in2ebook Chapter 265: The Reversed Statue
Chapter 265: The Reversed Statue
"Didn't you really hit your head?"
Lilith grunted, instructing the gargoyles to get Lucas down from the roof.
After the gargoyle came down from Lucas, Lilith and Bobby saw the statue that had been blocked by Lucas. They were so scared that they couldn't help but cursed.
"What is this?!"
The stone statue covered with glowing moss, with its upside-down smiling face facing them, was extremely strange. No wonder Lucas felt like he had seen a ghost. Lilith recited the 24-character mantra in her heart: prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendliness...
"There should be a light source on this floor, right? Please turn on the light quickly!" Bobby hugged the gargoyle's forelimbs tightly and begged Lilith.
Lilith then shifted her attention and quickly groped towards the wall in the corridor, while Bobby helped Lucas lie down and checked his injuries.
In the darkness, the unattended gargoyle flew up silently and came to the side of the statue.
It was a statue of a young woman. She was wearing a long skirt and a lily of the valley wreath on her head. She was sitting on a chair made of grape vines. Her posture was lazy and leisurely, with her head down and smiling as if she was taking a rest.
There was a scepter placed casually on her knees, and Lucas was just hung on this scepter.
The gargoyle looked silently in the air for a while, then flew lower, got closer to the statue, and put its head close to the statue's hand.
Lilith was lucky. The structure here was similar to the previous one. Lilith groped along the wall and soon found the secret compartment where the magic stone was placed. After she threw in a small new magic stone, light finally returned to the Emerald Sanctuary.
"I swear, I was really brought here by a gargoyle!" Lucas was still pressing Bobby to tell him about his bizarre experience.
Bobby nodded, "I believe you."
"...You obviously didn't believe it!" Lucas was about to collapse.
"This must be the top floor." Lilith looked at the exquisite stained glass under her feet. It was obviously a decorative window used on the roof. Even though it is now covered with dust, one can still imagine the gorgeous scenery under the sea of trees.
This Emerald Sanctuary is like a giant tree house built into a tree.
"It's very different at first glance. It's much more beautiful here, and much more spacious, unlike the crowded rooms up there." Bobby also looked around, "I thought there must be some treasure on the bottom floor..."
He walked around and looked around while sighing with regret, and when he came back, he saw Lucas kneeling on the ground with his palms facing up.
“…What the hell.” Bobby moved towards Lilith, away from the strangely behaving Lucas. “What are you doing?!”
"I suddenly feel that people still need to have faith." Lucas straightened up, clasped his hands together and spoke devoutly.
After this series of shocks, he suddenly felt that perhaps it was because he never prayed and had no protection from the gods that he always encountered bad luck and terrible things. Now that there was a ready-made statue of the god in front of him, there would be nothing wrong in worshiping it!
"You dare to pray to this god? Do you know what god this is?!" Lilith looked up at the statue in the air and had a new understanding of Lucas's shamelessness. How could you just worship at a temple? "Aren't you afraid of being punished by your sea god?"
"No, if he was useful, I would have made a fortune long ago." Lucas looked fearless, "Besides, of course I know who this is."
He pointed to the sculpture in the sky, "Don't you see her ears?"
Lilith raised her head, then tilted it hard to try to straighten her perspective. She squinted for a long time before she could see clearly that the ears of the statue were long and pointed, sticking out of her hair - they were the ears of an elf!
"This is..." Lilith widened her eyes.
"The god who controls life and natural authority." Lucas, like Lilith, tilted his head to look over. When the lights came on, he no longer found the statue scary. It must have been made by a master. Not to mention the lazy and natural expression on her face, even the folds on her skirt were carved to be lifelike.
But perhaps it was because of the glowing moss that covered half of its face, Lucas felt a little weird looking at it.
"She is also the mother goddess of the elves." Lucas ignored the strangeness and continued, "When I was a child, I heard from my tribesmen that she and the sea god were allies during the holy war. So even if I choose to become her believer and seek refuge temporarily, the sea god will definitely not mind."
"I'll go inform Sean Lulu and the others so they don't worry." Bobby was not interested in these gods he had never heard of. He was anxious to report his safety to his friends.
