Chapter 1, The Old Country's Lonely Tower

Once, this world did not have creatures such as vampires, werewolves, or centaurs; it was inhabited solely by humans. Great empires and the kings of barbarian tribes maneuvered and negotiated, collectively unfolding a history that belonged only to humanity on the continent

In addition, there is a bag of small trinkets whose purpose is unclear, and a bag of fragrant food

She wore a peculiar dress in plain white, the fitted upper part making her appear particularly petite, while the unexpectedly voluminous skirt gave her the impression of floating on clouds. Lace and pearls adorned her attire, and even the slightest wrinkle in the fabric resembled a blossoming flower. A white top hat was tilted on her neat, light purple hair, with a red silk scarf wrapped around it, tied in a bow.

Thus, after a brief struggle, the fully armed, combat-ready man, Rikawa, who could take on a hundred little girls, was incredibly successful—he was brought to tears.

The little girl was taken aback upon hearing this, and then tentatively asked in a sweet voice, "What?"

"Robbery!" Reikawa repeated loudly with an unstoppable momentum

Human resistance has never ceased, just like the Putaikete Kingdom established by human rebels over twenty years ago, which has now been completely annihilated to the last remnant.

All human beings are mortal

Saying this, he drew out his short sword

He whistled with satisfaction, quickening his pace towards home, his face radiating a self-satisfied smile

Perhaps next time I will succeed he murmured At least I have already built quite a few simple rest points along the way

She took her food out of the box and shared half of it with him. It was his first time tasting cake, topped with cream, sweet sauce, fresh fruit, and a mysterious dark dessert. He felt it was the most delicious thing in the world. Suddenly, he realized that this little girl was not an invader or a conqueror, but an angel bringing him happiness. Thus, that afternoon, he became a loyal little dog, simultaneously serving as a guide, guard, servant, and more. Suddenly, he realized that this little girl was not an invader or a conqueror, but an angel bringing him happiness. Thus, that afternoon, he became a loyal little dog, simultaneously serving as a guide, guard, servant, and more.

Destruction! The capital of the Norma Empire, Saint Dandinsburg, has fallen, and the last human monarch has died on the battlefield

In that moment, Ruikawa thought: What a beautiful and lovely little girl—someone like her, I could easily defeat a hundred of them. How could I bring myself to do such a thing—it's simply an insult to my dignity as a man capable of fighting

Finally, the youth removed the four legs of this pitiful centaur—still due to the bizarre physique of the centaur, their lower bodies appeared indistinguishable from those of ordinary horses, meaning that the centaur's legs could be used as horse legs. He intended to sell these four centaur legs as horse legs. As for the other parts of the centaur, he planned to use them himself

He still remembers the little girl's dejected expression and words before she left

Cooking, eating, marinating the horse's legs... perhaps there is still time to dismantle that armor... He was contemplating what he should do next, but soon his thoughts began to wander aimlessly.

He later realized that he was, in fact, a decaying entity

And by the small river in this woodland, the horseman hunted down by this young boy may very well be one of the routed soldiers. Certainly, judging by the richness of the spoils, this should be an officer or even a noble.

An arrow flashed by

After quite a while of fussing around, the young man stood still with a smile, admiring his spoils.

Fortunately, the little girl did not execute her captive; instead, she commanded Ruikawa to bring out his best food to entertain her. He had no choice but to painfully retrieve the dried meat and wine he had hidden away—resulting in the little girl staring at the offerings he presented for a long while, ultimately banging on the table and exclaiming loudly about the hardships of the working people, and miraculously pulling out a wooden box adorned with strange patterns from beneath her voluminous skirt.

Peace lasted for forty years. The terrifying explosion that occurred on the Snowy Continent frightened the vampires, causing them to once again turn their gaze southward. After years of diligent efforts, they were astonished to discover their own foolishness—humanity's realm had become so utterly decayed!

