Upon hearing this, the crowd became chaotic again. Amidst countless whispers and discussions, the dread and unease about that terrifying future was written on everyone's face.
The robust man at the lead was stunned. Although he didn't have enough wisdom to comprehend what kind of world they would face after the sun disappeared, just these past few days of chaos were enough for him to understand how terrible the sun's disappearance would be. But if the sun vanished forever...
He couldn't imagine it, and didn't dare to.
"Then... we..."
He mumbled, not even knowing what he should say.
The female seer fell silent. Usually she seemed to have all the answers, but at this moment, she also sank into perplexity and helplessness. But after a long contemplation, as if she had made some decision, she said in a low voice:
"We must make an offering."
"An offering?"
The seeress glanced at the robust man beside her. This leader of the nearby clan had a face full of confusion and lack of understanding. She said in a somber tone:
"Let us make offerings to this powerful being. With our cattle and sheep, with our slaves, with all our wealth - let us beg for mercy from this mighty existence."
The robust man pondered for a moment, then hesitantly asked:
"Will this... make that being return the sun to us..."
"I don't know."
The female seer solemnly shook her head.
"But we have no other choice."
The robust man fell into deep thought for a long while, then nodded. He then respectfully bowed to the old woman. The other men and women also followed suit one after another, bowing to the old woman. Then the robust man stood up, pushed open the wooden door, and led the crowd away.
The female seer silently watched the people leave. No one knew what she was thinking in her heart.
It was only long after the crowd had completely vanished from her sight that she raised her head, gazing at the night sky where the bright moon hung high, and murmured:
"Odin, god... Just what in the world has happened to cause all this?"
...
The bright moon set. The sun still did not rise. The entire world sank into deep darkness. Who knows how many people fell into sighs and sorrow?
And after enduring the agonizing, seemingly endless darkness, the eighth moon finally rose.
Under the faint moonlight, beside the female seer's house, a large group of adult men and women had gathered at some unknown time. Many people were even leading their cattle. In the depths of night, the lowing of cows rose and fell, not quieting for a moment, as lively as a market.
And the robust man stood outside the female seer's house, a battle-ax passed down through generations in his hand, his expression solemn as he waited. Before long, the creaking sound of wood rubbing together rang out.
"Creak..."
Opening the door, the female seer saw the many men and women standing outside and the cattle they were leading, as well as the robust man waiting by the door. She said in a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Is everything ready?"
"Everything is prepared."
The robust man replied respectfully.
The female seer nodded, then passed by the robust man and walked straight ahead. The robust man and the many men and women behind him closely followed.
She only stopped when she reached an altar not far outside the mountain village. The crowd behind her also stopped one after another, not daring to overstep their bounds.
The female seer approached the altar. Under her gaze, this altar made from a single intact giant stone, with only the top surface polished flat to hold things, didn't seem to have anything special about it. However, the dried, blackened bloodstains on top of the altar seemed to warn people that this altar was no ordinary object.
The female seer took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, trying hard to suppress the hint of unease deep in her heart. Then she raised her hand and gestured behind her. Several people had already come forward leading a bull.
"Moo~"
Several strong, burly Norsemen pinned down the bull together, forcibly tying it to the altar. Sensing the danger and unease, the bull struggled and resisted, letting out cries of distress. However, the Norsemen's strength was evidently frighteningly great. No matter how desperately the bull tried to struggle, it couldn't budge an inch in the grasp of these few Norsemen. It could only be tied to the altar, forced to expose its sleek, shiny belly fur.
The female seer placed her left hand on the exposed belly of the bull, gently stroking it to soothe the panicked animal. At the same time, with her withered right hand, she slowly drew out an exquisitely crafted gold-inlaid knife from her waist.
"Shhhink..."
Amidst the faint metallic sound, under the moonlight, this gold-engraved dagger, crafted with utmost precision, reflected glints of cold light.
The female seer muttered something in an obscure, esoteric language under her breath. Her bony left hand gently stroked the bull's belly, calming its frantic emotions. And on the other side, the gold-plated knife grasped in her right hand had already quietly approached the location of the bull's heart.
The female seer's dissection technique was very skilled. She had performed sacrifices like this no less than a hundred times. She knew very well how to accurately get past those obstructing ribs and fine bones and directly hit a bull's heart. With just an easy strike, she could let this bull leave this world with minimal suffering.
But unexpectedly... she didn't do so.
