I ascend to the throne of God with arcane magic.

Chapter 743 Rune Hunting Ceremony

Brown Village,
Tajik is still hesitating.

In fact, he had privately informed other villagers of the news of the hunting temple before, just to get everyone to think about it more.

If Brown Village was one of the wealthy villages around Zeke City, he might not care so much.

But Brown Village is not like that. It is just a poor little village on the edge of Zeke City’s territory, close to the Moro Mountains.

Tajik knew very well that only by uniting together could everyone in the village survive in such a harsh environment.

In fact, there are quite a lot of resources around Brown Village, at least enough to support such a gathering place.

However, Brown Village still has to pay taxes to Zeke City and the Hunting Temple on time.

As discussed earlier, Brown Village would never refuse to pay taxes under any circumstances, even if it meant starvation.

To the big shots in Zeke City and the Hunting Temple, Brown Village is just a small ant.

Although inconspicuous, in order to maintain their rule and majesty, Zeke City and the Hunting Temple do not mind crushing the little ant of Brown Village.

That's what they did before anyway.

The God of Hunting does not need "weak" people, as long as they fear His power.

But for the people of Brown Village, this is definitely not good news.

If it was just taxes or something, it would be fine. Tajik and Aeo had discussed it and decided that they could get through it by gritting their teeth.

But the Rune Hunt Ritual is different.

The Hunting Ceremony is an annual ceremony held by the Hunting Temple, and anyone can participate.

The purpose of holding the hunting ceremony is to please the hunting god Mara, so the whole process of the hunting ceremony is bloody and cruel.

Just like raising Gu, those who participate in the hunting ceremony are thrown into a limited area to fight. Only two or three people who come out of the fight can pass the hunting ceremony and get the qualification to join the hunting temple.

Ordinary people who have not become extraordinary people and mastered extraordinary powers have almost no chance of success in participating in the hunting ceremony.

But many people still continue to do so.

Because the Hunting Temple is the true king of this world, even the lord of Zeke City is a member of the Hunting Temple.

Joining a hunting temple can bring considerable benefits to the entire family and even the village.

If someone in Brown Village joined the Hunting Temple, they would no longer have to pay taxes.

Moreover, before the hunting ceremony begins, everyone can obtain methods to cultivate extraordinary abilities from the Hunting Temple.

Every few years, a lucky person would pass the hunting ceremony and instantly become a big figure that the whole Brown Village would look up to.

Because of these reasons, even though the mortality rate is very high, many people from the villages around Zeke City still participate in the ceremonies held by the Hunting Temple every year.

Eo once participated in a hunting ceremony held in the Hunting Temple in Zeke City and returned only after escaping death.

He was able to return to Brown Village because he was accidentally separated from the hunting ceremony.

This is because he is very lucky. Although he has not become a supernatural being, his strength has become much stronger.

But given the current situation in Brown Village, if a large number of young people in the village die as a result of participating in the hunting ceremony, the entire village may not be able to survive.

At that time, either the entire village will be destroyed or it will have to merge with other villages.

This is something Tajikistan does not want to see.

Especially the Rune Hunting Ceremony held by the Hunting Temple this year!

It is said that Lord Rune is the child of the God of Hunting and the strongest in their world!
The Rune Great Hunting Ceremony is to please this powerful being.

Therefore, the Rune Great Hunting Ceremony will not only be participated by people from Zeke City, but people from other places will also participate in the competition.

There is no doubt that if you participate in the annual hunting ceremony of the Hunting Temple in Zeke City, there is still a chance that you will make it to the end.

For those children who have not mastered supernatural powers, participating in the Rune Hunting Ceremony is a complete suicide.

Tajik had previously gathered the villagers to discuss this matter in order to persuade everyone.

Children are the hope of the entire village, and Tajik does not want to let children participate in this big hunting ceremony.

But judging from the tone of the person who came to convey the order a few days ago, the Hunting Temple attaches great importance to this grand hunting ceremony.

