In a gentle silence, time passed by, second by second.
Despite the dark red notification windows popping up several times, tempting us to take the next step in the killing spree, no one paid any attention to them, only occasionally sharing their thoughts in hushed tones.
Of course, some less affected elves did try to get up, but each time before they could react, the Sword Demon would flash behind them and kick them in the back of the head. Their tumbling retreat was chilling; one could only hope they survived.
And so, in the end, this unexpected event came to a rather dull and uninteresting conclusion.
The dark red window flickered a few times unwillingly, its color reversing from a blood-like drip to the usual deep blue.
[Sudden Mission #49: Let's Dance! ~ Ended]
[Reward verification in progress...]
Suddenly, the notification window froze, as if stuck in place, displaying only the message that the reward was being verified, without any other additional information.
"I have a bad feeling..."
Xiaoxi murmured softly behind us, but we all turned around and glared at her at the same time, and she quickly shut up.
"At times like these, we should say something auspicious!"
"Don't say things that might spoil the mood!"
They all voiced their complaints, but everyone knew it was too late.
"Tsk, better to prepare early." Shaking his head, Sheng jumped up, clapped his hands, and said, "The more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen."
Exhausted, I stood up, struggling to steady myself, and awaited the final verdict.
"Huh, um, what's wrong with everyone?"
Just then, at the end of the road leading to the settlement, a staggering figure appeared.
Suddenly, the dark curtain overhead began to tremble abnormally, instantly transforming from pitch black night into the glow of dawn, and then quickly turning into a vast expanse of fiery clouds dyed golden and red by the setting sun.
The chaotic shifting sky eventually revealed a three-way division: the sunrise in the east, the rosy clouds in the west, and the crescent moon hanging obliquely in the center like a scimitar, slicing the two apart. This made everything appear incredibly eerie.
But that's not the strangest situation.
With the help of the newly brightening sky, we could clearly see the presence slowly approaching from the end of the road: an elf with a familiar face, his young limbs hanging crookedly at his sides, a dark red in the depths of his eyes that should have been emerald, which was always a mixture of dark purple and deep black, and strange patterns protruding from under his face, covering most of his body like a spider web.
“Sarl…”
Sheng called out the other person's name in surprise. I looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head and said, "I don't know what happened. This is the first time I've encountered something like this."
Could it be that the Sword Demon did something before? My lightning shouldn't have caused this situation.
Turning my head to look around, I saw that the other elves, paralyzed by the lightning, were also beginning to have strange dark purple patterns creeping up their convulsing bodies. A few of them, whose patterns were spreading faster, had already managed to get up from the ground, their eyes locked on us from afar.
Goosebumps instantly appeared on the skin's surface.
This is a fear that is completely different from anything I've felt before.
[Warning: An unforeseen incident has occurred.]
Once again, the dark red notification window, carrying an ominous message, rose as expected.
Main Quest #45: Exploring the Mysterious Jungle has been closed due to an unknown accident.
Main Quest #45: Exploring the Mysterious Jungle (63%) is now closed.
Side Quest #47: Live safely in the settlement for a week (1/7) is now closed.
[Main Quest #48: Explore the Elven Settlement and Ancient Ruins (72%) is now closed.]
Side Quest #50: Gathering Lost Memories (12%) is now closed.
The reward will be settled.
[Notice: An unforeseen incident occurred, and reward settlement failed.]
[Warning: You will be subject to mandatory punishment.]
"That guy interfered again."
Sheng reacted quickly, her long hair wrapped around her waist, connecting us as one: "No matter what, we need to find a way to escape from here as soon as possible and make sure we don't get too far apart."
"New dangers will arise later, right?"
I looked at the approaching elves, whose once beautiful appearances had all vanished, leaving only swollen, almost unrecognizable, walking tumors.
They tried to dispel it with lightning, but perhaps their barely recovered magic power wasn't enough, or perhaps the recent thunderstorm had left them ineffective. Even the dark blood vessels covering the tumors couldn't be touched; it seemed as if they slipped on the surface and collapsed into the ground.
A pale gray sword aura flew out from the side, splitting into countless pieces just before touching the walking tumor, slicing it open. A spray of blood splattered across the ground, but before we could even feel relieved, we saw the chunks of flesh still moving, slowly approaching us like wriggling insects.
Should I roast it with fire? Holding Feifei in my arms, I flicked my finger and released a ball of flame, which instantly turned the meat to ashes upon landing on it. But then I noticed that even those ashes weren't completely dead; they seemed to be stubbornly moving forward, carried by the wind.
[Warning: You will be subject to mandatory punishment.]
"What exactly is it..."
Sword Demon slowly retreated, sword in hand, his face unusually gloomy, as if he had remembered something.
Looking around, in the short time it took for the surroundings to change, the once lush trees all became withered and decayed. Sheng was so surprised that he exclaimed repeatedly, hurriedly pulled the ends of his hair out of the ground, and quickly cut off a section to shake off the dark purple stain.
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