Chapter 454 - 426: The Ultimate Killing Weapon
"Don’t worry. I’ll definitely solve the problem. Not just those humans, but also the Fishmen helping them—I’ll take care of all of them," Heiqi said confidently.
Lanhe gave a knowing smile. "The number of clansmen needed to activate it is increasing. Have you chosen the sacrifices for this time?"
"That’s none of your concern. We Black Fishmen have plenty of clansmen willing to make a sacrifice," Heiqi snorted.
"Alright, then. We’ll set out once you’ve chosen the sacrifices," Lanhe said.
Upon returning to his clan, Heiqi immediately ordered the conscription of sacrifices.
As the news spread, the once-bustling gathering place fell instantly silent.
The Black Fishmen raised their heads one by one, their faces masks of terror and disbelief.
Little Fishmen still playing outside were swiftly snatched up by their elders and hidden away in their homes.
Nearby, a few Blue Fishmen watched on. They, too, fell silent.
"This is not a request. It is an order," Heiqi stated coolly. "In one hour, all sacrifices are to assemble outside. Anyone who defies this order will be dealt with according to clan law."
Among the Black Fishmen, a number of the elderly voluntarily stepped forward.
"Father..." a Fishman anxiously grabbed the old Fishman’s hand. "Let me go in your place."
The old Fishman shook his head. "My own father stepped forward like this. You are still young. The tribe needs you to continue."
The elderly Fishmen hung suspended in the water, forming three long lines.
"Three hundred and forty-five," said the supervising Fishman guard in a cold voice. "It’s not enough. We’re still short one hundred and fifty-five."
"The number of sacrifices has gone up again? At this rate, how will we ever have enough..." a Fishman lamented.
"My grandfather told me that a long time ago, it only took ten sacrifices. Now they’re asking for four hundred."
"It’s five hundred this time."
The remaining Black Fishmen conversed in hushed tones. Soon, a second group stepped forward.
This time, those who stepped forward were the disabled and the injured. Their ranks included young adults as well as children.
Compared to their healthy counterparts, they were the second group to be abandoned.
After counting them several times, the Fishman guard confirmed, "We’re still thirty-five short."
This time, silence fell over the remaining Black Fishmen.
No one was willing to step forward.
A suffocating silence descended upon the gathering place.
Heiqi’s gaze swept slowly over every Black Fishman present, utterly devoid of warmth.
One Fishman gripped their child’s hand so tightly their knuckles turned white.
Another stared at the ground, daring not to meet anyone’s eyes.
Yet another instinctively swam backward, trying to shield themselves behind others.
"Since no one is volunteering, I will call out the names myself. If your name is called..." Heiqi said coolly.
"I’ll go," a Fishman with dark-tinged scales swam forward.
"I’ll go as well."
A young female Fishman swam out from the crowd.
A few more stepped forward. The number was slowly growing, but it was still far short of thirty-five.
Just then, a sharp voice shattered the tense atmosphere. "It’s not fair!"
All eyes turned to the source of the voice: a young, able-bodied Fishman. His face contorted with resentment, he pointed at the queue of those who had already stepped forward. "Why? Why should we have to send more people? That family over there has already sent two, but *their* family hasn’t sent a single one!"
The other Fishmen looked toward the accused family. They were all healthy, young adults, their ages falling just within the range exempting them from the selection. In contrast, the other family mentioned already had their grandfather and eldest son in the queue, as both had been previously injured.
The accused family grew uneasy and started to object, but they lowered their heads as the gazes of the other Fishmen fell upon them.
"My brother already went! Our family has already contributed!" another Fishman shouted.
"Your brother lost an arm to poison during a hunt. He was supposed to go anyway."
"He was bitten by that venomous serpent saving someone else!"
"Enough!" Heiqi roared. He extended a hand and pointed randomly into the crowd. "You. You. And you..."
He pointed only to members of families who had not yet offered up a sacrifice.
Once the numbers were met, a cold glint flashed in Heiqi’s eyes. ’After sacrificing the lives of so many of my clansmen,’ he thought, ’I will kill the one behind all this!’
Heiqi and Lanhe swam side by side.
The group of Fishman sacrifices trailed behind them.
They arrived at a hidden entrance behind the settlement, one that led to a system of subterranean caves.
They passed through the entrance, descending into a deeper chamber at the bottom of the lake.
The sound of hissing currents echoed through the dim surroundings.
Lanhe took out a box and opened its lid. A large quantity of pale red liquid billowed out, merging with the surrounding water.
The hissing of the currents gradually subsided. Lanhe dove deeper.
Before long, a faint luminescence appeared from below. A few glowing stones were embedded in the corners of the chamber, and in the center sat a sealed stone sarcophagus.
Lanhe ignored the sarcophagus below; it was a trap.
Moving any of the surrounding stones would trigger a mechanism, releasing thousands of highly venomous aquatic insects from within.
"Don’t look around, and don’t touch anything," a Fishman guard warned. "Just think about your families."
He and Heiqi swam toward the area behind the sarcophagus. It wasn’t long before they reached their destination.
In the dim water ahead stood four enormous bronze pillars. Crouched in their center was a shadowy, indistinct figure.
The moment he saw the shadowy figure, Lanhe’s heart began to race.
The accompanying Fishman guards also retreated hastily.
He calmed his nerves, approached the pillar on the right, and drew a small knife from his robes to cut his finger.
As if drawn by some unseen force, the blood flowed entirely into the bronze pillar before him.
Heiqi, meanwhile, went to the diagonally opposite pillar and did the same.
Red lines at the base of the bronze pillars stretched to the feet of the shadowy figure.
As the red light reached it, the figure that had been squatting silently at the bottom stirred. It tilted its neck, the sharp CRACK of its joints echoing with startling clarity in the silent water.
From its back, one, two, then three pairs of arms extended, making it look like a six-legged giant insect crouching on the lakebed.
Lanhe’s expression was complex. ’So this is it,’ he thought, ’the tribe’s ultimate weapon of slaughter: the Six-Armed Nedis.’
In Fishman mythology, Nedis was the god known as the God of Annihilation and Slaughter.
"You are afraid," Nedis’s voice resonated. "There is no need for fear. I am your most faithful god." It stood and spread its arms. The next instant, it vanished.
"AH!" A bloodcurdling scream echoed from behind them.
Nedis flashed past, and the sacrifices in its path fell like stalks of wheat before a scythe.
Corpse after corpse exploded, scattering clouds of thick blood into the water.
A vortex formed around Nedis, funneling the blood into its mouth and nostrils.
It narrowed its eyes, an expression of pure ecstasy on its face.
Lanhe closed his eyes. ’Even though they’re all Black Fishmen,’ he thought, ’they are still the lifeblood of our tribe.’
When the screams finally ceased, only corpses remained, drifting in the water.
The bodies were all completely desiccated, drained of every drop of blood.
Nedis’s body was now engorged, a full size larger than before.
"Who shall I kill?"
"Kill me!"
...
...