Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 450 - 415: Terrifying Ritual

While the hunting party led by Aiven was tirelessly tramping through the wild mountains and forests.

At a straight-line distance of no more than two hundred kilometers, the boundary of the Ilya Colony and the wilderness.

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

"Kill!"

"Yahoo——!"

The dense gunfire, the thunderous shouts of killing, and the pervasive gunpowder smoke indicated the start of another slaughter.

"Hahaha, sinful invaders, offer your hearts to the Great Sea Shark Oveg!"

The mightiest warrior of the Araucan Clan, also the tribal chieftain, Manguenke, charged with maniacal laughter.

On his two-meter-tall body, a gruesome great white shark totem twisted continuously on his skin surface, as if about to come to life with its own consciousness.

Even on his back, there were bluish-black lines breaking through the skin, rising up to form a shark-fin-like protrusion.

Wielding the "Makawit," an obsidian saw sword called by the indigenous, he was the first to shatter the battlefield smoke and pierce into the gun array of pioneers defending precariously.

Boom——

Like a meteor crashing to earth from the high sky, pulverizing anything daring to stand before him.

Behind him, hundreds of indigenous warriors swarmed in like two wings, in the blink of an eye creating a bloody storm among the pioneers.

Among them, whether standing their ground or trying to flee in chaos, the pioneers met the same fate.

Recently, with their tactics of fast attack by firearms cavalry combined with totem warriors, victories were frequent though regular warriors suffered some losses.

After six slaughters and facing necessary risks as they needed to personally kill their enemies, the able-bodied males in the Araucan Clan had been dangerously reduced to around two hundred and twenty.

Yet it was completely worthwhile, as the clan’s overall strength saw explosive growth through obtaining power by making tribespeople consume the enemies’ hearts.

The number of totem warriors had remarkably reached sixteen, comparable to large tribes.

Especially the chieftain, Manguenke, after ample extraordinary hearts, was on the verge of a totem engraving breakthrough!

"Annihilate them!"

With an absolute extraordinary power advantage, not a single settlement currently could withstand their onslaught.

After breaking the formation, within just minutes, this pioneer town became a slaughterhouse-like bloody hell, barely having any place to step.

However, at the final confrontation, neither side seemed bothered by the scene.

"No matter what you are, you are the final sacrifice, don’t dream of escaping, offer your heart to the Great Sea Shark Oveg!"

The last opponent facing Manguenke was not human but a creature with a greenish-black, dog-like yet human visage.

Evidently, it was a ghoul stationed in this town!

Though it intended to flee at the beginning, surrounded by superior indigenous forces, escaping was not easy.

Finally, it was cornered by a group of totem warriors in the town.

"Just lowly humans, I want to see who eats whom in the end?"

The overseeing ghoul did not plan to partake in the indigenous and pioneer quarrels, but his enemies clearly thought differently.

Seeing the indigenous around already devouring eagerly, the ghoul, forced to the brink, spat venomously.

A Tier 2 ghoul with blue claws lunged at Manguenke, its body enveloped in icy blue extraordinary spiritual light.

Whoosh——

Swift as wind and immeasurably strong was the perfect descriptor for these creatures, failing under Aiven’s blade did not belittle their prowess.

The claws shredded the fierce wind, reaching Manguenke’s chest in a heartbeat.

"Hahaha, come on then."

The indigenous chieftain inhaled deeply, his body swelling by half, showing more traits of a great white shark, transforming into a deep-sea giant beast ashore.

Bang——

With the sound of a blunt blade hitting ironwood, the formidable claws embedded merely a few centimeters before being jammed.

Crack!

In the ghoul’s incredulous gaze, Manguenke cleaved off its repugnant greenish-black head.

The pinnacle of Tier 2 prowess exhibited perfectly, proving that combat outcome is truly race-independent.

Without sufficient power, even a predator becomes prey.

Moments later.

Manguenke kneeled on one knee, holding the blue-violet, icy yet still pulsing heart of the ghoul high above his head:

"Great Sea Shark Oveg! The storm is your breath, the thunder your heartbeat, the roaring waves your maritime trail.....

Your loyal subjects offer the enemy’s flesh and blood to you! Bestow upon me strength! Grant me immortality!"

After devoutly completing the prayer, Manguenke swallowed the heart belonging to a wise extraordinary creature in one gulp.

Feeling the surging hot currents transforming his body subtly.

He leapt up from the ground, his muscles and bones emitting a series of crisp pops.

The bluish-black totem tattoos on his skin flushed slightly, resembling an overburdened net struggling to contain the "flesh" of the rebellious deep-sea giant beast.

Revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth still stained with blood.

"Ha! I’ve finally reached this step. That Lady Crow’s shaman wizard indeed did not deceive me.

