However, to transform from an orc warrior into a divine beast warrior, one must first become a level ten orc warrior, and simultaneously require a powerful priest to sacrifice their life.
"A powerful priest sacrifices his life?" Shen Nong said after a moment of silence, "That's a terrible deal, only a fool would do it."
The system paused slightly; though it dared not say it aloud, it dared to complain in its heart.
Little ancestor, didn't you almost succeed in the sacrifice just now?
Shen Nong couldn't hear the system's thoughts, thus sparing the system a scolding.
He looked at Ze, connecting everything in his mind.
Only priests with divine power can awaken and give birth to divine beast warriors, but he knew clearly that he did not have divine power.
However, he thought that Ze's blood could quickly heal everything, and that the golden light after awakening could also restore his spiritual core.
Ze must have been very special to awaken as a divine beast warrior.
Strictly speaking, he was merely a catalyst for the transformation into a divine beast warrior.
Since they are the highest-ranking warriors in the orc world, it would be good to have a divine beast warrior as well.
However, the beast-type body is too small.
After the tiger roars and transforms into human form, it can sit on someone's buttock and kill them.
Shen Nong frowned slightly. He looked at Ze and asked, still unwilling to give up, "Is this all the size you're in your beast form?"
The little leopard stiffened slightly for a moment, then quickly recovered. "Hmm, it should grow longer later."
Shen Nong sighed. That's true. After all, you can't get fat overnight. You have to grow slowly.
After the awakening ceremony, the awakened orc warriors need to be tested for orc level.
Shen Nong took out the Blood Stone and had the newly awakened orcs test it one by one.
After testing, it was found that half of the orcs skipped level one and awakened as level two orcs.
When the test is conducted, the bloodstone's light changes to a pale gold color.
However, there were no level prompts.
Shen Nong asked the system if there was a bug. After checking, the system said, "There is no bug. It's probably because the Bloodstone can't detect the genes of the Divine Beast Warriors?"
Shen Nong responded, "That's the only explanation."
As night fell, the wooden tribe lit a bonfire.
Various kinds of cured meats were placed around the campfire, and meat and fish soup were simmering in an earthenware pot, bubbling away.
Their priest awakened more than twenty orc warriors in one go, including a divine beast warrior, which greatly boosted the morale of the tribe.
Leopard Autumn sat by the fire, gazing at Shen Nong not far away through the firelight.
Back when he was still in the Salt Tribe, the old priest originally intended for him to be the tribal chief. However, he lost to Mang Lin in the final duel, so he was not the final tribal chief of the Salt Tribe.
Before Manglin became the clan chief, the old priest told him many things that ordinary people did not know.
A powerful priest can awaken a divine beast warrior, just as the old priest said back then.
A priest powerful enough to awaken the power of orc warriors…
A flame, even more intense than the campfire, ignited in Leopard Autumn's heart. With the priest present, what did he have to fear from the cannibals?
After Shen Nong finished eating with the tribespeople, she returned to the cave. Tuanzi came up to her and kept rubbing against her.
Shen Nong stroked the ball's fur as usual, but the sensation in his palm made him pause; it wasn't as soft as the fur of the beast-type.
After groping around a few times, Shen Nong withdrew her hand and told Tuanzi to go to sleep.
Tomorrow is the day when cannibals and tribes that need the blood of cannibal priests will exchange flesh for human bodies.
He has a tough battle ahead of him.
As night deepened, Tuanzi, who always slept very well, suddenly woke up in the priest's cave.
It stared tremblingly at the cave entrance, a sense of boundless fear rising in its heart.
Big Black also woke up from the back mountain and looked toward the priest's cave.
In the darkness, a huge black shadow, like a mountain range, lay around the cave. Its golden pupils stared at the cave entrance for a moment before slowly closing. Its soft, smooth fur fluttered in the evening breeze, scattering specks of golden light.
Chapter 26 Rescue
Everything is up to the priest.
The next morning.
I don’t know if it was because the golden light I chose had a sleep-inducing effect, but Shen Nong slept soundly and peacefully all night without any dreams.
After he got up, he saw that Tuanzi was shivering. He reached out and touched his fur, asking in confusion, "Tuanzi, are you cold?"
Tuanzi grunted and shook its head.
Its gaze timidly fixed on the direction of the cave entrance. Shen Nong followed its line of sight and asked, "What's outside?"
