Chapter 1485: The Assailant

Although the Castle Town of Iwamura Castle is not large, at least it exists.

Farmers growing crops outside or small merchants, and caravans bringing in supplies to resell, all have rest stops in this area.

The caravan resting in Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village is a local one from Iwamura Castle, so the person who hanged themselves had a house in the Castle Town.

Lann’s tall figure and armor, clearly not ordinary, attracted many gazes amidst the bustling Castle Town.

People were timid, observing but not daring to approach.

Fortunately, the house of the person who hanged themselves was on the edge of this residential area, just a few steps away.

A single-room wooden thatch hut, similar to the place they were settled in at Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village.

As soon as he approached, the Demon Hunter’s nose twitched slightly, and his brow immediately furrowed!

“Bang!”

He quickened his pace, not kicking the door open but still opening it with a loud, muffled sound.

The dust on the wooden walls was shaken off in a layer.

But the scene after opening the door…

The wooden hut was dimly lit, the oil lamp in the corner burned dry, the air filled only with the cheap, murky smell of burning bean oil.

And an elderly woman in peasant garb hung from the beam of this wooden house.

Whether it was due to the tremors from Lann opening the door, or some more supernatural cause.

Her body still swayed steadily, neither too fast nor too slow.

“Swish~Swish~”

Her belt hung loosely to the ground, dragging back and forth on the ground as her body swayed, making a sound of fabric rubbing against the floor.

“Meow?!”

At this moment, Rong Buqiu darted between Lann’s legs, who was holding the door, and let out a surprised cry at the hanging old woman.

Rong Buqiu was no stranger to death.

But those it saw always died fighting enemies or monsters in battle; seeing someone end their own life was rare, be it on the New Continent where it grew up or in all its subsequent journeys.

Furthermore, the expression of this old woman in death was too… eerie.

Normally, a hanged person would have a ghastly appearance with a protruding tongue.

Neither Lann nor Rong Buqiu would be too surprised by such a sight, given their experiences on the battlefield.

But this old woman, her eyes were wide open, not displaying the agony of death but an expression of resentment and malice, staring as if at something in front of her.

Beneath her disheveled, dry hair, her face, marred by the ligature, was black and purple, except for her eyes… glaring white and bright!

The wooden hut was dark and silent, as if even the bustling Castle Town outside in broad daylight was shut out.

The noise and sunlight outside seemed completely unrelated to the room indoors.

This old woman should be the mother of the person who hanged themselves in Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village.

Lann slowly stepped into the room, immersed in the silent and dim atmosphere.

He looked directly into the old woman’s eyes, those eyes filled with hatred and bitterness.

From the facial contours, he could see the resemblance between this old woman and the person who hanged themselves.

Apart from the chilling expression on her face, her countenance would likely have been kind and compassionate.

Rong Buqiu followed Lann into the silent wooden hut.

Only the belt dragging on the floor continued its steady, slow scraping sound.

This was not normal.

Usually, people hang themselves and only swing due to the initial motion of kicking away the support.

Subsequent swings would decrease until the body hung lifelessly still as a monotonous corpse.

But the old woman before them was already dead, and according to Lann’s observation, the stiffness of her body suggested she died during the night.

Dying in the same manner and on the same night as her son, hanging herself.

Yet from the time Lann entered until now, her body continued to sway, the belt still dragging on the ground.

Lann calmly circled the pendulum-like body, looking down at the old woman’s belt.

This swaying and dragging reminded him of the scene he stumbled upon last night when he broke into the hanged man’s house in Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village to offer aid.

That slip of brocade that retracted from the light into the shadows, and that withdrawing sensation…

Wasn’t it very similar to the situation at hand?

The brocade strip was the loose waistband of the kimono, dragging left and right with the swaying of the hanged person’s body.

[Residual Filth] seems to influence those affected to choose a death similar to the one from [Residual Filth].

Thinking of this, Lann’s gaze shifted from the belt on the ground to the old woman’s face, filled with hatred and resentment, silently shaking his head.

Perhaps it should not even be called a ‘choice’.

Faced with [Residual Filth], what choice do ordinary people have? A mind terrified by supernatural means would naturally become influenced, wouldn’t it?

Lann sighed, intending to step forward and remove the old woman’s body from the hanging rope.

This family, perhaps they have all perished?

With this thought in mind, Lann extended his hand. But just at that moment…

“Screech!”

