Chapter 61: The Gaze of the Plague

Massive tentacles collided with bolts of lightning.

The battle at the center was exceptionally fierce.

The dwarves on the outer perimeter and Kanna's group kept a tight grip on their swords, ready to charge forward at any moment.

As Kanna watched the combat, voices in his mind were in constant debate.

Whether to steal the kill was a dilemma, but for Kanna, that meant pure experience points.

Not to mention that Returnk was bound to be a major prize; taking him down might just fill up the remaining experience bar and allow him to level up once again.

Such an opportunity was exceedingly rare. After all, not just any evil god was worthy of being called an "invader."

Most of the trouble-making evil gods hiding in the shadows were native entities of this world.

He had to consider that this might be his only source of experience for quite some time.

He glanced at his experience bar.

[Experience: 735/1000]

Although the experience gained from those goblins had diminished, yielding only a little over 10 points per kill,

it couldn't withstand the sheer volume of them. Under Luric's heavy bombardment and paralyzing lightning, the slaughter had been almost effortless.

Accumulated in massive numbers, it had somehow granted Kanna nearly 800 experience points.

To put it into perspective, Kanna alone had hacked and slashed at least 70-odd goblins to death.

Not a single dwarf present dared claim they had killed more goblins than Kanna; in fact, they hadn't even managed half of that.

Even their efficiency fell short of Kanna's.

Looking at the battle unfolding before him, even though Returnk had begun to gradually accept the power of the Rotten Sovereign,

he evidently remained no match for Luric. After all, Luric was a Sage of the Gray Mountains and a member of the Council of Three.

barring any unexpected circumstances, Luric was undoubtedly well over 300 years old.

Among dwarves, there was no such thing as declining strength due to advanced age.

Moreover, for a dwarf, 300 years old was merely the transition from the prime of life to its twilight.

And that process still spanned well over another century.

The average lifespan of a dwarf fell between 400 and 500 years.

Furthermore, Kanna had recognized Luric's class. Wielding a warhammer, runes lit up every time lightning was summoned.

It was virtually certain to be a hidden class—the Rune Smith. Although the title contained the word "smith," this was unequivocally a melee spellcasting class.

The weapons typically utilized were various types of hammers, and the power of the runes manifested as lightning, fire, or stone, depending on the dwarf faction to which they belonged.

"Is—this—the—power—you—chose?"

Luric roared, smashing down relentlessly upon Returnk amidst a shroud of lightning.

Two of the tentacles had been completely charred and rendered useless by electricity, and Returnk's body was covered in crackling, scorched electric arcs.

"You are unworthy to wield that sword!" Luric cursed, bringing his hammer down with crushing force and violently knocking the sword still held in Returnk's grip flying through the air.

Come to think of it, most dwarves used hammers, and very few used swords; Returnk was one of the exceptions.

The sheer, overwhelming violence of lightning and warhammer stirred the hearts of the surrounding dwarves, some of whom could not help but begin cheering.

Even Kanna and his companions watched with unblinking eyes, unable to look away.

Having been disarmed, Returnk possessed virtually no capacity left for resistance.

"You traitor, prepare to face the judgment of the Gray Mountains."

Luric's voice calmed down as he swung his weapon, his attacks no longer fatal.

Clearly, he intended to take Returnk alive.

"Hahaha, judged by a pack of cowards like you? In your dreams!"

Returnk roared, the tentacles behind him thrashing wildly as he slammed forward.

Luric blocked a few blows and retreated a few steps, his eyes fixed intently on him.

"Very well, if that is what you crave!"

"Thunderstorm! Mountain Tremor!"

"BOOM!"

Accompanied by a deafening roar that left everyone with ringing ears, a thick bolt of lightning struck straight down from the dark night sky.

Enveloped in lightning and guided by Luric's swing, the warhammer smashed forcefully into Returnk's chest.

In an instant, his entire chest caved inward, and the violent electricity even scorched away his skin.

The remaining tentacles on his back turned pitch black, and his entire figure was sent flying backward, crashing hard against the city wall.

The dwarves over there instantly parted to create a gap.

All eyes turned to the indentation in the wall where Returnk slid down from the stonework, completely devoid of life.

Following his death, Luric laid his warhammer down beside his feet.

