Chapter 142: The God Worshipped by the Ogres

Barit finished a mouthful of the blended liquor Sun Licheng had poured for him. Under the watchful eyes of the ogres surrounding them, his expression shifted again and again.

“Sun Licheng, tell me—how difficult is this liquor to make?” Barit did not take a second sip. Instead, he set down his clay bowl, pulled Sun Licheng closer, and asked in a low voice.

“Not many ingredients are needed. However, there are some things only I know how to make—or rather, at present, I’m the only one who can produce them. As for the Red Flame Tribe, well, you understand…” Sun Licheng replied with a beaming smile.

“Hmm. In a moment, I’ll pick several strong young men from the tribe and have them follow you from now on. And if there’s anything you need, go speak to the great shaman yourself. So long as it isn’t excessive, we’ll provide it all.”

Barit understood at once. He immediately patted Sun Licheng on the shoulder and spoke with hearty generosity.

With his worries settled, Chief Barit picked up his bowl again and leisurely took a small sip. A look of intoxication instantly spread across his face.

“It’s absolutely delicious!”

Under the ogres’ expectant gazes, Barit suddenly widened his eyes and let out a thunderous roar.

The ogres erupted at once, charging toward the great jars that held the liquor.

For every race, alcohol was something they found impossible to resist—let alone liquor made with the alcohol-blending techniques Sun Licheng had brought from Earth. Those methods had been developed by the future Flower Kingdom only after countless amounts of money, resources, and time had been spent.

“Sun Licheng, you need to brew more liquor and prepare more food. In a few days, we intend to pray to our deity and report that life in the Red Flame Tribe has undergone earth-shaking changes. We will thank the god for bringing you to us. At that time, I will officially announce that you are our eternal honored guest, and you will receive the eternal friendship of the entire tribe.”

Watching the ogres, who had finished the fine liquor and were nearly delirious with delight, Barit walked over to Sun Licheng with his bowl in hand and spoke.

“May I ask which deity your ogres worship?” Sun Licheng asked curiously. He had been in the Red Flame Tribe for quite some time, yet he had never learned which god the ogres believed in.

“We worship His Majesty the God of Gourmet and Pleasure.”

Contrary to Sun Licheng’s expectations, the female dinosaur Caroline gave him an unexpected answer.

“Shouldn’t ogres worship gods of battle, bloodshed, or darkness?”

Sun Licheng found it so strange that he unconsciously voiced what he was thinking.

Barit and his daughter each gave Sun Licheng an eye roll before saying in unison, “How could those gods be as useful as His Majesty the God of Gourmet and Pleasure, who blesses us with full bellies?”

Sun Licheng immediately understood.

Of course. A glutton’s god—what other kind of god could possibly be better?

In this world, the power of the gods was still immense, and offering large-scale prayers to one’s deity was an extremely important matter for any tribe.

As the ancient text of the Chronicles of Zuo put it, “The great affairs of a state lie in sacrifices and warfare.” In this world, that was even more true.

To prepare for this grand sacrificial ceremony, Sun Licheng had exhausted every means at his disposal. Using whatever ingredients he could find, he prepared several kinds of dishes and made several varieties of blended liquor, storing them in different large clay jars.

To make the offerings seem more distinguished, Sun Licheng named the liquor “Light of Amber,” earning unanimous praise from everyone on the spot.

After many days of effort, the preparations for the ceremony were finally complete.

On that day, everyone in the Red Flame Tribe was mobilized. When the horns sounded, the ogres, dressed in their finest clothes and armor, formed orderly lines under the leadership of the great shaman and marched toward the temple.

The temple of the God of Gourmet and Pleasure was, in truth, little more than a stone enclosure, though it covered a considerable area. A sacred pillar towered in the center, and at its base lay countless stones carved with patterns.

These stones had been left behind after every grand sacrifice held by the Red Flame Tribe. After thousands of years of accumulation, they had long since formed a small mountain, lending the temple an air of ancient solemnity.

The ceremony began with the presentation of the offerings. Led by Barit, eighteen tribal warriors carried the offerings in both hands and slowly approached the sacred pillar. They then respectfully placed them on the ground.

Apart from the food and fine liquor prepared by Sun Licheng, the offerings consisted mainly of roasted snow-rat meat. There was nothing resembling human flesh.

“His Majesty the God of Gourmet and Pleasure doesn’t like our meat,” the rabbit-headed man Chibuman quietly explained in response to Sun Licheng’s question.

At that moment, they were standing behind the ogres, watching the entire ceremony with great interest.

In the divine realm, within the kingdom of the God of Gourmet and Pleasure, an archangel flew excitedly toward His Majesty’s bedchamber.

“My liege, the ogres of the lower world are offering you sacrifices and prayers.”

The archangel knelt on one knee and reported through a curtain of pearl beads. Behind the curtain came sounds that made one’s face flush.

“What’s so astonishing about an ogre sacrifice? Get lost at once and stop interrupting my pleasure.”

After quite some time, following a woman’s voice that sounded as though she had suddenly lost her breath, a deep male voice emerged from behind the curtain and cursed at him.

“That isn’t the reason, my liege. This time, the ogres have offered a great deal of delicious food and fine liquor. Your servant has never seen anything like it in all these years, which is why I hurried here to report it.”

The archangel had long since grown accustomed to situations like this. He also knew that his liege was, in truth, even-tempered, so he continued his report without concern.

Sure enough, upon hearing the angel’s words, a flurry of movement came from behind the pearl curtain. The great God of Gourmet and Pleasure then burst out completely naked. The angel hurriedly lowered his head, still unable to fully adjust to his liege’s uninhibited nature.

As the God of Gourmet and Pleasure, he possessed no natural resistance to fine food or wine. After roughly hearing the archangel’s report, the god’s eyes shifted. Then, with a loud laugh, he vanished from his divine kingdom.

“My liege, your clothes!”

After the God of Gourmet and Pleasure disappeared, four or five extraordinarily beautiful female angels rushed out from behind the curtain. Naked, they held a white brocade robe and shouted toward the place where their liege had vanished.

Seeing this, the archangel silently slapped a hand against his forehead.

My liege, can’t you show a little more dignity?

He could only smile bitterly to himself.

Meanwhile, in the temple of the Red Flame Tribe, the great shaman had begun performing a dance to bless the deity, and the ceremony was already nearing its conclusion.

Just as Sun Licheng was beginning to yawn from boredom, something strange happened. The sacred pillar in the center of the temple suddenly lit up with a gentle white glow.

The light swept across the offerings, and more than half of them vanished instantly.

Everyone stopped.

“His Majesty the God of Gourmet and Pleasure has manifested himself! Everyone, pay homage to His Majesty at once!”

At the great shaman’s shout, every living being present—including the laborers—dropped to one knee in unison.

Faced with such a situation, Sun Licheng did not dare to be disrespectful. He knelt along with everyone else.

This was a true deity, not one of those fabrications invented by charlatans on Earth.

“You have done very well. I am highly satisfied with the offerings you have presented. Tell me—which of you prepared them?”

A majestic voice rang out in the minds of everyone present.

Upon hearing the deity’s words, they all turned their eyes toward Sun Licheng.

Seriously? Why is it me again?

Now that he had become the center of attention, Sun Licheng could not help complaining inwardly.