Blood tax

Chapter 275 Happy Birthday, Galadia

The departure of the old patriarch cast a shadow over the lounge.

The people present all came with the goal of killing him, but after some conversations, everyone even had a vague feeling that this might be his relief for the old orc.

Aslante twisted around twice, murmured, and walked into her room to rest.The conditions here are much better than those in the dilapidated tavern, and everyone can have their own room to sleep well.

Griffith forcibly pulled himself back from his thoughts, and asked Borunaf: "How much do you know about the Baroque patriarch's abilities and tactics?"

The orc shrugged his shoulders and said, "According to previous battles, he would fight the challenger in melee with a sharp ax under the cover of his helper. He is very brave, just like other warriors who possess violent power."

"In his senile state, can he still fight melee?" Galadia shook her head, "I don't believe it."

"It doesn't work just looking at it like that just now, but it is said that once he appears in Uluhai's arena, he will explode with astonishing combat power and sweep away the challengers. According to the speculation of our great chief and shaman, He used some method to create illusions, and the real battle scenes were covered up."

"Then what is his real battle like?" Galadia asked worriedly.

"Then, of course I don't know, but it's not a big deal, Miss Ranger," Borunaf grinned, "Isn't it just cheating~ I've been ready for a long time, Mr. Knight, and I must have Ready."

……

"Under the protection of the ancestors, the mighty and invincible tribal warriors launched a sacred sacrifice today!"

The shocking drums of war sounded.All races gathered in the sacred arena from all directions to watch the glorious battle that will determine the future of the Firestone tribe.

Brunave and Aslante came to the exit to the arena early to polish their weapons and prepare spells.

Griffith fell slowly behind, inspecting the breastplate and weapons, tightening the belts and pulling on the wolf skins.After a while, he took off the inseparable equipment again.

His stern eyes were calm as usual, but his slightly trembling fingers still deeply exposed his excitement.

"Get ready, are you ready~" Miss Elf came to his side, "Don't be stressed."

Her voice was trembling, as if she had never been so nervous in her life.The bright and moving eyes are full of anticipation as before.

Huh, it's as if fate is pressing on my heart, a small thought will hurt, but just thinking about the beautiful things that are about to happen, I feel extremely happy.

Griffith untied the string from his collar and removed the carefully kept ring.The gleaming silver ring setting is like a blooming rose, and the position of the petals supports a magnificent violet gemstone.

"This is a ring made of Puppeteer's characteristic crystal and Mithril, you should be able to discover the ability to control magical creatures.

"Happy birthday, Galadia."

Griffith's tongue was tied, and his heart almost jumped out...

He held the elf's hand, put the ring on her, raised it to his lips and kissed it lightly.The slender fingers trembled slightly without any resistance, letting him know the girl's mood at this moment.After ordering the ring, he was a little nervous for a while, worrying whether the gift was suitable and whether she would refuse it.

At this time, Griffith was convinced that there was no more suitable gift in the world.

The warmth of the hands held together flowed through the fingertips, and the joy and excitement at first sight did not fade in the slightest.The magnificent ring is like a chain of flowers, intertwined with eternal fetters.The words scattered on the ground just picked up and turned into choked excitement.

O God, why did you grant me such a wonderful and dangerous encounter!
Two identical voices resonated in Griffith's heart. He searched for colorful expectations and said his heartfelt words: "Galadia, after this battle is over and we are out of danger, we..."

"Oh, don't!" The elf hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands, "You can't say such unlucky words. You can't have an accident."

The slender fingers left a throbbing touch on the lips, and the ring she just put on slipped past her lips, stirring up the feelings in her heart.

Faint thoughts brought back memories of the past.Why do we get close to each other, in the entanglement of danger and joy, we interweave eternal fetters.

The first meeting between the two seems to have passed through countless years, but they are so close that they are right in front of them.The beautiful smile is the same as before, and every bit of memory that we have portrayed together is so clear.

O God, you cannot break this bond of soul.

"Galadia, I swear by all the gods who have watched us from the moment we met until now, our story has just begun.

"I'll win today's fight, take you home, and then we'll go back to Homonworth, back to the days we love and continue our journey.

"If the gods in the sky are not willing, I will reach out to them, step across the gap between the planes, grab their collars and ask loudly, don't you like the story between me and you? You have witnessed us Aren’t you willing to give us your sincere blessings for the journey until today?!”

Galadia couldn't contain her excitement, she put her hand on the apprentice knight's shoulder, leaning against his chest, looking up at her guardian, the tears that flowed from her eyes turned into a river of inseparable nostalgia :

"Go to battle, my knight, from the day we met and forever, without the gift and witness of the gods, you are my knight. My fate is with you, and my soul bears witness to this oath.

"Go to battle, my knight, I have no doubts in your victory."

Their lips and their hearts had never been so close, and their common vibration resonated in the depths of their hearts.

Griffith hugged the elf tightly into his arms with hands that were no longer trembling, raised his shy and excited cheeks, and opened his mouth to tightly interweave joy and dreams.

That sweet and soft touch, ah, man, why can there be such a beautiful fate, the chain of the flower of the soul, even the gods can never think of breaking it.

……

……

……

"Pong!" At this moment the door was kicked open.

"Griffith! Come on, barbecue is served at half price today!" The orc's thunderous roar almost knocked off the roof. He kicked the door open and yelled, "Quick, do you have any money? Ah..."

