Chapter 461: Finally There
Marcus’s walking Movement Speed was 32. Combined with Blackie’s flight speed of 29, his total Movement Speed reached 61. Blackie tore through the sky at such speed that the landscape below became a blur. It was absurdly fast. At this pace, any monster below Level 50 would struggle even to keep him in sight, let alone catch him.
Even so, the village was still unbelievably far away. Blue Ant Valley had already cut a huge portion off the journey, yet it still took nearly two hours of nonstop travel before the destination finally came into view.
"Finally." Marcus nearly sighed in relief.
If he hadn’t set up a teleportation formation in Blue Ant Valley during his earlier trip, this trial would have been impossible. No wonder it had been classified as a Special Hard mission. The requirements alone were enough to eliminate most candidates before they ever reached the real challenge.
The village itself wasn’t large, nor did it appear particularly prosperous, but it had a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Rows of blue-tiled cottages stood among clusters of old trees. Thin streams of smoke drifted from chimneys. Chickens wandered through dirt paths while pigs rooted around fenced yards. A few dogs slept lazily in the shade. It looked like an ordinary farming village. A peaceful one.
Marcus slowly frowned. Something felt wrong.
The village looked untouched. There were no signs of destruction, no panicked crowds, and no trace of the Soul Vase Ghost. More importantly, he couldn’t see a single villager.
’Did I come to the wrong place?’ The thought made his stomach tighten. After spending nearly two hours rushing here, discovering he’d gone to the wrong village would be a disaster.
He quickly pulled out Silas’s map and compared it to the surroundings. A moment later, he spotted the village boundary marker near the entrance. His shoulders relaxed slightly. No mistake. This was definitely the correct village.
’The villagers must be hiding somewhere.’ That seemed like the most reasonable explanation. But if that was the case, where was the Soul Vase Ghost?
Marcus urged Blackie higher into the air and carefully scanned both the village and the surrounding countryside. A few moments later, something caught his eye.
"Hm?"
Roughly three hundred meters outside the village, he spotted a group of people gathered together. Humans. More than twenty of them.
"The villagers?"
Without hesitation, Marcus directed Blackie toward them. As the distance closed, relief flashed across his face. ’Found them.’
The villagers were clutching whatever tools they could use as weapons. Sickles, hoes, shovels, wooden poles. Their expressions were tense, as though they were preparing to face an invading army. Their simple clothing confirmed his guess immediately. These were indeed the missing villagers.
About fifty meters in front of them, a fierce battle was underway. Marcus didn’t recognize the human combatant. The monster, however, was impossible to mistake.
Its body was pitch black and wrapped in thick gray mist. Tall and unnaturally thin, it vaguely resembled a standing bottle. A black jade vase floated beside it, radiating an eerie aura. The Soul Vase Ghost. His target, at last.
What surprised Marcus even more was its opponent; a system Warrior. The Warrior wore medium armor and wielded a two-handed longsword wrapped in powerful currents of wind energy. The weapon was clearly extraordinary. The Soul Vase Ghost floated several feet above the ground, never once touching the earth as it exchanged attacks with the Warrior.
"Who is that guy?" Marcus muttered. A moment later, another thought occurred to him. ’Wait... what if that Warrior kills the Soul Vase Ghost first? Would that affect my trial?’
Fortunately, after watching for a short while, Marcus realized he didn’t need to worry. The Warrior was nowhere close to victory.
Judging from the state of the battlefield and the trail of destruction leading toward their current position, Marcus quickly pieced together what had happened. The Warrior had been retreating westward, and the Soul Vase Ghost had pursued him. That pursuit had eventually brought them here, away from the village.
But that only raised another question. Why? The Soul Vase Ghost’s objective should have been the village, especially if the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul was still there. Why abandon its target just to chase a single Warrior?
The villagers’ reactions made the situation even stranger. Every one of them was glaring at both the Warrior and the ghost with equal hostility. Their faces were filled with anger. If they possessed any real combat ability, Marcus suspected they would have rushed into the battle already.
’What exactly happened here?’ His curiosity grew by the second.
After considering it briefly, he decided not to interfere. The Warrior and the Soul Vase Ghost were fully focused on each other, and the fight wasn’t ending anytime soon. Besides, there was no harm in letting the Warrior wear the boss down a little more. With that in mind, Marcus guided Blackie toward the gathered villagers.
The villagers were so focused on the battle that none of them noticed him approaching. Only after Blackie landed behind them did several people near the back turn around.
Marcus offered a friendly smile. "Hello."
Unfortunately, the reaction he received was not what he expected.
The villagers’ eyes immediately locked onto Blackie. The massive black steed stood surrounded by burning hellfire, looking every bit like a nightmare creature from the depths of the underworld. Their expressions instantly changed.
Then they looked at Marcus. Black armor. Dark energy rolling off his equipment. Ghostly apparitions drifting around him. Combined with his imposing presence, he looked far less like a heroic knight and far more like some terrifying commander of the Demon Clan.
A few villagers visibly paled. One man couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, "E-Elder... another one from the Demon Clan is here..."
The entire group turned. Several villagers instinctively tightened their grips on their tools.
Marcus felt a headache coming on.
Then, to his surprise, a few younger men stared at him with admiration instead. "Wow... that armor looks incredible."
"Seriously. He looks amazing."
Not far away, two young women exchanged glances, both suddenly finding it difficult to look away.
An older villager quickly stepped forward and lowered his voice. "Elder, that mount looks like a Nightmare King. If that’s true, then this man isn’t an ordinary member of the Demon Clan. He’d be a high-ranking commander... maybe even higher."
The atmosphere immediately became even more tense. Marcus almost laughed. This misunderstanding was getting worse by the second. Unfortunately, he could hardly blame them. Between Blackie and his equipment, he really did look more like a villain than a knight.
Raising both hands slightly, he spoke before anyone could panic further. "Easy. I’m not from the Demon Clan."
He reached into his bag and pulled out his Level 50 trial token. "I was sent by the Temple of Dragon’s Peak Citadel. I came here specifically because of the Soul Vase Ghost."
The token glimmered faintly in his hand. When he had accepted the trial at the temple, it had automatically appeared in his inventory, carrying both his identity and mission details.
The elderly village leader stepped forward. Unlike the others, he immediately recognized the token. "That’s a trial token." His tense expression eased considerably. "He really is from the Temple."
Then the elder noticed something else. Pinned to Marcus’s chest was a golden wolf-head badge. The Golden Wolf Badge. The symbol of a Golden Wolf Guardian of the Dragon Dynasty.
The old man’s eyes widened. For a moment, he simply stared. Then he looked upward and raised both hands. "Praise be to the Goddess of Dreams!" The elder’s voice trembled with emotion.
Turning back to Marcus, he bowed deeply and clasped his hands together. "My lord, I am the elder of this village." His eyes were filled with desperate hope. "I beg you... please save our village."
