novelraw Chapter 336-2: Offerings for the God (2)
Chapter 336-2: Offerings for the God (2)
[You possess the Shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Primordial Hermit!]
[You pull open the sacrificial hall door. Piercing cold wind and snowflakes immediately rush in. Outside the door lie countless corpses of Ascended, not a single living creature remains.]
[Only the loud flapping of scaled wings overhead has not ceased…]
[You dash out of the sacrificial hall and let out a loud draconic roar. The horns on your head grow thicker, your body and limbs swell and expand, and a pair of gigantic dragon wings bursts out from beneath your scales on your back.]
[In the blink of an eye, you transform into a pitch-black giant dragon!]
[You beat your wings once, sweeping away the blizzard in the sky, and are just about to fly away from this place…]
[A familiar, piercing shriek booms behind you!]
[You are struck by an unknown control skill. Your flapping wings suddenly stiffen…]
[The yokai art skill The Dreamer Awakens First is triggered!]
[Your cleanse skill’s grade is lower than the enemy’s control skill…][Judging…]
[You possess the special attribute Calamitous Fallen Dragon Embryo!]
[Judgement successful. You successfully dispel the effects of the enemy’s control skill!]
[Your stiff dragon wings begin flapping again as you fly at full speed, not daring to look back as you head out of the city ruins…]
[Suddenly, a violent gale surges behind you, and snow and ice billow violently…]
[A gigantic shadow covers your flying body!]
[You look up and see a proboscis like a dragon lance pierce straight into your skull in an instant.]
[You let out a mournful cry and soon lose consciousness…]
[…]
[You are dead!]
“…Ghidorah got one-shot by Mothra. That makes no sense.”
Lin Xun could not help but complain helplessly.
He had wanted to save a bit of soul strength by running away and then come back to carry out his plan after everything reset.
He had not expected the Pilgrimage Angel to give him no chance at all. Even with good luck dispelling the control once, he still could not escape the BOSS.
In this underworld game, death was equivalent to a full reset. After respawning, he took the bus and returned to Bush Cricket City once more.
In reality, he summoned the Valkyrie and Nine-Tailed Fox, carefully reminded them of every detail, and, after confirming there were no oversights, Lin Xun returned to the game.
[…]
[You stride toward the city center. From afar, you can already see the church-like Emerald Sacrificial Ground.]
[The surroundings of the sacrificial ground are piled high with countless frenzied Ascended. The Pilgrimage Angel lies coiled atop the sacrificial ground, occasionally stabbing down its proboscis to enjoy its meal.]
Following the previous operation, Lin Xun once again summoned the Valkyrie and Nine-Tailed Fox, while he himself possessed the ‘Mightiest Mage’ Shell.
However, this time, the Valkyrie was the true main force.
His and the Nine-Tailed Fox’s job was to control the BOSS and create openings for the Valkyrie.
And the Valkyrie’s task was no longer to clear the mobs.
It was to kidnap the small monsters.
[…]
[…The Pilgrimage Angel’s two pairs of scaled wings begin flapping again. It seems about to regain consciousness and break free from the control of Soul-Seizing and Spirit-Stealing.]
[You open one pink eye. The special skill Pleasure-Hazed Sight activates!]
[The Pilgrimage Angel falls into a rigid state once more, motionless as it crouches atop the sacrificial hall.]
[The Valkyrie has already spread her wings and flown near the sacrificial hall…]
[A pitch-black tribulation cloud blankets the sacrificial hall. Brilliant purple divine thunder falls!]
[Under the Nine-Tailed Fox’s control, the divine thunder continuously crashes down, blasting most of the Ascended into charred husks, leaving only a few Ascended alive near the main door of the sacrificial hall.]
[The Valkyrie folds her wings and lands. The few surviving Ascended immediately pounce toward her…]
[The Valkyrie takes the golden longbow from her back, grips the bow, and uses the string as a blade. Her figure flits and dances lightly, and in no time, she has sliced the remaining Ascended into limbless human sticks.]
[She pushes open the door of the sacrificial hall and quickly lifts a few Ascended, tossing them inside.]
[After that, she draws the bow and looses arrow after arrow. With several sharp swishes, the Ascended are nailed firmly to the ground around the Sacrificial Cocoon…]
The Pilgrimage Angel was extremely powerful, and control skills could only hold it for a very brief duration.
The Valkyrie had moved with incredible speed. Even so, Lin Xun and the Nine-Tailed Fox had nearly drained their mana bars.
