Chapter 56: Foolish Love

The fire lizards collided with the stitched monster, their fury turning into frenzied bites.

The stitched monster roared, its powerful claws flinging several fire lizards away. Although its claws were strong, they were not lethal to the fire lizards, who were covered in thick scales.

The fire lizards that were flung away fell to the ground but quickly got up, twisting their bodies to continue their attack on the stitched monster.

Roars, growls, earthquakes, and flames interwove together, turning the entrance of Dusk Village into a battlefield where Feral Beasts and Magical Beasts vented their anger against each other.

Meanwhile, the instigator of this war, Rayan, took the opportunity to safely return among the villagers.

"You really didn't lie to me."

The acting village chief approached with an excited expression, "Although the reinforcements you brought are peculiar, Dusk Village finally has hope."

Rayan simply nodded, checked his injuries—finding them minor—and focused intently on the battle between the fire lizards and the stitched monster.

"What should we do next?"

The acting village chief now completely trusted Rayan, and was ready to follow any advice he gave.

"Wait."

"Wait?"

The acting village chief blinked, "Shouldn't we take the opportunity to attack the stitched monster from behind, making it fight on two fronts?"

Rayan gently shook his head, "We must wait until both parties are equally damaged before striking. Otherwise, even if we kill the stitched monster, the fire lizards will attack us."

"Attacked by fire lizards?"

The acting village chief said in surprise, "I thought they were so desperate because they were friends with you..."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Rayan kept his eyes fixed on the battle, speaking lightly, "In that sense, they are friends, I suppose."

"I really admire you, coming up with such a strategy."

The acting village chief sighed worriedly, touching his forehead, "But what if they team up? Magical Beast plus Feral Beast—that would spell doom for our village."

"Don't worry, they won't."

Rayan explained, "The fire lizards see the stitched monster as my friend, and the stitched monster sees the fire lizards as my helpers. They both hate me, hence they want to kill each other."

"I see."

The acting village chief looked at him admiringly, "You've managed to play two powerful foes against each other; such calm truly befits a noble scion."

Rayan slightly pursed his lips and did not respond, choosing to focus more on the battlefield. The stitched monster, although injured in several places, showed no signs of fatigue, while the fire lizards, being Second Rank Feral Beasts, were at a disadvantage, though not to the point of instant defeat.

However, the stitched monster was also not having an easy time. Its brute strength was ineffective against the fire lizards, and with the overwhelming number of lizards, as soon as one was thrown off, another took its place. The right side of its body, unprotected by its shell, was severely torn up by the fire lizards, while the left side, covered in a shell, was hampered by the heat of the flames.

After another round of fierce combat, the number of fire lizards had halved. Some were injured by the claws and eaten by their own kind, while others were thrown off and did not dare to return to the battlefield.

The stitched monster also paid a price; its thick right leg was bitten through, and one of its claws on the left side was completely disabled. It roared and several large mouths opened on its belly, sucking in fire lizards in an attempt to end the war by devouring them.

"No!"

The acting village chief said urgently, "If the stitched monster swallows the fire lizards, its power might increase manifold!"

"That may not be the case."

A knowing smile appeared on Rayan's face, "Fire lizard blood is not so easy to digest."

Just then, the three closest fire lizards were sucked into the large mouths, and the remaining lizards, losing their will to fight, issued a threatening growl before strategically retreating from the battlefield.

The stitched monster's swollen belly began to twist and contort as it tried to digest the fire lizards. But just seconds later, it screamed in terror. Its huge body wobbled, its pale belly turned red with fiery streaks spreading across its body. It retched a few times, then coughed up clumps of charred ash.

"Now!"

Rayan drew his black giant sword and charged at the stitched monster.

The acting village chief, initially stunned, then signaled for the villagers to follow: "For Dusk Village!"

"For Dusk Village!"

Seeing victory within reach, the villagers dispelled all unease in their hearts and charged with Rayan.

The stitched monster weakly raised its claws; Rayan skillfully dodged and delivered a crescent moon slash, severing the monster's injured right leg.

The stitched monster screamed miserably and fell heavily to the ground. The villagers immediately swarmed it, stabbing it full of holes.

