Deathly silence.
The cold air that had once been filled with shrieks and strange cries, after a brief chorus of wails and howls, had fallen completely still.
The campfire crackled. The skinned wild boar had browned slightly under the licking flames, reaching the perfect point for eating—provided one could ignore the stuffy stench of guts mixed into the aroma of roasted meat.
Wisps of mist drifted softly in from outside the cave, carrying a hint of blood-red within the haze, as though condensed from the overwhelmingly thick blood scent in the air.
"Gurgle."
A small, cloudy yellow-green eyeball, like the frosted crystal balls nobles in Newm City often enjoyed, rolled out of a half-shattered skull. Its end was trailing a few chewy, sticky "mochi" bits, with fine scraps of flesh dotted on it like red spice. Add a few drops of milky-white, viscous "Creamy Bean Liquid," then wrap it in a layer of still-warm, scarlet "Hawthorn Honey Dew" freshly boiled a moment ago, and its shape was complete.
However, the country boy from the fields standing here now clearly had no appetite for this delicate little "dessert."
Crunch—
A mud-stained leather boot came down hard, and a faint sound of something brittle bursting came from beneath it.
He lifted his leg and stepped forward. With the sluggish sound of clinging mucus, blood mixed with some unknown turbid fluid slowly dripped from the sole of his shoe.
Standing on ground paved with blood and severed limbs, Xia Nan held a piece of gauze and was carefully wiping the silver-white longsword in his hand.
There was a barely perceptible look on his face, the lingering ease that came after indulging himself to the fullest.
Although this was only a transitional weapon he was using while the Beheading Longsword was being reforged, the