Chapter 016: Going All Out
Chen Ran was on the verge of tears.
These unscrupulous natives kept piling wood onto the execution stake. Judging by the amount of firewood, they didn’t just want to roast him; they wanted to roast him until not even a speck of ash remained. Not only that, but there was also a group of rumor-mongers below, further demonizing him, not even sparing the Mickey Mouse pattern on the underwear he had transmigrated with.
After a long time of muffled gagging, Chen Ran finally managed to spit out the foul-smelling animal hide from his mouth. After a violent retch, he felt that the air was surprisingly fresh.
Looking at the native man piling firewood beside him, Chen Ran couldn’t help but complain again, “Brother, don’t be like this. Life isn’t easy for anyone. I have an eighty-year-old mother at home, and I’ve never even had a girlfriend. It would be a real shame if a talent like me were to die just like this. Please, brother, call your leader over. I’ll have a good chat with him. Maybe we can even become…”
The native man raised an eyebrow, perhaps finding Chen Ran’s nonsense too much to bear. He was about to bend down and stuff the saliva-covered animal hide back into Chen Ran’s mouth when Chen Ran immediately flinched and said seriously, “Big brother, I know I was wrong. I won’t say another word…” After speaking, he clamped his mouth shut.
The native man looked at him with contempt.
The firewood was almost all piled up. Chen Ran lamented his impending fate. When the native man finished piling the wood and stepped down, Chen Ran glanced left and right. Seeing that the execution hadn’t started yet and not many people were watching him, he raised an eyebrow and immediately began his little scheme.
Although he looked stark naked, he still had a spatial ring. Because it was soul-bound, Chen Ran could make it invisible. Now, he carefully took out the universal key from the spatial ring…
The so-called universal key was actually a special kind of magical metal. It could freely change its shape. When inserted into a lock, it could expand and push up all the tumblers, thus breaking the lock. Although it couldn’t compare to a master thief’s lockpicking skill, it was more than capable of opening ordinary locks.
Using this derivative property, Chen Ran first transformed the universal key into the blade of a small knife and secretly began to cut the annoying vines that bound him. With the universal key’s ability, the vines were dozens of times more troublesome than the crappy lock.
Chen Ran secretly cut the vines while maintaining a calm and composed expression on the surface. He even started to whistle nonchalantly to deceive these seemingly low-IQ natives.
After a period of observation, Chen Ran found that these natives were not entirely useless. The only thing he admired about them was their exceptionally high execution ability and efficiency. He guessed it was God’s way of compensating for their lack of intelligence, and that was it.
In front of the execution platform, a small altar had been set up. The old man who was called the Great Elder, whom he had seen before, walked over shortly after. He still looked like a grim reaper, his wrinkled face painted with various ugly patterns.
A foolish society naturally had a foolish civilization. The old man began to chant incomprehensible incantations in Chen Ran’s direction. At first, Chen Ran was a little worried, not knowing what kind of black magic or curses the guy was planning to use. But being familiar with sensing energy, he couldn’t feel the slightest bit of it. He watched as the old man began to dance like a shaman, while the others knelt piously on the ground, chanting some unique native slang in what seemed to be a sacred prayer.
During this time, Chen Ran finally cut through the vine. His tense body relaxed for a moment, but he quickly grabbed the broken end to prevent the others from seeing the flaw.
Now, even if he broke the lock, he still couldn’t escape the encirclement of these people. There were hundreds of them in front of the altar, and two or three squads of native warriors with an average strength of Tier 2 or 3. If he didn’t escape well, he would probably be taken down on the spot.
Chen Ran carefully observed the situation and calculated. He felt that even with escape skills like Light and Shadow Arts and Light Screen, the possibility of a forced breakout was still slim…
“Elder!”
Just then, a mournful cry for help came from the distance. A native warrior in his thirties was carrying a blood-soaked companion and running toward the center of the field, his eyes full of tears. Behind him was a group of disheveled and pathetic-looking native warriors.
“Saki, what happened to you?” the Great Elder asked, looking at the dying young warrior, who was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. There was a shocking, jagged gash on his chest, obviously caused by some kind of dull blade.
“Elder, we were attacked by a squad of the Fire Tribe while hunting more than twenty li away. Not only did they steal all our prey, but they also killed two of our tribesmen. We were no match for them and had to flee. My younger brother, Suki, was also injured by them. Fortunately, I managed to save him. Great Elder, my brother is dying. You must save him, I beg you!” The native man called Saki knelt down heavily and kowtowed repeatedly before the Great Elder.
“Don’t panic, I’ll handle it…”
Faced with this grave situation, the Great Elder’s face tightened. An elder’s disciple next to him quickly ran off and returned shortly after with a table of items. From a distance, Chen Ran saw that there was nothing for bandaging or surgery on it, only some things that looked like runes or sand.
The Great Elder made his move. He began to chant the incomprehensible incantations again, then sprinkled the rune water on the native boy’s body, while also scattering the sand-like substance.
This time, Chen Ran did feel a trace of shamanistic aura, but it was so weak it could almost be ignored. It seemed this old charlatan did have a tiny bit of shamanistic power. The boy’s wound actually healed a tiny bit under the effect of the nonsensical shamanism…
But that was all.
This little effect was not enough to save the dying young warrior. His brother watched with a tear-streaked face as the Great Elder performed his ritual. Although there was a little recovery, the young warrior’s life force was still gradually weakening.
“Ha! Hahahaha!”
A burst of mocking laughter rang out. On the execution rack, Chen Ran looked down coldly at the crowd, his eyes full of pity.
A native warrior pointed angrily at Chen Ran and shouted, “Foreigner, what are you laughing at!”
Chen Ran gradually stopped laughing and said coldly, “I’m laughing at what a pitiful group of people you are. You’ve lost the skills of your ancestors, yet you still shamelessly recite your humility to them. Hope has finally arrived, yet you are about to personally destroy the future of your tribe!”
“You!” The Great Elder was already feeling insecure about not being able to save the young warrior. When Chen Ran said these provocative words, he was furious. Enraged, he shouted to the tribal warriors, “Light the fire! Burn this foreigner who speaks with a bewitching tongue!”
In an instant, numerous torches were thrown at the execution stake. The torches ignited the firewood, and the fire quickly spread, gradually engulfing the platform.
“I have already despaired of you, but…” Chen Ran turned to the injured young warrior’s brother, closed his eyes in pity, and said slowly, “Young man, before I leave, if I told you I could save your brother, would you be willing?”
