I Call the Shots.
Will she ever have a home?
Hunter's Cabin?
It doesn't seem like it.
For some reason, as Maria pondered this, a slender figure slowly entered her memory.
She was graceful and of high status, yet beside Maria, she acted like a supportive wife, never asking what Maria needed, simply standing silently and offering whatever help she could...
Lamaline...
Maria for a moment, then let out a soft breath.
However, this contemplation did not last long. The old man glanced at his villagers and then slowly spoke.
"Besides, we can't settle down here."
"Can't settle down? Why?"
Maria was somewhat puzzled.
But the old man simply looked up, gazing at the world fading into the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"There is a mountain god here!"
~~~~~
296
Chapter 296 I'm in Charge.
Mountain God...
An ancient and mysterious name.
It can refer to many things—for example, wild animals, strange places, or...
Great Beast.
"The mountain god has been here for many years... at least it was called that by my grandfather's generation."
The old man took a puff of his pipe and exhaled a long breath.
The wispy smoke rose into the sky and slowly spread over time.
From tangible, it gradually became illusory.
"Although I've never seen what the mountain god looks like, I grew up listening to this story... Whether it's true or not, nobody in the village knows, but since our ancestors have always insisted on telling us to pass this down, there must be a reason."
"Didn't you consider sending someone to investigate and find out why?"
"Heave-ho!"
The old man smiled and shook his head. "There's no need for that."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Our village is a small village with few people to begin with. Where would we find the strength to send more people to investigate? Besides, even if something really happened, what could we possibly do? At best, we could only drive the mountain god away... but it will come back in a few years."
"Trading human lives for a few years of peace... is not worth it."
The old man spoke slowly, his words conveying a sense of complacency and indifference.
To be honest, Maria didn't agree with this idea; in fact, she thought it was cowardly.
But...
Looking at the emaciated old man before her, Maria finally fell silent.
She is powerful, but she is lucky—an exceptional kind of power.
Her strength is enough to allow her to stand firm in all situations and overcome any problem!
However, the vast majority of individuals in human society are weak, and some may spend their entire lives without making a sound.
Maria's thoughts... are all too obvious...
After waiting silently for a while, the crowd that had left in the distance gradually returned, carrying the corpses of some of the dead.
The relatives in the crowd had their own thoughts upon seeing the bodies, but in the end, everything fell silent.
Maria, however, remained a bystander, silently observing everything.
Until late at night...
The settlement was very quiet at night, with only the campfire crackling and burning slowly.
Several patrolling youths walked around, protecting the safety of everyone.
Maria had also been invited into a tent.
But in the end, Maria herself refused.
She doesn't need rest; her need for sleep is now almost nonexistent. She even wants to go out on patrol.
A person walks alone in the dark mountains, the surrounding silence making them uneasy.
But Maria continued walking as if no one was around, her footprints in the snow appearing and disappearing intermittently.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, Maria suddenly heard some strange noises.
When... when...
It sounded like metal clashing against metal...
"Um?"
Maria looked up in confusion, glanced around, frowned, and then looked in one direction.
"This way?"
Maria walked slowly towards it.
As she drew closer, the knocking sounds became increasingly distinct.
Soon, the surrounding darkness completely engulfed her...
The pitch-black environment meant that even Maria's vision couldn't extend very far; clearly, this was no ordinary black fog.
But Maria, undeterred, continued walking towards the source of the sound.
Soon, she arrived at the entrance of a cave that resembled a mountain cave.
"Is the sound coming from here?"
Maria was somewhat puzzled.
She stood at the cave entrance, hesitated for a few moments, and then spoke softly.
Does anyone live here?
"..."
The knocking stopped.
A few breaths later, the clanging sound rang out again, as if the other party was completely unaware of Maria's arrival.
After a few moments of silence, Maria spoke again.
"May I come inside?"
"Clang... clang..."
The knocking didn't stop.
Not receiving a clear response, Maria was unsure whether she had received permission from the owner of the place.
The thick darkness around us could indeed make it difficult to discern the passage of time.
Maria didn't know how long she had been thinking about it, but she finally decided to go in.
From the depths of the cave, a faint light emanated.
Following the light, Maria approached the other person step by step.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Maria discovered a large patch of light...
It was a crimson world.
The churning lava covered the entire ground, with only a few exposed areas where black, soft, viscous liquid seeping out from its scalding interior was churning.
Among them, a woman was repeatedly slamming a huge iron block into the molten lava in front of her.
The red-hot iron bar pounded against the viscous lava, splashing liquid onto her body, but nothing happened.
Maria could see the intricate patterns and totems covering the other person's body.
It covered almost her entire body... except for her elbows and above her collarbone...
"You are the owner of this place?"
Maria asked again, slowly approaching the other person.
She could smell the familiar scent of the beast, and her eyes turned slightly hostile.
Such hostility did not escape the other side's notice.
But after only glancing back once, she looked away again, determinedly swinging the red-hot iron bar in her hand, which might be thousands of degrees hot, and smashing it fiercely into the lava.
"Bang!"
A small eruption instantly enraged the surging magma, which spewed out countless streams of liquid, enough to engulf a person and kill them, churning and spreading outwards.
Maria inevitably got tainted by these things as well.
Such a high temperature was unusual for Maria, making her feel a slightly unusual sensation.
But she simply reached out, silently brushed it off her body, and walked towards the other person.
This time, however, the unknown Great Beast finally paid no attention to Maria. It turned to the side strangely, hoisted the red-hot iron bar onto its back, and looked at Maria with a peculiar expression.
"Are you... one of our kind?"
She spoke, her voice clear and crisp, yet strangely possessing a neutral quality.
Her orange-red hair cascaded down to her tailbone, just covering the top of her pert little rounded hair.
The translucent red horn atop its head gleamed like a gemstone in this crimson world.
"What do you want from me? If it's war... I'm ready to fight anytime!"
The woman grinned, her beautiful, round face displaying a fighting spirit that seemed out of place with her usual demeanor. Her sharp pupils suddenly narrowed, carrying a hint of provocation.
But...
"I am not one of your kind..."
"Not of the same kind?"
The woman was somewhat puzzled.
She watched Maria casually step onto the lava, then looked at the other woman's calm face, and leaned in to sniff.
"No?"
"No."
Maria's answer was firm.
This caused the Great Beast in front of it to completely lose interest in her, and it turned its head away, continuing to wield the iron bar in its hand.
"Then it won't be fun."
She spoke, then continued on her way without saying a word.
Maria frowned slightly.
I'd like to talk to you.
"Let's wait until later."
The woman seemed quite easy to talk to. Instead of immediately driving Maria away, who had intruded into her space on their first meeting, she asked Maria to wait a while and said she would talk to her after she finished.
Maria hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.