The Deep Pit Lord looked behind the Progenitors, at the Pureblood Snakefolk who served him willingly—or had been made to do so.
He beckoned gently, ordering the Progenitors to bring forward eighty-eight Pureblood Snakefolk. He had originally intended to awaken his god with the blood of far more slaves, but with Tang Qi here, that was beyond his power. He could only turn his blade on these vile mammalian breeds instead.
He had them gather around the Stone Tablet in the shape of a sideways eight and prostrate themselves.
"Are we just going to stand here and watch—" Tang Qi heard the adventurers ask hesitantly behind him.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Deep Pit Lord intended to perform a living sacrifice.
Who knew what he might summon? These things rarely ended well.
"Sorry." Dawn tightened her grip on her sword and nodded to Tang Qi. "I can't stand by and watch this happen."
Tang Qi looked at Leon. Seeing him remain silent, he wondered whether Leon had already foreseen the outcome. He merely sighed and said, "I can't exactly put the tragedy of 'witnessing a living sacrifice' in The Guide either."
Admittedly, from their standpoint, these Snakefolk deserved little sympathy.
They had never considered mercy when enslaving and slaughtering humans.
But wasn't the fact that humans still had moral boundaries sometimes precisely what separated them from animals?
Leon glanced sideways at him. "Didn't you want to know the truth?"
"Not like this." Tang Qi took down his Lute.
"No one will die today. I stake my head on it."
Leon stepped to the front of the group and gave his assurance. "I'm not doing this simply to show you the truth. I'm doing it to make these reptiles trying to restore their old rule despair—whether they're Snakefolk or