I became a member of the ancient gods

Chapter 186

In the dark church, residents gathered together, focusing on the altar.

The old man who serves as the mayor of the town and is also the high priest of the church stands there. The priest next to him is holding a cardboard box with an opening on the top.

The high priest glanced towards the bottom of the altar, where five people were standing waiting. The four people on his left had nervous faces, and only one person on the right had a look of relief.

"It's your turn." The high priest pointed to a middle-aged man on the left.

The middle-aged man walked up to the stage with a tense look on his face, reached into the cardboard box in the priest's hand, pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to the high priest.

The high priest quickly unfolded the paper and showed it to everyone.

A blank piece of paper without any mark means he missed.

The middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief, walked off the altar and stood next to the man on the right.

The high priest motioned for the third person to come up to the stage. She was an old woman with gray hair and a haggard face. She stretched out her hand tremblingly, pulled out a folded piece of paper from the carton, and handed it to the priest.

The priest slowly unfolded the paper. The old woman closed her eyes tightly, clasped her hands on her chest, muttered words, and prayed desperately.

The priest finally showed the paper to everyone, and everyone exclaimed.

The exclamation made the old woman froze all over, and she opened her eyes in the bone-chilling chill, and what caught her eyes was the unfolded paper in the hands of the priest, with a dark red emblem drawn in the middle.

The final judgment came, and the old woman fell heavily to the ground as if struck by lightning.

The surrounding residents screamed again, and the high priest turned around and called several priests in uniforms to check on the old woman's condition.

The old woman did not faint. A few seconds passed and she lay on the ground, hiding her face and letting out a shrill whimper. She cried like a child and waved away the priest's hand.

In stark contrast to him, the two people below who were waiting for the draw looked as if they had received amnesty.

The high priest opened the entire carton and took out the remaining two folded papers and showed them to everyone. They were both blank papers without any content. This was to show that the draw was fair.

After the lottery ceremony ended, the residents below had already started talking about it.

"Alas, Mrs. Yang is unlucky. Now her husband's life is at an end."

"It doesn't matter if Lao Luo is a sacrifice. He is the oldest of the five patients, has diabetes, and has lost one of his legs. Sooner or later, the church will help the family that offers the sacrifice."

"Don't say that. Their son died before they moved here, leaving only two people. Now that Lao Luo is gone, only Mrs. Yang is left. She is not in good health..."

"Then I'm afraid the next sacrifice will be her."

"Oh, in the past, Shangshen only had to eat one person for a few months. He could just find someone who was dying or someone who had committed a crime. Now it's impossible to catch up. Now, if the family members are asked to draw lots for serious illness, isn't it the same as letting people send their family members away with their own hands? ?”

"If they don't do this, who will draw lots for them? They don't feel at ease themselves. If they don't draw lots themselves, they won't know what little tricks others are doing. This is a fatal thing."

"I'm afraid that the patient will finish eating now, and I will have to draw sacrifices directly from the old people later."

"Shh, keep your voice down! Don't let the priest hear you! It's better to live in the town and draw sacrifices than to be driven out of the town! There are monsters and robbers everywhere outside!"

……

"Quiet." The high priest opened his arms and returned the entire church to silence.

The old lady, who cried until she almost fainted, was forcibly carried away by the priests, and the priest began to preside over the ceremony.

"Another person will leave us today, but his sacrifice is meaningful. God bless his soul to return to peace. He contributed his flesh and blood to God and will protect this town forever in heaven. May the dead rest in peace and the living be safe. God above, protect us!"

The residents clasped their hands together and said, "God is above, protect us."

The priest began to recite a prayer, and each time he recited a word, the residents below repeated it. Then the priests began to sing a requiem, and the residents also sang along.

A coffin was carried up from the church door.

Passing through the middle aisle, everyone's singing suddenly became louder, not because they were ignited by the atmosphere of the ceremony, but because everyone didn't want to hear the dull whine coming from the coffin, the sacrifice with its hands and feet bound and gagged. Voice.

That voice will always remind those who hear it that the sacrifice in the coffin is still a living person, a resident of this town, and may have greeted him yesterday.

The coffin was carried to the altar and placed, and then the residents began to leave, then the priests, and the singing in the church subsided like an ebbing tide.

Finally, the high priest stepped down from the altar, bowed toward the coffin and the pulpit, quickly left the church, and locked the door from the outside.

By this time, none of the residents participating in the ceremony were outside the church, and everyone left quickly.The church is somewhat dilapidated and has not been well repaired, and the sound insulation has always been poor.

In the church, a dark red shadow slowly rose from the cellar entrance behind the pulpit, crawling up to the altar.

It was like a mass of dark red ooze, in the center of the ooze gradually emerged a face that seemed human but not human, staring at the coffin.

Its shape only lasted two seconds. The face deformed like a melted candle, and the monster's body collapsed as if it could not support it, from a puddle of clay that could still be formed to a mud that could not support the wall. .

It made a muddy groaning sound, and stretched out several tentacles dripping with dark red viscous liquid from its mud-like body, reaching towards the coffin.

The pitiful screams leaking from the church were mixed with the sound of wind passing through the mine.

Soon, a group of crows were attracted by the smell of blood and offal, rising and falling on the roof of the church, calling noisily.

The high priest stood outside the church, lit a hand-rolled cigarette, and waited silently for the ceremony to end.

The materials in this town are not bad. The land is used to grow crops and grazing, and some of the land can be used to grow tea and tobacco. The mine can also dig out good-quality iron ore. The forest can provide wood and firewood. Although it is far away from the refuge area, But there is absolutely nothing wrong with being self-sufficient.

Humanity originally developed civilization from slash-and-burn farming. As long as there is a stable environment and resources, people can rebuild the land where they can survive.

"Safety" is the most rare resource in this world. Only by keeping resources from rampant monsters, gangs and warlords can you have a stable life.

And the one who can provide this "security" to this town is the god in the church.A life sacrificed on a regular basis can be exchanged for the safety of the entire town. This is a very cost-effective deal.

"It's such a pity, Lao Luo. The foreigner let him escape before." A priest was also lighting a cigarette nearby. "Otherwise, that person could be used as a sacrifice this time."

(End of this chapter)