The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

When Hua followed Mikael to the square in the dark night, she could hardly connect the scene in front of her with what she saw in the evening——

The stone low wall and the snow on the entire square have long been cleared away. A torch is placed on the low wall every two or three steps. People in the village, regardless of men, women, old and young, are currently forming a circle, holding hands. Silently dancing a weird dance.

No, it’s better to say weird than weird.

The village chief's wife who brought them here quickly joined the dance, and only then did Mikael discover that all the villagers had two traces of blood on their foreheads.

Their dancing postures were strange, as if they were violently twitching. They didn't say a word while dancing, as if they didn't even breathe.

The wind passed through the gaps between the houses, making a horrifying whimper. The torch behind him crackled and the fire light danced. Whether it was the detailed and strange totems on the low wall or the shadows of the dancing villagers reflected in the fire light, they seemed to have become The cold and sticky tentacles appeared, they twisted, twitched, fluttered, and waved, as if at the next moment some indescribable existence behind them would break through the barriers that ordinary people could not reach and descend on the world.

Hua Ang raised his head, not daring to make any larger movements. He just lightly glanced at the side of Mikael's face with his peripheral vision. He was as calm as ever.

Suddenly, her wrist tightened, which startled her. When she gradually recovered, she realized that it was Mikael who had gently held her wrist.

She suddenly gasped for breath, and the cold and biting air suddenly poured into her lungs, causing a strong discomfort that made her want to retching.

Mikael gently stroked her back, and he raised his head and met the eyes of the man tied to the totem pole.

The burning eyes reflected the blazing fire.

Mikael squinted his eyes, and for some reason there was a burning sensation in his eyes, just like cutting peppers and then rubbing them without washing his hands...and rubbing his eyes.

"whispering sound!"

He gritted his teeth, and when he looked at the hot man again, he saw an ugly curve at the corner of his mouth, and the melting ice edge hanging on his cheek was pulled away.

Mikael pursed his lips and said, "Thousands of calamities..."

He muttered his name silently.

The man whose famous name was being recited laughed more and more wantonly for some reason, laughing so hard that his whole body was shaking, and the snow on his head and shoulders fell.

But there was no laughter.

He smiled so wantonly, but didn't make a sound.

Just like the villagers, their dance makes no sound.

The only thing left between heaven and earth is thick silence.

The silence brought an extremely ominous premonition, which enveloped my mind and lingered.

They said they were going to hold a bonfire party, they said they wanted to welcome outsiders...

He said something about digging out the barbecue grill, saying something about baking more pies...

But there is none of these.

The only thing I have is the fire that keeps burning in this long dark night, and the name of the village that dances a strange dance without saying a word.

There is also a beast that is tied to a pillar.

Mikael silently took a step to the side, blocking half of Hua's body behind him, but did not let go of the hand holding her wrist.

He is not worried about himself. Before the next Herrscher is born, he is confident that he is the most powerful person in the world.

But Hua is not.

"ah!!!!"

The old village chief suddenly raised his head and roared at the waning moon in the night sky.

As the sound soared into the sky, everyone stopped.

The village chief's wife got a sack from nowhere, and there was a sound of wood colliding in the bag as she walked.

"What are they doing?"

Hua finally couldn't help but asked.

"I don't know, get ready for battle."

Mikael responded habitually, and then he remembered that the person next to him was Hua, not Aili. Hua was just an ordinary little girl, and he probably shouldn't have said those words about getting ready for battle.

So he added a superfluous sentence:

"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I will protect you."

Hua didn't respond, but Mikael could feel her muscles tightening and her fingers clenching into fists.

"Relax, relax, don't be too nervous."

Mikael advised softly that new recruits always tend to lose a lot of energy due to nervousness before a battle, which is not a good sign.

He also did not look away when he spoke. He saw the village chief himself pushing a large vat out of nowhere, and several men who looked extremely thin helped push it to the bottom of the totem pole.

The rest of the people lit a bonfire on the other side of the totem pole, and then...except for the village chief's wife, the others remained silent...one of them took out a dagger.

"ah!"

Hua let out a slight exclamation.

This slight sound was so harsh in the silent night that all the villagers immediately turned their heads and looked over. Their eyes reflected the light of the bonfire, and they looked at Hua who made the sound without any emotion.

But they didn't seem to be interested in the two outsiders. They quickly turned their heads and looked at the man tied to the pillar.

The villagers finally spoke, but Mikael couldn't understand what they were saying - regardless of gender, young or old, everyone held the handle of the knife with both hands, put it on their chests, faced the totem pole, and closed their eyes. He raised his eyes and muttered something in his mouth.

This is praying - no prompting required, this is one of the most primitive human actions.

They were praying to a man they were bound to.

After a short prayer, the village chief's wife threw the first wooden sculpture into the fire.

With a dull reverberation of "bang", sparks flew everywhere and the fire flickered. The village chief straightened his old waist and was the first to stand under the totem pole, holding out a dagger covered in blood and rust.

"What are they going to do?" Hua probably had a guess in her mind, but that guess was so ridiculous and challenged her psychological bottom line as a "human" that her mind was still in a state of complete confusion and she just watched. The dagger was getting closer and closer to the man on the pillar.

"Puch!"

Mikael covered Hua's eyes, but the sound of the sharp weapon entering flesh reached her ears exactly.

The body in his arms trembled.

Even Mikael himself felt cold in his hands and feet.

A huge gash was opened on the man's calf. His body was obviously frozen, but steaming blood gurgled out and flowed into the dark vat.

The village chief did not leave immediately, but dropped the dagger, directly scooped up the hot blood with both hands, and put it into his mouth.

Mikael's whole body trembled, and this trembling was undoubtedly due to fear - no matter how powerful he was, this scene far exceeded the psychological bottom line that a person could accept.

Mikael even suspected that if a serious Herrscher looked at this scene, he would definitely feel creepy.

"Stop!" Mikael shouted loudly - if he had known better, he shouldn't have gone to such trouble. He just came here alone and took Qianjie away. If he didn't obey, he would be beaten before being taken away. Wouldn't that be fine? But in order to respect Qianjie's own wishes, he also wanted to give Hua, who had been in a bad mood, a holiday. Who would have thought that he would encounter such a terrifying moment.

But no one cared about him. The villagers had already lined up spontaneously, and as one wooden sculpture after another was thrown into the fire, they quickly and orderly made large incisions on the man's body.

"Stop!"

Mikael no longer cares about the so-called bottom line of attacking ordinary people. The power of the Second Herrscher will soon stop all movement in the space: he never thought that he would actually hit it. This scene--

This is not a bonfire party at all! It’s not even a welcome party!

This is a sacrifice!

But...who is the sacrifice?

Who is the sacrifice?

Is it the man tied to the pillar?

A wood carving thrown into the fire?

Or the villagers themselves?

Maybe both.

But why call them on?

Mikael gritted his teeth - the answer was actually very simple, he and Hua were also among the sacrifices.

But, who will collect the sacrifices?

Before he could figure this out, the core of the Second Herrscher had already been formed, but before he could stop the villagers, he felt more movements from outside the village through the power of space.

The wooden walls and houses were knocked down, and under the light of the torches stuck on the stone walls, countless Honkai beasts appeared.