He entered the first building—a crude structure of stone, mud, and bark.
Two trolls were inside, hunched over a wooden table, speaking in guttural tones.
One suddenly froze.
Its nose twitched.
It turned toward Alex's position.
Alex did not move.
The troll stepped forward cautiously, sniffing again.
Seeing nothing, it turned back—
—just in time to see both of its companions collapse.
Their heads slid cleanly from their shoulders.
For a split second, confusion clouded its face.
Then realization.
It inhaled to scream—
A black arc flashed through the air.
The scythe is carved from neck to torso in one merciless sweep. Bone cracked. Flesh split. Blood exploded against the wall in a violent spray.
The body separated into two uneven halves before crashing to the ground with a wet thud.
Alex exhaled slowly.
"That was close."
Blood dripped from the scythe's blade. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, streaking crimson across his cheek.
"If it had called out, I would've been forced to retreat."
He couldn't afford chaos yet.
He moved to the next building.
And the next.
He became death itself.
Doors never creaked long enough to echo. Trolls never finished their sentences. Some died mid-laughter. Others died mid-sleep. A few managed to grab weapons—but their limbs hit the ground before their blades did.
Wooden tables shattered under stray swings. Walls cracked when massive troll bodies slammed against them. Blood soaked into the dirt floors and dripped from elevated platforms to the forest below.
One troll crashed through a side wall in its death throes, sending chunks of timber raining into the lower levels of the village. The impact splintered support beams, causing one of the rope bridges to sag dangerously.
The scent of iron grew overwhelming.
In fifteen minutes, Alex had cleared twelve buildings.
Two to three trolls per structure.
Corpses piled.
His level rose from 31 to 35.
He felt the growth—stronger muscles, sharper senses, faster reflexes.
But he didn't relax.
He still had fifteen minutes of invisibility left.
He entered another building.
Unaware—
Elsewhere in the village—
A large troll with two axes strapped to its back stepped into one of the buildings Alex had already cleared.
The smell hit him first.
Blood.
He froze.
His eyes scanned the room.
Bodies.
Friends.
Brothers.
One in particular lay split clean in half.
The axes slipped from his hands.
A trembling sound escaped his throat.
Then it grew louder.
A wail of grief ripped from his chest, raw and shaking.
"Intruder!"
His scream echoed across the village platforms.
Birds scattered from treetops.
Bridges swayed violently.
Doors burst open.
Heavy footsteps thundered across wood and rope.
The village began to stir.
And the hunt… was no longer one-sided.