The cold mountain wind passed through the trees, making a sound like the moaning of ghosts.
It took them about three days to return to the village. That’s when they realized just how far they had gone from the village, and how fast Liyan had been running at that time
Lian and Seris finally stood on a high point overlooking the village. From here, almost the whole village could be seen.
Wooden houses, cold chimneys, and of course silence. An unnatural silence. No one could be seen in the village, even though it was morning.
So where were the village people?
"It is too quiet." Seris narrowed her eyes.
Lian stared at the village for a few moments.
"It is normal. From the outside, nothing is clear."
"Do you think all the villagers will attack us?" She asked.
"Probably yes... but I cannot be sure."
Seris ran her hand over the handle of the Frostfang sword.
"If all of them are as strong as Mira, the fight will be very hard."
Lian gave a dry smile.
"Let’s hope that is not the case." Then before entering the village, he looked at his panel.
[Strength: 120]
[Spirit: 5]
[Speed: 66]
[Mana: 50]
[Resistance: 55]
[Stat Points: 88]
After killing about 17 monsters in Frostheart, his Stat Points had gone from 27 to 88. He had not used them, but now before entering, he wanted to use some.
He thought for a moment, then added 18 points to Strength.
[Strength: 120 --> 138]
Then he added 20 points to Mana.
[Mana: 50 --> 70]
And finally, he added ten points to Resistance.
[Resistance: 55 --> 65]
[Stat Points: 40]
He decided to keep the remaining 40 for now, because he might be in a situation where he needed to use them for a specific stat.
Then both quietly went down the slope. Their goal was to enter secretly. But just when they were a few steps away from the forest around the village...
A female voice came from behind them.
"So you came back."
Both immediately turned around. Lian’s pupils contracted. Mira was standing right behind them.
Silent and without warning. Even Blood Hunt had not felt her presence.
His gaze fixed on the panel that appeared.
[Race: ???]
[Rank: ???]
[Level: 18]
Her race was still unknown, but at least he could see her level for the first time.
"I did not think you would come back." Mira gave a quiet smile.
"There is something here that we want." Lian said coldly.
Mira tilted her head a little.
"Now that you are back... to be forgiven for your sins, you must become sacrifices to the god."
"Do you think you can defeat us alone?"
Mira laughed. A quiet, cold laugh.
"I see you have become stronger..." Then her gaze went behind them.
"But I am not alone."
At that moment... dozens of presences. Around them, behind the trees, on the rooftops, behind the houses. Everywhere. They appeared.
His eyes narrowed. Multiple notifications appeared.
[Race: ???]
[Rank: ???]
[Level: 12]
[Race: ???]
[Rank: ???]
[Level: 10]
[Race: ???]
[Rank: ???]
[Level: 10]
Dozens of them, and all had surrounded them. But luckily, their levels were not even close to Mira’s, and dealing with them seemed easier.
"I will handle her." Seris drew her sword, her gaze fixed on Mira.
It was clear she had not forgotten the previous defeat.
Lian nodded.
"I will hold off the rest."
The next moment, both exploded into action. The sound of metal and clashing attacks screamed in the air.
Seris charged at Mira like a meteor. At the same time, Lian attacked the group of villagers.
[Steelhide] activated.
His skin became harder, his muscles swelled, and a hidden layer of steel covered his entire body.
[Glacial Reaper Claw] activated.
Ice claws formed on his hands. And then...
[Storm Tyrant Fang]
Blue lightning coiled around his arm.
BOOM!
The first fist exploded directly into the face of one of the guards. Blood and bones sprayed on the snow.
[Monster level 10 killed]
[3 stat points gained]
[Analyzing Target...]
[Analysis Complete]
[Race: Dreadmaw]
[Rank: Mutated]
For a moment, Lian frowned. Finally, the system had managed to identify this race. So he only needed to kill one of them.
And the rank Mutated? That is not among any of the five known ranks for monsters. Of course, that does not mean it is something strange.
Mutated ones are very rare and are considered unusual and anomalous. In terms of overall power, they are lower than Fallen monsters, but much higher than normal monsters.
