The Evil Soul Master lying on the ground had stopped howling. Instead, he turned his head and drank the blood seeping from his own wounds, muttering as he drank.
"Blood... delicious blood... warm blood..."
The sight of him indulging in it so tirelessly made Yue Ling's skin crawl, sending a chill of revulsion through him.
Suppressing the urge to kill him with a single stroke, he swept his gaze over the ruined houses nearby.
He gave a quiet sigh.
Ah, what a lovely place this village would have been if the Evil Soul Masters had never found it!
Just like Hundred Flowers Village...
The old man beside him lowered his head and thought for a moment, gathering his words before saying shakily, "Lord Soul Master, there aren't many people left in the village now. Probably just us old folks and a few young children..."
Yue Ling's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly asked, "How could that be? What about the young and able-bodied villagers?"
At those words, the old man sank to the ground in despair and said with grief and indignation, "You don't know, Lord Soul Master! Ever since those people invaded our village, everyone could only find somewhere to hide."
"But every time, those people could find our hiding places with perfect accuracy. They treated us like penned-up pigs and dogs, taking away two villagers every two hours."
"At first, they took the young, able-bodied men. Once all the men were gone, it was the women's turn, then the children's. Once all the children had been abducted, we old folks would be next..."
He sniffled, a flicker of inner struggle crossing his face.
"I'm the Windbell Village Chief, and I have one soul ring, but even I was powerless to resist them."
"And the village backs onto the Spirit