The desert nation of Abraham has a vast territory, but most of the land is very barren Gobi and desert, which cannot accommodate a large number of inhabitants for a long time. So during the reign of Imam Usama, Abraham did not have a city in the usual sense. The kingdom is made up of numerous tribes, large and small, and unpredictable settlements, and almost every month small tribes are slaughtered and looted by brother tribes who share the same belief in Allah, and occasionally there are civil strife and rebellions among large tribes that run rampant, followed by various outcomes, with the tribal leader successfully suppressing civil strife, or the new leader trampling on the bones of his predecessor to the throne, or splitting into several weaker tribes.

However, all this became a thing of the past after the accession to the throne of the Great Imam of Ermufasha, known as the "King of the Black Face", and in just a few months, towns and cities of all sizes appeared from Abraham's territory like mushrooms growing after the rain. Each subservient tribal leader was given his own towns, pastures, farmland, and man-made lakes filled with clear water—a miracle for the desert dwellers Allah a blaze.

Of course, there are also some tribal leaders who are either stronger or because they are more conservative in their traditions. They refused to accept a settled life, but instead demolished the towns divided to their tribes, slaughtered livestock and soldiers guarding the towns, and then took the booty with them and set out on the road to continue wandering.

These tribal leaders received a cruel revenge that was a hundred times more terrible than they could have imagined, and when night fell on the Abrahamic Desert, the cold dagger came unexpectedly with the shadows of the night, and the warm blood gushed out from the terrible wound on the neck in front of everyone, and the tribal leader, who had just raised his glass to congratulate him on his victory, fell headlong on the steaming roasted whole sheep in front of him, and the golden cup rolled to the ground, blood and wine mixed together, and soon soaked the ground inside the tent.

Within a few days, all the opposition in Abraham had been put to an end by brutal and horrific means, and more than two dozen tribes that had expressed their unequivocal opposition to settlement policies were slaughtered, and the warriors armed with scimitars and the incapable old and weak women and children were finally reduced to piles of corpses. The chiefs of the tribes were treated with special privilege, and the corpses with severed throats pierced through the abdomen with stakes pierced through the abdomen, erected at the top of the pile, and castrated dead dogs hanging from either side.

In the Abrahamic tradition, the soul of such a dead person is so filthy that he cannot go to the Paradise of the Bright Flame Allah, and such cruel and vicious revenge rarely occurs unless there is an intolerable hatred. The deaths of these tribal leaders angered even the Ming Yan priests, who would not easily get involved in worldly affairs, but just as Lord Kalda of the Ming Yan Temple was leading a dozen high-ranking priests to the Golden Horde, the ruthless daggers in the darkness also fell on these devout disciples of Ming Yan Allah.

Among the dozen or so brutally tortured corpses, the priest of Karda was found, not dead, but had been skinned alive and had fallen into irreparable madness. In the narration of the priest of Karda, the narration of the garbled babble, one learns about the ruthless determination of the Great Imam of 'Mufasha, the "King of the Black Faces," and the terrible power to carry it out.

Since then, the winds of Abraham have changed dramatically, the tradition of wandering has been completely replaced by urbanized settlements, and the chiefs of tribes, large and small, have become nobles with their own territories, almost indistinguishable from the kingdom of Arthur or other human kingdoms, except that there are no titles to be awarded. Many of the elders of the old tribe resented it, but the vast majority of Abrahams were happy to see it happen, and began to enjoy the blessings of clear water and green grass.

There is only one thing that is different from the past, and that is that the sacrifices to Allah have changed, and those who once had a high status in the tribe have all been recalled by the Temple of Ming Yan, and the new sacrifices are very strange, and all of them are from the Golden Horde, belonging to the close subordinates of the Great Imam of the "King of the Faces" Ermufasha.

There are many people who see this, but there are very few people who put it up in the open, and the dagger stabbed in the dark night is enough to cool the blood of the vast majority of people, and the passion is calm, and the few voices do not arouse any repercussions at all, and disappear silently into the corners of people's attention.

The climate of the Abrahamic Desert has always been harsh and unforgiving, and it is not surprising that when the wind and sand hit, there are a few less usually restless ones, and the peaceful atmosphere in the settlements has not been curtailed at all, and even the active search for the missing is rare.

