The high priest sat motionless on the floor, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was falling asleep.
However, other members of the Protectorate Council all know that the high priest is maintaining the existence of this door. Once he is disturbed, the door will disappear. The next time he wants to open it, he does not know when.
When the crack expanded into a square door, an even stronger spirit wind blew out from inside, shaking the clothes and hair of everyone in the main hall.
The great priest sitting on the ground suddenly said: "That's enough."
The voice was soft, but it spread throughout the main hall along the spirit wind.
The members' breathing became slightly heavier immediately, and their eyes all fell on the nine sacrifices.
First, a man stood up, walked up to the great priest, and knelt down to salute him.
The high priest remained motionless and did not even open his eyes.
After the man got up, he passed the high priest and walked towards the back of the curtain.
The curtain was slowly swaying by the spirit wind, and you could see the door behind it without going in.
The man was originally calm, but when he saw the clouds swirling like a storm in the door, his originally calm heart began to feel fear.
According to the records of the Protectorate Council, behind the door is Takamagahara where Amaterasu lives.
The sacrifices enter Takamagahara and accept the test of Amaterasu. Those who pass the test can obtain the power bestowed by Amaterasu and transform from ordinary people to divine servants.
The seven shadow guards currently guarding both sides of the high priest were the former divine attendants.
If you can get the approval of Amaterasu, you can become a new great priest.
It sounds wonderful, but the success rate of becoming a divine servant is only about one-thirtieth, and those who fail will surely die.
As the distance got closer, the man became more and more frightened and his whole body trembled.
The great priest with his eyes closed clearly felt his emotional changes, and couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart.
The only secret to passing Amaterasu's test is to be calm, and absolutely not have any extreme emotions - fear, fear, happiness, excitement, etc. will not work.
This is the experience of the great priests and Kagebei, but when these sacrifices enter Takamagahara for the first time, how many of them can remain calm?
The male gentleman stood in front of the door, daring not to take a step.
But it didn't take long for him to feel a cold and piercing gaze from someone behind him - that was his family head, the member of the Protectorate Council who selected him.
If he dares not to go in, the consequences will definitely be worse than death, just like the guy who lost his virginity just now.
The man gritted his teeth, suppressed his fear, took a step towards the door, and disappeared in it in an instant.
The main hall remained quiet, and everyone was waiting silently.
It was just the hesitation of the man before entering that made many people lose hope. As time went by, more and more people showed disappointment.
One high priest can only allow ten sacrifices to enter Gaotianyuan. Originally, three high priests could allow thirty sacrifices to enter, ensuring that each heavenly sacrifice ceremony can obtain a divine attendant.
But after the two great priests disappeared with two of the three artifacts twelve years ago, the number of divine attendants gradually decreased.
At its peak, the Protectorate had more than sixty Kagebei, but now only seven remain.
After a long time, the great priest suddenly said: "Next one."
The second person was a miko. She was calm at first, but now the disappointing atmosphere made her nervous.
Sarina realized that she might be ranked third from the bottom, so she didn't care about the atmosphere in the main hall and waited silently.
At this moment, she suddenly noticed that someone bent over and hurriedly slipped in from outside the main hall. It seemed that he was the captain of the guards outside. He ran to a priest and whispered something in his ear.
Sarina stared closely at the guard captain's mouth. She could read lips and repeated it word for word.
"There are... enemies outside..."
Sarina had a slightly surprised expression on her face.
The priest who was informed was even more shocked, almost suspecting that he heard wrongly: "What did you say?!"
This Amaterasu Grand Shrine was built a hundred years ago. The Protectorate Council has held heavenly sacrifice ceremonies here for hundreds of years. It has never been attacked by enemies.
The sentries scattered all over the mountains and plains outside were just subconsciously placed by these noble people who were afraid of death. They were mostly used to guard against wild beasts.
No one thought that this most important place of the Protectorate would be attacked by the enemy, and it was still in the midst of the heavenly sacrifice ceremony.
"There are enemies outside!"
