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Facing those three beast-like gazes, he took a proactive step forward.
The viscous plasma on the ground made a soft squelching sound as he stepped on it.
A low growl escaped the bald giant's throat as he pulled the massive axe from the stone wall. With muscles bulging in his arms, he swung it in a semi-circle, the huge blade creating a heavy wind pressure as it swept toward Noah's waist and abdomen!
The blow was incredibly powerful, enough to cleave an ox in half.
Simultaneously, his two companions flanked from the left and right. Their rusted machetes reflected a greasy light under the dim candlelight as they aimed straight for Leon's neck and chest.
There was no communication between them, yet their cooperation was as seamless as a hunting squad that had practiced countless times.
Leon's reaction was lightning fast. He didn't try to block; instead, he leaned back in a tactical dodge, his feet pushing off the slippery ground. He slid backward several meters like a skater, narrowly avoiding the pincer attack of the two machetes.
Facing the lethal horizontal sweep, Noah performed a move that caught everyone off guard.
He didn't dodge or weave; instead, his body suddenly dropped, lowering his center of gravity until he was almost flat against the ground.
The whistling axe blade flew right over his scalp, shearing off a few strands of black hair.
Just as the axe's momentum spent itself and the bald giant's body momentarily stiffened, Noah's body, like a spring compressed to its limit, suddenly exploded!
He brought his left fingers together into a palm, reaching forward along the ground to strike precisely at the bald giant's supporting right ankle!
"Crack!"
The crisp, scalp-numbing sound of bone fracturing rang out abruptly in the basement.
For the first time, a twist of pain appeared on the bald giant's fanatical and hollow face.
His right ankle had been shattered by that seemingly effortless palm strike!
His massive frame lost balance and toppled to the side.
Noah's figure appeared behind the two machete-wielding Villager again like a ghost.
The two had missed their strike and were about to turn and pursue Leon when they suddenly felt a chill at the back of their necks.
They didn't even have time to react.
Striking with both hands, Noah accurately chopped at the cervical vertebrae of their necks.
Two more dull sounds of bone shattering followed.
The two Villager' bodies instantly stiffened. The madness in their eyes quickly faded, replaced by a total, dead silence.
The machetes in their hands fell into the pool of blood with a clang, and their bodies slumped down limply, showing no further signs of life.
"Roar—!"
The giant with the crippled ankle struggled to crawl up from the ground. Abandoning his heavy axe, he reached out with his good hand, trying to grab a nearby slaughterhouse hook.
Leon had stabilized himself by now. He raised his "matilda," the cold muzzle aimed at the giant's head.
"Save your bullets."
Noah's voice rang out calmly.
He walked slowly to the struggling giant and looked down at him.
The giant looked up, his non-human eyes filled with malice and hatred. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to utter a final curse.
Noah didn't give him the chance.
He raised his foot and stomped decisively on the giant's throat.
"Gurgle..."
After a slight crushing sound, the world went completely silent.
Leon slowly lowered his gun. Looking at the corpses strewn across the floor and then at Noah—who stood in the pool of blood without a single drop of filth on his clothes—he let out a breath.
"Alright," he shrugged, his tone carrying a hint of helpless banter, "I take back what I said earlier. As a guest, this return gift of yours is indeed more substantial than mine."
Noah ignored his joke. He walked to the hand-drawn map and carefully tucked Ashley's photo into his pocket.
"There's nothing of value left here. Let's go."
The two left the underground altar filled with the aura of death and the occult, returning to the lit wooden cabin.
The fire in the fireplace was still burning, and the pot of dark red broth was still bubbling, emitting a nauseating odor.
Without a second glance, they quickly left the house of death and merged back into the darkness and silence of the village.
The two moved through the shadows of buildings, weaving through narrow, muddy alleys.
In the air, the scorched smell mixed with the dampness of rotting wood grew increasingly thick.
The ground beneath them was unusually soft, as if it had been soaked in some liquid for years.
Just as they rounded an abandoned woodpile, Noah suddenly stopped and raised a hand to signal Leon to halt.
"What is it?" Leon asked in a low voice, his hand already on his gun grip.
Noah didn't answer, simply gesturing with his chin toward the ground a few meters ahead, partially hidden by weeds.
There were several spots where the soil had been disturbed. Though subtle, it was glaringly obvious in an environment that showed almost no other signs of human activity.
Leon's gaze sharpened; he immediately understood Noah's meaning.
A trap.
Just then, a faint rustle of clothing came from the shadow of a dilapidated wooden house ahead.
Following that, a dark figure suddenly lunged out of the darkness, holding a rusted pitchfork high and letting out an unintelligible roar as they charged at the two!
Another ambushing villager.
Leon prepared to step aside and draw his gun to fire.
However, the villager, who thought his sneak attack was successful, suddenly stepped into empty air after two strides!
"Snap—!"
The tooth-aching sound of metal snapping shut was accompanied by the crisp sound of bone being forcibly crushed.
"Aaaaaaagh—!"
A shrill scream pierced the night sky.
The villager's right leg had stepped right into the spot Noah had pointed out.
A large bear trap with ferocious serrated teeth was clamped tightly onto his calf. The sharp steel teeth had sunk completely into the flesh, and the pale white bone fragments were clearly visible.
The intense pain caused him to lose balance instantly, and he fell face-first to the ground, the pitchfork flying out of his hands.
