Building The Strongest Territory With My Sacrifice System
Chapter 21: Funeral

Chapter 21: Funeral

"What is happening?"

Ragnar was shocked to see several people gathered around the storage house. From his current distance, he could see their worried expressions.

’Did that ugly Monsterborn attack again last night? Did he forget to cover his tracks?’ he wondered.

Curious to find out what was actually happening, he quickened his strides and arrived at the storage house.

"Ragnar, thank the ancestors, you are here." An old man spotted him and greeted.

Ragnar nodded and asked, "What is happening? Why is everyone gathered here this morning?"

"It would be better if you saw this for yourself," the old man said in a solemn tone.

Ragnar hummed and strolled to the front of the crowd, where the cause of their gathering lay bare before his eyes.

The corpse of a middle-aged man lay very close to the storage house—there was a ghastly wound on his stomach, and his clothes were soaked in his own blood. The eyes of the corpse were wide open, revealing trauma and horror.

’This is bad.’

Ragnar stepped closer to the corpse.

He squatted beside it as the metallic stench of blood assaulted his nostrils. He blocked his nose with his left hand and carefully observed the wounds.

’Claws...’

Ragnar easily noted the cause of death from the four sharp cuts, perfectly lined with each other. His inner organs were revealed—a revolting scene even for Ragnar, who fought back the urge to puke.

’These claws are definitely from the Monsterborn we saw that night. That bastard had the guts not only to steal these people’s hard work but also to take one of their lives.’ Ragnar’s mind filled with rage.

If only he had been stronger that night, he would have killed the Monsterborn without batting an eye.

Now, because of his impotence, an innocent man has died.

The chattering of scared and worried farmers behind him reached his ears, filling him with even more regret that he was unable to kill the Monsterborn.

Ragnar moved his hands carefully and covered the eyes of the deceased. He then stood and took several steps back, observing the corpse with a sad expression on his face.

"What could’ve happened?" one farmer cried.

"Bizano loves harvesting his melons at night. He always claimed the crescent moonlight and the gentle night wind made harvesting more enjoyable," another remarked in a gentle tone.

"I’ve always warned him not to visit the farms at night, but he wouldn’t listen. Now we have lost him," one of them responded.

From their worried discussion, Ragnar got the gist of why the middle-aged farmer called Bizano was here at the storage house—apparently, he had finished harvesting his melons and planned to store them when the thief arrived.

Judging by his eyes, filled with horror, Ragnar deduced that Bizano might have spotted the Monsterborn and had planned to scream for help.

In order to keep its identity secret and complete the heist, the thief killed him.

Ragnar clenched his fist as he replayed the scene in his mind. Imagining just how frightened the man could have been made him even angrier.

"Father!"

The voice of a little boy thundered.

Ragnar turned to see the same rebellious kid running toward the corpse. His face was etched with worry.

Running behind him was his mother, whose face was already wet with tears and twisted in sorrow.

The two of them pushed past the crowd of men trying to stop them from seeing the gruesome scene of their husband and father.

"Father..." the boy halted before the corpse and cried, "Father, please wake up! Waaa!"

His mother stood a few steps away, staring at her husband’s body as tears streamed down her face.

She was too stunned by his death to move. She simply stared and wept.

’Fuck this!’

He could feel his chest tighten as adrenaline and sorrow mingled, fueling his determination.

Every muscle in his body ached with the weight of his failure.

A wave of emotions erupted within Ragnar after seeing the weeping mother and child. How could he not be emotional? The village was under his control, and he had actually seen the killer beforehand but had failed to act because he was weak.

Ragnar blamed himself for the death and the family’s sadness.

While Ragnar wallowed in anger and self-blame, the twin and other people arrived at the scene.

Very soon, more than two dozen people surrounded the storage house.

Merlina quickly moved toward the crying little boy and consoled him while observing the corpse. She noticed the claw marks and easily deduced who his killer was.

Noah clenched his fist with rage in his eyes as he too had deduced the killer.

He tilted his head toward Ragnar.

Coincidentally, both of their eyes met.

A voiceless agreement was made between the two youths—one of revenge.

|| Reward of urgent quest: Find the harvest thieves and punish them has been tripled due to current stakes. Enter [📜 Quest] to get more details. ||

|| A new urgent quest has been triggered. ||

Urgent quest: Ease the mind of your people.

Reward: 50 XP

Penalty: N/A

Ragnar read the quest description discreetly.

With a genuine, serious expression, Ragnar addressed the crowd.

He consoled the mother and her son and promised the farmers safety.

"I swear on my life to find the killer. I would stop at nothing till the killer is apprehended. His execution would be performed in the presence of everyone, especially the family of his victim." Ragnar swore.

"Before the killer is apprehended, everyone should remain indoors at night." he warned.

The people nodded.

Ragnar made more promises to keep them safe.

Of course, he did not discuss with them that he had already identified the killer. It would only increase their worries.

"I declare today a day of rest to mourn the death of our beloved and courageous brother and father and brother."

He ended his words with that.

The people agreed— with his death, they had naturally lost the will to work for today.

Ragnar received the notification of his quest completion but ignored it as he joined the other young men to dig a grave for the deceased.