Within the vast forest of the New World, in a clearing somewhere, soul-fire essences were drifting and dancing all over the sky. Kapak and Banu were still devoutly performing a spirit sacrifice. They bowed down before the Wilderness Spirit that resembled a wild ox, respectfully waiting for it to absorb the offerings on the Stone altar, absorbing the remaining soul embers on those bones.
While the Wilderness Spirit was absorbing, Kapak and Banu also lowered their heads and silently chanted.
"Respected Wooden Hoof, according to Captain's previous request, I have cut down the diseased trees in the southern forest, and the tree plague will no longer spread."
"Respected Wooden Hoof, according to Captain's previous request, I have buried the bodies of the invading beasts in the northern forest and soothed their spirits, their restless essences should be able to find peace."
Kapak and Banu whispered to the Wilderness Spirit. The Wilderness Spirit is the spokesperson chosen by the environment. In an environment rich in Spirituality, a Wilderness Spirit will appear to embody its will. Therefore, the Wilderness Spirit will maintain the environment it inhabits. Practitioners of the Shaman path can also please the Wilderness Spirit more by helping to maintain the environment where the Wilderness Spirit resides.
Listening to Kapak and Banu's words, Wooden Hoof, who seemed to have eaten its fill, raised its head. After glancing at the two people in front of it, it nodded. Then it closed its eyes, and its spirit body began to emit a faint light. Upon seeing this, Kapak and Banu immediately closed their eyes as well and began to resonate with Wooden Hoof. Within the faint light emitted by its spirit body, Wooden Hoof seemed to drift out tiny threads of light, which integrated into Kapak and Banu's bodies.
"Thank Captain, Respected Wooden Hoof..."
After feeling the increase in Spirituality, Kapak and Banu immediately bowed in gratitude. The Wilderness Spirit, resembling a wild ox, looked at them both, then turned and left. Its translucent spirit body merged into the large tree behind it.
After Wooden Hoof disappeared, all the soul-fire essences that were drifting around swarmed forward, crowding onto the Stone altar, and began to devour the remaining soul embers within the bone fragments on the Stone altar. Kapak and Banu remained bowed for a long time after Wooden Hoof left, then stood up and quietly moved away.
"Brother Kapak, how much Spirituality have you accumulated this time?" Turning his head, Banu asked Kapak beside him, and Kapak answered lightly.
"Not a small amount, perhaps a bit more than the last spirit sacrifice. Maybe it's because we completed Lord Wooden Hoof's task this time."
"Yes, helping Lord Wooden Hoof maintain the environment can earn a bit more Spirituality, but unfortunately, such tasks are occasional, and there are no tasks this time..."
Banu responded to Kapak, and then the two chatted casually for a few more sentences in the forest clearing. Finally, it was time for them to return.
"It's getting late now. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to get back to the tribe before dark. Let's go."
Looking at the sun in the sky, Kapak said to Banu. Although they belonged to different tribes, a section of their return path was together.
"You go back first today, Brother Kapak, I still want to communicate more with the essences here." Banu said to Kapak. As he spoke, he took out a bone fragment from his waist and showed it to Kapak. This bone fragment was clearly not offered as a tribute to Wooden Hoof. Listening to Kapak, he was planning to offer this bone fragment to the essences here later.
"I see, Brother Banu, you are really diligent. If that's the case, I'll leave first."
"Hehe, you're making such rapid progress. As your senior, if I don't work harder, I'll be surpassed. See you next time, Brother Kapak."
Finally, after waving goodbye to Banu, Kapak turned his head and left the clearing of the spirit sacrifice site, while Banu stood in place, watching Kapak's figure disappear into the shadows.
Then, Banu's expression darkened. He turned his head and looked behind him, into the large tree where Wooden Hoof's spirit body had disappeared.
...
Within the forest permeated with a faint white mist, Kapak walked. Having just successfully completed another spirit sacrifice ritual and accumulated Spirituality, Kapak was in a pleasant mood at this moment.
'I have a bit more Spirituality on me. According to Scholar Mr., the Spirituality I am mainly accumulating is called the Spirit of Silence. According to him, besides Silence, there are five other kinds of Spirituality in this world. It turns out that besides all sorts of magical wonders and advanced technology on the other side of the sea, even things on the Extraordinary level are so colorful...'
