Chapter 2

In the midst of the mountains and valleys, monsters and fierce beasts roamed, their terrifying and vicious sounds echoing incessantly, as if tearing apart the heavens and earth.

Tangji Town, located at the edge of the Cangman Mountains, was surrounded by towering peaks and vast, majestic mountains.

Tang San Shi, carrying a bag of ore, walked towards the town, his steps heavy and slow, his expression numb.

For a young human, still in the process of physical development, such a bag of ore was indeed too heavy.

However, Tang San Shi had few complaints about the arduous physical labor. At least he could still survive, unlike his fair-skinned companions who were selected to be food for the wolf demons.

The grasslands and dozens of towns and villages, including Tangji Town, within hundreds of miles of the Cangman Mountains, were part of the territory of the wolf demons, known for their cruelty and cunning.

Half a year ago, the Great Wu Empire experienced internal strife, and the army that protected the towns and villages was completely withdrawn by the city lord to defend the main city and key strongholds. The wolf demons took the opportunity to invade Tangji Town and the surrounding villages. After brutally devouring nearly half of the human population, they began to force the remaining humans to mine and smelt iron ore, and even forge weapons and armor.

Like other surviving humans in Tangji Town, Tang San Shi had gone from initially hoping for the city lord to send troops to rescue them to now feeling utterly hopeless and numb.

The fate of the humans in Tangji Town seemed predetermined: either to become food or to die early after being drained of all their strength.

Tang San Shi raised his head, gazing at the clear blue sky, feeling lost and sad: "Is my life destined to follow this fixed path of misery, with no glimmer of hope? Will the people of Tangji Town never escape the enslavement of the wolf demons?"

*Slap!*

A sharp pain came from Tang San Shi's face. A bloody whip mark suddenly appeared on his left cheek, extending across his nose to the right side.

"Move faster, what are you daydreaming about! If you don't transport the ore to the town by evening, I'll eat you," a vicious and cruel voice said. A wolf-headed, human-bodied creature held a leather whip, greedily eyeing Tang San Shi's arms, drooling disgustingly.

Tang San Shi glanced at the wolf demon holding the whip, wearing ill-fitting clothes, and lowered his eyes to hide the hatred and anger in his gaze, saying softly, "Yes, Lord Wolf Demon."

Tang San Shi was not afraid of being eaten by the wolf demon. A few days ago, a wolf demon had killed and eaten three humans in one go, and was cruelly punished by the legendary Wolf Demon King, who then ordered that no humans, except those who resisted the wolf demons, were to be killed or eaten at will. Of course, this was not because the Wolf Demon King had suddenly become merciful, but because the human population in his territory was dwindling, affecting the mining and smelting of iron ore.

...

As dusk faded and night fell, Tang San Shi, having just finished his arduous labor, took a moment to catch his breath and then picked up the ration of food—a black hard cake—and headed back to his home in the town.

Turning a corner, Tang San Shi suddenly became alert, looking around. Seeing no patrolling wolf demons or other humans nearby, his expression turned excited, and he turned into a secluded path, walking quickly under the cover of darkness and starlight.

After about fifteen minutes, passing through an abandoned cemetery, Tang San Shi saw a two-meter-high stone tombstone.

He looked around again, then carefully and quietly walked behind the stone tombstone, gently tapping the stone surface in three groups of three, six, and nine taps.

As the tapping sound faded, a crack appeared in the stone, as if a door had opened. A young man with a dirty face poked his head out, looking around warily. Upon seeing Tang San Shi, his expression relaxed slightly, and he waved, "Come in quickly, San Shi."

Tang San Shi nimbly crawled inside, watching as the young man closed and locked the stone door, saying, "Brother Mu, I'm going down first."

"Go quickly, everyone is almost here, waiting for you," the young man said.

Tang San Shi quickly walked down a stone passage, the walls adorned with many murals. There were scenes of deities descending, with thousands of people kneeling in worship; deities battling demons, slaying evil; and altars standing tall, radiating light...

