A brutal, but undeniably effective, form of ritual magic.
They captured Terasque two weeks ago and ate him, while also worshipping him as a new god.
Then, they would take the hearts of the elderly in their tribe who were no longer alive, and possibly other similar members, and offer them as sacrifices to Terasque's heart.
They gain life by eating the flesh and blood of God, and at the same time, they sacrifice their lives as offerings to God.
This is a brutal ritual magic that forges a sympathetic connection through flesh, blood, and life sacrifice. Through this life-sacrificing connection, it deceives Terasqui's cells, making them believe that the demi-humans who devour them are also part of them… Ugh.
Therefore, even though Heden doesn't show any outward reaction, he is inwardly horrified.
As an expert in ancient magic, this ritual was by no means technically difficult for Hayden; it was purely a matter of mindset. But his imagination was simply too wild.
Are all your primitive magical creations this hardcore?!
Unfortunately, Hayden couldn't let his current wolf-like face reveal such thoughts. He had to play his current role well.
"Great, that's amazing magic."
So Hayden Wolf spoke up.
"Such wisdom and courage are truly commendable."
There was an unmistakable hint of sarcasm in those words, but thankfully the demi-human chieftain on the other side probably didn't notice.
“I see you sacrificing the lives of your tribal elders and returning them to your new god.”
Hayden continued,
"This makes me very curious about something. As the chief of this tribe, how long have you lived? How many elders are left in your tribe?"
There was an undeniable hint of sarcasm in those words. However, the demi-human chieftain wasn't angry; instead, he raised his head and replied to the "wolf god":
“I have lived for a full 180 months. There are indeed not many elders in the tribe who have lived for more than 300 months. But not only them, we ourselves can also offer our lives to the gods when necessary, and call upon the power of our ancestral gods and the new chief god!”
One hundred and eighty months... Ah, only fifteen years old!?
Hayden couldn't help but take another look at this burly, middle-aged demi-human—no matter how you looked at him, he was at least thirty years old!
Then, what did the chief just say about the elder's age? Three hundred months? Twenty-five years old?
He had always known that primitive tribes struggling to survive in the wilderness lived miserable lives, but he never imagined that their average lifespan had declined to this extent.
Compared to these demi-humans, even ordinary humans are probably as happy as elves, right?
So Hayden shook his wolf head and sighed dramatically, "Alas, just as I expected. The death of your ancestor was something that happened a generation or two ago to you."
The demi-human chieftain immediately frowned: "That's true, but so what?"
"That means something very important is missing from your knowledge transmission."
Hayden continued wagging his tail.
"You haven't eaten the flesh and blood of your own divine ancestor, have you? Because that was a generation ago."
After all, their mythical gorilla beast should have died seventeen years ago, and this chief is only fifteen years old.
The demi-human chieftain nodded and replied, "But this is not a big problem. Our generation has eaten the flesh and blood of the previous generation who ate the flesh and blood of the God Ancestor, and we have inherited the life of the God Ancestor in our flesh and blood!"
噫
Even Eric, who was hovering behind Hayden, looked quite grim.
The ancestors of these demi-humans devoured the corpse of the Great Ape Beast God. Then, each generation devours the corpse of their predecessor. In this way, they inherit the life of the god! And so the lineage continues endlessly, generation after generation!
How reasonable! Absolutely brilliant!
Fortunately, at this point, a crazy ritual like "eating one's father" is no longer enough to scare Hayden a second time.
"That's truly impressive, but you must have lost some power and knowledge in the process of passing it down, right?"
He calmly stated that he maintained the atmosphere and control of the conversation by adopting the demeanor of a wolf god.
"Although the rituals of blood and flesh inheritance can transmit some knowledge, the amount is ultimately too small to compare with the oral and personal teaching between living people."
If one could seize most of one's power and knowledge simply by eating corpses, everyone would have followed suit and eaten their ancestors long ago, instead of relying on education and learning.
"Moreover, you did not directly eat the flesh of the God Ancestor to obtain the inheritance, but indirectly by devouring your fathers. Losses during the transmission process are inevitable, and you will inevitably pass on the 'bad' things in the flesh and blood to each generation. So your bodies began to show more and more malignant mutations and more obstacles—am I right?"
