Marcius was currently heading towards the northern part of the forest, as per Lady Sabbargh's request.
He was actually moving towards a general direction without an end goal. It was because Lady Sabbargh didn't specify the exact location they were going to meet.
So, Marcius figured that as long as he kept moving, he would meet the welcoming party sooner rather than later.
Marcius had to strictly ordered Ser Janus, Leon and the shadow guards to stay behind at the camp. He pulled the 'it is my master's instruction' card.
Whether they believed him or not, he didn't care. When he got back after passing the trial, everything else would be overshadowed by what he gained from the trial anyway.
And, Marcius was not that much worried about the assassins. The priestesses from the village would be secretly protecting him, according to Karla.
And, if the people of the village were as strong as they mentioned in the novel, he had nothing to worry about.
As the heir of Aemilia clan predicted, he met the welcoming party after going a little deeper into the forest.
Three figures blocked his path. One of them was Karla and the other two were middle aged women wearing white and yellow clothing. The two of them also held wooden staffs in their hands.
"You are late." Karla said, as she made an obvious gesture of looking at the sun, which was high in the sky.
"Sorry, it is hard to be early when I exactly do not know where I need to be going." Marcius sarcastically replied.
Karla huffed but did not reply. Instead, the two women accompanying her started talking.
"So, you are the young man Dina vouched for. She expects much from you." One of the women said.
"We are the Fall Priestesses of the Flavic village. My name is Sati." The next woman continued.
"And my name is Atem." The first woman finished the introduction.
Now that Marcius managed to closely observe them, they looked very similar.
'Twins?'
"We can see why Dina has high hopes for you. You have not a shred cultivation, yet you are strong." Sati said.
"We saw you kill the Alpha Lycanis. You would make a fine warrior." Atem followed.
"I did not kill the beast alone. It was a team effort." Marcius replied.
"And humble too." Sati noted as she pulled out a large bag from thin air.
She poured out the contents onto the ground.
Four heads rolled around Marcius's feet.
"They were the assassins watching you, waiting for a perfect ambush. We let the young one pass, because your guards notice him. These men were better and far more dangerous. They were a threat to you, and we ouldn't let them live." Atem gestured towards the four heads with her staff.
'The assassins skillful enough to evade even my shadow guards? And these women managed to kill them. They must be scary strong.' Marcius though as he observed the bloodied heads.
One had to note that assassin cultivators were the bane of magic users' existence. So, the two priestesses managing to kill four assassins was really impressive.
"I thank you, for your assistance." Marcius bowed slightly.
"Don't mention it, young man. We are just doing our duty." Sati stated.
"Miss Karla will lead you to the Sacred Temple."
"And we will be protecting you two from the shadows."
A magic circle appeared beneath the priestesses. And both of them vanished without a trace.
"Good luck."
Marcius looked at Karla with an awkward expression.
"They are…"
"Weird? Strange? Creepy?" Karla cut in.
"I was going to say unique."
"Sure, you are." Karla snorted and gestured Marcius to follow her.
Both of they headed more deeper into the forest.
"Even if they are slightly weird, they are among the strongest of the helmeri from our village." Karla remarked.
Helmeri was the term used to describe the people who were born with magic.
On an interesting note, the helmeri addressed the cultivators and humans without magic, as huma.
After walking for a while in comfortable silence, Marcius started speaking again.
"I need to talk to you about something."
"Is that about the Archnide hive?" Karla asked as if she had predicted it.
Marcius nodded and Karla let out a soft sigh.
"It Is true that we would have taken care of it, since the early stages of its formation. But this time, things are a little different."
Marcius let Karla talked without interrupting her.
"It is complicated. We have a solid reason for not being able to take action."
'Not being able to take action?' Marcius frowned.
"I'll explain everything to you after you have taken the trial. The result of your trial will decide how we approach the Archnide situation."
Now, Marcius was getting more and more confused by Karla words.
"I'm afraid I do not understand."
"As I said before, I will explain everything to you after the trial. Just focus on the challenge ahead of you, please. I don't want to add extra pressure to you."
Karla replied with a complicated expression, and Marcius stopped asking about it.
"Speaking of trial,"
Karla stopped, causing Marcius to also followed suit.
The hand of the young helmeri lit up with a magic circle. And the area in front of them fell apart. It was like someone ripped the space itself apart.
"It is a protective barrier and illusion magic." Karla declared.
Behind the illusion barrier was a large stone temple. It looked ancient with grey stones and yellow coloring. But it also appeared to be well-maintained.
"Welcome to the Sacred Temple of Goddess Sol."
*** *** ***
Author Notes
Hello! MidnightMK here!
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