Chapter 1346 The Kindness of the Chief Priest Will Never Be Forgotten!
"Praise the great and tall Lord! Praise the great and tall priest! Respected Songbird Priest, Little Feather kowtows to you!"
"Well, it's you again? Little Feather, where is your father, Prince Feather? He took the kingdom's aid to ambush the Great Mountain Eagle Chief, and there has been no news for half a month!... What is the situation of your Feather Clan right now?..."
"Ah! Master Songbird Priest! The hundreds of defeated soldiers of the Great Mountain Eagle Chief have long escaped. You sent troops to the north and captured the Yomei tribe in one fell swoop, so you must have known all this... Oh oh! You asked about the whereabouts of the Great Mountain Eagle Chief? I have it with me! It's here, in this straw basket. My father told me to kowtow first and then give it to you in person!..."
"..."
In the chief's wooden house, a row of kingdom warriors stood with axes, each fierce and murderous. The Songbird Priest sat at the top, with an expressionless face, looking down at the kneeling young man.
Little Feather knelt down, wearing seven or eight hummingbird amulets, with three hummingbirds tattooed on his face, and five more on his arms and chest. He was so loyal that he was a bird's nest. He kowtowed nine times to the chief priest of the song bird, then picked up a straw basket and held it high above his head.
After the two warriors checked the straw basket, they looked at each other and lowered their heads to present it. The chief priest of the song bird lifted the cover, took a few glances, and frowned slightly. As expected, there was a pile of bloody and lime-pickled heads inside, and there were exactly seven heads.
"Little Feather, you only brought seven heads?..."
"Ah, Master Priest! These seven heads. One is the chief of the Great Mountain Eagle, and the other six should also be important chiefs and capable warriors! As for the other heads, they are not as important as these six, so the clan buried them casually..."
"Really buried? Or captured them and not killed?"
"Master Priest! How can I recognize those Yomei chiefs? However, my father said that they can't come back anyway, but they will die sooner or later!..."
The Songbird Priest narrowed his eyes and looked at Little Feather, who was kneeling respectfully, like an eagle. Then, he handed the grass basket to the Bee Eagle Priest and spoke.
"Honey Eagle, take a closer look! Is this the chief of the Great Mountain Eagle?"
"The Lord God bears witness! Long hair, tattoos, scars on the forehead, fierce face... Yes! It's him! The other six are all famous tribal leaders, known for their bravery. I didn't expect that they were all put into the straw basket by this feather clan..."
"Well... the feather clan can come here from the plateau war, so they are really good at fighting..."
The chief priest of the song bird nodded and asked someone to take the head away. He looked at Little Feather again, and spoke in a gentle voice and a kind face.
"Little Feather, your Feather Clan has done a great job! Well, we promised you before that after this battle, we would send you the last batch of supplies and weapons to support you in your march north!... Next, will your Feather Clan come to get them, or will we send them to your camp?..."
"Ah! Respected High Priest! Father and the clan are no longer around the Yomei tribe!..."
"Hmm?!..."
"Lord God bless you! Two months ago, we followed your orders and continuously sent small groups of miscellaneous tribes to harass the Yomei tribe... Then, the big ones A month ago, Chief Mountain Eagle officially sent out troops from the tribe, and two thousand people chased us all the way! …”
“We ran away desperately, and we risked our lives for the Lord God, and two or three hundred of the miscellaneous tribes died! Then, my father led the clan warriors to set up an ambush in the valley, and the first round of feather arrows shot Chief Mountain Eagle to death! Then, everyone risked their lives for the Lord God, and directly surrounded more than a thousand Yomei warriors, and only four or five hundred people escaped... But the casualties of the tribe were terrible! A lot of people died! Half of them died! …”
Little Feather bumped and bumped, looking harmless. He wiped his tears and told the process of the ambush, trying his best to play the pitiful. But the Songbird Priest didn't believe the casualty figures he said.
