EFB Chapter 6 The Cult of the Mother Goddess of Abundance
Chapter 6 The Cult of the Mother Goddess of Abundance
The mud was slippery under his feet, but thanks to his new boots, he didn't slip and fall.
The footsteps were chaotic, and the shouts and curses came and went. The group of criminals chased after him like wild dogs that had smelled blood.
No, I can't shake them off...
Simon made up his mind that since they were so persistent, he would wipe them all out.
The light was fading away, and the color of the thick fog gradually changed from grayish-white to dark gray, as if someone had turned off the lights of the world. The air became colder, and with each breath, one could feel the chill flowing from the throat into the lungs, as if swallowing a mouthful of ice.
Then, the forest began to glow...
At first, there were a few faint lights, like fireflies floating in the mist. More and more lights appeared, rising from the soft, damp soil, drifting out from the lush bushes, and falling from the ends of hanging vines. Countless tiny spores were suspended in the air, emitting a dim, fluorescent glow.
They were weightless, floating like dust, illuminating Simon's path.
After creating some distance, he hid behind a large tree, his back against the rough, damp trunk.
The bark was covered with fine moss, slippery and cold; you could feel the chill even through your robe.
He listened intently—
Footsteps continued to approach, accompanied by shouts and curses, heavy breathing, and the occasional curse from someone tripping over a tree root.
Twenty meters, or perhaps even closer.
He pulled two nail guns from behind his waist, the cold metal handles digging into his palms.
A figure could be vaguely seen emerging from the fog.
One, two, three...
Suddenly, he heard a scream!
A scream, a heart-wrenching scream, exploded through the forest! But it stopped abruptly, as if someone had stabbed someone in the throat, and the sound was cut off instantly.
Then came a sticky sound, like something wet being torn apart, like the crisp sound of flesh and bone separating, like the cracking sound of bones breaking, like dry branches being crushed underfoot, and finally the dull thud of a heavy object falling into the mud, like a person falling straight down.
A few seconds later, all was silent...
What happened?
Simon crouched low and cautiously made his way in that direction.
He parted a clump of waist-high ferns, and the sight before him made his pupils shrink...
Blood, corpses!
In just a few breaths, all the sinners who had been chasing him were dead!
Their deaths were extremely gruesome; they were barely recognizable as human, with only limbs and chunks of flesh scattered everywhere!
The man who killed them stood among the corpses.
He was incredibly tall, appearing to be over two meters tall, all covered by a wide robe.
The skin on his strong arm was torn open, from which a deadly weapon extended—a sharp, curved bone spur!
The man shook his arm, and the bone spur retracted into his arm, leaving only a bloody scar that was healing rapidly at a visible speed.
Besides the man, Simon also saw a group of people.
They wore dark red robes, made of thick fabric, embroidered with dark green patterns.
The pattern depicts... a blasphemous scene of humans coexisting with fungi.
I feel like I've seen this somewhere before...
Simon's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly remembered seeing this image before—on that tattered diary! The forbidden object that had sent him into the abyss!
Besides that man, there was also a group of about ten people...
Each of them was carrying a coffin on their back.
The coffin was made of dark brown wood, and its surface was covered with grayish-white mycelium and dark green moss.
They hunched over, carrying heavy coffins on their backs, the thick hemp ropes digging deep into their shoulders, the coffins pressed tightly against their backs, like carrying a giant snail shell.
Some of the coffins were leaking a thick, scarlet liquid from the cracks, which was gushing down the coffin wood...
"Faldor, you shouldn't have killed them."
That voice sounded rather soft and cute?
For a moment, he even thought there was something wrong with his ears.
In the group, the only person not carrying a coffin took off his hood...
It was a face of breathtaking beauty.
He was very young, looking about sixteen or seventeen years old.
Her skin was fair and delicate, like exquisite porcelain; her eyebrows were beautifully shaped; and her lips were a light pink, carrying a certain girlish innocence and stubbornness.
Her presence was completely out of place in the strange and bloody environment around her.
The only flaw was her eyes; they were tightly closed, possibly indicating some kind of eye condition.
After quickly combing her smooth, pure black hair, she left the strange procession and went straight to Faldor's side.
"I'm just doing my duty..." the man named "Faldor" replied coldly. "Any human who has seen us must die."
The girl looked very aggrieved...
She bent down and gently stroked the corpse on the ground until her fair and smooth palms were covered with blood.
