Chapter 134 Group Taunt

"Thud."

Carried by its forward momentum, the body with the smashed skull crashed face-down into the ground like a sandbag.

Air squeezed through its windpipe, and the shrieking wail that sounded like a crying infant gradually faded away.

Coated in red and white gore, the cold, pale bone club carried on with unabated force after cracking the skull, plunging straight into the grassy meadow.

The immense force surging through the shaft kept the bone club trembling slightly.

"Thud, thud, thud."

Ripples spread across the pools of blood as heavy, muffled footsteps drew closer.

A massive, burly shadow engulfed Scar's corpse.

A thick, fur-covered hand clamped tightly around the bone club. With a slight pull, it effortlessly yanked the deeply embedded weapon from the earth, scattering drops of bloody brown mud.

This was an adult Bugbear, its frame visibly several sizes larger than its kin.

Thick bones supported dense muscles wrapped in heavy fat, making its body robust without looking bloated. Its tough, hairy hide could even resist some damage from iron weapons.

A vicious light glinted in its murky, reddish-brown eyes. Its nostrils flared with every breath, puffing out scorching air. A pair of sharp fangs protruded from its lower lip, dripping thick saliva, and a crude necklace hung around its neck.

But the most eye-catching feature was the clusters of spear-like, crimson bristles running down its spine.

'A Bugbear?'

Xia Nan stood at the distant village entrance, genuinely surprised.

From what he knew, ordinary goblin tribes might leave the Misty Forest to forage due to extreme starvation, or if drawn out by passing caravans.

But with a leader like a Bugbear present, the soaring combat power of the tribe under its command would mean they no longer had to endure hunger. They could hunt and feast on monsters and beasts they couldn't touch before.

Bugbears were naturally lazy by race. Unless there were special circumstances, or they had amassed a massive horde of goblin lackeys, they wouldn't take the initiative to attack a human village.

'It looks a bit bigger than the few I've seen before.'

Since his transmigration, Xia Nan had wiped out dozens of Goblin Lairs, encountering nearly a dozen Bugbears in the process.

With that experience, even from this considerable distance, just a look at its exterior allowed him to clearly sense the difference between this Bugbear and its kin.

It wasn't just the sturdier, more muscular physique or the unique bone weapon, but an intense, condensed aura that was hard to describe in words.

It was like comparing Abi to Berg, or a bottom-tier adventurer to a fully inducted Class Holder...

'I need to leave!'

Xia Nan's mind reacted instantly.

There wasn't a single Class Holder in the Green Blood Squad. Even he was still one combat technique short of obtaining a Class Level.

Not to mention the team had a rookie who had barely killed any goblins.

Even an ordinary, common adult Bugbear wouldn't be something their group could easily handle. They would likely have to pay the price of severe injuries or even death among the squad members.

Facing an existence like the one before them—clearly boasting unusual strength and suspected to be an elite among Bugbears—rushing into battle would undoubtedly be a foolish and irresponsible disregard for his own life.

He couldn't help but take two steps back, turning his head to look at Adeline beside him.

He wasn't particularly worried inside.

As a veteran adventurer with far more experience than him, one who had always been responsible for her team, there was no reason Adeline wouldn't realize something was wrong when even he had noticed.

Following their usual routine, the squad should initiate an emergency retreat immediately.

But his gaze faltered.

Adeline's body seemed frozen in place by invisible ice.

She didn't move an inch.

Her eyes stared blankly at the red-maned Bugbear in the distance.

Her face revealed a complex expression that Xia Nan had never seen in all the time he had been with the squad.

Indignation, resentment, fear, cowardice, sorrow... It was as if countless years of sour, repressed emotions had been instantly ignited by the Bugbear's appearance, erupting from the depths of her heart.

Then, those emotions were swallowed by a visible flame of fury, forging into a steely resolve that glinted like hard metal.

"There's something weird about this Bugbear!"

"No, we need to fall back immediately!"

"Abi, tell that old man to take the villagers and run! Don't even think about staying—they can't handle a Bugbear!"

Standing at the back of the squad, Berg couldn't see Adeline's expression.

With his own wealth of adventuring experience, he had reacted the very second Scar's head was smashed and the Bugbear revealed itself.

The same restless anxiety that had surfaced when they faced the gnolls in the Misty Forest appeared on his face once more.

