Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 — Mana Lock Prison

Chapter 54 — Mana Lock Prison

The angry elder looked toward one of the tribe members and spoke in a cold voice.

”Inform Oheema of what happened.”

A young tribesman stepped forward immediately.

The respect in his expression was absolute.

Victor could feel the Spiritual Energy coming from him even from where he was being held.

The boy was definitely in the Spirit Gathering Realm. Yet he looked to be around Victor’s age.

Victor stared at him for a moment.

What the hell do they feed people in this village?

”Yes, Elder. Right away.”

The young tribesman turned and sprinted away.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

The boy disappeared between the wooden huts at a speed Victor couldn’t even follow.

Then the tribesman holding Victor looked down at him.

And spat in his face.

”Filthy heathen.”

Victor barely had time to react.

”How dare you intrude on our holy lands.”

The man’s foot slammed into his stomach.

Pain exploded through his body as Victor spasmed and collapsed face-first into the dirt. Before he could push himself back up, the tribesman placed his foot on the back of Victor’s head and pressed him down.

Victor clenched his teeth.

About fifteen minutes passed.

Victor remained face down in the dirt, a tribe member’s foot still pressed against the back of his head.

The packed earth was cold against his face. He could smell dirt, smoke, and the faint scent of burning wood drifting through the village. Around him, voices moved through the clearing as more tribe members gathered to see what had happened.

The angry elder was speaking with several other members nearby.

From the sound of their voices, they were equally pissed off.

Victor listened silently.

Then he heard the elder who had captured them speak.

”I found these heathens defiling the sacred grounds. Five years of holy mana... gone. Stolen from the Sacred Pond. Stolen from Samal. They must pay for what they have done.”

Another voice answered.

It was old and creaky.

”We should sacrifice them to Samal during the Festival of Mana.”

A few exclamations immediately rose from the surrounding crowd.

Victor remained where he was, unable to see the people speaking, but he could hear the reaction spreading through the gathered tribe members.

Then the angry elder spoke again.

”They are unworthy of being sacrificed to our god. We should just rip their Cores out of their bodies and burn them alive.”

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Before anyone else could speak, another voice entered the conversation.

This one belonged to an old woman.

There was something different about her voice. It carried a hint of authority, and the moment she spoke, the others became silent.

”That is not for you to decide, Gregal. We must leave it for the council to decide. Throw them in the Mana Lock Prison until we can determine a proper punishment.”

The angry elder immediately responded.

”Understood, Oheema.”

There was obvious respect in his voice.

A moment later, the pressure disappeared from the back of Victor’s head.

Victor was grabbed by the arm and roughly pulled from the ground.

He finally had the opportunity to properly look at the people who had been speaking.

His eyes immediately settled on the old woman.

She appeared to be around sixty years old. Pure white hair fell around her shoulders, contrasting sharply against her weathered face. Several piercings decorated her face, catching the light as she moved.

She wore a single long robe that gave her the appearance of a priestess. And she held a wooden staff in her hand, its upper end adorned with several faintly glowing gems.

Victor’s eyes lingered on the weapon for a moment. He had never seen a weapon so beautiful.

Standing nearby was another elderly tribal member.

The man was short, probably no more than five feet tall, and wore clothing similar to Gregal’s, making it obvious that he possessed the same kind of status within the tribe. Long white hairs grew from his nose, and his aged face was twisted into an expression of obvious disgust as he looked toward Victor.

Victor slowly looked between the three elders.

Gregal.

Oheema.

And the short old man.

At a glance, Victor could tell that any one of them could erase his existence without much effort.

The three elders stared at him coldly.

Then the tribe members holding him began dragging him away.

Victor was pulled through the village while people watched from around their wooden huts.

Victor could feel their eyes following him.

He barely had time to properly take in the village before the tribe members dragged him in front of a hut.

The moment the door opened, Victor saw the cells inside.

The hut had been turned into a prison.

Several cells stood within the dark interior, their doors reinforced and covered with strange markings. Victor and the bird were dragged toward one of them.

Then Victor crossed the doorway.

The moment he entered, he felt his cultivation disappear.

Victor froze.

For the first time since arriving in this world, he couldn’t feel his Spiritual Energy responding to him. It was as though everything had suddenly been sealed away.

He felt like he was back on Earth again.

Victor looked upward just as the cell door slammed shut.

A tribe member stood outside, giving him a vicious look before stepping away.

Victor finally turned his attention toward his surroundings.

The prison was inside the hut, completely cut off from the outside world. He couldn’t see anything beyond the wooden walls, and there was only a lone guard nearby.

Victor didn’t need to think very hard about what would happen if he tried escaping.

The guard could easily kill him.

He slowly sat down and took a moment to truly understand his situation.

He was really screwed.

Victor leaned back slightly and sighed.

”Man,” he muttered to himself. ”I really have some amazing luck.”

Then he looked toward the little bird beside him.

For once, the strange creature wasn’t acting confident. It looked slightly scared.

Victor stared at it for a moment and couldn’t help feeling a little bad for the bird.

It had followed him into this mess.

And now they were both trapped.