Chapter 2729

Even for the current Outsider, it is difficult to describe what kind of creature was entrenched in the center of the burning village at this moment.

It had a hunched body and thick limbs, long and sharp fingers, and its entire body was covered in fiery red hair, but at the same time, it was covered by raging flames.

Flames surged outward from its torso and limbs, forming a scorching radiance. And beneath the hair and flames, its skin appeared charred black, full of cracks and scars, as if it would be torn apart by the flames at any moment.

And compared to its abnormal body, its head was even more terrifying.

When Xia De gazed at it, the monster also looked at Xia De with a ferocious face; its pair of fiery red eyes burned with the flames of hatred, its teeth were sharp and dense, and when its mouth opened, it revealed a smile that made one's hair stand on end.

Even someone completely unaware of the secret of this relic could immediately see the pain and anger from its image. This is the core of the Sage-level relic - Lingering Resentment, the "Ghost of Resentment" driven by resentment and hatred.

The powerful oppressive force and the bizarre shape were already manifesting its power, and when the monster jumped into the air and smashed toward the position of Xia De and the cat like a burning meteorite, Xia De felt a sense of crisis even stronger than being struck by a great dragon:

"This thing is not right... Body of Courage!"

The giant, having expanded to ten meters, raised its arms and crossed them in front of its chest, blocking the falling power of the Ghost of Resentment amidst a thunderous roar.

But the price was that the earth under the giant Xia De's feet sank by at least one meter, and at the same time, amidst the sound of air waves surging toward the surroundings, the violent flames almost instantly swallowed the remaining half of the village.

At this moment, shattered traces like flowing magma appeared on Xia De's body surface, but when the monster kicked his arm and then used the force to backflip and land, after the clothing on Xia De's arms was burned away, large patches of burn marks still appeared on both arms.

This was completely unimaginable before; as the "Hero who Carries the Fire," even if Xia De would be harmed or even burned to death by flames, it was absolutely impossible for such large-area burns to appear. Because the only flame that could burn him now was one kind, which is...

"Primordial Fire! It's actually with you!"

"Roar!"

The red mane trembled with the violent roar; despite its beastly appearance, the mouth of the Ghost of Resentment revealed charred yellow human teeth when opened.

The monster thrust its hand into the sea of fire beside it, then slashed a great sword shaped from flames toward Xia De's head; after it was deflected by the huge yellow Moonlight Great Sword in Xia De's hand with a loud 'Clang~', it took advantage of the momentum to rotate its body, and then a spinning flame slash shattered Xia De's great sword.

The flame great sword slashed toward Xia De's head again with unstoppable force; it was clear that it didn't know how to use a sword at all, merely treating the flame in its hand as a club. And since it dared to get close, Xia De did not dodge at all.

He reached out and grabbed the burning great sword directly; even the cat, which was sensing the escape direction, heard the loud sound of Xia De's left hand bones breaking.

But Xia De's expression did not change, and his extended right hand grabbed toward the monster's burning face:

"Black Moon Rune!"

Amidst the roar of the Ghost of Resentment, the huge Black Moon Rune dispersed the flames on the ground and appeared beneath it. The burning face, the flame-like red mane, and the charred black skin gradually turned into ashes; along with the disappearance of the flame great sword, the Ghost of Resentment also gradually turned into flying ash from its face and dissipated amidst wails of relief.

Xia De, panting heavily while suppressing the curse and severe pain, saw his body size return to normal, his right hand covering his charred and broken left hand. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard another loud noise in the center of the burning village, and then the Ghost of Resentment, which had just completely disappeared, actually appeared again.

The ferocious face turned toward Xia De at the first moment, and the flames burning in its eyes seemed to contain more resentment and pain.

The cat immediately reminded:

"It's useless; as long as this fire does not go out, its resentment will not disappear. Unless you directly erase the entire relic, even a miracle like the Black Moon Rune is useless.

Go, I've found the exit, go to the pier, the exit is at the pier!"

So Xia De hugged the cat tightly, ignoring the villagers who seemed unable to see them and the increasingly violent flames, and immediately rushed toward the pier in the east of the village.

And the "reborn" Ghost of Resentment clearly would not forget Xia De just because it had died once; while dozens of house-sized fireballs fell in succession as it pursued, the huge monster, which was obviously abnormally agile, jumped violently again and landed in front of Xia De.

"Lagley's Jump."

After Xia De's figure flashed, he had already arrived behind it. Just as he wanted to rush forward, he discovered the soul of an old woman beside him, who actually reached out and grabbed his arm.

Just now he had clearly felt that all the villagers here were phantoms, but the soul of this mountain village old woman who took the initiative to grab him was actually real.

"Take it out, it is asking you for help, take it out, we need clues!"

