Kawalerielki, Grand Knight Territory, in a residential area between the commercial and industrial zones.
Among the buildings, which were too narrow and close to each other, stood a low, two-story house that had been semi-abandoned for years due to a lack of repairs.
Decades ago, when the Commercial Federation still relied on charity to maintain votes and hadn't achieved a complete monopoly, this house missed its last opportunity for renovation and redecoration, sponsored by the nearby Allens Choice. It gradually fell into disrepair and decay, and to this day, it remains uninhabited.
The surrounding residents had forgotten that beneath this house lay a large and spacious basement. People assumed it was an empty house.
Perhaps a homeless person would occasionally stay there, but they would soon disappear. A few daring young people also thought of using it as a haunted house for exploration, but they too vanished without a trace.
However, today, heavy thudding sounds suddenly echoed from this basement, as if a heavy hammer was forcefully striking a wall, making one's chest feel tight.
Thump—thump—thump—
In the innermost cell of the basement, a male Kuranta in a black robe, with a voice full of fear and despair, frantically pressed his mobile terminal, trying to dial a number, but repeatedly made mistakes.
"Connect, connect, connect quickly—"
Behind him, the heavy iron door, nearly ten centimeters thick, had suddenly begun to shake violently a few seconds ago.
This heavy iron door was typically used to detain powerful sacrifices in a special confinement area. Whether Knights or Spell Cultivators, they would be held here for a week, continuously fed with specially prepared "Divine Blood."
Once the sacrifices were completely "cleansed," they would be taken to the sacrificial ground to offer their final gift for the Star God's revival.
However, due to the opening of the Knight Tournament, security management here had improved significantly. Security Knight patrols had doubled, and there hadn't been any new high-level prey here for a long time.
The people "working" here never imagined that this special prison would instead become their ultimate refuge.
Thump—thump—thump—
Accompanied by violent tremors, small fist imprints appeared on the thick alloy door.
After a few knocks, perhaps the attacker gave up trying, as a small pause appeared in the hammering sounds.
And in this brief and unnerving calm, the phone finally connected.
"Hello, Anvor? You know the rules. Church matters should be reported layer by layer. The matter of Sacrificial Ground Three should be reported to me by the person in charge. Have those sacrifices been offered to the Star God?"
On the other end of the line, a somewhat impatient voice rang out.
"The great undertaking of the Unification Sect is nearing completion. The awakening of our Star God requires a large amount of blood, and the current sacrifices are far from enough. We need both quality and quantity. That old man from the Nearl Family has recently intensified his investigations against us. I don't have time for your trivial matters—if a sacrifice dies, just capture another. If a comrade is exposed, abandon them. Our Ascension is imminent; by then, even Crusader Knights will be no match for us."
"No, no, Bishop Collins, there is no Sacrificial Ground Three anymore. Everyone is dead—they are about to break in. They are all monsters; no one can stop them. They want to hunt us, no, they want to hunt our Star God."
Finally, the black-robed cultist, with the most terrified voice, let out a maniacal laugh.
"Yes, yes, they are the manifestation of divine punishment, our sin hunters. We are beyond redemption, haha—Ah!"
Bang—
Then, accompanied by a piercing roar, the other end of the phone fell into a terrifying silence.
"See, Goki, I told you! I could just smash it open directly. I couldn't break it with my hands because there weren't enough points of force."
Patting the dust off her shoulders, Skadi raised her small head and looked at Goki beside her with a hint of triumph.
"Yes, yes, yes, Skadi is the best. Let me see if there are any survivors—looks like there aren't any."
Goki rubbed Skadi's small face, which was flushed from the excitement of battle. He looked at the dirty, mixed blood flowing under the twisted, heavy iron door and sensed the dissipation of Life.
No, those people no longer deserved to be called living beings.
Just as many people are willing to protect cats and dogs, but no one is willing to establish a protection association for flies and mosquitoes—the reason is simple: they are harmful and useless.
Goki turned his head and looked into a spacious hall outside the room.
There, a huge magic circle drawn with bright red blood was shimmering with starlight.
Several corpses, with their throats slit, were placed in the grooves of the magic circle. Blood, accompanied by profound runes, flowed along the grooves into the central hole, seemingly draining underground.
Those corpses had been dead for some time; even if Kal'tsit were here, she would likely be powerless to revive them.
They all had clear barcodes on their bodies, and their races varied.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"