"This is horrible. If this place was really destroyed by those people, then they're monsters," Risa complained.

It had been a long time since she witnessed such cruelty, and the first cruelty she ever saw was when Ethan killed the outsiders who tried to invade the Blood-Cursed Tribe Village.

At that time, Ethan killed two people without mercy, not giving them any chance to live. That was the first time Risa saw Ethan act so brutal.

Now, she was seeing the aftermath of a massacre in the city owned by the LionArk guild.

Human skeletons were scattered everywhere in terrifying shapes, the city buildings had collapsed, and the whole environment was dirty and damp.

Just seeing all of this was more than enough to prove that the group who slaughtered the city was made up of people who hated LionArk deeply.

Ethan tried to calm his anxious and restless heart. He took a slow breath and exhaled gently, trying to think realistically as he accepted the fact that the members of LionArk and everyone in the city had been massacred.

"Come catch me."

"Don't run over there."

In the silence, Ethan and Risa reflexively turned around. They heard the voice of a child somewhere in the middle of the city, and Risa was confused because there was no one here except the two of them.

The idea of ghosts or supernatural things didn't apply to their algorithm or program code.

Ethan thought the same. Since he was trapped inside the game, there shouldn't be any wandering monsters beyond what the system created.

Their curiosity pushed both Ethan and Risa to quickly step out of the building. They reached the first floor and walked outside until they arrived at the main street of the city.

Ethan scanned the surrounding area carefully. Through his eyes, he clearly caught a glimpse of two kids running among the citizens' houses.

Without thinking, Ethan chased after them. Risa ran after him. Ethan's long strides helped him catch up and block the two children, a boy and a girl.

"Telmarian Tribe?!" Risa said in shock, staring sharply.

Ethan realized the hostility between their tribes. He reached out his hand to stop Risa's rising hatred.

The Blood-Cursed and Telmarian Tribes were enemies, but that didn't give Risa the right to kill two little kids in front of him.

No matter what, they were only children, unaware of politics and simply forced to be born in the Telmarian Tribe.

"Hold it. Don't act aggressive," Ethan said, giving Risa a sharp look.

Slowly, Risa calmed herself and took a deep breath. She stepped back and turned her face away, unwilling to look at those nature-worshiping people.

Ethan was different. He crouched in front of the two children. At first they looked scared, but Ethan's gentle smile made their fear fade a little.

He remembered the Telmarian pendant given by Chief Malron on the second floor. Ethan took out the pendant and showed it to them.

But they knew nothing about it. They only said the emerald crystal pendant looked pretty.

I thought they would know the meaning of this pendant.

Ethan stood up and put the Telmarian Pendant back under his uniform. When he and Risa were about to leave, they were surprised when two adults appeared from the eastern forest.

"Jona! Nana! What are you two doing here?"

A woman and a man, their parents, members of the Telmarian Tribe.

The man immediately pointed his spear at Ethan, and Risa grew irritated and angry seeing Telmarians act rude toward him.

"Who are you?!" the man shouted, while the woman hugged Jona and Nana tightly.

Risa stepped in front of Ethan, striking her magic staff against the ground hard enough to startle them.

She confronted the Telmarian man, showing her strength. Two powers clashed silently, the green nature force against the blood-fire force.

Ethan raised his hand and gently tapped Risa's shoulder to calm her down. With just that signal from Ethan, Risa forced herself to steady her heart.

Now Ethan stood in front of the man who still pointed his spear at him. If Jona and Nana didn't know the meaning of the Telmarian Pendant, then maybe this man did.

Ethan took out the emerald pendant and showed it to them. As he expected, the man recognized its meaning.

"That? How do you have that?" the man asked.

"The Telmarian Tribe on the second floor gave it to me. It was because I saved their village," Ethan replied.

Risa looked shocked, stunned, unable to believe that Ethan had been connected with the Telmarians this whole time.

Her eyes widened, her hands trembled hard, and her heart hurt badly.

"W-Why… why did you work with them?" Risa asked, her eyes watery.

Ethan turned to her and gave a small smile. This was a hard moment for him, because the hostility between the Blood-Cursed and Telmarian Tribes was incredibly deep.

But he had to do this. Jona and Nana must have come here not just once or twice, but many times, and their parents as well.

There was a big chance the Telmarian Tribe's village was near the city. They might know who destroyed this place.

For now, Ethan tried to calm Risa so she wouldn't lose herself.

"The banyan monster on the second floor. I had no choice but to fight it. If I didn't, I would've died."

"I didn't know the monster's nest was actually the Telmarian Tribe's village on the second floor. As a gift from their chief for helping them, they gave me this," Ethan said.

"So, you didn't go there just to save them on purpose?" Risa asked.

"That's right. I was hunting monsters, but I got trapped by the banyan monster. I didn't even know that place was the Telmarian Tribe's village," Ethan explained.

Slowly, the anger in Risa's heart faded and disappeared. But she was still upset because Ethan had kept this truth from her.

She didn't know how to respond, but she also refused to fight Ethan because she liked him.

Risa could only stay quiet, holding in her resentment for the sake of Ethan's goal.

"Did you hear what I said earlier?" Ethan asked.

The man nodded. He knew the value of the emerald pendant. If the Telmarian chief on the second floor gave it to Ethan, then Ethan must have done something important for them.

Slowly, the man lowered his aggression. He told his wife to go back to the village and inform the chief about Ethan. The woman nodded and left with Jona and Nana.

"Are you willing to wait? The chief—"

"I'm not interested in going to your village," Ethan said, cutting him off.

"Then?" the man asked.

"This city. Do you know who destroyed it?" Ethan asked.

The man looked at the ruins around them. Slowly, he nodded. The city was destroyed two months ago.

It happened when a group of outsiders wearing black uniforms attacked and slaughtered everyone in the city.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. Many guilds wore black uniforms, but only a few had the power to defeat LionArk, and only some of them hated LionArk.

"After the destruction, we saw many outsiders lying helpless on the ground. But they died before we could save them."

"We even kept seeing the people in black uniforms. They built their own city here," the man added.

"Are you sure they were the ones?"

"I'm sure. Their uniforms and the terror they brought, how could we forget it?"

Damn it. So they were the ones messing with LionArk.

If they did the same thing to LionArk's city, then maybe I need to give them something even worse in return.

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