The falling snowflakes fell on Jela's head, and the ice felt cold against her skin, which was really uncomfortable. Jela could only keep shaking his head to scatter the snowflakes or ice slag.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, it felt Claire stop and let out an exclamation.
It raised its head and saw a huge statue standing in front of it. When the orcs and sub-orcs saw the statue, they all showed pious eyes. It seemed that what was carved on it was their beast god. That statue was not as benevolent as the statues of gods that Jela had seen in temples or churches in his previous life. On the contrary, it gave Jela an extremely strange feeling.
Most people who believe in gods believe that gods are benevolent, that they love the world and will save them from suffering. Most of the carved statues give people a sense of sanctity. But the 'god' in front of her gave Jela something completely different.
First of all, he is very real, too real. Every detail on his body is clearly carved and full of reality. It doesn't look like someone's imagination at all. His clothing and items are incompatible with the orc tribe, and the orcs regard these differences as a symbol of this god. But in Jera's eyes, these things are more like products from advanced civilizations. Looking at the space suit-like clothes on the 'god', Jera even felt a sense of confusion in time and space. The world it travels through is really not a science fiction world, right
Secondly, 'God's' eyes and facial expressions made Jela feel very uncomfortable. He was indeed smiling, but that smile seemed to have a deep meaning and did not contain any emotions such as care and compassion. Even if there is just a statue in front of him, it can convey the subtle and strange emotion in the 'god's' smile - Jera doesn't know what that emotion means, but at least it is certain that it does not mean friendly.
"Hey, Jela!" Claire whispered to the little lion sitting on her shoulder: "Look, what I saw! God, why is the god Bramandeni here?"
Jera raised his front paws and pointed at the statue, and said in the same low voice: "That one over there, is the Bramandeni God you mentioned? But he is also the beast god of the orc tribe. It seems that you and the orc tribe have something to do with each other. Same faith.”
"I'm really surprised, oh, are God Bula and the Beast God really the same god? How could it be? You know, we have never communicated with the Beastman tribe since we had civilization records, but now I actually found out , we believe in the same god. So, does it mean that we have the same ancestor?" As she spoke, Claire shook her head and denied her guess: "Oh, maybe that's not God Bula, but him and God Bula look alike."
"Maybe the beast god and your god Bula are twin brothers, who knows? Don't deny it, this is also a possibility. I am very curious about the so-called 'god', maybe we can find this answer together." Jela put his arms around each other, looking like a scholar.
Claire was amused: "Oh, okay, then I look forward to your discovery, my dear. But aren't we respectful enough to God Braman?" Although she admired God Bramandeni, she did not Not a rigid believer who doesn't stick to formalities. Although she had said that she wanted to offer sacrifices to God Bura, she actually understood that she did not like this kind of occasion at all. Like now, long and boring rituals could drive her crazy.
Jela gently tugged on Claire's sleeve, and Claire realized that she and Jela had become the focus of the orcs. Most of the orcs had very keen ears. They were dissatisfied with someone whispering at this solemn sacrifice, and they all turned their heads to condemn her and Jera with stern eyes. Claire immediately shut up and huddled in the corner like a quail, silently reducing her presence. She lowered her head, pretending that she was praying to the Beast God, but she was still thinking about the connection between the Beast God and the God of Bura.
Jela couldn't hold back more than Claire. It closed its eyes for a while, not hearing the call from the beast god, and instead felt drowsy. It would be a big deal if he fell asleep on such an occasion. Jela opened his eyes and shook his furry head to drive away the heavy sleepiness. Afraid of being heard by the orcs with sensitive ears, it didn't even dare to pat its own face with its paws.
Everyone around them entered the state and began to listen to the voice of the beast god. Seeing this, Jera relaxed a little and looked around cautiously. Among the crowd, it met Pascal, the only one with his eyes open, and looked at each other. Pascal gave it a warning look, then turned his head and stared at the statue in front of him expressionlessly. I don't know if I am thinking about something or in a daze.
Jera: "(╯▔ dishes▔)╯!" This guy actually had time to warn it! Isn’t it said that people in the three major cities all believe in the god Bramandeni? Now his family's god - well, it's a beast god who looks exactly like his family's god is right in front of him. He doesn't hug his thigh properly, and he's half-heartedly doing something wrong! Still staring at it!
The ceremony lasted for a long time and tested people's physical strength. The orcs were better off, but the sub-beasts who were never used to enduring fatigue were a little unbearable. At first they could maintain a straight posture, but later they began to stagger, quietly shifting their weight from left foot to right foot, and then from right foot back to left foot.
The orcs were not unaware of their situation, but this time, the orcs, who had always been quite tolerant of them, did not condone them. The patriarch said: "Get through it! This is the test given to us by the Beast God. As long as we can pass the test, we will receive the blessing of the Beast God!"
After saying this, he glanced specifically in the direction of Jela and Claire.