The town of Holuzi - or the settlement of Holuzi - is located in the heart of the kingdom of Abraham, not very far from the Golden Horde of the Great Imam. The Holuqi tribe used to be one of the tribes closest to the Great Imam, and it was also the first tribe to respond to the settlement policy of the Great Imam of Ermufasha, the "Black-faced King", so although the Heluqi tribe was not very powerful, it enjoyed the preferential treatment that many powerful tribes could not enjoy.

When the sound of a low horn rings over the settlement, it means that a temporary prayer service is about to begin, and the inhabitants of the settlement, accustomed to it, have all put down their work or play, stepped out of their tents, and bowed down to the red crescent flag in the center of the settlement. As robed flames appeared under the banner, the inhabitants all chanted, their hands crossed over their heads, and then bowed deeply, their foreheads touching the gravel ground.

The leader of the Holuqi tribe, Karid, followed the Bright Flame Sacrifice out of the tent closely, and it was obvious that the expression of the leader of the tribe was a little dazed, and his face was even pale, as if he had fallen into a nightmare that he could not wake up.

Just now, the Ming Yan Sacrifice conveyed to him an oracle from Allah Ming Yan, and the Holuqi tribe must give a full quarter of the blood and lives of civilians to Ming Yan Allah in exchange for the great miracle of Ming Yan Allah.

In other words, what is going to happen is not an ordinary prayer ceremony, but a bloody sacrifice.

In the history of the kingdom of Abraham, Allah of the Flame has given a blood sacrifice oracle only a handful of times, and such a huge sacrifice is unparalleled. The leader of Khalid was not unchallenged by this, but he knew that the Bright Flame Sacrifice in front of him would not accept any form of questioning, and he had the power of life and death.

After a short but fierce ideological struggle, the leader of Khalid bowed his head and agreed to give a quarter of the lives of the civilians of the Holuqi tribe in order to glorify the light of Allah and show the devotion of the Holuqi tribe. He followed the Flame Sacrifice to a wooden platform next to the Red Crescent Banner, facing the sandy north wind and facing the thousands of civilians kneeling below the platform, raising his hands in the air.

"Praise be to the great Flame Allah!" the voice of the flame sacrifice was strong and powerful, completely suppressing the wind and echoing over the settlement, "Allah is great, Allah is Almighty, guide me before I go astray." Thou hast built a miraculous settlement, a refuge for us in the harsh desert, and thou hast brought upon us the grace of clear waters and lakes so that we can live in peace and contentment, and never be attacked by cruel winds and sands again......"

"Allah is great, Allah is omnipotent!" countless voices chanted at the same time, converging into a wave of earth-shaking sounds, roaring from every settlement and echoing over the Abrahamic desert, "Praise be the great flame of Allah!"

A group of cathar warriors armed with unsheathed scimitars appeared under the high platform, numerous in number, with steady steps, and dressed in ominous black robes. When the leader of Khalid saw these people appear, his lips couldn't help but twitch a few times, and his face showed a mixture of anger and unwillingness. For a moment, he seemed to be desperate to prevent the tragedy from happening in front of him, even if it was because of the Ming Flame Sacrifice, but in the end, he still did not have the courage to face death, and turned all his voices into a almost inaudible sigh, and then leaned down deeply, covering his eyes with his wide sleeves.

The chanting of the Ming Yan sacrifice became more and more high-pitched, and the body shook, as if caught in some kind of fanatical mood, and the people who were praying under the high platform were also singing, praising the mercy and greatness of Allah with all their might, and every pair of eyes lit up a fanatical flame, not noticing the black-robed cathar warriors who had spread out in the crowd.

“...... I am willing to sing your praises with my life and glorify you with my blood, and Allah, the great and supreme God, please accept our sincere offerings, please accept them!"

The chanting of the Bright Flame Sacrifice bordered on madness, and with his frenzied gestures, the black-robed cathar warrior leaned down and began a bloody harvest with the scimitar in his hand, as if it were not a human with the same blood flowing in front of him, but some kind of crop that had matured to the point where it should be harvested.

