Pine Forest Village was the name of the village located next to the dense forest and far from the city. The name sounded rather elegant, like a random name given by a poet who was passing by while staying overnight at a roadside inn while lamenting why he was demoted. But in reality, the village was just something the villagers came up with on a whim: Because behind the village was a pine forest. If there was a rocky slope behind the village, would they be able to come up with such an elegant name? I don't believe they could come up with the words Shijiazhuang.
Although the village was remote, it wasn't too small and it didn't look too poor. It might be because it was located on the border between Hassad Principality and our own country. Occasionally, travelers would pass through the dense forest and mountain roads, so the small village was able to maintain just the right amount of prosperity. There seemed to be about a hundred or so dwellings here, arranged in a picturesque manner on either side of a little river that ran through the village. In front of the village was the wood from which we had just come, and behind it stood an imposing mountain. The terrain on both sides of the mountain gradually slowed down and then suddenly rose up. It should be part of a mountain range. The small river that passed through the village was parallel to the mountain range and made a turn in the distance. It should be snow water that flowed down from the mountain. It was backed by the mountain and faced the dense forest. Even the river that flowed through the village flowed down from the mountain. It could be said that this was a rather isolated place. If you looked at it from the perspective of economic development, it definitely wasn't a good place. But if you were close to eighty years old and wanted to find a place to retire, there was no better place than this. Look at the environment here!
Blockhead led us onto the stone road in the village. Jingle sneakily peeked her head out of my pocket and looked around curiously like everyone else. The village didn't even have a wall. There was only a fence to prevent wild beasts as a demarcation line. Of course, there weren't any village gates. You would enter the village by walking on the man-made road. Even the fence didn't seem to be taken seriously by the villagers. I saw at least four or five families that built their houses a hundred meters away from the fence outside the village. They lived in seclusion as if they were experts. Based on the tidiness and specifications of the houses, I guessed that the owners weren't kicked out of the village by their neighbors because they kept splashing dirty water at their doorstep all day long …
Because it was close to the forest, most of the houses in the village were made from local materials and were basically made of wood. These houses looked a bit like the old wooden houses in Europe. The thick wooden planks were nailed together to form the walls. Hemp ropes and black mud were stuffed in the middle to block the wind. Most of the houses were two stories. The roofs were sloped with wooden tiles, and the bottom was propped up by thick wooden stakes about half a meter above the ground to prevent moisture. There were a few wooden stairs to enter and exit the house. Some of the houses with courtyards should belong to wealthy families, but they were randomly squeezed together with the old wooden houses around them. It was hard to tell whether they were noble or lowly. Dried hides and dried meat hung from the eaves of almost every house, and tools of unknown use, but obviously unrelated to farming, were placed under the windowsills. I guessed they had something to do with hunting or leather making: there was not much arable land around the village, so hunting must have been the main source of income for the villagers. I was worried that if the people here were tough and everyone was a hunter like Blockhead, would the unlucky beasts in the forest be enough to bully?
This village was so simple that I couldn't tell if they had a place that could be called the "Village Head's House" as their administrative center. At this time, the sun was setting, and it was time for every family to cook. Smoke curled up from the chimneys in the village … Although I couldn't tell what it was, it smelled good. On the road, I saw two or three villagers strolling around. Most of them were men waiting for their meals to be ready after a busy day of work. Most of the locals had high noses and deep eye sockets, which slightly resembled Westerners. After seeing them, I confirmed one thing: Blockhead's size and muscles were a result of genetic mutation. Most of the people in this village were normal people …
Blockhead cheerfully greeted everyone. It seemed that he was quite popular in the village. When the villagers saw this bear-like man dragging a real bear behind him, they didn't look surprised at all. Someone pretended to exaggerate and said, "Blockhead, if you had more strength, you would have gone to the mountain to slay a dragon, right?" There were also people who looked happy and said, "Hey, this is enough for the whole village to eat for a few days! If you continue like this, the other hunters in the village will forget about their skills! " After that, 100% of the villagers focused on us, "Are they travelers?"
