God of Tainted Blood

"You have sensed the Ritual of the God of Tainted Blood."

"Ritual of the God of Tainted Blood: A mysterious ritual where creatures within the ritual gain immense desire for reproduction and rapid growth, at the cost of the mother's vitality."

"Insight (+60) is effective!" (Note 1.)

"You have perceived the statue of the God of Tainted Blood."

In the depths of the unseen.

Roger's gaze seemed to pierce through the heavy barriers of the large house, revealing a mysterious stone statue.

The statue only had a head, with eyes but no pupils, and its inverted triangular face was covered in fine crimson lines.

Roger only looked for a moment before his temples began to ache.

"As expected, cultists again?"

He had vaguely guessed Hanfulan's background when he was in the orchard.

Now, his guess had been confirmed.

Although he didn't know the origin of this God of Tainted Blood, it was the source of all the abnormal phenomena.

Hanfulan might just be a pawn.

No wonder even the Emerald Young Dragon felt wary.

However, Roger had no intention of giving up.

Mystra was a place where cultists ran rampant.

If he ran from every one he encountered, he might truly be stuck in the beginner village forever.

"Let's keep looking."

Taking advantage of the fact that the people in the yard had left.

Roger flipped himself over and entered.

With a few leaps, he disappeared into the darkness.

Over the next few days.

Roger spent his time gathering information in the Marshland Refugees' village.

Sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of wood.

For Roger, he would only make a move after making the most thorough preparations.

The situation in the village was dire.

Hanfulan had accelerated the distribution of Fire Oranges.

Every day, people were "headshotted" by the tumors on their necks, the frequency increasing, and the numbers growing.

Besides the strong scent of magic, a somber, deathly aura permeated the village.

And every night.

Hanfulan would hold the "Ritual of the God of Tainted Blood" in his large house.

In just a few days.

Almost all the women had completed the terrifying process from pregnancy to old age.

Their children also grew at a monstrous rate.

Infants who had just landed could grow to be teenagers in a few days, initially possessing combat power.

These children were more like monsters than ordinary Marshland Refugees.

They were thin and gaunt, with disproportionately long limbs.

Compared to walking upright on two legs, they seemed to prefer crawling.

They did not speak, showed no expression, and refused to be close to their mothers.

They only obeyed Hanfulan.

Hanfulan fed them large amounts of Fire Oranges, and these children clearly had a stronger ability to digest magic.

Many of them gained powerful spell-like abilities.

Only a few were unfortunate enough to be headshotted.

As days passed.

Hanfulan's appearances became shorter and shorter.

He locked himself in that large house, not coming out all day.

Roger knew that there wasn't much time left before Hanfulan attacked Dragon Tooth Village.

"It's time to act."

Roger found Cindy and chatted with her about what he had seen and heard over the past few days.

"We really don't know who the God of Tainted Blood is."

"After all, there are too many prominent evil gods in Mystra..."

Cindy pondered:

"If what you saw is true, then Hanfulan should be the spokesperson for that evil god."

"Hmm... are you afraid of getting into trouble?"

"If it's about that, there's no need to worry too much; the existence of the world-ending forbidden spells blocks the sight of most evil gods. It's actually very difficult for them to extend their claws. Someone like Hanfulan is already the strongest spokesperson the evil gods can find."

Roger nodded calmly.

"I can guarantee you that after killing Hanfulan, the God of Tainted Blood will not come looking for you."

Cindy promised solemnly.

Roger thought for a moment: "I plan to kill Hanfulan tonight."

"But there are two things I need the Muse's help with."

"First, give me the Emerald Dragon God's Blessing in advance."

"Second, I need her to show up in person. Well, she doesn't need to actually fight, just fly around once."

Cindy showed a hesitant expression. After a while, she nodded uncertainly:

"Alright."

"I will convey your wishes."

As night fell.

Roger moved stealthily along the edge of the reed marsh.

He was under the effect of the "Emerald Dragon God's Blessing."

"Emerald Dragon God's Blessing: Your Perception, Intelligence, and Strength each increase by 1 point."

Since it was a random stat increase, this result was only mediocre for Roger.

Among the six basic attributes.

He needed Agility and Perception the most, followed by Strength and Constitution. Intelligence and Charisma were the least useful.

Agility and Perception went without saying. Strength and Constitution also determined the basic physical qualities.

As for Intelligence, it represented affinity with elemental energies and potential for studying magic.

Roger's magic immunity constitution naturally meant he didn't get along well with elemental energies.

As for Charisma... let's not even go there! "It's like getting an extra point of Strength and Perception for free. It's okay, I guess."

Following the path through the reeds, Roger infiltrated the Marshland Refugees' village and began heading towards his designated location.

Along the way, he saw several Marshland Refugees with their heads blown off.

One after another, like a fireworks display.

His heart felt a little heavy.

"Is it about time?"

As he thought this.

A loud dragon roar suddenly came from the sky!

"It's a dragon!"

"Attack!"

"Ah..."

Noisy shouts erupted from the village.

The refugees who still had a shred of reason looked fearfully at the sea-blue figure.

"What are you all standing around for!"

Hanfulan ran out of the big house, skillfully pulling up his waistband: "Go push the ballista!"

"Mage corps, assemble!"

With Hanfulan's appearance, order was temporarily restored in the village.

The refugees moved sluggishly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The great dragon in the sky flapped its wings frantically.

Gusts of wind swept in, overturning many of the low-lying houses.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

Hanfulan shouted his commands.

Suddenly, a guard ran over, "Lord Hanfulan!"

"The orchard is on fire!"

Hanfulan paused for a moment. "Their target is the orchard?"

"Take some men and go put out the fire!"

The guard immediately led a group of people away.

A moment later.

Someone else ran over to report:

"Lord Hanfulan!"

"The warehouse storing crossbows is on fire!"

This time, Hanfulan truly couldn't sit still!

He rushed to lead his men to put out the fire.

But before he could get far, he suddenly stopped in his tracks!

"There's something wrong!"

Hanfulan, his face contorted with rage, shook off his subordinates and strode back.

Before long, he returned to the outside of the large house.

On the chaotic square.

It seemed no one noticed, but a stealthy figure was emerging from the side door of the large house.

The person was hunched over, still clutching something wrapped in burlap.

"Stop right there!"

Hanfulan roared in fury.

The shout startled the person, who grabbed the package and took off running! Hanfulan, without time to think, grabbed a knife and charged.

The person ran incredibly fast, covering several stretches of ground before darting out of the village.

But Hanfulan was not slow.

In fact, the distance between them was gradually closing.

The two figures, one after the other.

In a short while, they had traveled two to three miles, entering the more complex terrain of the marshlands.

The wind whistled past his ears.

A jolt suddenly ran through Hanfulan's mind.

"I've been tricked!"

At that moment.

He saw the thing the figure ahead was carrying fall from their grasp.

With a plop, it landed in the swamp.

It was an incredibly large Sand Yam!

Boom! Accompanying a strange noise, the enraged Hanfulan suddenly stepped into empty space.

The scene before his eyes began to spin wildly! "It's a trap."

The word had barely formed in his mind.

When he felt a piercing pain! He looked down.

Beneath the deep pit, an unknown number of bamboo spikes, each as long as a forearm, were buried! "Ah!"

A pained roar echoed from the bottom of the pit.

It was like the fiercest beast, having fallen into the trap of the most cunning hunter.

Above the deep pit.

A face, shrouded in shadow, slowly appeared.

Night had fallen.

(Note 1: There was an error in the previous text, it was written as Insight +6, but it should be +60. This has been corrected.)