The flames, left uncontrolled by Glen, consumed everything in their path, spreading rapidly. It was likely to be quite some time before they extinguished on their own.
The firelight illuminated the entire mist - veiled world, and the ear - piercing shrieks of various hair - raising monsters resounded incessantly.
After listening for a while, Glen continued his journey towards the town he had spied from the mountaintop.
The outline of the town ahead was now in clear view, yet a wall constructed of stone and wood stood in his way.
One end of the wooden stakes was sharpened into a conical shape, jutting outwards, their tips caked with dried blood and the mangled corpses of monsters.
Faint sounds emanated from within the wall. Concealed by the crackling of the flames behind him, they were difficult to discern, yet impossible to evade Glen''s perceptive ears.
It appears there are still living creatures here, though I wonder if they are human... Glen mused, his pace not faltering in the slightest.
"Utata!"
A voice, rough as a broken bellows, rang out, but the language was incomprehensible to Glen.
He instinctively halted, seeking to locate the source of the sound.
Upon the stone - built wall, countless figures rose in unison, each brandishing a bow and arrow, trained upon Glen.
These were a race of diminutive humanoid beings, averaging around the size of a ten - year - old human boy, each sporting two pairs of tattered diamond - shaped wings on their backs.
Their faces, hidden beneath triangular helmets, betrayed no distinguishable expressions.
Despite being targeted by numerous arrows, Glen felt no sense of peril. Instead, he attempted to communicate, asking, "Is there anyone among you who can speak the Common Tongue?"
The heads of the small figures twitched slightly, as if they wished to exchange glances but dared not.
Moments later, just as Glen was about to pose the question again, a tall, corpulent, and obese figure emerged from behind the small beings.
To his surprise, it was a pig - man, covered in pustules and somewhat malformed in its growth.
Upon opening its mouth, its uneven, yellow - black teeth were revealed, and the voice was the same as the one that had first sounded.
It said in halting Common Tongue, "You... outsider?"
Glen nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. There seemed to be two concealed figures beside this pig - man, presumably there to safeguard it.
Upon receiving confirmation, the pig - man let out two grating laughs, roughly shoved aside two of the small figures, and advanced to the wall, shouting, "Fire! Was it... you?"
Glen replied calmly, "Yes."
"Submit! Or... you! Die!"
Having roared this command, the pig - man raised its hand in a gesture, and the arrow - tips held by the small figures glowed with a blue light, pulsating with formidable magical power.
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Glen tilted his head, flashing an enigmatic smile at the pig - man.
Before the pig - man could react, his figure vanished abruptly, leaving only a cloud of dust billowing in the spot.
This unexpected turn of events sent all the small figures on the wall into a state of instant panic, and the pig - man hastily retreated.
Boom!
A brilliant flash of light, accompanied by a deafening explosion, burst forth before the pig - man''s eyes. Two hooded pig - man mages materialized, intercepting what would have been a fatal blow.
"Aikemeng! Aikemeng! Boladuoye!..."
The startled and enraged pig - man shrieked something at the two pig - man mages.
Without need for translation, Glen knew it was likely an order to slay him.
However, with such meager strength, they were in no position to impede him.
As the two pig - man mages emitted grunts of strain under the burden, Glen''s wolf claws descended with great force!
Three ear - splitting pig - like screams rang out simultaneously, then all fell silent.
The three corpulent pigs lay on the uneven ground, their forms a mangled mass of blood and flesh.
All of this transpired in an instant. Before the small figures with bows could even take aim, their master had met a gruesome end.
They were now at a loss. If they attacked, their only means was archery, and with the target so close to their comrades, there was a high risk of inflicting friendly fire.
The small figure nearest to Glen was one of those roughly pushed aside by the pig - man earlier. At present, it stood there, trembling with its bow in hand, unsure of what to do.
Glen regarded it for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grasped.
The latter instinctively ducked its head, expecting to be slain.
Yet, the anticipated pain did not materialize.
Instead, its helmet was snatched away.
Glen studied the race whose features bore a faint resemblance to those of humans, rummaging through his memory for any related descriptions.
His action had also alarmed the other small figures, who were on the verge of loosing their arrows.
In the end, Glen surmised that these small figures were of the same race as the little one named Xili in the Demon - Fallen Valley.
The small figures watched as this extraordinarily powerful human stood there, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, the human moved, disregarding them completely as he swaggered into the town.
"Should we attempt to stop him?"
One small figure inquired in their unique language.
The others remained silent for a moment, then a nearby one said, "We are powerless to stop him. Let us hope he only troubles the pig - heads and refrains from harming our clansmen."
...
As Glen traversed this town, which resembled a scaled - down version of a normal one, his curiosity about what had transpired here grew ever stronger.
The streets and houses were in a state of extreme dilapidation, even more so than in Bayek. At least in Bayek, most of the houses were intact and habitable.
Here, however, it was a different story.
The walls were not only overgrown with white fungi, but the streets were also besmeared with a revolting, unidentifiable liquid.
The air was a noxious blend of the stench of feces, vomit, and the coppery tang of blood and flesh. Were it not for Glen''s robust constitution, he would likely have fallen ill after walking but a short distance.
Suddenly, a canine - like creature with some of its flesh and bones exposed and most of its fur almost completely shed burst out from a corner, lunging at Glen with its jaws agape.
But a blast of dragon - breath flame reduced the hapless creature to ashes in an instant.
Glen truly had no inclination to touch such things with his hands. When his hands had become stained with the fetid blood of the three pig - men earlier, he had to subject them to the cleansing flames four or five times to feel at ease.
It was not that Glen was overly fastidious; rather, anyone in his position would have found this environment intolerable.
He continued on his way, heading towards the central castle.
The distinctive, boisterous voices of the pig - men could already be faintly heard in the distance.
A massive, withered tree came into view ahead, standing in the center of a square.
Yet, hanging from the tree were the corpses of countless small figures.
Hordes of strange birds were feasting upon the rotting flesh of these small - figure corpses.
Glen stood beneath the tree, his eyes glinting with an inscrutable light. After a moment, he continued his journey.
There was no sign of the vitality of life here; it was steeped in darkness.
A faint, intermittent cry emanated from a nearby dilapidated house.
Glen heard it and made his way towards the source of the sound.
These houses were built for the small figures, so he had some difficulty squeezing inside.
In the pitch - black room, Glen beheld a emaciated form, as gaunt as a mummy, cradling something and murmuring.
As he drew nearer, he realized it was a deranged small - figure mother, holding her deceased child.
Glen silently backed out of the house.
This scene was but a microcosm; there were many more similar ones to follow.