A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“A mimicry beast with its own name…” Bray muttered to himself.

In other words, it was a very clever mimicry beast.

A monster that can mimic humans and is also very intelligent.

And monsters that can only mimic human appearances but are incredibly dull.

The only difference between the two is their intelligence, but the damage they can cause is worlds apart.

If it stays for another day, a lot of people in the safe zone will die.

Given enough time, it wouldn't be surprising if the entire safe zone were destroyed as a result.

"You stay here and comfort your brother."

“I’m going to find those mimic beasts,” Bray said, turning to Talika.

You said you're alone?

“It’s more convenient to be alone,” Bray said, his right eye devoid of any color.

Talika hugged her surviving brother and looked at Bray with a complicated expression.

It's definitely not worship...it can't be love...it's a flavor more complex than all the seasonings combined.

"You...don't dawdle." Talika gritted her teeth, not knowing what to say, and could only utter these words.

"Although I would like to, it's not something I can control." For example, this necessary conversation has already wasted a lot of time.

After saying this, Bray followed the guidance of his inner eye and chased after some kind of mimicry beast.

If only everything could arrive in time, maybe that chubby little guy with the lion's head wouldn't have died.

The person was perfectly fine the last time we met, but the next time we met, they had said goodbye to the world.

The world really loves this kind of unpredictable development.

If someone can arrive at any accident in time to provide rescue, then they must possess some kind of superpower.

Bray also hopes that someone has this superpower, so that there will be far fewer tragedies.

---

Watching Bray's departing figure, and looking at the half-dead body of Tarry still lying on the ground.

Talika instinctively hugged her younger brother tightly, afraid that he would disappear.

She even started to worry about her grandmother's safety...and about the safety zones of all sorts of people.

Her legs were weak because she was scared, fearing that someone else might suddenly die next to her.

Talika walked with difficulty to Tal's body.

Even though she was in great pain, she still felt she should find other guards from Claw Fortress to handle the scene.

She really wanted to know why some people could be so friendly to others, yet always kept to themselves.

For example, this unfamiliar middle-aged man.

Aren't these two things contradictory? Yes, they are not contradictory.

If Bray were here, he would answer that question with absolute certainty—

Being friendly to others is a matter of good manners, while being a loner is a matter of personality; the two are not contradictory.

Bray's character has simply reverted to its original state, nothing more.

Amidst the horrified expressions of the crowd, Bray slowly sheathed his sword.

Several survivors sat slumped on the ground, along with the corpse of a mimic beast.

Bray planned to eliminate the mimicry beasts in the safe zone as quickly as possible.

However, just like last time, one of the mimicry beasts escaped beforehand.

It's practically like they're deliberately avoiding laying mines.

Since he needed to kill the mimic beast as quickly as possible, Bray would definitely have followed a single path to get there.

And the mimicry that left Claw Keep happened to be the one furthest away from Bray.

Everything seemed to be pre-designed.

"Help...help me..." After a long while, a female orc looked at Bray and squeezed out those words.

"Get your feelings straight, you're already saved," Bray said irritably.

It's just that Bray went a little overboard in his attempt to kill quickly.

Moreover, despite his swift killing, many people still died at the hands of the mimicry beasts, or rather, in their mouths.

Then came the last one.

Bray headed solemnly to the location of the last mimic beast inside Claw Keep.

---

In the simple house, the old woman stared intently at the ornaments on the table.

I could hear voices coming from the house next door.

Although the area was separated, the wooden planks provided very poor sound insulation; even moderately loud noises could still be heard.

Other people's voices disturb this place, and the noise here disturbs others.

"There's no way I can get a proper rest," the old woman sighed helplessly.

As she placed her withered hand on the table ornament, a familiar figure stood in the doorway.

“I’m…I’m back.” A chubby little lion cub stood in front of the door.

The old woman hadn't even lifted her eyelids, nor had she carefully examined the other person.

"Where's Taji? / Why is it that only you came back?" She fiddled with the ornament, making a "clattering" sound as the wooden blocks collided.

"I don't know... I don't know," the chubby boy said in a rather stiff tone.

As they spoke, the chubby lion cub slowly approached the old woman.

