Chapter 67: Bounty Mission: The City Massacre Perpetrator

Han Xing observed the corpse on the ground and then reached a conclusion.

This was likely not the corpse of a child, but rather a member of another race in this world: the dwarves.

"Dwarves?"

Han Xing asked, his tone laced with doubt.

Beside him, Zhang Lianmeng looked at him with curious eyes.

Han Xing did not explain, choosing instead to continue examining the surrounding ground.

Not looking closely was one thing, but upon a second glance, he instantly drew a sharp breath.

The floor of the cave was littered with the skeletons of various beasts and humanoid creatures. These skeletal remains possessed distinct characteristics; some had horns on their foreheads, others had twin wings on their backs, and their heights varied from two to three meters down to one or two meters.

Without a doubt, these corpses belonged to the extraordinary beings of this world.

Among them, Han Xing also noticed a few corpses that had not been dead for long. Their causes of death were extremely bizarre—their surface skin was intact, and not a single trace of blood could be seen.

However, the flesh and blood on their bodies seemed to have been completely drained, leaving only a thin layer of human skin draped over their skeletons.

Han Xing turned his head and asked, "The person you found in the Goblin camp last time—did they look like this?"

Zhang Lianmeng nodded like a pecking chick. Although she was still quite terrified, for some reason, having Han Xing by her side gave her an inexplicable sense of security.

Han Xing distinctly felt that this cave was somewhat eerie.

Moreover, up to this point, neither the next clue for the hidden quest had been triggered, nor had any traces of ancient weaponry been seen.

Han Xing resumed his search within the cave.

Half an hour later, they had explored a large portion of the interior. Apart from discovering the skeletons of over a hundred corpses, they still had nothing to show for it.

However, he did glean one piece of information: the area of this cave was truly enormous.

By a conservative estimate, the diameter was at least over two kilometers.

Just then, Zhang Lianmeng suddenly pointed ahead and said, "There seems to be something drawn on the wall."

"Huh?"

Han Xing quickly looked in the direction she was pointing and indeed saw some graffiti-like patterns.

Approaching, Han Xing discovered that the style of these patterns leaned toward realism, resembling a series of murals.

Han Xing walked to the beginning of the mural. It depicted an Elvish male with pointed ears and slender limbs.

He was sitting on a high tree branch, smiling as he looked down at a village and town below.

By the second mural, the artistic style suddenly shifted. It appeared to depict this Elvish male being bullied by several other Elas, trampled underfoot, and continuously beaten.

In the third mural, the Elvish male retreated into his small room, weeping silently. Standing by his bedside was a terrifying-looking middle-aged Elf, watching him with a bizarre smile.

Especially the deep pupils of that middle-aged Elf—they were painted with extreme vividness, and Han Xing could feel a creeping sense of horror just looking at the mural.

The fifth, sixth, and even the dozens of murals that followed all depicted scenes of this Elvish youth being bullied.

From youth to early adulthood, the Elvish male constantly endured bullying from other Elas, and his entire demeanor grew increasingly gloomy.

However, the eerie part was that in every single scene, a terrifying-looking middle-aged man could be seen hiding in the corner, watching silently.

Until the thirtieth mural: the Elvish male was kneeling beside his bed. Lying on the bed was the middle-aged Elf who frequently appeared in the drawings.

Looking at the middle-aged Elf's near-death state, not only did the Elvish male feel no sorrow whatsoever, but he instead revealed a smile of liberation.

Yet even after this Elf's death, his situation did not seem to improve.

He still endured the insults and beatings of the other Elas.

And even more terrifyingly, the Elvish male still felt that pair of terrifying eyes staring at him.

*Didn't that guy die long ago?*

He thought to himself.

Until the fifty-third mural, an Elvish maiden with a gentle smile on her face appeared. She was like a ray of light piercing the darkness, illuminating the Elvish male's life as well.

She and he were brief friends for two days, after which she drifted away.

Whenever the Elvish male felt he could no longer hold on, he would think of this Elvish maiden's smiling face, and the corners of his mouth would unconsciously curve into a smile just like hers.

However, when he saw that Elvish maiden appear again, she was already walking alongside an Elf who frequently bullied her. The psychological defense line that the Elvish male had so bitterly built was shattered at that very moment.

He ran to question the Elvish maiden, but what he got in return was mockery and beatings.

The Elvish male fell to the ground, covered in blood and filth. In a haze, he seemed to see the black shadow of that middle-aged man appear once more, crouching by his ear and whispering.

The Elvish male went mad.

He returned to his room, drew a bizarre magic array, and then slashed his wrist, letting his blood flow freely.

Within the array, the phantom of a terrifying existence appeared. As he hovered on the brink of death, the Elvish male knelt respectfully on the ground before it, obtaining powerful strength in return.

Beaming with joy, the Elvish male went to find the maiden. He originally thought that after gaining power, he would regain her recognition.

