"Hey, Lasco, slow down! Wait for us!"
About five kilometers outside of Xilin Town, a group of hunters dressed in cotton coats walked along the road with smiles on their faces.
Behind three horses, six hemp ropes were tied to a large sack being dragged across the ground.
A giant boar weighing over seven hundred pounds lay lifeless on the sack.
One of the younger men shouted toward the youth leading the group.
Though Lasco heard the shout, his pace didn't slow in the slightest; if anything, he moved even faster.
A middle-aged man nearby chuckled.
"Heh, just leave him be. The boy's in a hurry to get back to his wife! You know how it is with these youngsters—he just had a son and doesn't know what to do with himself."
"Hahaha, that's true."
"Lasco! What's the rush? It's not like your wife is going to run off with your son, is she?"
"Haha!"
"Seriously, Lasco's luck is incredible. Old Jack's daughter is truly something else—beautiful, gentle, and kind. She was famous for miles around. Who would've thought he'd be the one to win her over?"
"What, are you jealous? We're going to the city tomorrow; I'll take you out for some real fun."
"How can you compare the two? He has a wife; you're just looking for a distraction!"
"Hahaha!"
The group burst into hearty laughter.
They were veteran hunters from Xilin Town.
Not far from Xilin Town lay a vast jungle, where the Moonlight River that flowed through Brilliant City passed by.
Demonized beasts often prowled this jungle, so ordinary hunters only dared to tread the outskirts.
Even so, the vast forest still provided people with a generous bounty from the heavens.
Ordinary wild boars reached their limit at two or three hundred pounds, and it was rare to see one exceeding five hundred.
In this forest, however, one could often find behemoths weighing over half a ton!
And this boar was exactly what they had hunted last night.
As the men traveled along, chatting and laughing, Lasco suddenly came to a halt.
Among the group, the old hunter had the sharpest eyes and noticed the detail instantly.
"Hey, Lasco, what's wrong? Why'd you stop? Not in a hurry to see your wife anymore?"
The group behind him laughed again.
But Lasco didn't move at all, standing as if he had been turned to stone.
The old hunter's brow furrowed, a faint sense of unease creeping over him.
Lasco was young and had married a beautiful wife, and they had just had their first son a little over a month ago.
At a time when he should be most eager to get home, why was he just standing there?
"Something's not right! Everyone, stay alert. I'm going to take a look!"
"What could be wrong? He's just dazed for a moment. What's the big deal?"
Someone spoke up in protest, but the old hunter shook his head.
His expression grew solemn.
Lasco's reaction was wrong.
Having lived in the jungle for so many years, he had survived countless times by relying on his sixth sense.
And today, he felt a spine-chilling sensation.
It was hard to put into words, but he suddenly understood.
Something... had happened!
Thinking this, the old hunter drew the long knife from his waist.
He crouched low, his muscles in a state of semi-relaxation, stepping lightly on his toes to keep his footsteps almost silent.
He moved forward and soon reached Lasco's side.
He didn't call out to Lasco immediately, instead scanning the surroundings with a wary gaze.
This spot was the dividing line between Xilin Town and the vast jungle, marked by a moderately sized hill.
Lasco was currently standing at the very peak of that hill.
"Lasco... Lasco! What are you doing?"
The old hunter gave Lasco a gentle tug while continuing to watch their surroundings.
But even after several tugs, Lasco remained motionless.
Feeling increasingly anxious, the old hunter looked up, about to say something.
He saw that the young man he favored so much was already drenched in tears.
The old hunter was stunned. He asked a question instinctively, his gaze following Lasco's line of sight toward the distance.
That direction... was toward Xilin Town.
"Lasco? What are you looking..."
The moment he turned his eyes, the rest of his words died in his throat.
Xilin Town in the early morning should have been full of life.
The sound of the blacksmith, the fishermen, the street vendors hawking their wares.
Women washing clothes by the water, families cooking breakfast.
That was how it used to be.
But today, what met the old hunter's eyes was a different sight entirely.
Less than a kilometer away, right before his eyes.
In the stream that the entire town relied on, the once-clear water was tinged with a faint shade of pink.
A corpse bobbed up and down in the water.
The old hunter recognized the clothes; it was the apprentice from the blacksmith shop at the east end of town.
Looking past the corpse, he saw the town gates.
The soldiers who usually guarded the gates were now lying face down on the ground.
The snow on the ground had been melted away by blood.
Looking further ahead.
On the town walls, which were less than three meters high, a body hung over the battlements, seemingly on the verge of falling.
Looking even further, where there should have been plumes of cooking smoke, it was now so quiet it could drive one mad.
"What... what happened?!"
The other hunters caught up, and when they saw the scene before them, everyone froze in place.
The old hunter snapped out of his daze, a thought flashing through his mind. He instinctively reached out to grab Lasco.
But his hand caught only empty air.
Lasco was already sprinting toward the town!
"Damn it, stop him!"
The old hunter desperately gave chase.
The others looked at each other. One of them reacted quickly, rushing to the back to cut the ropes holding the boar with a single stroke before hopping on a horse to pursue him.
However, it was only a thousand meters from there to the town gates. By the time the horse caught up, Lasco had nearly reached the entrance.
The closer they got to the gates, the more clearly they could see the tragedy that had befallen the town.
Bodies were scattered everywhere along the streets—men, women, the elderly, and children.
They lay in pools of blood, seemingly massacred. Many had been killed while fleeing in panic.
Some were even still wearing their nightgowns.
"Lasco, don't be reckless!"
The man on the horse leaped off, trying to tackle Lasco to the ground.
