Chapter 400: Sacrifice

David narrowly escaped danger several times, thanks to the fire lizard bombs crafted by Helag.

These bombs were powerful and easy to use, allowing David, a gaseous wizard, to wield crystallized wizard-level attacks.

David lay hidden in the rubble, suppressing his presence and slowing his breathing.

Being an earth-element wizard, he could better utilize earth energy particles to conceal himself among the stones.

David’s innate spell was Petrified Body, turning his skin into hard rock.

With this spell, his body was covered in a thick layer of stone.

Combined with the surrounding earth energy particles, David became indistinguishable from a rock, avoiding detection.

This tactic helped him survive numerous crises.

Each night, David turned into a stone, enduring the perilous darkness.

Before nightfall, he’d find a suitable spot and remain still until dawn.

The past few nights were uneventful, with occasional creatures passing by without noticing him.

No creature would be interested in a rock.

This night started normally, but an unexpected visitor arrived after midnight.

David, hidden in the rubble, saw an old man stumbling toward him.

Anyone in this place at this time wasn’t ordinary.

David observed the old man’s tattered clothes and the massive snake-like creature coiled around him.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t a snake but a large worm.

The old man exuded a dangerous aura, unsettling David.

Fortunately, the old man hadn’t noticed him, muttering to himself.

“Finally… the moment has come. With enough sacrifices, the god will have a chance to descend…” the old man mumbled, stopping to gaze at the dark sky.

The surroundings were so quiet that David heard every word clearly.

Realizing the old man’s identity, David knew he was an Abyssal cultist.

The airship crash was caused by such cultists.

The old man was clearly powerful and strange, beyond David’s ability to confront.

David hoped the old man would leave soon.

If discovered, his fate would be grim.

However, the old man stopped and pulled out a quill.

Raising his left arm, he stabbed it with the quill, drawing blood.

He used the blood-soaked quill to inscribe strange runes on the ground.

“What is he doing…” David wondered, puzzled by the old man’s actions.

The old man continued inscribing, occasionally stabbing himself for more blood.

Hours later, a large blood-drawn array appeared on the ground.

The old man, now covered in blood crusts and small wounds, seemed unfazed, smiling at the array.

He then threw the large worm into the array.

“Now, it’s time to welcome the god’s descent.”

The old man spread his arms, looking skyward as if embracing something.

The worm landed in the array, causing the runes to glow.

A strange aura began spreading.

The aura grew stronger, filling David with a sense of danger.

Suddenly, the old man turned, staring at David’s hiding spot.

He seemed to sense David through the spreading aura.

Realizing he was exposed, David scrambled to flee.

A blood-red claw reached for him, piercing the rocky layer covering his body, grabbing his flesh and bones.

The claw pulled David back, dropping him at the old man’s feet.

“Didn’t expect to offer fresh blood to the god at this time. It seems the god’s will is at work,” the old man said.

Instead of killing David, he broke his limbs and tossed him into the array, intending to use him as a living sacrifice.

In the array, David endured excruciating pain, sweating profusely.

He remained silent, contemplating escape.

But gathering magic was difficult, and his limbs were useless. It seemed his life would end here.

The uncomfortable aura intensified, causing spatial ripples to spread.

The old man, seeing this, was overjoyed, tears streaming as he knelt, “The god is coming!”

Spatial ripples grew stronger, destabilizing the area.

Above the array, a black vortex formed, intensifying the spatial fluctuations.

Footsteps and a man’s voice interrupted, “Yeah, I’m here. Your dad has arrived.”

The old man’s fervent expression froze, turning to see a tall figure in dark gold armor.

“Who are you?” the old man asked.

“I told you, I’m your dad,” Helag laughed.

David, lying in the array, was incredulous, thinking he was hallucinating in his final moments.

Struggling to lift his head, he recognized the figure despite changes in size and armor color.

It was unmistakably Helag.

In a flash, Helag appeared before the old man, slapping him hard. The old man’s head flew off, landing nearby.

Only a headless corpse remained, collapsing silently.