Chapter 23: The Death of Eve

Just as Luo Ling thought he was doomed, a crisp bowstring sound rang out!

An arrow flew, striking the Giant Lizard Monster squarely in the eye!

The Giant Lizard Monster roared in pain, its massive attack pausing for a moment.

Luo Ling seized the chance, rolling and crawling away.

He looked up and saw Old Ha charging over with several strong young villagers, wielding hunting bows and farm tools.

“Luo Ling! Are you alright?”

Old Ha shouted, his hunting bow drawn taut once more.

“I’m fine! Hurry! Wake the others! Tell them to run!”

Luo Ling yelled, swinging his short blade to drive back several small monsters that had closed in.

The villagers were finally jolted awake.

Screams, cries, the clash of weapons, and monster roars erupted throughout the village.

The once peaceful Luo Feng Village was instantly transformed into a living hell.

Though the villagers fought desperately, they were but simple farmers and hunters.

Against these savage “monsters,” the casualties were devastating.

A villager was knocked to the ground by a wolf-shaped monster and torn apart in an instant.

Another tried to attack a Shadow Monster with a hoe, only to watch the tool pass straight through the shadow.

The Shadow Monster coiled around him, and the villager let out a terrible scream as his body withered away, turning to a dried corpse.

The blood-soaked chaos shattered the villagers’ will to fight, sending many fleeing in terror.

But the monsters were too fast.

Most couldn’t get far before being overtaken and slaughtered.

Luo Ling’s eyes brimmed with anguish.

He watched familiar faces fall, saw the village blaze into a sea of fire, and felt only rage and helplessness.

“Why… Why is this happening…”

He howled, nearly losing his mind.

Suddenly, he remembered Eve!

“Eve!”

Panic seized Luo Ling’s heart.

He abandoned all else and sprinted madly toward Eve’s hut.

Along the way, more corpses and shattered ruins lay in his path.

Homes he once knew now burned fiercely, the flames lighting up half the sky and staining his vision red.

His heart grew heavier with each step.

Eve… Please be safe!

At last, he reached her hut.

The door was tightly shut, seemingly untouched.

Relief flickered in his chest.

He rushed forward, pounding on the door.

“Eve! Eve! Are you in there? Open up! Please!”

No response came from inside.

Luo Ling’s heart plummeted.

A sense of dread filled him.

“EVE!!!”

He screamed, and with all his strength, kicked the door.

“Bang!”

The wooden door shattered.

Luo Ling burst inside.

The sight struck him like lightning—cold and paralyzing.

The room was in shambles.

Tables and chairs overturned, the Herb Cabinet toppled, herbs strewn everywhere.

And Eve—the girl he’d sworn to protect with his life—lay in a pool of blood.

A Black Dagger was lodged in her chest.

Her eyes were closed.

Her face was as pale as paper.

She wasn’t breathing.

“No… No… EVE!!!”

Luo Ling let out a heart-wrenching cry, rushing forward to kneel and cradle Eve’s lifeless body.

She was cold.

The Black Dagger radiated a chilling aura.

On its hilt was an emblem Luo Ling had never seen before—a Twisted Serpent Emblem, with two Black Gems for eyes.

This wasn’t a weapon used by those “monsters”!

Luo Ling’s head snapped up, bloodshot eyes blazing with murderous rage.

He understood!

This “monster” attack was no simple case of “Darkness Descending.”

Someone was orchestrating it.

Someone was controlling it.

And Eve… Eve had been deliberately murdered!

Who?!

Who did this?!