Green Monster Epic

Chapter 1022: Confession

Alan stepped into this demi-plane, and before he could overcome the disorientation of traversing such a vast distance, he opened his eyes and began to survey this unfamiliar place.

It was a dim, gray world. A thick layer of dark clouds shrouded the sky, making it difficult for starlight to penetrate. Consequently, the surrounding undulating land appeared desolate, with very little vegetation.

However, at the coordinates where they had teleported, a wide plaza was laid out neatly and orderly. In the center of the plaza, there was a long table and several chairs, clearly arranged in advance by Garvin and the others.

Before Alan could radiate his mental energy further, magical fluctuations rippled beside him. He had no intention of taking advantage of the situation, so he lightly tapped the ground with his foot and glided dozens of meters away, giving the five representatives who arrived later safe space.

The five priests entered the demi-plane in a defensive formation, their bodies radiating thick magical auras. This was insurance they had applied to themselves when entering the teleportation array, and also a sign of respect for Alan's strength.

Their dazed state was only momentary. They immediately opened their eyes and cautiously looked around until they confirmed that Alan was standing far away, smiling at them. Only then did they awkwardly retract their defensive stances.

Compared to Alan's magnanimity, the actions of the five of them seemed somewhat excessive.

"Please, sit down."

Since Garvin had prepared simple hospitality items for him, Alan used them without hesitation. As the inviter, the Beastkin naturally became the temporary master of this cleared demi-plane.

As Garfield and the other four took their seats, Alan slowly took out the gift he had prepared and handed it to Garfield.

"I heard that Saint Quentin will be celebrating his 1,500th birthday in a few months. Unfortunately, my Northern Territory is a cold and barren place, and I couldn't find anything presentable. So, before heading south to the front lines, I specially prepared this gift for His Eminence, and I hope the old man will like it."

The gift was self-evident. When the severed head of Strahla, the Bloodthirsty Saint of humanity, frozen in ice yet still radiating a powerful residual aura, and a section of human hand bone, meticulously carved like natural crystal, were seen in two exquisite crystal boxes by the powerful figures, the tense aura of the priests sitting opposite Alan faltered.

When hearing about Alan's glorious achievements, some people didn't feel anything, but when they saw the spoils left behind by the two Saints with their own eyes, even the most stubborn people would feel some shock and admiration in their hearts.

"…Thank you, Chieftain Alan, for preparing such a thoughtful gift. I think His Eminence will definitely like it."

As a member of the clergy, Garfield couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had touched such ominous objects. Especially when he saw the human head, still glaring ahead even in death, as if everyone present was the murderer who killed him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust in his heart.

However, this disgust only occupied a small part of Garfield's heart. The turmoil rising in his heart was more from the strength of Alan, the Saint-level Beastkin. Through the various pieces of information gathered from the South, the five powerhouses present had obtained more detailed intelligence about Alan's challenge to the human Saints than other forces in the wilderness knew.

The more they understood the inside story, the stronger their awe for the Beastkin in front of them became. Their imagination couldn't even conceive how this Beastkin had managed to complete the challenges to two Saints in less than two months, and emerged victorious.

Most terrifyingly, the time interval between his consecutive challenges to the two Saints was less than seven days. What kind of terrifying beast was hidden beneath his thin shell?

However, on the surface, Garfield appeared very composed and put the two gifts made of human remains into his dimensional bag.

The group sat together awkwardly for a while, exchanging pleasantries. After their moods had calmed down, Garfield spoke, breaking the deadlock.

"However, I think your request to meet with the four major churches isn't just to deliver this gift, is it?"

"That's right."

Alan's smile faded, and he sat up straight, speaking slowly, "Since High Priest Garfield is asking, then I won't beat around the bush."

"This time, I requested a meeting with the high-level members of the four major churches in the hope of reaching a consensus with the churches!"

"Regarding the secret about me, I believe the five of you present, as well as the heads of the churches behind you, are all very clear. I embarked on this path out of compulsion, a forced and helpless move. Others may not understand, but I believe that you and the churches behind you should, and must, understand."

"The Northern Territory is also a part of the wilderness, but the attitude of the Alliance and the Temple towards the Northern Territory has never made us natives of the Northern Territory feel any sense of belonging."

"You can easily agree to allow an alien race known for its sinister and ruthless nature to seize our territory and settle on the land where we have lived for generations without our permission, without caring about our thoughts."

"And the Alliance and the Temple have also abandoned us regarding the Elven Kingdom's coveting and invasion of our Northern Territory, allowing us to fend for ourselves. Look at the thousands of years in our Northern Territory before I was promoted to a pillar of the Alliance, and then look at the assistance that the three royal courts of the Centaur Grassland have received in recent years. If you were in our position, you would probably be disheartened as well."

"As guardians of the wilderness, your actions and choices are hurting the hearts of the natives who truly cherish the wilderness."

"Chieftain Alan, this matter…"

Alan's tone was heavy, but not without purpose. Hearing his words, the faces of Garfield and the others, who had been full of confidence, changed.

"Hear me out!!"

Alan's sharp eyes simply swept across them, and his tone wasn't particularly loud, but it made the five powerhouses feel a tightness in their hearts, and they couldn't help but close their mouths. Although it wasn't intentional, the absolute confidence brought about by challenging and defeating two Saints, as well as the unyielding fighting spirit that had not yet dissipated, unconsciously leaked out of Alan's eyes.

"It is also because of your choices and decisions that ultimately led me to embark on a path that I must take to protect the Northern Territory and my tribe!!"

"In the final analysis, everything is caused by the Temple."

"Chieftain Alan, isn't that sophistry??"

Garfield mustered his courage and forcibly interrupted Alan's words, arguing reasonably.

