsequent plans.
