[Ding! New secret realm discovered, Godfall Village!]
[Mission: Destroy the Dark God Will in Godfall Village!]
John was startled by the sudden system alert—a type of notification he had never received before.
How could this be happening now?
He suppressed his surprise, knowing that the system had never issued such a prompt before.
This was the first time, and it was even related to the dark god! Was this change good or bad?
Clutching the Bloodthirsty Blade in his hand, whether it was good or bad, the system had now informed him that there was a Dark God Will in this village.
It must be similar to the statue they had shattered back in the basement...
Just one statue had caused them so much trouble, and even transported them here.
What would they do if another unexpected event occurred?
He pursed his lips slightly, feeling as if a heavy stone weighed on his heart.
The villagers seemed very lax in their watch over the place, but he also noticed that the people here seemed to be anticipating something, joyfully decorating the entire courtyard.
He circled to the back of the courtyard and vaulted over the wall.
This courtyard looked much nicer than theirs, everything more lavish and opulent, with white flowers and ribbons laid out.
Was someone getting married?
John noticed that the blue dots representing Isabella and Amelia were in this courtyard, apparently on the second floor.
He hid behind a barrel and carefully observed the people around him.
"This bride is quite beautiful; the lord will surely be pleased," one villager remarked.
"I find these two brides hardly obedient; let's hope they don't cause any trouble," another commented.
In the courtyard, two villagers were picking through several jewelry boxes, selecting some very pretty gems and ornaments.
"What's there to fear? Once they're here, can they even leave? Being chosen as brides is a stroke of luck for them!" a woman in her forties scoffed coldly, seemingly amused, then nudged her companion.
"After the god has had his fill, they'll belong to our village... It's hard to say how many offspring these brides will produce for us," the companion responded with an anticipatory smile.
"And what about those male sacrifices? Don't tell me; all three of them look quite decent. I need to prepare well for tonight."
"It's just a pity that after tonight, those men must be offered to the god. Otherwise, I'd really like to have my fun with them," the person added with a sigh, seemingly regretful.
The woman next to her grimaced, seemingly displeased.
"I just hope they're not all worn out by the time it's our turn. After all, those old zealots get to enjoy them first. Why should those barren old hags have their fun with the sacrifices before us?"
"Exactly," another agreed.
Normally, everyone was highly vigilant; it was impossible for someone to get this close without detection, and without any resistance.
Gathering his courage, John gently shook Isabella, but she continued to remain deep in her sleep.
Even her facial expression did not change, still portraying the peaceful demeanor of a pleasant dream.
John's brow furrowed.
He carefully inspected the bed and found nothing unusual, which in itself was profoundly unsettling.
There was no magical disturbance, yet she was so deeply entranced.
John then examined the wedding dress Isabella was wearing and, bracing himself, he grabbed the corset and pulled sharply outward.
Rip!
The corset tore open instantly, and Isabella's face lost its previous faint smile, her brow furrowing slightly.
It worked!
He grabbed at her dress again, beginning to tear at it.
But soon, he noticed his mind starting to haze.
[Ding! Spirit rapidly declining!]
[Ding! Spirit rapidly declining!]
The system issued two consecutive warnings, and John saw his Spirit had dropped by 30%.
His heart sank.
Could it be that even the Heart of Dwarf was ineffective this time?
John couldn't afford to delay any longer and desperately tore at Isabella's clothes, quickly reducing the white bridal gown to tatters.
Yet, Isabella did not awaken; instead, a look of pain appeared on her face, as if she was struggling immensely.
What was still missing? What else could there be?
The dress was completely destroyed, yet something was still controlling Isabella, preventing her from waking up.
John, despite the pain searing through his mind sea, began to search meticulously.
If he had to guess, it would only be the bed beneath her!
While trying to move away from the bed with Isabella, he found himself feeling as if he was in a quagmire; every step was exceptionally difficult.
It was as though countless hands were pulling at him, rendering him unable to move...
No, he had to get out of there, he just had to!
John bit down hard and struggled to move forward.
Previously, he would not have cared about such resistance, but now his strength was severely limited.