The wolves were already on the verge of fleeing, sensing the scent of death tightening around their necks. But before they could realize it, their bodies were floating in the air, torn to shreds. They all fell to the ground. Oran had already moved before the first severed head could land, swinging his spear as if cutting through butter, shredding all the wolves. Theron and Selene remained with their mouths open before realizing that Oran had slaughtered all those wolves, the shock on their faces increasing.
Theron said to Selene: "Did you see what happened?"
Selene shook her head in a "no" motion, unable to form words due to her shock.
But what increased their shock even more was that Oran stood in the middle of the corpses, planting his spear into the sand, holding it with one hand, as the edge of the spear began absorbing the wolves' blood.
"Well then, I'm done. We can continue on our way," Oran said with a face devoid of any expression, as if he had not fought a battle at all. He emerged without even a single scratch on his clothes.
Theron had lent him some clothes when they left the tent.
Selene looked at Oran strangely: "Where did you get this strength from?"
"We can talk about that later. Let's continue on our way."
Theron remained silent, not uttering a single word, still in shock. He nodded his head, agreeing with Oran's decision, and they continued on their way. None of them spoke, and the atmosphere between them remained tense.
After two days…
By this time, they had already reached their destination, but all they saw was a completely destroyed village. The mud houses had already been demolished, while the scat tered corpses had begun to decay, their bones beginning to show. Their blood had turned as black as the darkness of night. The foul smell was unbearable, so they covered their noses.
Selene spoke, with tears beginning to form in her eyes:
After a day has passed...
While the group was traveling towards Armak Village, everyone was wrapped in a scarf to protect themselves from the sand blown by the wind. In this crimson sky, the moon was the color of blood, giving the feeling that something was coming.
And that is exactly what happened.
At this moment, a group of demonic wolves surrounded Oran, Selene, and Theron. Theron expressed his concern, cold sweat dripping from his forehead:
"What will you do now? It's a group of 20 wolves, even if you're strong, what can you do, Oran?"
Oran looked at all of them, his face devoid of any expression of fear:
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just stay in the back and don't move."
But at that moment, Theron shouted:
"Watch out! It's right behind you!"
Selene placed her hand on her face, kneeling on the ground, waiting for Oran's head to be cut off, as the wolf had already directed its claw towards his neck…
But when she opened her eyes, she saw the complete opposite. Oran was still looking in their direction. The wolf's head had already flown off—Oran had directed his spear, sharp at the edges, at the wolf's neck before its claws could reach him. Selene and Theron stared with eyes wide open.
The wolves were already about to flee, sensing the scent of death tightening around their necks, but before they could realize it, their corpses were floating in the air, torn to shreds. They all fell to the ground. Oran had already moved before the first severed head hit the ground, waving his spear as if cutting through butter, shredding all the wolves.
Both Theron and Selene remained with their mouths agape before they realized that Oran had slaughtered all those wolves, their shock deepening on their faces. Theron said to Selene:
"Did you see what happened?"
Selene shook her head in a "no" motion, unable to utter a word due to the intensity of her shock.
But what increased their shock even further was that Oran stood amidst the corpses, planting his spear into the sand with one hand, as the edge of the spear began absorbing the wolves' blood.
"Alright, I'm done. We can continue on our way," Oran said with a face devoid of any expression, as if he hadn't just fought a battle. He emerged without a single scratch, not even on his clothes. Theron had lent him some clothes when they left the tent.
Selene looked at Oran strangely: "Where did you get this strength from?"
"We can talk about that later. Let's continue on our way."
Theron remained silent, not uttering a single word, still in shock. He nodded his head in agreement with Oran's decision, and they continued on their way. None of them spoke, and the atmosphere remained tense between them.
---
After two days...
By this time, they had already reached their destination, but all they saw was a completely destroyed village. The houses made of clay had already been demolished, while the scattered corpses had begun to decompose, with their bones starting to show, and their blood turning black as the darkness of the night. The stench was unbearable, so they covered their noses.
Selene spoke, tears beginning to form in her eyes: "This is too cruel... Will we end up like this?"