If you don't send anyone to participate, there is a high possibility that you will not be able to complete the task.

So Tajik called everyone together to discuss this matter.

If all else fails, draw lots to select one person to participate in the great hunting ceremony.

Although this is tantamount to committing suicide, it is better than angering those big shots.

To keep the weak village of Brown going until today, Tajikistan has no other choice, no matter how reluctant they are.

"Sir, we are preparing to discuss this matter. When the time comes, we will let a child go to Zeke City with you."

Tajik thought about this and spoke cautiously.

The thin man bent down with great effort, not daring to look directly into the eyes of the knights.

He felt that something was wrong. The aura of these people was not like that of ordinary people. They were most likely the strong ones in the Hunting Temple.

Just to gather those who participated in the hunting ceremony, he came to them in person?

Thinking of this, Tajik felt a little uneasy.

"Oh, alone?"

The leading black-armored knight sneered, and the horse under him paced back and forth impatiently.

"Your village of Brown must send at least 20 people to participate in the Great Hunting Ceremony."

"And you have to be under fifteen, understand?"

"My lord, my lord!"

Tajik was horrified when he heard this. He no longer cared about the danger and quickly stepped forward, kneeling in front of the knight and said:

"We don't have so many children in our village. Please give us some time."

"Please"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers suddenly became noisy.

Although there are those who hope that their children can achieve class crossing through the hunting ritual, after the nagging of the village chief, they also understand that this is simply a way to commit suicide.

It's not easy to raise a child, so why would they be willing to do this?

Listening to the noises around him, the black-armored knight became more and more impatient, with a hint of hostility in his eyes.

Swish!
The black-armored knight waved his right hand, and a sound of breaking air was heard instantly.

The spear in his hand smashed hard on Tajik's body, and the short village chief was instantly turned into a ball of scarlet blood mist under the impact of the terrifying force.

"Old man, who told you to disobey my orders? Why don't you just obey me?"

Seeing that the old village chief's body was torn into pieces and his blood was even splattered on the surrounding villagers, all the villagers panicked in an instant.

Many people even fell to their knees after their legs went weak.

"You, hand over the children to me honestly."

"Otherwise, there would be no need for this Brown Village to exist." The black-armored knight looked around at the villagers and said with a sneer.

The other knights were the same, they didn't care at all about the Black-Armored Knight's random killing of a village chief.

Such blind fellows will never enter the paradise of our Lord even after death, and can only become blood and flesh sacrifices to please the gods.

If we are prepared to offer a large amount of money and goods like the previous village, there may be some room for leniency.

This old man is really too ignorant.

However, seeing how poor this village is, I guess they can’t produce anything valuable.

It just so happens that this village can make up for the vacancies left by other villages, right?

As for killing a village chief, it was nothing to these honorable hunting temple warriors.

Just when the villagers were frightened and panicked, not knowing what to do, they saw a dozen small figures rushing in from outside the village.

They saw the fire in the center of the village and ran straight towards it.

Especially when they saw the knights wearing sophisticated equipment and riding tall horses, the children's eyes were full of longing.

But soon, the children realized that something was wrong.

The adults in the village were all standing opposite these knights, with expressions of fear and anxiety that were difficult to conceal on their faces.

Some people even waved at them, as if asking them to hide.

Belia was the first to react, and he noticed that his father Eo looked a little pale.

what's the situation?
His father was not afraid even when facing a powerful giant bear, so why is he like this now?
Beria slowly stepped back, feeling frightened.

But soon, they saw the knights rushing towards them.

A dozen knights circled around them, and the leading black-armored knight laughed.

"We are lucky. We can take all these kids away!"

The black-armored knight waved his hand, and a man behind him took out a black staff.

A dozen black tentacles spread out from his body and tied up all the children.

All the children, including Belia who was trying to escape secretly, screamed in fear and struggled desperately, but to no avail.

The black-armored knight glanced at the other villagers of Brown Village, enjoying their angry yet fearful looks.

