Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1224: Holy Spring City's Dark Night Festival

"You're going to go alone?"

Isabel frowned, a little worried: "At least take Lily with you, she can protect you in secret. And with Lily here, it's like I'm here. With our abilities, we can help you solve your difficult problems to the greatest extent possible."

She felt a little uneasy when she heard that Aiwas was planning to go to Holy Spring City alone.

She is now more than four months pregnant and her abdomen is beginning to show a noticeable bulge.

When Aiwass realized that a war was about to break out in Parthia, he knew that he could no longer protect Isabel by himself - she was no longer able to participate in overly intense activities.

Although the puppet technique can also allow her to transform into another person and gain the ability to move freely...but the puppet is not a substitute. If the person she plays is injured or even dies, the injury will also be reflected on the original body. Similarly, if Isabel, played by Lily, is injured or dies, then the injury will also be reflected on Lily as the carrier.

From this perspective, Lily, who can hide in the shadow of Aiwass, is the most suitable person to be the carrier of Isabel's abilities.

"I'll ask Lily herself for her opinion."

Aiwass did not comment, but emphasized: "This time it may be very dangerous - unlike the previous two Tail Ring ceremonies, Yuan Tiansi is very good at attacking, especially good at group attacks. I failed to maintain your confidence this time. It may be easier to challenge alone."

Considering that he was already caught in the whirlpool of fate, Aiwass decided to let Isabel retreat to the rear...at least to the location of the Rock Cellar City.

The good guys and the Red Hand gang are irrelevant.

An enemy of this size simply cannot hurt Isabel or anyone else that Aiwass values ​​under Aiwass's protection. Aiwass now has the confidence and strength to be invincible in the material world, and no country or political system can stop his will.

Now, the only ones who could become his enemies were the gods high above him.

But now this matter has involved the replacement of the Pillar God and the arrival of the Heavenly Official... If Aiwass, a mortal, can still have the confidence to control the overall situation under this level of threat - then this kind of "confidence" is better described as "arrogance".

"Also, I'm going to ask Zhu Tang and Mu if they want to go."

Aiwass nodded and added, "If things get tense, they can at least leave Anxi... If they don't come this time, they may not have the chance to take revenge themselves."

Isabel hummed, "I have to ask. However, those followers who were originally going to accompany you to Holy Spring City... let them evacuate Heaven City first. They are just ordinary people and will be easily crushed by this level of fighting."

Shengquan City - this is the border city-state where Zhu Tang caused trouble in the past.

In the past, Zhu Tang accepted the invitation of his deceased friend and went to Shengquan City to participate in the "Dark Night Festival" on the winter solstice.

That is the most important and grand festival for the Parthians.

Because this day is the longest night of the year. As long as you survive the longest night, every night after that will be shorter than this day.

A resting poet once said: "All suffering will end, just as the winter solstice comes every year. When the sun rises, hope comes as promised."

In Parthia, neither free people nor slaves lived a happy life.

Everyone has their own worries. Life resources are extremely scarce, it is difficult to survive, and life is very difficult... Because of this, people are also eager for hope.

If life has reached its worst, then every day that follows will get better.

If life can't get any worse, at least hope it will get better in the next life.

That is why the Parthians celebrate the coming of the “Darkest Night”.

On this day, even the good Lord would be merciful and give the city's freemen and slaves a day off. People would walk through the streets, shouting as enthusiastically as possible...singing, hawking, playing instruments, or simply shouting.

This proves that he is not dead yet. If his voice can pierce the sky and remain after the night... he can bring this vitality to next year. This also means that they may be alive next year.

The evidence of this tradition of the Parthians is that... on this day, those who no longer have the strength to walk and shout often die in the winter.

Before nightfall, braziers will be set up on the streets of every city. Every household has a brazier at the door, and there is a huge bonfire in the middle of the city. People will send the oldest person in the family to carefully protect the brazier so that it does not tip over or go out... This indicates whether their family will be able to survive until the next year.

On this day, the benevolent masters would send their followers to distribute a lot of candy to all the children by the bonfire. Normally, sugar is a poison to the poor. If they eat too sweet sugar, they will want to drink water, thus consuming the precious water supply of every household. But on this day, the water is unlimited... In other words, only on this day are everyone allowed to eat candy.

This is an extremely sweet memory.

Those who have a skill will perform around the bonfire. Even if you can't see their faces clearly under the dim flames, you can still see dancing, magic tricks, or hear singing and playing. Whether slaves or free people...Only on this day are people equal.

On the other hand, the good master himself will also have a feast in the palace - those free people who are qualified to attend the banquet, as well as the dancers or singers who attend the dinner will receive a generous reward. And it is possible that under the grace of the good master, the dinner will be improvised into a decadent feast -

If the good master is not having enough fun, he will send people to randomly capture people from the bonfire. Whether they are free people or slaves, they may be captured and used as material for enjoyment. Some may receive generous rewards, while others may die that night. On this day, people will not resist. Because this is the "Darkest Night" - people believe that as long as their lives are strong enough, they can survive this night. On the other hand, if they don't survive, it means that their lives are not strong enough. All this is a test of fate.

