You call this the god of etiquette?

Chapter 173 Outside the Temple
  The sound of killing shook the sky, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The guards stationed on Ligang Street, under the command of Ma Li and Oswal who retreated, struggled to stop the sand people from advancing.

Some of them were originally believers, and even the remaining ones who had not yet been absorbed into the Black Ceremony were the best among the guards who were valued by the city lord's palace and enjoyed the first-class material conditions of "Talek".

There is no doubt that Ligang Street is the most heavily guarded place in the entire "Talek".

In terms of defensive strength, it is even higher than the city lord's palace and the city's northern garrison.

Even at the critical moment of resisting the sand people's siege, the guards here were still not mobilized.

This is because the most important and precious thing in the entire "Talek" exists on Ligang Street——

Black Rite Temple.

As long as the temple remains, even if the remaining city of "Talek" is reduced to ruins, the damage will still be within a controllable range.

After all, the Black Ritual Temple, as the last stronghold of the city under the gaze of the gods, can not only protect believers and become a banner for subsequent resistance by the whole city, but can also be used as a temporary administrative center to gather and organize survivors as soon as the turmoil ends. Restore order.

Once the temple falls, things will be really troublesome.

In the short term, without the constraints of the temple, the sand people would just burn, kill, and loot unscrupulously in "Talek" and stay there for a longer time, which would undoubtedly cause greater losses.

From afar, the authority that it took the Black Ritual three years to establish in "Taleq" is in jeopardy.

Why does everyone want to be a believer?
  Isn't it because everyone knows that becoming a believer can truly gain entry into the city's inner circle?
  Even if they get this ticket and make no progress in this life, at least the children can use their own experience to waste less time.

After a few generations, they might accumulate a lot of experience, and one of their accomplished descendants would become a priest or even be given magical powers.

What could be more exciting than being in the kingdom of the great gods and meeting the descendants who are becoming more and more brilliant from generation to generation in that otherworldly world?
  This sense of continuity of life is something that all Xiver people, whether rich or poor, noble or humble, instinctively want to pursue.

The stronger the church that rules a city and the more stable the city, the more urgent the common people's desire to join the church, and the centripetal force directed toward the church will always exist.

This is also an important reason why strong churches become stronger and weak churches become weaker——

If you have the choice, of course it would be better to work in cities controlled by established churches first, and move forward step by step.

Moreover, these large churches often do not set any stringent conditions for obtaining “admission tickets.”

Very wealthy.

In contrast, although small churches and newly born churches can provide wider paths for advancement and more opportunities, they still inevitably cause people to murmur.

No matter how good the current development momentum is, if it spins up and disappears like a meteor in the future, wouldn't it be all in vain in the end?

If you are unlucky, you might be liquidated by a latecomer.

Of course, these are mainly for people with good qualifications.

For example, those who have not yet joined the church and have grown to the level of fine bronze through their own training alone.

For those who have no talent or are in extremely difficult circumstances, becoming a member of even the weakest church is a dream and good thing.

But the problem is that most churches want to attract as many people as possible to the first type, and either don't care about the latter two, or don't accept them at all.

In order to attract "capable people" to join the church and improve the quality of church applicants, the stability of the church and the authority that comes with it are essential.

This is especially important for the many small and medium-sized churches that have not yet “established their presence” in Silver and whose influence is limited to local areas.

After enduring hardships for a long time and remaining standing, the reputation at the local level will naturally gradually transform into the reputation at the national and even continental levels.

vice versa.

Even if those churches that ruled the cities were in turmoil and lost all authority, even if they still had some financial resources, they could easily fall into a chronic decline of inactivity, and eventually become nothing more than a few words in books.

So, how many more crises could destroy the majesty of the church and plunge the city into chaos and turmoil than the fall of the temple?
  It can only be said that there are only a handful of them. The temple is the eye of the god in the mortal world.

Strong and fragile.

If a temple is destroyed, it's not just a matter of erecting a new statue on the spot and repairing the walls.

However, before the temple is invaded and the statue of the god is destroyed, even the most inconspicuous temple may have hidden power that can turn the situation around and is waiting to explode.

Therefore, the temple is the highest priority target for all malicious people who want to destroy the city.

It is also a line of defense that all those guarding the city must defend to the death.

"Damn it, there are so many people left guarding the temple."

Gabor wiped the blood from his face, then spat on the ground beside him, spitting out the blood in his mouth.

He had just been hit in the face by a sneak attack during a fierce battle, knocking out a tooth.

Fortunately, he escaped in time, and there was no loss except one tooth.

Gafouco, who was on the side, heard the complaint of the chief's deputy and nodded with deep understanding.

They could have imagined that the battle in the temple would be a fierce battle, but they did not expect it to be so brutal.

The rectangular crystal on the top of the temple burst out with dazzling light from time to time, driving away the wind and sand, causing the attacking sand people to lose their reliance on covering themselves.

You can only hold the sand blade and fight with enemies whose individual strength is not much inferior to your own.

Both sides chanted the name of God and tried their best.

Blood and water flowed freely on the ground, and the severed limbs were piled up layer by layer, creating a fishy stench.

Outside the sacred golden walls of the Black Ceremony Temple, a red hell appeared.

"Plus" suffered unprecedented losses.

If Galma, who was no less powerful than Gabor in the clan, had not used [Sandfall] to create a breakthrough in time, the losses would have been even greater.

"How's the situation?"

Suddenly, a thick voice sounded.

Gafoucauld turned his head to look, with an expression of excitement on his face. He couldn't help but be the first to shout:
  "Lord Patriarch, we have beaten the Tareks guarding the temple into the temple."

"Next, as long as we destroy the outer wall of the temple, we can invade the temple!"

Now, there is no "Talek" guard standing on Ligang Street in front of the temple.

Most of them died in the battle, but a small number just retreated to the temple with two people who looked like leaders.

Gafouco remembered that Gabor's [Sandfall] had not been used yet.

With the power of Sand Father and Wind Mother, it is easy to break through the walls of the enemy's temple.

However, Gafoucauld did not expect that when the leader heard his words, he shook his head:

"Gafoucault, there's no rush yet."

"Let's try to make a deal with the Tareks first."

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  (End of this chapter)