He didn't even wait for his teammates, speaking rapidly and urgently to Abi beside him as he began retreating swiftly from the enemy.

"Huh? Oh, oh... right."

Abi was the slowest to react, but seeing Berg act like they were facing a cataclysm, he didn't ask questions. He scrambled frantically toward the village.

But after taking only two steps, he noticed something was wrong. His eyes strayed toward Adeline, their captain, who was standing perfectly still. He hesitated.

"Boss, I..."

"You guys go first."

An icy, resolute voice drifted through the air.

"Leave me."

Adeline didn't even turn her head, merely staring at the red-maned Bugbear in the distance.

At some point, her hands had already gripped her two heavy iron hammers tightly.

Her chest heaved as she breathed.

Clack—

It was the sound of the metal plates on her Scale Armor scraping against each other.

Adeline's body was trembling.

Xia Nan had long since made up his mind to retreat.

Though his soul came from the modern world and he had received a higher education with relatively normal values, he knew for a fact he was no "Holy Mother."

If he could help the commoners in the village without pushing past his limits, and if it aligned with his morals, he might offer a hand.

But in a deadly situation like this, where even he couldn't guarantee his own safety, risking his life for a bunch of strangers he had never met before just because he happened to be passing through as an adventurer... he simply wasn't that kind-hearted.

Besides, the Bugbear was still some distance from the village. Even ordinary commoners would have a perfect chance to survive as long as they didn't waste time packing their pots and pans.

At most, they would lose some livestock. What did that loss matter compared to their lives?

Instead, it was Adeline's decision that left Xia Nan utterly baffled.

'What does she mean?'

'Why stay?'

She clearly had the chance to retreat and the ability to escape safely, yet she was acting entirely out of character by resolutely choosing to stay.

Recalling that incredibly complex look on her face, and the few fragmented words she had let slip during casual chats over the days since he joined the squad, Xia Nan formed a vague guess.

Her tone had been far too firm; he knew trying to persuade her would be useless. Right now, the only thing he could do was...

Drip—

A sudden, cool dampness touched the tip of his nose.

'Is it raining?'

Without stopping his retreat, Xia Nan subconsciously looked up at the sky.

The bright, sunny sky from just moments ago was now blanketed in dark, grayish-black storm clouds.

Cold raindrops began to patter down.

The coarse, long bristles gradually grew wet, revealing a crimson hue like fresh blood.

The Bugbear, Red Mane, stood beside Scar's corpse, its murky eyes fixed on the village in the distance where a commotion was faintly brewing.

This squad of adventurers—who had already been reduced to life energy to fill the quota for its blood sacrifice—had disrupted its plans.

The plan had been to get much closer before those frail, cowardly humans would even have a chance of spotting it.

But perhaps through the unseen blessing of its exalted patron deity, the vast majority of the village's residents were inexplicably gathered near the entrance at this very moment.

There was even another squad of rather appetizing-looking adventurers. Their bodies, much sturdier than those of commoners, would provide far more life energy to satisfy the demands of the blood sacrifice.

"One, two... hmm, three and a half."

"Plus those villagers, it should be enough."

A vicious light flashed in Red Mane's eyes, its heart surging with excitement for the imminent divine boon.

Its massive arm abruptly reached for the metal chain around its neck.

"Clink, snap!"

It ripped the necklace off.

Its palm clamped tightly around the pendant—a grayish-white stone tinged with blue, carved with the same patterns as the altar in its lair.

It crushed it.

Hum—

A burst of crimson blood-light erupted from its palm. Under the Bugbear's clumsy guidance, the light converged at its throat.

"Riiip."

The torn linen pants abruptly pulled taut, the suddenly expanding, knotted muscles threatening to burst right through them.

Inhale—

Its waist and abdomen tightened, the violently trembling outline of its muscles visible beneath the thick fat. Its chest expanded like a bellows.

Dark blue veins crawled up its thick neck like branching vines. Air surged past the blood-light in its throat, producing a bizarre resonance.

Its yellowish-brown fangs slowly parted, sticky saliva stretching between them to reveal a barbed, red tongue inside.

Gathering power...

It roared!

"ROAAAR!!!"

A soundwave like a detonating bomb instantly exploded outward. Carrying the blood-light that had pooled in its throat, overlapping shockwaves shrieked toward the village at an absurd speed no ordinary person could possibly react to.