Although Tang San Shi had seen these murals many times, each time he felt his heart surge with emotion, and his once hopeless and numb heart was filled with a glimmer of hope.

At the end of the passage was a large hall, about four to five hundred square meters, where over a hundred humans stood facing the altar, their backs to the passage.

"San Shi, you're here?" An elderly man with a white beard, standing on the steps in front of the altar, looked at Tang San Shi with pity and nodded slightly.

"Grandpa Clan Leader! I'm late, is the ceremony about to start?" Tang San Shi said, a mix of anticipation and fear in his voice. The young man's heart was filled with curiosity and fear about the unknown, but more importantly, hope and expectation.

The old man did not answer Tang San Shi's question. His wise gaze swept over everyone present, and he said in a沧桑 (weathered) and sad voice, "Our current life is a path without any hope. The city lord will not send troops to rescue us for just a small town, unless the internal strife ends, which is unlikely. But by the time it does, we will all be dead. Should we wait numbly for death, or follow me back to the embrace of the Dark God, praying for the great Dark God to send a Dark Messenger to save us?"

The old man's name was Tang Guanshu, the clan leader of the Tang family in Tangji Town and the officially appointed town leader of the Great Wu Empire.

"Long live the Dark God!" a chorus of angry shouts came from around the altar.

"We believe in the Dark God, there is no other way to survive!"

Tang Guanshu, seeing this, showed a satisfied expression.

"Many thousands of years ago, our Tangji Town and all the nearby villages worshipped the great Dark God, protected by him, avoiding the harm of the monsters and beasts in the Cangman Mountains. Until five hundred years ago, when the Great Wu Empire was established, the empire sent troops to guard the towns and villages and dispatched armies deep into the Cangman Mountains to mine ore and hunt demon beasts."

"With the passage of time, no one remembers the great Dark God today. The empire has abandoned us, and we can only return to the faith in the great Dark God, praying for him to send a Dark Messenger to protect our homes and lives. This is our only way to survive..."

Although not very familiar with the Dark God, everyone, including Tang San Shi, listened intently, their eyes filled with hope, even though it was faint and elusive.

Combined with the content of the murals, the vivid image of the Dark God sending a messenger appeared in their minds, and everyone clenched their fists tightly. In such a desperate situation, any glimmer of hope could ignite a flame in people's hearts.

"This hidden hall and sacred altar are left by our ancestors. We will now worship the Dark God, the great Lord of Death, because we were once abandoned by him, we need to be more devout to regain his favor, praying for him to send a Dark Messenger to save us."

As Tang Guanshu finished speaking, he stood up and walked up the steps to the altar.

The altar was primarily blood-red and dark purple, carved with strange patterns and designs, exuding an eerie beauty.

At the end of the steps where Tang Guanshu stood, there was a bowl-shaped depression, with a small amount of dark red solid residue at the bottom, faintly emitting a light bloody smell.

According to what Tang Guanshu had said, this altar had not been used for at least five hundred years. It was hard to imagine how much blood had been poured into this depression to leave such a residue and smell, especially since five hundred years had not erased it, suggesting a special reason.

Tang Guanshu, with a solemn expression, took a gleaming dagger from a gaunt middle-aged man and, muttering an unknown incantation, quickly walked to the bowl-shaped depression at the end of the steps.

"Great Dark God! Your devout servant prays and offers sacrifices to you."

"You rule over darkness, control the boundary between life and death, and are the omnipotent god."

"Please grant us power, send your powerful messenger to protect our homes and lives."

Tang Guanshu, with his eyes half-closed, after a devout prayer, placed his arms over the bowl-shaped depression. The cold light of the dagger flashed, and warm, dark red blood flowed from a wound on his left forearm, dripping into the bowl-shaped depression.

The bowl-shaped depression, though called a bowl, had a capacity of more than ten times that of an ordinary bowl.

Tang Guanshu, already old and weak, and often hungry, was in poor health. As the blood just covered the bottom of the depression, he felt dizzy and almost fell onto the altar. If not for his concern about disrupting the ceremony and invoking the wrath of the great Dark God, he would have fainted from blood loss.

