[Chapter 141: Sacrifice vs Empowerment]
More than twenty Consecrated Thralls suddenly burst in from outside. Each one stood over three meters tall. With so many of them moving as one, the scene was nothing short of spectacular. The curse energy they wielded twisted the very space around them.
Several furious men hurried inside. Their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the corpses scattered on the ground.
"Do you know what you've done? Do you know who those people were? Do you know what kind of power and influence they commanded?"
"You actually killed them all..." The men trembled with rage, unable to accept what had happened. Their faces contorted with pure fury.
Daniel said coldly, "What did I do? I just killed those who deserved to die."
The man in front, cloaked in a black hooded robe like a warlock, sneered. "I know you, Exorcist Daniel. Soon, I will break you down and refine you into one of my Consecrated Thralls -- your power bound to serve me, killing on my command."
"That depends on whether you have the strength to make it happen," Daniel replied.
"Kill!" the robed man barked and waved his hand. Over twenty Consecrated Thralls charged at Daniel like a battering ram.
The ground trembled beneath their pounding footsteps. Daniel's voice rang out. "Fivefold Thunder Doctrine, Celestial Thunder! Descend!"
Lightning crackled violently from Daniel's body, streaking out in rapid bolts that enveloped the throngs of Consecrated Thralls. Despite the strong curse power binding them, the Celestial Thunder overwhelmed them. They held on briefly, then shattered and disintegrated like melting ice.
"Earth Spears!" Daniel called, and a surge of raw earthen force swept over the remaining thralls before their bodies could even shrink. They exploded into fragments of flesh and bone, raining gore across the already carnage-strewn ground.
[Ding! Killed an E-grade special cursed entity, gained 10,000 Merit points!]
[Ding! Killed an E-grade special cursed entity, gained 10,000 Merit points!]
...The sound of merit notifications echoed in Daniel's mind, rewarding him yet again.
Once, Daniel had struggled desperately to take down a single Thrall. Now, he had slaughtered more than twenty at once, each far stronger than that first one. It was proof of how much his power had grown.
The hooded man stared in disbelief at the shattered flesh. "How... how is this possible?" His accompanying men wore the same stunned expression, eyes wide as if their brains were about to explode.
"Do you think killing them will fix anything? You'll still die today," the man snarled.
"Everyone, obey my command, sacrifice to my Lord!" they cried in unison, pulling out blood-soaked, thumb-sized figurines which they shoved into their mouths.
Their flesh began to shrivel instantly, but their auras surged with dark power.
Daniel didn't hesitate. Stepping forward, he summoned Earth Spears once more. Two of them shattered into pieces immediately.
[Ding! Killed a cultist, gained 5,000 experience points.]
The sounds rang out again -- it seemed slaying these cultists came with rewards.
But Daniel noted that the others, three in number, survived the attack. They transformed into skeletal figures and lunged at him.
"Celestial Thunder, descend!" Daniel called, lightning striking down on the skeletal trio.
Their bodies only blackened and scorched, but they did not die. Their powers now barred any lethal damage -- this was what they had gained in exchange for sacrificing their own flesh and blood.
"Let's see how far you can push it. Celestial Thunder, descend!"
More bolts of lightning showered down, turning the space a blinding white.
When the light faded, two of the skeletons had vanished. The last one, the hooded man's skeleton, remained only as a head, its eyes hollow yet flickering with lingering vitality. It bared its teeth in a mocking grin.
"You can't kill us. You will die... The more people you kill, the faster you will die..."
The life in the skeleton's head faded to nothing.
[Ding! Killed a cultist, gained 10,000 experience points.]
Those who successfully sacrificed themselves yielded more points on death.
Daniel barely registered the notifications. The last words echoed in his mind.
'The more people you kill, the faster you will die...'
Could it be? His expression darkened.
Suddenly, a booming voice sounded from outside.
"Satan, Lord of Darkness! My flesh and blood, a dark offering! Grant me the power of destruction; may my soul serve you eternally! Hellfire, devour my enemies -- by the Mark of the Demon, your will shall be done!"
A terrifying aura rose, so powerful it made Daniel feel threatened. Dark purple spectral light pulsed from the ground, and flesh and blood at the site started to vanish, swallowed as if by the earth itself.
"This is..." Daniel stepped outside and saw a massive rune covering the entire farm.
Dark purple spectral light coated the ground while the countless offerings disappeared into the darkness. The aura intensified relentlessly.
He gasped, "What an elaborate scheme."
The entire farm was a sacrificial formation, actively devouring flesh and blood. No wonder the skeleton's warning made sense -- the more people Daniel killed, the faster he himself might perish.
"Exorcist! You destroyed my Holy Sect, slaughtered my followers, and committed unforgivable sins," the grand voice thundered again, shaking the entire farm.
The oppressive power pressed down, threatening to crush Daniel.
"When my blood sacrifice is complete, and the Covenant of Satan is forged, your soul will scatter, doomed to fall forever into the Underworld Abyss! Your life essence will burn as Hell Fire, with flesh and blood as fuel, paving the way for my Holy Sect's ten-thousand-year dark reign!
Your shattered body will hang from the Holy Sect's mountain gate, to suppress the covetous and make villains lose their courage, to burn the bones of rebels!"
The voice echoed continuously, the aura never waning.
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"
"Then let me see whose power is stronger -- the power gained from your sacrifice, or the power gained from my Rite of Divine Empowerment."
With a wave of his hand, a ritual table appeared before him. As he touched it, red candles flickered to life and green incense ignited.
Then, he opened the System page. "Rite of Divine Empowerment, upgrade!"
Daniel upgraded his Rite of Divine Empowerment on the spot.
[Rite of Divine Empowerment: Fifth Level.]
*****
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