I, the All-Class Magus, All My Awakening Skills are LvMax - Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Chapter279-A Village with Ulterior Motives
John instantly guessed that this village chief might not be as fanatical as those so-called followers.

After all, his current role as a sacrificial offering meant that anyone who saw him would definitely want to capture him and take him back.

As the village chief, logically, his faith should be the deepest and most fervent.

Yet, upon seeing him, the chief had said nothing.

He even appeared very scared, hoping that John would leave quickly, which made the whole situation somewhat unclear.

“Speak up, what exactly are you planning for tonight’s ritual? What’s the deal with this so-called deity?”

The village chief, who had just been visibly scared, now trembled even more upon hearing John’s question, as if he was about to wet himself from fear the next second.

“The deity is the deity. If you’ve escaped, then just go, don’t come back. I know nothing.”

The chief repeated this phrase over and over, making John even more suspicious.

“Now that I’ve come back, it means I’ve found out something. So you better tell me everything honestly, or don’t blame me for being rude.”

John stared intently at the village chief.

It was clear that the chief was an enemy, but his current state of timidity was puzzling. How could a village chief possibly be so meek?

Could it be that there was something here that John didn’t know about?

“What’s the real story behind the deity’s brides? What’s this ritual all about? Explain clearly.”

John’s tone was fierce, and the village chief was nearly reduced to tears.

Trembling, he spilled everything.

It turned out that their village had been cursed by a deity; the women in the village could not bear children.

They resorted to deceiving young girls from outside to come and serve as their breeding machines.

These deceived girls met no good ends; many died during childbirth, and their bodies were then discarded in the back mountains, creating mound after mound.

Over time, the back mountains became their grave site, and no one dared pass through that area anymore, for it was said that the mounds could manifest into their worst fears.

But then a deity descended upon their village, granting them boundless power.

By worshipping this deity, they could become the most eminent beings in the world.

However, the price was that every ten years, they had to make a sacrifice to the deity and choose two brides for the deity!

Initially, they used people from their own village, but as their numbers dwindled, they had to start deceiving outsiders.

From two hundred years ago, it was as though they had completely lost contact with the outside world; they could no longer leave, and the village could only exist within its own confines.

They prayed in agony to the deity.

Later, the deity decreed that every ten years, he would select a batch of offerings himself, and thus they managed to perform the rituals.

“I’m telling the truth, I haven’t lied to you, I’ve said all I can, please let me go.”

The village chief was shivering as John smelled a pungent odor of urine.

On looking, he realized that the man had wet his pants at some point, leaving a puddle on the ground.

John stepped aside in disgust but was seriously pondering in his mind.

If things were as the so-called deity had orchestrated, then what purpose did these rituals serve?

The only useful aspect might be the so-called faith of the followers.

He recalled what Yina had said: direct from the deity, the most important aspect is the faith of the followers—the more they believe, the stronger their power becomes.

But the dark god is different; their power source is all the evil, sorrow, and pain in the world.

The more pain they feel, the stronger they become, which is why they are known as the dark god.

He also understood why the power of these mysterious brides was so immense; they were the collective resentments of all the brides in the village.

John realized that this village was not as idyllic as it seemed, and some things were entirely different from what they had imagined; indeed, these malevolent thoughts were the most distinct aspect.

No wonder the priest had previously mentioned that the only way to leave here was to kill everyone!

The dark god thrives on these malevolent thoughts.

But this village was the source of all evil!

Only by killing everyone would these malevolent thoughts be completely eradicated, and the resentment gradually dissolved.

Upon this realization, John didn’t hesitate for a moment; he directly slit the village chief’s throat.

As he died, the village chief’s eyes widened in disbelief, clutching his neck.

He couldn’t understand why he was being killed when he had revealed everything he knew.

Blood gurgled from the chief’s neck, quickly pooling on the floor, his eyes wide open in death.

After killing the village chief, John didn’t rush to leave but searched the room slightly.

He discovered that the village chief didn’t seem to be a pure devotee of the dark god.

At least all the information shown in this room suggested otherwise.

The white robe, symbolizing high status, was carelessly thrown on the floor, showing little respect.

He carefully examined the man’s bed but found nothing of significant value.

Somewhat bored after a quick search, John was about to leave when something on the wall caught his eye at the last moment.

His pupils constricted at the sight of it.

How could this be here?!

Logically, such a thing shouldn’t exist in this secret realm!

Hesitantly, he moved closer to inspect it and confirmed it was indeed the object from his memory.

Carefully, he removed it from the wall and, after much deliberation, placed it in his system backpack.

Though unclear why this item would appear here, he knew it was crucial for unraveling this secret realm.

It seemed that even the so-called dark god didn’t have perfect control over all his followers.

Suddenly, an image flashed through John’s mind.

What about Rosie? What was her situation? Was she also under control?

As John stepped out the door, his footsteps halted for a moment.

He carefully sensed that his strength had recovered to level 20!

Could killing one person really restore so much power?

John pondered briefly.

It seemed that if they managed to deal with all those people, perhaps he could fully regain his strength!

As he was leaving, John encountered one of the guards!

The guard’s eyes widened in shock, instinctively wanting to scream.

But before he could open his mouth, the next second he was clutching his neck, a look of terror in his eyes, and he fell to the ground!

He didn’t even have a chance to speak before his throat was slit!

John distinctly felt his power restoring bit by bit. Although it wasn’t much, every little helped!

The corners of his mouth slightly curled upwards; it seemed he wouldn’t need to hide and sneak around anymore!

Previously, whenever John tried to avoid people, they always seemed to patrol right in front of him at just the wrong times.

But now that he discovered killing these people could restore his power, he couldn’t find anyone around. He was almost laughing in frustration!

He really didn’t know if it was just bad luck or if things were always this dire.

Meanwhile, Archibald and Leopold were swiftly navigating through the woods, completing the tasks John had assigned them.

Both were actually quite scared, but the thought of fulfilling their big brother’s orders bolstered their courage.

Suddenly, they heard voices ahead and instantly crouched down, carefully observing the situation in front of them.

“Where could these people have run off to? The back mountain is not a lucky place; they couldn’t have died, could they?”