Have you ever experienced an elevator suddenly halting after a rapid descent? That instantaneous feeling—does it feel like your entire body jolts, your heart skips a beat, and then dizziness and cold sweat follow?
Du Cheng had experienced such sensations in his previous life. Now, accompanied by a deafening roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth, he felt that sensation again.
Was it an earthquake?
Didn't feel like one!
Was it thunder?
No, that couldn't be it either—the sky was clear, the sun shining brightly! So what could that noise have been? Du Cheng looked around in confusion. Unfortunately, apart from the official road, distant rolling hills, bandits, and mercenaries, he saw nothing unusual.
The mercenaries who had just arrived in Rivik Province were equally puzzled, turning to Du Cheng and awaiting orders.
Suddenly, the bandit leader, who mere seconds ago was ferocious and seemingly fearless, turned pale after the roar. He shouted desperately, "The demon is back! Run!"
The bandits immediately panicked.
Aliza alone remained utterly unfazed, striding forward confidently. With surprising swiftness, utterly incongruent with his massive body, he rushed to the bald-headed bandit leader and swung his hammer-like fist upwards with lightning speed.
“Pu!”
With a splash of blood, the leader was sent flying upwards. If one looked closely, a few teeth accompanied the droplets of blood.
As the leader reached the apex of his involuntary flight, Aliza leaped high into the air and delivered another soaring punch.
“Pu!”
The poor leader ascended even higher, scattering more blood and teeth into the air.
As Aliza landed, several teeth amusingly clattered against his bald head with a delightful "ting, ting…" sound.
Aliza glanced down curiously and noticed among them was a large golden tooth.
“Young Master, we're getting rich!” he exclaimed joyously.
He picked up the golden tooth, wiped it carefully on his pants, and gently placed it in his pocket.
“Hehe!” Aliza chuckled innocently as if he'd just played a fun game. Waving his astonishingly thick arms, he charged toward his next target, shouting, “Hey! Whose tooth is made of gold?”
“Wow! A true warrior!!” the mercenaries shouted in admiration. In contrast, the guardian fighters of the St. Cain family lowered their heads gloomily, recalling their previous humiliations at Aliza's hands—thankfully, he had shown some mercy back then.
Like a tiger rampaging through a flock of sheep, Aliza used his exceptional strength and astonishing speed to defeat more than a dozen bandits in the blink of an eye.
Effortlessly, he grabbed a bandit by the collar, delivered a swift punch to the face, then pried open the unfortunate man's mouth, earnestly seeking another "golden opportunity."
Watching Aliza seriously searching for gold teeth with a charmingly straightforward demeanor, Du Cheng couldn't suppress his laughter. Steve stepped down from the carriage, watched Aliza's "performance" with keen interest, and jokingly tapped Du Cheng on the shoulder. “From now on, Aliza handles cleaning the battlefield. Nothing will slip past him!”
Turning around, Steve shouted at the mercenaries, "Gentlemen, I pay you gold coins not to watch a show! Move quickly, capture a few alive, and find out what that noise was!"
Steve summoned his sacred weapon—Sigurd’s Gauntlets—and laughed, “It’s been a while since I've stretched myself fighting other men. Today's the day for a good workout!”
Du Cheng rolled his eyes, “Brother, what are you talking about? A good workout?”
Steve raised his hands high, conjuring showers of meteor-like flames that chased down fleeing bandits, turning them into Aliza's favorite—roasted suckling pigs!
Once the mercenaries joined in, the scene instantly turned bloody. These men, accustomed to violence, struck lethally with swords and blades without hesitation.
Within moments, the ground was littered with dozens of corpses.
Was this truly the world of warriors?
Those mercenaries who laughed and drank together yesterday were now slaughtering people as casually as chickens, their faces even bearing smiles!
Du Cheng felt profoundly uneasy. Coming from a civilized world, witnessing such ruthless killing with such casual nonchalance was difficult to stomach.
“Aliza, catch one alive for me!” Du Cheng shouted.
“Yes, Young Master! This one will do!” Without looking, Aliza effortlessly grabbed a nearby bandit, tossing him at Du Cheng's feet, and prepared to hunt for more "wealth."
“Stop! Help me interrogate this guy!” Du Cheng, unable to watch the bloody scene any longer, stopped Aliza.
He didn't want a teenager involved in something so brutal.
Turning away from the cruel spectacle, Du Cheng glanced at the captured prisoner and was momentarily stunned. “Are you...a dwarf? A gnome? Or some weird mixed race?”
The prisoner Aliza grabbed wasn’t human.
His skin was pale, bloodlessly so. Extremely obese, as wide as he was tall, he resembled a snowball, standing just waist-high to Du Cheng.
Yet his facial features, hands, and feet were just like those of humans.
The captive trembled violently, fat quivering up and down. He knelt—or perhaps sprawled on the ground—any position made him look like a round ball. “Noble young master, please forgive my sins! I—I am a Xuebi (Snowby) named Hari.”
“A Xuebi? Kill him!” Aliza raised his massive fist again.
“Aliza, stop!” Du Cheng halted him without scolding.
The Xuebi were supposedly a despicable race affiliated with demons during the ancient human-demon wars. Weak and treacherous, they relied on flattery and tricks for survival, widely despised by all.
Precisely due to their weakness, humans had not exterminated them completely after the demons' defeat but severely restricted their living conditions instead.
“Oh, handsome young master, praise your mercy! Your friend nearly scared me to death. Allow me to kiss your toes in gratitude for stopping him!” Hari's fat face twisted into a sycophantic smile as he leaned toward Du Cheng’s toes.
“Get lost, damn it!” Du Cheng shivered with disgust, kicking Hari away.
No wonder humans despised the Xuebi!
Du Cheng shook his head inwardly and growled, "Answer each question honestly, or Aliza will knock out every tooth in your mouth to check for gold!"
Hari immediately fell silent and obediently looked at Du Cheng.
“What was that noise? Why did your leader say the demon had come?”
“First, let me praise your courage—I nearly wet my pants, but you—” Seeing Du Cheng's impatience, he quickly shifted, speaking rapidly, "Recently, similar noises appeared a few times nearby, each followed by a disaster!”
“Disasters? What kind?”
“Allow me to explain thoroughly!” Hari carefully gauged Du Cheng’s reaction, smoothly continuing, “In September, after such a sound, the banks of the Niuyin River experienced a severe earthquake causing floods unseen in fifty years. Then in October, just as the blocked river was partially cleared, another roar came, causing mountains near the river to collapse, blocking the river again...”
“You mean earthquakes follow every time this sound appears?” Du Cheng asked in astonishment.
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