However, upon seeing him now, the maiden shrank back in terror, her gaze as though she were looking at a monster.

It was only then that this Elvish male saw his own appearance.

His deep brown hair began to fall out in clumps, followed by his eyebrows, which shed entirely at the slightest touch. In the end, not even the fine body hair remained; every single hair fell out.

He stood on the street like a hairless monster, accepting the strange gazes of his own kind.

However, the changes were far from over.

Once his hair was gone, his nails also began to shed completely, growing into sharp hook-like claws. At the same time, his nose swelled up just like a Gorth's.

Not only that, but his arms fused with his body, growing a pair of massive, fleshy wings.

At that moment, he transformed from a noble Elf into a hateful, hideous monstrous bird.

The Elas hurriedly summoned guards to hunt down this monster.

When a sharp spear pierced his chest, the elite male widened his eyes, the terror of death causing him to instinctively flap his fleshy wings.

It was then that he discovered he was actually flying.

The Elvish male began to beat his wings and flee wildly, his eyes filled with hatred and rage.

He rushed into a secret location in the center of the town, hoisted a huge golden cannon from within, and began a frantic bombardment of the town.

Countless Elas died miserably under his firepower, and the town was reduced to a sea of fire.

Having done all this, the Elvish male turned and fled.

And naturally, he became a wanted fugitive of the Elas.

During his desperate flight, with nowhere left to turn, the Elvish male found an ancient magic array.

And the place the array led to was called the Land Forsaken by the Gods.

That place seemed to strike fear into the heart of this monstrous bird.

However, in order to survive, he ultimately activated the teleportation array.

The very end of the mural depicted the Elvish male finding a floating sky island and burrowing into the mountain forest.

Yet what he failed to notice was that a shadow seemed to have followed him into this island as well...

...

Having viewed all of this, Han Xing seemed to understand something, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.

With a solemn tone, he said, "It seems... something is wrong."

Zhang Lianmeng's expression was nervous, her body trembling slightly. "What's wrong?"

Han Xing frowned. "Up until now, we haven't found any clues regarding the hidden quest."

"Come to think of it, when I touched that metal fragment, the system didn't mention any hidden quest either. It only said that the metal fragment could be used to open the boulder gate."

"In other words, what that NPC told you might be fake. We've been tricked!"

"What?" Zhang Lianmeng's delicate body trembled, her face filled with disbelief.

At that very moment, deep within the dark cave, a pair of glowing red eyes suddenly appeared.

From behind, terrifying gusts of wind could be heard rushing past from time to time.

Realizing clearly that something was amiss, Han Xing quickly said, "There's a monster! Run!"

However, by now, it was already too late.

A terrifying monster charged rapidly from behind, accompanied by a howling gale.

Han Xing quickly pulled out the legendary-grade Moon-Crown Longbow and instantly entered battle mode.

Right at that moment, a terrifying hurricane struck head-on.

*Whoosh—*

Han Xing and Zhang Lianmeng were both blown backward by the hurricane for over a dozen meters.

The dark fire-stone torch slipped from his hand.

Taking advantage of the fiery red glow, Han Xing finally caught sight of the creature attacking them.

It was a terrifying, hairless monstrous bird over two meters in size, possessing a pair of massive, fleshy wings.

It looked identical to the monster displayed in the murals.

At that exact moment, a system prompt chimed.

[You have found the hiding place of the Elvish traitor Caleb, automatically triggering the bounty quest 'Butcher of the Town'. You may complete the quest according to your own choice.]

[Option 1: Kill the monstrous bird Caleb, and take its head to the Elvish Royal Capital to claim the bounty.]

[Option 2: Head to the Elvish Royal Capital, inform the Elvish guards of Caleb's hiding location, and assist them in capturing Caleb.]

Note: Because you are currently in the 'Land Forsaken by the Gods' and the 'Elvish Royal Capital' map is not yet unlocked, this quest cannot be completed at this time.

"Damn it, so this was the real hidden quest!"

Han Xing spun around abruptly, locking eyes with the monster's bloodthirsty pupils.

Without a single moment of hesitation, he directly loosed a Wind-Chasing Arrow.

*Clang!*

Seeing the arrow hurtling toward it, the monstrous bird beat its fleshy wings, stirring up a hurricane that blew the arrow off course.

This arrow failed to produce any effect, causing Han Xing's heart to sink.

At the same time, he finally saw the monster's attributes.

[Monstrous Bird Caleb (One-Star Boss-Level Creature)]

[Level: Lv 10]

[Attributes: Strength 94, Agility 132, Spirit 105 (-30), Constitution 76 (-30).]

[Skills: Mourning Wind, Fleshy Wing Defense, Giant Claw Bite, Shadow Assault, Frenzied Gale Dance.]

"It's actually a Level 10 Boss-level creature!"

Han Xing's expression changed wildly!

...