The guard captain could only lower his voice and repeat nervously: "Many people have been killed at the sentry outside, and it is not far from the community. We..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the seven shadow soldiers behind the high priest.
The meaning is obvious, let Kagebei attack.
The priest finally recovered from the shock and cursed in a low voice: "Asshole, are you going to trouble Kagebei for such a trivial matter?"
"Although it would be rude to trouble Kagebei-sama, it would be even more sinful to allow the enemy to go to the shrine."
The guard captain advised: "Sir, you don't want the heavenly sacrifice ceremony to be disturbed, right?"
There was a tangled look on the priest's face. He glanced at the high priest and was finally convinced.
"Wait here for me."
After saying a word, the priest quietly moved toward the seven Kagebei.
In fact, their actions had been seen by many people in the main hall, but it was just in the middle of the ceremony, so no one got up to ask clearly.
When the seven Kagebei heard that there were enemies outside the shrine, they also showed surprised expressions.
Soon, the youngest Kagebei, who was only about twenty-five years old, followed the priest and said to the guard captain: "Take me there."
The guard captain nodded and bowed, quickly stood up and led the way.
This Kagebei is not only young, but also very fashionable in his clothes. He looks more like he is traveling than attending a festival.
Along the way, he looked relaxed and asked the guard captain how he discovered the enemy. Only then did he learn that their sentries would change defenses every once in a while.
When they changed defenses not long ago, they discovered that the number of people was reduced. They found corpses nearby, and then began a large-scale search. Soon they encountered enemies who were lurking towards the shrine.
The two sides fought, and as a result, the Protectorate's side was defeated and more than twenty people died in the blink of an eye.
The guards did not dare to use firearms for fear of disturbing the heavenly sacrifice ceremony in the shrine. They couldn't stand it anymore, so they could only surround the enemy and then enter the shrine to fetch reinforcements.
"Yes, it is correct not to use a gun. The high priest cannot be disturbed, even if there is a slight possibility."
Kagebei praised him, and then asked how many enemies there were. When he heard that there were only two women, he showed a surprised expression.
"You have so many men, can't you even beat two women?"
The guard captain looked ashamed and did not even dare to curse in his heart, fearing that Amaterasu would punish him.
The two quickly arrived at the scene of the incident, where hundreds of guards gathered. A large number of flashlights illuminated the area, surrounding a small forest in front of them.
"The two women were inside and didn't come out."
After hearing the report, Kagebei asked the others to guard outside, and he walked towards the woods alone.
"grown ups!"
The guard captain couldn't help but remind: "Do I need to bring weapons?"
Kagebei grinned and patted his neck with his hand, which made a metallic sound: "No need, my body is a weapon."
He entered the grove and saw the bodies of many guards lying on the ground, but he didn't pay attention and continued walking forward.
When we reached the innermost part, we finally saw two women standing side by side from a distance.
On the left is Akimiya Yue, and on the right is Hoshizaki Yukina.
When he saw the figure and appearance of these two women clearly, even Kagebei, who was tired of playing with beautiful women, couldn't help but stare at them.
He immediately changed his intention to kill the enemy to capture him.
"you……"
As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt movement on his left. He turned around and saw an equally outstanding woman leaping down from the tree and flying towards him.
Three? !
Kagebei was stunned for a moment, but instead of panicking, he looked excited.
"Haha, I just like sneak attacks... um..."
His whole body froze, and he felt a huge killing intent coming from behind, as if it was about to drown him like a tsunami.
Under the consciousness of survival, Kagebei burst out with unprecedented speed, jumped to the side, and looked back at the same time.
As he slowed down, he noticed that a fist broke into his field of vision and was aimed at his face. The air on the surface of the fist was squeezed out, and there were lines of white energy on the edges of his fingers.
Kagebei's eyes widened to the limit, showing intense panic, and he desperately urged his body to escape.
But this was already his ultimate speed, and he couldn't go any faster, so he could only watch as his fist swung at him.
boom!
The fist instantly shattered Kagebei's tall nose, sinking into his face as easily as punching tofu.