Staring at the charred corpse,

the surrounding dwarves did not know what to say, falling into an eerie silence—especially at a moment that should have called for celebration.

"So... it's over?" Alirice asked cautiously from the side.

Kanna opened his mouth to nod, but suddenly caught a whiff of something.

A foul, fishy stench.

A buzzing, chaotic noise filled his ears.

"What is that smell? What is that sound?" Getary roared loudly.

Evidently, this was not something only Kanna could smell and hear; every dwarf present felt it.

"Watch out!" Kanna remembered something and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Luric abruptly hoisted his hammer and spun around to face Returnk's corpse.

At some point, the charred body had become covered by a swarm of white, crawling grubs, as if being devoured.

Then, those grubs congealed, solidifying as though forming Returnk's flesh anew.

Returnk, who had seemed utterly dead a moment ago, stood up once more.

This time, he bore no resemblance whatsoever to a normal living creature.

He stood like a monster, his lower body swelling and deforming until his legs were gone, replaced instead by the torso of an insect densely covered in fine stitches.

A few tentacles burst from his back, and insect-like jointed limbs sprouted from his waist.

Aside from his battered head retaining a faint trace of his former appearance, not a single part of his entire body bore any relation to who he once was.

"By the Gray Mountains!"

Many dwarves could not help crying out in shock at such an evil and blasphemous form.

"Listen, that is the voice of our lord!"

"Attack!" This time, Luric did not hesitate, issuing the command directly.

With that, he took the lead, charging forward with his warhammer raised.

The others followed closely behind.

"The gaze of our lord has reached this place; why do you not kneel and embrace new life?"

Faced with the impending onslaught, Returnk pressed downward heavily.

Instantly,

every single dwarf emitted a cry of anguish and collapsed limply to the ground.

Even Luric seemed to bear immense pressure, dropping to one half-knee and using his warhammer to forcefully prop himself up.

Kanna turned to look.

Alirice had already dropped to one knee, struggling to clasp his hand as she said with a trembling voice, "Your Highness, run!"

She could feel a terrifying, crushing dread.

George and Bobot had lost the strength to speak. Collapsed upon the ground, they could only make faint sounds, forcing their eyelids open to survey the situation before them.

"You, human, why are you still standing?"

Returnk's voice no longer sounded like that of a dwarf; it was drenched in a fervent, cultish tone.

Everyone collapsed on the ground looked toward Kanna.

This included Luric, who was straining to remain half-kneeling, and Alirice, who wanted Kanna to flee quickly.

Unbelievable. Kanna would never have dreamed that he only came to help the dwarves slaughter goblins and resolve a plague curse.

Now look at this—the main boss had cast its gaze directly upon him.

He checked his status bar.

[Status: Plague Gaze]

[Plague Gaze: An outer evil god named the "Rotten Sovereign" has cast its eyes upon you.

A soul check will be performed every 30 seconds; failure will inflict the "Weakened" status.

A constitution check will be performed every 30 seconds; failure will inflict the "Plague" status.]

Clearly, none of those present had passed the soul check, leaving everyone weakened.

Luric and Alirice evidently possessed souls stronger than ordinary people, allowing them to endure without completely collapsing.

Quite a few dwarves had passed the constitution check, with only a fraction exhibiting symptoms of the plague.

Among them were Bobot and George, whose bodies already showed one of the classic symptoms: "pustules."

"Our lord fancies you; embrace new life with gratitude, human."

Faced with the only person still standing, Returnk spoke thus.

Yet Kanna paid him no mind.

Instead, he turned, took hold of Alirice's hand, placed it back upon her lap, and activated the spherical puppet, causing it to hover before her face: "Rest well. Do not speak."

With that, he stood up.

He gripped his sword and slashed it across the back of his hand.

Wound, blood.

He walked steadily toward Returnk.

His advancing steps drew the focused attention of almost everyone present.

He arrived beside Luric.

"You... needn't... do this. Quickly, go."

"I can still... still... hold them off a while longer."

Luric spoke with difficulty, his condition evidently extremely grave.

As the strongest person on the scene, he had drawn special attention.

Kanna did not speak, simply offering him a faint smile.

He shifted the prince's sword from his right hand to his left, and grasped the weapon that had been disarmed from Returnk's hand with his right.

With a smile, he said, "You don't mind if I use this to finish off its master, do you?"