The demi-human chieftain indeed fell silent.
Hayden was certainly right.
These crazy primitives devoured people with such cannibalistic magic. Although their imagination is truly terrifying, they still had to abide by the basic principles of witchcraft. There would inevitably be a great deal of loss in the process. No matter what, it would be impossible for them to inherit 100% of the power of the person they ate, let alone their knowledge.
Conversely, the curses, resentments, and contamination remaining in the flesh and blood will gradually accumulate and settle during the ritual of eating. Therefore, the degree of mutation in these demi-humans will only be more severe than that of the previous generation, and the next generation will be even more severe, until there is nowhere left for them to fall.
Undoubtedly, this is a literal interpretation of drinking poison to quench thirst.
The demi-human chieftain before him didn't seem truly stupid. Even if Hayden, disguised as the giant wolf god, hadn't said it, he probably knew it perfectly well.
"I came to your tribe today to discuss your new chief god with your ancestor. I never imagined that your ancestor was no longer here."
Hayden, having said this, deliberately turned to look at the chunk of Terasque's heart in the middle of the village.
"You say it is your new supreme god? Then, do you know who it is, where it comes from, and what kind of god it is?"
In this way, Hayden had completely seized control of the conversation.
However, although the Naa chieftain's momentum was overwhelmed by Hayden, he did not completely back down and still held his head high: "Of course we know. He is the god of purification and regeneration!"
……ah?
Regeneration is easy to talk about, but when did Terasque become related to purification?
Hayden was somewhat taken aback, but outwardly remained calm, simply waving his paw: "Interesting, how did you know?"
“That’s what we saw with our own eyes twenty days ago on the wasteland.”
The subhuman chief proudly said,
“We saw Him walking freely across the barren land, with servants attending to Him. Wherever He walked, plants grew again, water became clean, the sunlight and weather became mild and comfortable, and even those terrible beasts were transformed into never-before-seen, delicious food!”
Huh? What the heck?
Regenerating plants? Purifying water sources? Improving the environment? And turning polluted monsters into food?
Where did Terasque get this ability?
Hayden momentarily wondered if these primitive people had truly gone mad, to the point of seeing strange hallucinations. Fortunately, careful consideration of what they were saying was a good habit of a wizard.
servant?
Yes, he just mentioned servants.
In fact, the person who commissioned Hayden and his team to find the missing Terasque pet was not an executive of Smoke Mirror Company, but rather her assistant who was in charge of taking care of the pet.
In the blink of an eye, Hayden understood everything, and was speechless.
Think about it carefully, what kind of divine power would a Protoss executive assistant use to "walk" a pet as big as Terasque in the wilderness?
It's nothing more than purifying the surrounding pollution for Terasque, creating a suitable environment, and preparing delicious food!
So Hayden was practically cursing through his mind – did these primitives actually mistake the divine power wielded by the god's assistant who was walking Terasque's dog for Terasque's own divine power?
This misunderstanding... seems quite reasonable. After all, everyone calls pet owners "poop scoopers," hehe!
“We asked Him to become our new God and to bestow His gifts upon us, but He refused.”
The demi-human chieftain, unaware of Hayden's inner thoughts, continued speaking.
"Therefore, we had no choice but to use force to invite Him to our tribe and to make Him our new chief god."
"He has not yet bestowed upon us the divine power of those previous miracles, but He has already shared His life with us. I believe that as long as we persevere in our devout sacrifices, we will eventually move Him and receive even more divine power!"
Did His devout offering move Him?
Hayden was almost speechless.
If Terasque were still capable of thinking, he would definitely be cursing your ancestors in his heart!
This explains many of the previous mysteries. These primitive people were indeed quite capable, managing to "steal" Terasque right under the noses of the gods (even if they were only low-ranking ones). However, there are many ancient legends of mortals stealing the gods' treasures when they weren't looking, so it's not entirely surprising that something similar has happened again. It just shows how bold and resourceful these primitive people were.
However, the fate of mortals who steal the treasures of the gods is generally clearly stated in the story.
"You've got it completely wrong."
