Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 341 The ceremony is over... forever.

Orange-red flames flickered and rose in the drifting mist behind them, and the slightly warmer air carried a hint of burnt smell.

Xia Nan walked alone in the canyon, his backpack already stuffed full of fog lamp grass for his collection mission.

The deaths of the Fog Lantern Monster and the Druid caused the fog that permeated the canyon to thin out considerably. Perhaps due to psychological factors, he even felt that the oppressive feeling brought about by this "forbidden place" that never saw the sun was lessened.

They did not deliberately conceal their presence, but rather deliberately made their footsteps visible.

As the canyon gate made of dark oak gradually came into view as they drew closer, Fuyuki and Lillie, who had been quietly and carefully waiting near the entrance as instructed, also turned their gazes toward them.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Xia Nan, the two visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"How are things? Is there any danger nearby?"

Xia Nan glanced at the two of them and asked casually.

"No, no, it's very safe here." Fuyuki shook his head repeatedly, his attitude grateful and respectful. "I just don't know why, but the fog around us has thinned out a lot, though you should have noticed it by now."

Nodding slightly, Xia Nan turned his gaze to Lillie, who was looking at him from the side.

"And you, have you experienced any adverse reactions?"

Xia Nan rarely used the "Secondary Healing" spell on the 【Tears of Spring】 pendant, and was unaware of the specific healing effects of this first-level spell.

There wasn't enough time to check carefully earlier, but now that I have the chance, I need to confirm it.

"No reaction, Mr. Xia Nan." Upon hearing this, the girl raised her hand and rotated her previously injured arm, indicating that she had fully recovered. "There isn't even a scar left. Thank you so much for your treatment!"

Perhaps noticing the increased light green plant sap on Xia Nan's body compared to when they parted, Dong Shu hesitated slightly, then lowered her voice and asked hesitantly with extreme caution:

"Mr. Xia Nan, you..."

Noticing the other person's gaze, you can roughly tell what they are thinking.

The simple-minded young man before me is probably still torn between his beloved and the sacrificial ritual.

Without making any attempt to hide anything, Xia Nan directly told the other party about the records he had seen in the experimental log and his subsequent encounter in the dark garden.

The sacrificial ritual might have been somewhat useful at the beginning, before the druid entered a long period of slumber.

After all, in order for the experiment to proceed smoothly, the other party would actually help the villagers drive away the monsters and ensure a good harvest.

However, as the intervals between the druids' moments of lucidity grew longer, those so-called "sacrifices" became tools for the village chief to maintain his rule and authority.

“Village Chief… but Brother Aspen…”

Fuyuki's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"No...this can't be, how could this be..."

The beliefs he had been instilled with since childhood were overturned, causing him to subconsciously refute them as if talking to himself.

And when Xia Nan recounted his discoveries in the log, even taking the druid's diary out of his backpack.

The boy's body began to tremble.

It wasn't out of fear, but from the boiling anger within me.

"So this sacrificial ritual...is unnecessary?"

"So, back then, Aspen's daughter didn't actually need to..."

"So his choice of Lillie as a sacrifice wasn't for the continuation of the village at all, but purely for his own sake?"

"Is that right, Mr. Xia Nan?"

His tightly clenched fist made the skin on his knuckles turn slightly white. He was trembling and exerting too much force, and you could even see the twitching and swelling muscles and veins under the skin of his forearm.

Fuyuki clenched his back teeth, the anger in his eyes seemingly solidified.

Xia Nan had no doubt that if the old village chief were standing here right now, the young man in front of him would unleash his anger on him without reservation.

Meanwhile, Lillie, standing on the other side, reacted in a completely different way from Fuyuki.

As the "sacrifice" for this ritual, if Xia Nan hadn't appeared, the other party would probably have already died along with their beloved under the attack of that fog lamp monster.

She should feel angry and resentful.

But right now, compared to the emotionally charged Fuyuki, the girl seemed unusually silent.

It's hard to describe the expression on his face.

They bore the heavy burden of ensuring the village's survival and were prepared to sacrifice themselves.

In the end, it turned out that it was all a complete lie.

Including myself, all the countless young lives that have died for this cause are meaningless.

The girl remained silent, her blank, lifeless eyes filled with an indescribable sadness and loneliness.

Xia Nan stood quietly to the side, carefully observing the two's behavior.

He could certainly understand Fuyuki's intense reaction, and he could also see the violent fluctuations in Lillie's heart beneath her seemingly silent demeanor.