"They are traveling scholars from the capital. They are all knowledgeable people with high social status!"
Big Blockhead took the trouble to introduce it to each of us, with an almost proud look on his face, as if by doing so on our behalf he had profited from "learning." Then, the villagers looked at us with surprise and admiration. They bowed slightly and sighed, "The people from the capital wear different clothes every time. The big city changes faster than the countryside …"
I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead and bowed back to them. I thought that it was fortunate that these people who were tired of making a living wouldn't think too much about trivial matters other than filling their stomachs. They were curious about outsiders and didn't have any other thoughts. Coming to this small village was much better than directly teleporting to a big city. Speaking of which, such a simple village, such a peaceful atmosphere, such simple people … I almost forgot that this world was right next to the most deadly powder keg in the void.
"Wait for me. I'm going to put the game in front of the statue. That way, the whole village can eat it," Blockhead turned and said in a rough voice. Blockhead turned his head and said in a rough voice. When I heard the word 'Goddess', my heart skipped a beat. Brendel and I shouted at the same time, "Wait, let's go too!"
Our voices startled the blockhead. Then, he looked like he understood and said, "Oh, right. Everyone has to greet the Goddess, especially you guys who are traveling. I forgot about that."
Statue, Goddess, the local world's beliefs … It was highly likely that it was related to the divine artifact that we were looking for. Icetis couldn't sense the aura of the divine artifact with her Protoss talent. The artifact couldn't be simply hidden somewhere on this planet. Hence, we could only look for clues from the local civilization's beliefs and myths. The Goddess that Blockhead mentioned should be related to it.
We followed behind Blockhead and arrived at the place where the statue was placed. There wasn't a church or any other special building that we had expected. It was the largest empty space in the village. It seemed that it was a gathering place for the villagers. The statue of the Goddess was placed high on a circular stone platform in the middle of the empty space. It was a statue carved from ordinary mountain rocks. It looked to be as tall as a real person. Although the material was simple, it was very fine and meticulous. It was obvious that the craftsman who carved it had a devout and cautious heart when he cut it with his knife. The statue depicted a beautiful and refined woman with shoulder-length hair. She had a benevolent and dignified demeanor, and she wore a gorgeous set of female armor. I compared it to the image of the 'Star Field Scout' that I had seen in my mind, and I realized that the two did indeed have some similarities. However …
They were obviously not the same person.
However, the resemblance was secondary. The mortals of this world had definitely not seen the true face of the Goddess. The Goddess had been dead for many years. The religion of this world was probably created by the information that the divine artifact had left behind. Furthermore, even if someone had seen what a True God looked like, they wouldn't necessarily replicate the God's image onto their own creations. Instead, they would beautify and embellish it to a certain extent. In any case, I have seen statues of Dingdang in the various Churches of the Goddess of Life, but Dingdang's expression of grace and power had never been revealed. Furthermore, I reckon that not many monks would dare to hang a statue of the Goddess of Life with a face full of sugar dregs and smile for people to see …
Qian Qian gently touched Bryndis' arm. The rest of us also focused our attention on the female gangster. There was a faint golden halo swirling in her eyes. Then, she shook her head and said, "It's just a stone statue. I can't feel any divinity … at least, I can't feel it now. But we can't rule out the possibility that the religion behind the statue has something to do with the divine artifact. After all, this is just a small place. Perhaps the divine artifact's power isn't enough to extend here. "
Finally, Bryndis added, "After all, that thing should be the USB flash drive that the Scout used back then …"
We won't talk about the fact that the Protoss could use even a scratch to slay a dragon.
The blockhead placed the giant bear monster that he had dragged all the way in front of the statue. The ground shook a few times before the bulky and clumsy huntsman lowered his head and prayed silently. He looked rather pious. It seemed that the faith in the Goddess had become the basic culture of this planet. Even a crude hunter like him had a pious heart. I pondered for a moment. It seemed that I should also pray to prevent the villagers from mistaking us for heretics. So, I lowered my head and silently memorized the multiplication table. Beside me, Shallow Shallow also lowered her head. She was memorizing a recipe. Icetis was the most interesting. She lowered her head and muttered, "Greetings, old senior. I am Icetis, an archaeologist sent by the Realm of Gods. This person beside me is Father's brother. He will mourn for you for three minutes. You should be able to rest in peace. So, hurry up and give us your USB drive. This world isn't always peaceful. There are a bunch of bastards out there waiting to wreak havoc.
