However, just as everyone fell into despair, the oldest high priest, who had always closed his eyes to rest, suddenly slowly opened his eyes.
His originally dull and dull eyes shone with a strange brilliance at this moment. There was both fearlessness and an almost pathological persistence and fanaticism in them, just like the deep and dark stars in the night sky.
As he gently opened his lips, a low and hoarse murmur sounded like it came from the depths of hell:
"Now that the path of mortals has been cut off... perhaps we should seriously consider whether we should dedicate this last, most generous and luxurious sacrifice to the supreme god Black Goat?"
Before he finished speaking, all the nobles present turned their attention to the mysterious high priest, their eyes filled with uncertainty and a hint of...
A sense of crazy hope that gradually emerges under the pressure of desperate circumstances.
Deep in the temple, the swaying firelight projected Black Goat's twisted giant horn on the stone wall, like the spread claws of a demon.
After the high priest's low and hoarse words fell, the dead silence did not last long, and was immediately broken by an even more intense reaction.
"The price?" A trading magnate known for his calculations almost shouted, the delicate paint on his face distorted with excitement,
"We donate Black Goat every year, is the 'price' we pay still small? But this time... it's different!"
He looked around, his voice trembling, "That means tying the whole city and all of us to the altar!"
That is the highest taboo against blaspheming life, and it is a necromancy technique that may not even allow the soul to rest in peace!
Once you start, there's no turning back!"
His words made more people pale.
Yes, they more or less know the deepest secrets of the Black Goat sect - those rituals that are tightly sealed in the deepest part of the temple and are presided over by the high priest himself on the darkest night of each year.
According to rumors, those rituals bridge the boundary between life and death, but the sacrifices required are... chilling.
What the high priest was hinting at this moment was obviously an ultimate ceremony with far greater specifications than before, requiring all the life energy of the city.
"Do we have any other choice?" Another old nobleman wearing mail and whose family was based on martial arts stood up suddenly.
His eyes were bloodshot, but his voice was extremely firm. It was a kind of madness after being forced into a desperate situation, "Redd's dragon will burn everything!"
His army will slaughter our family! Look what will happen to Pentos!
Rather than die like cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, why not... why not take a chance! Even if it means making a deal with the devil!"
He took the lead in gritting his teeth and thumping his chest heavily in agreement.
The first person took the lead, and then several people who were also gripped by fear and hatred also stood up and echoed with hoarse or decisive voices.
The instinct of survival and the fear of losing everything overwhelm the remaining reason and morality.
"Crazy! You are all crazy!" A relatively young priest screamed in despair. He staggered back, trying to escape from this ominous hall. "This is suicidal!"
Black Goat's gift is never free, it will swallow up everything! I want to leave! I want..."
He didn't finish his words.
"Pfft!"
A spear suddenly thrust out from the shadows, piercing his chest accurately and coldly.
The tip of the spear emerged from his back, bringing out a string of warm blood drops, which splashed on the cold floor tiles and bloomed into miserable red flowers.
The shock and fear on the young priest's face froze. He looked down at the spear shaft on his chest in disbelief, and his body slowly fell limp.
In an instant, all the noise, arguments, and cries of fear in the entire temple hall seemed to be choked by an invisible hand and disappeared without a trace.
Only the crackling sound of the burning torch and the dull sound of the body falling to the ground were left.
The strong smell of blood began to permeate the air, mixed with the weird smell of spices, which was nauseating.
The black-robed cultist holding a spear silently retreated into the shadows, as if he had just brushed away a little dust.
The high priest glanced at the corpse indifferently, then looked at the silent crowd, and uttered cold words with his dry lips:
"The objections have been cleared. Everything has been decided."
This is not a negotiation, but a judgment.
The next scene was like the manifestation of a nightmare.
More armed believers poured in. They were no longer servants serving the gods, but became executioners who performed horrific rituals.
The sharp silver knife slashed the wrists of every noble, priest, and general present. No matter how they trembled, begged, or glared, the blood was forced to drip into the special obsidian bowl.
One person tried to struggle, but in the next moment he was pierced by several spears at the same time. His gasping sound and the sight of his body being nailed to the ground completely crushed the last thought of resistance.
The viscous liquid mixed with the blood of the powerful was carefully and evenly poured onto the square Black Goat altar, which was engraved with blasphemous runes.
The blood flows along the groove and pools.
Then, the festival entered its darkest core.
The baby who had been prepared and wrapped in swaddling clothes was carried to the altar by the expressionless believers.
Before they even had time to cry, their tiny necks were cut open by a sharp blade, and the bright red fountain of life gurgled into the rapidly expanding blood pool in the center of the altar.
The number of babies decreased rapidly, and when the "sacrifice" was insufficient, an even more horrifying scene happened:
Several pregnant women with swollen bellies were dragged up. Their shrill cries and curses echoed in the temple, but they could not stop the cruel blade from falling - one corpse and two lives.
Life is harvested at the moment of conception, just to fill the seemingly insatiable pool of blood.
The altar completely turned into a surging pool of blood, exuding a strong smell of rust and despair.
The high priest finally walked forward slowly, each step looking particularly solemn and solemn.
I saw him walking to the mysterious box and carefully opening the lid.
The inside of the box exudes a creepy atmosphere, and inside there are several old skeletons with dark colors and weird shapes. They look so old that people cannot imagine;
In addition, there are some dry stumps scattered around that seem to be trembling slightly but whose origin is unknown.
Immediately afterwards, the high priest began to chant a strange and difficult to understand incantation in a low voice. The voice seemed to come from the underworld, full of eerie and terrifying feeling.
As he continued to chant, the bones and limbs that had been placed quietly began to tremble and creak as if they were given life.
In the end, the high priest did not hesitate to throw all these items that were considered blasphemous into the huge pool of blood as scarlet as ink in front of him.
In an instant, the blood pool seemed to be ignited, and a wave of surging waves suddenly appeared, accompanied by waves of low and suppressed grunting sounds - "Gulu... Gulu..."
The sound was like millions of ghosts with unjust grievances struggling and wailing underwater, trying to break through their restraints and escape!
At the same time, the entire blood pool quickly rolled and stirred as if it had been enchanted. The blood in it lost its color at an alarming speed, and all kinds of filthy impurities sank to the bottom.
In just a few breaths, the originally turbid blood pool miraculously returned to calm, leaving only a pool of crystal clear liquid lying there quietly.
Like a pool of sweet and refreshing mountain spring water, it reflects the blazing flames above.
However, this extraordinary "purity" did not bring any joy or peace of mind to people. Instead, it made the surrounding air colder and biting, as if even time had frozen at this moment.