Feeling the growing Spirituality on his body, Kapak thought to himself. Recently, he had not only been receiving traditional Shaman education from Teacher Uta, but also frequently consulting with the Scholar, who was also a follower of Aka, through that magical picture book. Thus, he had learned a lot of basic knowledge of mysticism from the Main Continent.
'According to Scholar Mr., practitioners of Extraordinary power on their Main Continent divide levels into five tiers, and I am currently at the lowest tier, the Apprentice level. According to Teacher Uta, I am currently just a Shaman Apprentice, and I need to advance one more time to become a true Shaman. That is to say... a true Shaman is equivalent to an Extraordinary of the Black Earth Stage on the Main Continent.
'Furthermore... according to Scholar Mr., my advancement to the Black Earth Stage not only requires the Spirituality of Silence that I have been accumulating, but also the selection of a secondary Spirituality from other types. I wonder what Spirituality our tribe's traditional Shaman path uses as secondary?'
Walking through the forest, Kapak thought curiously to himself. Suddenly, he also recalled that Teacher Uta's teaching methods towards him seemed to have changed recently.
That Old Shaman had recently often let him appear before the tribesmen on his behalf, and would also bring him along for any major rituals, seemingly deliberately raising his prestige within the tribe. He even instructed him not to be too approachable due to healing, but to maintain a proper demeanor, and to live a dignified life, preserving a sense of mystery and seriousness. This made Kapak feel somewhat unaccustomed and he raised objections, but he was sternly warned by Uta.
'As a Shaman! We must be the most respected and most worshipped people in the tribe! Our every word and action must reflect mystery and majesty! Remember! You are about to become a Shaman who can communicate with all spirits. You need to regard yourself as a god within the tribe. You need to establish incredible prestige through your words and actions, so that the tribe's feelings towards you change from gratitude and closeness to worship! This is crucial for whether you can successfully become a true Shaman!'
In Kapak's mind, the Old Shaman's rather stern words echoed. His words made Kapak feel that the path of Shaman seemed to require the tribe's worship. Perhaps this was related to what the Scholar said about the accumulation of secondary Spirituality.
'Whether it is Teacher Uta or Scholar Mr., they are both people with profound knowledge and rich experience. To be taught by them simultaneously can truly be considered a great honor for me, and all of this is due to Aka's favor.
'To cast a gaze upon me in this remote place and bestow blessings... What is Aka's true purpose? Although Aka seemingly desires knowledge on the surface, it has followers as knowledgeable as the Scholar. Is the knowledge I can contribute truly important in its eyes? Could it be that it saw my tribesmen suffering and chose me to grant salvation?'
In less than two months, Kapak, who had undergone significant changes, walked and sighed to himself. As he walked, he suddenly furrowed his brows slightly, touched his body as if remembering something, and then his expression darkened.
"Oh no... I forgot to bring the spirit sacrifice bone fragments back..."
Kapak muttered with a somber face. The bone fragments he took for the spirit sacrifice were left behind after the tribe members were cremated. After the spirit sacrifice was completed and the soul embers inside were fully absorbed, they could not be casually discarded in the wilderness. According to Shaman custom, these bone fragments should be taken back and preserved using proper methods. Sometimes they could be used as props for certain rituals.
Suddenly realizing that he had forgotten to take something, Kapak's heart tightened. He then glanced around and found that he hadn't walked too far. If he hurried back now, it should still be in time.
"I should hurry back and get them. If Banu is still there, the things shouldn't be lost yet. Don't let some animal carry them away."
Thinking this, he immediately turned back and walked towards the site of the spirit sacrifice.
In order to get back to the tribe before dark, Kapak hurried forward, walking straight through the dim forest. Before long, he arrived at a location quite close to the spirit sacrifice site. However, here, Kapak sensed movement ahead.
"Boom..."
A muffled sound came from afar, the ground trembled slightly, and the birds in the forest were startled and flew up. Kapak, sensing the movement, froze in place. In his eyes, which belonged to a Seer, essences were frantically fleeing towards his side from the forest in the distance. Seeing this, Kapak immediately used his ability to soothe one essence and asked it about the situation.
"What happened up ahead?"
