Blood tax

Chapter 223 The Hungry Archaeologist
It was long ago, when the conquerors of Bajaran fought in the mountains, seas and deserts, and took a large territory.However, there were not enough supporters in the newly conquered territory, and the local officials and garrisons gradually retreated into several separate fortresses, worrying about the deadly enemy outside every day.

How to do it?No matter how powerful Byelan's army is, it is impossible to conjure farmers, loggers, miners, and construction workers from the magic bottle!
At this time, a group of Bayeran scholars appeared.They are graduate students of Archeology, History and Occult at the Higher Academy, protected by a large group of armed mercenaries, and with the help of local guides, they go to heaven and earth, explore eerie tombs and lost temples, and collect demons. Skulls and artifacts from ancient shipwrecks.They spent days and nights deciphering the writings and patterns on steles and vessels, but they didn't expect to find large sums of gold and silver treasures from their expeditions.

Soon, archaeologists opened up a picture of local society and folk culture for the authorities.

They thoroughly and fully grasped the social habits of the conquered lands, and then by correctly using these norms, relying on a powerful legion to provide credit endorsement and a little material support, the explorers began to make friends with the local people, deeply involved in local political practices and A social practice that engages the local population to serve the interests of Bayerand when necessary.

Galadia shook her slender fingers and said, "Adventures are not for fun. Homenworth has guided us to adapt to the dangers from the very beginning. The above Miss de La Mole is an example. In fact, she is not It wasn’t a honeymoon trip without going crazy on the totems of the ancient tribes. The story got a little bit off in the air.”

"Oh, what is the truth?" Griffith asked curiously.

Leaning on his shoulder, the elf narrated with great interest:

"There is a settlement of Palpatians and trolls. The two races are hostile to each other, and they are fierce and warlike. Bayeran is competing with the orcs for control of the southern continent, so they started a tug-of-war on their territory The humans in Palpatia supported Byelan, and the trolls naturally stood on the side of the orcs.

"The countess explored the local historical context and found the remains of an ancient civilization. By interpreting ancient texts, she proved to the local people and the troll clan that they shared a common ancestor long, long ago. As long as the ancient and dangerous The trial, the trialer can become the common queen of the two races, bringing peace to both parties."

"Is that okay?" Griffith asked in surprise, "There should be blood feuds among the locals that cannot be resolved, how could they be united together."

Miss Elf nodded in agreement:

"Of course it's not that simple. However, the fact that two local tribes were involved in a regular war between major powers is no small feat, and they should be almost exhausted, right? The national strength of Bayeran and the orcs can certainly continue to fight , the uncivilized locals can't stand it.

"Thus, Miss Countess' discovery gave an opportunity for both sides to truce. As long as someone can stand up and pass the test, both sides can declare internally that it's not that our warriors are not brave enough, but that the noble ancestors are watching We~"

"Oh—! So..."

"That's why Countess Elena de La Mole stepped forward and decided to complete the trial!"

"Hey, why is she qualified?"

"Naturally, it's because she found such and such ancient records in the ruins, allowing the leaders of the Palpatians to grant her the qualifications to participate in the trials. For example, she is the reincarnation of many generations of the great queen!"

"I see." Griffith chuckled, "I can probably imagine the scene at that time. For the superiors of the tribe, this is indeed an excuse to appease and suppress the militant faction."

"Yes, yes, do you know the power of archaeology?" Galadia patted his thigh, "Then, the current earl who served as the guard was sent up, in the arena surrounded by poisonous snakes and flames A duel with the warriors of the trolls. The countess and the testers of the troll family are isolated on the high totem, and the loser will be burned to death.

"This is Nazak, the sacrifice of ascension in the ancient world! The winner dominates, and the loser perishes."

"It sounds quite romantic. At that time, Sutoral, Knight William finally won the victory, saved his own countess, and lived happily ever after. It is really a good story. It can be used to write a novel. Now," Griffith looked forward to, "Why are you so clear?"

"Because Tidwig came to support him and joined the duel. She told me."

"I didn't expect someone to join the duel." Griffith thought for a while, and felt that the southern race's duel system was quite unique.

