Chapter 2: Temple of Destiny (7)
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Lin Nan had just arrived in the Empire and needed an opportunity to break the ice completely.
By sheer coincidence, she stumbled upon the embarrassing situation at the Temple of Destiny, and lo and behold, it was the perfect chance she had been waiting for.
The Goddess of Destiny was originally a codename borrowed by Frost North Snow to teach the Four Warriors their skills, so it was no problem for her to now proclaim herself as the protector of the Temple of Destiny.
Capturing people’s hearts requires an epic victory, not a compromise born out of power threats.
If she were to back down just because a few seemingly impressive clerics from the Church of Light showed up, wouldn’t all her hard work creating the atmosphere evaporate into thin air?
So naturally, when faced with the clerics’ proposal, she flat-out refused.
In fact, she hoped this matter would escalate as much as possible. That way, news of the Goddess of Destiny descending upon the Imperial Capital would sweep through the entire Empire in no time.
Her stubborn stance clearly riled up the usually proud clerics. Even the nobles in the capital treated them with the utmost respect, yet here was a woman pretending to be a god, daring to disrespect them!
Moreover, there were numerous citizens watching the scene unfold. If the Church of Light backed down again, wouldn’t that just inflate that woman’s ego and deflate the Church’s presence?
And just as the clerics were gearing up for a showdown with Lin Nan, the leading cleric raised his right hand, halting his comrades’ actions.
“The Pope has commanded that I handle this situation. This woman is no ordinary foe, and we must not engage her recklessly.”
One cleric burst into laughter, “Soros, how did you get so chicken? Whether that heretic is tough or not isn’t up to you—it’s up to my fists and whether I can smash her head into the ground.”
“d*mn it! The Pope granted me temporary command—you must follow my orders!”
“Get lost! It’s cowards like you in the Church that keep dragging this out.
If it were me, I would’ve stormed the temple by now; why are we even in this situation?”
Soros gritted his teeth, “Shut up, Toby! If you dare act rashly, I will report you to the Pope!”
“Ha! If I win, your spot is mine! Come on, brothers, who wants to join me for some glory?”
Out of the five clerics, two immediately charged toward Lin Nan with the hot-headed Toby, leaving Soros and another cleric exchanging bewildered glances, unsure of what to do.
“Only hellfire can burn away the sins of the deceptive godmessenger! Come on!”
As Toby dove forward, dark red flames erupted from his palms, spreading across his body like a human cannonball rocketing toward Lin Nan.
The other two clerics quickly provided a series of buffs to Toby, and in an instant, the light representing him blinded everyone’s eyes in the night sky.
“Ah! So this is the power of the clerics?”
“This is terrifying, how many experts does the Church of Light actually have? No wonder they’ve attracted so many followers in such a short time; only power truly expands their influence!”
“Oh my god, can the Goddess incarnation handle this guy?”
“Yeah, who knows if she’s even good at fighting? What if she’s just eye candy? That’d be a disaster!”
At that moment, almost everyone’s attention was focused on Lin Nan, the “incarnation of the Goddess” targeted by the Church of Light. Some were already calculating: if she lost, it would mean the end of the Temple of Destiny, and these ordinary folks had no desire to get involved in a divine brawl. They just wanted to survive. If following the Church of Light meant better benefits, they wouldn’t hesitate to turn their backs without a second thought.
Just as Toby and the clerics were getting ready to rumble, Trissa quickly summoned the full version of her harp.
On any regular day, Trissa and her beautiful harp would have been the center of attention. But right now, everyone was fixated on the impending battle between the two.
With the “ding ding dong” music filling the air, a series of buffs enveloped Lin Nan.
She understood perfectly that even if the Church of Light lost, their vast numbers and deep roots wouldn’t be greatly affected. But if Lord Lin lost, all the worship and reverence for the Goddess of Destiny she had so painstakingly built would come crashing down, leaving no chance for a comeback.
The Temple of Destiny would be entirely overrun by the Church of Light.
Facing the flames that descended like shooting stars, Lin Nan merely raised her head slightly.
And just as the wavering spectators gasped, thinking the Goddess incarnation was giving up due to insufficient power, an astonishing spectacle unfolded.
Lin Nan gently lifted her hand, and a small white flame—about ten centimeters high—began to rise from her fingertip.
“Is that it? Just a little glow daring to stand against the clerics? This is downright hilarious!”
“Haha! I thought the Goddess incarnation would bring some amazing phenomena, but all she has is a tiny flame on her finger? It doesn’t even compare to the cleric’s hellfire!”
“We’re doomed! The Temple of Destiny is really going to be taken over by the Church of Light!”
“A non-reliable goddess leading a bunch of unreliable followers? Now that’s a combination sure to fail! Hahaha!”
“Hey! Just a few minutes ago, you all pledged to worship the Goddess of Destiny, and now you’re kissing up to the Church of Light?”
“Bro, those who know when to adapt are the wise ones. In this world, it’s not about who’s right, it’s about who’s holding the bigger fist, right? We gotta live, and being under the Church of Light is just a bit more suppressed—what can we do?”
“A bunch of flip-floppers!”
“Ha! If the Goddess of Destiny really loses, just wait until you’re facing the Church of Light; you won’t be acting so outraged then.”
The crowd gathered at the temple entrance began to murmur. A good chunk of them, upon witnessing Toby’s divine-like power, instantly sided with the Church of Light.
After all, what chance did a mere woman with a weapon shorter than a fruit kn*fe have against such might?
“Whoosh!”
The cleric’s charge surged forward.
“Boom!”
A shockwave erupted from the temple entrance, knocking back the onlookers and sending many of them tumbling over, hitting their heads and crying out in pain.
Yet the next scene made them forget their suffering altogether.
Unprecedented shock enveloped their realities—how was this possible?!
The woman in white merely extended a finger, effortlessly negating Toby’s full-on assault.
In an instant, the red flames enveloping Toby were replaced by pure white flames.
He was reduced to ashes in a blink, leaving behind not even a shred of clothing or a single scream.
Silence fell upon the scene; countless mouths gaped open, and not a single sound escaped.
