Ch. 80 No one knew what he was actually thinking.

Squinting his eyes, he looked at the familiar face of the spirit, then down at the mangled corpse.

No one knew what he was actually thinking.

He poked the remains, which reeked of blood, with his spear.

“What a bunch of losers; without me, Patches, here to lead, you got invaded so easily?”

“Tch.” He spat disdainfully.

Then, carrying his shield, he continued on.

Walking toward the tunnel leading deeper.

“Hurry up!” Patches looked back. “I can’t see the path without the light.”

“I might know the culprit behind this.” Mia, with the starlight above her head, quickly followed. “Have you heard of Bloodfingers?”

“Tsk, what? You think I want revenge?” Patches curled his lip. “I wouldn’t do something so stupid. All I care about is whether the property I left in here has been stolen!”

Patches seemed to be his usual self.

Only footsteps echoed in the quiet cave; the sound of the Mongliu River’s flowing water gradually faded.

There were clear traces of past life around.

Extinguished torches and wooden beams used to reinforce the cave reminded Mia that this wasn’t an uninhabited wild cave.

There was a more spacious stone chamber ahead, and Patches stopped.

He saw something ahead, so he raised his shield and leveled his spear.

The opponent was a red humanoid figure; in the cave where the campfires had long since gone out, the red figure clearly saw the white light above Mia’s head.

It let out a low, beast-like growl as it stumbled toward them.

As the figure approached, the group saw the source of the red color on its body.

This tall, thin, withered Erdtree Folk had already rotted.

Crimson veins and tumors were entwined around its body like a thorny curse.

Wilden was about to step forward.

No matter what kind of enemy he faced, his expression remained unchanged.

“Don’t move yet!”

Mia suddenly shouted.

As she spoke, the glintstone atop the girl’s stargazing staff glowed, and a Glintstone Pebble shot out, piercing the Erdtree Folk cursed by blood.

In that instant, the Glintstone Pebble passing through the Soldier’s chest shattered their heart.

The red figure could only pause for a moment before collapsing to its knees like a stalled machine.

Everyone was confused as to why Mia had suddenly stopped Wilden.

But only Mia herself knew the reason.

“Get back!” she shouted again.

The red tumors and veins on the red figure began to writhe violently and swell just a moment after it knelt!

As if something was about to burst out!

‘Ignite!’

Without a second thought, Mia swung her sword at the air in front of her. Flames clung to the golden blade and were released as she swung.

The moment the flames touched the body of the Rotten Blood-Person…

He exploded!

With a loud bang, the blood tumors on the Rotten Blood-Person, stretched to their limit, burst apart. The contents scattered by the explosion were none other than blood droplets and blood mist.

As high heat met blood, the flames intercepted the spreading blood mist and splashing droplets in front of the group.

If it had been any other gas, the flames might not have had an effect.

But what the bloodman released was blood.

Upon contact with the fire, the moisture in the blood evaporated, making a sizzling sound as steam rose.

Once the flames vanished, the blood mist from the explosion had also disappeared.

However, the fishy stench of blood and the burnt smell after being scorched came rushing at them.

“Ugh…”

Mia’s stomach cramped from the smell.

Her face shifted through shades of blue and purple as she desperately held back, trying her best not to vomit.

“Eat some Herba; it should help a bit.”

Wilden scanned the surroundings warily, taking a moment to remind her.

The commotion from the explosion just now was quite loud for this cave.

If there were other enemies here, they would undoubtedly be attracted by the noise.

Patches stared at the ground where, after the explosion, only a pile of shredded meat remained.

Even though he had turned into a Rotten Blood-Person…

Patches still recognized that face.

“They’re coming,” Wilden barked softly.

Rustling sounds echoed from the dark tunnels surrounding them.

Clearly, there were more Putrid Bloodmen!

Mia covered her nose and mouth with a piece of cloth to make herself feel a little better. “Patches.”

“How many people were in your previous bandit gang in total?”

“Nine,” Patches answered in a low voice.

He watched as those Putrid Bloodmen approached them like mindless zombies.

Counting those here, excluding the spirit at the entrance…

…and the one who just died in the self-explosion…

…there were exactly seven Putrid Bloodmen staggering out from the other tunnels and stone chambers of the cave.

“These idiots, do they have to cause trouble for people even after they’re dead?”

Patches gripped the shaft of his spear so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Mia took a step forward. “You all saw what happens after these guys die, right? I’ll handle them. You two fall back!”

A slain Rotten Blood-Person would explode.

It could basically be said that attacking with cold weapons would result in a heavy price if one wasn’t careful.

So, Mia raised the staff in her hand.

Wilden and Patches quickly retreated.

Mia swept her staff across the air in front of her.

The Putrid Bloodmen growled, and then the light of glintstone appeared before them.

‘Crystal Scatter!’

In an instant, dazzling Glintstone Crystals shot out, covering a ninety-degree fan-shaped area in front of Mia.

And it wasn’t just a flat fan shape; countless Glintstone Crystals formed a three-dimensional plane of attack.

Like a torrential rainstorm, they wove into an airtight net, surging toward the Putrid Bloodmen ahead.

Puff, puff, puff—

The sounds of Glintstone Crystals piercing flesh were incessant.

The bloodmen staggered under the impact, some being knocked straight to the ground.

Every Glintstone Crystal was as powerful as a launched bolt.

Most passed through the fragile flesh of the Putrid Bloodmen like Glintstone Pebbles, embedding themselves deep into the rock walls behind them.

Only a small portion remained stuck in their bodies.

The spraying Glintstone Crystals made the entire dim stone chamber shine brilliantly.

The blood tumors on the defeated Putrid Bloodmen began to swell.

‘Fire Wall!’

An orange wall of fire blocked the cursed blood mist.

But it also obstructed their vision.

When the Fire Wall dissipated, a new situation had emerged.

Among the remains of the bloodmen, a person wearing an ornate hood had appeared at some point.

They were holding a pair of hideous red daggers, watching them from a distance.

Upon seeing this person, Patches immediately shouted, “Who are you!”

He hadn’t seen this person before.

But he had seen the bandits who had been turned into bloodmen.

In an instant, Patches had reached his own conclusion.

It was impossible for someone to enter from behind him without being noticed and then appear in front of him.

The only possibility was that he had been inside Mengliu Cave from the beginning.

Staying together with the mindless bloodmen!

This person was the culprit behind it all!

The man in the ornate black robes and hood lifted his head.

His skin was as pale as paper, a sickly white.

Everyone stared at him.

But after sizing everyone up, the man’s gaze settled on Patches.

“What an interesting look in your eyes.”

“Do you thirst for revenge? Then, offer up your blood.”