A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Inside the cell, a girl with a flaxen ponytail was sitting on the edge of the stone wall eating. Although the porridge still smelled rancid, the portion was much larger than the previous few days, and she also had Grandpa's share. , the grandfather and grandson no longer have to share a portion of food and go hungry together.

She swallowed the food in bites. It was already dark, and the torch hanging on the stone wall outside was burning, and the firelight shone on her face. From the cell hole came the sounds of children talking among themselves, the banging of spoons and basins, and the sound of sobbing that still sounded from time to time.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the cell was very depressing, the air was so heavy that it was difficult to breathe, and fear was written on every child's face, because they all knew that as soon as dinner was finished, someone would come here. Pull one of them out and become a sacrifice on the distant altar.

No one knows whether they will be the next sacrifice.

This depressing atmosphere infected everyone, and even Kelly, who had been lively and tenacious by nature since childhood, became taciturn.

After experiencing being framed and almost dying, the little boy she wanted to protect almost died on her behalf, and finally the boy who harmed her became a sacrifice and died - this series of things, the innocence of a child that still existed in her eyes yesterday It has dissipated and is no longer as lively as it was at the beginning.

During this day, apart from eating and occasionally looking up at the place where Garlan was kept in the distance, she almost always sat quietly at the foot of the stone wall with her knees folded, her head lowered and silent. .

Her grandfather was heartbroken to see her like this, but he couldn't think about it.

Seeing his granddaughter drinking porridge in silence with a sad expression, the old man took a few sips, sighed, put down the bowl in his hand, and wanted to speak.

However, before he could speak, there was a crisp sound of metal hitting, and he subconsciously turned his head to look. Then, he saw the cell door that had been firmly locked opened with a creak.

The red firelight shone in from the outside and reflected on the small figure standing at the door of the cell, forming an outline of a reddish halo, making the figure look like a Vulcan appearing in the flames.

In the darkness, he comes with fire and light.

The old man's heart beat violently, and he subconsciously rubbed his eyes. Only then did he see clearly that the person who opened the cell door was the blond child who called himself Gal.

Before he could react, Kelly, who had been silent next to him, stood up suddenly.

"Gal!"

The girl shouted Gallan's name excitedly, and her dim eyes suddenly lit up.

She took a few steps forward, and then she realized that the cell door had been opened by Garlan, and she was a little confused.

"You...how do you put this...what are you..."

Garlan nodded to Kelly, but did not answer her words. He glanced inside the cell. At this moment, there was silence in the cell, which originally had some small sounds, as if time had stopped. All the children were shocked, "The person who opened the cell door was actually a child like them." This incident shocked me, and I couldn't turn my mind around. I could only stare at Garlan blankly.

"come out."

Garlan said in a deep voice, "Everyone come out immediately. There is no one outside now, we can escape!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kelly's eyes suddenly lit up. She rushed out of the door without saying a word. She stood next to Garlan and looked outside. She was surprised and happy when she found that there was really no guard.

Before she could recover from the surprise, Garlan thrust a large number of keys into her hands, and the old man who came out shortly after was also stuffed with a large number of keys.

Garlan said: "Quickly, open all the other cell doors."

Kelly nodded sharply, then quickly ran to the nearby cell hole, and tried the big bunch of keys with deft hands and feet.

The three of them split up and quickly opened all the four or five mountain cell walls. After completing the task, Kelly ran back to find Garlan. Just when she was happily trying to show off her merits, she saw Garlan looking at the cells with a solemn expression.

Keli subconsciously followed Garlan's gaze, and she was stunned when she saw it.

The doors of all the cells were open, but except for a few children who couldn't wait to run out, most of the children huddled inside the cells and looked outside with timid eyes, although the eyes looking at the cell doors were full of longing. , but no one dared to take a step outside.

They dare not.

Kelly was anxious.

"Why don't you come out?"

She couldn't help shouting at the children who were huddled in the cell hole and refused to come out.

Garlan subconsciously glanced outside and after confirming that no one was nearby, he did not stop Kelly from shouting.

"...There is no escape."

A child responded with a naa naa.

"right."

"There's no way we can escape."

"We don't even know where this is."

"How to escape?"

"Definitely...will definitely be caught."

The children looked over with dull eyes. In the darkness, their eyes had no light at all, as if they were completely shrouded in shadow.

The few children who ran out were all the same as Kelly, and they were just sent here yesterday. And for those children who have been here for a long time and felt the fear brought to them by the cult, their self-will has been completely shattered, and they are like walking zombies, without themselves.

Kelly, who didn't understand this, was angry and anxious for a while. She looked at the children with an expression of hatred, but she was helpless.

The old man who somewhat understood that the minds of these children had been poisoned by the All Things Cult understood a little, but at this time, he didn't know what to do. After all, time was too tight, and there was no telling when someone from the cult would appear. come over.

By then, no one will be able to escape.