"It is said that the scene at that time was very critical. The earl was almost beaten to death, and Tidwig was also suppressed. Fortunately, Roland arrived in time."

Griffith couldn't help admiring repeatedly: "Three against three, it's interesting. So they all know each other! After all, the warriors of the trolls must be extraordinary heroes who can fight against legendary figures like them. If I Just be there."

"That's right, trolls are also very powerful. At that time, the Earl of William Knight and his friends regrouped with the help of Earl Chalon and Fiona's father..."

"Why are there more and more people?"

"The brutal battle lasted from daytime to sunset. Finally, Cornelia, later the Countess of Chalon, joined the battle with light cavalry. A decisive attack was launched from the rear..."

"Hey, hey!" Griffith felt that his IQ was insulted, "What kind of duel is this?"

This statement cannot be recognized by the talented girl in Homemonwatts.Galadia pinched the ear of his bad student, and said solemnly: "You wooden man is so stubborn, people have their own system here, if you don't agree, it means you don't respect the local customs and culture, and you won't be a good archaeologist in the future of!"

"Yes, yes, you are right," Griffith repeatedly reviewed, "and then?"

"Then, Miss Elena de La Moore finally became the winner of the Ascension Rite!"

"Oh—!" Griffith exclaimed, "I almost forgot that this is the Countess's trial."

Miss Elf smiled and thumped him: "With her efforts, the locals and trolls finally let go of their fighting, killed the orc's envoy, withdrew from the war, and stopped the supply of soldiers and supplies to the orc."

"This ending is quite reasonable, it's really a masterpiece of an intelligence officer!" Griffith said with some longing, and suddenly, he thought of a question, "Wait a minute, in this way, wouldn't the Countess also be in charge of that piece of land?" Queen? How big is that place? Is Sonia also entitled to succession?"

Galadia shook her head, "According to ancient traditions and records, the queen is to be sacrificed to the gods."

"This, this ancient record is really convenient~"

"Well, then the Countess and her friends escaped from the local tribe and fled back to Bayeran. The war is over, and the Countess and her knights lived happily ever after!"

……

After a few hours of rest, everyone regained a little strength.Sonia came to her senses and kept apologizing for causing trouble to everyone.

Living in the dark space of the underground ruins makes it a little difficult to distinguish between day and night, and everyone is more or less restless and uneasy.

The good news is that Bessarius and the horrible monster did not catch up; the bad news is that there is not much food left.Griffith collected all the dry food and found only a few biscuits, chocolate and a few raisins left.These things were distributed to the three girls, and there was nothing left in the blink of an eye, and everyone would be hungry if they couldn't find food for the next meal.

Action must be taken immediately.

Although you don't have a complete map here, and you can't see the whole terrain, but mystics don't rely entirely on their eyes.

Galadia and Sonia performed divination successively, and the contents of the divination were "safe way to leave the ruins" and "safe food source" respectively.The divination results were completely consistent, and they all pointed to a towering pyramid-shaped building in the distance.There must be important clues there.

Under the light of the starry sky, the strange city is like a mysterious place in a dream, and it seems that every fork and corner leads to the unknown taboo world.

"Griffith, look at these fossils," Sonia stopped suddenly, picking up some puzzling small stones from the ground, "this phalanx is obviously from an amphibian reptile, and the Belomon Swamp is In the ancient times, it was more vast, and there were huge monitor lizards and sub-dragons, and the age can be distinguished from its phalanx."

Griffith acted as if he could understand.

Fiona began to criticize her: "Sonia, if you can't control your curiosity any longer, I, I will knock you out!"

"But, look here, these exquisite geometric structures, and, well, these are pottery fragments, which should be left by the builders of the ruins, and they are about to merge with the rock walls. The civilization of the aborigines here The degree is definitely not low." Sonia's eyes sparkled, and she began to say inexplicable words again.

"We can't stay here too long," Griffith interrupted her gently.In the murky underworld of this mad swamp, anyone should be careful with their imaginations.

"Ah, that's right," Sonia hurriedly put the fossils into the small bag, "I was just thinking, where did the builders of this magnificent city go? There is no record of them in history, as if civilization never as if it didn’t exist.”