Her movements stopped.
The bull lay on its side on the altar. Its originally panicked struggles had gradually quieted under the female seer's soothing, unaware that its time of death was approaching.
The elderly female seer gazed at the bull before her, her pupils dark and uncertain.
Killing a bull was simple, but performing a proper sacrifice was difficult... even dangerous.
In this era, all kinds of powerful monsters emerged in an endless stream. To resist these monsters, the Norsemen often adopted the method of sacrifice, offering tributes to those monsters. If the monsters were satisfied after enjoying the offerings, they wouldn't randomly harass the village again.
If lucky, they could even make some monsters become the guardian of the village from then on, protecting the safety of the village until death.
And this was often the duty of the witches and female seers.
On one hand, they communicated with gods and spirits. On the other hand, they presided over sacrifices and appeased monsters. Naturally, the status of these women couldn't be said to be low, to the point that even if they themselves didn't have much combat power, they could still make clan leaders who governed a dozen or so villages within a range of a dozen miles treat them with great reverence.
However, if the sacrifice failed and the monster was not satisfied, it would often result in the monster going berserk. At that time, it would be up to the clan leader and warriors to slay the rampaging beast.
And the sacrifice this time was undoubtedly unusually perilous. If it failed... the consequences were hard to predict.
But without the sun, even just these past few days were enough to make this clan feel the terrible aftermath.
Cold, lack of light, gradually dampening houses, the wilderness that became even more treacherous under the cover of darkness...
If they didn't take action, this clan would be finished. So even though it was a desperate gamble, the female seer had no choice but to grit her teeth and proceed.
But when it came down to it, that intense feeling of pressure still made even the experienced female seer somewhat unable to breathe.
"Just how should the sacrifice be performed..."
The female seer's gaze flickered uncertainly. The hand holding the gold-engraved knife hesitated, not making a decision.
...
"Moo~"
On the altar, the bull let out an uneasy moo. After the initial panic, realizing it couldn't break free from the ropes, the bull gradually gave up resistance and calmed down a bit. At this time, under its confused gaze, the female seer placed her left hand on its belly fur and her right hand gripped the gold-engraved knife glinting with cold light. She began to chant something under her breath. Then, her right wrist...
Suddenly exerted force!
"Shllick!"
The sound of leather tearing suddenly rang out. The bull's huge pupils were filled with fear. The intense pain from its abdomen made it struggle madly.
"Moo!!!"
It bellowed frantically, its limbs desperately trying to struggle. Its body shook wildly. But that arm that usually seemed thin and frail was now as hard as steel, firmly pressing down on the bull, not allowing it to move an inch.
The sharp blade plunged deep into the bull's body, forcefully slicing open from the bull's chest cavity all the way down, gradually exposing the various fresh organs wrapped beneath the soft fur. But even so, the bull, whose vital parts were deliberately avoided, still did not die. It only rapidly weakened and lost the strength to struggle.
And when nearly the entire abdomen was completely cut open, all that was left of the bull was a life barely clinging on, exhaling more than inhaling. And in the bull's eyes, transparent and pure as amber, the spark of life was gradually fading.
At this time, the chanting from the female seer's mouth still did not stop. She kept reciting something, her right hand placing the gold-engraved knife to the side of the altar. Then, both her hands reached into the bull's body through the opened belly.
Undoubtedly, this action of directly touching the internal organs would naturally cause the bull immense pain. However, at this point, it could no longer make any movements of resistance. Only in its large pupils that had not yet completely lost vitality, that slight trembling could show that the bull was not entirely numb.
And when the female seer finally found what she wanted inside the bull's body, she very decisively gave it a forceful yank...
"Splurt!!!"
Far more than when she had cut open the bull's belly, a thick spray of viscous blood gushed out, splattering the female seer's body with crimson stains.
And only at this point did the bull's pupils completely solidify, utterly lifeless.
But the female seer did not care about this. She paid no heed at all to the bloodstains on her body. Instead, she took her hands, covered in blood and bits of organs, out from the bull's abdominal cavity. Then she knelt in front of the altar and raised the object cupped in her hands high towards the sky.
Under the moonlight cascading down, a heart that was still beating was draped in a layer of silver, appearing especially eye-catching, indescribably evil.
And the female seer's face was filled with solemnity, her mouth still chanting those eerie and abstruse words:
"Powerful and wise being, this humble mortal hereby offers you a sacrifice..."