At that moment, Link and Earl Weir had already retreated slightly, assuming a posture ready to attack, and the guards who had been following the little princess were also on alert.
"Gah", the guy who laughed had just rushed out of the village gate, and was frightened by the tense situation in front of him, and the laughter that was originally in his mouth was cut off.
, turned into a strange cry.
"You", Link looked at the middle-aged man in his forties who looked half bald and dressed a little weirdly in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, then slightly put away his defensive posture, and said with a gentle
The tone asked: "Are you..."
"Hello, my guest from afar." The half-bald middle-aged man saluted Link and the others in a gesture that seemed a bit weird to Link and others. It was probably the etiquette of the Sakara Empire.
He said in a somewhat artificial tone: "Please allow me to welcome you on behalf of the residents of the town. My name is Clinde Kamil, and I am the village chief here!"
"Oh, village chief..." Link, Earl Weir and the guards looked at each other and slowly put down their weapons.
"You are the mayor of this small village? Then why did you smile like that just now? Do you want to scare people?" Count Weir looked at Klind up and down a little suspiciously, and said, "Also, your clothes,
They seem different from the villagers we just met, don’t they?”
"I'm happy to hear that there are guests coming from far away. I'm so happy! I'm really sorry that I scared a few guests from far away." Klind rubbed his hands with excitement and said with a smile, "But
I was also shocked by you just now. The fierceness of these guests was really scary! I almost couldn't breathe just now."
"Hey, everyone, put your weapons away, put them away." Link was a little embarrassed and quickly put away the knight sword in his hand, and said to Klind: "Uncle, I'm sorry!"
In front of a small village that makes people feel peaceful and tranquil at first glance, there is actually nothing to be wary of. It's just that the reaction of the villagers just now was too weird, making everyone suddenly nervous.
.
Out of consideration for Link's benefit, Lord Victoria did not let these guards know the identity of the little princess. However, these guards were carefully selected by Lord Victoria, and they were uniform in alertness and reaction.
Waiting for a good player, when he puts up a defensive posture, he naturally has such murderous intent. It is normal for ordinary villagers like Clinder who usually stay in the town to be frightened.
but……
Link still had some doubts in his heart that could not be completely solved. It is normal for the villagers in such a small village to be so hospitable, but now the village leader of Clinder was so happy that he ran away smiling all the way.
The way they came out of the village, and the expressions on the villagers' faces just now, as if they had seen a ghost, were really different. This made Link have to think a little bit about this honest-looking and honest Uncle Clinder.
reserve.
Moreover, as Count Vere noticed, Uncle Clinder's clothing is really a bit unusual. Although the material is still very ordinary, it is obviously deliberately made to be a bit gorgeous and dazzling.
Head, to say that in such a small village, there may be some nouveau riche who dress a little weirdly, but they won't look like Uncle Clinder.
"Uncle Clinde," Link hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you dress like this on weekdays? It's hard to work when you're dressed like this, right?!"
"Oh, you are looking at my clothes." Uncle Klind finally understood the look in Link's eyes just now, and quickly explained: "Of course these are not the clothes I wear on weekdays. It's a coincidence that you are here today, today is the annual
When the moon is at its fullest, there will be a big sacrificial ceremony in our village. As the village chief, I will preside over the ceremony. This is our sacrificial dress. It is different from usual ones, hehe!"
"It turns out to be a sacrificial dress." Link finally understood. He smiled and asked Clinder, "Uncle Clinder, is it inconvenient for outsiders to participate in the big festival here?!"
"Hahahaha, you must have been frightened by them just now," Klind laughed loudly again and said, "I just heard them talk about what happened at the village gate just now, so I dared to run out!"
"Generally speaking, irrelevant people are not allowed to participate in the big festival in our village." Klind explained to Link and the others: "They were rude just now, they were rude!"
Uncle Clinder's words could be said to be reasonable. It was not until this moment that Earl Weir and the soldiers in the guard truly relaxed.
"Aren't all the ceremonies to the main gods presided over by the priests, and I've never heard of them being held during a full moon?" Earl Weir looked down at the mud stains all over his body depressedly, and muttered: "It turns out that
I was still thinking of finding a place to have a meal and take a shower, but it’s no longer possible, alas!”
"No, no," Village Chief Clinder said quickly, "I haven't finished what I just said. From the looks of these few people, you can tell that they are guests from afar. It is not easy for them to come to us. People from our small village
How can the residents be justified if they don’t entertain you? I came out here just to invite you to my home!”
"This doesn't seem right. Didn't you just say that outsiders can't participate in the festival?" Link seemed to have a strange look in his eyes and said, "If it's inconvenient, we'd better not enter the village.
Gone!"
After he said this, he could feel the disappointed and sad looks from the guards behind him, and Earl Weir, who was standing next to him, turned his head and stared at him with a vicious look without any concealment.
Hold him.
