Discovery

Several bodies were quickly dragged away from in front of the village to be dealt with.

Watching this scene, everyone present looked troubled, as if they had been reminded of something terrifying.

"It's the supernatural..." Standing beside Raman, a middle-aged man spoke in a trembling voice. "This was definitely done by the supernatural. It's spread right to our doorstep without anyone noticing."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Raman glared at him. Seeing the grim looks on everyone's faces, he had no choice but to step forward and speak up. "Everyone, don't be afraid! There are plenty of people in our village. As long as we don't go looking for trouble in those places, these damned things won't come after us!"

"From now on, be careful whenever you go out. Stay away from those dangerous places!"

He left them with those words, his face stern, then led his people away, leaving everyone else standing silently where they were.

The people remained quiet as they took in the situation. After a while, they gradually dispersed, heading back to their homes.

Arthur watched them leave with a cold expression. Looking at the bodies being dragged away, he seemed puzzled as he stood there, lost in thought.

From what had just happened, he could clearly sense that something was wrong. It seemed that something bad had occurred.

He reached to his waist with his right hand, took out a map, and unfolded it.

A map appeared before his eyes, with several routes out of the area clearly marked on it.

Looking at the map and recalling the scene of the knight's departure, Arthur began to understand.

He quietly put the map away and headed back to his house, waiting patiently for nightfall.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, an inexplicable stirring jolted him awake.

Arthur opened his eyes. Deep within his soul, it seemed that a world was connected to him, sending out some kind of pulse.

"The power's accumulated. I can go back now," he murmured, feeling the instinctive pull and a glint flashing in his eyes.

It was as if by instinct that he knew he could leave this place and return to the world he had been in before, simply by willing it.

He got to his feet and stood still for a while, but in the end, he chose not to return right away.

Traveling between worlds required an enormous amount of power. If he chose to return now, all the power he had accumulated over his previous two lives would be used up. He had no idea how long it would take to gather enough power again.

Compared to the previous world, this one was undoubtedly better suited to Arthur right now. It would allow him to improve quickly, instead of making slow progress like the other knights.

At the thought, Arthur's eyes grew profound as he looked into the distance.

"Soon!" A flicker of excitement crossed his eyes as he spoke to himself.

The previous night, thanks to his keen senses, he had clearly detected an unusual presence slipping in. It still hadn't disappeared, and seemed to be lurking deep within the village.

For everyone else, this meant danger. But to Arthur, it meant prey and a reward.

Even now, Arthur still couldn't stop thinking about the effects of that Crystal Core.

......

The day passed quickly. As dusk approached, voices raised in discussion and argument echoed through a wooden cabin.

"What should we do?" Erui sat in the cabin with a livid expression, looking at the other two people. "Word has spread through the village. The supernatural has spread again!"

The young man in front of him wore a stiff smile that looked strained. "It... probably won't be that bad..."

"Exactly!" A woman beside him chimed in. "So what if the supernatural really has spread? This happens every so often. There's nothing unusual about it."

"As long as we don't go looking for trouble in those forbidden places, nothing should happen to us."

She breathed rapidly, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her right hand, and spoke with a pale face.

Erui fell silent at her words. After a long while, he slowly raised his head. "What if the Outbreak Period really has arrived?"

The words seemed taboo. The other two went pale at once.

"It... probably hasn't..." The young man spoke haltingly to Erui, the back of his clothes already soaked with sweat.

The woman, however, fell silent. She didn't say a word.

Watching them, Erui sighed. "You both know what happened yesterday, don't you? Those bodies."

"Didn't Lord Raman have them taken out and cremated?" the young man asked, puzzled.

"Cremated." Erui twisted his face into an expression that was part fear, part sneer. "If only they'd really been cremated."

"Do you know? Raman and the others have disappeared. They were gone by this morning. Not only did the people disappear, but the horses were taken too."

He looked at the two people before him and continued, "This morning, when I noticed Raman and the others were gone, I immediately followed their tracks to the place where they'd cremated those bodies yesterday!"

"Do you know what I found?"

"The fire was still burning! The bodies were lying there perfectly intact amid the pile of firewood and flames. Their clothes had burned away, but not even a patch of their skin had been scorched!"

"Those bodies had changed. They couldn't be burned! Raman and the others realized something was wrong, and when they found they couldn't do anything about it, they abandoned us and ran!"

By the end, Erui was shouting. His face twisted with fear, resentment, anger, and a jumble of other emotions.

"What!" The two people before him froze. As they stared at Erui shouting in front of them, their minds seemed to explode into chaos.

"There's no point in doubting anything now!" Seeing their stunned expressions, Erui took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his tumultuous feelings. "The supernatural has erupted, and it's already reached our village. We can't hesitate any longer!"

"Go! Leave now! Pack up tonight. At first light tomorrow, we'll take our families and get out of here!"

Seeing the two of them staring blankly, Erui gave his orders without hesitation, then walked over to the wooden door, opened it, and prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" the young man asked instinctively, watching Erui move.

"To find that powerful knight!" Erui replied without looking back. "The supernatural has erupted! This whole region is about to become extremely dangerous. Without that knight's protection, none of us will make it out of this area!"

With that, he quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving the two bewildered people alone in the cabin.