World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 251 The Party in the Tent

Dewdrops condensed on the white canvas of the tent, forming crystal-clear droplets that reflected colorful light in the fleeting brilliance near the equator.

After saying goodbye to the unicorn and the hyena, Lin An closed his eyes and entered a state of mental relaxation.

Inside the tent, six shimmering points of light appeared, sparkling like diamonds, scattered deep within the rainforest as night fell. One of them seemed familiar; it was the Karu mermaid I had met once before.

Excluding "free and mysterious" individuals like the Hyena Man, the number of publicly known mysterious individuals in the rainforest is seven.

There are six "ancestral spirits" here.

Could this unassuming tent be the legendary stronghold of the Ancestral Spirit Totem?
Lin An remembered that when the Karu Mermaid gave him the invitation made of a flat stone, it clearly stated that the totem gathering would be held next Monday.

That should be tomorrow.

What is the purpose of their gathering today?

Are the tribespeople in the rainforest so idle that they hold tea parties every day?

It's highly unlikely...

After carefully observing the circle of shimmering lights, Lin An had not yet found any trace of the "Dreamer".

Since we're already here, why not go in and see what they're up to?

As a gust of wind blew open the tent door, Lin An seized the opportunity to slip inside.

The wind took an unusual turn, and the ancestral spirits conversing inside the tent glanced at it. Finding it empty, they returned to their previous conversation.

Lin An looked around. There were four men and two women among the mysterious people, sitting around a woven jar filled with fireflies. The pale yellow light trembled and illuminated their faces. The first to speak was a man with buck teeth.

"Does anyone have any more information about 'Kalenga Mpengu'?"

Lin An was taken aback; this group of people were actually discussing his deeds.

"All I know is that he's an incredibly arrogant guy. Not only did he come up with a grand name, but in less than two weeks, he also secretly united many tribes, whose combined numbers are comparable to those of the Tigerfish!" a scarred-faced man chimed in.

“His mastery of the Great Vajra is indeed stronger than mine,” the Karu mermaid Susumi said. “Are you sure you want to be his enemy?”

“Susumumi, this place has remained unchanged since the time of our ancestors, for thousands of years. And this suddenly appearing ‘Forest Ranger’ undoubtedly wants to disrupt the existing food chain,” the buck-toothed man said confidently.

“He is the chosen one, born of the sun and moon to fight against the darkness of the underworld, possessing the powerful forces of the sky and light. Shouldn’t we cooperate with him first?” another short woman said hesitantly.

“Mama, don’t believe everything. We believe in seeing is believing, and hearing is deceiving.”

Sitting next to her was a similarly short boy. His face looked like that of an adult, but his body was still like that of a child. His skin was whiter than that of the tribesmen in the rainforest, and his features were also quite different.

It appears that he and the woman belong to the same ethnic group.

But regardless of which ancestral spirit it was, they all looked very different from the lion tribe.

“As far as I know, the ancestral spirit of the spotted lion comes from Kinsasha. He has obtained some of the memories of the spotted lion's ancestors, so he came here specifically to help them revitalize the region,” Susumi said.

"What nonsense! If you're so capable, why are you still living in the rainforest like us?"

The lean man sitting directly opposite the door slammed his hand on the floor and roared, silencing the noisy ancestral spirits.

"What is confirmed at present is that he tamed the only survivor of the wolfhound tribe, Ed Wolfhound."

"Even that little hyena surrendered one day?" the buck-toothed man asked in surprise.

“Otherwise, how do you explain that he and the spotted lion ancestral spirit, one creating chaos and the other quelling it, enslaved the surrounding tribes?” The lean man frowned. “The voice in the air tells me that the tribes loyal to him will never have a day of peace again.”

“The Tigerfish tribe wasn’t affected much,” Susumi interjected.

“Little princess, you are the sister of Chief Tigerfish. You don’t need to hunt or gather, and you can lie on the sofa enjoying goods from the city. How could you understand our plight?”

The lean man's sarcastic tone drew sidelong glances from the other ancestral spirits towards Su Sumi, who scratched her head, unable to think of a rebuttal.

"In short, the Forest Ranger is undoubtedly our enemy. He appears respectable on the surface, but in private he colludes with Ed Wolfhound, treating human life as worthless, plundering resources, cutting down trees, and abusing animals. He is extremely evil."

"Oh……"

As the ancestral spirits responded with a mixture of belief and disbelief, Lin An opened his own panel and found that the deviation value had decreased by 2%.

Xing, you're spreading rumors like this, aren't you?

One person dares to speak, and a group of people dare to believe him.

I'd like to see what kind of story you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, can come up with.

The lean man continued speaking.

“Inquire carefully, do you find out if every tribe 'tamed' by this forest ranger has a horrifying custom? Boiling water and then forcing it down their throats. What terrible torture!”

Scarface stroked his chin: "My people made a deal with a tribe that worships the Forest Rangers a few days ago. Before they left, they took a few baskets of branches, saying they would use them to boil water."