Jela, who was quietly sliding down Claire's back, was caught, and her expression froze. Her claws did not catch Claire's clothes, and they hit the ground with a "thud".
The patriarch glanced at Jera unhappily and closed his eyes again. Such small actions will be regarded as disrespectful to the beast god, and this little lion will most likely not be protected by the beast god. However, he decided not to remind it of the annoying little guy it was, and it actually kept clinging to Claire.
The ceremony lasted until evening. Jela and Claire did not need to eat at every meal. They were full from the last meal, so they were not bothered by hunger during the ceremony. The whole ceremony was just too boring. The girl Claire was so suffocated that she hurriedly left the altar as soon as the ceremony ended: "Little Jera, remember to keep up."
At this time, she couldn't carry Jela anymore, so she could only hold Jela's little paw. At this time, other people around him also left one after another. As soon as the crowd passed by, Claire and Jera were quickly dispersed.
Jela was really exhausted, and its physical strength was far inferior to that of Claire and Pascal. After it and Claire were washed away, it could only stagger behind, which was really miserable. Although it and Claire moved faster and were the first to leave, now it was completely surrounded by the large army. The large army was moving towards the cave where they lived. The dark crowd looked very spectacular. Because Jela maintained the form of a lion cub and the altitude was too low, he almost suffered a stampede accident.
Just when it was about to be trampled into a meat pie by a black bear orc, someone grabbed its tail and quickly pulled it up.
"Thank you." Although the way the person came was a bit rough, he saved Jela after all, and Jela was not unkind.
"Don't say these two words to me. Otherwise, I will think that you want to draw a clear line with me." A familiar voice sounded in his ears, and Jela immediately recognized that the voice belonged to its unflattering character. adoptive father.
In fact, Jela wanted to say, they are not that familiar, okay
"What, Claire left you alone?" Pascal deliberately looked around for a while, then pretended to sigh: "You see, at the critical moment, only dad can be relied on."
"Well, you are more reliable." Jela was very tired and had no energy to do things like bickering, so luckily she followed Pascal's words.
Pascal raised Jera with a smile: "I'm glad you finally realized this. In the future, I hope you will go to Claire less."
"Wait, stop shaking, I'm dizzy." Jela stopped Pascal, who was in an excited state, and said almost pleadingly: "Let's go back first, okay?"
Pascal felt something spread in his heart, something warm, giving him an indescribable feeling of comfort all over his body. It seemed that this was the first time the cub spoke to him in such a dependent tone. It turns out that it feels so good to be relied on by your own cub.
Pascal rolled Jela into a ball and held him in his arms. Feeling Jela's warm fluff rising and falling, his heart became rarely soft.
"Why don't you change into human form? Then maybe they can see you and you won't almost get stepped on."
"I tried, but I can't change back to human form." Jera said: "I have always felt that since entering the territory of the orcs, it has become very difficult to change between human form and animal form."
"Maybe this is the same as we can't use elemental power in the orc territory. Something is protecting the people here, or in other words, limiting the energy from the outside world."
"Maybe..." Maybe he was too tired, but in the middle of speaking, Jela started to doze off.
"Hey, little one? Are you asleep?"
"...Huh?" Jera mumbled vaguely.
Pascal smiled, as if this was the first time the little guy had shown such a defenseless posture in front of him.
While Pascal was enjoying a rare peaceful moment with his beloved son, Claire went upstream and fought back: "My lord, where is Jela? How is it?" the girl said breathlessly.
Her loud voice couldn't be ignored. Jera opened her eyes drowsily and stretched out her hand towards Claire.
Pascal was filled with hatred: "You want her to hug you? You're not afraid of her throwing you!" Emotion just said that dad is the most reliable, just to coax him!
Of course, Jela never left Pascal's arms in the end, but because of this episode, Pascal didn't give Claire a good look along the way.
…
After the sacrifice, everyone returned to their daily lives. Pascal and Claire took part in hunting at staggered times. When they were free, they would learn about the situation of the orc tribe, such as the civilization inheritance of the orc tribe, the force of the orcs and the spiritual power of the sub-beasts.
According to the wise men of the tribe, just like the god Bura suddenly appeared on the prairie, the beast god also suddenly appeared in the mountains. At that time, the ancestors of the orcs were still very weak. It was difficult for them to find prey and they were on the verge of extinction. It was the beast god who gave them wisdom and strength, which enabled them to survive and no longer endure cold and hunger. The beast god has given the orcs such a blessing. Therefore, the orc tribe respects the beast god even more than the three major cities respect the god Bula.
"Another savior story." Pascal only gave this evaluation after listening to it.
"Master Pascal, you are so disrespectful to the gods, you may be punished by the gods." Claire said dissatisfied: "Fortunately, the wise man has left. If he heard what you said, would you believe it? , you will definitely be kicked out of the orc tribe immediately!"
