David rushed into the village. Apparently, what he'd been most worried about had happened. Monsters had always been wandering near this village, and no matter how many he killed, there seemed to be no end to them.
Those creatures lurking in the darkness had definitely set their sights on this village of just a few hundred people. Every morning, he'd hear from old farmer Larsen that someone else had gone missing from the village.
Needless to say, the missing people had definitely been eaten by monsters...
Tonight, those monsters had finally lost their patience and charged directly into the village.
David thought of that farmer's daughter with the tempting figure, Citi. He felt deeply sorry for that girl and absolutely didn't want to see her die at the hands of monsters.
He had powerful strength now!
But when David charged into the burning village, he didn't see any monsters invading the village. There was only one invader.
Literally—it was one person.
A person wearing a black trench coat, a tricorn leather hat, holding a silver sword in his right hand and a short gun in his left.
He came through the flames, his blade flashing silver light, easily slaughtering those villagers.
One sword, one kill!
"A hunter! It's a damn hunter! Kill him! Kill him quick!!!"
The villagers rushed forward one after another, seemingly fearless of death. They swung their hoes and cleavers at the enemy, but the hunter with his bizarre movements easily dodged, and with a flip of his silver sword, he cut their throats open.
But those brave villagers with slashed throats didn't fall!
They clutched their necks and continued roaring as they charged the enemy. Their powerful arms bulged with muscle. Their strong fingers had sharp nails. They used every "weapon" they could, even biting with fangs, red-eyed, trying to kill that unstoppable hunter...
Someone saw David and flashed him a savage grin.
Right...
David's steps slowed down until he stopped.
He finally understood the meaning of those looks...
He finally knew why he found this village strange...
He finally remembered that very important thing...
He saw that kindly old farmer Larsen gripping an iron-blue severed arm and swinging it at the hunter's sword...
He saw those enthusiastic villagers who'd brought him water and food using their claws to block the hunter's crimson bullets...
He saw their bodies swelling in battle, becoming withered and pale, becoming savage and terrifying...
David suddenly revealed a self-mocking smile.
Why would that lovely girl Citi not care at all about his lecherous gaze?
Even when he couldn't help but use his "gentleman's hand" to lift her skirt under the evil spirit's desire, she didn't panic at all and even showed a little smirk...
Now, he watched with his own eyes as the hunter's silver sword stabbed into Citi's mouth. This "girl" didn't care either. She squinted the dozen or so eyeballs growing on her face, easily bit down on the silver sword with her mouthful of sharp teeth, and let out a piercing laugh.
Yeah, why would this kind of monster care if he peeked under her skirt?
Everyone in this village was a monster. They looked at him like some rare delicacy. They gave him food just to fatten him up for eating.
As for why villagers went missing?
That was just because he'd killed them off while hunting monsters—these things didn't care at all if the "village" lost a few companions.
"Kill that hunter, then slaughter that pig!"
The monster "girl" shouted while tearing and biting. She seemed to have been holding back for a long time.
Bang!
The hunter's silver gun erupted with crimson bullets in a resounding roar, blowing Citi's head off with one shot.
His killing efficiency remained excellent, completely unfazed by those "villagers" whose appearances kept getting more horrifying.
He was a battle-hardened hunter.
As those monsters died one by one under his gun and sword, David, standing still in place, grew closer and closer to him.
David saw the hunter's face under the hat brim.
In that instant, massive amounts of memories surged from his mind. He finally remembered the original body's past...
Why had the son of Viscount Frank suddenly died during an evil cult ritual in the wilderness, allowing him, this transmigrator, to take over his body?
It all had to do with the hunter before him—Hunter Videns.
He remembered—this guy had given the viscount's son a potion and told him it was the path to "power."
Now it seemed that was just a ticket to hell.
As for why the guy wanted to kill David Frank, David had no clue for now, but he could be sure of one thing—after this hunter finished killing those "villagers," he definitely wouldn't spare him.
The hunter came to hunt down David. That was the real reason he appeared here.
When David saw Videns, Videns also saw him. Under the hat brim, that pale, gaunt face revealed a cold smile.
