Gospel of Blood

The girl’s mockery caused the face of the northern boy named Gunnar to darken.

Without saying much, he let out a cold snort as the pale blue glow burst forth from his body again, and he swung his sword at Astrid.

“Big sister!”

“Watch out!”

Astrid’s companions let out a series of exclamations.

Astrid’s expression grew serious. She clenched her teeth, enduring the pain in her body, and quickly raised her sword to block the attack.

Gunnar sneered. The pale blue glow gathered on his sword’s edge, enveloped in violent magic and primal fury pressed down on the girl.

Boom!

With a resounding crash, Astrid felt an overwhelming force descend upon her like a falling mountain, crushing her to the ground. She couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Totem power…

Unlike the holy light bestowed upon the God-cherished priests in the Holy Court, this ancient “faith power” of the Myria northern tribes, infused with belief, was beyond what the common extraordinary could resist.

“Astrid, you have lost.”

Gunnar approached the girl, looking down at her from above.

“Cheating! You cheated! Using totem power in an honor challenge is cheating!”

The youths beside the old woman shouted angrily at the glowing Gunnar.

Gunnar’s followers sneered.

“Cheating? There were no rules against using totem power before the challenge began! Besides, Lord Gunnar is using totem power, you can use it too!”

“Oh, we forgot, you are those false believers who worship absurd legends as totems. You don’t even have a totem that can provide totem power!”

The youths were smug. However, the expression of Marquis Vladimir, standing nearby, was not pleased.

The use of totem power, the most common extraordinary force among the northern tribes since ancient times, indicated that Gunnar hadn’t abandoned totem worship.

Noticing Marquis Vladimir’s gaze, Gunnar respectfully bowed and said,

“Marquis, please forgive me for using totem power in battle. My claim of converting to the great God is not false. Our shaman has said that retaining our own totem and worshiping the Lord does not conflict.”

“The Great Divine is always merciful, allowing true Gods to become His subordinate Gods. Our High Priest has already communicated with the totem spirit through shamanic rituals. Our totem spirit is willing to submit to the Lord and is fully qualified to become His subordinate God!”

Despite Gunnar’s words, Marquis Vladimir’s expression didn’t improve.

Next to the marquis, Sebastian also wore a peculiar expression. As a servant of the great True Ancestor and the vanguard of spreading the True Ancestor’s faith to the North, he had thoroughly researched the various beliefs of the North.

Unlike the true God worship in other parts of the continent, northern totem worship didn’t involve actual Gods. Or rather, these entities sustaining the “faith” weren’t real Gods.

No, to be precise, they might have once been Gods, but in the Blood Moon Era, they were hunted and suppressed by a terrifying entity who wished to remain anonymous.

They lost their divine status and became mere myths who could maintain only small-scale faith.

Some totems fared even worse. Losing their power in the faith connection and initiative, they couldn’t gain strength through worship but instead became “blood bags” for northern tribes to extract extraordinary power via “blood sacrifice.”

Whether the totem spirit truly wanted to submit to the Lord, or it was just the priest’s wish, was debatable.

But this was not Sebastian’s concern. He looked at the girl in the challenge arena.

“Just a little bit more…”

Sensing the girl’s aura, he thought to himself.

In the challenge arena, hearing the boys’ taunts, Astrid’s fists clenched tightly.

Her condition was poor. With two heavy hits, her entire body ached, and her head felt dizzy. She suspected her ribs were broken, but didn’t know how many, and other places likely had fractures too.

But right now, none of that mattered. She stared at the glowing Gunnar, her eyes filled with anger.

Failing to receive a response from their faith totem had long been a pain for the Free Tribe Alliance. Without the protection of totem power, they were always at a disadvantage against other northern tribes.

However, the faith of the Free Tribe Alliance could not be desecrated. They survived numerous hardships and thrived in the harsh northern environment through unwavering faith and devout belief in the Savior.

The great Savior wasn’t a fabrication. Though most records were lost during the tribe’s long migration, Astrid knew the core shrine still housed relics recounting the Savior’s deeds.

As a devout believer, she couldn’t tolerate the blasphemy against their God!