A wooden door was torn apart so quickly! The sound of ripping wood almost resembled tearing fabric!

A certain straightforward and powerful weapon, accompanied by exquisite technique, came towards Lann’s waist!

“The demon has harmed people! Even the corpses are not spared!”

It was a woman’s voice.

But obviously, this woman was experienced; her shouting did not interfere with what she was doing!

Her movements were extraordinarily swift and strong, and Rong Buqiu, caught off guard, barely saw a black shadow sweep over its head!

However, Rong Buqiu was caught off guard, simply because it was raised in the New Continent in a favorable struggle with nature and had never seen anyone hanged like this.

After all, when faced with any problem in the vibrant New Continent, the usual way was to feast, then muster the courage to forge a new path.

Even in despair, one should challenge the enemy, which caused the despair with utmost combativeness, then die gracefully and regretlessly.

So, from the start, the little cat was standing in a corner of the room, in confusion and sadness, holding its paws and watching the endlessly swaying corpse.

The hanging elderly woman’s corpse might have been more of a shock to Elu Cat than a battlefield.

But while Rong Buqiu was caught off guard, Lann would not be!

His hand, originally reaching towards the hanging corpse, suddenly shifted, dropped down to block his farther side from the attacker at his waist!

This response was extremely unusual, almost illogical.

Logically, even if one used arm armor to block an attack, it should be placed at the forefront facing the assailant. Blocking behind makes no sense?

However, Lann was not a person to be thrown into a panic or lose his thoughts due to a surprise attack.

He was making an illogical response because the opponent was equally illogical!

The weapon, heavy yet swift and sharp enough to become a black shadow, was a massive scythe!

“Screech!!!”

A sharp friction sound causing ear pain flashed suddenly with intense sparks!

That scythe weapon, with its crescent moon-like blade, is a unique weapon that strikes the front but hits the back!

Since battling the First Hunter Gremman of Yan’an, Lann had already learned about this weapon’s attack mode.

So decisively, upon using his extraordinary observation to glimpse the opponent’s weapon shape, he immediately applied a counter technique smoothly!

The crescent-like arc blade cut in from the outer side.

Yet the force that should have slashed severely, perfectly intercepted the path onto a solid arm and a heavy armor!

After the sharp friction sound, not even a mark was left on Smaug’s arm armor.

This armor had extremely poor compatibility with cutting damage.

Conversely, the blade of the attacker’s massive scythe emitted a faint ‘clack’ sound of thin steel fracturing under stress.

The urgent sound of thin steel forcibly suppressed and deformed was compressed into an instant, but Lann’s hand did not stop.

A series of collision sounds and more intense sparks burst out from Smaug arm armor’s outer side and the massive scythe’s blade!

That was Lann twisting his wrist, attempting to use the layered armor structure on his arm armor to lock the scythe blade firmly and limit the weapon’s movement.

This instinctive judgment made quickly proved effective.

The scythe blade, seemingly unstoppable and fast enough to become a black shadow, was directly halted by Lann!

The attacker wielding the scythe looked up in surprise.

At this point, Lann also turned his head to take a clear look at the person’s appearance.

What first met the eye was a crimson demon mask, hiding the face, which was that of a woman.

She was watching Lann with resolute and resentful eyes.

Short hair, somewhat looking like a bob cut. Slim figure, in stark contrast to the large weapon she was holding.

An armor seemingly made from organic material.

It wasn’t as solid as battlefield armors but more convenient, with a fur cape over one shoulder.

The fluffy fur cape gave her much more presence.

The design concept of this armor resembled the equipment of the Demon Hunter’s school.

It seemed not much like it was intended for slaughter between similar beings.

But what Lann concerned himself with was none of these!

“Fwoosh~”

On a level unable to be heard or seen by ordinary people, a flicker of light accompanied by dreamy glows floated and concentrated from this person’s shoulders!

A Spirit Entity attached?!

Having seen similar things from Qilin and Rong Buqiu, Lann recognized it immediately at first glance!

….Would this appear to assist in battle?

Unfamiliar with the possession of spiritual entities, Lann naturally looked again.

And at that moment.

“Sir, watch your hands!”

Mentos’s warning and Lann’s own perception of an unusual feeling in his hand surged simultaneously!

He suddenly felt his arm armor had difficulty locking the scythe blade!

With a ‘click,’ the sound came from the base of the scythe blade, a sound Lann found familiar.

——The sound of a mechanical structure activating!