"After counting everything up... we have a little over three hundred gold coins," Kael remarked, weighing several cloth pouches in his hands. A clear jingling sound rang out as the precious coins clinked against one another. "If we live frugally, this much money should be more than enough to support us for twelve years, or even longer."
At the back of the cabin, Lizzy had just finished tidying up her traveling clothes. "Let’s get going now, Kael! I’m ready!"
Kael turned his head slightly and nodded. He tied up his precious money pouches and secured them around his waist and in his trouser pockets.
Before they actually left their little campsite for the nearest city, Lizzy took a moment to walk over to the wooden pen Kael had built. She waved her hand at Xavier with a sweet expression that nevertheless radiated a deadly threat.
"Xavier, take good care of Kael’s two pet sheep, okay!" Lizzy called out with an evil smile. "If either of them or both ends up dead by the time Kael and I return... you’ll suffer the same ridiculous fate as they do!"
Xavier merely opened one lazy eye, flicked his ears, then closed his eyes again in complete resignation.
Kael folded his arms across his chest and stood casually, waiting for Lizzy to trot over and join him.
The two of them began walking side by side along the dirt path through the dense forest. Bright clouds drifted across the clear blue sky, while gentle, soothing breezes brushed against their faces and softly ruffled their hair.
Along the way, Kael’s sharp eyes accidentally caught sight of human footprints imprinted on the dry soil between the bushes. Their condition suggested that whoever had left them had passed through some time ago.
"Hmm? Could those be the footprints from that person back then...?" Kael murmured quietly.
In his mind, an image of Loyd flashed through his thoughts. "It seems Loyd really did run away that night. Well, whatever. He’s the type of person who values his own life above all else, so there’s no way he’ll ever dare to look for trouble with me again."
That afternoon, before reaching the gates of their destination city, Kael and Lizzy stopped at the edge of a village settlement.
The village Kael had passed through some time ago after escorting the merchant caravan now looked completely different. An oppressive, unsettling atmosphere hung over the place, as though all life had been drained from it without a trace.
Kael furrowed his brows as a foul, fishy stench faintly wafted into his nose. "What is this feeling...? What exactly happened in this village?"
Lizzy walked slowly beside Kael, her eyes sweeping over the surroundings. The village streets were deserted. There were no sounds of poultry, no smoke rising from the kitchen chimneys, and not a single villager could be seen passing by.
Most likely, the entire population of this village had been slaughtered or wiped out by some group.
After walking around the village and still finding no signs of human presence, Kael finally decided to force his way into several villagers’ houses.
The result was still the same. Not a single corpse lay on the ground, yet pools of dried blood had soaked into the wooden floors of several houses. This was clearly no ordinary robbery, but rather a large-scale massacre and abduction carried out methodically by some shadowy organization.
The situation suddenly reminded Kael of the old story Yohan had told him at the bar.
Just as Mythical Beasts were born with magical powers bestowed upon them by nature, some humans in this world studied a forbidden branch of magic known as Dark Magic, a form of black sorcery fueled by sacrificed lives, torture, and fresh blood.
Practitioners of this dark magic usually forged sinister contracts with the Demon Race.
Humans and Demons had been sworn enemies since ancient times, spreading hatred between one another and yearning to wipe each other off the face of the earth.
"Lizzy, we’re going to stay in this village for a few days. There’s a chance that the group of kidnappers will return to clean up any remaining traces or search for clues they’ve left behind."
Lizzy nodded in understanding. For three consecutive days, they used one of the empty houses as a temporary hiding place, periodically observing the surrounding area.
However, by the third day, there was still no sign of any suspicious activity. Just as Kael began to think their surveillance would yield nothing and prepared to continue their journey, the peace of that night was suddenly disturbed by the sound of numerous footsteps outside.
Kael’s ears twitched. Judging by the rhythm and weight of the footsteps, this wasn’t the movement of just one or two people, but an organized group led by someone.
Kael narrowed his eyes and peered through a gap in the wooden window curtains. Beneath the dim torchlight, he saw a group of fully armed soldiers marching into the village.
"They don’t seem to be part of that mysterious group," Kael whispered to Lizzy. "Judging by their equipment, they’re probably a group of mercenaries hired by someone to investigate the disappearance of the villagers."
After all, mercenaries would never bother traveling all the way to a remote village like this unless they were being paid in gold coins.
Convinced that these people weren’t part of the cult or the dark mages they were looking for, Kael and Lizzy slowly stepped out of the house and revealed themselves in the middle of the village street.
Their sudden appearance startled several mercenaries at the front of the formation. They immediately drew their weapons, staring at Kael and Lizzy with deep suspicion and open hostility.