“No… I haven’t lost yet!”

Astrid gritted her teeth, forcing her vitality to circulate. Supported by her vitality, she struggled to stand up again.

She tremblingly drew a totem symbol on her chest, then raised her short sword, pointing it at Gunnar, wobbling as she declared,

“Gunnar, the glory of the Gods… cannot be desecrated. Retract… your blasphemy against my Lord!”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Seeing her shaky stance, Gunnar’s followers burst into laughter.

“Hahaha… retract the blasphemy against ‘my Lord’?”

“Look at her, she’s still holding on!”

“Astrid, stop being stubborn. Your Savior doesn’t even exist!”

“Our Forest Spirit is willing to follow the great God. We are already believers of the Holy Court, but you deluded false believers still seek glory?”

“Blasphemy? Your ignorance is the greatest blasphemy against the Gods!”

The boys sneered, drawing glares from Astrid’s companions.

Watching the smug youths, the glowing Gunnar, and the frowning Marquis Vladimir, Astrid bit her lip. Taking a deep breath, her gaze firmed.

“Sorry, father… I can’t stand by and watch them desecrate our God.”

“For the Savior’s glory, your daughter… must be willful.”

She muttered.

With that, her expression grew solemn, and her vitality surged once more. Her extraordinary aura spiked, and her pale blue eyes quickly took on a crimson hue.

Seeing the sudden change in her eye color, the surrounding boys exclaimed.

“This… this is the Free Tribe Alliance’s Spiritual Blood Ignition!”

“She’s gone mad! She’s using Spiritual Blood Ignition!”

Spiritual Blood Ignition…

If the Free Tribe Alliance’s survival in the harsh north without totem power had the greatest contributor, it was this extraordinary spell that only those with their bloodline could learn.

This spell, which burned extraordinary blood and soul to burst out powerful combat strength in an instant, was the trump card of the Free Tribe Alliance’s extraordinaries in desperate fights!

But the cost was severe.

At best, one would lose a significant portion of their lifespan and extraordinary power permanently. At worst, it would lead to immediate death.

As her vitality surged, Astrid’s eyes were filled with resolve.

However, just as she was about to fully ignite her extraordinary blood and soul power, an indistinguishable sigh echoed in her ears.

“If the great Lord saw Her follower dying in such a manner, I think… She would not be pleased.”

“Who?!”

Astrid looked up suddenly.

However, no one else seemed to have heard the voice. Their astonished gazes remained fixed on her, still surprised by her use of a high-risk, life-threatening forbidden technique.

“Don’t bother looking. I am speaking to you within your mind, others can’t hear me.”

“Hehe, this is one of the bloodline gifts I received from the great Lord, a blessing from my Master.”

The mysterious voice sounded again, light and indifferent, unlike any northern person’s.

A mysterious rhythm brushed over her. The next moment, Astrid was shocked to find her attempt to ignite her extraordinary blood and soul power had quickly subsided.

“Who are you? What have you done?!”

Astrid asked in her mind, both shocked and angry.

The mysterious voice sounded again, now gentle and friendly.

“Don’t be angry. I just don’t want to see the great Lord lose such a devout follower.”

“Astrid of the Free Tribe Alliance, have you considered… perhaps it’s not that the great Savior no longer provides protection, but that you’ve lost the true symbol of faith?”

Hearing this strange talk, Astrid grew even more wary.

“Who… are you? What do you want to say?”

The mysterious voice chuckled lightly.

“I am a servant of my Master, a spreader of Her glory.”

“Astrid, I respect your faith in my Master, but unfortunately… you have been striving in the wrong direction.”

“Look into your heart carefully. Look at… what the Lord’s symbol should truly look like.”

The mysterious voice echoed in her mind. As the voice spoke, Astrid felt the totem imprint of the Savior in her heart begin to change!

The broken vines gradually joined, and the incomplete pattern was slowly restored. A familiar symbol composed of thorns and roses, glowing crimson, emerged in Astrid’s mind…

A sense of intimacy and excitement, rooted in her blood and soul, rose in Astrid’s heart.