Tang Guanshu, dragging his tired and weak body, after another devout and strange prayer, used a piece of cotton cloth to press on the wound and was slowly helped down from the altar by the middle-aged man.

With Tang Guanshu leading the way, the over a hundred people around the altar followed suit, each one praying and offering their own blood to the bowl-shaped depression.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, everyone had completed their prayers and blood offerings. The bowl-shaped depression was filled with blood, which began to flow along the grooves on both sides of the altar.

Soon, the blood level in the bowl-shaped depression dropped, and logically, no more blood should have flowed into the grooves. However, a strange phenomenon occurred: the blood continued to flow evenly from both sides, filling the various grooves on the altar.

Witnessing this defying logic, everyone's confidence grew, and any lingering doubts gradually dissipated. They prayed to the great Dark God with even greater devotion.

The volume of their prayers also increased.

*Buzz—*

The moment the blood covered the entire altar, a strange wave appeared in the air above the altar, and the blood on the altar emitted a faint red light.

At the entrance of the hall, in the dark shadows, three towering black figures quietly observed the changes at the altar and the people's prayers.

"These lowly humans are truly laughable, trying to summon the messenger of the great Dark God with such a simple ceremony. It is said that the great Dark God is the ancestor of our wolf demon race, and he has not shown his divine light for five hundred years. The Wolf Demon King and the clan priests have tried hundreds of ways to summon him, but none have worked," the tallest figure in the middle said to the two black figures on either side, his tone filled with undisguised ridicule and amusement.

"Boss! What should we do, eat them all or report back to the Wolf Demon King in the Cangman Mountains?" the black figure on the left asked, somewhat eagerly.

"Fool! Of course, we should eat them all. The Wolf Demon King only ordered us not to eat humans who do not resist us. These lowly humans are plotting to resist us, so eating them does not violate the Wolf Demon King's order," the tall figure in the middle said with a low hum.

"Boss, you're right. It's been a long time since I've eaten delicious human flesh. I can't wait to eat them," the black figure on the right said, somewhat flatteringly and with a grimace.

Seeing the ceremony about to end without any special changes, the middle black figure waved his hand, "Today, each of us will eat one human. The rest will be kept here, and we will enjoy delicious human flesh every day for a long time."

"Yes, boss!" the two black figures on either side said in unison.

Tang Guanshu, seeing the altar emit a faint red light, led everyone to prostrate themselves on the ground, praying softly, "Great Dark God, Lord of Life and Death, we are your most devout followers. We will make everyone recite your name and honor you as a deity. May we be delivered from all suffering and evil under your divine light."

"May your Dark Messenger return to Tangji Town, and we will—"

*Ah! Ah! Ah!*

Before Tang Guanshu could finish, three piercing screams came from behind the crowd. The old man rolled to his feet in shock and looked towards the entrance of the hall.

Three terrifying figures appeared, three towering, vicious wolf demons, each holding a human from the outer edge of the crowd, their white fangs deeply embedded in their necks. The three humans screamed in agony, their voices muffled as if blocked by saliva, and they fell to the ground, convulsing. After a few moments, their legs stiffened, and they could no longer move, blood gushing from their throats.

"You—how did you get here?!" Tang Guanshu exclaimed in panic. Most people screamed in terror, their faces pale, and they trembled, retreating. Only a few young and strong men, armed with crude weapons, mustered the courage to charge at the three wolf demons.

Tang Guanshu, seeing the three humans already dead, shook his head in sorrow. He shouted loudly to the terrified people, "We have over a hundred people. If we fight to the death, there is still a chance to escape. But if we retreat and beg for mercy, we will only become food for the wolf demons, and they will eat us all eventually."

"Let's fight them!" Another thirty to forty people picked up crude weapons and charged at the three wolf demons, shouting loudly.

Faced with the real and immediate threat of life and death, everyone had already forgotten the blood sacrifice and the elusive Dark God.

