108: Chapter 108 Magic Circle

The metallic scent of blood drifting in the air wasn't particularly heavy.

The smell felt as if it were seeping through the cracks of a tightly closed door, faintly drifting into the nostrils.

Alerted by Zhang Mu, Domit noticed it too. His expression changed instantly; he raised his right hand and cracked his whip through the air, snapping it against the horse's rump.

The two fine horses, stung by the pain, broke into a wild gallop.

As the outline of the village grew clearer, bursts of shouting and killing drifted into their ears.

Domit raised his whip again. For the first time since leaving Bala City, the carriage sped at full throttle, charging into the village a minute later.

The village was built along a dirt road.

Rows of low houses made of irregular stones stretched along both sides of the road. The corpses of male villagers lay haphazardly on the stone steps before their doors or hung from half-opened window frames.

Lying straight on the road, face up, were nothing but the naked corpses of female villagers.

Fresh blood flowed down the stone steps and house walls onto the dirt road, pooling into various sizes in the hollows.

Further inside the village, there was the sound of faint, boisterous laughter.

"Damned bastards!"

Without waiting for the carriage to come to a full stop, Domit drew the one-handed sword at his waist and jumped down, charging madly toward the source of the laughter.

"Brother Zhang Mu, what happened?" Leah asked in confusion, her eyes covered by a large hand.

"It's nothing."

Zhang Mu carried the petite Cat Girl off the carriage and hurried after Domit's disappearing figure, looking around as he went.

Is this... bandits raiding the village?

It wasn't until he saw Domit's back from a distance, swinging his sword and slaughtering amidst a crowd, that he realized they weren't bandits—they were Soldiers.

As he approached, Domit had already finished off most of the Soldiers and was raising his sword toward the last one, who was backed against a roadside door.

"Wait."

Domit, consumed by bloodlust, turned around with bloodshot eyes. "Mr. Zhang Mu, they destroyed this village!"

Zhang Mu glanced at the spears scattered on the ground; their sharp iron tips were stained bright red with blood. However, the spear at the Soldier's feet had a clean, bright tip.

"Something is unusual. Besides, keep one alive for questioning to find out who sent them."

Domit wanted to punish the killers immediately, but Zhang Mu was thinking about pulling the problem out by its roots.

The Soldiers carrying out the orders were certainly hateful, but the mastermind who gave the orders was the one who deserved to die most.

He scanned the scene before him.

Shivering female villagers were huddled in a heap in the middle of the road. Those who had been dragged out and pinned to the ground for humiliation were sobbing as they crawled up, using both hands to pull their torn clothes together.

Turning his back to them, Zhang Mu looked at the male Soldier whom Domit had kicked to the ground at his feet.

He looked very young, about seventeen or eighteen. Beneath his helmet, his trembling lips were covered in a layer of fine fuzz. Judging by his palms, which had no calluses, he hadn't been in the army for long.

"Are you hurt?" Zhang Mu asked Domit as he walked over.

"They're just ordinary Soldiers. Even if I used only my fists, they couldn't dream of piercing me even once."

In that case... the blood on the spearheads indeed belonged to the villagers.

"You didn't kill any villagers?" Zhang Mu's gaze lowered.

The young Soldier was still terrified. He opened his mouth several times, but his teeth chattered so hard he couldn't get a word out.

"Domit, my Lord," a village woman ran over to them, stumbling. "He didn't hurt us. He tried to stop the other Soldiers, but he was forced aside with a spear to his throat."

Hearing this, Domit froze and sheathed his one-handed sword. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang Mu, I..."

"Witnessing such a tragedy, it's understandable to lose your composure." After saying that, for some reason, Zhang Mu instinctively added, "You must learn to stay calm."

"Domit understands."

"Brother Zhang Mu, can Leah look now?"

The Cat Girl's weak inquiry came from his arms. Zhang Mu shifted her higher. "Not yet."

Freeing a hand, he pulled over a dozen bottles of healing potion out of his Storage Pouch one after another and handed them to Domit. "Go see if anyone can still be saved."

To a low-level Adventurer Group, healing potions were precious items to be used sparingly even when exploring dungeons.

Domit hadn't expected Zhang Mu to take out so many bottles at once to treat villagers who were just ordinary people.

Taking the potions, he cradled them in his arms, nodded gratefully, and turned to search the houses one by one.