What a wonderful scene of peace

Just two months ago, the nobleman Nagu Si Taiji Ming of the Shadan Khanate led his subordinates—a small group of minor nobles and a large number of nomadic slave herders—to brazenly invade the Blood Clan nations. The total military strength was nearly 50,000.

As for why they do not sell them directly without deception... to put it simply, it is a legal issue. When centaurs first appeared, due to their peculiar physique, they were directly treated as livestock by nomads and could naturally be consumed. However, the situation is different now; humans have become the livestock of the demons. The centaur nobility would certainly not allow their livestock to consume themselves, and the vampire nobility, due to certain ominous associations, also prohibits the humans under their rule from consuming centaurs

Until these strange races, collectively referred to as demons, appeared on the extremely cold Snow No continent in the far north and further stepped onto the continent of humanity

This is a young boy who does not appear to be very old, probably around sixteen or seventeen years of age. He has a medium build, with fluffy red short hair, and a somewhat silly yet endearing smile on his face. He is dressed in a deep green coarse short shirt, which is full of messy wrinkles and some unwashed dirt. A crudely made short sword is sheathed at his waist, and he carries a fairly sturdy walking bow in his hand. On his back, a worn leather quiver holds more than twenty arrows, making it seem as though he is just one piece of armor away from heading into battle.

The brutal war has begun, and the legions of humanity are blocking their advance southward with fortresses. Arcane technology has been introduced to humanity, and wise scholars are greedily absorbing this knowledge, resulting in the mass production of demon hunters

Invasion! The great army collapses, the city falls, and those who surrender are vanquished

She floated in, holding an ancient, heavy leather-bound book, curiously gazing at the tower. When the fully armed Ruikawa suddenly sprang out with a whoosh, she was momentarily taken aback, then smiled sweetly at him. Upon seeing her face, Ruikawa was instantly stunned—her delicate, snow-white skin, exquisitely beautiful features that made one reluctant to look away, and a charming smile filled with gentle kindness.

Subsequently, the little girl did something exceedingly excessive to Ruikawa

He walked proudly into the small house next to the tower. Soon, smoke began to rise.

Ultimately, vampires, werewolves, and centaurs divided the territory that once belonged to humanity. And humans could only survive as their slaves and food

What is decay? Reikawa found it very strange at first

A similarly crafted sabre, when drawn from its scabbard under the sun, can almost dazzle his dog's eyes—using the term 'dog's eyes' to refer to human eyes is a peculiar human dialect, the origin of which has yet to be discovered by historians

He had been walking for a while. By the time dusk arrived, he finally saw his home—a dilapidated tower and a few small houses nearby. Both the tower and the houses were made of stone

At least the blood clan refers to humans as decay and rot

He remembers on a hillside, facing the setting sun, a little girl flipping through a large book in her hands, telling him that she had come for this tower. Her elders had informed her that this tower was once a frontline watchtower of the Norma Empire, used to guard against the invasions of the Horse Tribe. During the Putaikete Rebellion over twenty years ago, the rebels built the current tower on its ruins to oversee the roads they had newly constructed. After the rebellion was quelled, the bloodline nobles aimed to eradicate all traces of the Putaikete Dynasty. They not only turned Putaikete City into a dead city and razed it to the ground, but they also hunted down the Putaikete rebels and their families, as well as any other humans who had contact with them, and attempted to destroy all buildings constructed by the Putaikete rebels. Only this tower, due to its remote location, escaped the calamity.

Five days ago, a contingent of approximately three thousand from this vast legion plundered their way around the Chulin Fortress, advancing towards Selings.

Here lies the territory of Count Selings, a lord of the Blood Clan under the Brood Empire, located in the forest where the Chulin Fortress, a crucial stronghold on the eastern border of the Selings Kingdom, is situated. This place is known as Chulin.

He often travels the road to Chulin Town, but he seldom takes another route. He also wishes to visit his elder, who is always away on journeys. He has indeed set out to find him, but has always failed. Either he cannot discern the path and gets lost in the forest, or he is frightened back by the howls of wild beasts, or he is worn down by the harsh environment. In his last attempt, he despaired at the long and endless journey, and has recently given up the thought of continuing.

