Chapter 316 - 205: Abnormal Situation and the Executioner

Before the dark, cold cave in the reef, a crude stone basin was quite conspicuous.

It was caked with layers of bloodstains—some dried, some still quite fresh—mixed with the saliva of tentacle wolfhounds. The stench was unusually foul.

"Someone is feeding these monsters!"

Li Miao frowned slightly.

"Correct." Luo Ge stood up and nodded slightly.

Shore, who was a bit timid, felt his scalp tingle. He glanced around before sending a message in the party chat.

"Yeah, we found a big feeding trough over here too."

Niuniu replied.

"There’s one in the middle of the island, too. And cubs of those wolfhound monsters."

Bu Long sent a message right after.

Luo Ge scanned the area and made another discovery.

He quickly headed toward the location, with Li Miao and Shore close behind.

A moment later, they stopped at a relatively flat spot covered in bloodstains and foul-smelling remains. Flies and maggots buzzed all around, the noise grating on their nerves.

Nearby was a rack, where some tentacles, meat, and a few sea fish were laid out to dry.

But both the meat and the fish carcasses looked twisted and gruesome.

The tentacles were self-explanatory, and the meat was clearly from the tentacle wolfhounds.

As for the fish... their blood was black, and their bones were still connected to some writhing Shredded Pork. It was unclear if they were parasites or something else; they were probably the inedible parts.

Luo Ge bent down and picked up a blood-caked cleaver, examining it for a moment.

It was covered in nicks and dents. It looked like the butchering process hadn’t been easy.

"A farm... and a slaughterhouse."

Luo Ge had basically figured out the purpose of this Reef Island.

Li Miao, on the other hand, was clearly more interested in the cleaver in Luo Ge’s hand. "Brother Jiao, what about it? What Quality is this cleaver? Is it a Special Weapon?"

"..." Luo Ge.

’This kid’s really got a one-track mind for weapons.’

"I don’t know. You can take it to a Spirit Candle and have it appraised." Luo Ge handed the foul-smelling butcher knife directly to Li Miao.

’He’d already inspected it. There was nothing special about the knife, but he couldn’t just tell Li Miao that outright.’

"Miaozi, Brother Jiao, come look at this," Shore called out to them.

The two walked over and soon saw what he’d found.

There was still a good amount of sand where the reef met the shore.

And here, there were tracks indicating something had come ashore.

Although the waves had washed away some of the lower tracks, some traces remained higher up.

Judging from the tracks, it was clearly something huge.

’The butcher?’

Luo Ge mused.

Just then, a sudden alert came through the chat channel.

I do Bull’s Push-ups: "We’ve got a situation! Guys!"

"Let’s go."

The Reef Island wasn’t large, and they had more or less finished investigating their side. Luo Ge quickly led the other two toward Niuniu’s group.

On their way through the center of the island, they saw the "trough" Bu Long had mentioned.

It was crude and enormous, filled with bloodstains and remains, its edges littered with gnawed-on bones.

But the three of them didn’t have time for a closer look.

The distinct aftershocks of a battle were already audible up ahead, rumbling loudly.

The three of them picked up their pace.

After rounding a massive reef, they saw the monsters fighting the rest of their party.

They were huge humanoid monsters pieced together from flesh, fish bones, and parasitic phantoms, their bodies covered in obvious stitches.

There were over a dozen of them.

But they were clearly no match for the players.

"Die!"

With a crazed roar from Niuniu, Firelight shot toward the sky. The ensuing explosion momentarily lit up the entire Reef Island.

What followed was a rain of bloody chunks and the nauseating smell of burnt flesh...

"Urgh... BLEARGH..."

The group gagged and dry-heaved. Black Mountain Little Demon ran straight to the shore to rinse himself off in the seawater.

"Dammit, Niuniu, do you have to be so damn disgusting?"

Brother Mangzi grimaced, slapping a foul-smelling chunk of meat from his shoulder.

The corner of Luo Ge’s mouth twitched.

’Whatever. As long as they’re okay.’

’At least they don’t need my help. Makes my life easier...’

"Ahem, my bad."

Niuniu coughed lightly and tossed a Recovery Wax Block into his mouth.

These monsters weren’t strong; he didn’t need to use his most powerful explosion.

"They’re all Molten Slag Ash Tier monsters."

Seeing the danger had passed, Skyrim began to explain what happened.

"These monsters swam straight here from the sea. Their objective was clear—they were coming right for us."

"Which direction did they come from?" Faraway asked.

The four of them thought back for a moment and confirmed the direction the monsters had come from.

Faraway nodded and looked at the group. "Let’s rest for a moment, then we’ll head in that direction."

Luo Ge nodded to himself.

’Faraway is still the most reliable. I don’t even need to prompt them.’

Since the Power of the Spirit Candle was being disrupted, the group had no guidance from their Spirit Candles.

The island offered no special clues to guide them. So, rather than running around like headless chickens, it was better to follow the path the bloated monsters had taken.

Hearing this, the group wasted no time. They quickly returned to the Milestone Spirit Candle, rested for a moment, then came back to this spot. They all took out their Spirit Fire Sails, forming a small flotilla.

Luckily, the waves in this direction weren’t too strong. Otherwise, getting away from the island would have taken quite an effort.

"What’s going on with the Moon up there? Is it bugged?"

Shore asked, tilting his head back in confusion.

After leaving the Reef Island, they could see the sky.

But now, the Moon in the sky was constantly shifting—bright one moment and dim the next, by turns pure white and then ominously dark, occasionally even emitting a strange, blood-red glow.