"Who are you?!" one of the burly soldiers barked, pointing his spear at them. "Do you have anything to do with the disappearance of every villager here?!"
Kael remained calm, showing no signs of aggression. Unlike him, Lizzy’s chest immediately burned with rage at the way this stranger dared to shout rudely at her husband. Her murderous instincts surged violently.
"Watch your mouth, bastard... before I rip that filthy mouth of yours all the way to your ears!" Lizzy threatened, her eyes gleaming with terrifying menace.
"Calm down. It seems there’s been a misunderstanding," Kael quickly interjected. He raised both open palms into the air, keeping them away from the hilt of the sword at his waist as a sign of peace. "Three days ago, we happened to pass through this village on our way to the city. But when we arrived, the village was already deserted, without a single villager in sight. We decided to stay for a while to see whether the kidnappers would return."
Kael looked the soldier straight in the eyes. "But after waiting for three days, you’re the ones who showed up instead."
Several mercenaries exchanged doubtful glances. One soldier on the right whispered something into his companion’s ear before suddenly lunging forward without warning, swinging his sword at Kael’s neck!
Clang!
With extraordinary reflexes, Kael drew his sword just in time to deflect the deadly slash, sending sparks flying through the air. A powerful clash of strength followed.
Judging by the rhythm of the attack and the way the soldier planted his feet, Kael could tell that this mercenary was highly trained and possessed an unusual amount of combat experience.
However, the opponent they were facing was Kael. He parried and redirected every swing of his enemies’ swords with remarkable efficiency, deliberately holding back from taking their lives because he didn’t want to prolong matters with the people who had hired this group. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Crash! Thud!
With a sweeping kick and a powerful blow to the solar plexus, Kael sent several soldiers who attacked him sprawling to the ground, groaning in pain and unable to get back up.
"Lizzy, remember... don’t kill—"
Kael abruptly stopped speaking. The word "them" remained caught in his throat as he turned and saw Lizzy standing gracefully over the body of the soldier who had whispered earlier. The soldier’s neck had been brutally torn open by Lizzy’s dagger, spilling fresh blood everywhere.
At the same time, the remaining members of the mercenary group closed in from the darkness, recovering from their initial shock.
However, the group’s leader, who had been walking at the front, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened completely, and her lips, lightly tinted with lipstick, fell open in disbelief as she stared at Kael beneath the torchlight.
"Kael...?" A soft yet clear voice escaped her lips.
Upon hearing that deeply familiar voice, Kael and Lizzy immediately turned toward her at the same time. Kael froze as he recognized the figure before him.
The group’s leader was a slender, elegant woman wearing thick brown leather adventuring armor that perfectly accentuated her curves. Her golden-brown hair was tied into a neat ponytail, framing an exceptionally beautiful face. Her skin was fair and flawless, her eyes large and clear, and her lips naturally pink.
Kael pointed at the woman, his face filled with disbelief. "Cherry...?!"
Cherry’s beautiful face immediately lit up with overwhelming joy. After being separated for so long without seeing each other, fate had finally brought them together again.
Without paying any attention to the dozens of eyes belonging to her subordinates or the blood scattered across the ground, Cherry ran forward at full speed, throwing herself against Kael and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
Kael, sensing no malicious intent and already familiar with Cherry’s personality from the past, didn’t even try to dodge her embrace.
"Kael! I’ve missed you so much!" Cherry exclaimed in an incredibly affectionate tone, resting her head against Kael’s chest. "Why haven’t you contacted me since that day, hm? Did you not miss me at all? After all... the two of us spent such wonderful, sweet, and enjoyable nights and days together in that cabin..."
Upon hearing those provocative words from the lips of this stunningly beautiful stranger, Lizzy’s mind immediately exploded.
At that very moment, Lizzy finally understood completely why an overwhelming sense of disgust had suddenly filled her chest whenever she heard Cherry’s name mentioned before!
The woman standing before her wasn’t just incredibly beautiful, sexy, and alluring. She also radiated an intimacy that made it seem as though she knew Kael far more deeply than Lizzy herself did!
Lizzy’s pupils shrank until they resembled needles. Her face darkened completely, radiating such a dense and terrifying killing intent that the air itself seemed to turn cold.
With her fingers gripping a dagger stained with fresh blood and her body trembling violently from an insane blaze of jealousy, Lizzy slowly approached Kael and Cherry.
"Spent nights... and wonderful days together...?" Lizzy whispered, her voice trembling with burning madness. "I knew it... Kael really did have a secret relationship with her and lied to me back then...! Hahaha..."
Lizzy’s grin widened as she stared at Kael with abnormally possessive eyes.
"I’ll dismember your entire body, Kael... then I’ll keep those handsome pieces of yours all to myself, my darling..."