Chapter 199: Chapter 198:Departure Grounds.

"Welcome, visitors, to our holy temple."

The light cleared as we finally arrived at what should be the Lankesh Holy Temple.

And as expected, we were received by the resident monks here.

What to say? I wasn’t really surprised by the fact that they were bald, in kasaya’s of different colors, with prayer beads either in their hands or around their necks.

They were currently bowing in welcome so I couldn’t really make out their faces and what not, but the one thing I did notice, was the fact that Malachi was somehow trying to make himself smaller.

That got my attention, but before I could ask anything, the monks rose..

"Humble patrons , we humbly welcome you to.." they froze the moment their eyes landed on the monkey, and I could see a variety of emotions flash through their eyes.

Rage.

Embarrassment.

Resentment.

Revenge.

I turned towards Malachi, the monkey had turned away from the group of monks, suddenly finding something very interesting with the ceiling..

Yet, before I could inquire..

"BITCH!!!" One of the monks yelled.

Yup. You heard me right, a monk fucking cussed..

"It’s one of this fucking monkeys!!"

Another one added..

"Hey, hey, hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.." Malachi tried defending himself..

"Motherfucker!!! Get him!!!"

The monks weren’t listening, they immediately jumped him..

"Alright, fuck this shit! You guys think I don’t mind beating your ass again? Come at me!!" The monkey instantly multiplied himself, the handicap being flipped in one move as he laid a horrible beat down on the group of monks, meanwhile..

"Since when do monks cuss?" I asked the miniature figure atop my head..

Leo, who had shrunk to this diminutive size, answered in a bored tone, "the monks from lankesh aren’t exactly what you would call othordox by any means."

"Huh? What’s that mean?"

"It means don’t expect them to go around saying amitabha left and right, if you’re soft, they’ll walk all over you."

"What kind of shitty monks are they?"

"They’re called renegades by other temples, what did you expect??"

Before I could answer, a satisfied sigh reached my ears..

"Ahhh... that’s the good stuff, a good old monk beat down to satisfy the nerves." I took my attention from the diminutive figure atop my head, turning toward the monkey..

"What did you do to them?" I couldn’t help it..

All around him were strewn bodies of bald, limp figures..

"Heh.. these baldies thought they could finally get the jump on me? Had to remind them of who the true big boss is, hump!" Malachi snorted proudly, only to pale as a massive palm grabbed hold of his face..

"My, my, little Malachi has gotten quite strong and now he’s not putting his dear old uncle in his eyes!" An aged voice sounded from behind the monkey as my eyes widened..

I hadn’t felt anything, in fact, if I weren’t looking at the man, I wouldn’t believe there was someone there.

A tall, bald old man had suddenly appeared behind Malachi like he’d always been there, the humble, gentle look one would expect from an elder monk being nowhere to be found, as the man had a jagged scar running from his forehead to his chin, his prayer beads were wrapped around his burly arms, a massive axe that seemed twice his size hung diagonally behind him as his aura felt less holy and more bloodthirsty...

"Uncle.. uncle killer, nice.. nice to see you."

Killer.. a monk, bearing the name killer.

Now I’ve seen it all..

"Humph. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today." The monk, killer, dropped Malachi like a sack of potatoes as he released his aura, snapping the collapsed monks awake..

"Ugh.."

"My head.."

"That bastard monkey didn’t hold back..."

The disoriented monks whined and groaned as their consciousness returned slowly..

"You... DISAPPOINTMENTS!!!!!" The entire place shook violently as monk killer(still feels weird) yelled..

The young monks immediately held their heads as their consciousness threatened to wink out once more...

"All of you, against one fucking monkey, and what did you do?? NOTHING!!! YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!!!!!" Honestly it felt like the place was going to collapse if the man kept yelling...

"Seems I’ll have to double your training time since most of you have gotten lazy.. don’t worry, I’ll be sure to send word to your senior brothers at Aeternum, let’s see what they do to you guys upon their return." At those words, the young monks immediately paled..

"Uncle killer, no!"

"Please! Anything but that!!"

"Jaice! Crusher! Cannibal! No.. please no!! Somebody help!!!!"

The youths were losing their minds.

It would seem whoever these senior bothers were, they were a bit(a lot) more terrifying than even the giant of a man known as monk killer..

"Humph.. then I suggest you start showing results, those bastard monkeys are planning another raid, it’s up to you to stop them, if you don’t..." the old monk killer let his sentence end with an eerie smile that sent the youths scrambling, each one making haste to begin training...

....

....

"Well.. that was... something." I had no words.

My first few minutes within the western continent and I was already floored by the happenings here...

"Don’t mind the little details.. you must be Dante." Monk killer extended his hand for a greeting..

I looked at the massive arm, then back at the hulking man, sure he was shorte than me, but the presence he exuded made that easy to ignore..

"Yes, I am!" I gripped the man’s hand, shaking it firmly.

Far be it from me to refuse a greeting...

"Hahahahahaha!!! Good! You’ve got a spine! I like you already!"

"Hehe.. of course you do, that’s my best friend afterall all." The monkey decided to chip in his own little detail, expression proud like that of a peacock..

Booom!!!

A punch connected with his skull, so fast the monkey had already been planted into a wall before the explosion even sounded out..

"Did I ask for your opinion, you stupid brat?"

"Ughh...."

Damn... was the only language they spoke here violence? Cause if it was, then I might just decide to move in..

.....

....

"Valen has already briefed me on why you three are here." We were currently walking down a very wide hallway, making our way toward what he’d called the departure grounds, as he spoke up.

"And I must say, a C-rank warrior and beastman going up against THOSE THINGS, if it wasn’t for the fact that valen himself had approved, I would’ve called you fools." The man’s face had gone solemn..

"Uncle, you know about those things?" Malachi asked..

"Know? Those things have already caused damages to my Lankesh Temple, more than 15 young ambitious monks having fallen to them." I could hear the sorrow in their voices..

"If it wasn’t for the fact that both valen and the abbot seem to have agreed that it would be a perfect testing ground for the younger generation, I would’ve wiped out those abominations myself!" A baleful aura leaked out from the man as we finally arrived before a set of double doors..

"We’re here." The old man stepped forward as he pushed the doors open.

My eyes opened wide in pure excitement as my gaze fell on the beautiful things behind the doors..

Forget humble vehicles, ox ladden carriages, flying mats or any of that monk bullshit.

What stood behind the doors were sleek, massive yet aerodynamic galleons, ones so far superior to those I’d seen in the eastern domain that even comparing them would’ve been insulting...

Seeing our awestruck expressions, the monk smiled, as he spread his arms wide..

"Welcome, to our departure grounds, your true mission starts... HERE!"

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A/N: come on, we’re heading towards the big bad, I’ve gotta milk it..

who was the guy that said I should change my name to Author cliffhanger again? Hahahahaha....

2/3

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Thanks for reading...z