Theron hugged her: "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
Oran stood in front of them: "You saved my life, I must return the favor. I will protect you, even if it costs me my life."
Reassurance appeared on their faces as Theron bowed slightly, saying: "We'll trouble you with that..."
Oran patted Theron's shoulder: "It's no trouble at all, old man. You can stand up."
Selene asked: "What will we do now?"
Oran said: "Let's head to the city. We can rest a little before our journey toward the Green Plains. But first, let's find a place to camp for the night. By morning, we can set out for the city."
"By the way, what's the name of the city?" Oran asked both Selene and Theron.
Selene jumped in excitement: "It's called 'Arian,' the only major city in the Western Desert region. Even if all the villages in this desert were combined, they wouldn't match its vast size. I believe we can find a place to rest there, as large cities have forces that can slightly reduce the damage thanks to their strong armies."
Oran nodded: "Alright, let's head there immediately, camping along the way."
--
On their way to the city, they all stopped to set up camp. Theron lit a fire while Selene began cooking. Both Theron and Selene had brought their belongings with them, so preparing soup or cooking meat wouldn't be difficult. Oran had already hunted three quails, and Selene started cooking two while saving one for another meal.
They gathered inside the tent, each sitting in their place, waiting for the food.
Selene finished cooking and distributed the plates: "I made vegetable soup with quail breast. Our village, 'Iris,' is known for this dish, but unfortunately, it has been wiped from existence by these demonic creatures..." Selene said, her expression showing sorrow.
Oran spoke: "It must be hard on you both."
Theron said: "Don't worry about us. Let's eat; the food will get cold."
Selene nodded in agreement: "Alright, please go ahead, Oran."
Oran nodded: "Alright, I'll eat."
Oran spoke: "That was a truly delicious meal. Thank you for that, Selene."
Selene nodded: "No need to thank me. We ate together, so there's no need for that."
"By the way, Oran, won't you talk about that strength?" Theron asked.
Oran said: *"I don't remember the details well, but I am from the ancient era, when the portal first appeared in the Western Desert. That catastrophe was about to end humanity in all seven regions. But a hero appeared and founded a massive organization, setting out across the world with his group, exterminating all the demonic beasts on Earth, then sealing the portal. But I don't know what happened after that. I sealed myself when I was on the verge of death, surrounded by colossal beasts that had the power of 10,000 demonic monsters. It seems I have now awakened in this current era, where the portal has reappeared.
I lost part of my memory, forgetting the hero's name, his organization, or who created these weapons. All I know is that I set a goal—to annihilate all these beasts in the world if no one else does. As for why you don't know about ancient history, I don't have the details, as I just woke up. But it seems that era has been completely erased from history. It's truly mysterious... There seems to be a hidden force behind this."*
"As for the blood absorption ritual, the more I kill, the stronger I become. My spear is now numbered at 5020, whereas it was 5000 before—that indicates the number of beasts I have slain. Also, if I don't absorb their blood, it could lead to a violent backlash, and I may burn to death, turning into a charred corpse. Moreover, those who don't know how to absorb it will suffer the same fate."
Both Selene and Theron were bewildered, as many mysterious pieces of information entered their minds.
Oran said: "You can sleep now. I'll guard the area tonight."
Oran left the tent while Theron and Selene slept. He continued gazing at the sky all night. But at that moment, Selene She stepped out and asked him
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm contemplating this crimson sky."
"Is it that special?"
Oran said: "Not at all, I'm just looking."
Then Selene returned to the tent to sleep.
She had an alluring and beautiful figure, with her long purple hair reaching her waist, her fair white skin, pink lips, and violet eyes, giving the feeling that no girl in this vast world was more beauti
ful than her. Her beauty surpassed both Mona and Lina.
Oran looked at her with a smile and said, "Good night."
During this period, both Ren and Leon continued their weeklong hunt for wolves—even as the number of kills began to noticeably decline, their strength having grown tremendously. At one point, Leon shouted,
"Ren, how many have you killed this week?"
Ren replied,
"I've reached a total of 150. What about you, Leon?"
