TGS - Chapter 154
Chapter 154: The Sacrifice
Sanur, women.
When linked together, these two keywords always made one subconsciously frown.
Unlike Solancia, there were no women in the Sanur army.
It was well known that the Sanur tribe had a tradition of cannibalism. People were used for both consumption and sacrificial rituals. Prisoners of war, slaves, captured foreigners, the old, weak, sick, and disabled—and in extreme cases, even the women of their own tribe—could hardly escape these two fates.
In their eyes, this was not a custom, but a matter of course, perfectly natural and justified. Even when Sanur warriors died, their relatives and friends would symbolically partake of their bodies.
Under these circumstances, for a woman dressed in Sanur attire to appear, insisting she would not speak until she saw the Princess, was truly unusual.
After receiving Alyuin's permission, the Royal Guard outside pushed the door open and came in, detailing the circumstances of the woman's discovery.
Before he entered, Lotus had already assumed her spiritual form, half-floating behind the Princess to listen.
After the Royal Guard finished his report, Alyuin's expression darkened. She stood and said, "Where is she?"
The Royal Guard led Alyuin to the small hut where the woman was being temporarily housed.
According to him, when she was discovered, she had been standing on the opposite hillside, waving toward them. A soldier on guard duty on the city wall had noticed her and notified a patrol to investigate.
The woman had kept her hands raised the entire time, carried no weapons, and offered no resistance. She spoke Solancian quite fluently, only saying, "I want to see your Princess," and was thus brought back to the city.
The hut was locked. Alyuin ordered the door opened.
The room had little furniture; it was merely a temporary holding cell. The Sanur woman mentioned by the guard was sitting in the middle of the room, eating food brought by the soldiers.
As soon as she heard the commotion at the door, she stopped eating and looked over expectantly.
Lotus floated a little closer, carefully observing the woman.
Aside from the young priestess Rhea, this was the smallest woman she had ever seen. But Rhea was just naturally petite, her cheeks still round. The woman before her, however, was extremely gaunt, almost resembling the disaster victims she had seen in Senna City.
In terms of appearance, she did indeed have Sanur features, but her hair was very straight—Sanur people usually had curly, unruly hair.
Lotus's gaze shifted.
And her clothes… an ordinary Sanur person would not wear such patterned garments. In the past, only those closely related by blood to the tribal chiefs could wear them, which now meant the Sanur royal family.
Hamonge, who had performed the sacrificial ritual on the city wall that day, and the line of princes standing behind him to observe the ceremony, had all worn this type of clothing.
"Alyuin, she's Sanur royalty," Lotus reminded her softly.
Alyuin gave an almost imperceptible nod, took a step forward, and stood before the woman.
"Whatever you wish to say, I'm listening."
The woman asked cautiously, "Are you the Princess of Solancia?"
Alyuin countered, "Are you a Sanur princess?"
"Strictly speaking, no. The Sanur don't have a term for 'princess.'"
The woman probably hadn't expected her identity to be recognized so quickly. She was stunned for a moment before giving a bitter smile. "However, I am indeed Hamonge's daughter… My name is Ashino."
According to Ashino, she had come to give the Princess some intelligence regarding her "brothers."
"My eldest brother—I mean, the first prince—has gained command authority, but he will no longer participate in the competition for the throne. Everyone else listens to him."
"I heard them say they plan to attack here in five days, so I escaped. I hope you will be victorious."
"How did you escape?"
"They carried Hamonge outside the city to be divided and eaten. They didn't call for me, but I was allowed to go, so I took the opportunity to run away."
"Why did you come to Solancia with the army?"
"Hamonge said I could be used as a sacrifice."
"Then why weren't you?"
"The war was going well. They thought they had better sacrifices, so they decided to save me for later."
"What is your name?"
"Ashino."
The rhythm of the questions and answers was very fast, leaving almost no time for thought.
Alyuin pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It sounds believable, but I have one more question. Why did you come to tell me this? Are you not one of the Sanur?"
Ashino lowered her head. "Perhaps I am, but I would rather not be."
Alyuin raised an eyebrow.
"My mother was stolen by Hamonge from a village around here. She taught me to speak the Solancian language and told me how she used to live, but—but she died."
"I've never lived here, and even though my mother told me everything, this place still feels very foreign… But that's not important. As long as you can defeat those people, as long as I can contribute to that victory, I am willing to pay any price!"
She bit out the last sentence with such ferocity that one might suspect she had shattered her own teeth and was speaking through blood.
After a brief pause, Alyuin asked in a low voice, "When did your mother pass away?"
Ashino replied, "Seven years ago."
Seven years ago was precisely the period when Alyuin was stationed at the military camp in Digebia City.
She frequently led the cavalry out to meet the Sanur, even launching proactive strikes. At that time, the still-loosely-organized Sanur tribes were completely suppressed, to the point that they no longer dared to raid and plunder the border villages.
If they couldn't plunder, they naturally wouldn't have enough supplies.
If Ashino's mother died seven years ago, perhaps it was from starvation due to lack of food, or perhaps… she was used as food.
