Chapter 509 - The Sacrificial Ceremony
Chapter 509:
Chapter 509 – The Sacrificial Ceremony
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“What a good sacrificial offering…” In front of the altar, Delia looked at Gunali before him and felt her enormous origin. He couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. “It’s a pity that Philip discovered first. Now, we can only split it equally…” He thought greedily.
Philip had been the one to negotiate with the Oriel family from the beginning to the end, including discovering the high-quality sacrificial offering, Gunali, which was also Philip’s first discovery. After discovering Gunali, he did not make a sound but instead, he quietly concealed the news and only revealed it now.
Of course, in Delia’s opinion, Philip was still a little too slow. If it was him, after discovering Gunali as an offering, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back and wait for anything and would have made the first move to capture Gunali regardless of the consequences. His own strength would instantly increase significantly after bringing her to the altar. At that time, even if other people around knew the news, what could they do?
Instead, Philip had failed to act when he found her. He had dragged things out for a whole year, giving Delia the chance to claim a share of the rich prize.
Delia despised Philip’s wishy-washy actions. However, there was still a smile on his face. His gaze was fixed on Gunali as if he would eat her up. Gunali shrank back in fear when she felt his gaze. At this moment, she could feel unprecedentedly intense malice from Delia, as though he wanted to swallow her alive. It was terrifying, Gunali subconsciously felt fearful.
“Don’t be afraid…” Mary seemed to have sensed something and spoke softly to Gunali and comforted her.
Gunali nodded and forced herself to look forward. At this moment, the ceremony had already begun. As time passed, they walked forward one by one in the surroundings. Waves of mournful cries came from the front, resounding just like that. Gunali subconsciously shrank her body, and a look of fear appeared on her face.
“They… What on earth are they doing?” This thought flashed through her mind subconsciously.
Under her gaze, a young-looking youth was pulled onto the altar. Following that, along with a wave of mournful screams, a thick bloody aura spread out. A human head fell to the ground. A new life had disappeared, losing all its vitality. Gunali looked at the scene in front of her and was stunned.
“Is he dead?” She muttered to herself as she looked at the corpse that silently fell before her.
After the young man’s corpse fell, things were not over yet. Under the altar’s power, the fresh corpse began to change rapidly. Flesh and blood within it quickly spread out, revealing the white bones. After that, even the white bones disappeared, turning into a pale white bone powder pile scattered on the ground. It was apparent and eye-catching. A life that was initially fresh and alive had entirely disappeared as if it had never appeared before.
This scene also gave Gunali a vivid lesson. In the past, she had never experienced what death was. This topic of death seemed to be very far-fetched for her. She had never thought that the people around her would one day be like this. In the past, Malikado had indeed protected her very well.
Yet, before her, death appeared in such a violent, vivid, and cruel way, telling her the brutal truth.
“Will I become like that?” Gunali was stunned for a long time, and then this thought flashed through her mind.
“Don’t be afraid…” In front, Mary’s voice slowly sounded.
Gunali looked forward. Mary was still standing there with a faint smile on her face. Even in the face of such a cruel scene, she didn’t seem to change her expression. She was much stronger compared to Gunali. She didn’t show any fear even when she looked at the scene in front of her.
“It will be over soon.” She looked at Gunali and said softly. As she spoke, she sighed to herself.
If one looked carefully, one could see that Mary’s hands were trembling slightly. It was evident that she was afraid of dying like this too. Most people would be like this when facing an unknown situation.
However, they still had to face what they had to face. Soon, the people in front of them stepped forward. Corpses landed on the altar one by one, and bone dust fell all over the ground. Gunali was stunned, looking at the scene before her.
In the distance, Chen Heng walked to the front of the altar and watched the sacrificial ceremony from the side without the others knowing, Keo stood beside him. He could not help but feel puzzled, looking at Chen Heng’s actions.
“Elder Philip, aren’t we going over?” Keo looked at the scene before him and could not help but say, “The ceremony has already begun. If we wait any longer, Elder Delia may go ahead with the sacrifice himself.”
The most significant part of the ceremony this time was Gunali. Based on the rhythm before him, if he did not go over after a long time, he was afraid Delia would directly send Gunali to the altar.
Although, according to the agreement in advance, this ceremony belonged to them both, half each. If one of them did not go over after a long time, they were afraid that the other party would directly end the ceremony and take away all the power generated from it. Based on Keo’s understanding of Delia, he would be capable of doing such a thing…
That was why he had grown anxious. After all, he was entitled to a portion of the power from Philip’s half of the ceremony.
Chen Heng, however, showed no sign of impatience. He stood where he was, watching Gunali in the distance. His expression did not change, but his eyes held scrutiny and anticipation.
