Green Monster Epic

Chapter 1027: The Difficulties of the Temple

"...Give that wild bear ten guts!!! I don't think he dares to collude with the elves!!!"

Inside the Temple of Nature, dozens of high-level members from eleven churches gathered to engage in a heated debate regarding the matter of Allen, who had already made his position clear.

Among the eleven churches, only one was a native wilderness church: the Centaur Church, which possessed independent territory and a single race, forming an existence similar to a human kingdom. The other ten churches belonged to foreign gods whose believers were scattered throughout every corner of the Mange Wilds.

Marshall, the representative of the Beast Brotherhood, was the one speaking most fiercely at the meeting. With a face full of indignation and rage, he roared his attitude in front of a group of his comrades, never considering that he was also of bear-goblin descent. His words inadvertently included himself.

Although Eliath, the chief priest of their church, had previously conveyed to the Beast Brotherhood's leaders the content of the conversation that Allen had asked him to relay, and had also expressed his own views based on his feelings when he met Allen, it did cause the Brotherhood's higher-ups to fall into deep thought.

In such a large church organization, there would always be different voices. However, the fact that the Beast Brotherhood's leader sent such a resolute and impassioned representative to this temple meeting attended by all church members was very thought-provoking.

"He really has a lot of guts. A goblin running to the front line to challenge two human saints in succession… It seems that no genius in our wilderness has done such a thing in at least ten thousand years!!"

"If you're not convinced by his direct threat, then you can also challenge him, or have your church's strongmen go out together to see if they can kill him!!"

"As long as he's killed, wouldn't the things we're worried about now be easily solved??"

Masi, the centaur paladin sitting at the very edge of the oval table, wore a sarcastic smile on his face, taunting the fellow who had burst into a rage from the start.

Upholding the attitude of the oracle descended by Ke Rong, Masi also clearly expressed their church's stance at this time. After all, among the dozen or so major races in the entire wilderness for so many years, only their centaur branch had a formal identity in this Temple of Nature.

Other native-born races, such as the god of kobolds, the god of lizardmen, and the god of gnolls, had all been labeled as evil gods and false gods by the Temple of Nature, and they could never obtain the Temple of Nature's approval. For so many years, the higher-ups of the Centaur Church had suffered enough from being squeezed out and suppressed by these temple companions, and they naturally understood the true thoughts of Ke Rong, their Lord of Service.

"What do you mean??"

Marshall turned his bear face and stared straight at Masi, who was comfortably lying on a specially made recliner.

"It's just the literal meaning. If anyone present can come up with a plan with a success rate of over 70% that can ensure the killing of this bear goblin, then my church is naturally willing to contribute manpower and resources to act together with everyone."

"But if we can't come up with an executable plan here, then I'm sorry, my church doesn't plan to get involved."

"Otherwise, if the plan fails and the entire wilderness treats us as a joke, we can't afford to lose face!!"

Masi's lazy voice echoed in this large inner hall, and the faces of the representatives present couldn't help but furrow their brows.

"Alright!!"

Garfield, the green-robed grand master of the Holy Ritual Department of the Church of Nature, who personally participated in the meeting with Allen, acted as the host of this meeting. He gently knocked on the wooden hammer in front of him, and interrupted the meaningless quarrel between the two representatives with a dignified expression.

"The purpose of gathering everyone together for this meeting is to discuss and brainstorm a plan based on the strength and attitude shown by this bear goblin, as well as the known information he has under his command. At the very least, we have to come up with an attitude in order to determine how to deal with this bear goblin next!!"

"Now, we will only talk about how to deal with the bear goblin, and not engage in meaningless emotional output…"

None of the church leaders were present at the scene. After all, the matter of a bear goblin saint was just that; dispatching dozens of high-level temple members was already considered extremely important to the other party. If leaders like the Pope were to appear, it would instead add glory to Allen's face if it were to spread out.

However, although the Popes were not present, the second and third most powerful figures in each church were present. With them there, it was naturally equivalent to the appearance of the Pope.

