Chapter 411

Imprisonment

“Huh, that’s why I said we need to get information from the people of the New World.”

Listening to Kale’s flattery, Larina smiled slightly and then turned her gaze to the other side where Banu was standing. At his feet lay a young man from a tribal background who was unconscious; that was Kapak.

Larina walked towards Banu and soon arrived by his side. Banu respectfully spoke to Larina in the language of the Spiritual Seals.

“Lady…”

“You’ve done well. This is a pre-reward for you. After we refine this batch of essences, there will be even more spirituality that can be directly absorbed for you.”

Seeing Banu, as she spoke, Larina took out a small bottle and threw it to Banu. Banu caught it with joy and immediately put it away. He then cautiously asked:

“Thank you, Lady… Then may I ask about what you mentioned earlier regarding officially guiding me onto the path of incantations…”

“This depends on your performance. As I mentioned before, as long as we obtain information about other Wilderness Spirits, your promotion will be completely worry-free. We will elevate you to heights you have never imagined before.”

Larina continued to speak to Banu, and Banu replied affirmatively after listening.

“I understand. I will find a way to communicate with shamans from other tribes and inquire about the exact whereabouts of other Wilderness Spirits.”

Listening to Banu’s words, Larina nodded silently, then looked back at Kapak, who was still sleeping under Banu’s feet.

“This… Is the trouble you mentioned just now?”

“Yes, his name is Kapak. He is an apprentice shaman from the Tuppa tribe. Today he came with me for a spirit ritual. He clearly went back, but for some reason he suddenly ran back here. When he saw us attacking Wood Hoof, I was afraid he would cause trouble, so I knocked him unconscious.”

Banu straightforwardly told Larina, who paused slightly upon hearing Banu’s words, glanced at Kapak, and then opened his mouth.

“Why didn’t you just k*ll him?”

“He cannot be killed! This guy isn’t ready to d*e yet! His teacher is Uta, a very powerful shaman, even stronger than my previous teacher! If Uta sees that Kapak hasn’t returned, he will immediately think something has happened to him. Uta’s mediumship is extremely powerful. He must have a close enough connection to Kapak through some medium.

“If Kapak dies right now, Uta could use these mediums to directly spirit-link Kapak’s soul. Kapak has already seen my strange behavior. If Kapak’s soul reports this to Uta, Uta will surely inform the entire tribal alliance about me. By then, having committed a major sin, I will either have to flee or be tried by shamans from other tribes. By then, no one will be able to look for information about other Wilderness Spirits for you, Lady!”

Banu said with a fearful tone to Larina. Such a crime of betraying a Wilderness Spirit meant absolute d*ath.

“Shaman…”

Hearing Banu’s words, Larina frowned slightly and murmured. At this moment, Kale approached and spoke to Larina.

“Aren’t they just some native shamans who can summon souls? What’s there to fear? We can just prepare a spirit-binding coffin, lock him up inside, k*ll him, and take his soul back to be refined. Can those natives summon their souls back?”

Kale spoke in broken Spiritual Seal Language with many errors, his tone showing disdain. Banu rebutted:

“You underestimate the shamans. Uta doesn’t just perform simple soul summoning! It’s mediumship! Ordinary restraints won’t stop mediumship!”

Banu explained. Generally, there are two ways to summon souls: soul summoning and mediumship. Soul summoning involves setting up rituals using the deceased’s belongings as mediums to attract wandering spirits. Mediumship is much more advanced; it also requires mediums, but it can summon souls directly to the caster, bypassing spatial and dimensional limitations.

After hearing Banu’s rebuttal, Larina nodded and responded:

“Indeed… I’ve heard that the mediumship of the native shamans here is very powerful. Ordinary soul restraints can be pulled apart by their mediumship. Ordinary spirit-binding coffins can’t resist mediumship.”

Looking at the wooden spirit-binding coffins around them, Larina muttered. The strongest iron coffin they had brought was used on Wood Hoof, and the remaining wooden coffins couldn’t withstand mediumship. If Kapak died now, his soul would easily be spirit-linked back. Without large-scale refining equipment, Larina could only disperse a soul but couldn’t completely eliminate it.

As a veteran “Silence” Extraordinary Being, she knew the power of mediumship. Even fragmented souls could be spirit-linked back.

Now, Larina needed Banu to gather information about Wilderness Spirits from other shamans, so Banu couldn’t be exposed. Therefore, Kapak must stay alive to prevent being spirit-linked by his shaman teacher.

“Tie him up securely and keep him alive. Don’t let him d*e. Send him back with this batch of goods to Danko. Have the people at that outpost k*ll him and directly refine his soul in the furnace. In that case, those native shamans won’t be able to summon him back.”

Waving her hand, Larina ordered, and her subordinates quickly tied up the unconscious Kapak. Banu watched coldly from the side.

“Goodbye, Brother Kapak. I didn’t want to do this, but you forced me to…”

Muttering, Banu watched as Larina’s subordinates carried Kapak onto the carriage.

…

After some time, Kapak’s consciousness slowly regained clarity from his daze. He felt as if he had slept for centuries.

As his consciousness gradually connected with his body, Kapak felt intense pain at the back of his head after regaining awareness.

‘Shis… so painful… What happened to me…’

Clenching his teeth, Kapak endured the pain. As his consciousness became clearer, memories flooded back. He recalled the moment before he was struck on the head, remembered Wood Hoof being surrounded by skeletons, and recalled seeing the familiar face before he fell.

With these memories, anger surged within him.

“Banu! You actually…”

Kapak tried to speak, but found himself unable to open his mouth. Something foreign was blocking his throat, causing him to make muffled sounds.

Realizing his situation, Kapak attempted to open his eyes but found himself in complete darkness. Using his sense of touch, he realized his vision was covered by a cloth.

Panicking, Kapak struggled, only to discover his hands were bound behind his back and his feet were tied.

Unable to speak or see, his movements restrained, Kapak faced this predicament. He tried to struggle free from the ropes, but to no avail.

In the darkness, his panic grew.

‘Bad… bad… Where am I? What happened? Am I dead? No, dead people don’t feel pain. I’m not dead yet.

‘I’m… tied up. Someone I don’t know blindfolded and tied me up! d*mn it… what should I do now…’

Grinding his teeth, Kapak thought frantically. Forcing himself to calm down in the darkness, he searched for a way to escape, attempting to break free from the ropes, but to no avail.

‘Breathe… breathe… I can’t waste energy like this… I can’t just force it. I need to think of another way…’

Kapak thought anxiously in his heart, then began to consider a plan. After much thought, Kapak realized the only thing he could do now was pray, praying to the existence that brought him this special gift.

He wasn’t sure if this would help him now, but given his current situation, he had no choice but to try.

“Great Akka, who records all things… Breathe… Breathe… I sincerely pray to you…”

Closing his eyes, Kapak prayed earnestly in his heart.

Far across the ocean, Dorothy, who was eating dessert while reading a book, suddenly paused. She looked at the world map hanging on the wall, focusing on the position of the New World.

“It seems someone else is in trouble…”