Lu Chen stepped out from the trees without hiding his presence, his face expressionless as he stared at the group of bandits.
Zhongli appeared behind him.
Though there were only two of them, none of the bandits dared make a move.
"Who... who are you?!"
"D-Don't come any closer..."
Lu Chen gripped his second one-handed sword. He didn't speak—just advanced, step by step.
The sudden and horrific death of their leader had left them all in shock. The sheer terror of it cast an eerie pall over the air.
A chilling, oppressive aura filled the space. Each step Lu Chen took felt like death itself approaching.
The thick stench of blood radiated from the corpse impaled on the tree, and for a moment, none of the armed bandits dared approach.
Some began to back away, and the more cowardly among them broke and ran.
Lu Chen let out a cold laugh, pushed off with one foot, and vanished in a blur.
In the next instant, he caught up to one of the fleeing bandits. The Lion's Roar arced through the moonlight in a dazzling flash.
With a crisp snap, the bandit's head flew through the air, blood spraying in all directions.
"AAAAHHH! HE'S KILLING PEOPLE!"
The others panicked even more, but death showed no mercy. Lu Chen vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye—another sweep, and several more headless bodies fell to the ground.
Deep in the silent forest, a one-sided massacre unfolded without a sound.
Those who resisted, and those too afraid to resist, all fell beneath Lu Chen's blade. The metallic scent of blood grew ever heavier.
After a long while, a small flame flickered to life in the makeshift camp.
Lu Chen withdrew his Pyro energy. Bathed in the firelight, he looked toward the sole survivor.
A bandit sat collapsed on the ground, paralyzed with fear.
"Talk."
The bandit wiped his face, smearing tears and snot. He didn't dare look at the carnage around him, nor meet the young man's gaze.
"W-What do you want me to say...?"
The boy smiled faintly. His gentle tone sounded like a demon's whisper in the bandit's ears.
"Tell me your plan. Who are you working for? What's going on?"
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
The bandit spilled his guts without hesitation, words tumbling out like beans from a bamboo tube.
As it turned out, they really were tomb raiders. This dozen or so were low-level grunts—responsible for fencing stolen goods and providing support—while the main tomb-robbers were a core team of four known as the "Wulfric Gang."
They had been scouting the area for over a month and had found an ancient, undisturbed tomb deep in the foothills of Mount Maojun. The rough-voiced man Lu Chen had just killed was supposed to take part, but something went wrong inside the tomb. Aside from the four "professionals," no one else dared to proceed.
So the rest returned to the surface. When they saw Lu Chen's group purchasing antiques and clearly showing wealth, and realized they were outsiders bold enough to camp in the wilderness, they decided to kill and rob them for an easy score.
To these lawless thugs, human life was worthless. Had it been anyone else, those people might already be dead.
But after the bloodshed, Lu Chen no longer cared about that. His attention had shifted to something else the man had said—something about the tomb.
"There was a problem?" Lu Chen frowned. "What kind of problem?"
The bandit shuddered as soon as the youth spoke.
His face turned pale. It was clear he remembered something unpleasant, and he hesitated.
"Not talking?"
The Lion's Roar flared in Lu Chen's hand, spitting flames.
"Aah!"
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" The bandit must have done the math and realized the man before him was far more terrifying than whatever lay below.
"There's... something wrong with that tomb," he stammered. "It's not clean."
"Not clean?" Lu Chen repeated, trying to parse the phrase.
"Ghosts?"
"Definitely ghosts!" the bandit finally looked up. "Boss Wulfric said that tomb must be over a thousand years old. The corpses should've turned to sludge by now. But when we broke into the tomb and started going down, we could hear strange noises. We kept going... then we heard ghostly wails! It was creepy as hell!"
"A haunted underground tomb?" Lu Chen turned to Zhongli.
Zhongli had been the first to sense an abnormal disturbance underground. Was this connected?
Even after witnessing Lu Chen's rampage, Zhongli's expression didn't change. His golden eyes were still as calm as ever.
"Where exactly is this tomb?" he asked plainly.
"The location..." The bandit raised his head, trying to use the moonlight to get his bearings. After a moment, he pointed northwest.
Lu Chen and Zhongli looked that way. Mount Maojun stretched out in rolling ridges, and in the northwest, several high peaks stood tall.
"That the place?" Lu Chen asked softly.
Zhongli nodded slightly. "The source of the disturbance underground is indeed there."
"Tell me everything about how you entered the tomb." Lu Chen's voice was cold and commanding.
"Okay, okay..."
The bandit didn't dare hesitate and began explaining everything in detail. His only hope of surviving was the man in front of him.
The youth hadn't killed him—so surely he had some use for him.
What he didn't know was that, with each answer, Lu Chen's gaze had already turned into the look one gives the dead.
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Hundred Faces of the World (Part II) — Unforgivable Evil"]
[Ley Line Disturbance Warning]
[Investigation Mission: Explore and resolve the ley line anomaly in the northwest of Mount Maojun within 5 hours]
[Rewards upon completion: Luxurious Chest + Achievement]
A sudden system prompt appeared. Lu Chen frowned and muttered to himself.
"So it's a side effect of the worlds merging..."
"But only five hours...?"
"Isn't that cutting it a little close?"
Zhongli turned to him. Lu Chen explained what the system had said.
Zhongli's own challenge mission was another matter. But this "investigation mission" truly was urgent. Lu Chen looked at the bandit again.
"You. Lead us to the tomb."
"What?!" the bandit cried out, horrified.
Just then, Zhongli sensed the underground disturbance again—this time stronger than before.
Lu Chen, however, didn't feel a thing.
Due to the urgency, he called the others back at camp. Because of the poor signal, he had to repeat himself several times before Ei and the others finally understood.
Then, he and Zhongli prepared to depart immediately.
"You forgot something," Zhongli said, his golden gaze falling on the corpses.
"Ah, good point. Master Zhong always thinks ahead."
Lu Chen pulled the Lion's Roar from the tree. Flames danced along its blade.
Its pure Pyro energy could reduce even human bone to ash.
He ordered the remaining bandit to move the bodies to a clear, non-flammable patch of ground. Then, intense flames roared to life.
Lu Chen stood before the blaze, silent for a long while.
Those who dared to touch his reverse scale... were beyond forgiveness.