"Okay, it's time for us to discuss the subsequent exploration route." Lilith nodded and asked the gargoyle to take Bobby to find the main force first.
Lilith stayed and treated Lucas.
……
"Hiss, very good, it's not crooked." Lucas moved his legs carefully. Although there was still some soreness and pain, at least he was no longer unable to move like before.
"I just learned this from Ian." Lilith took the sword tied to his leg skillfully. "Is there really a hidden river below? You are really lucky..."
Lilith and Lucas were exchanging information, and after hearing about his experience, she felt a little scared.
"Well, I must have been washed very far away. That stupid...that thing took me flying back for quite a long time, really! It was really a gargoyle!" Lucas emphasized again.
Lilith nodded, "I believe it."
"You don't believe me either!" Lucas was about to collapse again after hearing Lilith's calm tone. No, he had to pray to God a few more times! Lucas fell to the ground again.
When Lulu and her group arrived at this floor, they saw Lilith, who was speechless, and Lucas, who was muttering to himself.
"Lucas! I'm so glad you're okay! Are you hurt anywhere?" Lulu ran over and pulled Lucas to look left and right.
"Brain." Lilith rolled her eyes and answered for him. Otherwise, why would they suddenly engage in feudal and superstitious activities here?
"I'm fine, Lulu!" Lucas patted his legs. Lilith had already fixed his bones, so he was fine. "But you'd better thank this kind and merciful god with me and ask for his protection. After all, we still have to stay here for a while."
"...Ah?" Lulu was confused.
Lucas pointed above their heads, and everyone looked up, only then did they see the upside-down statue above their heads.
"Oh... okay." Lulu nodded confusedly. She didn't understand, but decided to obey.
"Is this a statue?" Jaina walked closer and looked up in surprise.
"That's what Lucas said anyway." Lilith helped Ian sit down against the wall. He had lost too much blood, and his face was still pale and he looked listless.
"...Who would reverse their own god?" Jaina frowned.
"What did you say?" Lucas stopped praying after hearing that, and his heart skipped a beat. Now he seemed to know why he always felt that this statue was weird.
"Didn't your parents teach you this when you were young? The statues of gods cannot be placed upside down. This is an extremely serious act of blasphemy. Even the most extreme believers would not do such a thing." Jaina said slowly.
Lilith turned her head when she heard that. "What do you mean?"
"Our previous guess may be wrong..." Jaina tilted her head and looked at the upside-down statue. "Even if the elves evacuate, they will not abandon the statue in this state? Maybe -"
"Someone else turned the Emerald Sanctuary upside down and buried it deep inside."
"Huh? Who would do something like this...?"
As Lilith responded in confusion, a name popped up in her mind almost uncontrollably - the Church of Light.
But she quickly glanced at Ian, whose face was pale, and didn't dare to say it out loud.
She looked at the giant tree outside the corridor, which had only dead branches and no leaves, and felt that Jaina's new speculation was very reliable.
From the senior student's experimental notes, we can see that the elves respect and love nature. If it were them, how could they have the heart to bury such a majestic tree deep underground and let it die?
Lucas suddenly thought of the skulls he saw in the underground river, and his face turned pale.
"It's also possible that the elves here haven't evacuated yet..."
They might... be left here forever.
……
"Am I dazzled?" Sean muttered as he stared at the edge of the terrace.
After the gargoyle sent everyone in the team down, it hid at the edge of the corridor, squatting quietly facing everyone. Sean listened to everyone chatting and glanced around inadvertently, only to find a double image appeared next to the gargoyle.
He didn't pay much attention at first glance, but after listening to everyone's various conspiracy theories about the Emerald Sanctuary, he suddenly felt uneasy. When he looked towards the gargoyle again, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.
"Lilith...Lilith!" Sean stared at the dim corner and called out to the classmate who was still discussing with Gianna Lucas.
"What's the matter?" Lilith turned her head puzzledly and looked in the direction of Ian's finger.
The gargoyle stood with its back to the big tree outside the corridor, as usual, like a silent guard. It was some distance away from everyone and could only receive a little faint light. Its figure was a little blurry, but on its right, there was a shadow just like it.
But in this position... there is no wall behind it, so there shouldn't be a shadow. That's another gargoyle!