They even felt that the two of them were being very restrained.

If you were actually in their situation... the village chief's head would probably have already bought a plane ticket and was ready to take off.

But in any case, the fact that he is standing here now means that the lie that deceived the villagers has been exposed, and that any potential threats within the canyon have been eliminated.

From this day forward, the sacrificial rituals filled with blood and tears will cease to exist.

Without saying anything more, he gave the two ample time to process the truth, intending to tell them the detailed cause and effect of the sacrificial ritual after the finishing work was completely completed.

Xia Nan looked at the towering wooden door in front of him, pondering how he could get the two people to the other side later.

Just as the scene fell silent, an unusual noise suddenly came from the other end of the heavy wooden door.

"Snap..."

It is the crisp sound made when the metal chain on the door bolt rubs and collides.

Xia Nan's heart skipped a beat, and the next second he had Fuyuki and Lillie stand behind him.

As he expected, it was exactly as he predicted.

The door, which was supposed to be opened the day after the ceremony, slowly opened a crack with a series of hesitant sounds.

The gentle sunlight seeped into the canyon through the gradually widening crack in the door, allowing Xia Nan to see the scene behind it.

The villagers who had just left were now standing quietly at the entrance of the canyon, led by the village chief and Aspen.

They may be ignorant, but they are not stupid.

Fuyuki, who had a close relationship with Lillie and practically grew up together, suddenly disappeared on the day of the ceremony;
Xia Nan, an adventurer who refused the invitation to the banquet and was supposed to enter the canyon the next day with the help of the villagers, disappeared after the ceremony, aiming for the fog lamp grass in the canyon.

Given all these factors combined, it's easy to imagine where the two of them ended up.

Unexpectedly, before they could even search and confirm, the figures of several people appeared before them as soon as they opened the wooden door.

And when the gazes from outside the door silently swept over Xia Nan and Dong Shu, finally landing on Lillie...

Panic and fear erupted in the crowd in an instant.

"Lillie, she, how is she still alive!?"

"That adventurer... he shouldn't have been allowed into the village!"

"Damn it, it must be that audacious Fuyuki who obstructed the ritual! Punish him! He must be punished in the most severe way!"

"Oh, great and benevolent spirit of the canyon... please forgive the disrespect of your humble servants..."

"There's still time! Quickly tie Lillie up and take her in before the sun sets!"

The villagers' reactions were all observed. Before Xia Nan could speak, Dong Shu, who had been suppressing his emotions after learning the truth, suddenly jumped out. He forcefully raised his fist towards the deceived villagers, loudly revealing the truth:

"No! That's not the case!"

"The sacrificial ritual was all a lie told by the village chief. There is no spirit of the canyon at all; it's just a mindless monster inside!"

"Now that the monster has been killed by Mr. Xia Nan, there is no need to hold any more ceremonies from now on!"

Strangely enough, when faced with Fuyuki's explanation, the villagers quieted down again, but their gazes toward him were filled with suspicion and disbelief.

Before Dongshu could explain further about his experiences in the canyon, the elderly village chief, whose face was full of wrinkles and who was standing at the front of the crowd, suddenly moved.

As if unaffected in the slightest, completely disregarding the doubts in Fuyuki's words.

His gaze passed over the winter tree and landed on Xia Nan behind it.

A familiar, humble smile spread across his face, he bowed, and his clear voice echoed throughout the hall:
“Respected and powerful Mr. Xia Nan, you are truly extraordinary, but I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood.”

He opened his arms and turned to the villagers.

"How could the wrath of the Valley Spirit be appeased by killing just one of His servants?"

"Have you forgotten the calamities that once befell us?"

"The true ritual is only complete after the offering has entered the sacred ground and dedicated itself to the gods... Otherwise, calamity will fall upon each and every one of us in a far more terrible way!"

"For the sake of the village, we must... complete the ceremony!"

Clearly, the village chief's accumulated prestige over the years, and the villagers' dependence on the sacrificial ritual under brainwashing, cannot be overturned by Dongshu's few simple words.

The villagers' doubts vanished instantly after the village chief's highly inflammatory speech, replaced by a sense of uncertainty about future disasters and a fanaticism and extremism driven by the instinct for survival.

"Ceremony complete!"

"Ceremony complete!"

"Ceremony complete!"

The villagers became restless, and countless unfriendly and fierce gazes were cast at Lillie, the girl behind Xia Nan, causing her to subconsciously lower her head and her slender body to tremble slightly.