The three wolf demons paid no attention to the humans charging at them, ignoring the crude weapons that struck their bodies as they continued to devour fresh human flesh. This boosted the spirits of all the humans, their eyes filled with hope.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Dozens of weapons struck the wolf demons, making metallic sounds, and occasionally sparks flew, but none of the weapons could penetrate the wolf demons' iron-like fur. Many people, weakened by hunger, could not withstand the rebound and fell to the ground.

The people left in Tangji Town were mostly the elderly, sick, and weak, and none of them had learned any martial skills. The disparity in strength between them and the wolf demons was too great. Even if the wolf demons stood still, allowing the people to strike, they could not break through their defenses unless they hit a vital spot.

The people cried out in alarm, and a sense of despair and hopelessness spread throughout the hall. Many people fell to the ground, their lower bodies wet with urine, emitting a foul smell.

The three wolf demons devoured half a human each, then casually threw the remains to the ground, licking their blood-stained lips with a look of insatiable hunger, eyeing the crowd like wolves eyeing sheep.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The three wolf demons, almost simultaneously, leaped at three different humans.

*Ah! Ah! Ah!*

Three more piercing screams echoed as three more humans were grabbed by the wolf demons, their necks bitten through, and they became wolf food.

Clearly, after devouring one human each, the wolf demons' bloodthirsty and savage nature was fully unleashed, and they had abandoned the idea of keeping the remaining humans alive. Now, they only wanted to kill all the humans in front of them.

The three wolf demons, biting but not eating, moved swiftly, leaving a trail of screams in their wake.

Almost every three breaths, one person was bitten to death by the wolf demons.

The people were completely helpless, like sheep to the wolves.

Tang Guanshu, witnessing this, suddenly turned around and knelt before the altar, crying and banging his head on the ground, "Great Dark God, Lord of Life and Death, please save us! We are willing to offer our souls—"

Seeing this, the others also knelt around the altar, ignoring the wolf demons' slaughter behind them, and began to pray in despair and sorrow.

The screams behind them continued.

But under the old man's lead, the people gradually entered their own world, reciting the name of the Dark God and banging their heads on the ground, their blood staining the floor.

A strange phenomenon occurred again. When the people mentioned "willing to offer our souls" in their prayers, a faint glow emerged from each person, flying towards the altar like moths to a flame. At the same time, the blood from the people's foreheads, which had been hitting the ground, flowed up the steps of the altar in all four directions, defying logic, and entered the grooves on the altar.

The faint red light, with the addition of the hundred or so glows and the blood, grew brighter and more substantial.

At this moment, including the three wolf demons, no one noticed the changes at the altar.

*Buzz—*

Above the altar, the red light caused a ripple in the air.

*Crack!*

The space seemed to tear open like a painting, and the red light, finding an outlet, rushed into the spatial rift.

Hearing the sharp sound of the spatial tear, everyone, including the three wolf demons, instinctively raised their heads, their expressions frozen.

After a brief moment of shock, the over a hundred people were overwhelmed with joy, tears streaming down their faces as they prostrated themselves and prayed even more fervently.

"Great Dark God, your messenger has arrived, and will surely lead us to victory over evil."

"We are your most devout followers, honoring you as a deity for all eternity."

"May we be delivered from all suffering and evil under your divine light."

The three wolf demons had stopped killing the humans and stared in shock at the changes at the altar.

Seeing the incredible scene before them, the red in the wolf demons' eyes gradually faded, and their unease grew more intense.

On the altar, as the red light poured into the spatial rift, the rift grew larger. After a dozen breaths, a blood-red portal appeared above the altar.

A figure in strange armor emerged from the portal.

"Dark Messenger, you have arrived, bringing the grace of salvation."

Tang Guanshu and the over a hundred people, seeing this, were overwhelmed with excitement and joy. Could it be true that a Dark Messenger had arrived to save them?

*Buzz—*

The air rippled again, and the spatial portal began to shrink, quickly disappearing. The red light on the altar also faded, but the figure on the altar became clearer, standing tall and straight, wearing armor and a round helmet that none of them had ever seen before. Only a pair of black eyes, visible through a transparent visor, looked at the crowd.

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