Tuanzi covered its head with its paws, curled up in a ball and trembling, completely ignoring Shen Nong's words.
Something unusual must be going on. Shen Nong got up and pushed open the wooden door of the cave.
A man was seen lighting a fire to burn stones at the entrance of his cave.
Her long hair was tied up high with straw rope, and a golden diamond-shaped vine pattern appeared on her forehead. There were also golden, spell-like patterns on her wrists.
"Priest, I'll get you some hot water to wash."
He turned around and put the heated stone into the earthenware pot. The cold water boiled and bubbled.
Shen Nong looked down along the strong, powerful back and indeed saw golden runes on both sides of the shoulder blades.
The pattern is positioned exactly the same as the animal-shaped pattern.
Orcs who awaken their powers after the age of twelve will have animal-like features and will be called half-orcs.
Shen Nong thought that Ze's awakened human form would have animal ears or tails, but she didn't expect it to have nothing, just a bunch of fancy designs.
A sense of disappointment welled up inside her, which was caught by Ze as he turned around. "Priest, are you unhappy?"
Shen Nong looked at Ze with confusion. The soft morning light floated around Ze, and the pattern on his forehead adorned his perfect face, making it hard to look away.
Ze lowered his eyes, avoiding Shen Nong's gaze.
"Priest, the water is ready."
Shen Nong replied, "You don't need to come and make me hot water every morning. It's not like I don't know how."
To choose not to answer is a silent refusal.
Having spent so much time together, Shen Nong had already figured out Ze's temperament.
This attitude means you shouldn't even think about it.
Shen Nong had no choice but to sigh and change the subject, "Tuanzi acted strangely early this morning, as if she was frightened by something. Did you see any suspicious people outside?"
Ze glanced sideways at the cave entrance and saw a pair of fleshy bear paws suddenly retract. "No, it's just me."
"That's strange, why is that little dumpling so scared..."
“Priest, if you’re worried, I can sleep in your cave.” Ze said with a serious expression, “to protect you, Priest.”
Shen Nong paused slightly as she wiped her face.
Although he doesn't need protection, it wouldn't be bad to have another furry little leopard cub on the bed for him to pet.
He still remembers the feeling of the furry thing from yesterday.
It's much softer than the fluffy fur of a dumpling.
So Shen Nong tentatively asked, "To live in my cave, you can only be in beast form."
Ze's lips curled up slightly, but Shen Nong didn't notice because the curve was so subtle.
"Everything is at the priest's command."
The little dumpling, hiding behind the cave entrance, ate a bear paw in terror. Oh no! Is the little dumpling going to sleep with a giant monster from now on?
After Shen Nong finished washing up, she said to Ze Dao, "Go to the training ground by the waterfall and call Hu Xiao and the others back. We're going to rescue people from the cannibal tribe today."
——
Cannibals.
A stone bowl is placed on the stone table, and the bowl is mostly filled with water.
Blood dripped from mid-air into the water until it was completely stained red.
The priest, Wuming, put away his bone knife, grabbed some dry soil prepared on the side of the stone table, and sprinkled it on the wound in his palm to stop the bleeding.
Which tribes are participating in this trade fair?
The person waiting nearby replied, "There are salt, mountain, and grass departments."
"The flesh-eating people from the Mountain and Grass tribes are too old and have already been dealt with. Priest, should we spare these two tribes during the hunt?"
"Don't bother them in winter, but in spring we'll go to their tribe and capture some young men."
Wuming asked doubtfully, "The Ze tribe hasn't come again?"
"No."
"It's alright, if they don't come, we can go." Wuming looked at the wound on his palm that was stained with soil and smiled somewhat sinisterly. "Without the divine blood of the Ze tribe, this wound will heal much slower."
"Priest, don't worry. At this trade fair, although other tribes are sending orcs who are about to die of old age, the Salt Tribe has sent twelve orc warriors, all of whom are level five or above."
"There is also a level seven orc warrior among them. As long as the priest drinks the blood of that level seven orc warrior, his injuries will heal quickly."
Wuming was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
How could the priests of the Salt Tribe allow the tribe to send so many orcs to be used as human sacrifices all at once?
Moreover, they were all orc warriors of considerable rank.
If I remember correctly, the Salt Department just sent over two level-six orc warriors. Because of these two, he also increased the level of bloodline suppression.
Wu Ming pondered for a moment.