According to the tribal warriors who escaped back, the battlefield was in the valley 300 miles to the northeast. The "mountain tribe" opposite was both insidious and cunning, and extremely fierce. It also occupied the terrain and engulfed many small tribes in the wilderness. After this battle, the Yome tribe suffered heavy casualties. The chief and elders all died on the battlefield, and the number of armored enemies actually killed was probably only a few dozen! From the pursuit to the ambush, the main casualties on the other side were mostly miscellaneous soldiers without armor and stone spears...
"May the Lord God bless you! May the High Priest have mercy!... After my father won a tragic victory, he counted the heads. Ah, only half of the clan is left! With so few people left, how can we have the courage to ask you for supplies and weapons? I'm afraid that the kingdom warriors who have been prepared in the camp will go out together and regard the clan as a "mountain tribe" and "bandits" to kill... Then, use our heads to buy the hearts of the Yomei people..."
"My father said, the great priest, the clan doesn't want the last batch of supplies and weapons. The remaining food is enough to go to the mountains in the north! If it's still not enough, don't we still have eight or nine hundred captives from the Yomei tribe? One or two hundred kilograms each, it's enough to eat... Calculating the time, the clan has already gone north for a thousand miles, to the valleys of the Opata people in the north!..."
"Father also said! I didn't come to get the last supplies, and ran away with my loincloth in my hand. It's the fault of the Feather Clan! He asked me to come here to kowtow to you, and asked me to stay in the camp and be your servant and slave! He also said that if you are unhappy, you can sacrifice me tomorrow and throw me into the fire alive, which will also please the Lord God... Woohoo! Father is so cruel! Woohoo! I really don't want to see the Lord God!..."
Little Feather was in tears, crying bitterly, lying on the ground and twitching. I don't know if he is really heartbroken, or is trying to survive, or both.
"Old Feather ran away? He took with him eight or nine hundred captives of the Yomei tribe, and an unknown number of wasteland tribes? ... Together with his own tribe, I'm afraid he can gather three thousand warriors, most of whom are capable feather warriors!..."
"With Old Feather's cruelty, shamelessness, and cannibalism... the Opata Alliance in the northern valley probably can't stop him! Perhaps, only those Apache tribes that migrate and are fierce and capable of fighting can fight him... The Feather Clan went north, well, this old fox, ran really fast! His nose is more sensitive than a fox..."
The chief priest of the song bird was silent, and the staff in his hand clenched and loosened, just like the murderous intent in his heart. He did plan to kill the Feather Clan and use the heads of his fellow villagers to buy the hearts of the tribe. He also set up a trap in advance. The two thousand Tekos warriors of the Great Lakes Legion had secretly arrived by boat and had been hiding in Leijin Town. But Old Feather obeyed the order, killed the Great Mountain Eagle Chief, and then took the captives and ran faster than anyone else... But it was really helpless. There was no excuse to turn against him, and he couldn't reach him!
"Lord God! If there was a four-legged cavalry that was once predicted by His Majesty, even if there were only a few hundred people... then no matter how Old Feather ran, he couldn't escape!... Unfortunately, although there are horses on the Great Whale Island, I heard that there are only a few..."
"Huh? This old guy ran away, but he left his son here for me to deal with? What does this mean? Leaving a channel of communication to show obedience to the Lord God and the kingdom, to show submission to the kingdom? This step of arrangement is really interesting..."
There was silence in the long house, only the cry of Little Feather. The eagle-like eyes of the Songbird Priest fell on Little Feather, but he couldn't see the other's face buried in the ground.
This cry seemed heartbreaking, but was it sincere? However, sincerity is not important. Whether to keep this channel and the way to cooperate with the Feather Clan is a question worth serious consideration. Faced with this problem, the pragmatic Songbird Priest did not hesitate for too long and made a decision.
"Honey Hawk."
"Master Priest?"
"His name is Penggualiyotsin, also known as Little Feather. He is from the Lake District on the plateau and is a fellow countryman of many kingdom priests."