If that were the case, the death of Ashino's mother could be tangentially related to the Princess, but Alyuin felt little emotion about it.
She couldn't possibly stand by and watch them raid the border and take more captives just because of the miserable state of the prisoners within the Sanur tribes.
What Alyuin needed to consider was whether Ashino's words were trustworthy.
For now, her story seemed reasonable enough. But human nature could be strange at times, just like Tarsha—greed had killed her father, Horst's men had taken her away, and the Perfumer had tortured her as a test subject, yet Tarsha had focused all her hatred on the Princess.
Was the Ashino of today someone who had tried every means to escape her tribe out of her own will, wanting to help Solancia win…
…or had she been brainwashed by the Sanur, harboring thoughts like "my mother wouldn't have died if Solancia hadn't been so aggressive," and was now, at the behest of her brothers, using her maternal lineage as a ploy to gain trust, deliberately delivering false information?
Alyuin observed the other's expression and said slowly, "However, the intelligence sent back by our spies indicates that the Sanur are still in a state of internal strife. None of the princes will submit to the others, and friction is growing among their men."
"Perhaps they'll start fighting among themselves before they even have to fight the Solancian army."
Ashino said blankly, "How is that possible? The first prince has already voluntarily withdrawn from the competition. Even if his men are unwilling, they wouldn't start quarreling with each other at a time like this."
Alyuin said ambiguously, "Is that so?"
Then, she asked the previous questions again in a jumbled order, and also inquired about the distribution of troops within Digebia City, and the general state of their armaments and provisions.
Ashino had no real concept of these things, but she could roughly describe the scenes she usually saw.
After this round of questioning, the Princess basically had her answer.
"You must be tired after escaping from Digebia to Seaton. I'll have someone take you somewhere else to rest. This room is not fit for habitation."
Alyuin turned and made a simple gesture to the Royal Guard. Immediately, a woman who looked like a female attendant came over to lead Ashino elsewhere to rest.
Even though there seemed to be no problems, she still had to have someone keep an eye on her, just in case.
Ashino stood up, still clutching the food the patrol had given her, and gave a somewhat stiff bow.
Solancian etiquette, probably learned from her mother.
"You must win. If you could kill them all, that would be for the best." Ashino hesitated, then suddenly said in a small voice, "If you feel you're not confident, you can take me with you. Before the battle starts, you can hang me on a spear for them to see."
Lotus: "..."
Alyuin: "..."
Even the Royal Guard behind her looked up, completely dumbfounded.
Ashino wrung her hands. "Because… because the Sanur believe that for the enemy to capture and kill a woman of their tribe before a battle is a very inauspicious sign. The gods will be angered by it, and it will make them fearful and uneasy. I should be able to help."
Alyuin said, "...That won't be necessary. If I had to resort to such methods to win, my goddess would be the first to get angry."
Ashino was very confused. She didn't understand why this country's goddess would be displeased. Receiving an offering of foreign flesh and blood before a battle should have greatly pleased a deity.
In any case, the Princess opposite her seemed to have no intention of using her as a sacrifice.
Although she was willing to give anything for the defeat of the Sanur, living was always better than dying as a sacrifice.
A relieved Ashino followed the female attendant and left.
Alyuin watched her retreating back.
Ashino shouldn't have said that. If any other general had been here, after learning of this enemy custom unknown to outsiders, they would most likely have chosen to do as Ashino suggested—regardless of their chances of victory.
If Lotus hadn't returned, or if she had never appeared from the very beginning, the Princess might have done the same.
Without considerations of humanity and morality, only victory, only preserving one's own forces by any means necessary, would be what mattered most.
But there were no "what ifs."
"Would you like human sacrifices?" Alyuin had a sudden thought.
Lotus declared solemnly, "No. That is a preference of the Sanur pantheon. Please do not associate it with the gods of Solancia."
"What about in a different way?"
A different way—Lotus paused. She saw Alyuin's fingertip touch her lips, then slowly slide down, finally stopping at her collar, hovering just above it.
Lotus immediately understood what kind of way the Princess was referring to.
A square stone altar, surrounded by a circle of lit candles.
The Princess lies on the altar, her black hair spilling like water over the edge.
No fine linen robes, no jet-black battle armor. Stripped of all intricate gold ornaments, her honey-colored skin is covered only by a length of white silk, the curves beneath the satin breathtaking.
Her long arms and legs are exposed, bound tightly with the coarse ropes used for sacrificial animals, trapping the formidable power within her body, presenting an unprecedentedly submissive posture.
Golden eyes, veiled in a thin mist, flicker beneath her lashes.
A sacrifice—
The next moment, the thought sent Lotus's divine composure into disarray.
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking at a time like this!
Hearing no response, Alyuin subconsciously looked up.
She saw the goddess raise her arms, covering her face with her hanging, snow-white stole, and solemnly admonish, "Don't ponder such strange things."
Alyuin, who had also not been imagining anything proper, was a little disappointed, but she was still obedient. "Alright."
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