The Siren Hymn Temple was the territory of the Siren Race. Unlike the Empires, they didn't have cities or nobles titles; instead, they all worshiped the Mermaid Goddess. They divided their territory into regions, and Priest Lords were anointed to govern those regions.
Priests govern smaller regions and are responsible for both religious and secular matters. Some may owe allegiance to a central High Priest, and some may operate with more autonomy.
This local control allows for a better understanding of regional needs. However, there is potential for conflicting interpretations of doctrine and power struggles between Priest-Lords.
Above all, the Priest Lords were the central temple in the heart of the territory, and no one dared to go against the central temple teachings or its doctrines. The Sirens were rather peaceful; no one dared to mess with them because they were under the protection of the three empires. They were also very proficient in illusion and mind-controlling magic.
Not to mention, all the members of the temple have a strange power granted to them by the goddess herself; they call it the power of faith. But there was not much information about it because this power was simply mysterious, and the temple members never revealed anything about it.
But for some years, a strange undercurrent went through the Siren Hymn Temple's territory. The peaceful situation of the regions slowly became chaotic as those Priest Lords secretly fought with each other for power.
However, the central temple never paid them any heed as long as they didn't go overboard. As time passed, the common folks started to notice that the Priest Lords were recruiting talented men into their personal armies. No one knows the reason, but it was quite strange since nothing like this had ever happened before.
In one of the eighteen large regions of the Siren Hymn Temple, the Holy Mar Region, in the outskirts of the region, was the area for non-members.
In this place within a house, two cloaked figures wearing some kind of oxygen mask were secretly meeting with each other. They didn't dare be careless because they knew if their identities were exposed, they might escape here with their lives intact.
"Why did you suddenly call me here? Don't you know we are so close to achieving our goal?" One of them, with a small build, asked in a stern tone. He wasn't happy about this meeting at all because it was simply too risky.
"I know it was abrupt, but it can't wait because I was specifically ordered to relay this information to you in person and everyone else, as a matter of fact." The other one, with a tall and slender build, replied in frustration.
"Alright, let's hear it." The small one became solemn when he heard that this order came from higher up, and there was only one higher up above them, so he knew just how important this had to be.
"The Star Lord asks us to leave the deep ocean and return!" The tall one replied in an iffy tone.
"What?!" The small one exclaimed, "Then what about all of our preparation we've been doing for over two decades!? Wasn't he the one who said we must abduct the damn Oracle after she refused to comply with our request? And now he wants us to leave everything behind and retune? Does he think this is some kind of game?"
He was absolutely indignant at this moment; the frustration and anger he was feeling were things he only knew. After all, they were living under this horrendous pressure they hadn't been used to for over decades, and if it wasn't enough, they couldn't even breathe or eat here without this unique oxygen mask.
Now, all of a sudden, the same person who had forced them to do all this again ordered them to leave everything behind and return. How could they not have felt indignant and furious?
Some might have accepted it without making any fuss, but this guy was already fed up with all this, so he naturally didn't care about giving the Star Lord any face anymore.
"Anonymous3, I know this news is very hard to swallow, but look at this from another angle. We don't need to take the risk of going against those fanatics anymore.
"After all, we all know just how strange their power of faith is, and that's why we sow discord among the Priest Lords all these years so they can rebel against the central temple.
"But let's be real. Despite over two decades of careful planning and efforts, none of us were able to infiltrate the central temple, much less get any information about it. That place was too strange; no scanner or spy equipment worked there.
"The most cumbersome are those bitches hidden within the central temple; just one of them is enough to cause massive upheaval in any of the empires, and there are supposed to be thousands of them.
"If we continued with this plan, we would only have a 45% chance of succeeding, and they might drop even further since we don't know what abilities the Ocean Oracle and her successor have. If you asked me, the most powerful organization in the entire deep ocean is the Siren Hymn Temple.
"It's just that they are playing wolf in sheep's clothing. So, now that we have a chance to get out here in this damn forsaken palace and finally breathe the fresh air and bask in the real sun let's just leave here quickly.
"As for the legendary key, at least we know it's not here. And the Star Lord didn't just call us back because he gave up…" The tall one or one of the nine anonymous stars, the Anonymous Star No.1, mysteriously stated.
Anonymous Star NO.3 was greatly calmed down after Anonymous Star No.1's passionate yet calculative speech. He almost lost his reason in anger and couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Thank you for opening my eyes, Anonymous1. You are right; since we got this chance to leave this damn hell, we better take it. And what's the Star Lord up to now? He wouldn't have given up on the Ocean Oracle if he hadn't had another method more viable than this?" Anonymous Star No.3 questioned sternly, as he didn't like this at all.
"Although he didn't tell me what he's been up to, from his tone, I can deduce that he seemed very confident and even elated for someone who had just given up on the Ocean Oracle after spending so many resources.
"He just told me to leave everything and returned with everything as quickly as possible. Something huge is about to happen on the surface, so we should be ready." Anonymous Star No.1 said with an iffy look.
"Well, what can we do? Boss orders, right?" Anonymous Star No.3 chuckled bitterly before his eyes suddenly turned sharp, "But are we really going to leave just like that?"
Anonymous Star No.1 suddenly pulled a cruel smile as he meaningfully stated, "We are indeed ordered to leave, but we were not told to leave without any 'bang'. Do you feel me?"
Anonymous Star No.3 was startled for a moment before he burst into sadistic laughter, "Hahaha… then let's leave with a freaking bang; I have enough of these fanatic fish idiots!"