Toronto and Ford, as Black Iron Hunters, had a remarkably sharp Hunting Sensory perception, and they immediately noticed Ed's movement. However, before either of them could react, Ed's steel sword was already firmly placed at the top of the limping old village chief's head.

It was only then that the old village chief, who had been limping, realized the sword was hovering dangerously close to his head. He was so startled that his entire body went limp, almost causing him to fall off his horse. He quickly began to beg for mercy in a panicked voice: "Hunter, what I said earlier is the truth! I didn't tell a single lie!"

"Please, please don't kill me!"

Ed, looking at the frantic old village chief begging for his life, said nothing more. He simply withdrew his steel sword and turned to Toronto and Ford. "When we return, don't trust any of the villagers. Stay alert."

Toronto and Ford nodded vigorously, clearly understanding that Ed's sword had been a test to see if the old village chief was hiding any monsters inside him.

The three horses immediately picked up speed, heading towards the village.

Time passed slowly. By the time the sun was nearly set and the evening glow turned the distant horizon a soft red, Ed and the others had finally reached the village entrance.

Toronto and Ford sensed nothing unusual and dismounted, ready to enter the village.

Ed scanned the area with a few quick glances, immediately noticing something was wrong. He drew his steel sword from his back and instructed Ford and Toronto to prepare for a fight.

Toronto and Ford were puzzled but still trusted Ed's orders. Without asking why, they drew their own steel swords, just like Ed.

Ed offered a brief explanation:

"The sun is nearly setting, which should be dinnertime, but there's no smoke coming from any chimneys in the village."

"Something must have happened after we left!"

Hearing Ed's words, Toronto and Ford finally understood. It was indeed strange—the entire village was eerily silent, as if there were no people at all.

The limping old village chief, who had been trailing behind Ed and the others, started showing signs of concern and fear on his face. His voice trembled as he asked, "Hunter, what's happened to the village?"

Ed didn't respond. He instructed Toronto and Ford to stay close, then activated his Hunter's Senses and Killer Intent Perception to their maximum range. Cautiously, he moved towards the village.

As they ventured deeper into the village, Ed's expression grew increasingly serious. His Hunter's Senses failed to detect any trace of life whatsoever.

Ed instinctively sniffed the air around him, but there was no smell of blood.

It was as though this village was completely abandoned, as if everyone had vanished!

No, wait, there are still people here!

Ed changed his direction and began heading towards the largest house in the village. The old village chief followed behind Ed and muttered quietly, "Hunter, that's my home. Is there something..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Ed shot him a fierce glare, signaling him to stay quiet and remain silent.

Hunter's senses alerted Ed that there seemed to be someone inside that house.

When they were near the door, Ed made several hand gestures, signaling Toronto and Ford to spread out and completely encircle the house.

Toronto and Ford nodded and separated, sealing off all possible escape routes.

At that moment, the door of the surrounded house suddenly opened, and a figure appeared, staring at Ed and the old village chief in surprise. The figure spoke, "Village chief, Hunter, why are you back again?"

The old village chief recognized the person as one of the villagers, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly asked, "Where are the other villagers?"

The villager, as if not hearing the old chief's question, continued to look around, then asked, "What happened? Did you encounter something on the way?"

Before the old village chief could respond, the villager suddenly darted off in one direction, moving at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, Toronto and Ford had already sealed off all escape routes, and as Ed caught up to the villager, a creature over two meters tall, its body covered in some sort of black substance, appeared before him!

The direction the creature had chosen to flee was blocked by Toronto, who was now engaged in battle with the creature.

Toronto's strength was only at the Black Iron Level, Low tier, while the creature seemed to possess the strength of a Black Iron Level, Mid tier, easily gaining the upper hand in the fight with Toronto.

However, Ed had already arrived. He gripped his steel sword tightly and swung it forcefully at the creature's legs.

The creature's black, hard covering, which seemed almost impenetrable, shattered under Ed's attack, like paper. A thick, monstrous thigh was immediately severed by Ed's sword.