He hopped and skipped until he finally stood beside the corpse, his smile growing ever more radiant, revealing a set of bright white teeth, his eyes squinting into slits. He laughed and said, "It was worth my long pursuit! I finally managed to get my hands on it!"

Hahaha! Not far away, an excited and somewhat wild laughter came from behind a large tree, and it was evident that the voice was somewhat youthful. In the next moment, a person jumped out from behind the tree, dancing and prancing as they approached the corpse.

His robust body tilted continuously to the right, ultimately crashing into the small river with a loud splash. Due to the shallow water at the riverbank, his body sank heavily into the muddy riverbed and became motionless. Only blood gushed from the wound, mingling with the filth stirred up by the impact, turning this small section of the river water murky as it flowed downstream

It is said that the architecture of Putecht has a unique style, distinct from other buildings. Now it seems that I have been deceived; it is nothing extraordinary after all. She said, "Like the other haphazard constructions, it is both clumsy and ugly"

However

Looking around, in the midst of the forest, apart from this tower and the small house beside it, no other buildings can be seen. Only trees. This tower stands alone in the vast forest, uncertain of when it will eventually collapse. There are no signs of human habitation. However, there is an artificial road passing by this tower, overgrown with weeds, clearly indicating that it is seldom traveled or maintained. Interestingly, this dirt road is also distinctly divided into two sections by nature. With the tower as a boundary, one section has relatively sparse weeds, making the path easier to discern, while the other section is extremely lush with weeds, making it nearly impossible to identify as a road.

One day ago, this detachment encountered an army led by the current Earl of Selingsburg's eldest son in the wilderness of Akaman Town, totaling approximately 2,000 men. After three hours of fierce battle, this detachment was successfully defeated

In the height of summer, under a clear blue sky, the rushing stream of the Tuanhe River flows through the dense and lush forest, with abundant flowers and flourishing grass on the open land along its banks. Beneath the sunlight, the stream sparkles with golden reflections.

The little girl's expression stiffened, and at that moment, Ruikawa felt as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. He saw the girl suddenly raise her hands, holding the large book high above her head, and roar: "If you don't court death, you won't die. Why can't you understand that!"

The young man did not laugh foolishly for long; soon, he set off to transport these spoils back to his home

Afterward, he did something exceedingly excessive to that centaur

Thus, he shouted with a heavy rural accent in a tone of compassion: "Robbery! Hand over all your valuables!"

The centaur let out a hoarse cry! He barely had time to scream, not even managing to make a small evasive movement. The iron arrowhead shot towards his unprotected face after lifting his visor, piercing deeply into his left eye, until it lodged itself in his brain

"Ruikawa, if you want to go to Chulin Town, take the path with less grass; if you want to find me, take the path with more grass." He recalled the words of an elder from his childhood.

A set of luxuriously decorated centaur armor was split into two halves—due to the peculiar physique of such a creature, a complete set of centaur armor can be conveniently divided into a half piece of human armor for the upper body and a larger piece of horse armor.

In just ten years, the demons bowed their heads in submission

He thought of five years ago

A finely crafted cavalry bow, not only adorned with patterns but also gilded, accompanied by a set of high-quality arrows, with the quiver meticulously made from precious wood.

Many years ago

The werewolf nobility cannot manage so much; firstly, they still claim to be the vassal kingdom of Asaki under the Norm Empire, maintaining relatively good relations with humans. Additionally, as a well-known food-loving ethnic group, their pursuit of food is evidently at a higher level than that of humans. As for other demon races, they are merely legends to the people here.

Rebellion! The blood clan's independence, centaur bandits at the borders, and werewolf infighting

Five years ago, at the age of eleven, he valiantly brandished a bow and arrow along with a short sword, attempting to rob a little girl who had inexplicably appeared here. The little girl was clearly a wealthy girl from the city; otherwise, he would not have attempted to rob her