65: Ghost tribes and the totems of human sacrifice

The tracking process was much more difficult than imagined.

The skills those "Guardians" used to move through the jungle had reached an inconceivable level. The traces they left behind were so faint that Lin Feng almost lost them several times.

He and Wang Dalong didn't dare walk too fast, trailing far behind like ghosts. Every step forward was taken with extreme caution, for fear of stepping on a dry branch and making the slightest sound.

Wang Dalong's nerves were stretched to the limit. He felt like he wasn't walking, but dancing on a knife's edge, where every step could lead into an abyss. He never thought that his photography skills wouldn't be used much, while his stealth skills were being forced to their maximum level.

Time passed in agony, and the sun rose directly overhead.

Lin Feng suddenly made a hand gesture to stop, pulling Wang Dalong to hide behind a massive buttress root.

"There's a sound ahead," Lin Feng whispered, his ears twitching slightly.

Wang Dalong listened carefully, but aside from the sound of the wind and insects, he could hear nothing. However, he didn't dare doubt Lin Feng's judgment and could only hold his breath, waiting tensely.

After about ten minutes, a faint sound—a mix of human voices, drumming, and some kind of chanting—carried over with the wind.

Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

Found it!

He signaled for Wang Dalong to follow. The two of them lightened their steps, creeping bit by bit toward the direction of the sound.

After traveling another kilometer or so, they climbed up a steep slope covered in vines. Lin Feng pushed aside the dense foliage in front of him and looked down. The sight before him caused both him and Wang Dalong to gasp.

Below the steep slope was a wide river valley. A large river flowed through the valley, and on a piece of high ground by the riverbank sat a primitive village of considerable size.

The village consisted of over a hundred circular huts made of thatch and wood. The layout seemed chaotic, yet it followed a certain hidden pattern. In the center of the village was a huge plaza, where over a hundred natives were currently gathered.

Those natives were the very "Guardians" who had attacked them last night. Their skin was dark, painted with eerie white totems, and their heads were adorned with colorful feathers.

At this moment, they were surrounding a massive totem pole in the center of the plaza, performing an ancient and wild dance. The low thrum of drums and monotonous chanting blended together, creating a heart-pounding, eerie atmosphere.

And on that totem pole, which stood over ten meters high, several people were tied up!

It was Juan, Carlos, and two other surviving support staff members!

They weren't dead!

But their current situation was hardly better than being dead. Their shirts had been stripped off, their hands and feet were firmly bound to the totem pole with vines, their mouths were stuffed with cloth, and their faces were filled with terror and despair.

Beneath the totem pole, an old man who looked like a tribal priest was holding up a ritual knife made of obsidian, chanting incantations.

"What... what are they going to do?" Wang Dalong's voice shook uncontrollably.

"Human sacrifice," Lin Feng spat out the two words coldly.

Although he didn't understand the language of these natives, comparing the scene before him to his knowledge of ancient civilizations, he reached a conclusion instantly.

This was a sacrificial ceremony. Juan and the others were the offerings for some deity.

Wang Dalong felt his limbs go cold. If he and Lin Feng hadn't evaded them last night, there would be two more people tied up there right now.

He instinctively looked at Lin Feng, only to find that Lin Feng's gaze wasn't lingering on Juan and the others, but was fixed intently on the riverbank at the edge of the village.

There, over a dozen canoes of various sizes were quietly moored.

That was their hope for escape.

"Brother Feng... we... we have to save them!" Wang Dalong's heart was in a state of inner conflict. Logic told him that for just the two of them to challenge a cannibalistic tribe of over a hundred people was like striking a stone with an egg. But emotionally, he couldn't just stand by and watch his companions be killed as sacrifices.

Lin Feng didn't answer immediately.

His brain was performing lightning-fast calculations.

Saving them? The risk was infinitely high, and the success rate was near zero. They only had two machetes, while the other side had over a hundred warriors armed with poison arrows.

Not saving them? Go straight to steal a boat? They might successfully escape, but Juan and the others would certainly die.

He remembered Juan's composure when facing the Jaguar, the image of him vigorously punting the raft, and the "thank you" he had said to him after crossing the River of Despair.

A flash of struggle crossed Lin Feng's eyes.

His absolute rationality seemed to develop a slight crack at this moment.

Just then, that cold mechanical voice in his mind rang out again at an inopportune time.

【Special Event Detected: Sacrifice to the Sun God】

【Side Quest Triggered: Trial of the Guardians】

【Quest Description: Interrupt the ceremony before it concludes and rescue at least one survivor from the Guardian tribe.】

【Quest Reward: reputation points +20,000, Special Item: Token of the Guardians.】

Skill points!

Lin Feng's pupils constricted sharply.

Token of the Guardians? That sounded like something very important!

The system's appearance made the choice for him.

Or rather, the system used a lure he couldn't refuse to push him onto a path with a survival rate of less than one percent.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions churning in his heart.

"Prepare to move," he said in a low voice to Wang Dalong.

"M-move? How?" Wang Dalong thought he had misheard. "Brother Feng, you're not joking, right? Just the two of us against over a hundred of them?"

"Not against them, but to create chaos." Lin Feng's gaze quickly scanned the entire village, imprinting the terrain, guard distribution, and escape routes into his mind to form a three-dimensional combat map.

"Their sacrificial ceremony is reaching a critical moment; everyone's attention is on the center of the plaza. This is our only chance."

"Listen," Lin Feng spoke extremely fast, but every word was crystal clear. "In a moment, I'll sneak in from the left and get as close to the totem pole as possible. You find a way to go to the right, find where they pile their firewood or oil, and set it on fire. Once the fire starts, they'll definitely fall into chaos. While they're busy fighting the fire, I'll go in to save them."

"Set... set a fire?" Wang Dalong was startled.

"Fire is what they revere most, and also what they fear most. Only a large enough chaos can buy us enough time." Lin Feng looked at him, his expression more serious than ever before. "Dalong, this is our only chance. After rescuing the people, we'll charge straight for the river and seize a boat. Do you dare to do it?"

Wang Dalong looked at his companions about to be executed in the plaza, then looked at Lin Feng's eyes, which were burning with fire.

The fear in his heart was replaced at this moment by a surge of hot blood and a desperate madness.

"Let's do it!" He gritted his teeth hard. "Damn it, if I die, I die! It's better than being a coward!"

"Good." Lin Feng patted his shoulder. "Remember, your task is only to set the fire and create chaos. Once successful, immediately retreat to the river. Don't worry about me; we'll meet on the boat. If... I don't make it, just take the boat and leave on your own."

Wang Dalong wanted to say more, but he was silenced by Lin Feng's warning look.

In the plaza, the drumming grew more and more rapid.

The old priest had already raised the obsidian knife in his hand, aiming it at the heart of Juan, who was tied at the very top.

There was no more time.

"Action!"

Lin Feng gave a low shout, and the two of them, like two arrows released from a bow, slipped silently from the left and right into that ghost tribe filled with the aura of death.