Three people make a tiger

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

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

[Main Quest Two: Exorcise the One-Star Supernatural Phenomenon—Wounded White Brahma.]

[Side Quest One: Damage to the Ksitigarbha statue—When was the Ksitigarbha statue enshrined south of the village damaged?]

[Side Quest Two: The White Scarecrow—In the fields corroded by chemical wastewater, a scarecrow swayed in the wind.]

A one-star map.

It was actually a one-star map, with a difficulty level almost equal to his own.

Uesugi Tetsu took a deep breath and suddenly found the pungent smell of sulfur in the air surprisingly pleasant.

The main quest was actually just to exorcise a mere one-star Supernatural Phenomenon. The Edo Castle on the other side, meanwhile, required him to hack to death an Oni Warrior who had achieved the Thousand Man Slayer title.

If that was the case, then weren't the minor monsters in this Ghost Village mostly half-star or even zero-star trash demons?

There would be Walker Tokens everywhere now—perfect for saving up ten pulls for the one-star card pool opening in a couple of days.

Uesugi Tetsu rubbed his hands excitedly and pulled out the rotten woodcutter's knife he had drawn earlier.

Although this woodcutter's knife was completely inferior to the wandering samurai's uchigatana and tachi in Edo Castle, and its length was less than ideal, it was still very handy for bullying weak enemies. It was better than having no weapon at all.

Also, the "White Brahma" in the main quest was the evolved form of his own Laughing Brahma. He wondered whether defeating it would earn him any extra rewards.

Without thinking any further, Uesugi Tetsu took out the Walker Token and hung it from his waist.

This time, he did not open the door first. Instead, he used the woodcutter's knife to cut a small hole in the bottom of the hut, then quietly rolled the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball outside.

Accompanied by a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Power, the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball silently rose into the air and circled the thatched hut once.

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

It wore a straw raincoat. Its appearance was very much like a farmer's, but it was definitely not human.

He let out a cold laugh. Sure enough, the thing had been waiting for him here.

If he had gone out carelessly because this was a one-star map, there was a high chance he would have stepped right onto the thing and been killed the moment he opened the door again.

Uesugi Tetsu recalled the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball and silently moved behind the door, mentally locating the humanoid creature's head.

He tightened his grip on the hilt, activated the Ki-ai Technique, and thrust out fiercely!

Thrust!

The rusty blade pierced through the wooden plank without obstruction. From the sensation traveling through the woodcutter's knife, Uesugi Tetsu could tell that the blade had sunk deep into the humanoid creature's skull.

Yet no kill notification appeared.

It's that tough?

"Grr... grr..."

A chilling, hoarse growl slowly rose outside the door. Uesugi Tetsu frowned slightly, then exerted force with his blue-black left hand and tore the thatched hut's door off in one pull.

The Laughing Brahma's face suddenly thrust out from inside the hut and stretched a sinister smile toward the struggling demon with its mouth agape.

Fearful Smile!

The growling stopped abruptly. Taking advantage of the opening, Uesugi Tetsu yanked out his knife and, without hesitation, severed its neck. He then drove the blade into its heart and twisted it viciously.

Black-red blood burst out, splattering across the cold Brahma Mask.

[You killed the half-star resentful spirit "Corrupted Stout Farmer" and obtained 30 Soul Soothing Incense Ash.]

This door-guarding monster was pretty tough to kill. Even after being ambushed with a knife through the skull, it still had not died.

The Soul Soothing Incense Ash it dropped was quite substantial, equivalent to getting three portions of it.

Without wiping the blood from the blade, Uesugi Tetsu casually chose a direction and began exploring Arakawa Ghost Village, keeping close to the thatched huts one after another.

With his 270-degree ultra-wide field of vision, unless a demon suddenly tore through a hut wall to ambush him, Uesugi Tetsu effectively had a full-map view. He could spot any danger in advance.

Arakawa Ghost Village was eerily quiet. In contrast, constant rumbling came from outside the village.

Uesugi Tetsu knew what that sound was. In his previous life, whenever he passed a chemical plant or construction site on his way to school, there was often that much noise coming from inside.

"But the monster density is a little low."

After walking for more than ten minutes, Uesugi Tetsu finally encountered a second Corrupted Farmer.

The farmer was nowhere near as strong as a wandering samurai. With his skilled use of backstabbing techniques, Uesugi Tetsu beheaded it in just a few strikes, causing it to drop Soul Soothing Incense Ash.

[You killed the zero-star wandering spirit "Corrupted Farmer" and obtained 5 Soul Soothing Incense Ash.]

Five Soul Soothing Incense Ash... Well, even a mosquito's leg was still meat.

The farther he went, the more certain Uesugi Tetsu became that Arakawa Ghost Village was set around the Meiji period, because the advanced farming tools occasionally placed along the roadside looked nothing like something the Japanese could have made.

"If that's the case, then aren't there Foreign Lords with guns standing over by the factory?"

Uesugi Tetsu muttered inwardly, but then suddenly spotted three farmers at a crossroads not far away. They wore straw hats and straw raincoats, wandered together into the distance, and carried battered farming tools in their hands.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the tops of their heads. Three [Corrupted Stout Farmers] appeared simultaneously.

Uesugi Tetsu's face lit up, and the woodcutter's knife trembled eagerly in his hand.

Compared with ordinary farmers, stout farmers were merely stronger and a little harder to kill. Having three gathered together would be troublesome.

But troublesome was all it was.

He could not let those 90 Soul Soothing Incense Ash slip away.

With that thought, Uesugi Tetsu hurried closer, making no attempt to hide his movements.

To him, it did not matter even if he died here. As long as the three farmers died before he did, he would still come out ahead.

"Hey, big guys! I'm over here!"

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

"Grr! Grr-grr!"

When they saw the Western-style school uniform on Uesugi Tetsu, the three farmers seemed to receive an enormous shock and charged toward him like madmen.

"Come on!"

Uesugi Tetsu desperately suppressed the corners of his mouth as they rose. In one breath, he released all the Ki within his body.

The Laughing Brahma's already powerful body climbed another level. The muscles on his blue-black arms bulged, and as Uesugi Tetsu broke into a sprint, even the air shrieked around him.

Before the three somewhat clumsy stout farmers could react, Uesugi Tetsu crashed into their midst like a black shadow, using the force of his charge to drive the woodcutter's knife deep into the neck of the farmer in the center.

Wait, why does it feel different this time?

Uesugi Tetsu failed to pull out the woodcutter's knife and immediately sensed trouble. Only then did he notice the same blood-red modifier hovering above all three stout farmers.

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

Uesugi Tetsu did not grow frustrated. He merely raised his face and formed an emotionless smile.

The instant the three farmers were subjected to hard control, Uesugi Tetsu forced the farmer directly in front of him to the ground, then poured all his strength into severing its neck, which was tougher than a tree trunk.

Before he could smash in its skull, the attack from behind crashed down heavily.

Looking down at the tip of a sickle that had pierced through his chest, Uesugi Tetsu vomited blood. Trembling, he crushed the skull beneath his foot and abandoned the woodcutter's knife, which he could no longer use at such close range.

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

"Die already!"