GODZILLA- CH-22. Sacrifice for the God

Blackrock City, the holy city of the four tribes.

At this moment, outside Blackrock City, at the foot of a nearby mountain, tens of thousands of dinosaur people were gathering.

Each of these dinosaur people was over ten meters tall, with some towering up to fifteen meters. Their bodies were covered with rock-like gray skin, exuding a sense of immense power and intimidation even from a distance.

In addition to the dinosaur people, terrifying giant beasts were stationed on the outermost perimeter. These beasts were the dinosaur people's blood relatives—the primitive dinosaurs. Only around a hundred primitive dinosaurs had arrived, but each one was nearly seventy meters long.

In this era, transcending time and dimension, these hundreds of giant beasts represented the dinosaur people's most powerful allies and their guarantee of high-end combat power. Unlike thousands of years ago, these primitive dinosaurs, once lacking intelligence, had gradually gained some wisdom. Although their mental development was only equivalent to the IQ of a seven- or eight-year-old dinosaur cub, this was more than enough. With their increased intelligence, dinosaur people could better command them in battle without requiring constant, manual control.

At the foot of the mountain, tens of thousands of dinosaur people knelt on one knee, holding spears in their hands and bowing their heads in silent prayer. From a high vantage point, the sight was profoundly striking.

This was a far cry from the primitive days of fighting with sticks and fists. Modern dinosaur people had learned to skillfully craft knives and spears. However, to make weapons suitable for their formidable strength and high-temperature flame abilities, they had to seek special materials. Ordinary iron ore or stone simply couldn't withstand their intense power.

While metals and stone proved unsuitable, dinosaur people had found a superior alternative—the bones of extraordinary creatures. Yes, the knives and spears wielded by these tens of thousands of dinosaur people were crafted from the bones of giant beasts hunted during this era.

This trend wasn't unique to dinosaur people; all four tribes followed similar practices, given that they coexisted. In fact, many of the materials used by the other three tribes to craft weapons came from the ocean, provided by the shark people in trade with the other tribes. The ocean, home to the largest variety of species, played a vital role. Even though the Lord of the Near Sea controlled only a quarter of the ocean, it covered a larger area than the lands of the dinosaur and snake people combined.

Thus, based on the current power balance, the shark people remained the most powerful of the four tribes, as they were thousands of years ago. With a population nearly five times that of the dinosaur people and a vast array of sea monsters and other creatures, the shark people held dominance. Although, as individuals, the dinosaur people considered themselves the strongest among the three land tribes, they knew they were no match for the shark people in aquatic combat due to their different biological attributes.

However, despite their power, the shark people were now in trouble. And today, the reason for this massive gathering of dinosaur people beneath the statue was a call for help from the shark people. Even though dinosaur people's fighting power would be diminished underwater, and their flame abilities stifled, they possessed limited water skills and could remain submerged for several days without drowning—thanks to their extraordinary lung capacity.

Below the statue, on the open-air platform, hundreds of priests stood. Leading these priests was a figure James was quite familiar with—the Dinosaur Elder, still alive despite thousands of years having passed.

The elder dinosaur, though now hunched and covered in wrinkles, and needing support to walk, remained mentally sharp. Its devotion to the Father God had not waned, though it lamented the possibility of never seeing its Father God again in its lifetime. Despite observing other races' gods for millennia, it held little hope for an afterlife but maintained its unyielding faith.

The Dinosaur Elder feared not death itself but the loss of the chance to continue serving its Father God. It held a deep and unwavering love for its god, wishing desperately to see the Father God expand His domain and awaken once more. But the elder was aware that the life of mortals had its limits. With most dinosaur people living only around 3,500 years, the elder was grateful for having lived nearly six millennia—the longest-lived among its kind.

The new generation of dinosaur people naturally assumed their elder lived so long because of its closeness to God. What they didn't know was that over the years, to prolong its life in the hope of seeing the Father God again, the elder had consumed many relics of extraordinary creatures—also called extraordinary traits.

These traits, the indestructible essence left by extraordinary creatures after death, took various forms: a heart, a piece of flesh, or gelatinous substances, among others. These characteristics were so unique that they resisted destruction, even by intense heat. These extraordinary relics, controlled and distributed by the priesthood, were not given to ordinary tribespeople but shared among powerful warriors and priests—or offered to the gods as sacrifices.

Extraordinary traits had existed since ancient times, though early tribes had consumed them unknowingly. Now, their effects were well-documented and strategically used.

"Great Father God! Your greatness is like a shining star that blesses all things, and your mercy is like the earth that sustains all life. Under your majesty, the blood of our enemies will cover every battlefield across the lands where the shining star shines, just as your lava covers the earth. For the lava and the earth, for the eternal sacred covenant and glory, today, your people march to battle once more!"

"Oh, Great Father God, continue to watch over your brave people..."

A blazing fire burned under the statue as hundreds of priests, led by the Dinosaur Elder, prayed fervently. When the priests concluded their prayers, tens of thousands of dinosaur warriors below shouted in unison. The echoing roar surged across the land, reaching the distant residents of Black Rock City.

After the prayers, the ritual blood offering began. Several bound extraordinary creatures, each towering over ten meters, were brought onto the platform. These beasts, their mouths gagged, struggled fruitlessly against their bonds.

The priests, without a hint of emotion, encircled the beasts, extending their hands as flames ignited in their palms. The flames leaped from the priests' hands and poured onto the creatures, engulfing them in a blaze that couldn't be extinguished. Warriors quickly moved in to dispatch the creatures, preventing them from breaking free and causing chaos.

One by one, rounds of sacrificial creatures were burned until the sun began to set. At last, the ceremony was complete.

Standing on the platform under the setting sun, the Dinosaur Elder looked out at the thousands gathered in silence.

"For the ancient sacred covenant! To uphold the glory of our Father God, warriors of lava—march forth!"

The elder's trembling voice reverberated across the plain.

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