usatvline Chapter 280 Tribute
Chapter 280 Tribute
Somewhat unexpectedly, Lin Tian had virtually no trouble in the next two cities. Of course, this "no trouble" meant that he went straight to the city lord's mansion in each city, kidnapped the city lord, and forced him to give him a pass.
In each city, there were basically eight finalists from the original tournament stationed there. Lin Tian didn't think it was a big deal, since none of these guys were his match. If he encountered someone stronger, he would just get hit a few more times.
Lin Tian, who had just left, did not know whether they had reported to their superiors, but so far, he had not detected any particularly strong pursuers.
And so he traveled swiftly, without stopping, to the fourth city.
But here, Lin Tian discovered something that caught his attention.
"Tribute?"
"Yes, we are preparing offerings."
"But that... isn't it a person?"
Lin Tian looked at the group of people surrounding an elderly man who looked extremely old and was shocked. How did this turn out to be like a cult?
Humans are tributes?
Which evil god is being worshipped here? What kind of cult is this?
"What do you mean 'human'? Aren't tributes human? If you're stupid, don't block the way, get out of the way!"
Seeing Lin Tian's clueless expression, the leading man became extremely impatient. After all, the apostle had already arrived in the city, and the tribute had to be delivered quickly.
However.......
boom! ! !
thump!
"Brother! Just ask me anything you want to know, and I'll tell you everything!"
When the gaze returned, almost everyone had a handprint on their face, and they, true to their previous arrogance, all obediently knelt on the ground, awaiting Lin Tian's questioning.
Sure enough, people only behave after being beaten up...
After everyone quieted down, Lin Tian began to ask questions and learned that the reason they kidnapped the old man was to offer him to the royal family of Jinsha.
It turns out that the people of the Golden Sands royal family did not fight against the sandworms without a price. The price they paid for mobilizing their power was their own lives, and as time went by, the people of the Golden Sands royal family all became short-lived.
Therefore, they began to devise a method of sacrificing long-lived people. According to them, as long as long-lived people were offered to the gods, the gods would be pleased, and they could obtain some of their lifespan from the gods.
And by gaining a longer lifespan, they can better protect the people of the entire country.
At first, people were somewhat resistant to this, since sacrificing humans was something that seemed to violate ethics and morality. However, as time went on and with the forced orders from the royal family of the Golden Sands, people gradually got used to it and even felt that it was justified and quite admired it.
After all, they risked their lives to protect everyone, so what's wrong with sacrificing some elderly people who are about to die?
"So, you captured this guy to hand him over to the apostle who came here, so the apostle could take him back to be sacrificed to the king?"
Everyone nodded.
Lin Tian fell into a brief silence upon seeing this.
The last time I heard about kidnapping long-lived people was in Huangtu City outside the secret realm. That kidnapping also seemed to be related to sacrifice. Could these two things be related?
Lin Tian felt there was a possibility that this might be the key to unlocking the second mission and finding the hidden clues of the Jinsha family.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Tian decided to go with them to meet the envoy sent by the king, hoping to learn the secrets of the Jinsha family directly.
“Come on, take me with you, I want to see that apostle.”
"Ah! This......."
"Hmm! You don't want to?"
"No, no, no, we just wanted to tell you, sir, that even if you came with us, you wouldn't be able to see the Apostle, because we were just escorting someone and we're not qualified to see the Apostle."
Listening to what the men were saying, Lin Tian frowned, but his brows quickly relaxed, as if he had thought of something. He then spoke:
"In that case, then..."
..............
"Have the tributes arrived?"
"Yes sir!"
Which one is the oldest?
"My lord, it's him!"
The city steward looked at the extremely aged old man before him, a hint of shock in his eyes. He glanced at the notebook in his hand, then at the old man, and said:
"He lived to be 160 years old?"
"Correct!"
The man who went to make the delivery was slightly nervous, but fortunately the butler did not notice anything unusual about him.
"Alright! Come with me first, the Apostle wants to see the offerings."
Since the quality of the tribute is important, the steward thought that the oldest one should be chosen.
"You, relax. Since you've lived to this age, why not make a contribution? Think of those newborn babies; they haven't even seen much of the world yet. If the royal family falls, they won't even have the chance to see it. You're doing a good deed..."
On the way to the living room, seeing that the old man remained silent, the steward began to comfort him, saying things that were morally sound and high-sounding.
However, most elderly people would understand this to some extent when they heard it.
Of course, under the rule of the Sands royal family, they have no choice.
The old man did not show much change in expression in response to what the butler said, remaining as calm as ever. Seeing this, the butler said nothing more.
As they approached the reception hall, both of them began to smell a strong stench of blood. The smell was so intense that it could be detected even in the passageway outside the hall. To the uninitiated, it would seem as if this were a slaughterhouse rather than the city lord's reception hall.
Both of them frowned slightly at this, but the butler quickly regained his composure and appeared unsurprised.
"I forgot to tell you, this apostle has some rather unusual hobbies."
"He prefers to eat raw meat. The smell you're smelling now is the city lord hosting the apostle, so don't be too shocked. When you enter the living room later, don't make any exaggerated expressions, so as not to disturb the apostle."
"understand?"
The old man, though surprised and puzzled, nodded.
"I didn't expect you to have such a good mental fortitude. Anyone else would have been scared to death."
The housekeeper made a lighthearted joke and then led the old man into the living room. As soon as the two stepped inside, the sound of sharp teeth tearing flesh reached their ears.
The old man looked up and saw a huge figure sitting in the main seat.