"You really think very highly of me…"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 me, 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 home."
"Of course…" Euphy sighed, then focused herself. "I'm not opposed to risking my life. After all, those who survive always become stronger."
I nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, have a good trip and try to come back alive," I said as I walked away.
"The same to you. Knowing you, I'm sure you'll do something 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 time…' I sighed.
Immediately, I ran back to the village to meet the mayor again.
This time, however, I didn't camouflage myself, allowing everyone to see me.
Men and women.
Children and elders.
Everyone looked on in awe as they caught sight of me, their hearts filling with positive emotions.
Above all, with the flames of bravery.
The flames to prevail.
I soon entered the mayor's house, where the men were gathered around a table and a map.
"How's it going?" I asked him. He wore a grim expression.
"We need time. 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 time.
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 immediately turned and called a few men over while rapidly writing letters to be delivered with urgency.
Before long, those men rode off on horseback toward the neighboring villages, attempting to convince cultivators to join the battle or at least provide men to help with the project.
Not long after, the mayor dismissed his men, 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, time remains our enemy," the mayor pointed out.
"In that case, we just need to buy more time," 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 emerged… 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 men 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 became faster, and I became slower.
This would be essential to keep me 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 name.
However, Axel and Condor called this place by a different name, as they had fought here many times and drastically altered the landscape.
Shattered Sky.
That was the name.
Above my head, the moon had been fragmented, 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 emerging 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 permeated 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 became, 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 men eating around a campfire.
'On second thought… men 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 same sensation as a powerful Sinner.
Insecure, but powerful youths.
'It seems like granted power rather than earned… the same way the king did with the wolves.'
From a distance, I watched as they spoke in low voices, until they put out the flames 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 me to a mountainous region. More and more signs of human activity became apparent, while the mist simultaneously grew denser.
Suddenly, my body began to weaken as breathing became difficult.
Panting, I turned my attention inward and soon noticed my veins bulging around my eyes.
Tears of blood mixed with fire streamed down my face.
'Damn… the mist is too dense—it's poisoned me. Should I abort the mission and retreat?' I pondered for a few moments 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 somehow… in that case, it's also possible that I can do the same.'
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 came into view.
Each of them had large red eyes, watching me 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 time only bones remained.
In the clearing, numerous 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 me with interest, its fur red and its eyes white.
We exchanged glances for a few moments, and in that instant I realized I had made a mistake.
That wasn't a myriad rat.
Thousands of auras locked onto me as I formed an aura shield.
The fat rat looked me up and down, then smiled in amusement 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 something 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 me.
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 me do something so stupid? Doesn't she know I'm an idiot?'
The sea closed in around me.
…
Kilometers away, two barbarian men were playing cards in front of the brotherhood's entrance.
One of them sighed and said.
"The boss must be messing with us. Damn it, I can't stand guarding this place anymore—nothing ever happens!"
"Tsk! Tell me about it. He promised us riches, women—lots of women, by the way—and here we are. Meanwhile, he gets all the fun… have you seen how many beautiful women stay with him day and night? That kid? Hell, they need a real man!"
"Don't even get me 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 immediately 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 time 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 movement, Kai rushed forward and quickly disarmed 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, merely buying time. 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 smell of flesh and blood, the rats quickly infiltrated the cave.
Hundreds of men were resting calmly, eating meat 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…"