As long as I synchronize my spirit with the great Great Sea Shark Oveg, I can truly achieve a qualitative transformation of the extraordinary level.

And I—Manguenke, as the first Tier 3 Totem Warrior of the Araucan Clan, will ultimately lead the clan to real glory!"

"Manguenke!"

"Manguenke!"

The aboriginals around him, who have also completed the ritual, realized what was happening to their chieftain and began to chant his name.

As if... worshiping a god.

....

Under the leadership of Aiven, the pursuit squad, primarily composed of Fleck in his bear-hide form, assisted by Wilde’s squirrel.

Chasing along the tracks left by the chieftain of the Araucan Clan, following the scent of a special potion scattered on him.

A day later, they had completely left the territory of the Phaletis Kingdom colony, venturing deep into the wilderness, even to the border of the Ilya Kingdom.

"Are these bastards rabbits? They sure run fast!"

Milan held his divination spirit pendulum, and cursed under his breath.

After truly tracking along the traces of the aboriginal large troop, they found that behind them, there were no signs of a whole tribe of thousands migrating as their intelligence had indicated.

Clearly, before reaching Novok Town, the tribe had split.

Even though they are a hunting tribe, in such bloody actions, bringing along the elderly, women, and children entailed too high a risk and greatly weakened the mobility of the troop.

Therefore, what Aiven and his team were about to face was a robust warrior troop, all familiar with the wilderness environment, enhanced by the sinister ritual with no clue to what extent.

However.

At this point, although these aboriginal warriors were always mindful of concealment, collected enough information and traces along the way still allowed Aiven and his group to catch up.

Unfortunately, it was just as they had recently completed their offense.

Looking at the nearby town still flying the Ilya Kingdom flag, Sub-Lieutenant Roddy, volunteering to be the vanguard, inquired:

"General, what should we do? Should we coordinate with the local garrison?"

"No need to bother them, just go straight in. We have official cross-region enforcement authority, we can report later.

Moreover, whether the person in charge of this area is the governor or some other entity is uncertain now."

"Yes!"

Being the first discoverer, Aiven directly led the pursuit squad into the small town in Ilya that was obviously newly developed.

Uh, without prior treatment, as raw as a slaughterhouse-like town.

The nauseating bloody smell felt like it could seep into the pores, even many veterans felt discomfort.

However, seeing the scene there, Aiven confirmed one thing, at least those guys were not antagonizing any specific country solely targeting Phaletis colonies.

For now, foreign interference factors could be ruled out, solely handling these aboriginals would suffice.

They then saw the ghouls lying on the ground, with even the color of their blood differing from others.

"These guys are truly indiscriminate, not even sparing weird things like ghouls that are neither alive nor dead."

"Since it’s a ritual, there’s no need to care about the surface, as long as the essence in mysticism aligns, it should suffice."

Aiven explained to the officers under him, disseminating mystical knowledge in a limited manner, which would better aid their survival in the extraordinary world in the future.

The eaters eventually get eaten, a cyclic retribution of fortune.

And the most crucial point is.

The traces of the aboriginals’ departure were still very fresh, with the "olfactory map," "divination art," and "real-time holographic map of the seagull," Aiven’s group finally locked onto their trail.

Also, for the first time in the seagull’s vision, they saw their true appearance.

A group of around two hundred aboriginals mounted on horses, their scent and totem tattoos matched the gathered intelligence.

However, instead of continuing north, they turned back eastward, galloping towards the sea.

Immediately, seagulls shot down like arrows from the sky, closely tailing them, in Aiven’s three-dimensional scouting network, once exposed, they couldn’t escape.

Although temporarily unclear why they ended their original massacre action, it didn’t hinder Aiven from making his next decision.

"Bess, notify First Mate Boris to maneuver the ’Storm Horn’ northward to provide support. Specific location updates through the mind network at all times!"

"Yes, sir!"

....

At this time, in the Araucan Clan, apart from the able-bodied warriors hunting the colonizers.

The elderly, women, and children left at the sea after the split had already camped, and erected their ancestral totem pillars belonging to the Spirit of Nature Great Sea Shark Oveg, led by the shaman wizard.

The totem pillar stood three meters tall, dominated by blue, a combination of various facial reliefs and great white shark rounded sculptures.

Embedded at the top was an abstract crow-shaped blood-red stone, emitting an ominous bloody spiritual glow.

Meanwhile, on the stone altar below the totem pillar, as per Atrean tradition, were arranged exquisite golden offerings, fresh flowers, and... piles of human scalps!

Thump thump... thump... thump thump... thump...

With bonfires ablaze, under the presiding of two shaman wizards, a large group of native girls wearing bright feathers on their heads were already dancing boldly and anciently around the totem pillar to the beat of the drums.

A terrifying yet sacred ceremony belonging to the native tribes was about to commence!