Chapter 578: Chapter 380: The Fall of the Red Ant Tribe
Central South Wilderness, Red Ant Tribe.
Half a month after the human-ant conflict, the Red Ant God still had no intention of re-bestowing the Power of Totems to the tribal warriors, and even used those Red Giant Ants to replace the warriors in guarding the tribe.
The tribe mbers, having lost the Power of Totems, saw their combat power sharply decline. Coupled with the large-scale food gathering by those Red Giant Ants, it beca increasingly difficult for them to obtain enough food in the dangerous forest, and the number of casualties during each hunting trip skyrocketed.
“Witch, if this continues, our tribe is truly finished.”
Inside the ant nest structure, Gu Li squatted on the ground, painfully covering his face.
Without the Power of Totems, without safety assurance, without food, the people of the Red Ant Tribe, other than still settling and moving in groups, were no different from the wanderers.
The tribe mbers couldn’t sustain their days, naturally losing any sense of belonging to the tribe, and a few had already begun to defect.
The Red Ant Tribe Witch seed to have aged decades suddenly, lowering his head and saying dejectedly, “I have prayed to the Ant God, asking it to re-bestow the Power of Totems, but the Ant God said, unless we hold a Great High Priest ceremony to apologize, it is absolutely impossible.”
Gu Li exclaid emotionally, “Our people are struggling to even fill their stomachs; many of the elderly and children are starving to death. How can we have prey for a Great High Priest ceremony!”
The Red Ant Tribe Witch’s head hung even lower: “The Ant God said, without prey, we could… we could use a human sacrifice.”
“Human sacrifice?”
Upon hearing these words, Gu Li felt as if struck by lightning, hardly able to believe his ears.
The so-called human sacrifice involves sacrificing living people, a very cruel thod of offering.
Except for so tribes with harsh conditions unable to provide offerings, or those who had waged tribal wars and acquired many captives, hardly any tribe would perform human sacrifices.
After all, tribal people’s activity ranges are small, and tribe mbers are mostly closely related. Who would be willing to use their relatives and friends for offering to the Totem God?
Moreover, once it happens, it inevitably leads to twice, thrice, and countless tis thereafter.
The population of the Red Ant Tribe is already small, and if they rely on human sacrifices to satisfy the Totem God, it won’t be long before they are all gone.
In such a situation, where everyone feels insecure, the tribe would only collapse faster.
Both Gu Li and the Red Ant Tribe Witch understood this, so they absolutely could not agree to such a condition of human sacrifice.
The Red Ant Tribe Witch said in a low voice, “Let’s think of another way…”
As a Witch, confronting both the collapse of faith and the impending collapse of the tribe, the pain and pressure he bears are much greater than anyone else.
But he couldn’t fall; currently, he is the only one in the Red Ant Tribe who can directly communicate with the Totem God. If he falls, the tribe has absolutely no hope.
Gu Li looked at the old, tired witch with bloodshot eyes, wanting to say sothing, but opened his mouth, unsure of how to start.
Ultimately, Gu Li said nothing, simply patted the Old Witch’s back gently and then turned to leave.
In the dim room, the Old Witch was like a candle burning low, alone and despairing.
…
Three days later, after countless inner struggles and weighing pros and cons, Chief Gu Li made a very difficult decision.
He took almost everyone, except for the old, weak, sick, and disabled, out to hunt, saying it was in preparation for the Great High Priest ceremony.
They traversed through territories long since scoured by the Red Giant Ants, journeying under the stars and moon, and eventually reached the forest by the South River, a place far removed from the Red Ant Tribe and the dreadful Red Ant God.
“Splashing…”
Gu Li stood in the forest, listened to the rushing river in the distance, and gazed at the thousands of silent eyes ahead, a sense of desolate despair rising in his heart.
The leader of a hunting team was the first to break the silence, “Chief, are we going to hunt water beasts by the river?”
Gu Li shook his head and said, “No, I lied to you all; this ti, we are not going to hunt.”
“Not going to hunt?”
The hunting team leader looked very shocked, vaguely guessing sothing but didn’t dare to say it.
Surrounding tribe mbers began to discuss among themselves; they had nearly gone out in full force this ti. If not for hunting, let alone offering, they would have difficulty just filling their stomachs.
Gu Li climbed onto a branch of a nearby big tree, shouting down to everyone, “Everyone, quiet down and co closer, I have sothing important to say.”
In the forest, the tribe mbers’ discipline was strong, especially when the person speaking was the leader.
The Red Ant Tribe mbers stopped discussing and gathered densely near the big tree, leaving only heavy breathing sounds.
Gu Li took a deep breath and began with difficulty, “Bringing everyone out this ti, I want to tell you a big secret about our tribe and the Ant God, a secret passed from each generation of leaders orally, unknown even to the Witch.”
“The secret is, our Ant Tribe’s god has long been dead!”
This statent instantly caused an uproar among all the tribe mbers, with many becoming emotionally agitated, wanting to hit soone.
If it hadn’t been Chief Gu Li uttering this sentence, and if it weren’t for the recent human-ant war, the speaker might have been imdiately killed by the agitated tribe mbers.
Just then, Qie Ye stood up and shouted loudly, “I testify, before my grandfather died, he specifically asked us to carry him to the forest outside the tribe and told us this secret personally!”
Hearing Qie Ye’s words, the crowd once again burst into discussions; they all knew that the last elder’s body wasn’t taken into the Ant Nest but was buried outside, a matter that caused quite a stir back then, now realizing there was hidden truth.
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