Looking ahead at the empty space, Scribe's cold voice rang out.
"Now that we've caught up here, there's no need to hide anymore."
"Oh dear, I just can't do anything with you."
A familiar voice rang out, and then a figure stood up from the ground in the distance.
After brushing the snow off his body, Kurokawa grinned, showing no sign of being bothered by being discovered.
"Brothers, let's get to work, everyone come out."
With a loud shout, Kurokawa stretched out his right hand and made a gesture.
At the same time, many people began to emerge from the surrounding trees, behind the rocks, and even from the houses not far away.
Soon, these people gathered together and surrounded Scribe and Koinatsu.
These men looked quite fierce, their cotton-padded clothes puffed out, revealing solid muscles underneath.
Moreover, each of them was armed with a hunting rifle or a machete, making them quite formidable.
Kurokawa glanced at the dozen or so people around him and gave a cold smile.
"From what I just heard your conversation, I think your name is Scribe?"
Kurokawa drew a single-handed double-barreled shotgun from his waist, pointing the dark muzzle at Scribe with a hint of contempt.
"How about it? Do you regret it a little? If you had been stupid enough to walk into the house, things wouldn't be like this now."
Without speaking, the Scribe simply turned his head slightly, observing everyone around him.
"Twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one... thirty-two people in total."
Silently counting the number of people surrounding him, the Scribe showed no fear on his face, instead turning to ask Kurokawa.
"What, are you ashamed and scared because your scheme was seen through?"
With his thoughts revealed, Kurokawa's face instantly flashed with anger, and he roared.
"Bullshit, what do I have to be afraid of? You should be thinking about how you're going to get out of here alive."
The safety latch was released, Kurokawa tilted his head, and licked his lips.
"Leave all your valuables, and the woman next to you too, and maybe we brothers will spare your life."
Kurokawa's words were quite blunt and vulgar, and a look of shame and indignation flashed across Koinatsu's face.
Although I had similar experiences before, I still couldn't shake the fear in my heart.
Just then, Scribe grabbed Koinatsu's small hand and pulled him into his arms.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Feeling the warmth of Scribe's body, a unique aura entered Koinatsu's mind, gradually calming her down.
"So it really is all about money and lust after all."
His gaze swept across everyone's faces, and the Scribe quietly observed their greedy and undisguised expressions without saying a word.
Kurokawa's previous actions and behavior had already aroused Scribe's great suspicion towards him.
Even as he left, though his gaze wasn't on her, the Scribe could still sense Kurokawa's undisguised desire.
As for what Black Feather said, the Scribe believed that he was not mistaken.
But if Kurokawa is right, the temperature in the inhabited house should already be quite high.
But as soon as the house came into view, he saw the string of icicles next to the Scribe.
Normally formed icicles are relatively straight and streamlined, but the icicles next to chimneys are of the concentric ring type.
This is formed when an icicle melts due to increased temperature and then refreezes.
In other words, the house was only inhabited for a very short period of time; the rest of the time it was an empty house.
By leading them to an empty house, and considering Kurokawa's previous behavior, it's not hard to guess his intentions.
To plunder, to murder, to kidnap, to sell.
Now it seems that my guess was indeed correct.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?!"
Seeing that the Scribe hadn't responded for a long time, Kurokawa became restless.
He lowered the gun slightly and then pulled the trigger.
The flash of the gun was so blinding in the snow, and then two bullets shot out.
The bullet struck the open ground next to the Scribe, blasting away the snow and leaving two large holes in the ground.
"See? If you don't want several big holes in your body, then do as I say right now!"
Glancing at the large hole only two meters away from him, Scribe still did not answer Kurokawa, but instead spoke up.
"I remember you said yourself that you are still quite trustworthy as a hunter."
"Of course, I'm a very trustworthy hunter."
He patted his chest, and a Kurokawa curved his lips.
But then, that smile turned into a deep sarcasm. (Reading La)
"But the times have forced me to find a part-time job. I'm a robber now, a bandit, you understand!"
Kurokawa turned the gun on the Scribe again, the mockery on his face fading into impatience.
"Last chance, to do it or to die?"
Scribe remained silent, simply shaking his head.
Completely baffled, Kurokawa, who had reached his limit of endurance, could no longer wait.
He pointed the gun at the Scribe's calf, intending to teach him a lesson.
When he discovers that his calf has been pierced, the look of despair, panic, and cowering on his face will be quite a sight.
Thinking of this, Kurokawa couldn't stop grinning maliciously.