Zhang Mu wasn't worried at all that the Soldier on the ground would flee or ambush him. He turned his head to the left, showing a smile to talk to the still-trembling village woman to ease her panic.

"Sister, do you know Domit?"

"Also, why do you call me 'Lord'?"

His gentle attitude steadied her shaking hands. She swallowed and explained, "Domit is a minor leader of the Resistance Army; he's a Knight Lord who can use a sword."

"He respects you very much, so you must be a Lord as well."

Actually, her form of address for Domit was incorrect.

According to the common knowledge Avril had taught him—Professional Knights who practiced Breathing Techniques weren't actually called 'Knights.' They were generally called 'Warriors' or 'Shield Warriors.'

On the Saul Continent, 'Knight' was a title of nobility, usually only granted by the royalty and nobles of various duchies, kingdoms, and empires.

But Zhang Mu didn't care much. He noted that the village woman seemed well-acquainted and on good terms with Domit.

So he used that to find a topic of conversation: "What do you think of the Resistance Army?"

"The Resistance Army is very kind."

It seemed the Resistance Army had a good reputation among the people. Was it because they often came to the villages to help the villagers with their daily troubles?

Thinking this, he asked, "What does the Resistance Army usually do to help you?"

"The Resistance Army has never helped us."

"Huh?" Zhang Mu was stunned for a moment and asked in bewilderment, "Then why do you think they are kind?"

Soothed by his warm tone, the now much more relaxed village woman smiled.

"Lord, the Resistance Army never steals our grain."

Zhang Mu suddenly lost interest in small talk.

He held the Cat Girl in his arms a little tighter to draw warmth, then looked at the Soldier lying on the ground with a wooden expression. "Who sent you?"

"M-Mr., it was the City Lord's eldest son."

"What did he tell you to do?"

The Soldier stammered out the reason.

The cause wasn't complicated.

Yesterday, the City Lord's eldest son went out of the city alone to clear his head. When he passed this village, he took a fancy to a villager's daughter.

Accustomed to being lawless, he grabbed the girl on the spot and tried to strip her clothes off.

The villagers, hearing the commotion, rushed over and worked together to scare him away by waving their iron hoes.

The next day, this event happened.

"The eldest son of a City Lord isn't even a Professional? What a fucking waste."

He muttered a curse and was about to ask for detailed information about the City Lord, but was interrupted by Domit's hurried return.

"Mr. Zhang Mu..."

Looking at the potions in his arms, all with their seals intact, Zhang Mu's eyelids twitched rapidly. "I understand."

The men of the village were all dead, and the remaining female villagers were clearly unable to tend to the vast farmland.

Moreover, since the Soldiers sent here wouldn't return to report, that waste would surely send more Soldiers.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Mu looked up. "Domit, they can't stay in this village anymore. On your side..."

"No problem!" He patted his chest. "Mr. Mi He would very much welcome the nearby villagers to join the Resistance Army."

"Then let's head out immediately. I'll explain things to you once we reach our destination."

"You," Zhang Mu pointed at the Soldier who didn't dare to get up, "follow us."

Afterward, Domit organized the remaining twenty-odd village women and the children who had luckily escaped by being out of the village playing. They packed their valuables, and to make it easier to carry, everything was stuffed into his Storage Pouch.

About ten minutes later, a long line of thirty-odd people walked out of the village and headed toward the Silent Forest.

Zhang Mu gave the carriage to the weaker children and carried Leah on his back at the end of the line.

Because of the ordinary people, the group couldn't move fast. What should have been a three-day journey took a full week before they reached the edge of the forest at the foot of the mountain.

He looked up.

The tree trunks, covered in bright green moss, were thick enough to require four people to encircle them. The lush, dense canopy of leaves overlapped, blocking out all the golden sunlight from the sky. The interior of the forest was dark and gloomy, and the weeds and shrubs on the ground reached almost to Zhang Mu's waist.

Scanning the area for a moment, he asked Domit, who was standing beside him, in confusion, "Where's the road?"

"Opening the gate now." He took a crystal out of his Storage Pouch and gripped it tight.

"Weng—"

A low hum echoed through the surrounding space, and a pale blue light gate lit up in front of them.

It wasn't very wide, just enough for the carriage to pass through.

As the women and the carriage began to enter, Zhang Mu felt a bit excited. "A spatial magic tool?"

Shaking his head, Domit replied, "A Magic Array."