[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-288":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336625,598,"Chapter 288: Unveiling the Path (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-288",288,"\u003Cp>The journey dragged on for several more hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time .. for the first time .. we stepped onto solid ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're finally out of that damned desert…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We exhaled in relief as we entered a completely new region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forest ..but not just any forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trees with pitch-black bark. Leaves darker than night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A suffocating atmosphere thick with tainted aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything, this place felt even worse than the desert we just left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, we decided to stop briefly .. just enough to recover some strength and get a bit of sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We did it in shifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two hours of rest per person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the most we could afford before moving out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How's it looking, Frey?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're getting closer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't know why .. but the feeling kept growing stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep inside that black forest…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We finally saw signs of civilization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was buried ... long gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We barely made out what looked like old homes, ancient ruins…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the wreckage, we found remnants of strange carvings—old writings none of us could understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is strange…\" Ghost said, scanning the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's no trace of any corpses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he made his observation, Snow spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I guess it makes sense if this place has been abandoned for a long time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ghost shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bodies don't vanish this easily. There's always something left behind…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spoken like a true assassin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoever once lived here ... they didn't just die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the message Ghost was trying to get across.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever happened here was a mystery…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I had no time to dwell on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's move,\" I said to the others—and we surged forward again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speeding through the trees…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of us stopped at the exact same moment .. forced to, in fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earth trembled beneath our feet. A furious roar shook the skies above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a thunderous sound that made us instantly reach for our weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever was coming… it came from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One of those cursed birds again?\" Snow muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We'd fought nightmare beasts shaped like giant eagles with canine heads before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, we assumed it was one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But those expectations were crushed on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eyes wide open, the three of us stared up at the majestic figure descending from the heavens—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With wings that cast massive shadows and skin covered in glimmering white scales, the creature came crashing down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ghost and Snow were just as stunned as I was when they shouted at the same time:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A dragon?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A creature they'd only heard of in old, forgotten legends…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, there it was—flesh and blood, right before our eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn't the real problem…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What truly paralyzed us was the pressure it radiated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our awe had distracted us from noticing the severe wounds covering its body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't flying toward us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was falling ... injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He's massive frame crashed into the ground like a meteor, shaking the entire forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact carved a path of devastation straight to where we stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Groaning in pain, the dragon struggled to rise .. his crimson, glowing eyes locking onto us the moment he steadied himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second he saw our figures .. his pupils narrowed in rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then he roared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Filthy humans!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His roar shook the earth beneath us, forcing all three of us to instinctively leap back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He speaks?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow shouted in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't just speaking .. he recognized us as humans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And more than that… he was furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaws parted wide, revealing the swirling crimson blaze within. A devastating beam of fire erupted forth, and we barely evaded it by diving into Ghost's shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inferno carved a burning path across the landscape, reducing everything in its wake to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why do you humans insist on tampering with powers you cannot control?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon bellowed in rage, his flames setting the blackened forest ablaze. The corrupted aura surrounding him grew heavier, thick with fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, with a powerful surge of his aura, he tore us out from hiding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring him down, my mind raced—but found no answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn't just a dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a being of the Pantheon .. a species that stood at the apex of all others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no obvious way to harm him. His scaled body was like armor forged by the gods themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, he could burn us to cinders with a single breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he opened his jaws again, ready to finish us off, I summoned all the strength I could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My Hawk Eyes caught something ... a flicker in the eastern sky. A spatial ripple, almost imperceptible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A projectile?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An arrow…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black, high-velocity arrow sliced through the air and struck the dragon's neck with terrifying precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pained roar escaped him as a surge of blood followed. The blow had been devastating—lethal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood frozen, stunned, as a creature of the Pantheon fell before my eyes .. felled in a single strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His enormous frame began to shrink, his divine form reverting to something more human-like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A body carved with strange glowing runes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But blood… there was so much blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow and Ghost stared at him in silence, their eyes wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But mine immediately turned to the sky, to the horizon .. tracing the arrow's path backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using my Hawk Eyes to their absolute limit, I searched… until I found her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Distant, blurred .. but unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A lone figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive bow that dwarfed her height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A skull mask veiling her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stared directly at us for a moment…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then vanished .. without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no doubt in my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I narrowed my eyes, turning back to the crater the dragon had left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not just any human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My memory was far from perfect, but I could never forget her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had seen her before—in my father's memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That woman…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was one of the four he encountered on that fateful day .. on the shadow sect ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, it seemed…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were much closer than I ever imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>",1039,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","66c5c5b4b65951ba05c116ab6daee53d40a9791c82e32772d6790834c3293aa6","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-289","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-287",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]