"You really think very highly of ..."Euphy suddenly said. "Aren’t you afraid I might die?"
She said it with a mischievous smile, clearly certain that she wouldn’t die.
"Death is part of life," I said dryly, turning my back on her. She looked at , surprised and hurt.
I laughed mockingly before glancing back.
"Everyone will risk their lives, regardless of their role. But I personally trust every single one of them—otherwise, I’d tell them to stay ho."
"Of course..." Euphy sighed, then focused herself. "I’m not opposed to risking my life. After all, those who survive always beco stronger."
I nodded in agreent.
"Anyway, have a good trip and try to co back alive," I said as I walked away.
"The sa to you. Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll do sothing very stupid."
I laughed, amused.
"I wouldn’t say stupid. I’d say I’m a confident and optimistic person."
"Sure, sure... good luck." She waved with a playful laugh and soon disappeared into the forest.
’I’ll miss her, even if only for a short ti...’ I sighed.
Imdiately, I ran back to the village to et the mayor again.
This ti, however, I didn’t camouflage myself, allowing everyone to see .
n and won.
Children and elders.
Everyone looked on in awe as they caught sight of , their hearts filling with positive emotions.
Above all, with the flas of bravery.
The flas to prevail.
I soon entered the mayor’s house, where the n were gathered around a table and a map.
"How’s it going?" I asked him. He wore a grim expression.
"We need ti. This isn’t a simple project."
I leaned in to look at the table.
The map was large; the village was tiny.
The project we had envisioned couldn’t be completed in a short ti.
However, as I looked more closely, I noticed more and more villages marked on the map.
"And these other villages—aren’t they interested in defending themselves against raiders?"
The mayor rubbed his chin as he pondered deeply.
"Hard to say. Each of them has their own cultivator with their own ideas. Still, it’s worth trying."
I nodded.
He imdiately turned and called a few n over while rapidly writing letters to be delivered with urgency.
Before long, those n rode off on horseback toward the neighboring villages, attempting to convince cultivators to join the battle or at least provide n to help with the project.
Not long after, the mayor dismissed his n, each of them beginning to carry out their roles.
Most of them quickly grabbed their axes and headed into the forest to cut trees with urgency.
"Regardless of the response, ti remains our enemy," the mayor pointed out.
"In that case, we just need to buy more ti," I said, sharpening my mind in an attempt to improve the plan.
’We’re not far from the border, and that’s exactly why this brotherhood erged... it’s a chaotic region prone to criminals and Sinners... I’ve got it.’
"I’m going for a walk. Take care of things here," I said quickly before running into the forest, passing by n who were inspired by my presence.
The fact that a sacred tiger was there felt like a guarantee of victory.
’In any case, from here on out, everything will be stressful... in that case...’
I thought, then separated my legacy consciousness from my main consciousness, slowing my senses.
The world beca faster, and I beca slower.
This would be essential to keep active twenty-four hours a day.
After several hours running through the endless forest, I finally approached the border of Axel and Condor.
Originally, this place was called the Dark Forest by the barbarian natives—exactly why the brotherhood had taken that na.
However, Axel and Condor called this place by a different na, as they had fought here many tis and drastically altered the landscape.
Shattered Sky.
That was the na.
Above my head, the moon had been fragnted, and the sun shone a vivid red as it bled through the cracks.
The sky was crimson, and the trees were a pale white, with eyes erging from fissures in the bark, while the leaves were scarlet.
It felt like a different world, one that evoked the horror of war, even though just a few steps away the sky and forest were normal.
The forest was sinister and utterly anomalous, the result of a battle between powers far beyond mortals.
But its greatest danger was a bloody mist that perated the entire place—one of the lingering remnants of Condor’s power, which I had to be careful of.
The closer one got to their territory, the denser the mist beca, hiding a series of deadly dangers.
Without overthinking it, I advanced into the forest, trying to track human passage and map the area.
This was essential, considering our enemy knew everything about us while we barely knew their numbers—only having a rough idea.
After a few hours, I found signs of human activity and cautiously approached, eventually finding a few n eating around a campfire.
’On second thought... n is a strong word...’I reassessed as I observed the thin youths around the fire.
Their skin was pale and their eyes fearful, yet they still emanated the sa sensation as a powerful Sinner.
Insecure, but powerful youths.
’It seems like granted power rather than earned... the sa way the king did with the wolves.’
From a distance, I watched as they spoke in low voices, until they put out the flas and began marching to a new location.
I rose, alert, and followed them calmly. Every step had to be light; even my intent had to be silent.
Step by step, they led to a mountainous region. More and more signs of human activity beca apparent, while the mist simultaneously grew denser.
Suddenly, my body began to weaken as breathing beca difficult.
Panting, I turned my attention inward and soon noticed my veins bulging around my eyes.
