Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 143

*TRIGGER WARNING- DEPICTION OF VIOLENCE INCLUDED IN THIS CHAPTER*

In a remote forest region on the outskirts of Volos, members of the illegal mage organization, the Serpents, had gathered to perform a sacrificial ceremony to reorganize the imperial structure.

The day was chosen to coincide with the foundation festivals to avoid allegations against the aristocrats since the nobility were mandated to attend the annual ball at the imperial palace.

Under the direct gaze of the moons was placed a stone podium at the center of which stood a massive statue of the Serpent God, Havu.

The well-defined statue that was sculpted from a single stone, overlooked the ceremonial grounds acting as the head to siphon the power of the god Havu.

The podium itself was interconnected with several likewise platforms, each engraved with mysterious symbols that paved the way towards the statue as its central point, converging the entire structure in a linked system.

Each podium had three Serpents on it forming a circle, all dressed in long dark hoods and their faces covered with white masks that had a red snake across them. 

One of the Serpents was dressed in white acting as the Priest to the ceremony. He stood in front of the Havu statue commanding the rest of the members whilst controlling the spells.

Together, the Serpents were chanting in a monotonous tone that was heard across the audience chambers filled with curious eyes waiting for the main event to begin.

The audience to the ceremony was composed of representatives from aristocratic families that follow the Esdels as well as several men that were guarding the forest to eliminate any disturbances.

Seamus Esdel was absent due to him being at the border confronting the Frost army as a cover to avoid allegations that would be placed against him in the future. 

In place of him overlooking the ceremony was his proxy, the former Count Moore, who was in fact recently stripped of his title after being caught for using bandits to kidnap people to sell as slaves.

As the ceremony commenced in full swing, the sacrifices were brought to the podiums one after the other in an orderly manner.

The sacrifices were diverse ranging from small and wild animals to elderly convicts, still in their prison uniforms and even young beastmen whose eyes were covered with blindfolds and hands bound by rope.

Since their supply of slaves was cut short due to the Frosts seizing control of Napal, the aristocrats had no option but to replace the sacrifices by bringing in wild animals, death row convicts and young orphans snatched from the streets to make up for the discrepancy. 

When the Serpent Priest finished chanting, two members on each podium stepped forward and forced the convicts to kneel before the other, who was standing with a silver dagger in his hands.

In the blink of an eye, the Serpents unanimously slit the throats of the convicts, causing the people in the audience to cause an uproar surprised by the sudden slaughter. 

Brought up in upper-class circles, they were disgusted by the violence to the point that the guards had to step in to calm them down so as to not interrupt the ceremony.

The victims, on the other hand, fell to the floor lifeless as the blood from their bodies gushed out through the wound.

Ignoring the audience's response, the Serpents proceeded with the ritual and directed the blood from the bodies to drip onto the symbols engraved on the podium, for it was the first step to initiate the curse the 'sacrifice of a life that was about to end'