So Hayden shook his enormous wolf head from side to side.
"That is not a god of purification, nor any kind of deity on this barren land."
That was indeed a bit too direct. Not to mention the chieftain of the demi-humans, even the other demi-humans looked at Hayden with extreme shock and suspicion upon hearing his words.
However, Hayden now appears to be a so-called "Beast God," so they haven't rushed to do anything to him yet. But the atmosphere immediately froze, and the demi-human chieftain's face darkened, seemingly prepared to go to war with Hayden if necessary.
For these demi-humans, as long as the sacrifices aren't too great, risking everything to kill Hayden would be a worthwhile endeavor. Because if they killed this "wolf god," they'd have a third god to devour!
Unfortunately, this only reflects just how unreliable their ideas are.
"The reason this giant beast you captured displayed such purifying divine power is simply because the gods favored it! It's only because the gods bestowed upon it a little bit of power!"
So Hayden said loudly, "Explain it as simply and clearly as possible to every subhuman in this tribe."
"You have stolen the gods' pets! Do you know what the consequences will be? I came here to tell you this in order to prevent the gods from bringing disaster upon you!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt. Every weaned demi-human in the entire tribe was horrified.
God! ?
Even the demi-human tribes wandering the wasteland know what a god is!
They are the most brutal gods in the world! They unleash endless curses and calamities upon the world!
All demi-humans know this story—long, long ago, their ancestors were too lazy or arrogant, and failed to complete the tasks assigned by the gods or offer them enough sacrifices, which ultimately angered the gods!
It was because of the wrath of the gods that the ancestors of the demi-humans were driven out of the wonderful paradise and banished to the desolate earth, homeless or hidden in the deep mountains and forests, tormented by poverty, hunger and pollution, living in constant fear!
The new main god they've brought back turns out to be a pet of a celestial being!?
"You have stolen the treasures of the gods; destruction will surely befall every one of your people!"
Hayden continued loudly, saying that he was less like a white wolf god and more like a prophet delivering divine pronouncements.
"Quickly return this beast, and perhaps you will still have a chance to live!"
The tribe of demi-humans had not seen a talking god for seventeen years, not to mention that most of them did not live to their twenties, and had never seen a giant beast god roaring divine pronouncements at them.
Moreover, Hayden was talking about gods!
Is the wrath of the gods about to descend?!
All the demi-humans trembled with fear, their faces filled with terror!
"……no."
However, the demi-human chieftain still said that.
"We have nowhere to retreat, it's too late."
He almost fell to the ground, barely managing to regain his balance, his words filled with bitterness and despair.
"The curse that the gods have cast upon the wasteland is more vicious than ever before, and the storms of calamity are becoming more and more violent. If we do not rely on the blessings of the Beast God, we will not be able to find enough food, and the entire tribe will starve to death and will not be able to survive this storm."
His voice was low and desperate.
"Should we look for other food sources now? Or trade with other tribes or the 'elves' in the fairy realm? It's too late to gather food at this time. Other tribes also have no surplus food. As for the 'elves' in the fairy realm's barrier, we no longer have enough relics to entice them to trade."
"The wrath of the gods is indeed terrifying, but it cannot compare to hunger itself. We have all experienced the taste of hunger."
"Great Wolf God, thank you for your guidance. It's a pity that although the earth is vast and boundless, we have nowhere to retreat. We either eat the flesh and blood of the Beast God or starve to death."
"We have no other choice."
115: The End of the Pastoral Era
No choice?
After hearing what the demi-human chieftain said, Hayden immediately understood.
The current situation is both simple and complex for Hayden to resolve.
The simplest way, of course, is to feed them directly. A year's supply of industrially synthesized food wouldn't cost Hayden much, enough to directly exchange for the Terrasque they possess.
There are only twenty or thirty households here, and these demi-humans obviously won't complain no matter what food you buy for them. Even if you gave them a year's supply of soybean protein porridge that even Hayden found unpalatable, the demi-humans would probably accept it with gratitude—synthetic food that city dwellers might despise is still real food for the demi-humans.
Hayden isn't really that poor. Surely his savings can't afford to feed this tribe for six months or a year? Surely he can't afford those meager, rations?