"Are you going to wait here to die?"

A loud voice suddenly sounded in the night.

It is like a sharp sword that can penetrate the darkness, pouring clearly into everyone's ears.

The children, whose eyes were full of timidity, subconsciously turned their attention to the person who made the sound.

In the dark night, Garlan stood there, the firelight illuminating his bright blond hair.

"Listen, there are no guards here now because they are preparing for a major ceremony. Therefore, the sacrifices they will offer tonight are fifty."

With a bang, there was a sudden commotion in the cell.

Fifty people are nearly half of the people here.

Some children are afraid or unwilling to escape, hoping that the one percent chance will not fall on them. But now that half of the people are about to be captured, no one can guarantee whether they will be among the sacrifices. One member.

"Listen! Not one, fifty!"

Garlan repeated again, "Half of the people here will be dragged to the altar now, their throats will be slit, and they will watch their blood drain. Don't think that it won't be your turn next!"

At this point, Garlan's voice suddenly rose.

"If you don't want to die, just stand up and run - there is no one here, run away! There is a forest outside! There is a river below! If you can swim, jump into the river! If you can run, run into the forest!"

Garlan knew in his heart that he couldn't talk to these young children in any big way. He could only use the most straightforward language to encourage them.

"There are only fifty of those people!"

He said: "As long as you can outrun others, you don't have to die——"

Keli looked at Garlan in astonishment, how could this be possible? She thought, isn't this just telling those children that if you outrun others, you can let others die and you can live?

She couldn't help but want to ask Garlan, how could he say such terrible words?

But before Kelly could even say that question, there was sudden movement in the cell, and an older child rushed out.

Gallan's words had an immediate effect. At this moment, the children's desire for life defeated their fear of the cult.

Immediately afterwards, several more people rushed out.

As soon as someone takes the lead, it's like a breach in a dike, and the flood surges out in just an instant. Almost all the children seemed to have changed, rushing out.

When we got to the back, there were almost a bunch of people squeezing out, for fear of being left behind. Most of them got into the forest, and kept digging into the thick bushes regardless of their hands and feet being scratched. Some people ran straight down to the river and jumped into the water.

"let's go."

In this chaotic scene, Garlan said something to the stunned Keli, turned around and left.

He took one last look at the three or four children who were still numbly motionless in the cell, said nothing, and quickly rushed into the dark forest.

——God cannot save those who have given up hope of living.

…………

……………………

In the dark night, in the dense jungle, there are two figures, one large and two small, walking through the bushes.

The bright moonlight penetrated the branches and leaves and fell into the jungle. Garlan looked up at the cloudless night sky and cursed secretly in his heart.

There was obviously no moonlight last night, but it was so bright tonight.

After scolding, he had to move on. Kelly held the old man's hand and bit her lower lip and followed him without saying a word. She didn't dare to stop and rest, but kept moving forward with all her strength.

Kelly didn't know how long she had been walking. It seemed like a long time, but it didn't seem like that long. The mountains and jungles in front of her seemed to have no end in sight. Her face was flushed, her forehead was covered with sweat, and her body was covered with sweat. The bruised area hurts.

She looked at the front. The scratches on the blond child in front of her were much more serious than hers, probably because the skin was white and tender. A slight scratch would show a conspicuous red mark. The exposed skin was covered with dense scratches, and there were some places. It was red and swollen and looked shocking, but she didn't hear the other person cry out in pain.

She remembered that when she was about to fall into despair, the figure who suddenly opened the cell door and appeared in front of her with bright firelight.

So small, in her eyes at that time, he was taller than anything else.

That seemingly small figure could grab her hand and pull her out of the abyss of despair.

Kelly thought, Grandpa and the others always said that King Camos was the patron saint of Aaron Landis, but she felt that the so-called patron saints were not necessarily people as powerful as King Camos. There were also people like Gal In this way, he doesn't seem powerful, but he can give people hope in the darkness. He protects her heart that was almost shattered by fear, and awakens the withered hearts of those children——

She thought that this beautiful child who suddenly appeared in front of her and her grandfather must have been sent by God to help them.

Just when Keli looked at Garlan's back and felt extremely relieved, a noisy sound suddenly came from behind.

Kelly was startled - they were the sounds of people talking, the sound of bushes being pushed aside, the faint sound of dogs barking in the wind, and the sound of running footsteps, getting closer and closer.

The pursuers are coming!

A sense of panic instantly filled Kelly's chest, and her hand holding her grandfather trembled uncontrollably.

For some reason, or maybe it was instinct, she subconsciously looked up at Garlan.

Garlan also heard the voices of the chasing people. He looked around, and then pushed Keli and the old man under the fibrous roots of a huge tree protruding from the ground. The crooked fibrous roots were crisscrossed and covered with ivy, dark in the shadows, making it difficult to see clearly.

He raised his hand and made a shushing gesture towards Kelly, then stuck his head out to look.