"Master Priest?"
"His father is also from the Lake District. He has no faith and is a truly cunning old fox. This is the object you must be vigilant about when you are in charge of the Firestone Town of the Yomei Department! Of course, it is hard to say whether the Feather Clan will come out in the future after entering the mountains... And this Little Feather is a channel for communication between the kingdom and the mountains, and is also a good apprentice who can be trained to become a priest. ! …”
“Master High Priest, what do you mean? Let me take him in as my apprentice?”
“Yes. He will follow you in the future, you must teach him well, take good care of him, and treat him as your confidant. This child is very flexible and has great potential, and can be of great use! Don’t doubt him because of his background... because he is a child abandoned by the Feather Clan. He is also a priest apprentice who has thrown himself into the arms of the Lord and has no way out! …”
The Songbird High Priest smiled and said it twice to the Honey Eagle Priest in front of Little Feather. One time was in the local tribal language, and the other was in Purépecha. After hearing these words, Little Feather's crying gradually subsided. He quietly raised his head, hiding the corners of his mouth, but saw a pair of cold and sharp eyes like an eagle, without a smile...
"Honey Hawk, do you remember what I just said?"
"Remember! Master Priest!..."
"Very good! Then I will help you first, and also help this child, cut off his retreat, and help him truly convert with my own hands!..."
The Songbird Priest reached out his hand, gently touched Little Feather's head, shook his hair, and looked at his hand again. Facing the look of the priests looking at the sacrifices, Little Feather instantly got goosebumps all over his body, and a strong sense of foreboding surged into his heart...
"Song... Songbird Priest?... What are you doing... What are you doing..."
"Don't be afraid! Little Feather, you are a good child, a very promising priest apprentice! But you have not experienced deep pain, nor have you paid the price of faith! Your mind is too active, only deep pain, only the traces that you will never forget, can make you calm down..."
"Good child, let me make up for the most missing lesson for you! Remember my words, cunning cleverness is not for true faith Words are a burden, a burden that must be discarded! …Just like the bird patterns on your body, they do not represent piety, but instead expose your disbelief in the Lord God. Just like your ten fingers, the two little fingers are actually useless, so it is better to offer them to the Lord God…”
“With the Lord God’s blessing, I will convert for you with my own hands! I will convert with a blood oath and offer my flesh and blood to the Lord God. Let you watch with your own eyes as your flesh and blood rise in the flames and turn into smoke, and make a vow of the soul! Little Feather, you will eventually become the most devout believer, after abandoning your cunning cleverness and gaining the awe of the Lord God! …”
The chief priest of the song bird had a gentle expression. He took out the obsidian dagger for sacrifice from his arms, and the sharp cold light flashed into his eyes. He used a gentle accent to soothe the frightened little feather. The two warriors of the kingdom restrained each other tightly, leaving only a pair of five-fingered hands. And a cluster of sacred flames had risen in the tent, and everything was ready...
"Lord God! Ancestors!... No! Ah!... No!!..."
Two shrill screams shook the flames. When everything was quiet, the gentle accent sounded again. The voice was still calm and kind, even a little compassionate.
"May the light of the Lord guide the wandering feathers, attach them to the sacred hummingbird, and walk on the right path from now on! The Lord's hummingbird has eight claws, which is a sacred auspicious number and the most pious witness!"
"Lord! From now on, the little feather of the Feather Clan, Peng Gualiyotsin, will die in this long house! And the one who will be reborn is the Lord's priest apprentice, the pious and fearless Peng Bazhi!..."
"May the Lord bless! Guide Peng Bazhi's soul!..."
The priests in the house chanted together, praising the Lord's name with joy from the bottom of their hearts. And beside Peng Bazhi, who fainted from the pain, the green smoke of the holy fire rose up a little, with the burnt flesh and blood, just like the Lord's sacrifice, which he will never forget~