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The sharp smell of bloodied corpses filled the air as they saw hundreds of corpses, from the familiar flaming dogs to the sharp furry creatures. Even the forest ground became flooded with sticky blood mixed with mud.

Such a sight quickly alarmed Torri, and Boris decided to go ahead and check the corpses.

Eva stared at the scene of carnage with a horrified expression and said.

"Dear, I don\'t like the looks of this. I think we should go back."

Viktor actually had to agree with her. However, it would be better to know what happened here first before aimlessly retreating without real direction.

Boris crouched down, poked the wounds from a few of the corpses for a few minutes, and said his finding.

"Young Master, all these corpses are recent, the wounds are an hour or two old at most. Considering the depth and shape of the wounds, these creatures died from sharp weapons, most likely swords. However, a few of these creatures died from different, more jagged wounds."

"What wound was it?"

"The placement and distance between the wounds suggested it was some kind of claws. But I have never seen one this big, I think it\'s from a type of mutated creature."

The special forces had also predicted that they ran into the forest while fighting these creatures along the way.

From what little information they have, it is safe to assume that the corpses were left there by a group of adventurers, and they were probably heading to the doomsday pillar, just like them.

Jessie crouched down as well and looked at one of the corpses. "Yes, it could be an adventurer, but I feel like something must have gone wrong."

Startled, Viktor turned to look at her and asked why.

Jessie reached into the corpse nearby without hesitation and picked up a shiny stone bathed in fresh blood. He showed the stone to Viktor and said. "No adventurer would leave behind such a thing."

Now that Jessie mentioned it, Barry and Kosta followed suit and inspected the nearby corpses, only to find the same thing.

The most likely scenario was these adventurers were either too rich or were in a hurry to run away from something. Either way, Viktor is not the type that will let these stones go to waste, especially after facing that embarrassing situation at the pillar.

With the Djinn\'s long distance radar, Viktor believed that he would be safe from any immediate dangers, so he called for Barry and Kosta to pick up the stones while the others stayed on guard.

By following the trail of corpses and stones, the group walked deeper into the thick forest to get more, and somehow, this made the princess even more anxious.

30 minutes passed, and they were a mile deep into the forest. They passed around a thousand corpses and picked up a lot of spirit stones before the sea of corpses finally ran out. The two boys have collected as many as 215 white stones and 21 yellow stones, giving them the easiest 2315 spirit stones ever.

But on the other hand, they have headed so deep into the forest that almost no sunlight could enter through the foliage, as a result, they were half-fumbling in almost impenetrable darkness.

Their destination was definitely up ahead, but Viktor is not the type to take risks to himself without any rewards. He looked at the others behind him and said.

"We should take the long way around."

The group of 7 started to walk back to the south, heading towards the pillar in a circle. An hour passed without incident, but then Torri who was scouting ahead gave them a signal, meaning there was something nearby/

When he heard this, Viktor quickly complained to the Djinn.

"Djinn, were your sensors broken or something?"

<No. There is really nothing alive in 3-mile radius around us.>

Boris walked towards him and asked.

"Master, there is a house in front, should we walk through it, or around?"

Considering the Djinn said there was no one alive in there, Viktor decided to lead the team to pass through it. Slowly, they headed towards the dilapidated house in the middle of the woods.

Torri walked ahead and checked the vicinity of the house first, and his face immediately turned a sickly pale. Slowly, Torri turned to look at Viktor and opened his mouth.

"What happened? Viktor asked, slightly concerned.

"Master, I don\'t think entering the house would be a good idea."

The report only made Viktor more curious, so he went ahead and peeked at the yard around the house while hiding behind one of the tall trees. With one look, Viktor realized what shook Torri that much.

The house looked old and was made of rotting wood, with gates made of wood as well. A dozen human skulls, some still with their eyes, were pierced onto the stakes erected near the fences, creating a terrifying scene.

Frozen with fear, Boris muttered the word that had also passed through everyone\'s minds.

"Baba Yaga."

Baba Yaga was a famous Russian folktale, it tells of a frightening witch who lived inside a hut hidden in a dark forest. It has a lot of variations, ranging from the witch having green skin, living in a house with chicken legs, or even being unable to cross running water. However, one reoccurring element is that the witch loves to eat children.

Eva, Barry, and even Kosta all knew the story, so they held onto their weapons and looked at their surroundings in tense silence. Surprisingly, only Jessie, the smart one, had never heard of it before.

Whether they believed such a creature existed is up to debate, but there was no doubt that this situation gave all kinds of red flags. The fact remains that there could be some crazy individual living in this place, and no matter what, Viktor has no desire to meet an individual whose hobby was putting skulls on display as garden decoration.

Viktor decided to order them all to walk back and find another way, and soon after they found the path they had passed through before. No matter what happens, meeting a group of stranded adventurers should probably be better than encountering a terrifying witch.

Another hour passed as they walked through the dark forest, and there was neither an abyss creature nor even one mutated animal around. On one hand not having to fight was a welcome change, but on the other hand, the quiet made Viktor feel anxious. After a while, the Djinn finally said.

<there is one human in front, earth realm high stage, injured.>

Viktor gestured for his team to quicken their pace and looked around to confirm that there were no other things around. Then, he approached the human as instructed by the Djinn.

When he saw the man who was laying on the side of a tree with a bleeding gash on his shoulders and legs, Viktor suddenly realized who the person was.

Armor made of metal from head to toe, chain mail, and a symbol of red and white emblazoned on the chest. The man is definitely a knight templar, and from his face, Viktor recognized the man as one of the 12 who helped him that night when he was chased by the abyss creatures,

Torri hurried to the man\'s side and checked his condition.

"He\'s heavily wounded, but I think he can be saved."

"Good, can you wake him up? We need to know what is going on here."

Right after he said that, Jessie approached him and asked with a surprised expression. "Do you know these people? Have you seen them before?"

"Yes, they helped me once. Why?"

"Eermm… Nothing!" She gave him a cheeky smile and avoided the question.

Once again, Jessie was hiding some information from him. Knowing the girl, Tristan could quickly assume that it has to do with her true identity, so he decided to not pry into the matter further.

By the time Torri was able to wake the man up, the man was half-conscious. Clearly, the man lost a lot of blood. After a moment, Viktor asked him.

"Tell me What is happening here"

When the man came to and saw his surroundings, his face was frozen in fear. "The witch! Where is the witch?! We must run!"

The man looked so terrified, and his wails sounded like one of a dying man. Everyone looked at each other, clearly anxious.

Viktor was anxious too, but as the leader of the group, he had to stay calm. He quickly slapped the man and asked again. "Tell me, where is this witch?"

The question only made him more horrified, so Viktor changed his question. "Okay, tell me where are your friends? Where are the other templars?"

The man trembled as if reliving that fateful moment. With quivering lips, he answered. "Dead… They are all dead…"

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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,