Lucas looked at Noli but chose to remain silent.
This truth was probably hard for Noli to accept, so it was better to let her be alone and quiet for a while.
Lucas didn’t speak anymore and silently continued along the predetermined route.
Until they reached their destination, Noli didn’t say a single word to Lucas.
Though he hadn’t spoken to her, Lucas still paid attention to her condition throughout the journey.
He worried that being betrayed by their own kind would cause Noli to act impulsively.
No matter what, he couldn’t let Noli do something foolish.
“Is it here?”
Looking at the dense forest ahead, Lucas asked Noli beside him.
Noli didn’t reply but walked to a tree and reached out her hand.
On the back of her hand, a green Mark of the Elves slowly appeared, growing clearer by the second.
The air around them rippled like the surface of water.
Lucas felt as if he was plunged into a clear spring, and when he came to his senses, the forest before him was gone.
In its place was a scene of shattered ruins.
The Elf Village had been burned to the ground by flames, leaving nothing but a few elf corpses scattered across the ground.
“How could this be…”
The elves who came back with Noli were all shocked by the sight, but Noli remained silent as ever.
Lucas stopped paying attention to Noli and took down the Saw-Spear strapped on his back, quickly assembling it.
Shouldering the Saw-Spear, he headed toward a relatively intact house and kicked the door open.
Suddenly, a scream echoed from inside.
When Lucas appeared again, he was dragging a stranger—his abdomen slit open.
Lucas tossed the man onto the clearing carelessly and glanced around at the ruins.
Though it was only a moment when they first entered the village, Lucas clearly saw the group of Slave Traders nervously hiding.
An ambush?
But these people’s manners were really poor.
“Stop hiding. Come out. Behave, or I’ll have to come and get you myself.”
From the rooftops, behind broken walls, and inside empty houses, dozens of Slave Traders holding Handguns appeared.
Lucas gave a bitter smile. So many Handguns—it looked like this would be a tough fight.
“Where did you come from, kid? I—”
One Slave Trader tried to threaten Lucas, but Lucas didn’t even bother to listen.
He immediately drew his weapon, aimed at the man’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.
A joke—facing dozens of enemies alone, who had time to listen to their nonsense?
The best strategy was to strike first and take down as many as possible.
Before the other Slave Traders could react, Lucas fired, killing the closest ones.
Five bullets, five deaths.
Only then did the remaining Slave Traders raise their Handguns and open fire at Lucas.
The bullets flew so slowly—so this was what it was like under the god’s authority, where even the trajectory of bullets could be clearly seen?
Lucas swung his Saw-Spear, blocking each bullet in turn.
The Slave Traders who fired were stunned to see Lucas use such a heavy weapon to deflect all their bullets.
Panicked, they hurriedly readied themselves to shoot again.
An arrow sliced through the air, piercing the throat of one Slave Trader.
Lucas looked toward the direction the arrow came from.
It was Noli.
She was holding a bow—obtained from somewhere—and had drawn the string fully, aiming at another target.
“What are you waiting for? I’ll take care of those on the roof; the rest are yours.”
Lucas smiled slightly at Noli, shouldering the Saw-Spear as he charged at the nearby Slave Traders.
“Don’t… don’t come over!”
The Slave Trader trembled like he had seen a monster, his hands shaking so badly he couldn’t even hold his gun properly.
In a panic, he fired at Lucas.
“Useless!”
Lucas swung the Saw-Spear, knocking the bullet aside.
The Slave Trader barely opened his mouth to beg for mercy before Lucas swung the Saw-Spear again, aiming at his chest.
Looking back at the other Slave Traders, the few on the roof were already lying still, seemingly dead.
The remaining two were trembling, holding their Handguns but too scared to make a move.
Lucas thought for a moment, then refrained from acting immediately.
Iveena had wanted to capture a Slave Trader for questioning, but that day, both he and Noli had been too efficient—no survivors were left.
Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity now?
“Put down your weapons, and I’ll spare your lives.”
Those two had clearly seen Lucas deflect bullets at close range with his Saw-Spear.
No way would they dare to provoke such a powerful being.
Resistance meant death—they knew they were no match.
They quietly dropped their guns.
After searching the ruined village for some time, Noli finally found something resembling a rope and tied the two Slave Traders up tightly.
Of course, Lucas and Noli had no intention of letting them off easily.
They hung the two Slave Traders from a tree.
Lucas raised his Saw-Spear, holding it near their throats.
“Speak. How did you get in? Why are you here?”
Noli’s hands gathered cold ice, ready to strike at any moment.
If these two moved, they’d likely be dead or severely injured.
The Slave Traders hurriedly spilled the truth.
“The… the person who brought us in is already dead!!!”
“Who?”
Noli pressed further.
The tied-up Slave Trader struggled to lift his head and pointed with his chin in a certain direction.
Looking that way, Lucas saw a dead Slave Trader lying face down on the roof.
Lucas put down the Saw-Spear and climbed onto the roof with ease, kicking the corpse off.
Noli followed, inspecting the body carefully.
She held the Slave Trader’s hand, examining it thoroughly.
Who knew what method Noli used, but the dead Slave Trader’s hand back bore the exact same Mark of the Elves that Noli had used to enter the elf space earlier.
The evidence was conclusive.
Behind this group of Slave Traders, there were indeed elves involved.
Noli’s face darkened immediately.
Her uncontrollable fury caused the dead Slave Trader’s hand to instantly freeze into ice.
“Speak. Why are you capturing elves? Who’s giving you orders?”
Lucas took Noli’s place and continued the interrogation.
“I… we were just following the orders of Boss Kohen. We don’t know why they capture elves. We only catch and transport them. Boss Kohen handles the rest.”
“For selling? Or for something else?”
The two shook their heads vigorously.
No matter how much they were questioned, they couldn’t explain.
“Tell me, where is your boss?”
Noli stepped forward, holding an Icy Thorn against one Slave Trader’s chin.
“Be honest.”
The Slave Trader tremblingly gave Noli the location.
She didn’t make things harder for them and moved the Icy Thorn away.
“Hey, you’re not thinking of…”
“I’m not that stupid.”
Noli threw the Icy Thorn far away.
“Going alone is a death sentence—I know that.”
“Then you…”
“If you’re going to deal with that guy later, take me with you.”