His skull shattered under the tremendous pressure, and the fragments penetrated into his brain. As the back of his head opened, a large amount of red and white stuff was sprayed out in a fan shape.
To describe it in one sentence, when Kagebei was not paying attention, Xu Cheng used stealth to get closer, and then entered the state of explosive energy with all his strength, and punched Kagebei's head, which had no time to react.
In fact, Kagebei's strength is far inferior to that of Xu Cheng, and it is normal for him to be killed with one punch after being attacked by a mental calculation without any intention.
The guards outside have relaxed their mood. After all, if Kagebei takes action personally, he can definitely take down those two hateful women easily.
They just need to wait for victory outside, and then shout 666 to Kagebei.
But after waiting for a while, he didn't wait for victory, but instead waited for a headless corpse that was thrown out of the woods.
Hundreds of guards were all so frightened that they froze in place and did not dare to move. They looked at the headless corpse with unbelievable eyes.
After identifying the clothes worn by the body, the guard captain's legs softened and he almost fell to the ground.
"Snapped!"
The sound of feet stepping on fallen leaves suddenly sounded. The guards subconsciously looked up and saw the two women walking out of the woods.
All the guards were so frightened that they trembled, but the rigorous training of the Protectorate Association prevented them from escaping.
"Hold it!"
The guard captain dropped a word and rushed towards Amaterasu Shrine, rolling and crawling.
Seeing the guard captain rushing in with traces of soil and leaves on his body with a panicked look on his face, the atmosphere in the entire main hall became uncomfortable.
But the ceremony was still going on, and no one dared to disturb the high priest rashly.
Sarina blinked and stared curiously. Although there were only three people left in front of her, she didn't care about her own life or death at all. Instead, she was curious about what was happening outside.
"What did you say?"
The remaining six Kagebei stared at the guard captain with disbelief, and had the urge to rush up and slap him twice to wake him up.
A pair of questioning eyes made the guard captain feel extremely pressured and his scalp was numb, but he still chose to tell the truth with a trembling tone.
"you put……"
Before he finished speaking, a Kagebei was about to curse, but the person next to him reached out to cover it up.
"This is a trap, deliberately luring us apart."
"Then let's go out together."
"No, what if the enemy comes and disturbs the ceremony?"
The captain of the guard watched the Kage soldiers discussing in whispers and couldn't help but said: "Those two women have already come towards the shrine. I'm afraid our people won't be able to stop them for too long."
The Kagebei all stopped in unison, and then turned their attention to the only Kagebei who didn't speak, an old man about fifty years old.
This is the oldest and most experienced Kagebei, who has a leadership position.
The old Kagebei slowly opened his eyes: "If the enemy is strong, just kill him directly. Why bother to do such a little trick? We don't have to rush to kill the enemy. We just need to be careful and delay the time until the great priest presides over the heavenly sacrifice ceremony." .”
Everyone suddenly realized that yes, as long as the high priest finished presiding over the heavenly sacrifice ceremony and had his hands free.
The whole world dare not say it, but there must be no one in Japan who can be the opponent of the great priest.
"Keep two, and follow the rest out."
The old Kagebei said a word, then stood up and walked out. Three Kagebei quickly followed, and the remaining two did not move.
In the main hall, when they saw five of the seven Kagebei suddenly leaving, everyone was surprised and whispering voices began to appear.
Especially the faint sounds like screams coming from outside the shrine made them feel that something was wrong.
However, the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony was still in progress, and no one dared to walk around randomly, leaving the Shadow Guards to deal with the matter.
Outside the shrine, the guards were running away and no one was stopping Xu Cheng and others.
After dealing with the obstructive guards, Xu Cheng did not immediately attack the shrine. The real danger of this mission was still within the shrine.
The prophet who was predicting suddenly opened his eyes: "Come out, four in total!
"
Xu Cheng turned to look at Yudera Qianhe: "Leave it to you."
Chizuru Godera nodded.
