In a blink of an eye, a year had passed.

The Wolf Beastman Race gathered to perform their first annual sacrifice to the God of Wind, Barbatos. This was a momentous occasion, and they had prepared meticulously for it.

At the front of the Ancestral Hall, they presented the corpse of a Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion, a formidable and rare beast known for its fiery mane and immense power.

Acquiring it had taken great effort, as the tribe's strongest warriors were only at the Third-Order Late Stage. Their power had improved thanks to the Fourth-Order Peak Stage Silver Bear, but they still faced significant challenges and could only rely on numerical advantage to defeat it.

The tribe's hierophant, Eldric, stepped forward, raising his hands towards the heavens. The air was charged with anticipation as the Wolf Beastmen knelt in reverence, eyes fixed on the sacred offering.

"Old and great God of Wind, you gave us life and filled us with hope—"

"You light our way forward—"

"You are our creator—"

"You are our faith—"

"You are the supreme being!"

"Oh great God of Wind," Eldric intoned solemnly, "we offer you the powerful corpse of a Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion. May this sacrifice honor you and bring forth your divine favor upon us."

As the words of the prayer echoed, a mystical wind began to swirl around the Fire Lion's body. The flames of its mane flickered one last time before being extinguished by the divine wind.

The lion's body glowed with a radiant light, signifying the acceptance of the sacrifice by Barbatos. It disappeared from the gate of the Ancestral Hall, and Eldric and the Wolf Beastmen sighed in relief, knowing their god had accepted their offering.

A moment later, Barbatos, who was inside the Ancestral Hall, heard a notification sound in his mind.

-Ding!

[Your believers have performed their first annual sacrifice.]

[Sacrificing the corpse of a Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion…]

[Obtaining hundred times the reward: Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion corpse!]

Witnessing his believers’ first annual sacrifice, Barbatos pondered, “Another quality increase? I wonder what the requirement is for obtaining a quantity increase.”

“A Fourth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion can defeat ten Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lions. On the other hand, a Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion can defeat a hundred Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lions, so the hundredfold increase in quality is not just for show.”

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“Although, whether a Fifth-Order Peak Stage Lion can defeat a hundred Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lions remains to be seen. Factors like stamina, luck, and the element of surprise could give the hundred Third-Order Lions a chance to win against it.”

“However, it’s not far-fetched to say that a Fifth-Order Peak Stage Lion is roughly a hundred times stronger than a Third-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion.”

The corpse of the Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion was already stored in Barbatos’ storage space.

[Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion corpse: The corpse of a Fire Lion at Fifth-Order Peak Stage. Its blood and flesh can be used as cultivation resources to increase the power of 100 Third-Order Mortals to Fourth-Order.]

Reviewing the information, Barbatos noted that it was similar to the corpse of the Fourth-Order Peak Stage Silver Bear his believers had sacrificed a year ago. The use of monster corpses as cultivation resources proved to be highly effective, providing significant power boosts when consumed.

Since there were plenty of monsters in the Eternal Continent, monster corpses were the easiest sacrificial materials to obtain.

Barbatos knew that his believers hadn’t acquired any valuable materials, so they had to resort to sacrificing another monster corpse.

If they had obtained rare items like Three-Colored Honey, Moonlight Dew, Mithril Ore, or Blood Blooming Flower, his believers would have used them for the annual sacrifice instead.

“I need my believers to become stronger to acquire better sacrificial materials,” Barbatos mused. “However, it’s quite troublesome that the numbers of my main believers are low.”

He considered using a reproduction card to increase the number of his main believer race, but the cost was prohibitively expensive. As a new demigod, Barbatos was still struggling and had barely accumulated any strands of divine energy.

Barbatos worried that his believers' numbers would dwindle, given that their death rate was higher than their birth rate. Even with new wolf beastmen being born, it would take time for them to reach adulthood.

The reproduction rate of the wolf beastmen was similar to that of humans but slightly faster. However, it was still slower compared to goblins and orcs. Despite being stronger than goblins and orcs, the wolf beastmen couldn’t match their numerical advantage.

Because of this, Barbatos hesitated to command his main believers to take risks in the Eternal Continent.

“Sigh, forget it. Let’s just wait until I can get a reproduction card to increase their numbers. When that happens, I can let my believers explore the Eternal Continent and expand their base. I can even find other demigods near my base and launch divine wars against them.”

“For now, I should focus on increasing my own power so that even if my believers are wiped out by an enemy god in a divine war, I can still face the enemy god one-on-one.”

“A year has passed, and I’ve obtained one sacrificial opportunity for my own use. I can use it to sacrifice my wind godhead and possibly elevate my divine position to a much higher quality.”

With that thought in mind, Barbatos took out the Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion corpse from his space storage and sent it outside the Ancestral Hall.

As the Fifth-Order Peak Stage Fire Lion corpse appeared at the front gate of the Ancestral Hall, Eldric and the wolf beastmen immediately knelt and began praising their god’s grace.

Barbatos didn’t pay much attention to their praises, as he was focused on using his Hundredfold Increase talent on his wind godhead.

The godhead of a god was stored within the soul of a god. If a soul brought life to a body and made an individual a living being, then a godhead was what made a god divine and sacred. It granted gods the ability to control the laws their godhead specialized in.

Barbatos released his divine projection in the Eternal Continent and returned his consciousness and focus to his villa.

The laws of the Divine God City could withstand the power of a Main God, so Barbatos wasn’t worried about his Hundredfold Increase talent being discovered as long as he remained inside his villa.

With that reassurance, Barbatos activated his Hundredfold Increase talent on his wind godhead.

-Ding!

[Sacrificing the God of Wind godhead…]

[Obtaining hundred times the reward: God of Free Wind godhead, with the attributes of “wind” and “freedom”!]