The Hokuten family were the founders of Gross Town. They developed the mine here, hired a large number of workers, gradually improved the infrastructure, and built this mining town.
Because many of the hired workers were unemployed people from nearby towns, and the Hokuten family offered good treatment, the townspeople of Gross were generally content with their employers.
Thanks to the special minerals mined here, which could be refined into intermediaries, Gross Town's economy steadily grew.
Erik was just a minor character, a small, unpleasant note in this otherwise pleasant melody.
Prosperity could mask minor issues, but once that prosperity crumbled, things became unstable.
The excavation of the ancient Wandering God ruins in the tunnels led to the spread of the god's curse.
Considering the influence of the ruins, the Hokuten family chose to seal the tunnels and halt mining operations.
However, this meant most of the townspeople lost their source of income. While things were fine in the short term, the town would eventually collapse.
Erik was a cunning man. If they couldn't mine openly, they would mine secretly. The secret passage in the small church was originally dug under his direction.
And then, rumors of the Wandering God ruins spread, attracting the attention of the Night Hunters church.
...
A large number of cursed creatures appeared in the town. Ordinary cursed creatures were manageable, but the cursed collectives, the spider monsters, many of which had developed eyes, were a different matter.
Based on the information Mithra had consistently received from Night Eyes, these eyes possessed the power of sight.
She didn't know the specifics, but it seemed to be a power that could be accumulated through eyes, and this power could activate Wandering God miracles.
When the eyed spider monsters focused their gaze, the target's sense would be disrupted, preventing them from using miracles, which was fatal for believers.
To avoid being caught off guard, Mithra and Nie Hong often replenished Reinforce Body, preventing them from being completely incapacitated during an attack.
Of course, for Mithra, Stabilize was still the most important.
Without Stabilize, she could barely function.
Nie Hong's hands moved constantly, controlling the throwing knives to pierce the eyes of a distant spider monster. Then Mithra approached, activated Ignite on her stone hammer, and smashed the creature, finishing it off.
After dealing with them several times, handling these spider monsters had become routine.
After clearing out a few monsters, they were about to continue when they heard rapid footsteps approaching, as if several people were running.
"More townspeople?" Nie Hong asked, doubtful.
"The footsteps are strong and rhythmic. Doesn't sound like it," Mithra replied.
They rounded a building and saw two figures running in the moonlight, pursued by a Night Hunter knight!
Seeing the two runners' attire, Mithra and Nie Hong immediately recognized them as people from Planet Blue.
The two Planet Blue citizens also noticed Mithra and Nie Hong, recognized them as well, and quickly waved and shouted, "Hey! Help us! A little help here!"
Seeing this, the Night Hunter knight stopped, and Reinforce Body suddenly surged into his legs!
With a powerful thrust, he swung his creepy sword towards the two runners.
Nie Hong sensed something was wrong the moment the knight's movements changed and immediately launched his throwing knives with Control Object.
Immobilize was difficult to use on such a fast opponent, so he chose a direct attack.
The knight nimbly shifted his weight, changing direction with surprising speed. His seemingly crude armor wasn't easily pierced by the knives, and with a slight shift of force, he easily deflected them.
Two sharp pings echoed as the knives were left behind. The knight swung his sword again.
But this time, it wasn't Nie Hong's knives that met his attack, but two familiar straight swords.
Clang!
He had swung his sword preemptively, deflecting the two swords, but he lost the chance to quickly take down the two runners. He retreated to readjust his stance.
The two swords scattered on the ground were pulled back into Mithra's hands with Control Object.
The two runners stopped beside Mithra and Nie Hong, repeatedly thanking them.
Nie Hong greeted them, but Mithra ignored them, her left hand raising a sword to partially cover her face. "Are you here to deliver a third sword? Although your swords are a bit dull, the craftsmanship is not bad."
"Night Eyes!?" The Night Hunter knight noticed Mithra's eyes with surprise.
Then he seemed to realize something. "Is this fate? On the night that we're about to release the Wandering God, the current owner of the Night Eyes appears! Are you here to stop us? Or to become our nourishment?"
He started rambling.
Mithra narrowed her eyes, lowering her swords to her sides. "I'm looking for something. Have you seen a silver pendant?"
The Night Hunter knight shook his head, gripping his sword in a similar stance to Mithra's earlier salute. "I'm afraid I haven't. Regardless, I must hunt your eyes. That is our unwavering destiny."
"Alright, then I must claim my creepy sword number three." Mithra replenished Stabilize and then took a fighting stance with her swords.
In an instant, they both charged!
The Night Hunter knight's Reinforce Body was undoubtedly more refined, his burst of power even stronger, and he swung his sword with a heavy downward slash.
