A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes, and at that moment, the High Priest made his decision.
Although doing so would disrupt his plans and leave a considerable hidden danger, he couldn't be bothered with that now. Strike first and gain the upper hand. If he waited any longer, the situation would truly become irreversible.
With this thought, the High Priest stared at Yae Sakura, who was seated at the head of the room. A sinister red light shone in his eyes, and a deep, heavy voice echoed in this space: "This village is unfortunate. Only by offering a sacrifice to the gods can this village be saved! Let me grant you fangs, let me grant you a sharp blade, let me grant you darkness. Offer a sacrifice to the gods!"
Hearing this voice, the villagers who had been passionately speaking instantly fell silent, the light in their eyes gone, as if they were puppets.
Yae Sakura was also unable to escape the influence of this voice, clutching her head and trying to struggle.
But under the voice's bewitchment, the image of Rin's death, the sight of the village in ruins—scene after scene from the past flashed through her mind, emphasizing the village's disaster and the mistakes she had once made.
Finally, Yae Sakura gradually calmed down, and her blue eyes lost their liveliness.
The High Priest stood up in satisfaction, took out an Inari mask and put it on, saying, "Now, the ritual should begin."
With that, he pushed open the door and walked out.
The villagers following the High Priest also got up one by one, took out their Inari masks and put them on, following in his footsteps. Yae Sakura, at the very back, followed without slowing down at all. Although she wasn't wearing a mask, her expressionless face was no different from one.
In the backyard where the training grounds were located, Ming Yu, having finished his practice, was sipping tea and teasing a pouting Theresa, living quite a comfortable life. Sometimes, Ming Yu even thought that if it weren't for the whole Higokumaru and Yae Sakura affair, Yae Village wouldn't be a bad place to be.
Ming Yu took a sip of tea, savoring the flavor spreading in his mouth while thinking about how to ask for the Principal's forgiveness. Suddenly, the cross on his wrist began to vibrate with a *buzz*, flashing with a golden light.
"What's going on?" Theresa asked, pointing at the cross in confusion.
"I don't know," Ming Yu shook his head, indicating he wasn't sure either. Although he had studied the cross for so long, he still hadn't figured out how to summon Judah.
However, he wasn't too worried. At worst, he could just throw it to Theresa and Yae Sakura. With those two, he believed summoning Judah shouldn't be a big problem. If it were the two of them, he wouldn't be surprised if they accidentally summoned Kallen, let alone a mere Judah.
Suddenly, a possibility flashed through his mind, and alarm bells went off in his head.
Without time to explain to Theresa, he quickly grabbed the back of the Principal's collar with one hand and ran towards the weapon rack.
"Ming Yu, what are you doing!" Theresa shouted, struggling in mid-air.
Just as Ming Yu reached the weapon rack at top speed, the outer wall of the training grounds collapsed with a boom. In the cloud of dust, the figures of Honkai Beasts could be faintly seen, pairs of eyes glowing red through the smoke.
They were still the most basic Honkai Beasts, not having shed their animal forms. Their original beast shapes could be clearly seen. Like the giant bear from a few days ago, they were just larger than conventional beasts, with some parts of their bodies mutated.
Theresa looked at the dozens of large wolves, tigers, bears, and leopards, then at the somewhat frail-looking Ming Yu, and asked, "Can you handle them?"
If she still had her powers, she could take them out one by one. But Ming Yu didn't seem to have displayed any particularly powerful abilities, which made her a little unsure.
"If it's just these, it's not a big problem," Ming Yu said through gritted teeth as he drew a tachi from the weapon rack.
*Just these?* Theresa was confused. *Are there other enemies?*
Before Ming Yu could speak, a man wearing a black haori and an Inari mask led a group of people in from another direction.
"Just as I thought, you're the ones who brought these monsters!" the High Priest shouted, his tone filled with the joy of discovering the truth.
"Tch~" Ming Yu couldn't help but laugh when he heard the High Priest's words. *Still trying to act at a time like this.*
"Higokumaru, do you still think these little tricks are useful?" Ming Yu said with a contemptuous expression. "You're too naive if you think you can defeat me with these small fries."
"Big talk isn't a good habit," Higokumaru said, not getting angry at having his identity exposed. "Just enjoy what's coming."
Following Higokumaru's command, the pack of beasts began to charge towards Ming Yu.
"Principal, you be careful too," Ming Yu cautioned. He bent his knees slightly, his body coiling like a spring, a faint golden light gathering at his feet.
Ming Yu let out a loud shout, his body shooting forward like an arrow from a bow. The bright steel tachi in his hand was aimed at the leopard at the very front. To protect Theresa, he had to push the battlefield forward. Facing a pack of beasts was troublesome enough; he didn't dare to bring along a burden.
Higokumaru just quietly watched the battle between Ming Yu and the beasts, not sending anyone to capture Theresa, because there was no point. His goal was the ritual, to erase Yae Sakura's hope. Acting rashly before the battle between Ming Yu and the beasts was over would only risk waking Yae Sakura.
With a *hiss*, the tachi in Ming Yu's hand pierced the leopard's head without any resistance. Yae Sakura could easily parry Ming Yu's attacks, but these Honkai Beasts clearly could not.
After a successful strike, Ming Yu didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately retreating to dodge the giant bear's tentacle attack. At the same time, his tachi swung upward, severing the bear's tentacle and causing it to roar in anger.
What goes around, comes around!
Looking at the roaring bear, a faint sense of crisis arose, but Ming Yu felt excited instead, his body feeling much lighter.
A giant wolf crouched slightly and leaped fiercely at Ming Yu, its sharp front claws glinting.
Unfortunately for it, Ming Yu had already spotted it. He turned slightly, switching the tachi to his left hand, then pushed off with his legs, leaped up, and delivered a heavy punch to the top of the giant wolf's head. The fist seemed small compared to the wolf's head, but it was enough to smash the leaping wolf straight into the ground.
A sickeningly dull thud sounded as the giant wolf's skull was shattered. They say wolves have bronze heads, iron bones, and tofu waists, but in the face of absolute power, a bronze head was only so-so.
After another instant kill, Ming Yu looked at the nearly twenty giant beasts surrounding him and exhaled. The warm-up was over. The real show was just beginning.
Seeing Ming Yu finish off two of their companions so cleanly, the surrounding giant beasts were momentarily intimidated. They roared at Ming Yu but were hesitant to advance.