"We admit that there has been differential treatment in recent years regarding the Northern Territory and the southern border."

"However, this is also based on realistic considerations. It's not that we don't want to treat the Northern Territory equally, but compared to the difficulties faced by the Northern Territory, the humans in the South are a greater threat to our wilderness."

"I can present you with data right now. After reviewing this data, I hope you will use your insight and wisdom to make a fair choice as to whether our temple has made the wrong choice."

"Furthermore, regarding the issue of prejudice against the North and South, the responsibility that the temple needs to bear is far less than that of your Alliance Council, because the specific conscription and quotas have always been decided by your Alliance Council."

Allen gave Garfield a meaningful look: "On the surface, the Mansha Alliance is naturally in charge of the wilderness, but in reality, who is truly influencing the overall situation? We are all involved, so don't use that rhetoric on me."

"In any case, your temple bears an unshirkable responsibility for the suffering that the Northern Territory has endured over the years."

"Therefore, I hope that everyone can bring these words of mine to the higher-ups of the temple, and that the cause-and-effect relationship of the consequences caused by your mistakes can bring more tolerance and understanding to the path I am taking and the choices I am making."

"..."

Garfield can firmly sit as the first in line heir of the Church of Nature. His mind and methods are also top-notch. Although he was overwhelmed by Allen's aura and unable to speak a moment ago, now that Allen has begun to show his cards, he can no longer remain silent.

"Clan Leader Allen, that's a strange thing to say. Just like you keep saying, the Northern Territory is, after all, your natives' Northern Territory. If you want to protect your homeland, you must rely on your own strength. You can't blame the alliance and our temple just because you don't have the strength to protect your territory. That doesn't make sense!"

"The Drow were able to seize strongholds like Coldwind Hold and Bonn City because they are powerful. If you can't beat them, then you have to accept the consequences..."

"High Priest Garfield, can you be responsible for what you just said??"

Allen raised a browless eyebrow and immediately questioned sternly: "In front of the few of you present, if you can be responsible for these words, then I will immediately leave the demiplane and go back to organize my six Northern Territory clans to reclaim the lost land!!"

"As long as the temple and the alliance do not interfere, my Northern Territory will definitely not ask the alliance to provide us with support!!"

"...I'm just representing myself..."

Garfield was momentarily at a loss for words, and he also knew that what he had just said had revealed a flaw, which was caught by the other party.

"Humph!!!"

Allen was very dissatisfied: "Your temple is really hypocritical. It was originally under your coercion that we could only accept the Drow's foothold in the Northern Territory. Now you are blaming us for the reason. For example, in the past hundreds of years, for the war in the South, our Northern Territory has repeatedly undertaken the alliance's obligations and invested millions of gold coins worth of resources and more than 100,000 brave warriors to the South."

"Now that I want to obtain fair treatment and seek help from the alliance and the temple, you are using such reasons to prevaricate!!!"

"It seems that my expectations of you have still fallen through, and it has also strengthened my determination to take the path I am currently on!!!"

"Clan Leader Allen, calm down. High Priest Garfield has indeed misspoke. That's not what we meant!!"

Bishop Madewen of the Silent Forest hastily interjected, apologizing and appeasing Allen, and smoothing things over for Garfield: "Regarding the issue of your current path, our temple has actually been very restrained. I think you should also feel our attitude, otherwise we wouldn't have organized this meeting."

"In the eyes of the four major civilization forces, the Mansha Wilderness has always been lacking in talent, but over these tens of thousands of years, there have always been exceptionally talented geniuses who have emerged every once in a while, shining brightly in their time and leaving behind legends."

"The stories of these geniuses are no less impressive than your deeds. Among them, there are naturally people who have lost their minds and embarked on that dead end, eventually disappearing and fading away silently."

"To be honest, Clan Leader Allen, just my Silent Forest Church alone has historically recorded the destruction of more than a dozen false god beliefs, and there are countless more that have not been recorded."

"As for the other three churches present, I believe they will not be fewer than us. This is our consistent attitude towards any evil gods and false gods that are exposed to the world and bewitch the ignorant masses, and it will never change."

"But in Clan Leader Allen's case, have you ever seen us take any excessive actions against the forces that you think you have hidden very deeply, until now??"

"Looking back at the scenes in the long river of history, I have never seen the temple be so tolerant and accommodating to any wilderness genius who has gone astray."

"Therefore, you should also rein yourself in in time and return from the wrong path to the right track. In fact, we are not happy to see the story of another wilderness hero falling again."

Allen was speechless for a moment. Since the other party had already said everything so clearly, that layer of window paper seemed to be blown through in one breath.

"Fall?? Who knows who it will be??"

However, Allen's tone quickly became strong again, and a gleam of cold light flashed in his eyes, startling the five people opposite him, their hearts pounding.

"Then I will also make it clear today. I am not asking the temple to support the path I am currently taking. I only hope that the temple can maintain the current situation and not let the relationship between us eventually lead to confrontation!!"

"This is a good thing for the wilderness, the Northern Territory, and both of us."

"As long as we maintain nominal peace, then my Northern Territory will eventually be the most solid wall on the border, an important weight to maintain the balance of the two major civilization forces in the Taren Continent."

"But if we go to opposite sides, the temple needs to think carefully about the consequences of losing the Northern Territory!!"

"Anyway, my Northern Territory has never had backers or hope. We are an abandoned tribe, so we can also do many things that you can't even imagine!!!"

"Clan Leader Allen, are you threatening us??"

"Yes!!"

Faced with Garfield's unkind questioning, Allen suddenly nodded in a deep voice and gave a definite answer without any politeness: "I am threatening the temple, not threatening you."

"Because the few of you are not qualified enough for me to threaten."