Mithra shifted her footing, lightly dodging the attack. Even the knight's follow-up horizontal sweep was easily avoided.
Their figures blurred, the three swords clashing repeatedly, sometimes even sending sparks flying, making Nie Hong dizzy.
He regretted not maxing out his close combat skills.
No, even maxing out university close combat training wouldn't reach this level! He held his throwing knives, hesitating, unable to find a suitable opportunity to assist.
While he was stunned, the other two Planet Blue citizens didn't hesitate. After exchanging a glance, they adjusted their positions.
Both wore gauntlets inlaid with basic Planet Blue manufactured intermediaries.
One of them formed the Fire pattern, their hands gathering flames and controlling them, forming a ring of fire hovering before them.
Nie Hong noticed the flames. "What are you doing?"
They didn't answer. Instead, the other person completed their pattern—the Wood pattern.
The fire ring moved in front of the Wood believer, who extended their hands and clapped!
"Falling Leaves"!
A howling wind swept up the fire ring, transforming it into a roaring vortex of flames that engulfed Mithra and the Night Hunter knight.
Mithra glanced over, her expression calm.
The knight noticed and tried to dodge, but Mithra suddenly dropped one of her swords and grabbed the knight's sword, trapping him.
"Are you crazy?!" the knight shouted, struggling against Mithra's hold.
Mithra said nothing, letting the flames consume them both.
Boom!
Nie Hong immediately threw his knives at the two, but they reacted quickly. Two against one, plus Nie Hong's lack of close combat skills, meant they quickly subdued him.
"Calm down, young man. That knight killed many of us, even took one of my brother's lives. He has some strange tricks; we can't hold back. For the sake of everyone's survival, this sacrifice is worth it," the Wood believer said, holding Nie Hong down.
Nie Hong struggled, his eyes wide. "Isn't my friend a person too?! Did you even ask if we have a life lock?!"
"You're so young, you definitely have a life lock. It's done now. We don't want to kill anyone else. If you continue to resist, we'll have no choice but to attack you," the Fire believer added calmly, their tone indifferent, but not contemptuous.
Clearly, these two were banking on Nie Hong and Mithra's youth. Young people lacked experience and usually had life locks. These days, young Planet Blue citizens valued their lives. They probably thought they could just brush this off and move on.
And honestly, although Nie Hong had killed people in Dreamland, if it were a Planet Blue citizen...
Nie Hong's grip loosened. He hesitated.
"Restrain them," a calm, chilling voice suddenly said.
Hearing the voice, Nie Hong instantly snapped out of his daze. His restrained hands stopped struggling and tightened their grip!
Immobilize!
The two were startled, but the red light had already enveloped them.
A figure suddenly burst from the black smoke, a sword piercing the Fire believer's chest. "You only have one life?"
The Fire believer's eyes widened, blood gurgling in their throat. Mithra, without hesitation, swept her other sword across, sending their head flying.
The brief Immobilize ended, and the Wood believer could move, but before they could react, Mithra severed their hamstring with a swift swing of her sword.
They collapsed to one knee with a scream. Mithra kicked them to the ground and stabbed their stomach, pinning them down.
The burns on Mithra's body began to peel and heal, revealing new skin.
"Ugh...ah..." the Wood believer looked at Mithra. "Spare...spare me..."
"How many lives do you have left?" Mithra asked calmly, looking down.
Nie Hong, who had just gotten up, felt a sense of déjà vu.
But this time, the person didn't answer.
Suddenly, Nie Hong heard a sound from the area that had been engulfed in the fiery vortex.
The Night Hunter knight emerged, his armor charred and his helmet shattered. He staggered, but he was still alive.
Their combined attack had looked impressive, but the wind had dispersed the flames, lessening their impact. While it was hot, that level of damage was easily handled by Mithra's regeneration and the prepared knight.
Seeing this, Mithra picked up her other Night Worship Sword and reached towards the Wood believer's face.
"Ah...ah...what are you doing...no, no, no!"
Squish—
Mithra gouged out their eyes. It wasn't a clean job, and the eyes were mostly mush, but it was good enough. She smeared them on the sword.
Blue light flickered on the blade, and she swung.
Invisible Blade.
The Night Hunter knight, who had just gotten up, had no chance to react. The blue sword energy sliced through him, and he collapsed.
Under the moonlight, Mithra ripped off her burned and tattered clothes. She shook out her hair, which had been freed from a burned hair tie. She was grateful that Lebaance's regeneration took care of hair. It was truly thoughtful.
"Well, that was enjoyable for everyone," she said casually.