The original tactic was for Akimiya Yue and the others to create noise outside and lure out the Kagebei, and then Xu Cheng and Chizuru Godera would launch an attack on the shrine.
But this can only lead to two Kagebei at most.
Now Chizuru Odera changed her method and lured out five of them one after another. Only the high priest and two Kagebei were left in the shrine.
But in this case, Chizuru Odera would have to stay outside, and Xu Cheng could only enter the shrine alone.
When he saw Xu Cheng and was about to leave, three voices sounded at the same time: "Be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Akimiya Yue, Hoshizaki Yukina, and Godera Chizuru all looked at each other.
Chizuru Godera looked at Akimiya Yue and Hoshizaki Yukina with playful eyes.
She was very curious about which of these two outstanding girls would become her sister-in-law.
Faced with Chizuru Odera's meaningful eyes, Akimiya Yue and Hoshizaki Yukina misunderstood and thought she was provoking.
Brother-sister relationship?
It must have gone bad long ago.
Xu Cheng turned around in confusion: "When did the three of you have such a tacit understanding?"
Hoshizaki Yukina suddenly switched into the character of a witch, appeared behind Xu Cheng, put her arms around him, hit someone with the ball, and said in a disgusting voice: "Everyone is caring about you, don't you like it?"
Seeing the couple cuddling together in full public view, Qiu Gongyue's eyes turned cold: "How about we all leave and give you a private space to make love to each other?"
Not to be outdone, Hoshizaki Yukina said: "Okay, get out of here... Ouch."
Before she could finish her words, Xu Cheng pinched her thigh hard and she quickly dodged away.
"You are still in the mood for internal strife in the face of our great enemy. If you do this again, I won't bring you here next time."
Xu Cheng threatened, then waved his hand, turned around and disappeared into the night.
The four of them stared at his disappearing back, feeling a little worried in their hearts.
Because the future that the prophet could see could only be what she saw with her own eyes. She did not enter the shrine, so naturally she could not see what danger Xu Cheng would encounter in the shrine.
Xu Cheng was not too worried. So many missions had already trained him to have a big heart. If he failed, he would just restart.
Following the prophet's reminder, Xu Cheng avoided the four shadow soldiers who came out to search for enemies, and quickly arrived at the gate of the shrine.
There were still many guards guarding the shrine, but Xu Cheng used stealth and no one noticed him.
In the shrine, the heavenly sacrifice ceremony has come to an end.
As one sacrifice after another entered Gaotianyuan but did not come out, these old Chinese people who had already knelt down until their feet ached, also expected that this heavenly sacrifice ceremony would still end in failure.
Faced with the pressing pressure of the Celestial Clan, the Protectorate has been unable to create more divine servants. The armed forces of both sides will be further stretched, and the great priest alone will be unable to fight alone.
In the depressing atmosphere, it was finally Sarina's turn.
She walked slowly to the high priest, knelt down Yingying and made an impeccable kneel, and then stood up and walked around the high priest.
The great priest who had been keeping his eyes tightly closed now opened his eyes slightly.
He clearly felt that the girl passing by him had a steady heartbeat and a peaceful mood, without even a hint of fear or nervousness.
This is the necessary condition to pass the test of Amaterasu.
The great priest Lao Huai was pleased that tonight's ceremony was finally not in vain.
Sarina had already arrived in front of the door, and the spirit wind ruffled her hair and clothes.
Looking at the center of the rotating storm inside the door, there was no fear in her empty heart, only a little curiosity.
Just when Sarina was about to step into it, clear footsteps suddenly sounded outside the gate of the main hall.
The footsteps became clearer and louder from far to near, gradually attracting the attention of the old Chinese people who were kneeling in the main hall.
During the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony, the main entrance is equivalent to the Shinto path that only Amaterasu can walk on. Even the Shadow Guards use the side entrance when they go out. Who dares to use the main entrance at this time?
The old Chinese cast a suspicious look at the main entrance one by one. Even Sarina, who was about to enter Takamagahara, subconsciously stopped and turned around to look back.
A familiar figure walked into the front door and appeared in everyone's sight.