"That's what I want." Pascal said nonchalantly. If it weren't for Jela to learn how to use its ability, if it weren't for that damn alliance, he wouldn't stay here: "I only believe in myself, and I will never pray to the Braman who doesn't know where he is against my will. Deni or the mercy of the beast god."
Claire spread her hands: "It's up to you. Anyway, Jela and I won't go with you. Maybe, after we get out of here, Jela won't even recognize you."
"It dares!" Pascal snorted coldly.
"Why, are you really considering this possibility? God Bula, I'm just assuming. However, you'd better not say such things again - people who challenge everyone's perception often don't end well."
"Of course, I won't say it casually in front of others. I'm not that stupid." Pascal gave Claire a deep look: "Tell me, Claire, do you really admire the so-called Bramande?" Nishen?"
Claire twitched the corners of her lips, and somehow her smile was a little forced: "Of course."
"But your mother was put to death because of that 'god'."
"Stop talking, it's all the mother's fault. The mother should not offend the God of Bula." Claire's face turned pale, and her eyes lost their original lively look: "As long as you believe in the God of Bula and worship the God of Bula, you will be free from misfortune." It won't come..." She kept murmuring, as if this was an unquestionable truth.
Pascal didn't want to irritate the girl any more and said nothing more. There was a strange silence between the two.
Jela didn't know this. He was currently receiving the surprised looks of many small beasts in class.
"Oh my God, how can you be an orc?" The bear baby, who had a good relationship with Jera, opened his eyes wide, and he did a lot of mental preparation before finally accepting Jela's identity.
"You know, I come from the outside world. Although I am a male, I am a little different from the orcs of your tribe."
The baby leopard was a little careless and was not bothered by Jela's gender issue at all. Instead, he stared at Jela's fluffy golden fur with a coveted look and swallowed: "Can I touch it?" It must feel very comfortable to the touch! The baby leopard imagined the touch of fur and showed a happy expression.
Three black lines slid down Jela's head: "...Okay."
However, it soon became apparent that it had made a foolish decision.
Didn’t I say class is about to begin? Why are the friends so leisurely, they actually started lining up to touch its fur! Jela sadly felt that it had been reduced to an animal in a zoo for people to visit.
Ever since the baby leopard was the first to touch Jela's head hair and said "Be good, be good" in a serious manner, everyone only picked its head hair to touch. My hair is going to be touched bald, okay!
There has never been a day like this day when Jela looked forward to the arrival of Teacher Yashou so much. Although he is a bit fussy and although he always likes to talk about his marriage history, he can at least save it from dire straits!
When Teacher Yashou stepped into the classroom and was greeted by a row of eyes, he was still a little confused.
He put down the wooden board in his hand: "Let's start the class. Today we are teaching the physiological knowledge of orcs and sub-beasts. I count to ten, and those who have not returned to their seats will accept my punishment. One, two ..." The little beasts quickly ran back to their seats. Just kidding, being targeted by this teacher is no fun.
As a result, Teacher Yashou could only see a little lion with a messy head. Seeing the teacher looking over, the little lion blinked his eyes and looked at him innocently.
The teacher frowned and said, "Who let the little beastman in? Don't you know that we are a class for beasts?" He looked at the little lion and said unceremoniously: "Or do you plan to become one of us? Member, take on the responsibility of having children? Oh, no. Wait, why do I feel spiritual power from you?"
The little lion said weakly: "I am Jela, I am not a beast, but the patriarch asked me to continue to learn spiritual power from you."
…
Jela was placed among a group of furry animals, and he glanced at Teacher Yashou in confusion.
Teacher Yashou said: "My class this morning is specially prepared for Yashu. Since you are not Yashou, you don't need to listen. You can learn the fighting skills from the orc cubs here. I will teach you in the afternoon." I'll pick you up when you have more mental strength. By the way, are you still not able to transform on your own? Experience the orc lifestyle more and you can learn it." He said to himself: "Oh, I simply don't understand. , how could a beastman cub like you be treated as a sub-beast!"
As a result, Jela was kicked out of class by the teacher for no apparent reason.
A bunch of small animals appeared in front of it, including rabbit cubs, chicken cubs, monkey cubs, deer cubs, tiger cubs, wolf cubs, bear cubs, leopard cubs, lion cubs... A large group of furry cubs huddled together, it was so lively.
When Jela arrived, the chubby little cubs were fighting in a ball. Their fighting process completely violated the rules of nature's food chain. For example, the very strong chicken cub actually fought against the skinny bear. The cub pecked fiercely, bullying the bear cub until it was unable to fight back. For example, the monkey cub used its agility to hang on the tiger cub and swing on it, but the tiger cub was unable to shake it off...
Seeing Jera, the cubs' movements collectively stopped for a second.
Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp? (How about showing off to the new guy?)
Baa baa, baa baa baa! (Okay, how?)
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo? (How about we go up together and knock it down?)
Ho ho ho ho ho! (Just do it!)
Jela couldn't understand the language of the little orcs at all, but found that they suddenly came towards him in unison. So it was submerged instantly...