Chapter 1306: The First Sacrifice in the Ainu Land
The pursuit after the war lasted for two days. The warriors of the Beiyu clan fought bravely and their morale was very high. They ran through the mountains and fields, chasing the fleeing Ishikari tribe, and chased them eastward for sixty miles until they reached the Fengping River occupied by the Ishikari tribes, and then returned with the captured prisoners.
Then, they buried the bodies and counted the prisoners and spoils. The elders of the Beiyu clan sang the ballads of the deceased, and the mournful songs and harmonicas echoed in the fields by the sea.
"They left and drifted north. They sank into the Sarufu River and fell to the bottom of the river. It was pitch black in front of them, and it was pitch black behind them. And finally, they saw light, which was the world after death. They saw their former relatives living on the underground island of Mashiri. They saw the same river, with boats on the river full of fish and seaweed..."
"The dead dogs barked, welcoming the new residents. And if a living person arrived alive, they would be driven away by the dead dogs barking... No one can see their dead relatives while they are alive. And after death, they will forget the living world and live quietly underground forever..."
"Hmm? The Ainu people only have the kingdom of the dead underground, but no beautiful kingdom of God in heaven?..."
Zuwaro listened to the ballads of the Beiyu clan, obviously thinking about something. These Ainu people believe that all things have spirits, and their description of the world after death is also full of simplicity and ignorance. After this battle, the "main god of the ocean, thunder and gold" has revealed the divine power that shocked the tribe. Then it is time to spread the belief in the Lord God in the name of the God of Heaven and the powerful divine power, and introduce a more complete afterlife to the Ainu tribes.
"Lord God bless you! Chief Priest Zuwaro, we have counted the casualties and captives... The kingdom lost only two warriors from the Deer Tribe, and more than a dozen were slightly injured. The people left behind 22 bodies and 18 captives, four of whom were seriously injured... As for the Kitayu clan, about 200 people were killed or injured in the battle. The opposite Ishikari clan was the same, with 200 dead or injured. Including the slightly injured, 60 captives were left..."
At this point, the samurai leader Tamisakusa paused, with a little excitement and expectation in his eyes.
"Master Chief Priest, are we going to hold a grand sacrifice ceremony to offer these Ainu captives and Japanese captives to the Lord God?!..."
"Sacrificial ceremony?... Well... We can hold a small one and sacrifice a dozen seriously injured captives. At the same time, hold a conversion ceremony for the remaining Ainu captives, and then transport them back to the port of Kamnanyama on the Far North Peninsula, or transport them to Karafuto Island to build a new port. But keep the fourteen Japanese captives first, they will be of great use later!..."
Zuwaro pondered for a moment and made a decision. As the nominal "Big Tribe of the Kitayu Thousand Islands", they have a great chance of assimilating these Ishikari clan captives. This is also in line with the tradition among the Ainu clans, just like the Ishikari tribes invaded the Kitayu territory and turned the small-scale Kitayu clan into a member of the tribe.
As for assimilating the Japanese captives, it is more time-consuming and laborious, especially since these captives are all warriors with higher status on the opposite side. The best use of them is to ask for "ransom" from the Japanese, or even to establish a trade route! Of course, the so-called "ransom" is definitely not the gold and silver piled up in the kingdom, but the things that are really needed...
"Tami grass, where are the other spoils? I see that the Japanese have a lot of iron armor, and those escaped horses?..."
"High priest, we have seized a total of twenty sets of Japanese iron armor. It's just that this thing is very thin and looks intimidating, but it's actually made of insufficient materials. It's made of wood and iron... We have to ask the craftsmen to carefully repair it, use leather or wood to fill the punctured gap, and it can still be used!"
Speaking of the Japanese domaru, the samurai leader Tami grass shook his head. This so-called "iron armor" is completely inferior to the kingdom's cloth heavy armor in terms of defense, and it looks very cheap. It's better to give it to the hunters of the deer tribe! As for the horses…
"The Lord God bears witness! Speaking of horses, I am so angry! Chief Priest, we have seized a total of five horses. When we showed them to the hunters of the Deer Tribe, they were all male horses that could not give birth to foals! Moreover, four of the five male horses were castrated. Only the Jurchen horse of the chieftain of the people could be used for breeding…"
"Five male horses? The four fighting horses were castrated, and only one horse could be used for breeding?"
Zuwaro raised his eyebrows, vaguely grasping something, but still not clear. He didn't know that the war horses of the Kakizaki clan were all hybrids of Jurchen male horses and Kiso female horses, and they could rank among the best in the entire Wakoku Archipelago. In the horse farm of the Kakizaki clan, the mares were usually left to breed the herd. In order to get better war horses, only the strongest and tallest Jurchen male horses were eligible for breeding. As for the other male horses, they had to be castrated before they could be used as war horses on the battlefield.
Zuwaro still knows too little about the training and cultivation of war horses. Perhaps, only by going to the western continent and finding the Shanta Jurchens who raise horses can we figure out all this!
"Tami Cao, don't worry. We have these important He people captives, so we can ask the He people tribe in the south for their mares... You take reliable people with you, interrogate the He people captives carefully, and find out the inside story of the He people in the south! Except for the old He people leader, everyone else can be tortured!..."
"Yes! Chief Priest!..."
Warrior leader Tamicao was refreshed and was about to go to the shack where the captives were held. But he took two steps, turned around, and asked expectantly.
"Chief Priest, the sacrifice and conversion ceremony? The warriors are looking forward to it..."
"The Lord God is the witness! Prepare for one day, and the sacrifice will be held tomorrow!"
Zuwaro's expression became serious and he promised seriously. He knew that these kingdom warriors were eager for sacrifice and blood.
Because, in the cognition of the kingdom warriors, only through the sacrifice held by the priests, only through the blood sacrifice... their achievements and glory can be seen by the Lord God in the sky, and only then can they get the Lord God's favor and blessing, protect them to survive and win in the war, and even get better treatment after death!
In fact, this kind of religious fanaticism is the core driving force for the warriors to travel thousands of miles, cross the waves and obstacles, and reach the West Sea Continent! This is like a contract between the Lord God and the warriors, and as a priest who acts on behalf of the Lord God's contract, he must meet the most important spiritual needs of the warriors in order to exchange for the other party's loyalty from the heart and fight fearlessly against death!
"Light the holy fire and call the name of the Lord God! He is the highest and greatest, omnipotent..."
"God has come, looking at us with blood-red eyes!..."
The next morning was a good day for sacrifice. In the awe-inspiring eyes of the Beiyu clans and the fearful gaze of the Heren captives, the warriors of the kingdom set up the altar and erected the emblem of the main god. Zuvaro personally lit the sacred fire, raised the obsidian dagger high, and saluted the rising sun devoutly.
In the solemnity and majesty, the warriors and fighters knelt devoutly, and the Ainu clans also bowed their heads. Until two priest apprentices of the Deer Tribe, with seriously injured captives, stepped onto the altar for sacrifice.
"Supreme Lord! I will offer you the sacrifice of the West Sea. Please bless and protect the warriors who fight for you! Your glory will spread in the land of the West Sea, so that all the lost Jiao people's blood will be reunited! And the Ainu people's god is also your former incarnation!..."
Zuvaro shouted loudly, both in the fluent Mexica and the unskilled Ainu. Under the excited, horrified, and shocked gazes of everyone, he finally took a deep breath, swung down the obsidian dagger for sacrifice, and swung down the first knife in the land of Ainu!
"Dedicated to you! My great Lord God! Only your great power can fuse the tribes separated by thousands of miles into one!..."