Zhu Tang was watching the performance by the campfire and was having a great time... when he saw a group of camel riders suddenly come and grab the children.

Faced with this unprovoked and unexplained brutality, only the families of the children tried to resist and were killed by the knights in the street. Some even their families numbly chose to accept it. Not to mention the cold-eyed and gloating people around them.

Zhu Tang couldn't bear the anger in his heart because of the cries of those children who were trying their best to resist - he didn't know why the benefactor captured these children, nor did he know why those people turned a blind eye, but this middle-aged ritualist who was about to have grandchildren still chose to take the initiative to help.

Just as he said: "A gentleman in the world has things he should do and things he shouldn't do. To turn a blind eye is also unrighteous!"

...But this kind of help caused trouble.

On the day of the Black Night Festival, all the people in the city were regarded as the property of the good Lord. They were gathered around the bonfire, waiting for the judgment of their fate.

It's like the lambs in the sheepfold, scattering when the rancher entertains guests to catch the sheep. Whoever is caught is just unlucky, and deserves it because he runs too slowly... When the captured sheep are slaughtered, the other sheep will come back and continue to graze and wander around.

However, Zhu Tang's action turned him into "the wolf attacking the herdsmen".

Not only did the cavalry attack him, but even the free people—even the parents of those children—were hostile to him. This made Zhu Tang feel cold inside... He was unwilling to surrender, so he fled all over the city in the dark. The rituals and spells during the counterattack caused chaos everywhere. Some people took advantage of the chaos to commit evil, and some took advantage of the chaos to arrest people. The entire Shengquan City was under martial law because of him.

By the time Zhu Tang was rescued by Mu, Shengquan City was already brightly lit.

——That’s why Aiwass brought Zhu Tang with him.

Let him personally settle the old hatred.

And from here further east is the town of Taichu. This can be regarded as satisfying Zhu Tang's request in the past - to take him back home through the Parthian Desert and many city-states.

Mu is a Horus, and this is not the direction he is heading home.

However, the monk was quite interested in the Taichu Empire and wanted Zhu Tang to take him back to see it... and also to serve as his witness to prove that Zhu Tang did not defect. After all, Zhu Tang, as a criminal who was exiled three times, disappeared quietly from the border for half a year without writing any letters - this was extremely suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

As a warrior monk who has taken the vow of "silence", Mu's testimony is at least very credible.

They went all the way west, crossed the desert, and went through untold hardships before escaping from the ancient Parthia Kingdom... They already had a comrade-in-arms friendship with each other. Mu was definitely willing to help with this matter that concerned the safety of his brother's life.

As expected...

When Aiwas informed the convoy of the emergency and planned to evacuate Paradise City... and let most of the people in the convoy escort Isabel away, he also told Zhu Tang and Mu his thoughts in detail.

When they learned that this was extremely dangerous and there was a possibility that they would not return, Zhu Tang and Mu did not hesitate at all.

But Sherlock firmly refused to leave with the team, and once again refused the protection and companionship of others.

He had to stay alone in Paradise City until the last batch of refugees left. Otherwise, if they all left, they might be kidnapped by evil slave traders, or they might get into chaos or even kill each other because they couldn't find anyone.

According to Sherlock, he was protected by the fragment of the Icosahedron of Water, and had the supreme power to control the element of "water". Even if the Abyss of Heaven came, it might not hurt him, and the supplies in the city were enough for him to use.

He would defend the city alone until Aiwass came back to pick him up.

Lily agreed to the request without hesitation. She had felt an inexplicable throbbing since she came to Anxi. Being able to participate in such a dangerous action made her calmer.

Ligeia chose to go to the harpy's nest, intending to use the identity of "the only winged being in the world" to take these stubborn and barbaric guys away from their precious nest and seek refuge in the west.

Because Ligeia did not obey the Red Calamity, her fifth-level power of the Path of Authority has been temporarily blocked. However, she still has the newly acquired sixth-level ability of the "Ascension Sorcerer" that transcends the Path, so it would not be too dangerous for her to act alone.

——Even if there was no need to pay any price and it was just a nominal surrender, Ligeia still chose to refuse.

This great arbitrator who had been blessed by the Crown Master angrily rebuked the Red of Disaster three times in her dream and rejected the olive branch offered by the new Pillar God. The price she paid was that her Dragon Blood Law was completely abolished... If she had not obtained the power of the Winged One through the Ascended Warlock, she would probably have been wiped out by the angry Pillar God and turned into an ordinary person.

but……

In addition to these comrades who had fought side by side, there was another person whom Aiwass had never thought of, who volunteered to participate in this extremely dangerous adventure -

Haena.

(End of this chapter)