The weeds on the ground were flattened instantly by the violent tempest, while gravel and grass clippings spiraled wildly into the air.

Xia Nan, who was just trying to hurry up and leave, suddenly caught a flash of red light in the corner of his eye.

In the very next second, the crimson soundwave crossed the distance and washed right through his body.

At that moment, Xia Nan felt as if he had been thrust back several months into the past, facing the gaze of the Petrification Lizard—a bizarre state where he instantly lost all perception of the outside world, his spirit and focus forcibly trapped within his own body.

However, back then, he had only needed to control his physical form, using his skin, muscles, and bones to resist the external intrusion of the petrifying power.

Right now, the soundwave wasn't just invading his flesh; it was seeping into his mind.

It was attempting to scramble his spirit and disrupt his will.

Thanks to the golden Dewdrop from the Snake Den Secret Realm, his Constitution had reached 8 points—a stat far beyond that of ordinary people and exceptionally outstanding even among bottom-tier adventurers.

Without even needing precise control, his physical body blocked the soundwave's invasion, shutting the crimson energy out of his pores.

But at the same time, Xia Nan struggled immensely to fend off the blood-light invading his mind.

A Perception stat of 5 points wasn't enough to help him fight off this external mental assault.

Fortunately, his recent practice with [Gravity Compression] had slightly elevated his sensory capabilities.

He didn't completely succumb.

In a split second, he snapped back to his senses.

The formerly quiet world was suddenly filled with shouts, curses, and cries.

Not far ahead, Berg—the archer who had been the first to run—had stopped at some point and turned around to face Xia Nan.

On his anxious, restless face, beneath the flush brought on by his frantic running and surging emotions, there was now a layer of deathly, despairing pallor.

"Why... how..."

"No, this is impossible."

His lips moved as he muttered.

He seemed to be using his sheer will to fight against a body that had already been corrupted by the blood-light soundwave, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move his legs.

He couldn't retreat, not even by the tiniest fraction of an inch.

Trembling like a puppet on strings, his hands reached behind his back to unhook his Wooden Longbow.

He nocked an arrow and drew the string.

In the span of just a few breaths.

He had somehow transitioned from fleeing in panic to preparing for battle.

'Huh?'

Xia Nan was baffled.

His mind raced, only just managing to link the man's bizarre behavior with the echoing shockwave of the Bugbear's roar.

Then, more footsteps reached his ears.

The villagers, who should have been fleeing into the village after their warning, were actually swarming down the road from the entrance in a massive crowd, led by Abi.

They were carrying pitchforks, iron pots, and other makeshift weapons in their hands.

It looked as though they were marching to fight the Bugbear to the death in order to protect their village.

Even Abi at the front of the mob had an unnatural battlelust showing on his face.

'Are they all possessed?'

Xia Nan felt something was deeply, horribly wrong.

'Weren't they evacuating? Why did everyone come back?'

Across the entire area, other than Adeline who had originally chosen to stay and fight, it seemed he was the only one unaffected.

Wait!

He suddenly froze.

Only then did Xia Nan finally realize.

His perspective hadn't moved for quite a while either.

He couldn't help but look down.

Filling his vision were his own two legs, planted firmly on the ground, refusing to take even a single step toward safety—no matter how hard he willed them to.

At first, he thought he had been hit by some sort of control spell like a "Bind" or "Immobilize."

But then Xia Nan tried turning around to face the Bugbear.

All the restrictions vanished like an illusion.

He tried drawing the Decapitating Longsword from his back, aiming at the empty air ahead, and slashing down fiercely—he could move.

He raised his left hand, bringing the Pitch-Black Snakescale Arm Shield up in front of him to simulate a defensive posture—completely unaffected.

He shifted left and right, stepping forward—his body moved freely without any restrictions.

But stepping backward? Impossible.

His mind immediately recalled the crimson soundwave that had just tried to invade his will and flesh, and the sudden shift in attitude and bizarre actions of Berg and the others that followed.

As if suddenly realizing something, Xia Nan's gaze sharpened, looking toward the burly Bugbear with crimson bristles on its back, still standing in the distance.

Beside his ear came the roar of Adeline, who stood at the very front of the squad and hadn't moved her body from beginning to end—a roar brimming with fury and battlelust:

"It's a Group Taunt!"

"Prepare for battle!!!"