Unable to make sense of it, Selad simply stopped thinking about it.
His immediate priority was to summon Xingtian as soon as possible.
So he disregarded everything else and kept sending his subordinates to be sacrificed, performing sacrificial rituals at the altar for several turns in succession.
The scene on the field changed.
Everyone watched as a people who lived by nomadic raiding failed to overcome an agricultural civilization and finally fell into a vicious cycle.
They abandoned production, pinning their hopes on the power of deities to reverse their decline.
They prayed and worshipped, offering sacrifice after sacrifice through primitive religious rites.
Unable to capture enough prisoners in their raids, they sent their own commoners to the altar.
In the valley, a primitive altar built from stones, branches, and bones symbolized ancient tradition. Tribal chiefs and priests wore animal skins adorned with bird feathers and colorful leaves as they led their people in devout prostration.
Time passed until dusk. Bonfires were lit, and the firelight unique to human civilization shone against the darkening sky, gradually swallowed by boundless darkness.
One person after another was led onto the raised platform like livestock.
The priests personally cut wounds into their skin with sharp stone knives, drawing blood to trace emblems that communicated with the deities.
The sacrificial ritual reached its climax when an executioner carrying a long-handled battle-axe climbed onto the platform and chopped off the offering's head.
"Rejoice, my subjects! We have pleased the deities!"
"Woo! Woo! Woo!"
As they danced and sang, the people felt the fulfillment and joy of being in the presence of their deities.
The sacrificial rituals continued. The tribe's commoners dwindled, and even its fighting men were sent to the altar.
Then the tribe's nobles, women, and children were no longer spared either.
Ignorance, like