Adrian could still feel the eyes gazing upon them just before entering the actual temple. He feels that the person or entity that is gazing towards them has hostile intentions, but it stopped when they reached the inside of the temple. He is still a bit wary as anything could happen as long as the Goddess Bastet is still in the mortal realm.
When they entered the temple, all the priests of the Temple of Bastet bowed in reverence for the coming of their goddess. The High Priests are even bawling their eyes out as they could see their goddess in the flesh. The priests of the Temple of Bastet heavily leaned more towards the feminine side as male followers opt to become what they call as Golden Warriors.
The Golden Warriors are the elite troops of a god or goddess in the western continent. It is just a collective term which is why they often attach the name of the god or goddess they serve to differentiate them from others. In the case of the Temple of Bastet, her great warriors are called the Bastet Golden Warriors.
They earned the moniker of Golden Warriors because they tend to wear armor that is plated in Great Gold. Great Gold is an ore mined only in the western continent that is different from normal gold as it is ten times more conductive towards magic. It is a great material to infuse in armors to add a layer of magic protection and spells.
It is also an ore that can hardly be mined as it is extremely scarce. This is the reason why only the elite warriors of each temple could wear armor plated in Great Gold. For armors that is almost entirely made of Great Gold, only a handful of individuals have them such as God Avatars and emperors of the Western Continent.
For the Temple of Bastet, there are twenty Golden Warriors which is extremely respectable. The reason for this is the fact that the other side of the temple is the Ceaseless Desert where Great Gold could be mined. The Temple of Bastet also controls a small mine in the Ceaseless Desert where Great Gold could be mined which as well is why they could arm twenty warriors with them.
"Rise my children. It greatly pleases me that I can actually see you in my own body rather than possessing my avatar. Although a reunion is greatly appreciated, I need your help my children." The Goddess Bastet stated.
"What ever the Goddess Bastet needs, we your loyal children shall follow. The Great Mother has always been guiding us and helping us all our life. This is the greatest time where we can actually help you instead." Estet stated as she clasped the hands of the Goddess Bastet.
"Thank you, children, but the favor I am asking you will definitely be burdensome. I need your help in ascending to the Divine Realm as I have been trapped here for quite a while since I used all of my energy in creating the World Barrier. I need your help to recover to restore my divinity to its peak." The Goddess Bastet stated.
"Anything for our Goddess! We shall pray until we can even send you to the highest of the Divine Realms." Estet stated as she immediately told every follower of the Temple of Bastet to enter and prepare a great ceremony.
"Thank you, my children. Just do your best and do not exert yourselves too much to the point that all of you become exhausted. I cherish all of you like my children which is why doing your best is enough for me." The Goddess Bastet stated which made all the follower that she has cry.
Adrian looked at each of the followers to see if anyone of them could become a traitor should the need arises but all of them are practically exerting the same divine energy that the Goddess Bastet has. Adrian sighed with relief as he can feel a bit at ease inside the Temple of Bastet as no one would try and kill the Goddess Bastet inside.
"The problem would be if they break in and take her here. The blessings that she can give is limited in the mortal realm as she only has a body of a demigod. She did not tell her followers that their blessings have weakened a bit because of the fact that she is in the mortal plane. She is recovering quite fast though as other people started praying to her after the World Barrier protection." Adrian thought as Sirius suddenly alerted him.
"Master, it seems that there are a few people prowling outside the temple. What should I do?" Sirius stated via their soul link.
"Stay put for now as Kimat is there in the front door guarding the entrance. I also deployed Charon as well to stay hidden from sight." Adrian stated.
"If you are talking about Kimat then he is currently being frisky with one of the sphinxlets." Sirius stated as he used one of his shadow tendrils to slap Kimat's butt cheek to make sure that he is doing his duty.
Adrian could only laugh at that statement as there were a lot of sphinxlets that were practically throwing themselves at Kimat when they entered. It seems that it is the season of mating for them, and Kimat is a great specimen of the feline genus. He somehow feels proud that Kimat is actually getting a lot of attention.
"Just make sure that your little brother is doing his job and not lazing about." Adrian stated which Sirius seriously adhered to.
"As I have said, this is Champion Equinox. He is the Champion of the Twin Gods and an esteemed guest at our temple. Treat him as you treat me because he made use of his time to escort me here. We should show him the hospitality that one needs." The Goddess Bastet stated as she introduced Adrian.
"As the goddess commands!" All of the followers stated as they gave a bow towards them.
"High Priestess Estet! We have an emergency!" One of the priests stated as she suddenly bolted towards them.
"Although you are disrespectful, I shall pardon you since the Goddess herself is not troubled by your attitude. Speak! Why did you destroy such a blissful atmosphere." Estet stated as her demeanor suddenly changed from what Adrian saw earlier.
"She is just like mother when we are in front of other people. Scary!" Adrian thought to himself as he gulped.
"There is a large horde of monsters trying to climb the great gorge from the Ceaseless Desert. It is ten times bigger than the horde that attacked us before." The priest stated as he asked the Goddess Bastet to forgive her rude behavior.
"No worries, my child. You are only doing what your sacred duty entails. I hope that everyone can follow his example." The Goddess Bastet stated.
"Forgive me, my goddess. It seems that we shall need to postpone the ceremony for later as we have an urgent problem. We shall plan for the defense of the gorge. Please enjoy your stay here in the temple as one of the Golden Warriors shall be your aid for the time being." Estet stated as she gathered all of the High Priests for the defense plan.
"Are you not going to tell them that they will have a much more difficult time now that you are here in the mortal realm? You cannot easily send out blessings like when you are in the divine realm." Adrian stated via telepathy as a lot of her followers might get gravely wounded or even die.
"Which is why I am asking you this, Champion Equinox. Can you help me to make sure that my children are safe?" The Goddess Bastet replied.
"Fighting with a goddess is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I shall accept your offer. I am also curious on the monsters of the Ceaseless Desert." Adrian answered but he is just doing this because he has been itching to fight ever since he saw the Sand Guardians fight.
"Nakia, my child. Show me and our guest to the great gorge." The Goddess Bastet stated which shocked the Golden Warrior as he did not expect that the first request that the goddess wants is go to the danger zone.
"Yes, my goddess. I can do that but please stand behind me as I shall protect you with all my soul." Nakia stated as he could not really say no to the very goddess that he prays to and serves.
"Do not worry, my child. I shall only be standing back and observe as a mother must not let their children go to danger without even arming them with protection. Our guest is also rather aching for a battle and would like to help you as well at my behest." The Goddess Bastet stated with a lovely and warm smile.
"She even has the same persuasion abilities as my mother. Scary indeed." Adrian thought as he followed them.