He took everyone and left Brown Village directly.

The tied up children were fixed on the back of the horse, their mouths stuffed. They were terrified but had no chance to resist.

Belia looked at his father and saw that his father Eo was pale and had his fists clenched, but he did not make any move to move forward.

Belia felt a little desperate. The black-armored knights in front of him were like evil spirits. They were nothing like what they had longed for before.

The children tied to the horses were taken away by the black-armored knights in the desperate eyes of the villagers.

Under the gloomy sky, a dozen simple horse-drawn carriages were parked silently on the side of the road.

The wooden cage on the vehicle was like a giant beast with its bloody mouth wide open, waiting to devour these innocent children. A group of children were driven roughly and stuffed into the small and cramped wooden cage like lambs to be slaughtered.

In the wooden cage, the children were crowded together, their bodies pressed tightly together, and even turning around became a luxury.

Fear and despair were written all over everyone's face, but no one dared to make a sound.

Because not long ago, a child couldn't resist the fear in his heart and broke down crying.

"Woo~"

"I want to go home, I want to find my parents!"

"You are bad people!"

The black-armored knights guarding the carriage heard the crying and cursed impatiently, which made the children cry even louder.

The knight stepped forward, grabbed the crying child, and pulled him out of the wooden cage like a chicken.

The child screamed in fear and waved his hands in the air, but to no avail.

The knights pinned him to the ground and punched him hard several times, showing no mercy just because he was a child.

The child's crying gradually became weaker, replaced by painful groans and pleas for mercy, but the knights showed no intention of stopping.

The child collapsed to the ground, covered in blood, his ragged body twitching uncontrollably.

His eyes were empty and lifeless, with a trace of blood foam hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was breathing in more than out, and was hanging on with only one breath left.

The children in the wooden cages were so frightened by this scene that their faces turned pale and their bodies trembled uncontrollably. They kept their mouths shut tightly, fearing that they would be the next to suffer the misfortune.

Seeing that all the children had quieted down, the black-armored knight nodded with satisfaction, seeming very satisfied with his intimidation.

If the ritual had not required these sacrifices, he would have killed the child directly.

After stuffing the child into the wooden cage, he yawned and sat aside.

"What a troublesome job!"

"I don't know what's going on with the others. When can we return to Zeke City?"

Gradually, the night deepened.

The black-armored knight guarding the car also began to lower his head slightly and began to doze off.

Belia in the cage clutched the wooden cage tightly, listening to the low sobs in his ears, his heart filled with fear.

Are we going to participate in the Great Hunt?
Are you going to die like this?
From the conversation between the black-armored knights just now, Belia has learned some things.

They should be going to Zeke City, but Belia had no expectations in his heart.

Now he just wants to go home, even if he is scolded and beaten by his mother.

Belia sniffed, but couldn't help but shed tears.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the occasional chirping of insects standing out in the dead silence.

At this moment, a figure appeared stealthily in the darkness.

He lowered his body, like a cheetah stalking in the dark night, taking every step extremely carefully, and his feet made almost no sound when they landed on the ground.

The black shadow stared closely at the group of carriages parked in front of it, while paying attention to every move around it.

Several black-armored knights were sitting crookedly beside the carriage, with their weapons casually placed aside. Their breathing was even and heavy, and they had obviously fallen asleep.

The man breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and walked even more lightly towards the carriage.

He opened his hands slightly, like a blind man groping for the road ahead. Every time he approached a carriage, he would stop and listen carefully. After making sure there was nothing unusual, he would gently place his hands on the edge of the carriage.

He groped his way from carriage to carriage, and at each carriage he called out in a very low voice:
"Beria? Beria?"

After calling twice without any response, he moved on to the next carriage.

The children on the wooden cage of the carriage noticed the presence of this person, but did not dare to make a sound, for fear of attracting the attention of the black-armored knights.

At this moment, the figure came to the carriage where Belia was.

(End of this chapter)