The discussion didn't really yield any results. First of all, everyone really couldn't come up with any effective methods to target the bear goblin saint, unless they could dispatch five or more god avatars, coupled with an elite team of demigod-level mages and druids, or be able to guarantee a 70-80% success rate in killing the bear goblin leader.

However, this was obviously not so realistic. Not to mention whether the churches could persuade the existence above them to divide their spirits and descend, the consumption of excellent bodies and the enormous consumption of the power of faith required for this divine descent were probably worth discussing.

Now, the slaughter between the wilderness and the southern humans is in full swing. No one can predict what kind of plans the humans will make next. The wilderness, which is already in a relatively weak position, if they invest their limited power in internal strife, when the Temple of Nature needs to increase its investment in the human front, how will they deal with it??

The divine descent of a god is not something that can be successful anytime and anywhere. It not only consumes a large amount of the power of faith stored by the god, but also the interval between the division of spirits and the descent will be relatively long. After being marked by the Will of Feiman and expelled from the material world, it will have to wait until the aura beacon locked by the Will of Feiman completely disappears before it can return to the world of Feiman again.

What's more, Allen himself is a member of the wilderness tribe. Even if his rise has only been a few hundred years, if the temple cannot produce conclusive evidence to prove that he has betrayed the wilderness and harmed the interests of the wilderness, he, as one of the five pillars of the alliance, cannot be easily moved.

Otherwise, these wilderness tribes, who are already complaining privately, may use this matter as an excuse to start fighting with the temple, at least making the counter-offensive situation in the south, where countless warriors have already sacrificed, impossible to continue.

And this is a result that the Temple of Nature can absolutely not accept, because they are very clear that, given the current control of the temple over the wilderness, this may be the only counter-offensive opportunity within a thousand years. If this counter-offensive cannot obtain enough war results and cause irreparable losses to humans, then, given the huge difference in reproduction and recovery ability between the wilderness and humans, it won't be long before humans will make a comeback and annex more wilderness territories.

"…If it really doesn't work, let's deal with this bear goblin in the same way as before."

After a debate, from day to night and from night to day, dozens of strongmen spoke until their mouths were dry. If they hadn't reached the realm of strength where they no longer needed tangible food as a supplement, they might all be hungry at this moment.

Garfield finally couldn't help but reveal the method they had used for tens of thousands of years to deal with many opponents as troublesome as Allen. However, this method carried significant risks and consequences, and they were unwilling to resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

"The problem is that this hobgoblin isn't like the powerful figures we dealt with in the past. If we allow him to develop, he might truly become too big to control!!"

Marshall still held an opposing view, but days of continuous debate had lessened his fiery temper. The various plans devised to address the hobgoblin's situation couldn't guarantee success, and everyone couldn't bear the consequences of a failed plan. As a result, his emotional outbursts lessened, and his tone became less assertive when discussing the hobgoblin.

The so-called "powerful figures" Marshall mentioned were the geniuses who had appeared in the countless millennia before, individuals no less talented than Allen. They too had challenged that mountain peak, but the final results were unsatisfactory. The fact that there was no trace of their existence in the endless starry sky spoke volumes.

Among those who experienced this, some survived, such as Yeenoghu, the Gnoll Lord, and Kurtulmak, the Kobold God. Although they now possessed the endless life of demigods and certain authority, they were still not accepted as formal deities by the wilderness. Whether they wanted to develop followers to accumulate the power of faith or to interfere in the Feywild, it had become a pipe dream.

Their followers were still active in various parts of the Feywild, but the faith and resources accumulated by these followers over thousands of years were barely enough for them to descend into the material world once, let alone interfere with the affairs of the Feywild.

And many more challengers had already become decaying bones in the wilderness, their names and legends forgotten. Who knew the harm and pressure they had once brought to the temple??

This last resort mentioned by Garfield was something no one wanted to use unless necessary. The risks involved were too high, and a slight mistake could lead to failure and instead create a troublesome opponent for the temple. After all, the few evil gods who had luckily escaped the temple's last resort in the past had still caused great trouble for the wilderness in recent years. If Allen were to join them and seek revenge in cooperation, the temple's already difficult situation of patching holes everywhere would become even more challenging.