The cluster of essences stopped by Kapak seemed to finally calm down after its soul-fire flickered for a while. Afterwards, it conveyed information to Kapak using a peculiar language that only Seers could hear.
"White skins! The White skin invaders brought many other spirits and invaded Wooden Hoof's sacrificial ground. Wooden Hoof is very angry and is fighting that group of White skins!"
"The White skin invaders…"
Hearing this response from the essences, Kapak's face suddenly sank. He immediately quickened his pace and ran towards the sacrificial ground in the forest ahead. He sprinted through the forest, and the closer he got to the sacrificial ground, the louder the commotion ahead became.
Finally, Kapak reached the edge of the forest sacrificial ground. Upon arriving, he didn't immediately rush into the sacrificial ground but first hid among the bushes, observing the situation within the sacrificial ground. Then, his eyes widened.
The forest sacrificial ground, where he had just held a spiritual sacrifice, was now in chaos. At the edge of the sacrificial ground, there was a circle of figures dressed in black and masked. These black-clothed figures held long firearms, facing the center of the sacrificial ground, where there was a massive entity.
This massive entity was three to four meters tall, assembled from various natural elements like rocks, vines, fallen leaves, dirt, etc., forming a tall beast resembling a wild bull. In the hollow eye sockets of this beast, formed by dirt, soul fires flickered faintly. The rocks, acting like muscles, were unusually thick, and its horns, made of sturdy wood, were stained with blood. There were also mangled corpses on the ground around it.
Kapak could recognize it at a glance: this was Wooden Hoof, the Wilderness Spirit Wooden Hoof. To deal with the invaders, it had constructed a massive new body for itself using the surrounding environment. Around its natural body, there were many soul-fire-like essences circling and floating. And above the clearing in the forest, there were many unfamiliar spirits that Kapak didn't recognize.
These spirits didn't exist as soul fires but as materialized spiritual bodies. They were almost all wearing clothes from the Main Continent side, both male and female, with pained expressions and horrifying wounds that caused their deaths. Kapak could feel the pain emanating from these spirits, sensing that they were being enslaved by something.
'Those spirits… Someone is enslaving those who are hostile to Wooden Hoof! And those black-clothed people also feel wrong…'
Looking at the scene before him, Kapak judged in his mind. At this moment, the natural body that Wooden Hoof had transformed into also let out a dull roar. It stomped its hooves and began to charge rapidly across the sacrificial ground. Its huge and sturdy body crashed through the small clearing, knocking away and trampling the black-clothed people surrounding it with firearms. Meanwhile, the specters from the Main Continent above, amidst wails, also charged towards Wooden Hoof, attempting to directly attack Wooden Hoof's spiritual body. The essences surrounding Wooden Hoof also fought back, intertwining with the specters and battling in a chaotic mass.
The battle on the sacrificial ground had erupted again. In an instant, several black-clothed figures were torn to shreds under Wooden Hoof's immense power. Facing the fall of their companions, the remaining black-clothed figures showed no fear. Instead, they held rifles and fired at the huge natural body before them. For a moment, continuous gunshots echoed through the forest. Bullets struck the body composed of rocks, trees, and dirt, but aside from raising dust, they had no effect.
The roaring continued. Wooden Hoof continued to sweep through the black-clothed figures on the sacrificial ground. Countless black-clothed figures were easily trampled under Wooden Hoof's wild power, and the black-clothed figures' guns had almost no effect on Wooden Hoof. But even so, these black-clothed figures showed no signs of retreating. They faced the almost insurmountable enemy without any cowardice, which made Kapak, observing from the side, feel a wave of confusion.
'These guys… are no match for Wooden Hoof at all. Aren't they afraid of death? Wait… That's…'
Kapak, who was observing the battlefield normally, quickly realized that something was wrong. He found that there was no trace of blood flowing from the remains of the black-clothed figures trampled by Wooden Hoof. Instead, these remains were actually still moving!
In Kapak's eyes, through the tattered black clothes, stark white skeletons were exposed. Even though half of the body had been crushed, the other half was still holding a gun and shooting at Wooden Hoof. The mask on the head had fallen off, revealing a horrifying skull.
'These guys… are skeletal puppets reanimated after being attached by fragments of incomplete undead souls!'
Using his Seer abilities to perceive, Kapak quickly understood the essence of those black-clothed figures and thought to himself. He now realized what Wooden Hoof was facing.
