"Loki!"
Thor's roar exploded instantly. He didn't even have time to catch his breath; seeing his younger brother hanging upside down in the distance, he transformed into a bolt of silver lightning and charged forward recklessly.
"Keep up!"
Lin Huai barked a low command and followed closely behind. Kaelan and Danitz also rushed into that viscous quagmire without hesitation.
As soon as their feet stepped into the swamp, the disgusting creatures below that had been gazing at the sacrificial offerings received a new command and instantly shifted their targets!
"Gurgle... Gurgle..."
The turbid swamp suddenly began to boil, and hundreds of deformed Monsters leaped from the mud, turning into a black tide that pounced desperately toward the intruders.
Individually, these creatures were extremely weak, and their movements were slow and clumsy. Every swing of Thor's mjolnir brought forth a vast expanse of lightning, blasting a dozen Monsters into charcoal simultaneously; Lin Huai's Air Bullets were incredibly precise, each shot popping a Monster's head; Kaelan's Frost Power was an even more effective wide-range weapon, freezing a large area in an instant.
But there were simply too many of them!
Moreover, they possessed no such emotion as fear. If one was frozen into an ice sculpture, three more would immediately pounce over its corpse; if one was cut in half at the waist, its upper body would still use its forelimbs to crawl forward, trying to bite the enemy's ankles.
"Shit! Are these things endless!" Danitz cursed while skillfully brandishing a Flaming Blade condensed from Beyonder power, the stench of burning flesh permeating around him.
While picking off the stragglers, Lin Huai quickly commanded: "Don't get bogged down with them! Thor, clear a path! Our goal is to save him!"
Thunder surged around Thor as he forcibly plowed a scorched path through the wave of Monsters.
Enduring the relentless onslaught of Monsters, the group finally reached the base of that dead giant tree.
Thor leaped up, a flash of lightning in his hand, and the dark green vines binding the two men snapped. He caught Loki steadily, while the Fisherman fell heavily into Danitz's arms.
"Let's go!"
Lin Huai made a split-second decision; the group stopped fighting and retreated along their original path at maximum speed, quickly exiting that eerie swamp.
Only when they stepped back onto solid ground did the endless Monsters stop their pursuit and submerge back into the swamp, everything returning to its original state.
The group could finally catch their breath.
Lin Huai immediately knelt down to check the Fisherman's condition. With just one look, his brow furrowed.
The Fisherman had long since lost all signs of life; not only that, his body was clearly rotting, large patches of livor mortis appearing on his skin, emitting a thick, foul stench.
Thor, meanwhile, held Loki nervously, calling his name repeatedly, but Loki's eyes remained tightly shut, with no reaction.
"Wise One, how is he?" Thor's voice trembled.
Lin Huai turned his gaze toward Loki.
The ornate green robe on Loki was currently emitting a mysterious, soft halo. Countless tiny, complex symbols faintly emerged within the halo—both text and patterns—stubbornly resisting the Erosion of that dark green slime.
"These are... runes."
He then activated his Spirit Vision.
In his spiritual vision, although Loki's soul was dim and covered in cracks, it had not dissipated. A powerful and ancient mystical force had transformed into a warm swaddle, firmly protecting his wounded soul at its core, preventing it from completely vanishing.
"He's not dead yet; his soul has been protected," Lin Huai said in a low voice. "But he's badly injured. We must go back immediately!"
The group dared not delay any further. Carrying the unconscious Loki and the Fisherman's corpse, they returned at full speed to the Church of the Fool's outpost in the City of Generosity.
The Bishop of the church was shocked to see them in such a wretched state and immediately mobilized all available personnel.
Soon, two pieces of news were confirmed through a series of mysticism methods and summarized before Lin Huai.
The first piece of news concerned Loki. The result was exactly as Lin Huai had judged: a powerful force beyond their understanding was protecting Loki's soul, sparing him the fate of having his soul taken on the spot. Although his soul had suffered extremely severe trauma, he was indeed still alive. As for exactly when he would wake up, no one knew.
The second piece of news came from the Fisherman's corpse, which had already begun to rot heavily.
Upon investigation, the Fisherman's true identity was a Sequence 9 Marauder who had been living cautiously in that fishing village for a long time for unknown reasons. The state of his death was identical to the victims of the previous murders—cleanly killed, with his soul and life force becoming nourishment for an evil art... Loki lay on the bed, his chest still rising and falling slightly. Thor stood guard by the bed without a word, his massive frame silent and motionless, but his clenched fists and trembling shoulders betrayed his inner fury.
On the other side, Danitz and the Bishop were looking at the rotting, stinking corpse of the Fisherman with grave expressions.
"My Lord Oracle," the Bishop's voice held a hint of awe, "this thing... was found on him. After appraisal, it is a Sequence 9 Marauder Beyonder characteristic."
He held out a shriveled, blackened severed finger.
Danitz clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair irritably.
"Shit! One trouble after another." He turned to the Bishop and ordered, "By the way, that forest behind the village—a large part of it has turned into a foul swamp. Such a big commotion, and yet no one noticed?! Send people to evacuate the civilians from that area; it's very dangerous there now."
"Yes, My Lord Oracle." The Bishop hurriedly bowed and took his leave.
The room fell silent once more, leaving only the sound of Thor's increasingly heavy breathing.
Lin Huai took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood beside Thor.
"Thor," his voice was low and full of apology, "I'm sorry. I was the one who sent Loki to tail them. I misjudged the danger level and let him fall into this state. All of this... is my responsibility."
Thor's body stiffened suddenly. He slowly turned his head, his azure eyes now bloodshot. He said nothing, only staring fixedly at Lin Huai.
"BOOM—!!"
Without warning, Thor suddenly turned and slammed a fist hard into the adjacent wall!
The solid stone wall was defenseless, instantly denting into a large crater with dense cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb. He suppressed the roar in his throat, his shoulders heaving violently, destructive power surging wildly within him.
Danitz's heart leaped into his throat, and he was about to say something.
However, a few seconds later, Thor slowly lowered his fist.
That violent aura, which had almost destroyed the entire room, slowly calmed down.
He turned back toward Lin Huai. Though the fury in his eyes had not dissipated, it was joined by a sense of resolve.
"Wise One, I am very angry right now, but just as you said, anger achieves nothing." Thor's voice was low as he pointed to the lifeless Loki on the bed.
"The priority right now is to find a way to wake Loki up."
He looked at Lin Huai again, his gaze becoming intimidating.
"And then, find the killer..."
He spoke word by word, each one squeezed through his gritted teeth, resolute.
"I'm going to crush his head."