……

Everyone came to the entrance of a tunnel according to the route indicated by the divination.Here is the bottom of the tall pyramid, and smooth stone steps lead to the deep underground.There are exquisite carvings on the walls on both sides of the entrance. Many places have been mottled and peeled off, but they are still overall intact. It can be seen that the former owner here was a humanoid creature.

Here, everyone was horrified to discover the "safe food" that Sonia divination.

The mutilated human corpses dressed up by several expedition members were scattered on the ground not far away.Their heads were decapitated, and their bones, fat, and tissue were separated from the corpses like steaks.Most of the intestines and the cut and separated flesh and blood tissue disappeared, leaving small pieces of minced meat, useless hair, and bones.

Something did it in the most cold and inhuman way possible, like a housewife shopping for dinner at the market, taking away the fattest bits of meat and offal.

There are still a small amount of salt and pepper left on the ground-should be found from the supplies of the expedition team-this can't help but make everyone have extremely terrifying associations.

Judging from the blood and drag marks on the ground, something tried to move the corpse into the burrow, but gave up halfway for some reason.

Near the pile of meat, a notebook was left behind.The cover of the notebook was covered with blood, and the content of the record was not much. It was obvious that he had just started writing.The author is Professor Bell.

"The stone slabs were left in the cave, but they are still largely intact after a long period of time. There are a large number of relatively complete murals and texts here, which allow us to decipher part of the truth about the ancient stone slabs.

"We have a lot of precious historical materials about the Belomon survivors."

Sonia sighed: "Ah, what a great discovery!"

Everyone glanced at each other... Fiona rushed to cover Sonia's eyes, and the others continued to read.

"Early before the first era, a powerful clan had settled in the swamp. Judging from the fossils and remains, the forest and the swamp provided them with abundant food, and the aborigines were physically strong and intellectually developed.

"The Old Gods descended upon their primitive clans, and taught them to build great temples of great rock, and to pray to the stars. We call them the Belomons.

"Clan Belomon soon entered a golden age. Their splendid cities and pyramids spread above and below ground, and they made new colonies towards the mountains.

"However, as the Belomon colony spread underground, an unspeakable monster began to attack them and feed on them.

"They prayed devoutly to the ancient gods, offering the most beautiful maidens and the strongest warriors as sacrifices, and the ancient gods graciously accepted the prayers and bestowed their blessings.

"The blessed warriors grew powerful. They fought back, driving the terrible monsters back into the dark depths. The clan rejoiced in victory, unaware of the doom that was coming.

"One by one the warriors went mad, and transformed into twisted monsters, more terrible and cunning even than the monsters of the subterranean.

"The Belomon clan retreated steadily. They gave up their territory on the ground and retreated to the altar of the ancient gods, preparing to make a desperate resistance there."

"My research team and I have found some puzzling clues about this lost ancient civilization, as well as the remains of ominous subterranean monsters that are not the same as the fossils of ancient creatures previously found, which made me change. The original plan. I will seek the assistance of Lord Bessarius, the leader of the Purifiers, and he may be able to help us get closer to the truth."

[Several pages in a row are missing, and there are traces of tearing at the missing pages]

"We were lost, without food, hungry and tired.

"For several days we have not been able to find our way out, nor have we been able to contact the Purifiers.

"My researchers are getting fewer and fewer. They disappeared into the darkness without a sound, only to find the mutilated clothing.

"The monster is very vigilant and quick to ambush us in the dark. Its shape cannot be described, and we have not seen its whole picture. Every time it appears, it is accompanied by a clear ticking sound. Claws and horns. Every time it appears it grabs a person, leaving behind a viscous fluid."

"We decided to retreat to this pyramid to light a bonfire. According to the interpretation of the ancient stone tablets, this is the refuge of the Belomon clan, and there is a road leading to the ground. May the god of contract and truth protect me."

[random doodles and blank spaces]

"However, there are not many plants here, and the combustibles at hand are limited. Once the fire is extinguished, the monster will appear from the darkness again."

"We cannot escape, there are terrible voices in the tunnels far away, and those terrible shadows are approaching in the dark. I see the reflection of their sharp claws on the wall, mouthparts opened like petals, like A dragon-like silhouette."

(End of this chapter)