"Block the Divine Hall area."
The Crow Queen-Triss slowly ordered. Quickly, troops began to blockade the entire Bath. Severus led the Druid Order to set up the ritual. The grand festival required a blood sacrifice; even the ancient Greek gods demanded the immediate slaughter of numerous animals, while the Roman gods preferred to execute some captives.
Under the moonlight.
The Crow Queen-Triss slowly approached the damaged statue of Minerva. She reached out to gently stroke the mottled marks on the statue. Beside her, a handmaiden laid down a cushion, lit incense, and arranged the offerings. She then knelt there as if immersed in prayer and meditation.
At this moment, the entire Bath was completely blockaded, with nearly three thousand soldiers guarding key locations.
Hundreds of members of the Druid Order were busy at work.
A large number of craftsmen arrived to rebuild the temple altar and remodel Minerva’s statue to more closely resemble the divine visage of Sulis.
Time passed silently.
After about a month, the ruins of Bath’s Divine Hall were renewed, with most of the main buildings refurbished. The divine visages of Minerva and Sulis were also gradually completed. The Crow Queen held small scale ceremonies once a week, and many members of the Druid Order were rebuilding the church organization to worship Sulis.
Finally.
On a certain autumn day, Duncan appeared outside the city of Bath, with a convoy of generals’ personal guards behind him.
Clop, clop, clop.
Amidst the sound of hooves, Duncan dismounted, looked at Severus beside him, and said in a deep voice, "How is the preparation for the ritual ceremony coming along?"
Severus exclaimed excitedly, "It’s almost ready."
"We can begin at any time."
Duncan nodded slightly, walking towards the direction of the hot spring bath, which was the Holy Sanctuary of Minerva, and the core area of the entire ritual ceremony.
The Crow Queen-Triss stood outside the hot spring pool to welcome Duncan’s arrival.
As the Governor appeared, female figures in white priest robes continually emerged, including Romans, Britons, and even Greeks from afar. Severus raised his hand slightly, and the Celtic priest beside him’s eyes turned cold, signaling to others.
Slash.
Blood spurted.
More than a dozen infamous Saxon pirate captives were slit throated, their blood spilling around the altar, flowing along engraved runes.
Human sacrifice, blood sacrifice.
According to Celtic belief traditions, Sulis is a goddess of war, her rituals require blood and slaughter; merely relying on cattle and sheep is insufficient. Minerva sometimes needs a blood sacrifice too. Among the three divine visages, only Athena can be appeased by slaughtering livestock.
Duncan smelled a faint scent of blood as he entered, expressionless. After he entered, the Crow Queen-Triss followed closely, then Severus, followed by many Roman and Greek priests, and Celtic priests.
Steam rose within the hot spring pool.
The temperature of the hot spring here was about 47 degrees, with shrines arranged all around, burning peculiar incense.
Duncan led the ritual but did not kneel.
Behind him, the Crow Queen-Triss bowed slightly, her head lowered, not kneeling in prayer. As for the others, it was different. The Celts believed that the visage of Sulis should be knelt to in prayer, while the Greek gods didn’t favor kneeling as much, and didn’t have as many rituals. Today’s ceremony was a combination.
After the human sacrifice was slain, a cluster of Holy Fire was ignited in the center of the altar, and the priests then began to slaughter cattle and sheep. According to Greek tradition, they would be shared among the people but could not be taken away.
The most succulent deer leg was respectfully offered to Duncan by a female priest dressed in a Greek robe.
After tasting a mouthful, the others began to eat.
Severus’s side had a slightly different ritual with a stronger scent of blood. After the human sacrifice, there were other rituals to worship the divine position of [War].
Dimension Space.
A string of characters emerged.
"Detected Holy Sanctuary fluctuations!"
"The Holy Sanctuary of the Celtic faith - Goddess Sulis is reviving!"
"Alert!"
"Boundary of reality law broken!"
"The revival of Goddess Sulis’s belief has triggered a slight resurgence of the Mythical Era."
Buzz.
The magnificent hot spring pool seemed to shake slightly.
At an unknown time.
The phantom of the Avalon Guardian Fairy also appeared faintly in the mist, gazing at Duncan ahead, and then looking towards the distant statues of Minerva and Sulis.
— Tethys (Avalon Fairy) [Four-star Gold]!
A faint horn sound was heard.
At an unknown time, a Valkyrie with a bird-winged golden helmet appeared, also staring at Duncan below, eyes mysterious, pondering who-knows-what.
— Valkyrie [Four-star Gold]!
Since Duncan descended to the Middle Ages, this was the first time he saw a four-star gold presence, breaking through the previous three-star gold limit. At this moment, the Crow Queen-Triss also looked in the direction of the Valkyrie, seeming to vaguely sense their presence.
Duncan had already pushed the ceiling of the real world to a new height!
.........