Archer's Adventure Manual

Loran was dissatisfied with the reaction and immediately activated the defensive function of the beast core. A layer of light barrier mixed with rocks appeared around him, firmly enveloping Loran.

The man's attack struck the barrier, but only created a ripple; it could not break through the barrier's defenses.

Loran casually drew his knife and launched a precise counterattack!

Brian rushed forward immediately, opening his mouth wide as he charged directly at the man.

The man couldn't dodge in time and was struck in the forehead by the knife. At the same time, he was slammed to the ground by Brian's large hound, whose teeth were deeply embedded in his leg!

"Ugh!" The man cried out in pain after suffering a fatal counterattack from Loran and Brian, his life force seemingly fading away.

Loran frowned as he looked at the man. He didn't seem to be anything special. He just looked like a commoner with worn-out clothes. Why would he ambush him?

But as Loran pondered for a second, a sudden change occurred. The man who had been suppressed suddenly underwent a transformation, and with a bang, he shoved Brian away, slamming him hard against the wall beside him.

"Ouch!" Brian was caught off guard, and the piece of thigh flesh he had been biting tightly was torn off as he was slapped away.

Loran was startled to discover that the man's upper body had grown a large area of ​​hard scales, which formed something resembling armor.

Not only his chest, but also his head, forehead, and face were covered in scales.

Loran looked at the scales and felt they were somewhat familiar; they seemed to resemble the scales on the kobolds!

An ordinary person might feel helpless in the face of such hard armor, but for Loran...

"Go to hell!" The man rushed forward like a madman, and Loran raised his hand.

"Flash!"

"boom!"

A burst of light erupted, and a white light appeared before the man's eyes, causing him to lose his vision.

Loran created distance and used a penetrating and precise shot to pierce the man's head. The scale armor seemed so powerless in the face of the arrow, and the man fell to the ground the moment the arrow struck.

After dealing with the guy, Loran quickly checked on Brian's condition. As usual, the guy was unharmed.

He then turned his gaze to the guy who had ambushed him. By now, the guy had returned to normal and his scales had disappeared.

Loran was filled with doubt. What exactly was this guy?

Then Loran witnessed a horrifying scene: the person who had returned to normal suddenly began to contort their body.

Red substances began to spread across his body, covering his entire body. These red substances kept wriggling, and the dead guy suddenly stood up again!

The guy swayed into the garbage heap, then lay down quietly, and the red substance slowly faded away.

Where the red substance faded, marks resembling those gnawed by a living creature appeared. Loran recognized this appearance immediately; wasn't this the gruesome death of the people he had seen?

Loran's eyes widened in shock. He examined the corpse closely, trying to find traces of the strange red substance, but to no avail.

The cause of this person's death was, of course, the arrow wound inflicted by Loran. After being fatally wounded by Loran's arrow, the person was devoured by something.

This will likely become the main focus of autopsy analysis, since these are the only things that can be seen on the surface.

As for the scales and red substance that had appeared before, Loran could no longer see them. They had disappeared here in secret, like some kind of bacteria.

Loran's pupils constricted. So this was how he died?

...

"Chuck... I remember he had some chronic ailments. His right leg was a bit problematic. I've known him since we were kids, so I know that very well. But recently, I've noticed that his leg doesn't seem to be as bad as it used to be. It's like he's become more agile!"

"When I asked him about it, he couldn't give me a clear answer, so I didn't inquire further."

This answer came from one of Chuck's neighbors, a person who had grown up with Chuck, so the information is quite reliable.

"Everyone knows Pete is in poor health, and he's been acting very strangely lately. He's even doing some heavy physical labor, which I find very odd!"

This information was obtained from a friend of Pete's through an investigation.

Noah and his companions were very puzzled by the results of the investigation, because without exception, all of these people who died for various reasons had some health problems in the past.

"It's strange... These people all had some health problems, and then they inexplicably got better!" Lin Wen stroked his chin and said with great suspicion.

Just as the group was having a heated discussion, Loran arrived with Brian.

"I've made a very important discovery!"

Soon, the group arrived at the alley where Loran had been.

Upon entering the alley and smelling the pungent odor, everyone couldn't help but frown slightly, wondering why the sanitation conditions here were so poor.

Everyone gasped when Loran pointed to the corpse on the garbage heap.

"Who...who is this? Another victim?" Lin Wen covered her mouth and asked.

Loran shook his head and explained what had happened: "I was just checking the situation here when this guy suddenly rushed out and tried to attack me."

"I fought back decisively, but this guy was very strange. His body was covered in scales, somewhat like the scales on a kobold, but I still managed to kill him."

"But after I killed him, his scales fell off, and a layer of red substance appeared on his body. You might find it hard to believe, but this red substance slowly eroded his body, turning it into what it is now."

"The way they died was extremely similar to the deaths we saw before."

Finita listened intently to Loran's description, her mouth agape in surprise. "You mean... his body looks like it's been gnawed on, and some kind of red substance did it?"

"That's right. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to believe. The red substance was gnawing at his body and then disappeared, as if it had never been there."

"I don't dare to touch this guy's body easily. Heaven knows what kind of problem he has. I think... maybe we've found some clues and answers."

"Those who were killed may not have been killed intentionally, but rather... forced."