The old woman also looked up after hearing what the chubby boy said.

Then those eyes, weathered by time, gazed at the "Tower" before them.

The old woman actually adopted more than just Taji, Tari, and Talika.

She used to adopt many children, but now only the three of them remain.

The old woman was unmarried and had no children, so in her old age, she had no choice but to raise orphans.

She watched every child grow up; they were more like family than relatives.

The old woman stopped playing with the ornament the moment she saw what "Tali" looked like.

She knocked over several upright ornaments, and looking at the patterns on them, her expression darkened.

At that very moment, she performed a small divination.

It was as simple as when I did the divination for Bray.

However, many things can be deciphered from simple divination later on.

Divination cannot tell others the future; it can only tell them the possibilities, or a branch of the story. It only provides an "event" that can be interpreted.

However, divination can be interpreted very accurately for things that have already happened.

The old woman covered half her face and began to sob, so suddenly and without warning.

Anyone present would probably find it baffling.

The last time I cried was on the day the disaster struck, when almost all the children died in front of me.

Tears moistened eyes that should have been as clear as a dried-up spring.

The person standing in front of the old woman was not her grandson, nor was it Tari.

It was just a mimicry beast, a monster impersonating that honest young man.

These monsters have a habit: they only like to transform into corpses they have seen before.

Only a very small percentage of mimicry beasts can create new appearances on their own.

In other words, Tari is dead.

The old woman knew that during this time, there were mimicry beasts in the safe zone, and many people had been eaten.

But she dared not even once to think about the possibility that her child might die.

By impersonating a mimicry of the tower, almost as if it were intentional, it arrived at the old woman's house.

Although it was split off from Al, it does not inherit any memories.

Not to mention that they would lose their memories if they ate people, it wasn't them that ate the people in the tower, but Al.

So this really is a coincidence, a coincidence so cruel it's unacceptable.

To make this old man know the truth about his child's death, to make him suffer such pain as he is eaten.

I don't know how to describe it except that it was cruel.

Although the old woman moved nimbly, she was still just an old woman and had no chance of escaping from the mimic beast.

Not to mention the entrance was already blocked.

"I...I don't know." The beast-like creature, posing as a lion-like boy, kept repeating the same question.

As expected... it was just a mimicry beast, not his own grandson.

One second passed, ten seconds passed, half a minute passed.

The old woman, who had just closed her eyes, was not yet facing death, nor could she feel any pain.

So she opened her eyes.

What came into view was a mimicry beast frozen in place, a sword piercing through its back and through its chest.

There were no fancy special effects, just a simple thrust of the sword that even the old woman didn't notice.

This sword strike cleanly and decisively shattered the core of the mimicry beast.

"Are you alright?" Bray's calm voice rang out from behind the mimic beast.

This time, I've finally arrived just in time. Maybe I've gained a superpower that will definitely save the day.

Unfortunately, the old woman did not answer Bray's question, but instead covered her face and wept bitterly.

Even though she knew it was just a mimicry, she still felt a pang of sadness as she watched the monster, which looked exactly like her grandson, fall.

Bray originally intended to press the monster's head down and push it forward to knock it over.

But seeing the old woman's emotional outburst, he remained silent for a while.

He drew the sword with a gentle movement, flicked the blade, and tossed the filth off to the side.

He casually caught the monster.

After a while, the mimicry beast lay sprawled on the ground, unable to maintain its disguise.

Bray had no pity for the monster; he was merely being considerate of the old man's feelings.

"Thank you, thank you..." the old woman said in a hoarse voice.

Bray lowered his eyelids as he listened to the words spoken in a tearful voice.

The old woman did not say anything about thanking Bray.

Was she thanking him for arriving in time to save her, or thanking him for taking care of her feelings? Or was it something else?

However, Bray didn't intend to delve into it further.

"You're welcome," he replied casually.

It's just a simple phrase, something we often say in response to someone's thank you. This time, the mimicry beasts of Claw Fortress have been completely wiped out again.

Once again, Bray took care of it.

After Bray had killed all the monsters, the guards of Claw Keep could barely keep up with him.

Brei's killing speed was incredibly fast, more than an dimensional speed faster than when he was leading a group of guards.