TGS - Chapter 170
Chapter 170: Sheli Pu
When the divine war began, the Sanur Sheep God was on her own tribe's territory.
She raised her head, as if she could see her kin far away in Solancia. Her long, black, horizontal pupils made it difficult to discern any emotion; they even seemed a bit dull.
Horizontal pupils were always considered the eyes of prey. These rectangular pupils, wide horizontally and narrow vertically, gave herbivores like sheep a broad lateral field of vision, allowing them to spot nearby predators earlier and escape in time.
If gods like the Wolf God and the Vulture God symbolized the Sanur people's pursuit of certain powerful spirits, then the Sheep God represented their yearning for the necessities of survival.
The wild bull had sharp horns and a powerful charge, but the sheep—livestock herded and slaughtered for generations—held a precarious position as a beast-headed deity.
She seemed to have everything—fur, flesh, milk. The Sanur people's food, clothing, and shelter all depended on their flocks.
And yet, she seemed to have nothing. Her slender, curled horns were almost negligible, and her charge was too weak to cause harm. The flocks moved slowly across the wasteland, lacking the ability to survive without a shepherd. Their only praiseworthy trait was being easy to raise.
In the Sanur pantheon, the sheep-headed god was never seen as a powerful ally by her fellow deities. Perhaps the only reason she hadn't faded away during the inter-tribal wars was that the Sanur people needed her faith.
At this moment, the Sheep God had taken the form of a white sheep with curled horns. She stood on a high cliff, looking down at the few encampments at the foot of the mountain.
The women and children who hadn't gone to the battlefield, along with the army that had retreated to rest and recuperate, were mostly camped nearby. The view from the cliff was unobstructed, but it would be nearly impossible for an outsider to find them in the wasteland.
Despite this, the Solancian Princess had found them, guided by Ashino.
The plains were open, making it impossible for the newcomers to hide their approach and launch a surprise attack. Patrols brought the news back to the main camp, and the army quickly formed ranks before the encampment, ready for battle.
The sole prince of the Sanur—now the Sanur King—stepped forward from the crowd. Hiding his fear, he cursed Ashino, who was with the Solancian army. The latter paid him no mind. Ashino cared not one bit for her blood brother; she only wanted the Sanur to be destroyed.
And so, the final battle in Solancian history against the Sanur tribe erupted.
The Sheep God watched all of this quietly.
She witnessed the wasteland warriors fighting to the death, their scimitars splashing blood. Riderless warhorses dragged arrow-pierced corpses as they fled in panic among their own ranks, their hooves trampling bodies from both sides.
She also witnessed flames soaring into the sky as fire spread from tent to tent. The grazing flocks scattered in terror, and the flames of war blazed across the Sanur's final path of retreat.
As a god of the Sanur people, the Sheep God seemed overly calm, almost like a real, ordinary sheep. She even chewed slowly on some grass, neither returning to join the divine war nor attempting to reverse the tide of defeat.
Her horizontal pupils were lowered, showing none of the timidity she displayed before other gods.
Until, below the cliff, the Solancian Princess drew her bow with one hand and pierced the new Sanur King's chest with an arrow.
The outcome was decided. The various clans, not yet fully loyal to the new king, would not fight to the last. They were highly mobile cavalry on a flat wasteland; if they truly wanted to flee, it would be difficult to stop them.
—If Solancia hadn't already set up an encirclement in the surrounding area.
Alyuin aimed her arrows at those who looked like leaders, as well as the witch doctors. When the Sanur fled, they wouldn't think to bring the women, and in especially urgent situations, they wouldn't care about the children in the camps behind them. But they would definitely bring the witch doctors, the carriers of their culture.
Just like their migration routes, Sanur knowledge was largely monopolized by the upper-class warriors and witch doctors. In other words, if all these people died, the Sanur tribe, while not completely wiped out, would not become a significant force again for at least a century.
Intercepted by Solancian soldiers on the perimeter and pursued by cavalry from within, the Sanur were now like a cornered flock of sheep, rushing to their deaths one after another.
But no matter how they were surrounded and pursued, it was difficult to completely annihilate the enemy in this terrain. In the end, scattered squads of cavalry still broke through the encirclement, fleeing in all directions across the vast wasteland.
In this battle, Solancia had won a resounding victory.
The Sheep God watched coldly from the sidelines. As soon as the battle ended, she turned and walked down from the cliff.
She went to another Sanur encampment—to be precise, the pasture where a mid-sized tribe that worshipped the Sheep God was located.
Ever since the Sanur returned in defeat, this tribe had declared its secession from the kingdom, reverting to the old, scattered tribal model. The new Sanur King, having just taken his position, was too overwhelmed to deal with them, which had granted the tribe a period of peace.
But the peace would not last.
The Sheep God transformed from a white sheep into a sheep-headed goddess and appeared before the tribe's witch doctor.
"Witch Doctor, it is time for you to take up the duty of guiding the tribe."
The Sheep God said calmly.
There was no one in sight, yet a voice suddenly spoke. The tribal witch doctor jumped in fright and asked tentatively, "Is that you, Lord Sheli Pu? Is the Mother of Sheep calling to her shaman?"
"It is I," the Sheep God said. "The Solancians have come to this wasteland. They have already destroyed the newly established kingdom. That is why I am here. I hope you can choose the right path and walk it with your people."
The witch doctor was silent for a long time before saying, "You want us to surrender?"
