Chapter 1826 - 469: Blood Sacrifice Prologue

Chapter 1826: Chapter 469: Blood Sacrifice Prologue

"Cough." Lie Zhua opened his mouth and coughed up blood.

But this pain was far inferior to the raging blaze burning in his heart.

Below the platform, the silence was death-like, yet he could "hear" beneath this silence the sound of thousands of hearts pounding madly in extreme fury.

His clansmen looked at him with anger and sadness.

The acute pain made his thoughts somewhat scattered.

Death was about to arrive, but there was no fear within him.

In the final moments of life, he recalled Teacher Blue Star’s stories about the fall of Star Valley, stories of exile and sacrifice that he never lived through but were recorded in history.

Back then, the ancestors used their flesh and blood to pave a path of survival for the generations to come.

Which birthed the prosperity of today’s New Star Valley.

Now, it was his turn.

The Supervisor of the Bone Shattering Clan, "Shui Ya," had once said to him in the dungeon:

"You weaklings skilled at creation always believe that wisdom can defeat strength, but in the face of absolute strength, this is meaningless."

Back then, he was suspended mid-air by chains and responded with silence.

Shui Ya was right, yet also wrong.

Wisdom indeed cannot triumph over absolute strength in direct confrontation, but wisdom knows how to lurk, how to quickly grow in the darkness.

He even felt fortunate that the Bone Splitting Clan chose him as the first sacrificial offering.

As a warrior, he understood what a clan needs during the dark years of slavery.

Not blind passion, nor empty slogans, but a sufficiently weighty reason for every clansman to engrave hatred into their bones.

His death would become that reason.

By comparison, whether it’s a scholar like Jingsi or an engineer like Qi Ming, their demise would be immeasurable losses to the clan.

And he, a leader born of warriors, was the most suitable to serve as inspiration for the clan’s future sacrifice.

His blood would become the nourishment for watering the clan’s future.

The Bone Splitting Clan wished to use his death to intimidate the clansmen, to break the backbone of the Downspirit Clan.

But the Bone Splitting Clan would never understand that the backbone of the Downspirit Clan was never reliant on mere survival for its strength.

His death would inscribe the word "resistance" in a more covert way into the bone marrow of every surviving clansman.

Hatred would be buried deep within, sharp claws hiding its edge, waiting for the moment of counterattack.

The execution had yet to begin, the Bone Splitting Clan seemed to be deliberately extending the torture with this public display.

The tall figure of Supervisor Shui Ya paced at the edge of the execution platform, his cold golden vertical pupils scanning each furious face below, relishing the silent intimidation.

Time stretched in the silence.

Every second of delay, seen by the Bone Splitting Clan, was aimed at crushing the dignity of the Downspirit Clan and shattering the will of the clansmen below.

Yet Lie Zhua’s face wore a smile, roaring within his heart, issuing a declaration of counterattack to the clansmen:

"Remember their faces at this moment, remember this humiliation. My blood is not the concluding sentence; it is the prologue to future revenge... We, the Downspirit Clan, may bend for a moment, but the fire within our backbone will never die out."

As the internal roar gradually subsided.

Lie Zhua struggled to move his eyes, searching among the vague and silent figures below.

Found him.

His hunched figure in the crowd appeared so lonely, his eyes filled with bloodshot tears, carrying endless agony and guilt.

He was also, in Lie Zhua’s eyes, the faith of the Downspirit Clan, bearing everything of the Downspirit Clan.

Lie Zhua mouthed words toward that direction, though no sound came out.

But Tu Hu still read the intention from his lips.

"Mr. Hu, don’t cry."

"The road... is long... The clan... is entrusted to you."

After speaking, he used every last bit of strength to straighten his backbone.

Just then, the Bone Blade descended with the Broken Wind from behind.

Blood sprayed, the head fell.

A suppressed gasp echoed across the square.

Every Downspirit seemed nailed in place, etching this scene deep in their hearts.

As the crimson stained the execution platform, Shui Ya was satisfied to see all the Downspirit lowered their heads.

But what he didn’t know was that they were not bowing in submission, but hiding the raging flames burning within their hearts.

Lie Zhua planted a seed in the heart of every Downspirit with his death.

Waiting for the day it would break through the earth.

Tu Hu stood at the back of the crowd, watching as Lie Zhua’s head rolled on the cold stone platform, those eyes once filled with indomitable fire now gazing blankly at the gray sky.

His hunched body wavered slightly, while the descending bone blade simultaneously struck his soul.

A rusty, sweet taste surged up his throat, swallowed down tightly.

Bloodshot eyes, unblinking as they endured this heart-piercing scene, etched Lie Zhua’s last gaze and silent entrustment firmly into his heart.

Another child was gone.

The familiar silhouettes came to his mind.

Ah Lann, resolute, dying amid the blazing skyfire in Star Valley; Ah Fen with unspoken commands as pierced by the Bone Spike; Ah Lü’s last cry before the Archive Hall collapsed; Blue Star’s anticipation for the clan’s future while on his sickbed, Mo Tong’s serene profile as he fell asleep at his desk on the snowy night, Huixin’s last clarity in the twisted form within the isolation chamber... From Ah Lann to Lie Zhua, three whole generations passing down the torch.

Each name was a ring carved into his soul, recording the entire history of this clan’s rise from despair.

He watched them grow, stand out among the clan, shine in an era.

Yet also witnessed them walk toward the end of life.

This repetitive cycle of loss was a hundred thousand times more painful than any physical injury, ravaging his will.

Is it my fault?

Self-doubt, like a snake buried within the body, biting at his heart.

He seemed to hear Lie Zhua’s last soft words echo in his ear:

"The road... is long... The clan... is entrusted to you."

Indeed, the road is long.

He mustn’t fall.

Tu Hu took a deep breath, the drifting scent of blood sank into his lungs, he closed his eyes.

Upon reopening them, the turmoil of suffering was forcibly suppressed.

He gave a slight nod towards the direction of the execution platform.

Responding to Lie Zhua’s entrustment, also making a vow to himself.

Then he turned away, no longer staring back at the blood-soaked stone platform, step by step, exiting the square.

The footsteps slow but firm, as if grinding the exquisite pain just now into the earth, transforming it into nourishment for the journey ahead.

The road ahead is challenging, but as long as he breathes.

The Downspirit Civilization shall not meet its end here.