'They are Extraordinary! Extraordinary from the Main Continent who manipulate undead! And there might be more than one; they are hiding in the shadows, controlling their undead subordinates to attack Wooden Hoof!'
Kapak realized the situation before him, and at this moment, the situation on the battlefield began to change.
On the sacrificial ground, Wooden Hoof constantly crushed the skeleton soldiers attacking it. On the surface, these puppet skeletons seemed to have almost no way to deal with Wooden Hoof. However, after Wooden Hoof crushed another skeleton soldier, something unexpected happened.
After one of its legs was broken off by Wooden Hoof's stomp, the immense pressure seemed to trigger some mechanism on the skeleton. Immediately, a roaring explosion and flames erupted from the skeleton, engulfing one of Wooden Hoof's legs. Kapak was startled and covered his ears, closed his eyes, and lay down on the ground.
When Kapak opened his eyes again, the situation on the sacrificial ground had changed. Wooden Hoof's front right leg, in its natural body, had been completely destroyed in the explosion. Its entire body uncontrollably almost fell over. Fortunately, under a strange power, the gravel (crushed stone) and fallen leaves on the ground quickly gathered, reassembling a thinner leg for Wooden Hoof to connect, allowing Wooden Hoof to barely maintain its balance.
And at this moment, more skeleton soldiers holding firearms and wearing black clothes walked into the sacrificial ground from between the trees, facing Wooden Hoof within.
'This is… dynamite… Hiss… No! Those guys don't just have Extraordinary abilities! They also have advanced weapons! If this continues, Wooden Hoof will be in danger!'
Holding his head, Kapak, who had just sobered up from the explosion, couldn't help but think as he saw this scene. Then, he immediately decided to help Wooden Hoof.
'Wooden Hoof is our Wilderness Spirit, I must help it… Directly dealing with those skeletons and specters is useless. I must find the people controlling them!'
Having formulated a strategy in his mind, Kapak began to prepare to act. He planned to find the Extraordinary manipulating these undead; as long as he dealt with Captain, these undead would be dealt with.
Moving immediately, Kapak, hidden among the bushes around the sacrificial ground, was now ready to search for someone. After searching around for a while, he indeed found a figure. However, just as his heart rejoiced and he prepared to sneak over for a surprise attack, he found that the figure seemed somewhat familiar.
'Banu…'
Yes, the figure Kapak found was not a stranger; it was Banu, who had come here with Captain earlier! He was the Shaman Apprentice from a nearby tribe! At this moment, he was also hiding in the bushes, quietly observing the battle on the sacrificial ground.
Seeing Banu, Kapak breathed a sigh of relief, then lowered his hostility and slowly approached. He then gently patted Banu's shoulder from behind to greet him.
"Hey, Banu…"
"Ah! Ah! Ah… Phew… Or, originally it was Kapak, my brother. You… Why did you suddenly come back?"
Banu, who was greeted from behind, was startled. After turning his head and seeing Kapak, his expression was a mix of shock and fear. He seemed to want to pull something out from behind him but immediately stopped. He took two steps back before catching his breath and calming down to reply.
"Sorry for scaring you so much… I forgot to bring my bone piece, I came back to get it. I didn't expect to encounter this situation suddenly. Listen to me, Banu, my brother, Wooden Hoof is being attacked by the Extraordinary among the invaders. Those undead are their subordinates… We need to find those controllers and defeat them now! Otherwise, Wooden Hoof might be in danger."
Looking at Banu before him, Kapak said with a serious expression. After listening to Kapak, Banu paused, then nodded seriously.
"So it was those White skin demons causing trouble? Then we absolutely cannot let them off. Let's go, let's find where they are hiding! Lead the way, Kapak, my brother!"
"Mm…"
Listening to Banu's words, Kapak nodded seriously. Having a companion beside him made him feel much more at ease for a moment. He then turned around, preparing to continue searching for the hidden undead controllers.
But just as Kapak had taken less than two steps, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Then, a strong sense of dizziness flooded his consciousness.
"This is…"
With a look of astonishment, Kapak fell down. As unconsciousness surged over Captain, he used his last strength to turn around. As he hit the ground, what he saw was Banu holding a thick wooden club with a cold expression.