But Lasco was incredibly nimble. He sidestepped the lunge with a quick movement.
The rider was forced to roll on the ground to break his fall.
Though he wasn't hurt, by the time he stood up, Lasco had already entered the town gates.
At this point, the scent of blood saturated the air. With every breath, one could taste the metallic tang of rust lingering in their nose and on the roof of their mouth.
Even the man who had been riding could now see everything inside the town.
He was also frozen in shock.
He clearly saw that the person lying on the ground was his own close friend.
And that friend was his next-door neighbor.
"Father? Mother?"
"Brother!!"
"Daughter!"
In an instant, memories of their loved ones flooded the hunters' minds.
This time, no one heeded the old hunter's warning as they all rushed into the town.
Xilin Town was a remote town on the western border of the Kingdom of the Moon.
In the past, except for the occasional traveling merchant or passerby, outsiders almost never appeared in the town.
Lasco was searching like a madman for his wife and son.
At the same time, his mind flashed back to the strange convoy he had seen just before leaving the town last night.
It was a convoy made up of priests and knights.
For this remote town, it was practically a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Nearly a hundred elite knights, dozens of priests, and nuns—they seemed to be escorting something.
'Could it be... them?'
Lasco couldn't help but make the connection. His feet didn't stop for a second as he ran to his own home.
"Lise! Son!!"
Looking at the small courtyard with its door slightly ajar, his hands couldn't stop trembling.
The faint smell of blood seemed to have already proven everything.
But Lasco still didn't dare to believe it—or rather, he refused to believe it from the bottom of his heart.
He had to see it with his own eyes.
With a creak, the half-open gate was pushed aside, revealing the familiar courtyard.
However, the yard that his wife, Lise, always kept so tidy was now in complete disarray.
On the ground, there were footprints clearly made by armored boots, the distinct patterns of the soles easy to recognize.
The soles of armored boots would leave a very clear, flat impression on the ground.
This meant the people who had stormed in were wearing very heavy armor.
Those knights?
Was it really them!?
Lasco walked into the yard in a daze, his eyes scanning every corner.
He could almost imagine what had happened in the yard at that moment.
His wife's screams, the baby's crying.
Finally, he stepped into the house.
The moment he pushed the door open, he was prepared to face a horrific scene.
But the expected sight didn't appear; it wasn't a massacre like the one on the streets.
There were only a few traces of blood left on the floor.
However, his son wasn't there, and his wife... was gone too.
In that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Are they... still alive?!"
Lasco immediately looked down to search for footprints on the floor.
"The footprints... are very fresh. They look like they're only an hour or two old, not even fully dampened by the morning dew."
He turned back to look at the fireplace in the house.
The fire in the fireplace had died out, but the faint red glow among the black charcoal proved that whoever had left had done so no more than an hour ago!
"Lise! You must wait for me!"
As he spoke, Lasco stood up and followed the footprints forward.
The tracks seemed to lead toward the center of the town.
The town wasn't large, with a permanent population of less than ten thousand. In the Kingdom of the Moon, such towns were everywhere.
Its area wasn't exaggeratedly large either.
As he followed the tracks, the other hunters appeared nearby.
They all seemed to be following footprints as well.
The old hunter's face was deathly pale.
Hearing the footsteps of the others, he looked up and asked,
"At your homes..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood the question in their hearts.
No one spoke; they all silently confirmed the old hunter's suspicion.
As they gathered together, everyone had already drawn their weapons.
There was only one thought in their minds.
'Revenge!!'
Only Lasco was different; his only thought was that he had to save his wife.
In the center of the town.
As they drew closer, the sound of sobbing and wailing could be heard in the distance.
Hearing these sounds, Lasco looked toward the distance.
That was... the Central Square of the town?
"Lise!!"
With a sharp cry, Lasco could no longer suppress the worry in his heart and charged forward.
Once he cleared the house ahead, he would be able to see the source of the sound.
It was close! Right in front of him!
"Hey!"
"Lasco!"
"Are you crazy?"
His companions called out from behind, but Lasco couldn't care less.
He leaped onto the steps and cleared the house, and his field of vision gradually widened.
As the image of the Central Square from his memory surfaced, the scene before him came into view.
In the massive Central Square, there was a grotesque sight beyond words!
Knights, their bodies half-clad in armor, were relentlessly violating the women.
Some women had already lost consciousness, yet they were still not spared.
Many of them were already dead, yet their corpses were still being desecrated.
Over a hundred knights and dozens of priests were there.
Even their own companions, those nuns, had been pinned to the ground by them.
It was unbearable to watch.
Cries, screams, sobs, and soft moans became the accompaniment to this suffocating scene.
Lasco stood in the square with a stunned expression, watching the scene in disbelief.
What was going on? Had those knights and priests all gone mad?
They had slaughtered an entire village just for this?
At that moment, his companions arrived and saw the scene as well.
Anger gradually rose in their eyes, eventually transforming into pure hatred!
"Kill these goddamn lunatics! These lunatics!!!"
One of the hunters suddenly charged out, raising his knife and slashing down at the nearest knight!
In the past, these powerful knights could never have been taken down with a single blow.
But now... the knight before him seemed to have fallen into some kind of madness, offering no resistance at all.
With a wet thud, the head fell to the ground, and blood erupted from the stump.
The old hunter's expression was ghastly.
"This is wrong. This is all wrong... this isn't something normal people would do."
Lasco was stunned by his words and turned to grab the old hunter's shoulders tightly.
"What do you know? Tell me!!"
The old hunter's lips trembled, and for a long time, he couldn't speak, his eyes filled with terror.
"It's... it's the demon race!"
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