Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
First Layer of the Supernatural Realm
Suddenly, countless footsteps were heard on the quiet street under the scarlet night.
A crowd came from the city and lined up towards the city gate.
The crowd was huge, with at least a thousand people, all wearing uniform red robes and wide red hats that completely covered their faces, almost blending into the bloody night around them.
As they walked, they muttered the difficult-to-understand ritualistic words.
Because the distance was too far, Matthew couldn't hear clearly what they were muttering. He could only vaguely hear words like "Great Moon Goddess", "Scarlet Lady", "Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood", and "Giving Birth to Thousands".
In the middle of the crowd, there were three large iron cages placed on wooden carts. They were being pushed by the transformed monsters and sent towards the city gate.
And in the iron cage, there were humans imprisoned!
There were four people in each iron cage, for a total of twelve.
They were all new supernatural people who came to the supernatural realm to adventure.
However, they were all now collapsed in the iron cage, motionless, and it was unclear whether they were just unconscious or had already died.
At the moment, Matthew and Natalie were observing all this through the crack in the door.
Matthew was stunned when he saw the supernatural people in the iron cage.
Because Filip Walker, Denis Read, and others were locked in one of the iron cages.
"Natalie, your classmates are also there!" Matthew whispered.
He guessed these unlucky guys were the ones staying overnight at the Earl's Mansion.
Natalie's mental attribute was only about 30 points lower than Matthew's, so naturally, she also saw her classmates in the iron cage.
The girl frowned slightly.
She actually didn't feel much towards these classmates, but no matter what, they were still her classmates. If she could help, she would definitely not stand by and watch them die.
Of course, the premise was that it did not affect the safety of herself and Matthew.
She couldn't risk her life to save others now.
"We're not sure whether they're dead or alive yet. Let's wait and see," Natalie said calmly.
Matthew smiled, then suddenly thought of something and quickly said, "Natalie, I remember when I was booking the room at the bar downstairs, I saw these red robes and hats in the storage room behind the bar. There was more than one set."
Natalie was a rapid thinker and immediately understood Matthew's idea.
"You mean..." The girl's eyes lit up, "…we can disguise ourselves as them and sneak into the crowd to observe closely."
"Right!"
Natalie approved of this idea.
By blending in with the weirdness, they might be able to find out some helpful information.
Then, the two tiptoed downstairs and came to the bar on the first floor of the tavern. Sure enough, they saw three sets of red robes and hoods hanging in the storage room at the back.
They should be the tavern owner's and her two helpers' attire.
Matthew carefully examined them, then handed the smallest set to Natalie and wore the medium size himself.
Even though the medium size seemed a bit tight on him, he still didn't want to wear the large size.
Because, among the three people before, the biggest one was the wretched man.
The smallest size is naturally the tavern owner's.
Even in the smallest size, the tavern owner was still much fatter than Natalie! And the robe looked particularly loose on Natalie.
The two of them did not take off their clothes. They just put on the red robes directly, put on hats, pulled the brims down low to cover their faces, and pushed open the door of the tavern.
Outside the door, the crowd just passed by.
Many 'monsters' heard the noise and looked towards them, but when they saw they were wearing the same clothes, they ignored them and continued praying.
Matthew and Natalie breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterwards, the two joined the crowd, imitating others' strange movements, lowering their heads, clasping their hands together, and muttering as they walked, trying to look pious.
Although the two of them didn't act very well, the monsters around them were so pious that they didn't pay any attention to them.
…
After a while, the crowd finally arrived near the city gate.
At the city gate, there was a large empty space.
Initially, Matthew thought there was a flaw in the city's architectural planning, but now he knew that this piece of land was where the monsters worship.
All the monsters formed a semicircle at the city gate.
Matthew and Natalie were mixed in the crowd. This distance allowed them to see the thick fog outside the city gate clearly.
At this moment, in the thick fog, many figures were swaying, and at the same time, they were making rapid, low growls.
It was as if the creatures outside knew what was going to happen next and were already impatient.
Even though they were so eager, they did not dare to step out of the thick fog and come into the city.
Seeing this scene, Matthew and Natalie both breathed a sigh of relief.
They had previously guessed that the creatures in the thick fog could not enter the city.
But that was just speculation, after all, and it had not been confirmed, so there was still a risk.
Now that they have confirmed this, the two of them can feel relieved.
A confident smile appeared on Matthew's face.
As long as the creatures outside couldn't get in, he would be invincible here!
If he wanted, in the next moment, he could forcibly demolish this city.
…
Finally, the sacrifice began.
Three iron cages were pushed out by the strong monsters and placed in a row at the city gate.
Then, some monsters came with buckets of water and poured water on the people in the cage.
No, what splashed out was not water, but red blood, emitting a strong fishy smell.
Natalie felt a little nauseated when she smelled the odor, but the creatures in the thick fog outside seemed even crazier.
Many creatures have already begun to test the waters.
Sometimes disgusting tentacles would stretch out from the thick fog, and occasionally sharp claws would sweep through the void.
But that was all.
Those creatures were obviously subject to some restrictions and couldn't get in.
At this moment, as if stimulated, everyone in the cage woke up one after another.
They were not dead; they were just unconscious.
Finding themselves trapped in a cage with an unknown liquid on their bodies that gave off a foul odor, several guys with poor mental qualities collapsed on the spot, shouting and yelling, crying for mercy, or struggling hard.
The monsters looked like they were used to this.
After all, the offerings after waking up at the sacrifice ceremony held every year were like this!
Now that these offerings have woken up, they could be offered as sacrifices.
The monsters began to push the iron cages towards, one by one, into the thick fog.
Seeing this, Matthew suddenly thought of a cruel ritual: live sacrifice!
"Matthew, do you want to take action?" Natalie asked in a low voice.
It seemed that the girl still had kindness in her heart and could not bear to see her classmates being used as sacrifices to feed the creatures.
Matthew thought for a moment.
Natalie's classmates were in the second cage.
Frankly, Matthew had no responsibility to save anyone. This was the supernatural realm, and everyone was responsible for themselves and their own teams.
The other supernatural people, by contrast, were often rivals, even enemies.
And Matthew was sure that if he were in one of those cages, none of the people there would even consider saving him.
But Matthew couldn't ignore Natalie's request. So he resolved to save at least Natalie's classmates.
As for the other prisoners, they were strangers to both Matthew and Natalie, and he had no intention of risking their lives for strangers.
So Mathew whispered to Natalie. "Do you know anyone in the first cage?"
"No," was Natalie's reply.
"Then let's wait for the ritual to begin. We'll move on once they finish with the first cage. Their defenses will be lower then. While the monsters here pose no threat to me, they're still quite numerous. It's best to be cautious."
Natalie calmly analyzed Matthew's words and agreed.
After all, this was the Supernatural Realm. If they played the hero and rushed to help all of those in need every time, they definitely wouldn't last long in here.
This was the cruel reality of the supernatural realm.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.36: Mate, You Just Saved Your Life
Ch.37: Boss Monster Earl Linley