"The Divine Throne is not so easy to ascend. In countless millennia, there have been geniuses with talents more outstanding and strength more powerful than this hobgoblin who have walked this path, but in the end, aren't there only forty or fifty stars of gods twinkling in the boundless starry sky??"

The representative of the Oakleaf Court rarely agreed with Garfield's attitude, saying with a frown.

"In fact, we all know that the best opportunity to deal with this hobgoblin is the moment he ignites the divine fire, the time when his own strength is at its weakest and most vulnerable."

"Since we don't have the confidence to deal with this hobgoblin now, then let's find a way to stabilize him first, slow down his accumulation of followers, and buy us time to completely end the southern front."

"I suggest we choose to maintain the status quo. We don't need to express any attitude, nor should we overly provoke this hobgoblin."

For the Oakleaf Court, maintaining the status quo was what they were happy to see. Several churches, including the Church of Nature, entered Greenwater City ostensibly to preach, but in reality, they were putting more effort into targeting the Church of the Food God. Although the Oakleaf Court seemed to have more competitors, in reality, they had been operating in the Greenwild tribes and the Northern Border for quite some time. As the Greenwild and the Northern Border continued to develop and grow, their followers had actually been steadily increasing.

"Then can you guarantee that this hobgoblin won't take any other actions because of our inaction, such as sending envoys to the Elven Kingdom to negotiate, as he threatened us, or starting to integrate the major tribes of the Northern Border to prepare for expansion??"

Garfield raised his head, his eyes burning as he met the gaze of Iplaca, the representative of the Oakleaf Court, and solemnly asked the other party.

"...How can I guarantee that?? That hobgoblin never acts according to common sense and is impossible to predict. However, since he has said such things to you, then I believe that with his decisiveness, he is entirely capable of doing such a thing!!"

"However, the Elven Kingdom may not accept such a heterogenous being. I believe they won't let him go to the final step!!"

Iplaca shook his head, refusing to fall into the other party's rhetoric.

"But they will definitely show a strong interest in the hobgoblin's surrender!!"

The representatives of other churches also spoke up.

"That's true!!"

The centaur representative, Massey, nodded, analyzing from the elves' perspective: "Although the elves are determined to continue to attack the dwarven kingdom's tortoise shell fortifications, they have to guard against the tens of thousands of wilderness troops stationed on the Coldwind Ridge front in the Northern Border, as well as the elite of the Drow Federation."

"They can't afford to make the same mistake in the same place again, otherwise the conservative faction within the kingdom will definitely take the opportunity to rise up and stir up trouble in the kingdom."

"But if they change the direction of the attack now, I'm afraid even their military will resist and revolt!!"

"After all, the wilderness is not the focus of the Elven Kingdom's ambition to dominate the Feywild. Even if the Northern Border is completely eliminated, it won't bring substantial gains. Instead, controlling the distant territory of the Northern Border requires a greater price and disperses more troops."

"If there is another defeat in the war to attack the wilderness, like the invasion war last time, then the Elven Kingdom's so-called ambition to compete with humans will completely become a joke."

"But if the hobgoblin Allen takes the initiative to show goodwill and lean towards the elves, then the elves will gain a stable southern border and can send the main force stationed on the Thornfort front in the south to the main battlefields on the central and northern lines, which is completely crucial to this war with the dwarven kingdom."

"Then, although the elves may not like this hobgoblin, they will definitely agree to the various conditions put forward by the hobgoblin as a result of his allegiance to the Elven Kingdom!!"

"After all, the conditions put forward by the hobgoblin are definitely a worthwhile deal for the wealthy Elven Kingdom!!"

"Alas..."

In the spacious inner hall, a group of powerful figures looked worried. Although this discussion also came up with some strategies to deal with that hobgoblin and his tribes and false god churches, those were only temporary solutions that basically didn't harm the other party's foundation, let alone stifle their path to that road.

Knock, knock, knock!!

Looking at this group of comrades with ulterior motives, Garfield also knew that this meeting probably wouldn't make any further progress, so he simply knocked on the small wooden mallet beside him, and the meeting was temporarily adjourned, and everything would be discussed later.