Indeed, after uttering those words, I felt a discomfort in my stomach.
Turning to look at Richard, I noticed his complexion had also turned pale.
"What did you do?" Richard gritted out.
"Did you enjoy the red wine? I've been hoarding it for years!" Vici said with a cold laugh.
"You poisoned us?" I asked through clenched teeth.
"Apologies, I need to survive. I don't want to die yet!" Vici stated.
Richard clenched his jaw and downed a bottle of lake water. A pale green light flickered around his body, but the paleness on his face showed no sign of receding.
I quickly drank from the lake water as well, and the burden on my body immediately lessened considerably.
"How dare you poison us, I'll kill you!" Richard gritted out, drawing a dagger from his back.
Seeing the dagger, I was taken aback, not knowing when he had prepared it.
My heart felt incredibly heavy, and my gaze was fixed on Vici.
I never expected him to resort to such a despicable act at this crucial moment.
"My apologies, the lake water can only alleviate physical fatigue, but it cannot completely neutralize the poison," Vici explained. "This is something I developed after extensive experimentation!"
"No wonder you always kept lake water on you. So, the moment you knew about the sacrifice, you started preparing?" Richard's forehead was beaded with cold sweat, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"I told you!" Vici exclaimed. "You brought a dagger, did you think I wouldn't?"
Vici spoke, and then produced a dagger.
"Lu, you must survive!" Richard suddenly declared.
Hearing this, I had a rough idea of what he was about to do.
As expected, Richard lunged at Vici, and with the dagger in his hand, he frantically stabbed into Vici's back.
Vici did the same.
Neither of them was particularly skilled in combat, so after they began fighting, they resorted to this most primal method, stabbing each other to see who could last longer.
I stood by, making no move to intervene.
Although I knew Vici's actions were deeply infuriating, I also considered that if there was only one chance to survive, I might resort to desperate measures myself, even if it meant stooping to any level.
In any situation, life is paramount, and no one is entirely wrong in that regard.
Moreover, I knew that Richard had tampered with the drawing of lots.
It was evident that Richard, having ingested the poison, had his overall condition significantly weakened.
Under these circumstances, after taking a few swift stabs, Richard's body went limp.
Seeing Richard lying on the ground, Vici took out some lake water and drank a mouthful fiercely, then poured the rest onto his wounds.
"Now there are only two of us left!" Vici declared, smashing the glass bottle in his hand against Richard's body before kicking his dagger aside.
Looking at Richard, who was lying on the ground, I found it hard to believe.
A living person had just died before my eyes.
And not long ago, we had shared a meal at the same table, happily discussing our future lives.
"No matter what you think, we survived!" Vici gritted out, his face contorted with ferocity. "I will survive!"
I remained silent, standing in place.
Upon reflection, they might have considered me as a candidate for the sacrifice. However, after witnessing my combat prowess, they understood that confronting me would not be a wise decision.
Even if the two of them combined, they might not have been able to defeat me.
To avoid being killed by me, they ultimately decided to eliminate each other.
In a way, I was the beneficiary, but honestly, I couldn't feel any joy.
Human nature can never withstand scrutiny, nor can it endure trials.
Just like now, this was a simple test, but the true nature of humanity had been completely exposed.
Seeing my inaction, Vici spoke no further. He proceeded to drag Richard and place him on the altar.
It was truly remarkable how potent the lake water was. Under these circumstances, Vici's wounds had already nearly healed.
Richard, however, had a much poorer recovery effect, and coupled with his severe injuries, he was no longer capable of resisting.
As I watched Richard lying on the altar, my expression grew solemn.
Honestly, I didn't know what I should say, but under these circumstances, my heart felt incredibly conflicted.
Looking at Vici, I even had a fleeting urge to kill him, but I didn't know if I could successfully leave this place after doing so.
As I hesitated, my gaze fell upon Richard on the altar.
His finger, which should have been lifeless, suddenly twitched slightly!