Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 911 - 139: Temple of Ice and Snow

The cold wind moaned as it swept across the wasteland, kicking up fine ice crystals mixed with dust that whirled in the air, echoing like smoke on the barren land.

Gradually, the outline of an ancient building emerged from the sandstorm, with the broken tower gate resembling a giant's fractured ribs, slanting between the yellow sand and snow.

The originally gilded lintel was now adorned with ice crystals forming inverted clusters of thorns, glinting with eerie blue light in the twilight.

Twelve massive pillars stood solitary, with the dome they once supported long gone, leaving only fragments of carved giant stones on the ground, buried by sand and frozen by snow.

The meticulously carved reed motifs had been gnawed blurred by sand and wind, leaving only incomplete outlines.

Scattered on the ground lay fragments of blue and azure glazed tiles, with golden scarab beetle designs now frozen by snow.

"Regent, this is a mythological temple relic. Judging by the architectural style and remaining reliefs, it dates back to the Third Dynasty, three thousand years ago," the scholar recruited from the Desert Kingdom cautiously held a yellowing parchment scroll, his frostbitten fingers trembling slightly as he pointed to the mottled inscriptions at the temple's entrance.

"The particular divinity worshipped is no longer traceable, but judging from these snowflake motifs and ice crystal patterns..." The scholar adjusted his frost-covered monocle, his voice quivering slightly from the cold: "Previous archaeologists speculated it might be a goddess governing the realm of ice and snow. Look, on this broken pillar remains engravings resembling the hem of a deity's garment."

Perfikot noticed the scholar's thin linen robe was worn shiny, yet he maintained that characteristic scholarly rigor.

This reminded her of the past glory of these desert scholars, when they fared reasonably well before the apocalyptic winter.

Researching the ancient past of the Desert Kingdom used to be a prominent field; those clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform, gem-encrusted golden amulets, and pottery painted with mysterious totems could fetch astonishing prices in aristocratic collections.

As the apocalyptic winter descended, nobles themselves barely survived, who then cared about these ancient objects that neither fed nor clothed them? The once bustling Archaeological Association was now piled with snow, its diligently preserved artifacts gathering dust in the warehouse.

Consequently, the life of these scholars became arduous; many had to seek alternate livelihoods, while some tragically died from cold and hunger.

The scholar before Perfikot was relatively quick on his feet.

When the signs of the apocalyptic winter first appeared, while other colleagues fretted over dwindling research funds, he sharply sensed the shift in tides, decisively pledging allegiance to a tribal chief with a peculiar inclination toward the ancient gods.

This chieftain was obsessed with mythical era rituals, avidly collecting relics and texts related to the Old Gods.

The scholar, with his solid expertise and exceptional memory, quickly secured a foothold in the chieftain's court, even becoming one of his most trusted advisors.

Unexpectedly, at the chieftain's request, he managed to piece together the Desert Kingdom's worship rituals for the Ancient Gods from scattered writings and fragmented murals.

After months of trials, they succeeded in awakening some long-dormant divine favor.

Though faint, it was enough to prove his research wasn't just talk.

Indeed, he was a scholar of genuine talent and knowledge, unlike those who merely boasted deceitfully.

Unfortunately, his luck was quite poor.

The chieftain, having awakened the divine favor, grew ambitious and seized the opportunity of the apocalyptic winter to rebel against the Empire's rule.

In the end, the chieftain, still dreaming his fantasies, was beheaded by Empress Annie, patrolling the Empire's colonies, using a divinely empowered Knight personally created by Perfikot.

As the chieftain's confidant, the scholar was inevitably implicated, thrown into the cold dungeon of the colonial fortress.

If not for the interrogator discovering his possession of valuable ancient knowledge, he would have long been hanged with other rebels outside the fortress gallows.

Now, with Perfikot needing to find the Ice and Snow Goddess's relics, the scholar was pulled from prison by the Governor, cleaned of grime, given a barely presentable old robe, and handed to Perfikot as an advisor and guide.

Under his guidance, Perfikot didn't expend much effort before finding the Ice and Snow Goddess temple she sought.

Although it might not be the exact temple she initially intended to find, though the entire temple had resigned to ruins under the erosion of sand and time, they indeed found it.

Entering the temple, the deity's statue on the right side that should have been in the shrine was half-collapsed, wearing a red crown symbolizing sovereignty, but the statue's features had long been worn smooth by sand and wind, rendering it unrecognizable.

The statue's crown was covered in frost, lending the idol an aura of oddness and absurdity.

On the statue's pedestal, surviving hieroglyphs loomed faintly in the mixed dim light, though they were hardly discernible, with other parts eroded by sand leaving only battered remains.

The howling winds, shattered like flying snow, swept yellow sand around the temple with the sound through corridors and ruins resembling the most piercing wails.

In the temple's backyard, a half-buried obelisk in the snow originally carved with epic praises of divinity now had its gold-foil top decorations long vanished.

Only the holes where gems would have been embedded remained on the obelisk, like eyes gouged out, blankly staring at anyone who met its gaze.

"Make rubbings of all the murals and inscriptions here," Perfikot instructed her team, also advising: "Carefully search around, see if there's any secret room or mechanism."

Perfikot's crew dispersed swiftly, each beginning their busy work.

Despite the bitter cold and harsh environment, many had their hands frostbitten and unable to extend, yet they worked diligently, carefully rubbing charcoal pencils on paper over the wall murals and inscriptions.

Though the work was not easy, the rewards offered by Perfikot ensured efficiency.

Perfikot herself walked through the temple, occasionally tapping her staff around, seemingly seeking something.

Outside the temple, a small camp rose rapidly from the ground, suggesting they intended to stay for a while.

To support the temple's archaeology, Perfikot even specially designed a small mobile energy tower, now gradually being erected.