Hearing the sudden drumbeats, Balamo quickly patted Natali's shoulder, handed him a black obsidian long dagger, and then fiercely pushed him forward.
Staggering forward, Natali took the lead from among the Otomi warriors, and under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of civilians and samurai, he shakily ran toward the group of priests at the center.
At that moment, the young Otomi warrior felt as though he was walking on clouds, in a dreamlike stupor. The fear of the gods that had accumulated over more than two decades suddenly surged in his heart. As he looked at the holy and exalted priests, his pace faltered slightly. Then, the deep voice of Balamo echoed in his heart once more, as if endowed with some strange magic power.
"They... guilty... killing... me... not guilty... saving..."