Sheli Pu did not deny it.
"The Solancian Princess will not refuse. They need soldiers now to fight against Kasnie."
"If this is your will, I will naturally obey," the witch doctor replied sorrowfully. "But, I don't understand—"
The Sheep God did not continue the conversation. She slowly backed away, casting a lingering look at the simple encampment.
Whether it ended at the hands of Kasnie or Solancia, the fate of the Sanur civilization was already sealed.
Even if the pantheon slowly disappeared and she ceased to exist, she at least hoped these humans could live on.
These humans, who had never switched their faith to the powerful beast-headed gods even in the most difficult times and had always believed in the sheep totem—Sheli Pu wanted them to survive, even if it meant assimilating into another civilization.
As for herself...
Sheli Pu looked in the direction of Solancia.
Humans could abandon a civilization; after all, civilization was something they created. But as a component of a civilization's will, a god could not betray the foundation of her own existence.
She was meant to, and she must, fight for the fate of her civilization until the very last moment.
The sheep-headed god flew past, high above the cliff.
Below the cliff, Alyuin was still dealing with the aftermath of the Sanur.
For instance, the prisoners of war, which included captured warriors and the relatively few women and children.
According to the current system, they were all to be taken back to Solancian territory to be sold and distributed as slaves. However, Alyuin had other ideas about this matter. She set them aside for now, deciding to deal with it after returning.
Besides that, there was the cleanup of the battlefield and the spoils of war.
The warhorses and livestock were the most important gains from this campaign. The former would equip the cavalry, while the latter had multiple uses. There was also leather, various weapons and armor, and the gold and treasures the Sanur tribe had plundered from various nations.
Due to the tribe's plundering nature, Alyuin felt as if she had just raided an enormous bandit group as she listened to the reports.
"There's a tribe missing," Ashino said. "They might have broken away earlier. I'm not sure of their traditional grounds, but they shouldn't be too far. Perhaps one of the witch doctors you captured knows."
Alyuin pondered for a moment. "We'll rest for now. Send someone to find out their location. We'll eliminate this future threat in the next couple of days."
Even if it was just a mid-sized tribe, Alyuin didn't want to leave any trouble for the future. In fact, she was already eager to return home.
She wanted to go back.
She wanted to see Lotus soon.
As she made her plans, Alyuin had no idea that a divine war had already broken out within Solancia's borders, nor that the tribe she planned to attack was currently discussing how to surrender.
Only the Solancian spirits accompanying her were hiding nearby, trembling.
"A moment ago, was that the aura of a foreign high god?"
"I think so..."
"The aura has long since dissipated. It probably didn't notice us, right?"
"I'm not sure either, but we have to go back and report this to Her Grace, Lotus."
The spirits reached a consensus. None of them came forward to speak with Alyuin. It was better to avoid trouble. Besides, what could a human princess do about a foreign god's visit?
Solancia.
Divine blood, flecked with golden particles, splattered across the illusory mountains and rivers, dyeing the streams pale red.
The mountains and fields were covered with the corpses of wild foxes. At the same time, countless more wild foxes stood frozen in place, as if they were statues.
Before Lotus, there was only one fox.
It clutched its empty chest, divine blood seeping from between its claws, and pleaded pitifully, "My godhood is already in your hands. You can kill me whenever you want. You don't have to do it right now, do you?"
Lotus: "You weren't this frail a moment ago."
The Wild Fox God continued its pitiful act. "I didn't know you well before. We fought and got to know each other. Now that we're acquainted, my true nature is showing."
Lotus: "..."
Lotus looked at the frozen godhood in her hand. It flickered as if breathing. "But there's no benefit in keeping you alive."
"Why not? I know the Kasnie pantheon is very confident about this divine war. They have a secret weapon to use against you."
Lotus paused. "Your words have very little credibility."
The Wild Fox God: "Everything I'm saying is true!"
Lotus raised an eyebrow slightly. The Wild Fox God immediately said in a rush, "Anyway, my godhood is in your hands. As long as you don't kill me, I'll talk. The Sanur pantheon doesn't necessarily have to be your enemy. We could even discuss fighting Kasnie together..."
"You're lying," Lotus said in a firm tone. "Even if Kasnie really had such a thing, you wouldn't know about it."
"I—"
Seeing Lotus's palm begin to close, a fierce light flashed in the Wild Fox God's eyes. The next moment, it lunged forward, its sharp claws aimed straight at her brow.
Lotus was faster.
The godhood shattered into ice fragments in the River Goddess's palm.
The Wild Fox God didn't even have time to let out a whimper before it and all the other foxes turned to dust.
Lotus stood still for two seconds, a trickle of divine blood seeping from the corner of her lips.
In a life-and-death battle with a god of the same level, injuries were unavoidable. As long as her own godhood was intact, such wounds would heal on their own; it just took a little time.
Lotus wiped the blood from her lips and left the battle space.
Just as she was wondering where to go next, she suddenly sensed divine power approaching from a distance.
It was the Death God, Emute, and he was moving quickly.
One second she sensed him, the next he was before her. The Death God was surrounded by ravens, which plucked out a fast-paced tune in real time. Emute's hood was down, and he looked extremely urgent.
Lotus's eye twitched slightly. She moved alongside him and asked, "What happened?"
Emute's face was as pale as ever.
"Adia."
"Is in danger."
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