The cat also immediately reacted, so Xia De reached out and grabbed the old woman's soul and continued to rush forward. Behind them, the right arm raised by the Ghost of Resentment turned into a flame whip, but the cat climbed onto Xia De's shoulder and cast a spell again as the whip fell:

"Wall of Sighs!"

A total of five gray stone walls were erected behind Xia De in succession, and the fiery red whip was only blocked after shattering the last wall.

Rubble and flames were blocked behind by the witch's spell, while Xia De dodged the fire pillars rising from the ground and fireballs falling from the sky at high speed.

But fortunately, Gregory Village was not a large village; when the Ghost of Resentment smashed its left hand into the ground, turning itself into flames to reach the top of the three people's heads, Xia De, carrying the cat and grabbing the old woman, had already arrived at the pier.

This time, without the witch's reminder, Xia De also noticed where the so-called "exit" was. It was just that the raging flames had already turned into the falling Ghost of Resentment above his head, and Xia De had to use the miracle to enlarge his body again, his right fist slamming upward violently—

Boom!

His right fist, shining with silver moonlight, collided with the feet of the Ghost of Resentment kicking downward; this time, it was Xia De, entangled by the curse, who was sent flying by a single strike. This was not acting; he really could not withstand the monster's power anymore.

But fortunately, this was also within his plan; the direction he was sent flying was the direction of the pier. So, pulling the cat with one hand and the soul with the other, Xia De fell into the riverbed that had dried up due to the fire below the pier.

And although it looked like there was no water in the riverbed, he entered the cold river water in the next moment.

Thus, all the heat and danger disappeared, and even the pain in his body became much more real due to the alternation of heat and cold.

After bubbling for a few seconds on the water surface, a small boat gradually surfaced, lifting Xia De, the cat, and the village old woman's soul to the water surface.

A light drizzle sprinkled in the forest, and dark clouds covered the sun in the gloomy sky. When the cold wind of late autumn swept through the forest, it made a rustling sound, but the gurgling water sound was actually the loudest at this moment.

There were no flames; the normal world only had the bleakness and loneliness of autumn. The dilapidated small wooden boat drifted downstream, and the last trace of heat in 1854 had also disappeared; after all, winter was coming.

Xia De's breathing gradually became steady; he lay flat on the boat and did not get up immediately. The severe burns on his arms were slowly healing in the drizzle, and the curse entangled by the resentment of ashes was also gradually being driven away by the power of the soul because it had left the influence of the relic, but this would take some time, so he just wanted to lie quietly for a while.

Leaves were blown over the river by the wind, spinning; Xia De looked at the drifting withered leaves, truly feeling that this year was coming to an end again.

The gray-black cat jumped out from his chest, and then the cat's shallow shadow elongated in the air until it turned back into the appearance of the gray-black-haired witch.

She did not urge Xia De to get up, but stood up and looked at the village located upstream that was gradually moving away, confirming that it was still in a desolate state, before looking at the soul of the old woman they had brought out together.

In the burning village just now, her appearance was the same as a normal person, but after returning to reality, the spirit body became illusory, until it was almost completely transparent at this time, and the panicked expression on her face originally became indifferent. Even after experiencing such incredible things, she just stood motionless on the boat with a blank face at this time.

Whispering elements were entangled on her, which meant that she was still being influenced by the power of the Sage-level relic 【Lingering Resentment】. And when Flora tried to observe the deeper state of this soul, she even felt a power that stung her eyes.

"The power of a demon."

Xia De, lying on the boat, said; Flora, seeing him trying to sit up, hurriedly reached out to pull him up, and then treated his arms, which were still slowly healing, with some heartache:

"You rest for a while first, it's fine for now. 【Lingering Resentment】 will not affect scenes outside the location where the event occurred; that monster cannot chase out."

"I'm fine for now."

Xia De shook his head, looking at Flora:

"Just now I had contact with that Ghost of Resentment, and what I felt was not just the power of the First Fire; that Ghost of Resentment is a part of the core split from the demon of fire - Disaster.

If this is the case, then the massacre of the village a hundred years ago was entirely the work of that demon. While hiding in the forest, it destroyed Gregory Village in order to restore its own power. I don't know if the appearance of the relic was its reason, or purely accidental, but I am worried that it will leave that place."

"It cannot leave; this kind of event-type relic itself does not have mobility. Unless the core is killed, it will never be able to leave the ruins of Gregory Village. It cannot even transmit information to its main body, or rather, it cannot transmit the news out immediately.

Gaining the power of whispers will indeed make it powerful, but the rules of the relic will also impose restrictions on it itself."

Flora helped Xia De sit on the side of the boat:

"I think the appearance of the relic was an accident; otherwise, there is no reason for the demon to trap a part of itself in such a remote village; this has absolutely no benefits. In my opinion, this relic even played a role in sealing the demon.

However, in this way, those people who transported goods from that cellar recently are very suspicious. They seem to be completely aware of the rules of the relic in this village; are those people worshippers of the demon?"