No screams, no moans, no struggles. The people who were immersed in fanaticism had no idea that great calamity was coming, and under the deliberate guidance of the Ming Flame sacrifice, they devoted their whole body and soul to the chant of praise to Allah. Only the moment the cold blade slit the throat did the indescribable pain bring the victim's consciousness back into their bodies, but it was too late, they had already lost any chance, whether it was to save their own lives or to awaken their still unconscious companions.

The people of the Holuqi tribe numbered more than 4,000, and when hundreds of people had been sacrificed, the square in the center of the settlement was already red with blood, and the smell of blood was so strong and choking that even the most fanatical believers felt that something was wrong. They then ceased their fanatical chanting, and in the next moment, a mournful and panicked cry replaced the solemn hymn of the flame.

The Ming Yan Sacrifice also stopped singing, but did not let go of his raised hands. "Allah Mingyan is satisfied with Ru's dedication!" he shouted in a majestic voice, a terrible smile on his face that only a madman would have. "The blood of Ru and others glorifies the light of Allah, and the souls of Ru and others enjoy eternal happiness in the Most Good Heaven!"

The leader of Khalid exhaled lightly and straightened up, his eyes still daring to look at the audience, but his face had recovered. From the mouth of the Ming Yan Sacrifice, he heard the sign that the bloody sacrifice was over, although a fifth of the tribesmen had fallen in a pool of blood, but compared to his own life, it was still a price worth paying.

The next step is how to reassure the bereaved people. This is very troublesome, but the leader of Khalid has been mentally prepared, it is nothing more than a combination of soft and hard means, plus the cooperation of the Ming Flame Sacrifice, it must not be too ...... The leader of Khalid suddenly felt something poke under his ribs, it was not very painful, but there was a cold feeling flowing into his body. As he continued to ponder how to control the anger and grief of his tribesmen, he reached under his side.

He touched something hard, moist and slightly curved, stained with a sticky, slippery liquid, and his fingers continued to move forward, and the eyes of the leader of Khalid suddenly dilated with fear, and he realized that the thing he touched was the handle of a dagger, and he didn't know how long the blade had been buried in his body!

"No...... I'm going to be fine...... The dagger should not hurt the internal organs...... Or some big blood vessel, otherwise I would have died a long time ago, it's okay, the Ming Flame Sacrifice is by his side, he will pull out the dagger for me and heal the injuries with divine magic...... I'm fine......"

A hand reached from the side, pushing away the limp fingers of the leader of Khalid, then grasped the handle of the dagger and pulled it out. The leader of Khalid felt the strength of his whole body immediately flow out of his body with the blood, and a strong wave of nausea made him open his mouth and vomit a bright red.

"Allah save me......" He fell to the ground, trying to pray, but the gushing blood blocked his throat, "I didn't try to stop the bloody festival, Allah, I have always been loyal to the Golden Horde, I ......"

"Lord Khaled, Allah will be pleased with your offering. The Bright Flame Priest leaned down, his expression seemed as gentle as that of a sage, and his tone was even softer, making the leader of Khalid feel that the pain was gradually moving away from him. "Now...... Give everything you have. ”

The dagger fell again, this time the cold spreading from his throat, chilling to the marrow, but not as cold as the icy wind that whistled in the heart of the leader of Khalid. "Allah...... Bloody Rite ...... No, it's not, you want ...... Slaughter Holuzzi ......" A faint moan accompanied by blood bubbles coming from his throat, the eyes of the leader of Khalid widened wider and wider, the corners of his eyes cracked, and a trace of blood red soaked everything under his eyes.

"It's not just Holuz, Lord Khalid. The Ming Yan Sacrifice said in a voice as soft as silk, "All the believers in Abraham will give everything to Allah of the Ming Flame, blood, life, and even soul!" With this ominous narration, the Ming Yan sacrifice actually raised his dagger and aimed it at his chest. "O Great Allah, let me, the lowly, give you everything!"

The dagger fell, and the blade of steel pierced the robe, skin, and muscles, and thrust into the heart along the gaps in the sternum with surgical precision. The frenzied smile of the Bright Flame Sacrifice froze on his face, and what remained in the eyes of the dying leader of Khalid had changed from a mixture of anger, incomprehension, and questioning to pure fear.

(To be continued)