Leon answered,
"I have reached the limit of 715, but that is not enough. We must put in more effort, as we do not know what awaits us on our journey to the Western Desert."
Ren nodded in agreement. He had put in a lot of effort, going out alone to hunt these wolves in an attempt to reach Leon's strength. However, it did not bother him at all, even though Leon was still stronger than him. Ren was confident that he would surpass his level one day
---
At that very moment in the Western Desert, Oran and his group had already reached the city of Arian. The city was astonishingly vast, and everyone was surprised to find that the damage wrought by the wolves was relatively minor. Although some clay buildings—both large and small—lay in ruins, the city's bustling activity had not ceased. Merchants were out in full force, displaying their goods—from clothing and bedding to fruits and vegetables—and vociferously advertising their wares.
Approaching a roving vendor whose cart was laden with oranges, Oran quickly asked, "May I ask you something? Has this city been attacked by wolves?"
The itinerant vendor replied, "Yes, we were assaulted by those demonic creatures at the onset of the catastrophe. There were certainly human casualties, but the gravest loss was suffered by the Desert Army—we lost about two million of our brave soldiers who had patrolled every night to protect the people of this city."
Both Seline and Thiron gaped in astonishment; for one who had lived during ancient times when humanity teetered on the brink of extinction, the figure of two million was hardly unexpected. Oran then said, "Thank you, sir, for that information. We come from the village of Armak, so this news comes as a shock."
The vendor replied, "No need to thank me, my son. I'm sure the situation has been harsh—everyone here knows what befell the neighboring villages, where people were pitied before being abandoned. In any case, you should keep looking for a place to rest, for those villages will soon suffer the same fate; they simply cannot endure much longer."
After a moment's pause, Seline inquired, "So, what shall we do now?"
Oran responded, "We can stay here for another three weeks."
Soon afterward, Seline set off toward their next destination—the central region known as the Green Plains. Oran added, "I can provide them with protection for that entire period."
Thiron then interjected, "We can spend tonight in a hotel; I have some money."
---
The local monetary system was simple—a mixture of metal, copper, and silver coins, with gold coins marked by a distinct symbol denoting their value. Major cities followed this basic system. Anyone carrying coins from another region would have to visit a currency exchange center, where the coins were melted down and recast into local currency. This financial practice was common throughout the seven regions.
Not long after, Oran approached an orange vendor and asked, "May I ask you something? Is there a hotel nearby? We've come from Armak and are looking for lodging."
The vendor replied, "Walk straight ahead a bit, then turn right—you'll find one there."
Oran thanked him warmly, "Thank you, sir."
---
They eventually arrived at their destination. Thiron opened the door to a hotel lobby where a young woman at the reception desk greeted them, "Welcome to the Happiness Hotel. How may I assist you?"
"Hello," said Thiron, "could we have two rooms for tonight?"
The receptionist apologized, "I'm sorry, but only one room remains. Many survivors from the neighboring villages have rushed here seeking safety from those creatures. Will you take one room or search for another hotel?"
Thiron hesitated, "What shall we do? Should we look elsewhere?"
Quietly, Oran whispered, "Don't worry—the city's defenses should hold; if more wolves appear, we'll handle it." Then he added reassuringly, "You can rest. I'll spend the night outside on guard so you'll be safe."
Thiron then said, "We'll take the room. What's the charge, please?"
The receptionist replied, "One gold coin."
Thiron and Seline were both taken aback. "Miss, what is this? We've come here many times before—we used to pay only one silver coin for a room!" they exclaimed.
The receptionist explained, "I'm sorry, sir, but prices have doubled. Since the catastrophe, the cost of all foodstuffs has risen, and that has pushed hotel prices up as well."
Oran, Seline, and Thiron exchanged looks. Then Thiron produced a gold coin embossed with the carved emblem of the Black Eagle—a symbol famous in the desert regions—and on the other side, the emblem of the royal family's castle from the Western Desert. "Here you go; we'll spend the night here," he said.
The receptionist smiled, "Thank you, sir. Would you like us to bring food to your room, or will you dine in the restaurant?" She gestured toward the restaurant on the left side of the reception desk.