Chapter 69: 68. The Village

Two and a half weeks passed since they left the City. 

Mirsha and the other humans have collected information about the terrains, and they are coming closer to unveiling the location of this so-called Village.

"We are moving deeper into the forest faster than we anticipated. The daemons we encountered amounted to nothing. It seems like the attack force we have this around has good chemistry, don't you think so, Hunter Mirsha?" 

"I do too, but don't you think it is TOO easy? If this was all the challenge, then how come the Hunters who took up this mission died?" Mirsha argued.

"You have a point, but the thing is that we have a number, and our main enemy is the daemons in the Village, and we haven't encountered it once. Our advance to the inner areas hadn't resulted in a single death; if we preserve our strengths like this, we'll have a better chance against the Boss Monster."

"I suppose so." Mirsha agreed to Baek's words.

'Baek is right; if we don't lose our people, we won't have to worry about manpower when we engage in the final battle. So far, we only found Werewolf tracks and Fire Imps in the vicinity, but what's bothering me is the carcass we found the other day.' Mirsha was in deep thought.

The thing she was talking about was the strange events happening in this forest, 'The daemons died with sword marks, dungeons are being cleared, and there are sounds of combat reaching our ears from time to time… it's unsettling.'

This mission was supposed to be a mix of investigation and subjugation. The average level of daemons in this forest was about Lv. 90 and the strongest irregulars being at Lv. 170.

'The balance of this forest is offset, the chain of events, the daemons' deaths and the cleared dungeons all of it remains a mystery. We already proceeded deeper into the forest; no one died… everything is going smoothly. Is there some organization based here, but as far as I am aware, this mountain belongs to Association?' Mirsha could not quite put her fingers on what had been troubling her.

But without any concrete proof, she couldn't design any way to destroy this place. She could only sigh in despair as the sense of being unable to control the situation.

The tent's cover then opened. Piskis entered the tent, holding an HNP, "We bring information regarding the village and its inhabitants." 

A smile finally appeared on Mirsha's face. The planning can now proceed; her delight was unmeasurable as a glimmer of hope finally appeared.

===

Inside a Dungeon that's filled with flowing lava and fire.

Dhampy was seated atop a tree, her sword rested by her side, and she was calmly observing the fight between daemons below. Two daemons below were hunting a Dungeon Boss together.

[Blaze Salamander LVL 147]

"Luck! What did I say about using anything other than your fist!? You are not cut out for anything other than that, so focus on honing your skills on what you are good at instead of trying anything else! Have a good background of skills, then begin from there!"

"Yes, Master!" Luck answered as he drew his arms back and then punched a Black Salamander's nose. With that came rushing from the side, Scar running like a bull and lashing out at the Salamander's eye with his right leg!

GIWAAAAAAAAA~!

The Salamander roared and as its eye got crushed, and with its pained roar was Dhampy's reprimanding shout, "Scarface, I told you to momentarily rest your leg before kicking across! And if it connects, make sure that it does not come back, let your leg cut through. It doesn't stop unless your enemy doesn't move upon contact, which, when do happen, mean you are doing something wrong!"

"I understand, Master!" Scar answered as he distanced himself from the 

"Why are you slowing down!? Do you want to die!? What did I say to you when hunting daemons stronger and larger than you!?"

"Never stop moving!" Luck said as he evaded its tail.

"Never stop attacking!" Scar added as he attacked its joint.

"NEVER STOP THINKING!" The two repeated as the both of them attacked its back.

These two Ogre Champions were one of her star pupils. Other than Eve, these two were the most hardworking of all the daemons in the Village and had personally asked her for tutelage so they could become stronger.

In time they grew tired; the Salamander was several levels higher than them, so their attacks were less effective.

[Luck (Ogre Champion) Lv. 75]

[Scarface (Ogre Champion) Lv. 77]

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Their limbs that had been used as weapons grew weaker with every strike, their legs that had been running for hours became noodle-like with every step, but they never stopped.

"Grit your teeth! That's the only way to climb higher; the moment you let go, you will die. If you don't want to die in a certain death situation, then try to live on, don't give up, and if needed, use your mouth to hold on to what is left of your life and kill your enemy with it!"

"YES!" the two answered. Luck and Scar were already bleeding from their offices, their body no longer had any more space for new wounds, yet their will to fight never dissipated.

They were there when the Priestess fought against the Skies when she held up a tower of overflowing mana for her to save them. They had seen actual pain, this level of tickle would not get to them, and with that thought, their vitality surged from deep within!

A spark appeared from both of them, a red spark from Luck's fist and purple from Scar's legs!

"DIE!" 

BOOM!

A clean strike connected to its neck at the same time. The Salamander struggled to move, it was in pain, and as it was, the two twisted their bodies to quickly reposition themselves and buried their hands on its sockets before crushing its brain from the inside!

GIWAAAAaaaa~ 

A drawn-out cry echoed, and as the being died. Scar and Luck shared the EXP as they collapsed. 

Dhampy finally climbed down from her tree to collect the mana core.

She tossed it over at Luck, "Take it; your fire affinity is much more potent compared to Scar's."

Luck looked over at Scar, who just waved his hands as if to say, "Just go ahead." He was too tired to even care.

Luck accepted the core and turned it to EXP. His level shot up to LVL 77 in moments. He does not have to worry about turning it to Life Essence as their evolution was controlled by their Priestess' unknown means.

"Scarface, you two already killed the daemons in this Dungeon, so I'll head out first. In three hours, this Dungeon will close, so the two of you better leave before then. I'll send in the Collectors from the Workers group; rest until then."

"I understand. What about you, master? What are you going to do? Your level cannot rise anymore, so what will you do now?"

"Hmm? I'm going to train the young werewolves. They are the only ones who have yet to settle with the Army and Shadow Troops because of their lacking skills."

Scar just watched Dhampy leave; he's still having a problem adjusting to his teacher's shifting emotions.

When Dhampy teaches anybody, her whole disposition changes to being extremely strict and ruthless, especially when it comes to Scar and Luck. She doesn't care if you cry; she'll push you beyond your limits to draw out the power within and turn a useless piece of trash into a proper tool for her Boss to use.

"I hope the young werewolves don't die." Scar prayed to the Goddess after uttering those words.

"They won't, the Master won't let them die… though they'll want to die soon enough though." Luck answered.

"You have a point."

On the Dungeon's Gate, a skeleton soldier exited the Dungeon and ran for about fifty meters, and when nobody made any move, Dhampy finally stepped out. Upon doing so, she felt something connect with her mind.

~ Big Sis, are did you just come out of the Dungeon? ~

~ Luna? Why is something matter? ~ it was already midnight, and with the moon out, Luna can freely use one of her skills.

~ Nothing much; it is just that Eve just reported that the humans are beginning to move. I do not know when the attack would happen, but I am fairly sure soon, after all, one of the Shadow Troop saw a human snooping around. ~

Dhampy listened to Luna and made a quick decision ~ We can't move right now; Sylva's skill is in a cooldown. We also can't just abandon the Village… tighten the security, and have Eve and the others from the Shadow Troops leave the humans for now; we can't alert them. ~

~ What about you, Big Sis? ~

~ I'll continue training the Werewolves; wait, come with me, we need you out of the fray else the connection would come undone. Come with me and train outside. That way, I can protect myself. We also need to have some stand outside the Village for when the humans attack. Just make sure that Chief does not leave that place. The Priestess' body is in the Village. We can't leave it unguarded. ~