Chapter 246: Cannibals have returned.

Heavy, terrifying stomps echoed from outside, shaking dust off the wooden ceiling beams. Whatever was coming, it was huge, heavy, and there were a lot of them.

Zyra ran back outside. "Beauty, do you see anything?" she asked quietly.

[Warning: Multiple heavy beast signatures approaching the town.]

Zyra slammed the storehouse doors shut, locking them from the outside with a lock from the system shop, and rushed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder next to Hunter.The beasts emerged, their heavy scales scraping against the stone pathway, their cold, hungry eyes fixed directly on the helpless residents.

Hunter adjusted his grip on his daggers and glanced at Zyra with a faint smile. "Well, looks like someone else decided to join the party."

Olga pointed a shaking, trembling finger at the thick spray of mud kicked up by the approaching beasts and screamed at the top of her lungs, "They are here! The cannibals are back!"

The moment those words echoed through the square, utter chaos broke out. The residents didn’t just run; they scrambled like ants whose hill had been stepped on. Doors slammed shut, wooden shutters banged, and within seconds, the once-crowded square was practically deserted.

When the leading beast finally stomped into full view, Master Zoo and the bruised, battered Adrian immediately threw themselves onto the dirt. They bowed so hard their foreheads smashed into the ground, groveling like a helpless puppy greeting a grand deity.

The monster leading the pack was a very black horned horse with glowing, sulfur-yellow eyes and sharp, jagged teeth. The hairs at the back of Zyra’s neck stood up, a prickling chill running down her spine.

"Beauty," Zyra whispered under her breath, her eyes narrowing. "Activate soul sight."

[Soul Sight activated.]

The world in Zyra’s vision shifted, color draining from the muddy background as spiritual energy outlines lit up the square. But when she focused on the beasts, her breath hitched. Billowing, oily trails of pitch-black smoke were oozing from the black horse’s eyes, twisting and curling around its head like live snakes.

"What the fuck is that?" Zyra muttered, taking a involuntary half-step back.

Suddenly, the link bands on Zyra and Hunter’s wrists began to flash a blinding, urgent purple. Purple didn’t just mean danger_ it meant complete corruption or absolute mental insanity of the beast.

[Warning: Malevolent beasts detected,] Beauty’s mechanical voice chimed sounding unusually stressed. [These beasts carry dark energy stones. If one of them bites you, your soul will be corrupted. There is a high possibility that even high-grade cures will not save you.]

Hunter took a slow step back, staring at the glowing purple light on his wrist. He turned his head to look at Zyra with a hopeful, almost desperate expression. "Please tell me the beasts are just nuts, and this isn’t a dark corruption case?"

Zyra let out a long, heavy sigh that practically dragged along the floor. "It’s the dark corruption, Hunter."

"Dammit," Hunter muttered, rubbing his temples.

As if a pack of malevolent beasts on the ground wasn’t enough, the sky above them suddenly darkened. Huge transport beasts covered the sky. With a series of deafening booms, the aerial beasts crashed down around the town square, kicking up storms of dirt and making the entire town tremble like an earthquake hit it.

From the back of the black horse, a man stepped forward. He had only one ear, a nasty scar across his face, and wore a necklace made of mismatched bones. Judging by how the other heavily armed men held their breath around him, this one-eared man was clearly the leader_ Campbell.

Master Zoo didn’t waste a single second. He scrambled over on his knees and bent his back flat against the wet ground. Campbell didn’t even thank him_ he simply used Master Zoo’s spine as a footstool to step down off his mount.

Master Zoo stood up, wiping mud off his clothes, and immediately pointed a sharp, accuse-filled finger at Hunter and Zyra. "Mr. Campbell!" He squeaked, practically drooling in an effort to suck up to him. "I have prepared a truly worthy offering for you today! Soul maidens! Genuine, pure soul maidens!"

Campbell’s small, ruthless eyes widened instantly. "Soul maidens?" he asked, his voice sounding like two grinding rocks. "Are you sure?"

"I swear on my life!" Master Zoo nodded so hard it looked like his head might pop off.

Campbell threw his head back and burst into a loud, booming laugh, revealing a set of chipped, brown, filthy teeth. The men around him joined in, cackling like wild hyenas.

One cannibal took out two long, jagged knives and began scraping them together with a painful shhhk-shhhk sound. "I’ve never eaten a soul maiden before," he licked his chapped lips, grinning maniacally. "They must taste delicious!"

Another cannibal patted his huge belly and laughed. "Our leader will definitely enjoy their hearts the most! They say a soul maiden’s heart makes you live ten years longer and increases the chances of your future generations awakening a bloodline!"

Master Zoo joined in with a nervous, sweaty laugh, then quickly shifted the blame. He pointed back at Zyra and Hunter. "However, Leader Campbell, these two travelers are causing big trouble! They barged into our town and are demanding that we release the maidens to them!"

Campbell’s laughter instantly died. He let out a low, animal like growl from deep in his chest and began chanting a weird, eerie phrase in a dark, foreign language. He stared down Hunter, looking at him like an annoying fly. He waved his hand dismissively, as if flicking away a piece of lint. "Listen, kid. I’m in a surprisingly good mood today, so I’ve decided to let you live. Take your little girlfriend, turn around, and get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Hunter reached into his belt and slowly drew out his double daggers. The polished metal gleamed sharply in the sunlight. He tilted his head, winced slightly as if he had a mild headache, and looked straight into Campbell’s eyes.

"This is my wife and we are not going anywhere," Hunter said calmly, shifting into a battle stance. "How about you leave instead?"

Beside him, Zyra drew her knife with a crisp clack. She glanced at the dark-energy-infused beasts, then at the grinning cannibals, and tightened her grip. It was time to clean up the trash.