I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

Raine helped the man up and looked up at Arthas.

"What should we do now?"

Arthas looked at the rising black smoke, touched the three half-used life cards in his pocket, and wondered if the disappearance of the round-faced youth team was related to this.

"Let's go take a look."

Ryan handed the unconscious man to Cole, drew his sword, and the four of them headed toward the direction from which the black smoke was rising.

Arthas walked in front, his pace slow but steady; Renn followed behind, his longsword held in reverse, his palms sweaty.

Cole walked in the middle of the group, carrying the unconscious man on his shoulder. He was breathing heavily, but he didn't fall behind.

Oris walked at the very back, arrows nocked on her bowstring, her eyes constantly scanning the bushes ahead.

After walking about two hundred steps, the view opened up.

Several overturned horse-drawn carriages lay scattered haphazardly in the open space before them, their goods strewn about—cloth, iron pots, wooden crates, and grain—mixed in the mud, creating a chaotic mess.

The air was filled with the smells of burning and blood.

Renn stopped in his tracks, his face pale.

"This is a trading caravan..."

Before he finished speaking, a chewing sound came from behind several overturned carriages.

It was a sticky, wet sound, teeth tearing through muscle, tongue licking bone, mixed with low whimpers and satisfied purrs. A gray-black canine-like monster was crouching on the ground, head down, gnawing on something.

Hearing the sound, it raised its head, its mouth surrounded by blood, bits of flesh hanging between its teeth, and its yellowish eyes staring straight at the four people.

At its feet lay a mutilated corpse, its clothes torn apart, revealing its white ribs.

Arthas immediately recognized the monster as a maned wolfhound.

Mid-tier monster.

But there's no reason for it to be here.

Areas inhabited by mid-level or higher monsters are usually directly sealed off by the kingdom or adventurer's guild.

There is more than one maned wolfhound.

Behind the carriage, beside the overturned wooden crate, and behind the big tree, at least five or six eyes with gleaming yellow light were all locked onto the four people.

The largest maned wolfhound stood in the center of the open space, its mane standing on end, its mouth slightly open, revealing bloodstained sharp teeth, and a sinister smile curling at the corner of its mouth.

Raine's body trembled involuntarily. His throat tightened, and he wanted to say something, but his mouth opened and closed again, only managing to squeeze out a dry swallow.

Oris drew the bowstring taut, her hands trembling. She had seen monsters, killed monsters, died and been resurrected in dungeons, but that was in dungeons.

With the goddess's protection, one can return to the temple after death.

This is the wilderness; death here means real death.

Cole instinctively took a step back, nearly tripping over a tree root. He was carrying the unconscious man on his shoulders, the weight making him unsteady. His face was deathly pale, his lips were trembling, but he didn't make a sound.

Four maned wolfhounds approached from different directions, step by step, their paws rustling as they stepped on the dead leaves.

They seem to revel in the fear of their prey.

"Dick..." Ryan's voice seemed to be squeezed out from deep in his throat, "What do we do?"

Arthas did not answer, but took a step forward.

Ryan's eyes widened: "What are you doing?!"

Upon seeing this, the maned wolfhound stopped in its tracks.

Arthas took another step forward.

The maned wolfhound's ears were flattened back, its tail tucked between its hind legs, and a low growl escaped its throat.

They didn't know who the person in front of them was, but they could feel the fear etched into their genes, a sense of oppression from the top of the food chain that kept intensifying.

Alsace took the third step.

The maned wolfhound's body began to tremble, its four paws scratched the ground a few times, mud flew everywhere, it let out a sharp howl, and turned to run away.

One after another, the maned wolfhounds ran away with their tails between their legs.

Raine was still holding his sword, frozen in place, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a fist.

"...How did they get away?"

"Maybe they're full."

Ryan was shocked, but he didn't ask any more questions, because in his understanding, there didn't seem to be any better explanation.

This is why Arthas joined the team.

Alsace went straight up to investigate.

The body lay on its back, eyes half-open, pupils already dilated. Most of its clothes were torn to shreds, revealing several deep scratches on its chest and abdomen. The edges of the wounds were jagged, indicating they had been ripped apart by the maned wolfhound's claws.

However, the fatal wound was in the throat, a clean cut, not from a monster's bite, but from a knife.

Arthas crouched down and examined the knife wound closely. The cut was very smooth, indicating a fatal blow. The person who used the knife had a clean and efficient technique, suggesting they were a trained assassin.

He stood up and walked to another corpse. This corpse died differently. There were no knife wounds on its body, but there were multiple fractures in its limbs, a ring of bruises around its neck, and clear finger marks. It had been strangled to death.

Three, four, five.

Arthas walked around the clearing and found seven corpses, each with a different manner of death, but all of them had one thing in common—

Their hearts were all removed.

"Their hearts are gone..." Oris noticed the anomaly as well. "Were they eaten?"

"No, it was dug up," Arthas said. "Monsters don't eat with such elegance."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"have no idea."

Arthas stood up. He seemed to have found a crucial clue, but he was just a little short. His Vivre Card was still half full, which meant he wasn't dead yet.

Arthas walked up to the unconscious man; his breathing was more even than before.

The person isn't dead, but when will they wake up?

We can't wait any longer.

Arthas raised his hand and cast a healing spell.

A green light shone in Arthas's palm, its soft glow covering the wound on the man's left arm. The torn flesh healed visibly, scabbing over and peeling away to reveal pink new flesh. The man frowned slightly, a low groan escaping his throat.

Renn's eyes widened.

"You...know healing magic?"

"Um."

"Aren't you a swordsman?"

"part time."

Raine opened his mouth, wanting to ask more questions, but was stopped by a soft cough and a look from Olis.

The man's eyelids twitched a few times before he slowly opened them. His pupils refocused, and his gaze swept across Arthas's face before looking at Raine, Oris, and Cole, finally settling on the overturned carriages and mangled corpses in the open space.

"They..." the man's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible as he asked, "Are they all dead?"

"Yes, you're the only one left." Arthas asked, "Who did it?"

"He...they..." The man's lips trembled several times, as if recalling something terrible, "They were wearing dark blue clothes, with a snake biting its own tail embroidered on their chests, I don't know who they were..."

How many people?

"I don't know... a lot. They rushed out of the woods, we had no chance of escaping." The man's breathing quickened. "They killed people and ripped out their hearts..."

"Has anyone been arrested?"

The man closed his eyes, as if trying to recall something.

"Those who didn't die were all tied up with ropes. I only managed to escape by pretending to be dead. I heard them say..."

"They said there weren't enough offerings."

"Offerings? What are we offering?"

"I don't know..." the man's voice trailed off, "I only know they went east..."

He fell into a deep sleep, because while the healing spell could repair the wound, it also consumed the body's energy.

Alsace stood up and looked eastward, where a towering mountain reached into the clouds.

"Dick," Oris's voice was soft, "you don't really want to go, do you?"

"You all go back to Graystone Town first." Arthas took a ring from his pocket and handed it to Renn, saying, "This is a communication ring. Contact me immediately if there is any danger."

"Where are you going?" Renn asked Arthas, clutching the ring and looking at him with hesitation.

"I'll go find someone."