But there was no time to think more. Three monsters attacked him at the same time. Lian rolled on the ground, passed through their strikes, and dragged his ice claw across the stomach of one of them.
A deep tear was made. Intestines spilled out. The creature screamed, and the second hit severed its neck.
System notifications appeared one after another.
[Dreadmaw level 9 killed]
[Dreadmaw level 9 killed]
[Dreadmaw level 10 killed]
But the enemies were not few. Attacks came from all sides. The whole village was attacking him, and dealing with them was not easy at all.
In the distance... Seris and Mira were tearing up the ground. Each collision created a wave of energy.
But Lian had no time to look. A level 12 monster attacked from behind. Its axe landed on Lian’s shoulder.
CRACK!
The armor cracked, and blood sprayed. But before the man had a chance to smile, Storm Tyrant Fang exploded.
Blue lightning went directly into his chest, and his whole body turned black as he fell to the ground.
[Dreadmaw level 9 killed]
The only problem was that these monsters looked completely like humans, and killing them seemed a little hard... at least not for Lian. After seeing that scene under the abandoned houses, he could not see these monsters as humans at all.
The enemies became fewer and fewer, but Lian’s wounds increased. Blood dripped from his arms. Even though he was stronger, these monsters were very many.
His breaths had become heavier, but he still fought. Always forward, always more savage, until only half of the enemies remained.
And that was the moment he decided to end it. Besides, it would be a good test to see that skill.
[Frozen Cataclysm]
The ground shook. The air around froze. The surrounding snow lifted into the air. Suddenly, a massive ice storm exploded.
Hundreds of ice blades shot up from the ground. Screams filled the sky. Blood sprayed on the white snow. Houses split open.
The ground froze. When the storm stopped, a large part of the battlefield had turned into a graveyard of ice.
Lian fell to one knee. He had used 30 mana instantly, but it was worth it.
His breaths were heavy, but a few still remained. At that moment, a shadow passed by him.
Seris, the Frostfang sword in her hand, blood dripping from dozens of wounds on her body.
"Rest a little."
And without waiting, she went toward the remaining monsters.
Lian pulled himself back, sat behind one of the broken houses, and at that moment, something caught his attention.
The torn corpse of one of the creatures. He frowned and went closer.
The creature’s chest was split open.
And there, a human heart was placed. Completely human, but around it, slimy, parasite-like organs could be seen.
Flesh that did not resemble human at all. Black veins. Twisted organs.
Lian’s eyes narrowed.
"So that is why they were removing hearts..." Now everything made sense. He was sure that these hearts were the reason for their mutated state.
But he was a little curious about what this mutation exactly was. Because in his view, these monsters were not that strong. Or maybe he had become too powerful?
But he did not think this mutation was exactly about their own power. Unfortunately, he had no information to reason with.
A few minutes later, the last scream also went silent. Seris returned. Bloody, tired, but alive.
Her gaze fell on the heart. She was silent.
"So those are the hearts of those humans." She then said.
Lian nodded.
"Yes."
Seris was quiet for a few seconds.
"Before I killed Mira, she said something." Then she said.
"What?" Lian raised his gaze.
"She said the twins and Ryan are alive."
"What?" Lian’s eyes widened.
"She said the village elder took them to the Mountain God to sacrifice them for the final mutation."
Final mutation? What the hell is the final mutation? He did not know what it was, but he felt a very bad feeling. His instinct was screaming that he should not let this final mutation happen.
Silence. A few seconds of absolute silence. Then Lian stood up.
"Then we should not waste time."
Finding the path was not hard. A path that went up through the mountain, a path that led straight to the golden peak. The same stone-paved path he had seen before.
Dozens of minutes later, they finally reached the entrance of a massive cave. The air around it was unnaturally cold.
Even for Lian, who should have cold immunity, could feel a bone-chilling cold.
Absolute darkness waved inside.
Both looked at each other, then entered. They had not taken more than a few steps when a system notification appeared.
[You Have Entered Monster Territory]
[Dreadmaw Sovereign]
[Rank: Unholy]
[Level: 20]
Is this the Mountain God?