I was worried that if the old senior's spirit was still in heaven, would he explode the Divine Artifact to prove his integrity because of Icetis's nonsense …
By then, the blockhead had finished his short prayer. This gigantic huntsman looked out of place when he lowered his head and prayed. He looked three parts refined and seven parts ferocious beast. However, when he lifted his head and turned around, he looked much more comfortable. He smiled at us and said, "Erm, I'm done. If you guys don't mind, come and rest at my place. I don't have much, but the house is big and there are a few empty rooms that we don't need. Originally, the Village Elder should have arranged for someone to entertain the guests. But the Village Elder went to the city two days ago and will only be back tomorrow morning … "
Of course, we didn't have any objections. We nodded. Shallow Shallow pointed at the dead bear that was placed in front of the Goddess' statue curiously. "Are you going to leave it in the square?"
The blockhead nodded and said, "Yes, just leave it there. Leave it in front of the Goddess' statue for a night. Otherwise, the black cub's meat won't be able to cut it. Tomorrow, the village priest will come and cook the meat. The entire village will have the meat for lunch. The Village Elder will be back by then, so he can have the first bite. "
— — It seemed that this was a unique custom. The so-called priest should be a religious member. I didn't expect that such a small village would have a "priest." It sounded like a high-class person, and I didn't expect the priest to be in charge of cooking for the entire village. Of course, I didn't expect that a Goddess who was in charge of cooking for the entire village would appear in the Star Realm's religious system. But after thinking about it, the only direct connection between the "Goddess" that the locals believed in and the Star Realm's Divine System was a USB flash drive. Strictly speaking, the religion in this world belonged to the original religion and had nothing to do with any of the Star Realm's teachings. In any case, other than Shadora becoming a God in the future, I didn't dare to imagine anyone else's Bible having such a line: "The priests, priests, and bishops are in charge of the big spoons, and the priests cook for the believers and organize prayers …"
Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn't like there was no precedent for the Church's teachings to organize meals for the Goddess. Wasn't it called "Holy Communion" in a more elegant way? I could only say that the blockhead's way of describing it made people feel that the Goddess's "Holy Communion" in this world wasn't holy at all …
We followed the blockhead to his house. It was a large house with a courtyard, and it was located by the riverbank. Obviously, the blockhead, who was powerful and could feed the entire village, had the wealth to match his fighting strength: a large house. The villagers didn't treat the blockhead as a cheap laborer because of his honesty (we could already see that the normal people in this world should be smarter than the blockhead, just like how they were generally thinner than the blockhead. The blockhead was a cute guy who had a genetic mutation in both intelligence and body). Although it might be because they couldn't beat him, I would rather believe that this was a manifestation of the people's simplicity. The geography of this world was already tough enough, so let's preserve a beautiful vision for it, at least for this village.
This large house with a courtyard had a detail that matched the blockhead. Its courtyard door was almost twice the size of a normal house. When I walked past it, I felt like I was walking through a city gate. I looked at the silent Pandora and Visca, who were looking around. I wondered if the two girls had an illusion that they were walking through the Southern Heavenly Gate. Thinking about this, I quickly bent down to remind the two girls, "This blockhead is a good guy. You two are not allowed to complain about his height."
"Oh," Pandora replied with a wooden expression. Visca laughed and said, "Brother, don't worry. I've been going to Atlantis every day to play. My resistance has grown!"