The dumbfounded orc stared blankly at the two people who were kissing tightly. Aslante grabbed his thick arm and dragged it out in vain and desperately, cursing in a low voice in embarrassment.

"What are you doing? Blessing? It's not like..." Brunaf was shocked, "You don't want to do something here, do you? It's only 10 minutes from the start, is 10 minutes enough?"

"Griffith," Galadia, who woke up from her happiness, patted the quasi-knight angrily, and drew up her strong bow, "Tell the audience outside that we have a temporary replacement, and that bastard named Borunaf has been killed Killed."

……

"Baroque is likely to have a sudden move. After the battle begins, I will activate the backhand," the orc said in a low voice, "You and the priestess must hold out for a while under the enemy's attack."

"Understood, I also have backhands," Griffith responded, "How is your injury?"

"It hurts, but it also mobilized my blood and courage, which is great." Brunaf touched his swollen face and head, "She is so powerful, how can you push her down in the future? You It's just a human~ Griffith, you are human, you don't have three heads and six arms, right?"

"That's right, I'm a human being with two ears and two eyes, and I don't have three heads and six arms," ​​Griffith nodded, "It's just a little more resourceful."

"Stop rambling, get ready," Aslante tapped the two of them with her staff, "It's about to start."

"Hey, knight, let me tell you something," Brunave leaned over and said in a rare whisper, "after this fight is over, you have to help me pull out the handful of red flowers on the viewing stand immediately." Come down, wait for my order, and you..."

"What am I doing?"

"You just sprinkle small petals on Aslante's body, and act according to my wink." Brunaf nodded complacently, and turned to stand in his own place.

Griffith looked at the bouquet of flowers in the high auditorium, and thought about how he could grab a handful when he thought about it.

……

To the cheers of the crowd, the orc peons poured oil along the ditch that surrounded the arena.The Baroque patriarch came out from the opposite passage with his ferocious gnoll helper and the burly black-robed creature, standing twenty steps away from Griffith and the others.At the same time as the two sides appeared, the ditches were lit with flames, wrapping the arena like a ring, and the shaman raised his hands:

"The flame of promotion has been ignited!
"Fall within the ring of fire and lose life; fall outside the ring of fire and lose victory!
"Use your roar and blood to shock the ancestors!"

The flames and thick smoke of the Ring of Fire shot up into the sky, enveloping the arena.

Galadia, who was on the sidelines, saw Hogg the Gnoll coming out of the crowd, raised his battle ax and pointed at Griffith in wolf fur. The muscles all over his body were wrapped in red light, and his figure swelled even more.Before the shaman gave the command to start, he had already held two battle axes and bumped into them amidst the whistling wind.

"Oh!"

Griffith raised the first block of perseverance, and a huge tremor was transmitted, and the whole person flew backwards.

"Start!" The shaman's command came late, and in the ring of flames, the Baroque patriarch swelled into a giant with rock-like muscles, and charged towards Borunav and the others with explosive force.

"Ulla!" The audience cheered like a tsunami.

……

However, the inside of the flame is a different scene.A layer of red crystal barrier rose from the firelight, isolating the audience and the shouts.Griffith faced the Gnoll, and Borunav and the Chief remained motionless.They could see the orcs outside the barrier cheering wildly, and they must have seen the fierce battle between the two sides.

The flames created some kind of illusion?Surrounded by tens of thousands of rapturous spectators, magical illusions are nearly impossible to maintain.Sure enough, shortly after the barrier was raised, it fluctuated immediately, and it was difficult to maintain its own existence in the turbulent blood energy, and there were faint signs of disintegration.

The Baroque patriarch was still the old orc, his body shape and appearance had not changed, he raised his right hand and tapped on his crown.

"This place is mysteriously enhanced."

As soon as his words fell, the golden crown radiated invisible fluctuations, making people feel uncomfortable and cold and majestic.The barrier that was just showing signs of collapse was injected with a certain quality, and it became stable again.

The crown does look different.Griffith poured blood into Hanguang, and was about to break through the barrier with his sword, when Hogg the gnoll immediately charged him head-on.

Griffith raised the Perseverance Shield to block it, and flew backwards with a dull loud noise. Before landing, the Gnoll had already swung his double axes and chopped down mountains and seas.

At the same time, the strange man in black robe also squirmed violently.The worn-out robe flew into the air, and the hidden tall body was a twisted and weird living creature that formed a human shape and was slowly wriggling.

The hairs all over Aslanta's body stood on end as she stared at the living creature.Humanoid living creatures are piles of curled up meat balls stacked on top of each other, intertwined with each other with slender meat strips, like a bunch of fleshy grapes.They turned in unison, opening the slits of the flesh, and many dead gray eyes turned horribly, staring at the priestess.

The intertwined strips of flesh became limbs, and the fleshy balls twitched and fell to the ground with a clacking sound.Moist skin emerges from the surface of the fleshy ball, covered with slime, shimmering scales, and colorful banded spots.

They shake their protruding gills and spread tiny fins above their heads and on their wrists and ankles.The eyes are high, the nose is small, the lips are thick, and the teeth are densely pointed and small.

Fishman!

The tall black-robed monster transformed into a mass of smaller monsters.They bounced on the ground, cracked their gleaming fangs, and let out a strange howl like sputum:

"rua rue~ rua rue~"

　One more chapter to come.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)