Link could also understand their mood. He also felt that there was nothing unreasonable in what Uncle Clinder said, but for some reason, he still felt that there was something wrong with the Uncle Clinder in front of him. Even Link
I also felt that when Uncle Clinder was talking, his eyes seemed to be looking at the little princess intentionally or unintentionally.
"Nothing, nothing", but Klind waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Our big ceremony won't start until the moon reaches the zenith in the evening, and it hasn't started yet. Moreover, it is indeed an instruction passed down from our ancestors that outsiders are not allowed to watch the big ceremony.
But I didn’t say that I can’t stay with people for accommodation and meals during the big festival. Then you all just stay in my house, close the door and don’t come out!”
"Ah, Uncle Clinde, you are so kind!" The little princess was the first to shout happily: "Now there is food to eat!"
"Yes, yes." Earl Weir pushed away Link who was still hesitating, and approached him and said to Klind: "We must abide by the rules and stay in the house, and don't watch any big sacrifices. Let's go.
Let’s go, thank you so much!”
Earl Weir has always been a clean-loving guy and has become a bit of a germaphobe. Whether he eats or not is not a big deal, but if there is no place to wash himself in this mud, it will be almost unbearable.
Link saw that a bunch of people were already approaching the village with Uncle Clinder who was leading the way, so he had no choice but to shrug and follow behind.
It's just a small village anyway. On the mainland, even a golden knight like Count Weir can be considered a mid-level powerhouse. No matter what kind of things he encounters in such a small place, he should not be able to cope with it.
There is no reason to go, not to mention the great Link Knight in the team.
"What a beautiful girl." Uncle Clinder's wife, a kind-looking old woman who had been waiting at the door for a long time, hurriedly came to greet her, but ignored Earl Weir who was walking in front.
His eyes immediately lit up, and he walked up to the little princess and looked her up and down: "I have never seen such a beautiful girl before!"
"Where, Mrs. Clinde?" Although the little princess has been praised by others since she was a child, it is almost impossible to hear such compliments as if she were a junior. She also felt very happy and replied sweetly.
He praised: "I have never seen such a kind old man like you before!"
"Okay, okay", Uncle Klinde quickly rushed over and said to Aunt Klinde: "Don't just keep talking to a girl if you like her. There are a lot of people waiting next to her."
"Oh, oh, good! Everything is ready-made." Mrs. Klinde nodded and responded repeatedly. She glanced at Earl Weir and smiled: "Let's make room for you to take a bath first. It's very easy."
We’ll be able to eat soon.”
As she spoke, Uncle Clinder pushed her inside, looking back at the little princess every step of the way.
Link frowned and looked around. Sure enough, every household in this small village was closed. Along the way, there seemed to be no other houses besides the home of the village chief of Clinder.
Seeing which of the houses had their doors open, combined with the expressions of special concern for the little princess that both the Clinders and his wife inadvertently showed, made Link feel a little unusual.
Therefore, Link quietly reminded the soldiers, asking them to remember that they were still performing their mission and to remain vigilant at all times.
However, Link soon discovered that his reminder was meaningless.
After taking turns taking a hot bath, stretching out my feet comfortably, sitting on the floor of Uncle Clinder's house, and smelling the aroma wafting from the kitchen, don't talk about those people.
The soldiers, and even Link himself, were almost melted away by this homely atmosphere.
Uncle Clinder seems to be relatively wealthy in the small village. His family's house is quite large, with several rooms in front and back. With so many people crammed in at once, it doesn't feel too crowded.
"You two, aren't you a young couple?!" As soon as they entered the house, the little princess naturally sat down next to Link and kept talking to Link very affectionately.
Mrs. Linde kept staring intently, as if she had been holding back for a long time, and finally couldn't bear it and asked. Only then did she realize that there was something wrong with her tone, and she quickly smiled and added as if to cover it up.
Then he said: "It's really a perfect match. You guys are really a perfect match!"
"What are you talking about!" the little princess responded in a coquettish voice subconsciously. She glanced at Link and then, as if she remembered something, the look on her face dimmed a bit and she said calmly: "That's not the case!
"
"It smells so good." The little princess seemed to not want to talk about this topic anymore. She jumped up, walked towards the kitchen, changed the subject and shouted: "Ms. Klinde, what are you having for dinner? You should be ready to eat soon.
"
"They're just things from the mountains," Mrs. Klinde replied casually, obviously relieved, and murmured: "It's okay if it's not, it's okay if it's not!"
"It's time to eat!" At this moment, Uncle Klinde appeared in time with a dish, immediately attracting everyone's attention, and suddenly no one paid attention to Aunt Klinde's words.
"There is nothing in our small village. There is nothing." Uncle Klind rubbed his hands in embarrassment and looked at Lao Gao's empty plates stacked on the table: "I'm really sorry that we didn't let the guests from far away eat well.
,Excuse me!"
