Chapter 422

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, ordinary churches would need considerable numbers of Sacred Legionnaires to take them down without sending their best combatants — not every church was like the God of Games who had a considerable number of upper-middle combatants.

Edward and the others finally saw the village the commoner was talking about when they pushed to where they could see the volcano.

But it was just as the commoner said: the village was completely destroyed.

Not even a tenth of the houses built from the red mountain rocks unique to the volcanic zone were left standing. There was not a single intact building in the entire village, with luggage and random items left behind by people fleeing everywhere. There were also black splatters of oxidized blood in many places.

Weirdly, however, there were no human corpses in the ruins. There was not even a single livestock or dog that should have been kept in captivity …

"They must have been eaten." Edward became calmer the worse the situation became.

While the ecology of the Bizarre Rot Maggots was still a mystery, they were able to glean a little bit from their attack patterns when they fought them, and it also corroborated what the half-mad villager had said.

"Edward, things aren't looking good. I suggest we retreat."

Gou Dan quickly voiced his opinion when he returned to the others after taking a stroll around the village.

"I don't agree. If we retreat now, wouldn't the Bizarre Rot Maggots just swagger out of the volcanic zone? Once these fellows spread out, how many people will suffer? Have you not thought about it, Doug?! "Joe immediately objected.

"But things aren't normal right now …" Gou Dan argued.

"Doug Ag! Have you forgotten how we became Players in the first place? " Joe shook his head. "I don't want others 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 these monsters here! "

"That's enough, Joe. Doug isn't suggesting this purely out of fear. Can't you listen to him first?"

As the party leader, Edward quickly stopped Joe from continuing and gave Gou Dan a look, gesturing for the latter to submit and stroke Joe's hair.

Gou Dan, however, scowled and shook his head. "I don't want to do that, but don't you guys find it weird?"

"Weird?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Even though something as unusual as this has happened, there's still no quest 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 …"

After being pointed out by him, 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 with their heads held high.

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 allow us to continue investigating?' Edward couldn't help thinking that.

"No, there's a reaction," Jessica suddenly said.

Jessica suddenly said, "The side quest to search for Vulcan believers has been updated."

The others quickly opened 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 did not expect to gain much from the quest, since they still had Angora's promised share.

Edward had assumed that the side quest had become a chain quest after Jessica's words, and could be completed one chain at a time. Then, he noticed that the quest to find the Vulcan believers had been completed, and the quest could be concluded.

But the problem 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 would never make a mistake …" Edward said through gritted 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, that peasant's tattoo is the mark of Gurus, the God of the Hunt. He's a believer of the God of the Hunt, not a believer of the Vulcan … In fact, the Vulcan doesn't have any human believers."

Edward shook his head.

"Then how did we complete the quest? Didn't we run into no one … along the way …? "

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 Vulcan …" Gou Dan said somberly. "Those Exotic Rot Maggots were formed from the believers of the Vulcan!"

"The Vulcan must have changed in some way we can't understand. Anything that concerns the gods should not 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 Players' immortal bodies …"

He stared at Joe, who was at a loss for what to do, and was certain of his suggestion. "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 we proceed with 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 only after we're fully prepared!"