"The Mother of Abundance is merciful; she will not kill life, but will give it new life..." With her left hand on top and her right hand below, she prayed, murmuring devoutly, "Mother of Abundance, please shelter these wandering souls, and let them be reborn in this abyss!"
Mother of Fertility?!
This familiar yet unfamiliar term sent a chill down Simon's spine!
That group of people were the "heretics" the old priest had mentioned! They came from a long-destroyed kingdom—the Twilight Empire.
During the Great Expedition, the Iron Solari Empire's greatest rival was the Twilight Empire, which possessed "Corruption Technology".
Their state religion—the Cult of the Mother of Abundance—provides a forbidden technique.
By implanting a certain substance into their bodies, they can receive the blessing of the "Mother of Abundance," making their bodies immortal and their limbs and organs infinitely regenerate. They can then remove their limbs and attach them to the limbs of terrifying monsters, transforming them into infinitely regenerating humanoid weapons on the battlefield.
But they were ultimately defeated by the iron fist of the empire.
The emperor ordered the execution of all scholars of the Twilight Empire who were involved in the research of humification technology, and the complete destruction of all documents related to "humification technology".
Even scholars like Simon, confined to the library, only knew the name "humus" and were completely unaware of its inner workings.
The group of people in front of me are probably the remnants of the Twilight Empire. I never expected them to live in this abyss.
Just as I was pondering this, a wave of dizziness struck without warning.
The mist before Simon's eyes began to swirl, the spore light became blinding, and countless tiny sounds filled his ears...
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to steady himself. A line of delicate green-purple cursive characters slowly appeared in his vision.
Simon von Aalt
[Poor child abandoned by the empire, throw yourself into the embrace of the abyss.]
[My dear, all you need to do is make a small contribution: slaughter your own kind and let your viscous blood nourish the soil of the abyss.]
[The Gospel of Flesh and Blood - Contract: Kill Humans (0/1)]
[By making the pact, your soul will be reborn in the abyss.]
The text is constantly twisting and deforming, eventually disappearing, and the dizziness subsides as well.
A second script?
The blessing of the second deity, the Mother of Abundance from the Abyss?
Simon gasped for breath, and the faint rustling sounds in his ears vanished as if they had never existed.
He was simply shocked...
What merit or ability did he possess to be watched by two gods at the same time!
Moreover, they are two gods who stand on the opposite side of extremes!
"The Imperial outposts have increased patrols, and they've even deployed reanimated healers recently. We shouldn't have come here!" Faldor's brow furrowed, his tone agitated. "You'll get us all killed!"
"Don't rush, the pilgrimage requires patience. In a few more days... we will witness the children of the abyss gain their freedom."
The girl comforted her companion, and for some reason suddenly smiled.
That smile was beautiful, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, revealing a hint of her pearly teeth, and shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.
If you were in a different place and wearing different clothes, that smile would be enough to make anyone's heart flutter.
But here, in this hellish abyss, that smile only feels eerie and terrifying!
She slowly opened her eyes...
Below the eyelids is a complete and intact eyeball.
But inside those eyeballs are countless pupils!
It was terrifying and disgusting! Countless tiny, pitch-black holes moved erratically and chaotically within the girl's iris!
They are moving, rotating independently! Their numbers are constantly multiplying! They look like fish eggs floating in water, or like cells constantly dividing under a microscope!
As if sensing something at the same time, they stopped!
They move slowly and crowded within the eye socket, countless pupils converging and overlapping, trembling as they merge into one, becoming a complete, normal pupil.
The dark pupils were perfectly aligned with Simon's hiding place!
Simon felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly!
Their eyes met...
The girl tilted her head, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
"There's a little mouse eavesdropping on our conversation..."
Oops!
Simon's heart pounded, and without hesitation or thought, his body instinctively turned, and he took off running with all his might!
Behind him, he heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground...
Could it be that the man named Faldor abandoned the heavy coffin, preparing to personally hunt him down?
No! He heard a barking sound like a hunting dog!
The subtle sound of the four-legged creature landing, the roar bursting from its throat, mixed with the stench of decay, all entered his senses at once.
Those guys released the beasts they had imprisoned in the coffins!
He passed through a large patch of bushes and stopped listening carefully to the sounds behind him. All he knew was that an even more ruthless and bloodthirsty pursuer was hot on his heels!
Run! Run for your life!
During his escape, Simon gripped the handle of the nail gun tightly.
This is a crisis, but also an opportunity! The chance to fulfill the Iron Emperor's second contract—to kill the creatures of the abyss!