“A carefree childhood is a wonderful thing, but everyone has to grow up eventually,” he thought. “Consider this your first lesson.”
As Chen Heng watched her, Gunali seemed to sense something. She turned toward him.
To her, he looked like an ordinary old man, wearing a robe like the people around him, his face weathered with age. The fact that he showed his face instead of wearing a mask suggested that he held a high position among them.
But that was not what caught her attention. What struck her was that, unlike everyone else around her, the man in the distance bore her no malice at all. She found it very strange.
Gunali shook her head and turned back. There were not many people left in front of her now. The boys and girls serving as sacrifices were dragged onto the altar one by one, where they screamed in agony and were reduced to dust.
Then Mary was led forward.
“It’s all right,” Mary said with a gentle smile, looking back at Gunali’s stricken face. “It won’t hurt.”
She took a deep breath and stepped forward of her own accord. Compared with the others, she was much more composed. Even now, her expression remained unchanged, as though nothing unusual were happening.
But Gunali was heartbroken as she watched Mary walk away. She remembered what had happened to the others. Their screams still echoed in her mind, refusing to fade.
Would Mary suffer the same fate? Would she die on that altar? Would the older sister who had always cared for and protected her end up like that too?
And what about Gunali herself? She would be next after Mary. Would she die as well?
“Am I... going to die?”
The thought left her suddenly despondent. For the first time in her life, she felt regret and longed for the power to change things.
If she had her father’s strength, perhaps she could change so much.
To the little girl, her father was the strongest, most formidable person in the world. She did not know that even if he came here, he would be insignificant in the eyes of the people around them.
But her desire for strength was real.
In the distance, Chen Heng sensed the change in Gunali’s thoughts. He smiled and took a few steps forward, drawing a surprised look from Keo.
“She’s finally reached this point...”
As though he could hear Gunali’s thoughts, Chen Heng smiled, gratified.
For someone like her, the obstacles to becoming strong had never been talent or resources. What she lacked was an understanding of the world and the desire to grow stronger.
Malikado had protected Gunali so well that she had never understood how precious strength was in this world. As a result, her extraordinary talent had gone to waste.
Lu Yao had once been the same. Both possessed talent among the finest in the world, yet neither had the desire to become stronger.
Now Gunali had finally awakened to that desire, and Chen Heng was pleased.
Still, pleased though he was, without outside intervention Gunali would die. Even her formidable talent could change nothing; all that would remain was a corpse.
So Chen Heng prepared to act.
With a thought from him, a faint golden light appeared on Gunali. A fragment of bone on her body began to glow.
“This is...”
Gunali seemed to sense something, and delight spread across her face. “Big Friend, is that you?”
She could feel Chen Heng’s familiar aura pouring from the fragment of bone. His familiar power blossomed, bringing with it a reassuring sense of recognition.
Rumble!
Ahead, the altar continued to operate, emitting a dim light. The grating sound of the formation filled the air.
Then, all at once, it stopped.
Mary had closed her eyes, ready for death. She accepted it calmly, standing still without screaming or showing fear.
But after waiting for a while, she felt none of the pain she had expected. Instead, warmth enveloped her body, making her feel more comfortable than ever before.
Confused, she opened her eyes and looked ahead.
A figure stood before her in the golden light: tall and clad from head to toe in golden armor, its face hidden from view. It resembled an emperor above all others, majestic and sacred, unmistakably extraordinary.
The figure was looking at Mary.
An overwhelming pressure filled the surroundings. The moment the emperor-like figure appeared, the formations stopped of their own accord. The power that had sustained them seemed to have encountered an immense obstruction; it could no longer circulate and was forcibly held in check.
Its mere appearance suppressed everything around it. Even the surrounding space seemed to freeze, and the formations could no longer function.
That power was so immense that everyone nearby was terrified.
“Are you... Gunali...?”
Feeling the figure’s gaze upon her, Mary stared in astonishment. She could sense a familiar aura, and the gaze was just like Gunali’s. Yet the figure before her was so different from the adorable little girl she knew that she could scarcely comprehend the change.
Thoughts raced through her mind, but she could not quite make sense of what was happening. The people around her were even more bewildered.
“This is...” Delia stared at the figure, at a loss for words. “Ancient Armor?”
He had witnessed Gunali’s transformation with his own eyes. Just as Mary stepped onto the altar, about to dissolve and merge with it like the others, a golden light had suddenly appeared on Gunali.
A fragment of bone emerged, and a suit of armor materialized from it. Using Gunali’s body, the armor manifested its power and assumed the form now standing before them.