"Is this nothing?" Earl Weir rubbed his stomach with difficulty. Although it seemed unbecoming of a nobleman, but after accidentally eating too much, Earl Weir really couldn't care less. He smiled bitterly.
He said: "If I eat any more, I'm afraid my stomach will burst."
"I said, Uncle Clinde, do you eat these things with every meal on weekdays?!" Out of the girl's reserve, the little princess ate a lot of things, but she was still better than the grown men like Earl Verl.
Much better, she asked with her eyes wide open: "These things are so delicious that I can't even name them. They must be rare things. Isn't the life in the small village better than...
How much better is it in the imperial capital?!"
Link also thought of the same question, frowned, and looked at Uncle Clind.
He grew up in a small town, and often wandered in the foggy night forest. Of course, he was different from the little princess and Earl Weir who came from the imperial capital and had not eaten much wild game in the mountains.
Of course he could recognize the game, wild mushrooms and other things that were served on the table.
But this feast is certainly nothing unusual, but in terms of the dishes alone, it is indeed too rich. You must know that Link himself can probably be regarded as a very good hunter, but if he really wants to get it
It probably takes a lot of time to prepare such a table of things, and there are a lot of things in there that can only be collected at a specific time, and there are some dishes that are very time-consuming to prepare.
As for the time, it can only be said that before Link and his party arrived, Uncle Clinder and his family were already preparing for this feast, which really made Link feel a little strange.
"How is that possible?" Uncle Klinde and Aunt Klinde both laughed and explained to the little princess: "That's because you are in luck today, and it happens to coincide with our annual festival. These things
They are all prepared as sacrifices, and we can only eat such a meal every year. How can people in our small village eat these things every day?"
Link nodded slightly, and then he remembered that it was the Great Sacrifice that Uncle Clinder had mentioned, but he still felt that something was not quite right in his heart.
"Oh!" The little princess nodded in understanding, but immediately shook her head and said, "But that's not right. Although this is not the Bavarian Empire, the sacrifices to the main god are all the responsibility of the priests in the temples in various places.
Yes, they should all be the same, it seems they just want everyone to gather and pray, and you haven’t heard of preparing these sacrifices, right?!”
"The main god?!" Uncle Klinde and Aunt Klinde looked at each other, shook their heads, and said, "We have heard of this, but the main god worshiped in our small village is not the main god.
The sacrifice is to the God of the Full Moon, and we don’t understand what the main god is worshiping, but the sacrifice to the God of the Full Moon has been passed down from generation to generation, and of course these sacrifices are useful!"
"God of the Full Moon?!" Link, Earl Weir and the guards all looked at each other in confusion.
Since the war of gods in ancient times on the continent, it seems that all the major empires have worshiped a single main god. Royal families in various countries have set up temples and selected priests. Except for Link, who had seen a group of people in the mage tower who did not regard the main god at all.
Except for the old monster who takes his faith seriously, I really have never heard of this God of the Full Moon in any legend.
After so many years, the belief in the main god on the mainland has become more of a formal thing in the eyes of the guards living in the lower classes, or in the minds of emerging nobles like the little princess and Earl Weir.
, so they now know that the beliefs in this small village are different, but they have not had any thoughts of fighting against the believers of evil beliefs like the priests of the temple said, but they are quite excited about discovering something new.
"But, Uncle Clinde," Link frowned slightly, looked at the empty plates on the table that had been swept away, and said, "If these things are the sacrifices of your big sacrifice, then why not now?
no……"
"Yeah", others also reacted at this time, the little princess exclaimed, and said apologetically to Uncle Clinder and the others: "Yes, we have eaten all these sacrifices, what should we do?
!Uncle Clinde, is it too late to redo it now? We are all here to help! When will your big festival start?!"
"It's okay, it's okay." The smiles of Uncle and Mrs. Klind were still the same, but they seemed to have a strange look on them, and they said slowly: "The big festival has just started."
"What?!" A group of people were stunned for a moment.
Link was the fastest to react. He suddenly stood up and asked: "Uncle Clinde, what do you mean by this!"
Maybe it was because Link stood up a little too much, and the flickering light swayed for a moment, then went out in an instant.
The sky was completely dark, but it was the time when the moon was full, and the silver moonlight was shining into the room. But strangely, this moonlight did not give people a soft feeling like usual, but instead made people feel soft.
I felt like there was an evil aura from head to toe.
Everyone wanted to stand up at that moment, but almost everyone found that all the strength in their bodies had completely disappeared. Even Earl Weir, who was already a golden knight, only felt that his whole body was weak.
I don't even have the strength to move my fingers.
"What I mean is," the place where Uncle Klind was sitting was not illuminated by the moonlight. Now his whole body was shrouded in darkness, but Earl Weir and the others seemed to be able to see Klind.
With a sinister smile on the uncle's face, Uncle Klind's very strange tone sounded in his ears: "Now, it should be time to carry out the next part of the sacrifice!"