This wasn't the first time they'd done something similar. Each time, they would surround their "prey" with numbers, then employ psychological warfare to slowly manipulate the "prey" they had controlled, gradually destroying their psychological defenses.
Admittedly, they could use force to seize it directly.
But these psychopaths like Kurokawa want to see their "prey" being manipulated and then willingly offering up everything.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the Scribe on the other side suddenly moved.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel much better. At least I'm sure I didn't kill the wrong person."
A warm smile appeared on his face, as comforting as the winter sun.
However, this warmth was a little too intense.
"Bass!"
The Nichirin Blade at his waist was instantly drawn, and two slashes mixed with flames flew out, flying forward perpendicular to the ground.
At such a speed that ordinary people could not react to, apart from Kurokawa, who was deliberately left behind by the Scribe, everyone else standing in front of them was within the range of the slash and had no way to escape.
"Pfft pfft pfft"
The sound of more than a dozen muscles being cleaved rang out, and instantly more than a dozen corpses cut in half appeared on the ground.
At the cut surface, raging flames are burning, like an invitation to hell.
"I told you, you are surrounded by me."
Chapter 197 The True Location
As if frozen in place, Kurokawa stiffly turned his neck.
He looked down as far as he could, and with great difficulty, he managed to catch a glimpse of a corpse out of the corner of his eye.
The burning flames were constantly eroding the flesh on it, crackling and popping, with grease occasionally bursting out.
The smell of roasted meat mixed with the odor of burning filled the air and craved into his nostrils.
Wisps of smoke, like the scythe of death, rose up along Kurokawa's body before finally dissipating into the air.
The trembling in my body was completely unstoppable, and my teeth, which seemed to have been equipped with a small electric motor, kept opening and closing.
No matter what, he never imagined that the seemingly gentle and weak Scribe could unleash such power.
"Is this even human?"
A thought popped into Kurokawa's mind, but before he could think any further, a sharp blade was already at his neck.
"Three seconds, cover your mouth and stop making that clicking sound."
Scribe gaze was icy, as if he were looking at a dead man, with not a trace of pity in his eyes.
"Otherwise, I'll just cut your hand off; it's useless anyway."
"Yes!"
His hair stood on end, and a chill ran straight to his cerebral cortex. Under the threat of death, Kurokawa's body reacted on its own initiative.
He covered his mouth tightly with both hands, so that his teeth would no longer make a symphony.
The muscles held it in place tightly, as if afraid of making another sound.
The force he exerted and the tension in his muscles were so great that Kurokawa himself didn't even realize they had turned blue.
"You stay here and don't move. I'll go kill some animals and come right back."
Pointing to the ground beneath his feet, the Scribe nodded to Kurokawa and turned to walk away.
As he passed by Koinatsu, he suddenly spoke softly.
"Black Feather, cover Koinatsu's eyes for me."
"No need, Mister Scribe, I can manage."
Somewhat unexpectedly, Koinatsu refused to block the view this time.
She took a deep breath, and although her body was still trembling, the look of panic on her face gradually faded.
"A strong girl."
He praised her in his heart, but the Scribe still let Black Feather stay.
Although we know the chances are slim, it's better to keep an eye on Kurokawa just in case.
With things settled here, the only remaining issue is dealing with the escaped bandits.
Even before the Scribe made his move, the surviving bandits were already intimidated by his terrifying strength.
Those who were a little bolder had already given up on the idea of opposing the Scribe, dropped their weapons, and turned to run away.
The less timid ones had already knelt on the ground, crying and shouting that they would never do such a thing again, while repeatedly kowtowing to the Scribe and begging for forgiveness.
As for those who were terrified, judging from the drool at the corners of their mouths and their blank stares, they were beyond saving.
But whether they were begging for mercy or had been scared out of their wits, the Scribe showed no mercy.
With a single cut, they were sent to another world.
Forgiveness is not something one is obligated to do; what the Scribe can do is send them to see someone who can forgive them.
After killing those who remained, the Scribe did a quick count and found that five people had escaped.
Judging from the footprints on the ground, there was a clever person among them.
Rather than scattering or running out of the mountains, they chose to flee in the direction they had come from.
The purpose was to escape back to the small town they had been in, so that the Scribe would be hesitant to act rashly.
However, the probability of this happening is almost zero.
Putting aside the fact that the Scribe didn't treat them as human beings at all, but only as some beasts in human skin, the question of whether they could even get back to the town before the Scribe caught up was a matter worth pondering.
After determining the location where the five people had escaped, Scribe smiled coldly.
He jogged a few steps, then stomped hard on the ground.
His whole body shot out as if he were riding a rocket.