Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 73 Showdown

"Then we can’t just wait here to die!"

"Who says we have to wait for death?" In the moonlight, his gaunt face looked like a skull. The He Family elder spoke in a ghostly tone, "The three great families are tied together like grasshoppers on a string. Since we can’t get a response from the gods anyway, we must get the other two families to come up with some ideas."

He Yaozu swallowed his saliva, "Reveal our hand? Won’t they distrust us?"

"Whether they trust us or not is not up to them. Without our He Family leading the summoning of the gods, the key rituals held by the other two families will be of no use!" The old man unsteadily got to his feet, "Let’s go, have a good talk with them."

The rough candle in the cave was lit, casting eerie shadows like ghosts on the stone walls.

The villagers on the other side of the wall had long since fallen asleep, tired from working hard and barely getting enough to eat and sleep. They soon would gather enough resources for the ritual and live under the protection of the Guardian God statue again. They all felt hopeful about the future.

But on the other side of the stone wall, there was deep silence.

"Our ancestors of the three great families were exiled here because they stole the ritual to worship the gods from the main family. Each stole a part, so together they could worship Nuwa. This built Riverfront Village and established the glory of the three families."

After a long pause, the Xu Family elder spoke, "Actually, we all know that the He Family mastered the summoning of the gods; our Xu Family knows how to communicate the sacrifices and requirements to the gods; and the Wang Family is in charge of thanking the gods. The ritual is completed, and we exchange rich offerings for Nuwa’s protection."

The Wang Family elder had a look of distrust, "Yes, everything went smoothly for so many years. Why can’t we perform the ritual again after the divine statue was destroyed? Old He, are you hiding something?"

"Hiding something? Like what!" The He elder glared and shouted in a low voice, "At this critical moment, what is there to hide? What good would it do me? It must be that Nuwa is unhappy because we didn’t protect the divine statue, so she’s abandoned us!"

"How do you know we’ve been abandoned? Gods are never so petty. Could it be that your Yaozu didn’t learn well, and the ritual process is wrong?"

"Impossible, I tried many times myself and failed. The gods no longer watch over us; they do not heed our prayers, and no matter how many sacrifices we offer, it’s meaningless!"

"Maybe your He Family was too arrogant and didn’t accumulate virtues, which made Nuwa unhappy!"

"Stop arguing. What’s the point of arguing now? We need to find a way to resume the ritual. The three great families need to be able to worship the gods, otherwise..."

Otherwise, they all knew the outcome would be very grim.

"Perhaps the only thing left to try is the Forbidden Technique." After another long silence, the Xu Family elder, who had stayed out of the argument, spoke softly, "First of all, our three great families have many members. It would be impossible to flee quietly with everyone. Secondly, even if we ran, it wouldn’t be a stable life in this world today. We might as well gamble it all!"

The ritual stolen by the three great families’ ancestors also left behind a Forbidden Technique capable of forcefully summoning nearby gods. However, whether it would attract a Celestial God or Evil God was uncertain.

"The Forbidden Technique?" The He and Wang elders were a bit confused, yet dared not say their ancestors hadn’t passed it down, for fear of being sidelined by the Xu Family and left without a role in the ritual, becoming mere civilians.

The Xu Family elder leaned against the stone wall, silently took a few puffs of his pipe, and said in a low voice, "Back then, the three great families’ ancestors were led by my Xu Family. The ritual sample was obtained at great risk by the Xu Family ancestors. Therefore, the Xu Family is responsible for communicating with the gods during the ritual. The Forbidden Technique requires the cooperation of the three families, but only our family’s ancestors recorded the detailed ceremony."

"Forbidden Techniques can’t be anything good; is there a significant risk?" grumbled the Wang Family elder, "We haven’t reached the end yet. Isn’t it too risky to stake our lives?"

"I know what you’re thinking. You’re just counting your stash, ready to abandon the branches and take the direct lineage with supplies to find a way to live freely elsewhere?" The Xu Family elder sneered, "You’ve become senile, unaware of your own standing.

Riverfront Village is secluded; your stored grain might be worth something here, but go to Anping Town and see how many copper plates a pound of grain sells for? To survive in town, you need gold. Do you have any?"

The silent cave fell quiet.

Gold was something few people in Riverfront Village had ever seen. Even combined, the three great families couldn’t gather a few pieces.

"Our ancestors left a legacy, making a modest living in this secluded place. Greater wealth should be forgotten because the god we worship is stolen!"

The He Family elder tapped his pipe on the stone wall and coughed dryly, "Riverfront Village is poor, relying only on a few acres of thin fields to grow crops. If you’ve been to town to buy gold and silver ornaments for your wives or daughters, how long would it take to save enough grain for a small Silver Ornament?"

Now no one dared to speak. Although they lived free from want and enjoyed power in the village, together they couldn’t afford even a single gold ring after scraping by.

Taking that grain to town for a luxurious life was impossible. The elders, who had never worked a day in their lives, knew their descendants well enough not to hope they could work and earn a living. They had more faith in the Forbidden Technique.

"The Forbidden Technique does indeed require human lives, but not ours." The Xu Family elder, feeling confident, said, "Our ancestors chose to settle in the mountains rather than join other villages for several reasons: to ensure the three families’ prominence, and more importantly, because only deep in remote mountains could we find a god willing to accept our offerings."

He Yaozu muttered, "What? Even gods discriminate against the poor?"

"You talk too much!" The He elder rewarded him with a sharp slap, "Gods require offerings to grant protection. The more valuable the offerings, the more intense the divine blessing. What do you think?"

The Xu Family elder laughed, "If gods did not prefer wealth, why would the Immortal Ancestor Temple in Anping Town gather funds to create a golden statue? All the gods and immortals love gold statues. Our meager food and vegetables aren’t enough to sway the gods of a big town."

"But, but our deity is Nuwa!" He Yaozu remained unconvinced, "She’s far greater than that South Pole Immortal Ancestor..."

"We worship a stolen god!" The Xu Family elder said sternly, "Nuwa’s mercy may disregard our worthless offerings, but perhaps it was stolen blessings that led to our abandonment.

Everyone, go back and consider. Our ancestral rituals to communicate with Nuwa no longer work. Should we pack up and leave Riverfront Village or take the risk and use the Forbidden Technique to summon a new deity? Decide soon, or if we wait until the whole village is ready for the ritual and it fails, the mess will be unmanageable."