He clutched his broken leg, rolling and wailing frantically on the ground as blood quickly stained the soil beneath him.
Leon looked at the fool who had delivered himself to his own trap, his expression a bit odd.
He didn't even bother to draw his gun.
Noah walked over expressionlessly. Under the villager's gaze filled with fear and pain, he drew the tactical dagger from his waist.
Without the slightest hesitation, the blade fell.
The cold glint of the dagger flashed by, precisely severing the villager's cervical spine.
The wailing stopped abruptly.
"It seems they're not just hospitable," Leon said in a low voice, looking at the still-twitching corpse and the bloody bear trap.
"They're also very good at creating surprises for themselves."
Noah wiped the dagger clean on the corpse's clothes and sheathed it.
"We can't take this path anymore."
He glanced at the ground soaked with the corpse's blood, then scanned the surrounding dark corners.
"Who knows how many more'surprises' are waiting for us ahead."
The two changed their route, bypassing the trap-laden path and choosing a more rugged mountain trail that hugged the edge of a cliff.
The mountain path was exceptionally difficult to traverse, with loose gravel and slippery moss underfoot. One wrong step could lead to a fall into the deep valley below.
After laboriously rounding a nearly ninety-degree bend, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
It was another suspension bridge.
This bridge was even more dilapidated and narrower than the one they had come from, only wide enough for one person.
On the opposite side of the bridge was a towering cliff.
At the top of that cliff, under the hazy moonlight, three figures could be seen sitting together, seemingly on lookout.
The moment Noah and Leon appeared at the bridgehead, the three people on the cliff spotted them as well.
A panicked shout rang out in heavily accented Spanish.
"¡Ahí están! ¡Los forasteros!" (There they are! The outsiders!)
"¡Rápido! ¡Avisa al Señor!" (Quick! Inform the Lord!)
"¡Vámonos, vámonos!" (Let's go, let's go!)
The three figures immediately scrambled up from the ground and turned to run deeper into the village, clearly going to report.
Leon's brow furrowed immediately.
If they were allowed to escape, it would inevitably alert the enemies in the entire village.
He was about to raise his gun to fire, but the distance was too great and the targets were moving. In such dim light, it was hard to guarantee a lethal shot.
But at the very moment he raised his arm, Noah disappeared from beside him.
Leon couldn't even find a familiar word to describe that movement.
He only felt a gust of wind rush past him as Noah's figure instantly elongated and blurred in his vision, becoming an almost uncatchable afterimage.
Then, a visible shockwave exploded outward from Noah toward the suspension bridge!
The gravel underfoot was swept up by the powerful airflow, making a pitter-patter sound.
Leon's eyes widened.
He saw Noah's figure, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, cross the dozens of meters between the bridgehead and the cliff. He traced an incredible straight line through the air and then planted his feet heavily onto the cliff's rock wall!
Boom!
The hard rock where he landed instantly cracked, with spiderweb-like fissures spreading in all directions.
Using this counterforce, Noah's body rose again, landing silently in front of the three fleeing Villager.
The panic on the three Villager' faces instantly turned into extreme shock and terror.
Their mouths hung open, but no sound came from their throats. They could only stare at this man who had suddenly appeared before them as if they were looking at a god or demon.
Noah gave them no time to think.
His body didn't pause for a second after landing. Pivoting on his right foot, he swung his body around. His left leg, carrying a whistle that tore through the air, swept out like a steel whip!
A whip kick!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Three dull impacts followed in such quick succession they almost sounded like one.
The three Villager, like bowling pins struck by a speeding truck, were swept off the ground in a grotesque posture and slammed heavily against the rock wall behind them.
The muffled sound of shattering bones and the wet thud of flesh hitting stone mixed together.
The three bodies, like tattered sacks, slid down the rough rock wall and piled up together, completely lifeless.
Noah retracted his leg and stood calmly at the edge of the cliff.
From the moment he acted to the end of the battle, the entire process hadn't even taken five seconds.
He looked down at the other side of the bridge, where Leon stood in a daze still holding his gun, and then leaped, landing lightly from the dozens-of-meters-high cliff.
Leon finally snapped out of it. He slowly lowered his arm, walked across the rickety suspension bridge, and came to Noah's side.
He glanced at the three stacked corpses atop the cliff, then at the unharmed Noah, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"I'm glad you're on my side," Leon's voice was a bit dry as he forced a complex smile. "Otherwise, to deal with a guy like you, I'd probably have to call for air support and level the place with missiles."
Noah brushed the dust off his hands and offered a flat retort.
"Just helping you save some ammunition."
After crossing the suspension bridge, the mountain path ahead became level.
The two stopped trying to hide and quickened their pace, moving rapidly under the cover of night along the road leading to the village's core.
At the end of the mountain road, there were no more dilapidated wooden houses or muddy paths.
A massive double door made of heavy timber and reinforced with black iron plating stood before them, completely blocking the way.
The door looked heavy and ancient, its surface covered in marks of wind and rain erosion.
In the center of the door, an extremely complex and eerie emblem had been carved in relief.
The main body of the emblem resembled a mutated arthropod, mixed with the characteristics of certain plant vines, surrounded by many twisted, rune-like symbols.
The entire emblem exuded an aura that was ancient, evil, and filled with mental pollution.
It was the emblem of the "Church of Light" (Los Iluminados).
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