"Could the rumors be false? Is he not actually the flame of the creator god, but a tyrant of the dead who returned to the mortal world from the underworld?" The female ancestral spirit twisted her fingers.

"I remain skeptical until I see it with my own eyes." The short boy crossed his arms and looked at the lean man in the lead. "What do you think we should do about him?"

“He’s really strong,” Susumi said defiantly.

“There’s no need to confront him directly. Since he values ​​the Lion Tribe so much, let’s start there.” The lean man smiled maliciously.

"With so many tribes united, how could they not wipe out that small spotted lion tribe? Tomorrow he will come to the totem gathering place at Susumi's invitation."

"While he's away, let's wipe out his stronghold, the Spotted Lion Tribe, leaving no survivors. When the ancestral spirit of the Spotted Lion returns, it's very likely that, like some of the others before it, it will have an emotional outburst, turn into a crazed monster, and ultimately die."

"In this way, the rainforest has regained its balance and tranquility that it had maintained for thousands of years... unchanged."

"So you were using me?" Su Sumi's eyes widened.

"You can only blame yourself for being too stupid."

"..."

Susumi pouted, but the lean man didn't bother to pay attention. As long as he could convince the chief of the Tigerfish tribe, her opinion was insignificant.

"What are your thoughts?" He scanned the faces of the others one by one.

"I'll join, and after it's over, I want 30% of the spoils from the Lion Tribe," Bucktooth said first.

“Me too, but I don’t need supplies. Just bring the stronger women to my tribe.” Scarface chuckled.

“Give me 30%. I’ve always wanted the clothes and shoes from the Lion Tribe. Their weaving technique is amazing, they’re incredibly sturdy. I’ve wanted to snatch some back for a long time.” The boy rubbed his hands together.

“Okay, I think it’s okay…” the female ancestral spirit said hesitantly.

"I don't think so."

"Ok?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the dissenter. As night fell, the tent's light was dim, and they could only see pitch blackness.

A name surfaced in his mind, and the faces of each ancestral spirit turned ashen. The lean man spoke in a trembling voice.

"Zai Stanislas Vabracombe?"

He was wrong. The one who spoke was none other than Lin An, who had been observing from the shadows.

In just a few minutes, he became known as a tyrant who committed all kinds of evil deeds in the mouths of several people, and they secretly plotted to massacre the tribe. In the end, even the spoils of war were divided up in advance.

I couldn't listen to it anymore.

The rainforest lacks a communication network, and the resulting information asymmetry leads people to be blind and superstitious. The ancestral spirits are unaware of the difference between themselves and the forest spirits, relying entirely on hearsay and fabrications.

More importantly, they actually formulated a "meticulous" battle plan based on false intelligence.

As expected of the excellent matchmaking system in the Southern Continent...

Even if they lure Lin An away, the Spotted Lion Tribe, which now also has several mysterious individuals, will not be allowed to be slaughtered.

Lin An noted down the name the lean man blurted out, guessing that it was the "dreamer's" real name, which was indeed quite long.

After a moment of silence, he spoke softly.

"Don't call me by the names of your defeated opponents."

The ancestral spirits heard only a detached male voice, and at the same time, the jar filled with fireflies shattered with a crash.

The panicked fireflies scattered in all directions, their scattered light falling on the six equally shocked ancestral spirits, making their already dark faces even darker with fear.

"Dangdang!"

Scarface, who was closest to the exit, was about to escape when he was shocked to find that the tent canvas had somehow hardened, and the metal cage had them locked up tightly, making it impossible for them to escape.

"who are you?!"

The shorter boy, who was the bolder one, was the first to react, and he shouted almost in a broken voice.

"The flame of the creator god, the embodiment of the Kalenga line, the cross between the extraordinary and the mundane, the guardian of the rainforest."

Lin An did not deactivate his stealth mode. He stepped on the jar that was originally full of fireflies and manipulated the green code to suddenly light up. The highly technological data illuminated the primitive and ancient rainforest as if it were daytime, creating a kind of crazy and bizarre sense of time and space intertwining.

Like the reflection of Plato's cave prisoner, or the unreachable aurora, fleeting shadows constantly reflect and collide on the metal walls, reflected in the shrinking pupils of the ancestral spirits.

There was a deathly silence until the buck-toothed man gasped, jumped up, pointed at Lin An, and shouted.

"【Forest Ranger】Kalenga Mponggu!"

When did he come?
How long has he been here?

Could it be that Lin An was just smiling and listening the whole time they were discussing how to deal with the spotted lion tribe?
A chill ran down their spines to the back of their heads, making the group of mysterious individuals tingle and stiffen.

Does that mean he overheard our entire plan?

"I thought I was too early, but I didn't expect everyone to be here."

Lin An's voice echoed in the tent, ethereal and distant like a reverberation, making everyone tremble.

"Ancestral spirits, please have a seat."

(End of this chapter)