?”Captive?”
“That’s right.” Cauldron said: “The high-ranking magicians feared that the war would spread to the surrounding major cities, which is why they decided to imprison this land.”
“That turned this land into a giant battlefield, and the people living in this area also became victims of war.”
“They cannot go out, nor can they escape the flames of war.”
“Wait!” Lathel was startled and asked: “What do you mean? So how do outsiders get into this place?
“In fact, anything can enter this place, but nothing can get out.” Cauldron replied.
“So… what about the soldiers who survived the war?” Lathel asked again.
“There weren’t any survivors. Everyone entering this place must fight until the war really ends. At that time, a sage will unseal this place, and everyone can leave.”
Hearing that, Lathel took a deep breath. This meant that if he joined the war, there would only be two outcomes.
Either he fought to the death or he became the strongest and lived until the war ended.
At this time, Lathel suddenly realised that the war was really fierce. As a person from Earth, he could not imagine how painful and cruel war would be.
After all, from the time he was born until the time he died, the earth was still in a period of peace. Of course, there are still some conflicts taking place in unstable border areas, but in general… there were no conflicts that were too terrible.
But this time was different. For the first time, Lathel saw corpses piled up into a small mountain. The smell of the corpses rose like black smoke, covering the sky.
Blood flowed from that mountain of corpses and soaked the ground, turning the surrounding ground the colour of blood.
The people kneeling around him cried in pain and misery. Most of them were women, old people, and children.
There were many women still holding their children in their arms, and the children were also crying as if they also sympathised with the pain of the people here.
“Lathel… It seems you have returned to the past or to a region of space displaying past events.” Cauldron explained: “I’m not sure, but this is definitely ancient times.”
“Lathel, you should be careful. In this era, there are as many geniuses as grass on the ground, and there are also many monsters possessing terrible power.”
After hearing this, Lathel felt extremely worried. He thought the challenge inside the stone pillar would be very simple, but in the end… this was not a challenge; this was hell.
‘How could other people overcome this challenge so quickly? Am I really that weak?’
“God!” Suddenly, the old man kneeling below shouted: “Please save us! We don’t need revenge; we just need a safe place to live.”
The old man took Lathel’s silence as not wanting to help them take revenge, so he continued to speak. ‘It’s okay if we can’t get revenge. As long as they have a safe place to live, they can continue to develop and maintain their tribe.
Lathel frowned, silently thinking about a solution. Besides, he also didn’t know what this challenge needed him to do.
After waiting for a long time, Lathel still did not answer. The old man gritted his teeth and called a group of women to come in front of him.
Even though these women had many wounds and were stained with mud, Lathel could see that their beauty was not bad.
“God, these are the most beautiful girls in my tribe.” The old man bowed his head and said: “Even though they are a bit dirty, if they wash, they will be very beautiful.” They still have their first time, and all of them are only about 16 to 20 years old.”
“God… this is the offering we offer to you, hoping you can save us; let us see your light.”
“Give us a chance to live; we swear… to worship you forever. Our descendants will also worship you, praise your name, and forever be loyal to you.”
Lathel sighed and shook his head. The old man looked at Lathel’s expression and felt cold and hopeless. He couldn’t control himself; tears flowed out of his eyes as he muttered.
“Could it be that the fate of this tribe is death?”
“Why… can’t even the god I called save this tribe?”
Everyone who heard the old man’s voice bowed their heads, not daring to speak; only despair and fear remained in their hearts.
“Okay, I don’t need your offering. Tell me a little about your problem; I will try to help you.” Lathel sighed and said.
The old man was startled when he heard that. He raised his head and looked at Lathel in disbelief.
“God… Are you really going to help us?”
“That’s right, however… I’m not sure if I can help you or not. But I can try; if you want, you can accept; if not…”
“No! No! No!” The old man quickly replied: “God, we will listen to everything you say, please help us.”
Lathel nodded and said: “Come closer; tell me the current situation of this tribe.”
“This…” The old man was a bit confused: “Sorry, I am just an ordinary person; I am unable to get close to God’s altar.”
Lathel frowned: “You either come here or I leave.”
“Ack! Okay, don’t go.” Hearing that, the old man quickly walked to the edge of the stone pedestal and knelt below.
“What is your name?” Lathel asked.
“God, my name is Doro.” The old man bowed his head and replied.
“How many people does your tribe currently have?”
“I…” Doro bowed his head and said: “Currently, my tribe has about 500 people. However, most are women, old people, and children. There are less than 30 men left.”
Lathel looked towards the people kneeling below. Just as Doro said, most of them were women. The first row of people contained 30 men.
However, those 30 men were all covered with wounds; some were even bleeding, but their wounds were only lightly bandaged.
Besides… What they used to bandage the wound was just some strange leaves with mud on them, making them very susceptible to infection.
Many people were so seriously injured that they could only lie far away, but they looked towards Lathel with hope in their eyes.
“I…” Doro continued: “We were running away from the war; due to this, we don’t have much food to offer you. I hope you don’t blame us.”
“This is the last bit of food; I hope you can understand and accept it.”
As soon as Doro finished speaking, the two men with the lightest injuries came in front of him, carrying a smooth piece of wood with many strange fruits on it.
The two men respectfully placed the large piece of wood on the stone pedestal, then bowed their heads and retreated.
Lathel frowned, looked at the fruits and flowers on the large wooden tray, and sighed. Most of them were fruits that have withered or are no longer edible.
He looked down at the kneeling people, who also looked at this fruit tray expectantly. Lathel looked at them, all of them thin as if they had been starved for days, reminding him of the terrible famines in history when he lived on Earth.
Even though the fruits on the tray were no longer edible, they still looked at them as delicacies in a restaurant with a hungry expression that was enough for Lathel to realise how hungry they were.
“How long have you been hungry?”
“This… God, if you don’t like this food, please wait a moment; the strongest warriors of the tribe will find other food for you.” Doro said embarrassedly.
Lathel glanced at the kneeling men: “The strong warriors you speak of—are they the ones who are wounded and about to die, or are they those who are about to starve to death?”
Doro gritted his teeth, not knowing how to explain. 𝓯𝘦𝘦𝑤𝑣.𝒸𝘰
He said embarrassedly: “In fact, in normal times, our tribe doesn’t have much food.”
“Even though we hunt and pick fruit every day, in the end we only have enough for that day, with no leftovers.”
“Even food is quite scarce, so we can only prioritise food for men so they can go hunting. Next are women, children, and the elderly.”
“After the war came, we were even more in need of food.”
“But…” Lathel now frowned and said: “I saw a lot of old people and children. Taking care of them requires a lot of effort and food, and besides, they can’t hunt, so why do you still bring them along?”
“This…” Doro sighed and said: “Sorry, God. I don’t want to leave anyone behind. Because… to me, any member of the tribe is very important.”
“Maybe they are someone’s father, mother, husband, or wife. They may not be able to hunt, find fresh fruit, or be able to carry heavy objects…”
“However… they are the soul of a family, the life experience of the younger generation, and the belief that tribal members rely on.”
“Sorry, God. I don’t want to abandon anyone.”
After Doro finished speaking, he did not regret it. This was his true thought. He knew that Lathel was probably angry about him bringing useless people, but he wouldn’t change his words.
Lathel heard that and smiled and asked: “Do you want some soup?”