The next second, the sound of dog barking made his eyes tremble.

He originally thought that he could hide and wait for those people to find him and escape in another direction, but since those people were bringing dogs, they might not be able to escape now.

……No.

It’s not that ‘they’ can’t escape.

Judging from the sound, those who were tracking only brought one dog, so...

Garlan looked back and saw the girl squatting behind him looking at him nervously, her big bright eyes full of trust in him.

He turned his head and lowered his eyes. His long eyelashes covered his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.

A second later, Garlan raised his eyes and looked forward.

He got up.

Keli, who was squatting under the intertwined tree roots, kept looking at Garlan nervously, so when Garlan moved, she immediately felt it.

"Gall?"

she shouted quietly.

Kelly saw Gallan, who had already stood up, turn around again. In the darkness, she couldn't see Gallan's face, but the blond hair on Gallan's cheeks reflected a little light, allowing her to see the child's slightly raised eyebrows. Lip corners.

She was startled.

In the second she was stunned, the figure that paused because of her shout moved again.

Subconsciously, Kelly reached out to grab it.

But she missed it.

She instinctively wanted to shout Gal's name, but her whole body trembled. She grabbed her free hand and jerked it back, covering her mouth with force.

She squatted on the spot stiffly, watching helplessly as Garlan ran towards the other side quickly, alarming the people who had already chased him not far away.

A big dog barked excitedly and chased after Garlan.

All the people followed the dog.

The girl squatted in the darkness, looking ahead with wide eyes.

Her hands were tightly covering her mouth, and big tears fell from her wide eyes, rolling down on the back of her hands, burning hot.

Her grandfather's helpless and sad sigh came from beside her.

…………

It was impossible for a child to outrun a vicious dog, nor could he outrun the strong guards. Naturally, Garlan was caught after running for a while.

Together with the children who were also caught, they were escorted back by a team of guards.

They were not escorted back to the prison, but directly sent to the huge altar.

The bonfire on the altar had been lit, and the blazing fire was burning in the darkness, and the fiery red light illuminated everyone's faces.

He was pushed forward towards the wooden cage where a bunch of children were already imprisoned.

On the way over, he heard anxious conversations between his captors and believers near the altar.

"We have only captured more than 30 people now, which is not enough!"

"The time for sacrifice is coming soon!"

"How about I capture as many as I can and sacrifice them first, and the rest will be captured later--"

"No! The priest said that there must be fifty children, not one less. Otherwise, not only will the mother goddess not be pleased, but she will be angered."

"But our manpower is limited, and it will take time to capture those brats!"

Listening to the anxious conversations of those people, Garlan raised the corner of his mouth.

Yes, this is his purpose.

He knew that it was impossible for those children to escape successfully without the help of outsiders. He didn't expect those children to escape on their own. He knew that even if those children ran away, they would be caught sooner or later.

Therefore, his purpose has been only one from the beginning - to delay time.

Hundreds of children running away together are enough for this group of people to be in a hurry. It will take time to catch those children and bring them back. This will waste a lot of time.

The church's sacrificial rituals have strict regulations and cannot be wrong at all. As long as the number of sacrifices is not enough, the festival will definitely not be held. In this case, the time of sacrifice will be missed. Therefore, even if this large-scale festival is cancelled, the lives of the fifty children will be saved.

Come again, just wait for Brother Kamos to come...

Just when Garlan was relieved that his plan had been successfully implemented, he suddenly felt that it was so quiet around him that it was a bit scary.

When he turned around, he found that there was no one around him. Even the guard who was escorting him had stepped aside, with his head lowered and a look of respect on his face.

There is a strange atmosphere in the air.

Feeling something was wrong, Gallan turned around suddenly and looked up.

The next second, his pupils contracted hard.

The man in black and blue robes who was supposed to be standing far away by the bonfire of the altar quietly appeared behind him at some point.

The hood on the robe was worn on the man's head, hiding the man's face in deep shadows, making it invisible.

But Garlan could feel a terrifying gaze falling on him from the shadow of the hood that made the blood all over his body freeze.

"...bright...soul..."

The man said, his voice low, as if coming from the deepest dark abyss.

It seemed like the deepest sigh, inexplicably creepy.

"...Also, with the vitality of light."

As if muttering to himself, the man in black robe raised his head and looked at the believers behind him.

He said: "Now start preparing for the sacrifice."

"But, Lord Priest, the number of children is not enough..."

"enough."

A pale hand stretched out from the black and blue robe. The man in black robe grasped Garlan tightly, leaving deep bruises on his wrist.

The man in black robe said: "This one is worth the souls and blood of hundreds of children."

His deep voice sounded like a sigh, with a deep sense of contentment.

"This will be the most satisfying sacrifice to our Mother Goddess of All Things——"

The author has something to say: Well...

It seemed like I had nothing to say, so I stopped talking.