In contrast, Xia Nan, who was positioned between the two sides, seemed to be in complete control.

His formidable strength allowed him to completely disregard the villagers who had been misled and incited; with a mere flick of his sword, he could decide the outcome of the battle.

Xia Nan had no idea what the village chief was thinking at that moment.

Could it be that you feel you are too kind, to the point that you are swayed by the will of those villagers and make choices against your will?

Or perhaps he thought that he had already finished collecting the fog lamp grass, so he didn't care about Fuyuki and Lillie's life or death, and could let the two innocent people suffer punishment, or even die, in front of him that should not have fallen on them?
The only thing that could be considered wise was that the other party did not incite the villagers to direct their hostility at Xia Nan, and even took the initiative to downplay his responsibility, transferring the hatred to Lillie and Fuyuki. Of course, this did not change the fate of the village chief in Xia Nan's mind.

He waved to Lillie, who was trembling behind him, indicating that she didn't need to worry.

Xia Nan's eyes flickered slightly, and with just a slight release of killing intent, the villagers, who had been agitated and making a lot of noise, immediately fell silent as his cold gaze swept over them.

His gaze finally settled on the front of the crowd, on the imposing figure who was slightly behind the village chief, a silent and solemn figure like an iron tower.

Step forward and hand over the druid's notes to the other person.

With a complicated expression, Aspen hesitated slightly before taking the notebook and opening it at Xia Nan's prompting.

The air in the stadium fell into a deathly silence.

A pair of eyes silently gazed at Xia Nan and the middle-aged hunter in front of him.

Time passes minute by minute.

Aspen's brow furrowed more and more, and for some reason, his movements as he turned the pages of the book became more hurried, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Druid...sacrificial ritual...offerings...village chief..."

Those mind-blowing characters flashed before my eyes.

All that lingered in the middle-aged man's mind was that petite figure who had already passed away.

“Jenny…” His voice was hoarse and trembling, his face blurred by shadows, “I’m sorry, Dad should have held on…”

A lie, a lie that couldn't be more ridiculous.

The countless nights he awoke from nightmares, the agonizing choices he faced between "the village" and "his daughter," the blood and tears flowing through his heart...

It seems so ridiculous.

At that moment, Aspen felt as if he were falling into an abyss. Regret, pain, anger, sadness... countless emotions intertwined in his heart, turning into an indescribable complex expression.

collapse.

He froze on the spot.

On the other side, the village chief's gaze fell intently on the hunter as Xia Nan handed the notebook to Aspen.

He didn't know what was recorded in the notebook.

But the emotional turmoil he felt after his lie was exposed made him unconsciously feel guilty.

The village chief stared intently at Aspen's face, watching it gradually change from its initial rigid seriousness to shock, and finally to pain and paleness.

He seemed to realize something.

If Aspen were to learn the truth about how he used the villagers and the village as leverage to force them to send their daughter as a sacrifice into the canyon in order to further seize power and establish his authority in the village, what would he face...?

No! I absolutely cannot lose all of this!
Panic engulfed the village chief like a stream of icy water.

"This is blasphemy!" he roared, his voice almost cracking. "The ritual must be completed!"

His seemingly old and hunched body suddenly displayed an explosive power far beyond that of ordinary people, rushing rapidly towards Lillie.

His past as an adventurer has given him considerable combat strength, even though he is old and frail.

However, with a flick of his wrists, he sent the winter tree that was trying to block his way flying to the side.

Just as he drew a short dagger from his waist, attempting to get closer and pierce the girl's chest with the dagger.

"call out!"

A whistling sound, as if the air was being torn apart, came from behind.

scoff-

Flesh and blood were pierced through.

A chilling sensation, accompanied by a surge of intense pain, washed over me.

Look down.

What came into view was an arrow, still stained with blood, that had pierced through the spine and neck.

Further back, Aspen maintained his bow-drawing posture, having just released an arrow; the taut bowstring trembled slightly from the remaining force.

"boom."

The dull thud of the body falling to the ground echoed across the field.

Xia Nan quietly withdrew the mental attraction that had been flowing around her fingertips.

After firing that arrow, Aspen didn't look at the corpse again, but slowly turned around to face the villagers who were speechless with shock.

He raised the longbow in his hand, the one engraved with his daughter's name, his voice hoarse:
"The ceremony... is over."

"forever."

(End of this chapter)