Seeing the Valkyrie complete the mission perfectly, Lin Xun switched Shells during the last window of control from the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Soul-Seizing and Spirit-Stealing and rode his sword into the sacrificial hall.
Just as he was about to recall the Nine-Tailed Fox, the underworld game displayed a notification.
[Your shikigami Origin-Tracing Nine-Tailed Fox has taken lethal damage!]
[You hurriedly look toward the outside of the sacrificial hall. Snowflakes are dancing wildly in the sky, and the Nine-Tailed Fox has fallen, seated upon the thick snow…]
[Above the woman floats the gigantic Pilgrimage Angel, its proboscis already stabbed into the Nine-Tailed Fox’s body…]
[Your shikigami Origin-Tracing Nine-Tailed Fox has died…]
[Suddenly, the Purple Lightning Soul-Guard Orb in the Nine-Tailed Fox’s hand flares with light!]
[The weapon’s Awakening effect Asura’s Wrath activates!]
[A colossal four-armed silhouette appears behind the Nine-Tailed Fox. The enraged Asura roars and swings its fist, striking the Pilgrimage Angel away.]
[Because of the weapon’s Awakening effect, your shikigami Origin-Tracing Nine-Tailed Fox successfully avoids this death and recovers all limb injuries and 50% of her HP!]
Lin Xun let out a silent sigh of relief and hurriedly recalled the Nine-Tailed Fox.
If he had been one or two seconds slower, once the Pilgrimage Angel came back for another assault, the Nine-Tailed Fox would have died again.
[You shut the door of the sacrificial hall, cutting off the raging blizzard outside.]
[The few Ascended have powerful vitality. Even without their limbs, they are still twisting their bodies with all their might, their crazed eyes locked tightly on you.]
[If not for the arrows firmly pinning them to the ground, you have no doubt they would twist their way to your feet and viciously bite you.]
[You step over the Ascended and walk forward to touch the Sacrificial Cocoon.]
[The gentle female voice rings out once more…]
[Child, are you going to sacrifice these few Ascended who have fallen into madness?]
[I must say, you are very clever. They indeed can substitute for you in completing the sacrifice. Even souls that have fallen into madness are still living souls.]
[But, unfortunately, sacrifices must be voluntary. Do they look like they are offering themselves willingly to you?]
[Only when a soul willingly sacrifices itself can the soul have a mellow, sweet taste. If you were to sacrifice them, the great god would not be pleased… Wait!]
[The female voice suddenly cuts off halfway through her words. The word ‘wait’ contains not a trace of gentleness, but instead a hint of terror?]
[After a long pause, the female voice sounds again, its tone gentle once more, as if that moment of fear was only your imagination…]
[Child, your devotion has moved it.]
[With offerings presented with such devout reverence, no matter what flavor the souls possess, my Lord will feel joy…]
[The few Ascended suddenly cease their frenzied writhing. Their bodies go rigid, and the mad light in their compound eyes goes out in an instant.]
[The Sacrificial Cocoon tells you that sacrificing these Ascended has made my Lord very satisfied.]
[According to the prior agreement, you may obtain the corresponding offerings.]
[You return to the divine pedestal. The mysterious might in front of the silver trays on the left and right sides has indeed vanished.]
[You reach out and collect the two offerings into your bag.]
[You have obtained the Sacrificial Emblem (Special Item)!]
[You have obtained Belatu’s Barbed Stinger (Legendary+ item)!]
[You reach out again, intending to touch the innermost central silver tray, but cannot approach it, blocked once more by the mysterious might.]
[The gentle female voice sounds from behind you…]
[Child, the souls you have sacrificed are only enough to exchange for those two offerings.]
[As for the third offering… Oh, allow it to introduce it first. That is the mask left behind after the death of His Highness Belatu, who once rebelled against my Lord.]
[The Guardian of the Divine Kingdom Mask itself is of transcendent (mythic) grade. Unfortunately, after being cut into two pieces, its grade fell.]
[Hmm, the other half of the broken mask is also in my Lord’s possession. As long as you can piece the mask back together, it will regain its original power.]
[According to the prior agreement, to obtain the third offering, you must sacrifice a life factor that can arouse my Lord’s interest.]
[Do you… wish to obtain the third and most precious offering?]
In that instant, Lin Xun truly understood what it felt like to make a deal with the devil.
First, it gave you a bit of sweetness. Then it presented conditions you could hardly refuse, and in exchange took something even more precious than the sweetness it had given.
“I am not falling for this crap!”