Chapter 624: Divine Light in Despair
"I should have thought of it earlier. With more creatures in the jungle, it will definitely attract powerful beasts to come and prey on them, and the danger of hunting will increase accordingly."
"But the food stored now is not enough to survive the long winter."
"Hey! Tell the boys to be more careful when they go out. It is better to have no gains than to ensure their own safety. Strengthen patrols around the area. I just hope that nothing else will come to attack our tribe."
In the following days, accidents occurred one after another, and the hunting team suffered casualties and injuries one after another.
There was no team like the fifth team whose captain was dying and in a coma.
The changes in the jungle attracted the attention of the tribal elders, who quickly found out the cause of the changes. This made several people blame themselves, and they immediately ordered the two teams to merge into one and be more cautious when hunting.
There were still injuries afterwards.
Just when the fighting capacity of the fortress was severely damaged, patrol personnel discovered that there were bandits nearby. They seemed to be observing the strength of the fortress, which meant that the bandits had set their sights on them.
It is true that misfortunes never come alone!
Things in the world often do not change according to human will. What is coming will come. After a few days, the bandits raided the second and sixth hunting teams that had just returned from going out, and formally declared war on the Sheep-Horned People Tribe.
The next day, a large group of bandits appeared and launched a fierce attack on the Yangjiao people.
Relying on the advantages of the fortress, the Yangjiao people worked together and finally defeated the enemy.
But the bandits who suffered losses did not give up. After the large group of them retreated, they still sent people to wander around the city to prevent the Yangjiao people from going out.
The normal activities of the Sheep-Horned People were severely disrupted and hunting could not be carried out as usual.
This obviously can't go on like this.
But bandits are bandits, and their movements are unpredictable. The Sheep-Horned Man organized several strangulation attempts, but none of them were effective.
After several unsuccessful attempts, their daily lives were severely affected. The injured tribesmen were unable to receive proper treatment, and many of the Sheep-Horned People in the city began to panic.
"Damn you bandits, damn you beasts, you all deserve to die!"
"Hey! Captain Goss hasn't woken up yet. If this continues, I'm afraid--"
In a house on one side of the walled city, the young Rob was more uneasy than others. He always remembered that it was because of him that the captain was on the verge of death.
He wanted to step forward to rescue Captain Goss and drive out the bandits, but he could do nothing.
From the time he was born till today, he had never been so eager to gain powerful strength as he is now.
The night gradually deepened.
Rob was lost in thought until the second half of the night before he fell into a sleep exhausted. Hazily, his thoughts drifted to another scene.
"Rob, well done! From today on, you are the tribe's first horn warrior. As the captain, I am very proud of you!"
"Hehe, how can that be possible, Captain Goss, please stop saying that, hehe."
"Sir Knight Rob, I admire you. Can we train with you? We promise in the name of our ancestors that we will obey you from now on."
"No problem, we are all compatriots."
"Lord Rob has such a broad mind!"
“——”
"I want to be the clan leader? I'm still too young. Oh, everyone, don't be so rigid—Ouch!"
On the simple wooden bed, Rob was like a possessed man in the dark, mumbling intermittently, and sometimes dancing. At one point, he moved too much and rolled off the bed.
He woke up sitting on the ground, feeling lost.
It turns out it was just a dream!
"Hey!"
After a long time, Rob let out a long sigh.
He suddenly thought of something, propped himself up, lit the oil lamp skillfully, walked to the cabinet in the corner, took out a statue of a god, held it in his hands and stared at it blankly.
This human statue wearing light armor, with black hair and black pupils, is made of material that looks like wood but not wood, and like stone but not stone. This deity gives people a feeling of righteousness.
He vaguely remembered that in his dream, more bandits besieged the fortress, and at the same time, Captain Goss breathed his last, and he felt hopeless.
In despair, he came up with a silly idea. He stubbornly knelt in front of the statue, saying nothing, and prayed silently for several days and nights. His sincerity finally moved the gods.
The great gods have granted me a great power. "Knight, fighting spirit."
He didn't realize that his dream memory was becoming clearer and clearer. He muttered something to himself and then looked at the statue of the god in his hand, with a strange look on his face.
My father collected this statue so solemnly, so perhaps its origin was very unusual.
Could it be something that was passed down from the human nobles in the Fertile Plains?
Rob's expression changed constantly, and finally he pursed his lips vigorously, respectfully placed the statue of the god on the cabinet, then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times, each time with greater force and a more resolute attitude.
Then he prayed to the statue of the god.
Time passed slowly, and before I knew it, a day and a night had passed.
The boy's knees were extremely painful, his thighs and calves were severely numb, his body was cold and stiff, and the various sensations intertwined made him suffer physically and mentally.
"Strength, knight, fighting spirit."
Whenever he couldn't hold on any longer, the boy would think of Captain Goss, the brutal bandits outside the city, and himself in his dreams. He would grit his teeth and remain motionless, praying in his heart.
Just like that, another two days and two nights passed.
The boy's body became extremely tired and showed signs of collapsing.
"Boom boom boom!"
The loud knock on the door startled the young man. He subconsciously wanted to stand up, but suddenly remembered something, stopped himself and continued to pray.
The person outside was not so easy to dismiss and kept knocking on the door.
"Rob! Rob! Did you hear that, kid? You're in the room, open the door quickly."
"You bastard! The bandits are coming, don't even think about hiding."
The thing the boy was most worried about did not happen. No one broke in by force. The people outside saw that there was no sound from inside, so they persisted for a while and then walked away cursing.
I don't know how long it was before there was another knock on the door.
"Rob! Listen, Captain Goss is awake, but he's dying, and he wants to see you one last time. Don't just kneel there like an idiot, stand up quickly, and come with me to see Captain Goss one last time."
Hearing this, the boy was finally moved.
Captain Goss was the one he cared about most.
The young man was about to stand up, but he forgot that he was very tired. His body tilted and he fell to the ground on one side. As he fell, he noticed that the doors and windows were all closed.
No, no!
The boy was particularly alert at this moment, realizing that no one knew he was kneeling here and that the noise outside was very wrong.
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up, turned around, and knelt on the ground again to pray to the statue.
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but in a trance, the boy found that the statue was emitting a warm holy light, which pierced through the darkness and was about to envelop him.
The miracle finally happened!
The young man firmly believed that his sincerity touched the great gods, and that the divine light was the response from the gods. However, his sincerity was not enough to allow the great beings to grant him blessings.
Thinking of this, the young man knelt down and prayed even more sincerely, completely blocking out the pain in his body.
Young Rob didn't know that there was a figure standing not far behind him, watching his every move and occasionally commenting with a smile.
"The boss is right. The Dharma cannot be passed on lightly. It needs to go through many tests before we know that the power is hard-earned. Otherwise, no one will cherish it."
"It's been going on for almost five days and five nights. It should be about right. I'll give you another illusion test later. I'll use the strongest sacrifice method. With your current state of mind, it should be easy, hehe."
"Young man, you will get what you wish for. I promise in the name of the God of Knights."
This person is of course Locke. In recent days, he has been taking care of the Sheep-Horned People Tribe.
He drove many ferocious beasts into the jungle here, and even staged a scene in which a wind-claw tiger suddenly attacked a young boy, forcing the captain of the hunting team to rush forward to rescue him. As a result, he was seriously injured and has been in a coma ever since.
He also guided the boy to discover the statue, suggesting that he accept the test.
As for other things, such as the attack of bandits, they had little to do with him. This development was a blessing in disguise, just what he wanted, and it happened to allow him to press the young man step by step.
In this way, the plan can proceed smoothly to this point, and only the final test remains. (End of this chapter)