Chapter 127: Chapter 116: The Sacrificial Rite
It was in this eerie atmosphere that seven or eight people were gathered in the central tent of the camp.
Surrounding a grotesque black stone idol, they continuously kneeled and prayed.
The black idol was strange, abstract in shape, a chaotic lack of symmetry that induced feelings of revulsion just by looking at it.
Tentacles, serpentine heads, compound eyes, multiple facets—it naturally evoked a sense of disgust.
Scattered haphazardly around it were gray candles burning with a faint blood-colored flame, beneath which were graffiti-like chaotic patterns that appeared to be smeared with blood, connecting them to the stone idol.
However, the expressions on the faces of most people praying were extremely fanatical.
Only the figure at the forefront, draped in a black cloak, remained calm under the shadow of the hood, their lips moving continuously as if in prayer.
It wasn't until a roar came from outside that their prayer was interrupted, and they slowly raised their head.
Without a word, another figure, who had also stopped praying, hurriedly lay prostrate on the ground, and stammered,
"Lord Masu, an outsider came into the camp earlier, having tamed an alien, and it must be that one."
"Although it is not human, it managed to stay awake during the ritual, which suggests the alien has great potential."
Masu lifted the hood, revealing a face that was handsome to an almost superhuman degree.
While the face was quite charming, there was always a hint of fakeness to it.
"I'll take people to subdue it right away, but what about its owner..."
"A pet that has lost control and killed its owner, to be finally captured by us—do I really need to spell it out?"
Masu's face was full of indifference.
The one who had spoken turned pale and, not daring to say another word, could only keep their head down and back away before leaving the tent.
Two others promptly followed suit.
The alien was completely a combat weapon; capturing it alive was a high difficulty task, thus they dispatched three of their best hands.
"Lord Masu, why do we keep delaying the blood sacrifice? Today's numbers have reached a new high, there's no need to wait any longer. We must please the Master!"
At this moment, a woman positioned slightly below Masu in their prayer began to babble insistently. Her originally delicate face bore only a twisted fanaticism.
Bulging eyes and a ghastly expression completely ruined what was otherwise a rather attractive countenance.
This elicited a look of faint disgust from Masu.
Waste that cannot control their sanity.
It seemed they were on the brink of losing control; such waste, once they snapped, would inevitably blow up the entire team.
With this thought, a trace of murderous intent surfaced within Masu, but still, he spoke in a calm tone,
"We have no clear idea how strong the Suns siblings really are, but as the representatives of the Suns in this generation, they are among the top in their peer group within the Floating City. A rash move that alerts them would undermine all we have accomplished. For now, slowly accumulating power is the way to go."
"But the Master needs our pleasure!"
The woman seemed to be overly excited from just finishing her prayers.
"Perhaps, you could perform a self-sacrifice. I am willing to preside over the ritual for you."
Masu seemed willing to offer what sounded like a reward, which made the woman start to talk nonsense, her breathing growing heavy.
"Thank you, Lord Masu! Thank you for granting me this opportunity!"
However, just then, Masu furrowed his brow and looked outside—what was going on?
It was too quiet!
There should have been some noise from capturing the alien!
"Be careful, something's not right. Everyone, raise your alertness."
With Masu's warning, except for the woman, the other two present were quick to react as well.
It was too silent outside!
Even the slightly mad woman now seemed to have calmed down considerably, her face taking on a sickly ferocious look.
"Damn it! How dare they interrupt the Lord's ritual! Damn it! Damn them all!"
"Then go and check what's happening, kill anyone who's a problem."
Without any hesitation, Masu made use of this waste of flesh. Although the woman lost her sanity too quickly, what she gained in return was not a weak strength, second only to himself on the field.
If she went mad, perhaps even he would have a headache; however, using her to probe was...
But just then, before they could take the initiative to strike, the tent on both sides was suddenly torn apart.
Two figures shot in straight, lunging towards them.
Such grand movements, such arrogant actions, they were indeed caught by surprise!
Bang bang~
The first to respond were a few gunshots.
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Apart from Masu and the woman, the other two immediately returned fire with their guns.
Their reactions, speed, and accuracy were all extremely fast!
Yet the figures that were continuously shot at acted as if nothing had happened to them.
The guns they used were loaded with specially made bullets, highly lethal even to bulletproof vests.
But even as shots exploded on the two figures, they didn't stop at all!
"Die!"
Ultimately, it was that woman holding daggers in each hand who, with the speed of a cheetah, deftly moved behind one of the somewhat stiff figures.
Her legs hooked around the figure's waist from behind, and her daggers plunged viciously into the opponent's eye sockets!
Bodies that could block bullets were clearly powerful, and the eyes were still the best way to take down such prey.
Mad as she may be, this instinct for battle without thought truly demonstrated her strength.
After the daggers penetrated, a sick smile spread across her face, and she then began to twist them violently.
"Aren't you dead yet? Dead yet?"
On the other hand, Masu was even more direct. With just one step forward, the blade at his waist unsheathed instantly, and with one slash, he beheaded one of the figures!
From the moment the two figures burst in, the counter-attack with gunfire, and the subsequent lethal blows by the woman and Masu, it all unfolded within a few short seconds.
They took down two targets capable of withstanding bullets in an instant.
"Master Masu is truly..."
One of the gunmen was about to say something but was immediately impaled by the hands of the headless figure, his body rupturing!
His blood had not yet poured from his mouth as he looked down in disbelief at the bloody palms. Before he could resist, he was torn in half with a forceful spread of the arms.
Blood and guts sprayed everywhere!
The headless corpse was still capable of killing, scaring the other person who quickly retreated, only to be impaled by an unexpected alien tail that pierced his body and dragged him outside the tent, leaving behind only his distant screams.
"Watch out!"
Masu's voice had just warned them when his body was still moving towards the front.
The figure whose eyes had been pierced by the woman suddenly twisted its head, turning into an invisible shadow that bit down on the woman who was clinging to its back.
Pu-chi~
The woman's head was swiftly swallowed by the shadowy maw; her legs, still hooked at the figure's waist, did not loosen as her headless body leaned backwards, blood gushing...
And Masu, who had just taken action, suddenly felt a terrifying chill run through him.
Completely out of the ordinary, even arguably defying the laws of physics, he stopped moving forward and burst back to dodge a blade's shadow that appeared like a stroke in an ink painting.
"Huh?"
Tao Yu used two zombies and Little Black to distract attention, creating conditions for his ambush, and yet he couldn't deliver a fatal blow on the first attempt. This guy had high Perception.
And his body was strange, capable of making such moves to avoid the attack.
He didn't hesitate afterwards and leapt back again, dispersing like an ink drop hit by water.
This guy's blade was fast, caution was paramount...