Chapter 123: The Whereabouts of Aries

On the Sacred Mountain, perhaps due to the death of Aldebaran, a dark cloud seemed to hang over the Twelve Temples, and the atmosphere was unusually heavy.

"If you had listened to me and brought out the divine artifact, Aldebaran would never have died!" the benevolent Saga roared angrily at his wicked counterpart within their shared heart.

The wicked Saga replied coldly, "If I had lent them the divine artifact, would the outcome necessarily have been different?"

"Don't be naive!"

"Did you not hear Camus?"

"Three god-level evil deity wills descended upon North America, and even their avatars possessed the power of primary-level gods!"

"Even with the divine artifact, there would be no guarantee of a complete victory, even if all the Gold Saints of the Twelve Temples had gone!"

"It is already a miracle that Camus and the others were able to destroy the divine tunnels and return alive!"

The Twin Gods serving Hades, the Underworld King, are a pair of primary-level gods. In every Holy War, that pair of gods has caused the Sanctuary to suffer heavy losses, even pushing it to the brink of destruction multiple times. Had it not been for the precautions and meticulous preparations made by successive Popes, the Sanctuary would have been breached long ago. Even so, sealing the Twin Gods each time requires a massive effort from the Sanctuary.

Now, to expect Camus and the others, caught completely off guard, to deal with three primary-level gods—is that not delusional? One divine artifact, or even one for every person, would have been useless!

Hearing this, the benevolent Saga had no rebuttal. According to the battle report from Camus, if not for the Crateris constellation healing their wounds, the North American expedition would have been impossible to succeed. It was even possible that the entire force could have been wiped out! Facing three primary-level gods and losing only the Taurus Saint while destroying two divine tunnels was already a miracle under the Goddess's protection.

"Then what do you intend to do next?" Not wanting to continue the argument, the benevolent side proactively changed the subject.

The wicked Saga sighed and said, "I can only have the Saints below strengthen patrols around the world, nipping the various evil deity forces in the bud to prevent such a dangerous situation from arising again!"

"Not just the evil deity forces, but the Poseidon’s undersea realm and the Underworld should also be under increased surveillance! They appeared before us so brazenly this time; I fear the Holy War is not far off!" the benevolent side warned earnestly.

"I do not need you to remind me. I know what to do; I am the Pope!" the wicked side sneered.

"As long as you know!" The benevolent side sank into the depths of their heart, going completely dormant.

The wicked Saga burned his Cosmo and used telepathy to project his voice to the distant Jamir Plateau.

"Mu—"

Hearing the thunderous voice from the sky, little Kiki crouched down, covered his ears, and shouted toward the stone tower nearby, "Mr. Mu, someone is looking for you!"

Inside the stone tower, Mu, who was busy sorting through heaps of broken Cloth fragments, looked up and responded to the voice in the sky without a hint of emotion: "May I ask what your orders are, noble Pope?"

He recognized instantly that it was a call from the Pope in the Sanctuary.

"The North American expedition has caused the Sanctuary to suffer heavy losses. Many Saints' Cloths are severely damaged, especially the Aquarius and Cancer Gold Cloths, which are nearly shattered. You must return to repair them for everyone!" the Pope said sternly.

Mu is the Gold Saint of Aries and a descendant of the Jamir clan who legendarily forged the Cloths for the Goddess Athena. Today, while the Jamir clan's technology for forging Cloths has been lost, their technique for repairing them has been passed down. Thus, Mu of Aries is also the Sanctuary's dedicated craftsman for repairing Cloths. One must know that while Cloths possess self-repairing capabilities, they are very limited; if the damage exceeds a certain point, they cannot heal themselves and must rely on specialized craftsmen like Mu. It is much like the human body—simple injuries heal on their own, but severe wounds require external treatment.

Mu replied expressionlessly, "I am sorry, Pope, but I have recently discovered followers of evil deities active on the Jamir Plateau and cannot leave for the time being."

"Please, it would be better to have those companions who need repairs come to Jamir to find me instead!"

Hearing this, the Pope said coldly, "Have you truly discovered followers of evil deities?"

"Yes, Pope!" Mu replied decisively.

"Hmph!"

The Pope snorted and said no more. He suspected that Mu, like Dohko of the Five Old Peaks, had likely discovered his true identity and was intentionally hiding in Jamir, refusing to return to the Sanctuary.

Immediately, he used telepathy to project his voice to a hidden temple within the Sanctuary.

"Murphy of the Altar, I command you in the name of the Pope to go to the Cancer and Aquarius temples to retrieve the two Gold Cloths, and take them along with other damaged, unclaimed Cloths to the Jamir Plateau."

"Have Mu of Aries help repair them, and then bring them back safely!"

"Yes, Pope!"

Murphy rose from the ground and walked slowly toward the Sacred Mountain. Subsequently, the Pope used telepathy to broadcast his voice throughout the entire Sanctuary.

"I announce in the name of the Pope: those whose Cloths are severely damaged and cannot self-repair may go to the Jamir Plateau on their own to seek repairs from Mu, the Gold Saint of Aries."

After all, Camus and Deathmask were Gold Saints who needed to guard the Sanctuary and could not easily leave, so he dispatched Murphy of the Altar to take the two Gold Cloths for repair. However, the other Saints did not have such constraints and could be left to find Mu on their own.

Hearing this, the many Saints who had been fretting over their damaged Cloths were overjoyed. In particular, Rigel of Orion, whose Cloth was over seventy percent destroyed and impossible to wear, nearly jumped for joy upon hearing the news.

"Kyoko, did you hear? My Orion Cloth is saved!" he said excitedly to the purple-haired girl beside him.

"Yes, why don't I accompany you to Jamir, Rigel?" the girl said with a smile.

Meanwhile, just as he had left the infirmary and was on his way to the seashore, Yin Shijiu also heard the Pope's announcement.

He touched the large dents and cracks on his Cloth and muttered, "Someone brings a pillow just as I get sleepy; it seems this guy isn't entirely useless after all!"

It was true that Saga had ambition, but he also knew how to help resolve issues for others to maintain his rule over the Sanctuary.

Then, Yin Shijiu rubbed his chin and thought, "However, Mu hasn't returned to the Sanctuary in over a decade. I doubt many people even know he is in Jamir. I fear there will be quite a queue of people looking for him to repair their Cloths this time!"

"I think I'll wait a bit longer and head over later."

If there were many people, he would definitely have to wait in line, and he did not like wasting precious time waiting; he would rather seize the time to cultivate. He would wait until Mu was less busy before seeking him out. He never wanted to experience the life-threatening dangers of the North American expedition again. He had to cultivate even harder to make himself stronger.