The further Edward and the others advanced, the more Bizarre Rot Maggots they encountered along the way. Their levels were not increasing, though, and they were basically hovering around Level 35 to 40.
While monsters of that level were manageable for first-rate Players and could be scraped to death with Scraping Sand if there was no time limit, monsters of that level were no less than a disaster for most people.
In a village without a church stationed there, a monster of this level would be enough to destroy the village!
In fact, even ordinary churches would need considerable numbers of sacred legionnaires to take them down if they didn't send their best combatants — not every church was like the God of Games who had considerable numbers of upper-middle combatants.
Edward and the others finally saw the village the commoner was talking about when they pushed forward to where they could see the volcano.
But it was as the commoner had said: the village was completely destroyed.
Less than a tenth of the houses that were built from the red mountain rocks that were unique to the volcanic region remained. There was not a single complete building in the entire village. Luggage and random things that people had left behind when they fled were everywhere. Many places could still see the black splatters of oxidized blood.
However, the strange thing was that there were no human corpses in the ruins. There were no livestock, birds, or even dogs that should have been kept in captivity …
"He must have been eaten." The worse the situation was, the calmer Edward became.
While the ecology of the Bizarre Rot Maggots was still a mystery, they were able to glean a little from their attack patterns when they fought them, just as what the half-crazed villager had said corroborated with each other.
"Edward, this isn't right. I suggest we retreat."
Gou Dan had gone around the village, and quickly voiced his opinion when he returned to the others.
"I don't agree. If we retreat now, wouldn't the Bizarre Rot Maggots just swagger out of the volcano? Don't you think about how many people would die once those things spread? Doug, have you not thought about it?! "Joe quickly objected.
"But the situation now isn't normal …" Gou Dan argued.
"Doug! Have you forgotten how we became Players in the first place? " Joe shook his head. "I don't want anyone else to suffer the pain of watching their friends and family die in front of their eyes like we did! Run if you want. I'll do my best to get rid of those monsters! "
"That's enough, Joe. Doug isn't suggesting this purely out of fear. Can't you listen to him first?"
As the leader of the team, Edward immediately stopped Charle from continuing. He gave Eggface a look, telling him to give in and stroke Charle's hair.
But Gou Dan shook his head with a sullen expression. "I don't want to do this either, but don't you feel that it's strange?"
"What's strange?" asked Joe, puzzled.
"Such an abnormal situation has clearly occurred, but no new mission has been triggered." Only then did Eggface reveal everything that made him feel uneasy. "Normally, when we encounter such a situation, there would definitely be a mission …"
With him pointing it out, the others couldn't help but fall silent.
In their impression, the God of Games was never a cowardly being. As long as the Players stood on the side of justice, they would stand against the Church of the Seven Divine Fathers.
However, this time, there was no reaction at all. The meaning behind this was very intriguing.
'Could it be that even the God of Games doesn't support our investigation?' Edward couldn't help thinking.
"No, there's actually a reaction."
Jessica suddenly said. "The side quest to find the Vulcan believers has been updated."
The others quickly turned to their quest panel at her words.
The side quest they had accepted was simple: everything would be fine as long as they could find the Vulcan believers.
After all, the reward was so little, and it was understandable that the quest was simple. Edward and the others didn't expect to gain much from the quest — there was still Angora's share anyway.
With Jessica's words, Edward thought that the side quest had become a chain quest that could be completed one by one, but he soon realized that the quest requirement to search for the Fire God's believers had been fulfilled, and the entire quest was now in a state where it could be concluded.
The problem, however, was that they had yet to venture deep into the forbidden land, and were still quite a distance away from the Salamander tribe.
"That's …" Edward's eyes widened as he thought of an unbelievable possibility.
"It's like a nightmare …"
Gou Dan's eyes twitched as he realized what the quest change meant as well, unsure if he should be angry or shocked.
"What's going on? How did the quest get completed so suddenly? "
Joe, whose brain had recently evolved into muscles was still confused. "We haven't run into the Salamanders yet, have we?"
"The God of Games wouldn't make a mistake …"
Edward said through clenched teeth. "That's why we've already run into the believers of the God of Flames."
"Is it that peasant who survived just now? I should've asked him directly … "Charle had a look of realization on his face.
"No, the tattoo on that peasant's body is the mark of Gurus, the God of Hunters. He's a believer of the God of Hunters, not a believer of the God of Flames … In fact, the God of Flames doesn't have any human believers."
Edward shook his head.
"Then how did we complete the quest? We didn't run into anyone … along the way, did we? "
Joe seemed to have realized something. He looked at Edward in a panic, and the latter nodded with a heavy expression.
"That's right. We didn't run into anyone, but we did run into the believers of the God of Flames …" Gou Dan said somberly. "Those Exotic Rotting Maggots were formed from the believers of the God of Flames!"
"The God of Flames must have changed in some way we can't understand. Anything that concerns the gods shouldn't be treated carelessly, and not even the God of Games has any intention of getting involved. That's why we can't act recklessly just because we're immortal Players …"
He stared at Joe, who was at a loss for what to do, and once again made up his mind. "Let's retreat for now. Even if we don't go too far, we should return to the edge of the volcanic zone and set up the Lifestone so that the other Players can come here and replenish our forces before continuing our expedition or exploration!"
Joe turned to Edward, who thought about it for a long time before nodding with much difficulty. "Let's retreat for now. We'll explore after we're fully prepared!"
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