Everyone suddenly fell silent. Lucas was stunned for a few seconds, then slapped his thigh and said, "I told you! I was hung up there by this gargoyle! It was the one who did it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another shadow flew silently from the abyss below and landed beside him. This time the shadow became double.
Lucas's brain stopped working. He was dumbfounded, and his tone was no longer so certain - "It could also be this one... eh?"
However, his voice gradually became smaller and smaller, because one gargoyle after another flew over and landed on the edge of the corridor.
The gargoyle closest to the crowd, belonging to Lilith, did not react to this. They neither communicated nor looked at each other, and adapted well to each other's presence. And these new guys, with intimidating faces, looked at the crowd quietly like the one in front, and even their movements and postures were the same.
There were at least a dozen of them, and their huge bodies made an astonishing presence when standing together. Looking over at them together, it was extremely oppressive.
"How can there be so many..." Lulu was stunned. Looking at the gargoyles huddled together not far away, her voice became weaker and she asked in panic, "They...they won't attack people, right?"
"No...it would be great if it could." Lilith was also shocked by the scene, then she shook her head and comforted everyone.
She had been with the gargoyle for so long that she had already figured out its temperament. The gargoyle was simply cowardly and had no temper at all. In Leila's words, he was just like his master.
Even a bird squatting on it and shitting wouldn't anger it. If it knew how to hit people, she would have ordered it to beat those annoying twins eight hundred times.
No one else dared to move, so Lilith bravely walked over and got closer to observe.
After a closer look, she found that they all looked exactly the same, with the only difference being the size of the moss attached to their bodies. Otherwise, she would not have been able to tell which one she had brought.
"Night-wandering gods..." Lilith thought about the legends she had heard about them, and bravely touched one of them. As expected, the other party was indifferent to her action and had no intention of attacking.
"They definitely won't abandon you here, right?" Lilith murmured to the gargoyle in front of her.
She felt more and more that their random guesses might be correct. This was the creature revered as the Night Wanderer during the legendary Holy War. It would be fine if the elves had abandoned the potions and plants here, but why would they abandon these guys as well?
"It seems like they are really non-aggressive..." Seeing Lilith's actions, the others also gathered around cautiously, observing these big guys closely. Some of the brave ones even imitated Lilith and touched them.
"It's just as stupid as yours." Lucas also took a closer look. "Can this guy really fight?"
In his opinion, it was a waste of such a huge physique and strength. It would be better if - Lucas' heart moved, and he turned his head to look at Lilith eagerly.
"What?" Lilith was puzzled by Lucas's look.
"They are so pitiful." Lucas said with pity. "It must be lonely in such a dark place."
——It would be better to go back and work with him.
"Uh... I doubt they ever feel lonely." Lilith thought of the guy that Lucas first found. Half of its body was buried in the soil. With its strength, it could have gotten out by itself, but it was too lazy to move. It just lay in the black soil of the deep forest for who knows how many years. It was simply giving up!
"Lilith!" Compared to Lucas's roundabout way, Lulu was much more straightforward, "This place might collapse someday, shall we take them out?"
"Yes, yes!" Lucas nodded hurriedly. He had been coveting the big fool from Lilith's family for a long time.
"But..." Jaina hesitated, "Can we command them? Maybe this is their home..."
"Let's give it a try!" Sean walked up and patted one of the gargoyles. "Friend, come with us. I can clean up the moss for you."
The other person's wide-open eyes moved slowly, and he looked down at the little man in front of him without responding.
"Tsk, as expected... But it doesn't matter!" Bobby rolled his eyes, "We can wait until daytime and drag them away."
"...What kind of dangerous statement are we? Are we some kind of evil villain? You're even forcing us!" Lilith rubbed her brows in pain, looked at the gargoyle in front of her, and tried to convince him with reason -
"There's nothing bad up there. There are forests and rivers, and the sun and moon alternate. Even if you don't go with us, you can return to the sky. Isn't that better than staying in this dark underground? Lulu is right. This place is no longer solid. It might collapse any day."
The gargoyle still squatted quietly, and just when Lilith thought it would not respond, it suddenly grunted, spread its bat wings, turned around and flew into the darkness.