Rayan continued his assault, the stitched monster's shell softened and deformed by the fire lizard's heat, unable to withstand the ruthless swings of the black giant sword. The massive stitched monster trembled, unable to support its own body, while the blood of the fire lizards burned inside it, leaving it too weak to fight back and allowing itself to be butchered.

"Die, demon!"

Rayan, enduring the stench, jumped onto the stitched monster and struck heavily at the stitching point—

The stitched monster wailed as its swollen body slowly deflated, finally collapsing into a stinking heap of skin, no longer able to move.

The villagers of Dusk Village paused, then rushed to Rayan's side, lifting him into the air with excitement.

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

Rayan was genuinely startled by the villagers' action, his hand on the black giant sword ready to strike, until he heard the chants of victory and his tense heart finally relaxed.

"No, no!"

The graveyard night watchman burst out excitedly, shouting, "It should be 'long live the noble young lord!'"

"Long live the noble young lord! Long live the noble young lord!"

"Put me down!"

Rayan saw the graveyard night watchman and immediately tensed up. He waved his hand to calm the villagers' fervor and approached the night watchman. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be guarding the graveyard?"

Rayan had been so focused on dealing with the stitched monster that he hadn't noticed his presence.

The graveyard night watchman, still caught up in the joy of an upcoming marriage, grinned and said, "The village is in trouble, how could a man of integrity like me just sit by?"

Trouble.

The stitched monster was just a decoy to draw attention away from the real threat—Morien might have already...

Rayan gasped, trying to contain his anxiety, and sternly told the acting village chief, "Burn the stitched monster's body to ash, leaving nothing behind. Then everyone go home and rest, understood?"

Some villagers protested, "What about Morien? We can't let him get away with this!"

"I'll handle this matter myself. No one else interfere."

Rayan's voice was cold, "You want justice, I'll give you justice, but if anyone uses justice as an excuse to vent personal grievances, like how you once treated Yin Lisha, my sword will show no mercy."

The villagers all clamped their mouths shut, none daring to show reluctance.

The acting village chief, clearly understanding the priorities, immediately assured, "We won't interfere."

Rayan nodded, no longer paying attention to the villagers, and sprinted toward the graveyard...

In the foggy graveyard, the tombstone engraved with a love inscription had been dug up, and a twisted female corpse, its limbs nailed to the coffin with long iron nails, lay quietly there.

The female corpse was shriveled and gray, its flesh rotted away, but its face still showed a horrifying twist.

Morien knelt beside the female corpse, removing the nails, and caressed the dry tips of her hair. His gray eyes filled with deep affection.

"Yin Lisha, my love, we're finally together again."

The corpse had been dead too long, its half-open mouth incapable of responding to his words.

Morien looked up at the burning fire at the village entrance and let out a bitter smile. "It seems the stitched monster is finished. It's a pity I couldn't avenge you. My plan was flawless, but that guy Rayan keeps creating miracles. It's truly astonishing. But I quite like that boy; if you could wake up, I think you'd like him too."

"My dear, I had so much to tell you, but now we must hurry."

He bent down, kissed her dry, grass-like hair, and with his gaunt fingers, pulled out a black, mysterious potion. "This is the last one. After drinking it, I can remove my own heart and give it to you, and still live a little longer. Though it will be a very short time, I've waited too long for this moment..."

He drank the black potion, then removed his brown-gray cloak and used a dagger to cut open his chest, carefully extracting his beating heart and slowly placing it inside the shattered chest cavity of the female corpse.

"I love you, Yin Lisha."

Morien, heartless, trembled as he stood up, pulling out a bottle emitting a faint green glow, the source of the plague, murmuring repeatedly, "Forever, forever, forever, love you."

"No!"

Rayan, with the speed of thunder, burst into the graveyard, and seeing the scene before him, couldn't help but shout, " Alchemist, don't do anything foolish!" "It's too late..." Morien, with a smile of happiness and despair, weakly said, "Love is always foolish... one day you'll understand." Saying this, he turned the bottle upside down, spilling the entire contents of the plague source onto the female corpse.