Tears of blood mixed with fire stread down my face.
’Damn... the mist is too dense—it’s poisoned . Should I abort the mission and retreat?’ I pondered for a few monts as my body protested more and more.
My gaze fell upon the youths, who walked calmly through the mist.
Despite this, their eyes were unnaturally red, like vampires.
’They’ve adapted sohow... in that case, it’s also possible that I can do the sa.’
Taking a deep breath, I continued forward while asking the legacy consciousness to analyze a solution.
Soon after, though still weak, I saw the youths reach a hidden outpost guarded by a few barbarians playing cards, then enter a well-lit cave.
This was the entrance to the base.
’First mission complete—I found the base. Now for the second...’
With that in mind, I circled around and left the mountainous region toward one of the most recent battlefields I had found earlier.
As I had heard before, the border region was infested with scavenger and opportunistic Sinners.
Rats, crows, and owls were common.
The latter taking advantage of the growth of the scavengers to grow alongside them.
But more important than that—what kind of evolution could such a creature acquire?
The answer was simple.
Myriad.
As I approached the battlefield, more and more rats ca into view.
Each of them had large red eyes, watching from afar with interest.
Piles upon piles of bones were visible. The battle had happened recently, as far as I knew, yet in such a short ti only bones remained.
In the clearing, nurous swords, axes, and spears were embedded in the ground.
And among them were rats—more and more rats—white, red-eyed, with only one being different.
A rat as large as a dog watched with interest, its fur red and its eyes white.
We exchanged glances for a few monts, and in that instant I realized I had made a mistake.
That wasn’t a myriad rat.
Thousands of auras locked onto as I ford an aura shield.
The fat rat looked up and down, then smiled in amusent before licking its lips.
It was intelligent—unlike the Sinners.
And those white rats... they weren’t ordinary.
Each white rat was a myriad rat, and the red rat was sothing one level above.
That was a demonic rat—or, more precisely—
A Demon King.
In an instant, the rats multiplied infinitely, turning the landscape into an ocean of rats that rose vertically, forming massive walls that surrounded .
Millions upon millions of rats piled atop one another.
Each one tried to pierce my aura, which only held because it was specialized in defense.
Even so, it hardly changed the situation.
’Why the hell did Euphy let do sothing so stupid? Doesn’t she know I’m an idiot?’
The sea closed in around .
...
Kiloters away, two barbarian n were playing cards in front of the brotherhood’s entrance.
One of them sighed and said.
"The boss must be ssing with us. Damn it, I can’t stand guarding this place anymore—nothing ever happens!"
"Tsk! Tell about it. He promised us riches, won—lots of won, by the way—and here we are. anwhile, he gets all the fun... have you seen how many beautiful won stay with him day and night? That kid? Hell, they need a real man!"
"Don’t even get started. He said we’d take over the entire region, and so far what have we attacked? Villages? Damn! At least hit a big city with a Lord..."
"Hahaha, but then there’d be a real fight! Have you ever seen a Lord’s wife? That woman could take you to paradise! Everyone would want to compete for her."
"I don’t care about that. I just want a chance to do more—to fight! To prove my worth and... and..."
Suddenly, the man stopped mid-sentence. A tremor shook the ground, drawing his attention. He imdiately stood up and drew his sword.
"Seal the entrance!" he shouted as his companion ran inside as fast as he could.
He needed to buy ti for the other to close it.
However, the man suddenly panicked when he saw a tiger approaching at high speed, fire and blood pouring from its seven orifices.
With an explosive movent, Kai rushed forward and quickly disard him with a powerful strike.
"Shit!" the man shouted as he used his arms to defend himself while the rats rapidly closed in.
Kai, however, wasn’t trying to fight him—he was trying to breach the cave’s defenses.
He swiftly passed the first man and spat fire toward the cave entrance, forcing the second man to retreat to protect himself.
Both of them widened their eyes—the rats were getting closer and closer, and Kai was preventing them from taking cover.
Quickly, the two joined forces against him, using their blades to unleash a series of slashing attacks charged with destructive power.
Kai dodged several moves in succession effortlessly, rely buying ti. Soon after, he fled rapidly, exploding the ground beneath him and launching himself like a missile.
"Finally! Quick! Close the—"
The ocean of rats swallowed the man before he could finish his sentence. The other could only scream before being devoured.
Sensing the sll of flesh and blood, the rats quickly infiltrated the cave.
Hundreds of n were resting calmly, eating at and chatting.
Then suddenly, millions of auras crashed into them, forcing hundreds of auras to unite in defense.
They leapt to their feet with shouts, swords and axes in hand.
"The Rat King has invaded," a cloaked youth said, sighing deeply before standing up and releasing his aura—one as powerful as the Rat King’s.
"This is going to be annoying..."
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