Chapter 278  : Chapter 272, The Underground Palace under the Idol (Seeking recommendations, subscriptions….)_l

Damn!

This hunter sure knows how to chat.

No wonder he instantly reached for the dagger by his waist when I called out to him earlier.

Guess this mouth of his must have offended many people normally.

“No, we’re just passing by. We’re just interested in this temple,” Fang Hao quickly explained.

Considering there isn’t a single blade of grass near the temple, it’s not strange for Fang Hao to say he’s interested.

The hunter didn’t ask further and continued, “As you can also see, there is something off about this temple. It’s fine to go in and take a look, but you might want to forget about prayers.”

“Why is it that not a single blade of grass grows near the temple?” Fang Hao asked.

“It’s been like that for years, we’ve just gotten used to it,” the hunter responded.

Fang Hao thought for a moment, then asked, “That’s strange. There’s no danger, is there?”

“No danger. There are several villages nearby, and people occasionally go in to

rest.”

“Oh!” Fang Hao’s eyebrows furrowed again.

If villagers occasionally go in to rest, there shouldn’t be any danger.

“Anything else?” asked the hunter again.

“No, that’s all. Thank you, big brother.”

“Hmm.”

The hunter responded, picked up the wild boar from the ground he had been carrying, and turned to leave.

Fang Hao and Anjia returned to the team in the dense forest.

“Sir, how are things looking?” Demitrija asked.

“The hunter said there’s no danger. Let’s wait. I’ll use the Gray Sparrow to check it out.”

Fang Hao leaned against a massive tree and cast God’s Presence.

The skeletal gray sparrow in his hand lit up with Soul Fire in its eyes, flapping its wings towards the temple.

The Skeletal Gray Sparrow successfully flew into the arch-shaped stone door of the temple.

The area inside the temple wasn’t large. The patterns on the stone walls around had blurred, making it difficult to identify what they were.

In the central position, there was a more than three-meter high stone statue.

Half of the statue’s head had fallen off, and its body was covered in cracks.

The statue did not display any attribute information.

This meant that this was just an ordinary stone sculpture, not a blessed statue.

After checking all around and not discovering any danger, Fang Hao once again commanded the Gray Sparrow to fly back, and canceled God’s Presence.

When he opened his eyes, he saw several people looking at him curiously.

“I didn’t find any danger. Let’s have the skeleton go take a look first,” Fang Hao said, getting up from the ground.

“Alright!” Demitrija said, before signalling for a Barren Tomb Guard to enter the temple.

After walking a full circle around, the guard exited the temple.

Nothing unusual had taken place.

“It seems… there’s no danger,” Anjia said from one side.

“Right, let’s get closer for a look.”

Once they confirmed there was no danger, the group began to approach the temple with their entire team.

As they entered the temple, nothing dangerous or unexpected occurred.

Fang Hao let out a sigh of relief. It seems he had been overthinking things. “Okay, let’s search. See if there’s anything unusual,” Fang Hao said. The temple was not big. After confirming there was no danger, the skeleton soldiers were sent outside.

Only Fang Hao and the other three were left, starting to search inside the temple.

They looked all around, seeking anything out of the ordinary.

After searching for quite a while, they still couldn’t find anything amiss.

Fang Hao stroked his chin, lost in thought.

This temple was built by the Red Duke, a man who dismembered his beloved and turned the entire city into vampires. There was no way he would genuinely build a temple.

And the fact that not a blade of grass grew within a hundred meters of the temple was clearly suspicious.

They shouldn’t have found nothing at all.

“Let’s go, back out,” Fang Hao led the others out, then turned to one of the

Barren Tomb Guards and said, “Tear down this temple.

At these words, the others all paused in surprise.

” Are you crazy? You want to tear down the temple? Not afraid of retribution from the gods?” Lorrey cried out, the fur all over his body standing on end at the thought of tearing down the temple.

Looking at Lorrey’s reaction, Fang Hao felt like he’d grasped at something.

It only reinforced his resolve. “Demolish it!

Surrounding him, the Barren Tomb Guards had no such reservations. Upon receiving Fang Hao’s command, they brandished their weapons and began a violent demolition.

Soon after the eruption of loud thuds and scattering of dirt and rocks.

The small temple was quickly stripped of its rooftop and walls, and the statue already full of cracks was toppled over.

The shattered pieces were tossed onto the vacant ground nearby.

And with the statue’s collapse, revealed beneath its pedestal was a pitch-black portal.

It was as expected!

The statue was nothing but a ruse by the Red Duke.

Knowing the fear that people of this period had for the divine, no one would dare to desecrate a temple.

Others’ thoughts were similar to Anjia’s-no one would dare to destroy the statue.

“It really exists!” Anjia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The Red Duke counted on everyone being too afraid to touch the temple. He really is cunning.” Fang Hao sneered.

“What should we do next?” Anjia continued to ask.

“I will let the skeleton sparrow scout again.” Fang Hao sat down once again, and the skeleton sparrow from before took flight, following the opening beneath the statue’s pedestal.

The sunlight streamed in through the hole, preventing the space from being completely dark.

It was just a large room.

The walls were made out of an earthy yellow stone, with intricate designs carved into them, interspersed with pieces of Solar Essence.

On one side, stone steps led downwards.

The sparrow continued to investigate, flying down the stairway entrance. The second level was another vast space, similarly with yellow stone walls, intricate patterns, and Solar Essence.

However, several stone coffins were placed on either side.

Knowing the habits of the Blood Clan, the enemies for this floor would likely be inside these coffins.

Behind the coffins, there was another exit leading to the next level.

It seems that there are more than just two levels here.

Fang Hao did not instruct the sparrow to continue its flight. Instead, it flew back the same way it came.

He dispelled his God’s Presence state and returned to consciousness. Seeing the expectant looks of the others, Fang Hao explained, “Below us is a tower-like structure. On the second floor, there are stone coffins, which, knowing the Blood Clan’s traits, should contain our enemies for this round.” “So, what’s next?” Anjia pressed on.

“Let’s go. Prepare some men to descend, but be careful,” Fang Hao said.

“Okay.”

The group divided the tasks quickly.

The limited space inside and Fang Hao’s combat power would not be decisive here.

And so, Fang Hao and Anjia would stay outside.

Demitrija and Lorrey led ten Barren Tomb Guards inside. If any danger arose, they could retreat quickly.

Other Barren Tomb Guards would be on standby for backup.

A rope ladder was extended down through the hole.

Demitrija led the group inside the hole, while Fang Hao directed the skeleton sparrow to perch on the shoulder of one of the Barren Tomb Guards accompanying them.

“It’s scorching in here!” Lorrey exclaimed, sweat already beading on his nose. Fang Hao, using the perception of the skeleton sparrow, couldn’t feel the surrounding temperature.

But seeing Lorrey’s state, he could surmise that the temperature was indeed quite high.

“The Solar Essence around us is providing substantial heat,” Demitrija explained. Looking towards the entrance to the next level, he said, “Move! Let’s go down.”

The group began to descend the stone steps one by one.

Just as they were about to reach the second floor, Lorrey suddenly exclaimed, “Stop! There’s a trap…”.

However, it was too late. The Barren Tomb Guard at the forefront had already stepped onto the last stone step.

Ka!

The step sank.

The stone slab on the wall next to them opened, revealing a dense array of black arrow holes.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Arrows, thick as javelins, whistled out, aimed at all of them in quick succession.