"Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving little Ohara."

A few minutes later, an elderly man stood opposite Liora and profusely offered his thanks.

He then paused.

"This girl. So reckless. Sigh...", the Tribe Chief shook his head, turning to look at Ohara with a blaming gaze.

The latter shrank back upon seeing this and hid behind Liora, clearly ashamed.

Facing such a reaction, the Tribe Chief pursed his lips and did not scold her any further.

Instead, he turned to look at Liora, and the wrinkles on his face relaxed.

"Your Excellency, please stay here for the night."

"The sun is about to set, and the demons outside will soon go into a rampage. Only the village can ward off these monsters."

"Moreover...", he paused briefly.

"Tomorrow is the day of the yearly Blood Sacrifice. The God of Hunting will likely appear. If you’re fortunate, there is a chance to obtain His Divine Blessing."

Hearing so many unfamiliar terms, Liora had no need to ask for an explanation.

She had already managed to extract information from Ohara during their earlier journey.

Coupled with her subsequent investigation, she had roughly understood the overall structure of the Blood Forest Realm.

The humans in this world still lived in Tribes, as though they had never evolved beyond the primitive period.

Still, extraordinary powers existed. And they were the same as the ones in the universe outside.

Awakeners. Ranks. Cosmic Energy.

The only difference was that these primitive humans conducted a Blood Sacrifice instead of an Awakening Ceremony, while awakening one’s talents was not guaranteed.

Aside from that...

Liora raised her head and looked behind the Tribe Chief.

At the center square of the village, the same stone statue as the one outside the walls could be seen, except it was several times larger and far more majestic.

This was the God of Hunting that the Tribe Chief had just mentioned.

According to Ohara, he was the God protecting their tribe from the demons outside the walls.

In exchange, the tribe members held deep faith in him, being his believers.

This was not just empty talk.

Although she had only been in the village for less than an hour, Liora had witnessed hundreds of people walk near the statue, kneel down, and offer murmuring prayers.

Their devotion was self-evident.

As she watched this scene, combined with the Tribe Chief’s words, a strange expression flashed across Liora’s face.

However, she lightly nodded her head.

"I’ll stay here for the night and will attend tomorrow’s Blood Ceremony. However, I have places to be. I’ll leave once everything is done."

The Tribe Chief immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"That’s fine. That’s fine."

"Don’t worry. We’ll do everything in our power to satisfy your needs during this time.", he patted his chest several times before leading the way.

There were obviously no hotels in such a primitive village.

Similarly, there were no empty buildings for Liora to stay at.

In the end, after a brief conversation with Ohara, the three agreed that Liora would stay at her residence for the night.

--

"Your Excellency, please make yourself at home. I’ll come visit you after tending to my father."

As soon as they entered the house built from timber and stone, Ohara said a few sentences and sprinted elsewhere.

She merely pointed to a room and asked Liora to move in, as though she was not afraid she would do anything out of line.

Liora was curious. She followed her movements with her World of Heart and observed what she was doing.

She watched as Ohara moved deeper into the building, arriving at a room where a middle-aged man was currently lying unconscious.

His skin was deathly pale while his whole body was convulsing violently, as though he was experiencing a stroke.

"The Curse of the Gods...", Liora muttered the term Ohara had mentioned before.

Within the Blood Forest Realm, the so-called Gods carried an exalted status.

Not only were they protectors of the tribes and the human race as a whole, but they also served as punishers for those who dared to blaspheme their majesty.

Liora did not know exactly what "blasphemy" entailed.

But as her consciousness swept across the body of Ohara’s father, she indeed discovered a deep-seated power embedded in his origin.

The "Curse of the Gods" was devouring his life force bit by bit, until he became nothing more than an empty shell.

"This power is quite interesting. It’s not of high level, but it feels quite familiar...", Liora whispered as her eyes narrowed.

She could sense that the curse contained both the power of Awakeners and demons.

But perhaps more importantly, there was a third, more illusory power.

As her eyes landed on the Twilight Grass, which Orion claimed could alleviate the curse’s effects, she seemed to realize something.

Yet just as she was about to confirm her thoughts, azure light burst out of her head.

It fused together in front of her, materializing into a palm-sized Alpha.

"My Lord, I have a hunch there is something wrong with this village. The atmosphere is... eerie."

"I’m afraid that there is danger lurking beneath.", she warned, her expression turning slightly solemn.

Though she had merged with the AI Assistant, Alpha retained most of her strength.

Since Liora had not blocked her vision, she had been able to observe everything that had happened so far.

As such, she immediately understood that there was something amiss.

Whether it was Ohara, the Tribe Chief, or the villagers, everything about the Orion Tribe felt wrong.

Liora sensed her worry but did not show any panic.

Rather, she smiled cryptically and attempted to comfort her.

"Don’t worry. I already have an idea about what is going on. Let’s see what will happen—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of overlapping prayers echoed throughout the tribe, their tone solemn and majestic.

Chunks of stone fell off the stone statue at the center of the village as the slumbering centaur opened its eyes. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

An overwhelming pressure instantly spread from the awakened creature, causing all the gathered tribe members to kneel.

They showed no fear. Instead, fanaticism flashed in their eyes.

"Oh, God of Hunting! Please kill the Blasphemer who dares to blaspheme the Orion Tribe."

"Lord, please punish the Otherworld Demon."

"..."

The moment the chorus of prayers fell, the centaur turned his gaze toward Liora.

Though separated by the entire village, their gazes collided in midair as his eyes locked onto her figure.

The next instant, the spear he was holding glowed brilliantly. For a second, it really looked like a divine weapon.

As a holy aura erupted, the centaur drew back its arm and launched the spear toward Liora.