Three People Make a Tiger

[Current Area Unlocked: Arakawa Ghost Village (One Star)]

[Main Quest 1: Explore at least 80% of the Ghost Village. Current Exploration: 0%]

[Main Quest 2: Exorcise the One-Star Strange Tale - Severely Wounded White Brahma.]

[Side Quest 1: The Damaged Ksitigarbha Statue - When did the Ksitigarbha statue enshrined in the south of the village get damaged?]

[Side Quest 2: The White Scarecrow - In the fields eroded by chemical wastewater, scarecrows sway in the wind.]

A one-star map.

It turned out to be a one-star map, almost the same level as his current one.

Uesugi Tetsu took a deep breath, and immediately found the pungent smell of sulfur in the air to be pleasant.

The main quest was actually just to exorcise a mere one-star strange tale. He had to remember that in Edo Castle, he was required to kill an Oni Warrior who had achieved the "Ten Thousand Kills" feat.

In that case, wouldn't the mobs in this ghost village mostly be half-star or even zero-star low-level demons?

Now there would be Walkers and Soul Ash everywhere, which would be perfect for saving up for a ten-pull in the one-star gacha that opens in two days.

Uesugi Tetsu rubbed his hands together excitedly and took out the rotten wood-chopping knife he had drawn earlier.

Although this wood-chopping knife was no match for the katana and tachi of the wandering samurai in Edo Castle, and its length was not ideal, it was still quite handy for dealing with weaklings. It was better than having no weapon at all.

Also, the "White Brahma" in the main quest was the super-evolved form of his "Laughing Brahma." He wondered if there would be any extra rewards after defeating it.

Without further thought, Uesugi Tetsu took out the Walker token and hung it on his waist.

This time, he didn't open the door first. Instead, he used the wood-chopping knife to chisel a small hole at the bottom of the house and then quietly rolled the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball out.

With faint fluctuations of Spiritual Power, the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball flew up silently, circling the thatched hut.

Uesugi Tetsu's eyes narrowed. At the entrance of the thatched hut, he discovered a humanoid creature lying on the ground.

It was wearing a straw cape and looked like a farmer, but it was definitely not human.

He sneered. Good, it was waiting for me here.

If he had walked out carelessly because it was a one-star map, he would most likely have stepped on this thing and been killed in an instant again.

Uesugi Tetsu retracted the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball, crept to the back of the door, and silently recalled the position of the humanoid creature's head.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, circulated his Ki-ai Technique, and suddenly thrust his blade forward!

Thrust!

The rusty blade tip penetrated the wooden board without resistance. The feel transmitted from the wood-chopping knife told Uesugi Tetsu that the blade should have deeply embedded itself into the humanoid creature's skull.

However, no kill notification popped up.

So much vitality?

"Roar... Roar..."

Eerie, hoarse roars began to sound slowly outside the door. Uesugi Tetsu frowned slightly, exerted force with his dark blue left hand, and tore off the door of the thatched hut.

The face of the Laughing Brahma suddenly emerged from the house, baring a chilling smile at the demon struggling with its mouth open.

Fearful Smile!

The roaring stopped abruptly. Uesugi Tetsu used this opening to pull out his sword and unhesitatingly severed its neck, then plunged the blade into its heart and stirred it violently.

Black and red blood spurted out, splashing onto the cold Brahma mask.

[You have killed the half-star resentment "Corrupted Stout Farmer" and obtained 30 Soul Ash.]

This door-guarding monster is quite tough. A sneak attack to the head didn't kill it.

But the Soul Ash dropped was quite a lot, equivalent to obtaining three portions of tranquilizing incense ash.

Without wiping the bloodstained blade, Uesugi Tetsu casually chose a direction and began exploring the Arakawa Ghost Village, moving from one thatched hut to another.

With his 270° super wide field of vision, unless a demon suddenly tore through the wall from inside a thatched hut to attack him, Uesugi Tetsu was essentially playing with a full map view, able to detect any danger in advance.

The Arakawa Ghost Village was eerily quiet. In contrast, there were continuous rumbling sounds coming from outside the village.

Uesugi Tetsu knew what those sounds were. In his past life, whenever he passed by a chemical plant or a construction site on his way to school, there were often such loud noises.

"But the density of these monsters is a bit low."

After walking for more than ten minutes, Uesugi Tetsu encountered only his second Corrupted Farmer.

The strength of the farmer was no match for a wandering samurai. Uesugi Tetsu, skillfully using his backstab technique, decapitated it in a few swift strikes, dropping Soul Ash.

[You have killed the zero-star wandering soul "Corrupted Farmer" and obtained 5 Soul Ash.]

5 Soul Ash... I can only say that every little bit counts.

The more he walked, the more Uesugi Tetsu became certain that the era of the Arakawa Ghost Village was around the Meiji period, because the advanced farming tools occasionally placed by the roadside were unlike anything the Japanese could have made.

"In that case, wouldn't there be Westerners with guns standing at the factory?"

Uesugi Tetsu muttered to himself, but suddenly, at a crossroads not far away, he saw three farmers wearing straw hats and capes, wandering together towards the distance, holding broken farming tools in their hands.

He squinted at the tops of their heads, and three [Corrupted Stout Farmers] appeared simultaneously.

Uesugi Tetsu's face lit up, and his wood-chopping knife twitched eagerly.

Compared to ordinary farmers, the robust farmers were just a bit stronger and harder to kill; three of them together were somewhat troublesome.

But only somewhat troublesome.

He couldn't let these 90 Soul Ash slip away.

With that thought, Uesugi Tetsu quickly approached, making no attempt to hide his movements.

For him, it didn't matter if he died here, as long as he made these three farmers die before him, it would be a profit.

"Big brothers, I'm over here!"

Uesugi Tetsu shouted loudly, instantly drawing the attention of the three robust farmers.

"Roar! Roar roar!"

Upon seeing the Western-style school uniform on Uesugi Tetsu's body, the three farmers seemed greatly provoked and charged at him like madmen.

"Good, they're coming!"

Uesugi Tetsu suppressed the upward curve of his lips as much as possible and unleashed all the qi within his body in one burst.

The already strong physique of the Laughing Brahma's body reached another level. Muscles bulged on his dark blue arms, and Uesugi Tetsu, now in a full sprint, even created gusts of wind.

Before the three somewhat clumsy robust farmers could react, Uesugi Tetsu crashed into the middle of them like a black shadow, using the momentum of his run to deeply embed his wood-chopping knife into the neck of the farmer in the center.

Wait, why does this feel a bit off this time?

Unable to pull out the wood-chopping knife, Uesugi Tetsu thought something was wrong. He then noticed that the three robust farmers all had the same blood-red affix above their heads.

[Three people make a tiger: When the number of farmers within a certain range increases, all farmers' physiques are enhanced. Current count: 3]

Uesugi Tetsu didn't get frustrated; he just looked up, a cold, emotionless smile forming on his lips.

The moment the three farmers were strongly controlled, Uesugi Tetsu pushed the farmer directly in front of him to the ground and then, with all his might, severed the neck, which was tougher than a tree trunk.

Before he could smash the head, an attack from behind landed heavily.

Looking down at the tip of the sickle blade piercing through his chest, Uesugi Tetsu vomited blood. He shakily crushed the head, abandoning the wood-chopping knife, which was now useless at such close range.

The blue-faced, fanged Laughing Brahma opened its mouth and, with a savage grin, lunged at the nearest farmer.

"Die for me!"