"Finally found you, kid..."
Videns hadn't expected that the stupid viscount's son would actually cross the gap in the Klan Mountains and flee all the way to these plains.
When he learned in the viscount's territory that the noble young master was missing rather than dead, he immediately set out. Following the trail all the way, he'd finally found him in this bizarre village.
Why hadn't that poison taken its proper effect?
Videns didn't want to dwell on that question anymore. This time, he had to make sure the kid died by his hand so he could complete the task His Highness had assigned...
The hunter wiped his hand across his silver sword. Blood carrying psychic energy stained the blade, and whoosh—flames burst into life on the blade!
"Evil God, Scott's Flame!"
The burning blade sliced through all the monsters blocking his path like cutting tofu. Even the most fierce and troublesome one got its arm severed with one sword.
The hunter charged forward. His body, injected with "Evil God's Blood," suddenly burst out with exaggerated speed—his form even created afterimages!
He pinned the last monster to a mud wall with one sword strike. Blood flames erupted, and the blade even blasted a huge hole in the earthen wall. The high temperature and tremendous force completely destroyed the monster that Larsen had become.
Then the hunter turned his head and looked at the noble young master still standing motionless with beast-like eyes.
"Scared stupid? Hmph, poor little fool, just stand there and don't move. I'll let you die painlessly..."
Watching "old farmer" Larsen fall, David slowly lowered his eyelids.
God knows whether I'm crazy or this world is crazy...
The next second, those pitch-black pupils that housed an evil spirit flipped up with a whoosh, locking firmly onto Videns. A health bar lit up above him too.
[Life Energy: 378/400]
Huh? That little?
He was a bit confused. He'd thought all supernatural beings would keep increasing their life energy as they grew, just like him. But apparently, that wasn't how it worked.
David grinned.
That's it? How are you gonna beat me?
Shing—!
The burning silver sword suddenly thrust from the void. David's just-raised smirk immediately froze.
Actually, health didn't represent everything. A true veteran hunter would use all kinds of crazy methods, even sacrificing their own life, to gain more mysterious high-level abilities.
Like Videns right now—his speed had gotten so fast even the naked eye could barely catch it. By the time David reacted, the old hunter had already closed in, and his sword had directly pierced David's chest!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle!
The burning blade made David's life value plummet by over 300 points!
But that was all. Before David's 3,500-plus life value, this sword that could instantly kill monsters couldn't deal him a fatal wound.
The corner of David's mouth curved up again. He ignored the sword stuck in his chest and with a thought, raised his arm and threw a punch!
A look of suspicion appeared on old hunter Videns's face. He looked at the result of his sword strike in disbelief.
Though the silver sword had pierced the enemy's body, he clearly felt the opponent's powerful muscles clamp down on his sword—no feeling of being seriously injured at all.
Then that soft, weak punch came. Videns instinctively dodged to the side.
Boom!
A green claw suddenly appeared from the other side and viciously slammed into his body!
David could feel from the Hand of Monster's touch that the hunter seemed to have a layer of very tough protective gear under his black trench coat. This kept his monster claw from directly tearing open Videns's body.
But this strike also made the opponent's life value plummet by over a hundred points.
"How many more of my claws can you take?"
David immediately retreated after landing one hit.
The burning blade seared his chest, and his life value dropped another three hundred points.
If possible, he should've used the Hand of Divine Corpse to directly crush the opponent's head with that strike just now.
But when he was in the wilderness dealing with multiple monsters, he'd already used that arm.
Now it still needed a few more minutes to cool down...
But no big deal. Even trading health with the opponent, he still had a huge advantage!
Was it really... no big deal?
The fight that followed, however, made David's heart grow colder and colder.
Videns, who'd seen his share of storms, quickly realized that this noble young master before him had undergone some kind of change and was no longer that weak, defenseless young man he once was.
But his combat awareness was still naive...
The seasoned hunter immediately switched his fighting style. Using his speed and agility far superior to David's, he kept dodging that terrifying monster claw's attacks while stabbing his sword at David's vital points one strike at a time!