Just like the other houses in the village, this' mansion 'with a small courtyard was also made of wood. It had a two-story main house and a single-story wooden house opposite the main house. Facing the courtyard door was a long wooden shed that looked like a warehouse or a woodshed. The courtyard wall was made of thick logs that were cut in half and thrown into the ground. The smooth wood faced inward, and the wooden fences of the courtyard wall were wrapped with animal hides. It looked very sturdy. There were many wooden shelves in the courtyard, and we could see some hides being hung to dry. It seemed that as a hunter, the blockhead not only knew how to hunt, but he also knew how to make hides. After he let us into the courtyard, he immediately went to the huge wooden bucket in the corner and filled half a metal pot with water. Then, he ran to the kitchen and said, "Wait a minute. I'll boil the water. You people from the city aren't used to drinking unboiled water. But the water is actually very clean. After we came down from the mountain, we've been soaking in the bucket for a whole day … "
The blockhead was really kind-hearted. We felt bad seeing him running around like that. Even Shallow Shallow couldn't help but run over to help. However, the guy wasn't willing to help. "How can we let our guest help us? If the villagers find out, we'll be laughed at! "
Seeing that he was so determined, Shallow Shallow could only back off. The few of us discussed for a while and rummaged through our bags (these bags were taken out from the dimensional pocket before we met the blockhead as we weren't sure if the locals would take things out from the dimensional pocket). Then, we took out the dry food that Big Sis and Anveena had prepared for us: home-cooked scones and muffins. We had a lot of dry food and snacks. Based on Big Sis' habit of packing, it wasn't hard to imagine that the dry food that we had brought was enough to solve a small-scale famine. After Jingle had confirmed that the food could be consumed by the locals, we sent it to the kitchen and told them that we would eat it during dinner. The blockhead was very happy to share.
After that, we had nothing to do in the courtyard as we waited for the sky to turn dark. Through our mental connection, we marveled at how unexpected this world on the "frontline" was. After a while, Lin Xue began to play childishly with Visca in her boredom. Icetis began to discuss with me the plan for tomorrow's operation. We decided to first get a general understanding of this world's customs and beliefs in the Goddess. Then, we would examine the locals and the local creatures to see if there were any remnants of divinity caused by the Divine Equipment. We would pay special attention to whether the so-called "Priest" was blessed by the Star Region's divine power.
If we couldn't find enough information here, we would head to the "Imperial City" or the Hassard Principality. We should be able to find clues about the Divine Equipment there.
Of course, all of this was on the premise that we didn't attract suspicion and didn't disrupt the lives of the locals. I realized that it was quite inconvenient to lose Sandora's mind interference power.
Since this world was on the dangerous "frontline", it was best not to use any psionic devices such as portable satellites and probes. That was why our operation was restricted. If it wasn't for that, it would have been much easier to find a mere Divine Equipment.
At this moment, a black shadow suddenly ran between us. It turned out to be the big guy's clever cat named "Little Black." This cat was like most of its kind, always having a lazy and indifferent attitude when facing strangers. But now, it probably realized that we were going to spend the night in this house, so it came over and looked at us curiously. Even though it was clearly an animal, the way the black cat squatted on the ground and looked around made it seem like it was the mistress of the house. Shallow Shallow couldn't help but reach out her paw to shake the black cat's hand …
Let's not consider how Shallow Shallow's brain worked. In any case, the black cat seemed to understand etiquette. It reached out its paw and touched Shallow Shallow's hand lightly. This was considered a handshake.
"How clever!" Shallow Shallow was delighted. She raised one finger in front of the black cat and asked, "How many is this?"
Let's not consider how Shallow Shallow's brain worked. The black cat actually meowed.
Shallow Shallow was overjoyed. She raised three fingers and asked, "How many is this?"
The black cat answered patiently, "Meow, meow, meow."
This time, all of our gazes were focused on the cat. Without hesitation, Shallow Shallow asked, "How many is three plus two?"
The black cat yawned and seemed to be getting impatient. "Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow!"
Shallow Shallow was stunned for a moment. Then, she thought of something and asked, "How many is twenty thousand times two?"
Before I could be impressed by Shallow Shallow's quick thinking, the black cat looked at Shallow Shallow impatiently and said, "Forty thousand."
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