Intervention

Black threads burst from Otto's body, forming a tangled black mass that met the monster's charge.

Those black threads wriggled constantly. The instant the collision occurred, their tips shot out, trying to pierce Pur's body.

However, beneath Tough Skin, the force of those black threads was still too weak.

But the threads quickly and cleverly burrowed toward the openings on Pur's body.

They wanted to enter his body through those places.

Pur showed no panic at all.

He calmly mobilized the power within his body—Deep Well Water.

This was the power of the Village Guardian system. Naimus had merely developed its Whale-ification potential.

Even before Whale-ification, it had continuously provided Village Guardians with strength and various resistances.

Village Guardians faced all manner of dangerous creatures in their daily lives, and Nest Beasts were among the ones they encountered most often.

Even before becoming an official Village Guardian, Pur had dared to wear a single layer of leather gloves and grab Nest Beasts to playfully torture to death.

Now that the Deep Well Water within him had been fully developed, his body was like a deep well itself.

An ethereal, chilling aura seeped from within him.

The Nest Beast's black threads, which had been about to burrow inside, seemed to have encountered a natural predator and immediately turned to flee.

This was Deep Well Water's most important original power—resistance.

Whether it was Whale-ification Disease or dangerous creatures like Nest Beasts, their direct offensive power was not actually strong. What made them dangerous were their troublesome infection abilities.

Whale-ification Disease could infect others through Whale Call, while Nest Beasts could use black hairs as embryos to parasitize people.

That was where their danger lay.

Deep Well Water could resist these dangers while also providing fairly solid attributes. That alone was enough to prove that the Village Guardian system's widespread popularity was not misplaced.

However, Otto's goal was not to solve the problem by having a Nest Beast parasitize Pur. His combat judgment was lacking, but his mind was still clear.

Naturally, he would not overlook the fact that Pur was a reserve Village Guardian.

He had summoned the Nest Beast for another purpose—

Several black shadows climbed up from the ground and charged straight at Pur.

Once the battle had begun, Otto had continuously retreated to adjust his position.

And now, he was standing amid a pile of "people."

Earlier, his subordinates had shot many villagers dead with arrows. These villagers, who had come out alongside the Village Guardians and the others to search, had become tools controlled by the Nest Beast after death.

The Nest Beast's threads penetrated the corpses' muscles, controlling their movements through stimulation and pulling.

Moreover, after Otto's cultivation, these Nest Beast black threads could enhance, heal, control the minds of their hosts, and grant them a unique set of senses after parasitizing a human body.

Pur swung his fist at the hosts. Yet aside from a small number that were too slow and got hit, most of them could dodge in advance, avoiding Pur's punches.

Pur's whale eyes blinked as he swiftly locked onto the tiny black hairs on the hosts' bodies.

These fine hairs were extremely sensitive to airflow and the scents emitted by other creatures. They could quickly detect approaching danger and prompt the hosts to react.

"So that's it. Perhaps that's why Downs still hasn't managed to take them down?" Pur guessed.

And that was indeed the case.

The four enemies facing Downs were all agility types.

Not to mention the two Halflings; the two desperadoes from before were the same.

After Downs punched in another man's chest, the Nest Beast activated and repaired him. The senses of both men became exceptionally sharp, and the four coordinated with one another so well that nearly all of Downs's attacks missed.

Compared to them, Downs lacked the Village Guardian's ruthless resolve and Pur's talent.

All he possessed was the power bestowed by the Demon and—an intense desire for revenge.

Attack after attack landed on Downs. Though he had not truly been injured, the pain each time was real.

He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

At this moment, he felt unbearably uncomfortable all over. More than once, he had thought about immediately running away.

But those thoughts were quickly cast aside.

On one hand, Naimus's figure existed deep within Downs's heart. He feared, revered, and trusted Naimus.

As long as Naimus remained, he would not dare disobey Naimus's orders.

And on the other hand, there was revenge.

"Ahhh, are you done yet, Kurog?!" Downs asked Kurog in his mind as he wailed in agony.

"Endure a little longer. The pain has been reduced too much when it's transmitted across space."

"We need to accumulate some more..."

"Besides, I can already sense that my lord is approaching. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of him, do you?" Kurog added afterward.

Those words made Downs shudder. The fear in his heart crushed his fear of physical pain.

Downs immediately gritted his teeth and endured. At the same time, his gaze swept around as he looked at the four people, imagining the exhilaration of turning the tables and crushing them all beneath his feet.

After taking a few more attacks.

Kurog's "Done" became the key that opened the floodgates of Downs's desire.

The next moment, Downs's eyes reddened. Without hesitation, he charged toward the man whose neck he had crushed earlier.

The man immediately sensed him and quickly retreated to evade him. At the same time, the other three attacked from different positions, coordinating to interrupt Downs's pursuit.

But at that very moment, a black aura suddenly spread outward from Downs's entire body.

A Halfling who was too close immediately felt an unbearable pain, and his formerly nimble movements went out of control.

Downs bared his teeth in a savage grin, turned, and kicked straight at the Halfling's head.

Seeing this, the other Halfling immediately threw himself forward and grabbed Downs's leg from the side.

He became a human buffer, preventing the kick from directly exploding that Halfling's head.

Instead, the two Halflings were sent flying at the same time.

Victory was decided!

At that moment, a Paladin with a sword at his waist, a slender figure, and a smile on his face walked over.

An oppressive presence even stronger than that of the four-meter-tall Pur radiated from him, drawing everyone's attention.

Pur ignored the ongoing battle and dropped directly to one knee. His unbowed head was filled with loyalty to Naimus.

Downs, who had just secured victory, was a beat slower, but he immediately abandoned any thought of continuing his attack. He knelt on one knee and lowered his head, not daring to act presumptuously.

The only one still moving in the area was Aro.

He did not know why the Village Guardian had stopped. He only knew that he had to capture him.

The blade danced in his palm as he concentrated all his strength onto its tip. With the Village Guardian standing still, he had already targeted the other party's vital point. He would surely capture him in one strike.

Yet in the next moment, a sword thrust in from a tricky angle.

The sword blade collided with the knife, and a clever force made Aro's hand go numb. His knife flew from his grasp.

Gah!!