Red blood erupted like a spring, spilling everywhere.

A shrill, agonizing scream rang out as the black monster fell to the ground, its eyes glaring fiercely at Ed.

Without hesitation, Ed swung his steel sword again, chopping off the monster's arm.

He then forcefully flicked the blood from his sword, coldly looking down at the creature as he asked, "Where are the other villagers? What happened after we left?"

The monster's face twisted into a grimace of both pain and malice as it answered, "Villagers? Hahaha, they were just sacrifices. Do you know what sacrifices are for?"

Sacrifices?

Upon hearing this word, Ed immediately thought of some dark and evil ritual. Did these monsters kill all the villagers?

Ed took a deep breath, placing his steel sword on the monster's skull. He then applied a little pressure, and the sharp blade slowly began to separate the monster's skin, gradually cutting through the muscles beneath.

The shadow of death loomed over the creature. Any intelligent being has the instinct to survive.

Driven by that survival instinct, the monster opened its mouth as though it wanted to say something, but it suddenly stopped. Then, it tilted its head upward as though it were willingly committing suicide.

By the time Ed tried to retract his steel sword, it was too late. The sharp blade pierced through the monster's skull, and a white liquid slowly began to ooze out.

Toronto, who had witnessed the entire scene, was visibly shocked. He instinctively asked, "Captain Ed, do these monsters really have no fear of death?"

Ed shook his head. He recalled the other monsters he had killed before and felt something was always a bit off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Now, seeing this monster clearly trying to say something useful before it intentionally killed itself, it felt as though these creatures had suddenly become puppets under control.

With the lead cut off and no new discoveries around them, Ed scanned the surrounding houses. There were no signs of damage, everything seemed calm, and there were no footprints on the ground. It was as if the villagers had simply vanished into thin air.

At that moment, Ford shouted, "Ed, come here! There seem to be some strange traces here!"

Ed and Toronto exchanged a quick look and hurried over. They found a large number of marks on the ground, similar to the traces of rats, leading towards the mountain behind the village.

Ed instantly remembered what the limping old village chief had said earlier—there was an unknown ruin in a cave on the mountain behind the village.

Could the villagers have gone there?

But there were no human footprints on the ground, only these rat-like traces.

With this thought, Ed called the old village chief over and asked him about it.

The old village chief confirmed that these rat-like traces indeed led to the cave, and he added that the village had never experienced a rat infestation before.

Time was of the essence, so Ed decided to head directly to the cave first.

Following the traces that resembled those left by a large number of rats, Ed, Toronto, and Ford arrived in front of the cave.

The old village chief stayed outside the cave. There was no point in him going in, and if any danger occurred, he wouldn't be able to escape.

Ford looked at the dark cave, clearly feeling a bit scared. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke up, "Ed, why don't we go back and report this to the association? If the vice-captain comes personally, there won't be any danger!"

Ed shook his head. If they did that, it might be too late, and besides, the monsters weren't that strong. If they were truly powerful, there would be no need to mislead them into thinking everything was over.

Looking at Ford, whose leg wound hadn't fully healed, Ed arranged, "You stay outside. If Toronto and I haven't returned after a long time, go back to the association and request reinforcements!"

Hearing this, Ford hesitated even more. He was worried that Ed and Toronto might run into danger inside, but in his current state, there wasn't much he could do to help, so he had no choice but to follow Ed's arrangement.

Ed turned to Toronto and asked, "Are you ready? If you're scared, we can..."

Before Ed could finish his sentence, the more introverted Toronto smiled and replied, "I've been ready. The reason I became a Hunter is to constantly slay monsters."

Without wasting any more time, Ed asked the old village chief about the path and environment inside the cave. Then, he led Toronto inside.

The cave wasn't very large—around two meters high and two meters wide, winding and full of sharp turns. Fortunately, with Hunter's Senses, they didn't waste much time navigating through it.

Following the path described by the old village chief, Ed and Toronto soon noticed a faint light ahead.

They exchanged a glance, then carefully made their way toward the light.

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