Chapter 532 - 530: Desert Town, Strange Villagers

Hilia slowly approached the village.

From the outside, the village appeared peaceful and serene.

The village was surrounded by yellow walls, seemingly made from materials refined from sand.

At that time, the wind was calm, and at the gate of the walls, two bare-chested burly men were standing guard.

As Hilia approached, she vaguely heard them talking, but before she could listen closely, they stopped talking and looked at her, this ’traveler’ whose presence completely clashed with the village’s atmosphere.

One of the darker-skinned men shouted, "Stop, who are you? Why have you come to our Mitian Town?"

"Mitian Town?" Hilia tilted her head, blinked, and said, "Hello, I am a traveler passing by. I haven’t had any water for three days. May I come in to replenish my water supply?"

The two men exchanged a glance, and the other man said, "We’re sorry, Mitian Town does not welcome any foreign travelers."

The dark-skinned man said, "Unless you can bring us 10 scorpion tails."

Hilia: "..."

Such a strange feeling.

Beside her, Rose chuckled, "Just like a task in the game, such a nostalgic feeling."

Hilia secretly glanced at Rose and asked, "Game? What game? Lord Rose, should I listen to them?"

Rose nodded, "You can choose to listen or not."

"... Again with that kind of answer." Hilia’s expression was full of resentment.

Rose laughed, "If you don’t listen, they will turn hostile, and you’ll need to fight your way in. If you listen, go find 10 scorpion tails and hand them over, you can enter the village smoothly."

Hilia thought about it and decided that before understanding the situation, it’s better not to randomly kill people.

So she nodded to the two men, "Okay, I will bring you 10 scorpion tails, but please tell me where I can find scorpions?"

The burly man pointed in a direction, "In that area, there are traces of Mitian scorpions everywhere. Be careful, those Mitian scorpions are formidable, getting stung is dangerous."

"Alright, thank you."

Hilia nodded, took out an array, and went to the area the men mentioned. Feeling around, she raised her magic staff, and a large amount of ice mist appeared, spreading into the sand beneath her feet. Soon, dozens of yellow scorpions were extracted by Hilia.

These scorpions were palm-sized, all frozen.

Thinking it over, Hilia decided not to unfreeze them, but packed them all, using magic to control about 20 Mitian scorpions to return.

The dark-skinned burly man said, "We only need 10, you killed too many."

The other one showed a hint of fear, "Quickly release the remaining Mitian scorpions, if this results in extra slaughter, it will cause mutations."

Hilia raised an eyebrow, "Alright."

She took out 10 scorpions, and the rest were thrown by Hilia back to the vicinity of that area, releasing the magic so they could unfreeze naturally.

Obtaining ten scorpion tails, the two men’s attitude immediately became friendly, "Please come in."

Hilia walked into the town, curiously observing the style of Mitian Town.

This small town’s buildings were quite simple, using yellow sand to construct, forming square houses, mostly one or two stories.

"What a village of matchboxes," Rose exclaimed beside her.

"Matchbox..."

Hilia decided not to inquire what a matchbox was.

No need to ask, she knew it was something from ’a thousand years ago,’ probably used for fire-starting.

Apart from the buildings, the villagers dressed simply; most men were bare-chested, using simple cloth strips to cover key areas, and the women were the same, but with headscarves, covering their heads as well as their bodies.

Hilia wearing a mage robe stood out conspicuously, attracting curious glances from everyone passing by.

Hilia didn’t mind their gazes.

She came here for a trial, and after completing the trial, this town might vanish.

After a brief check on the situation, Hilia pondered for a moment and muttered to herself, "Perhaps I should look for the village’s chief and ask if there’s anything of value."

Rose nodded, "That’s the right choice."

Hilia immediately smiled and stopped a female villager, kindly asking, "Hello, sorry for the disturbance, could you tell me how to get to the village chief’s house?"

The woman was startled, then quickly stepped back and pointed, "It’s that, the house with three floors, that’s the village chief’s house."

"Thank you." Hilia noted the woman’s reaction, it might be useful alongside the information from the gate guards.

Soon, Hilia arrived at the village chief’s house, which not only had three stories but wasn’t shaped like a regular matchbox; it was refined and had a small courtyard.

Hilia reached the entrance, where there were two guards.

"In such a small place, having guards at the town gate was enough, why does the village chief’s house have guards too?"

Hilia muttered.

Mitian Town was small, roughly estimating a population of a hundred or so, with just a few dozen households.

Hilia approached and was stopped by the guards, "This is the village chief’s house, entry is forbidden."

"Hello, I wish to see the village chief, is there any requirement?"

A guard said, "To see the chief, you need to showcase your strength. Go outside the village and kill the mutated Mitian scorpions, bring back ten tails of mutated Mitian scorpions."

Another guard added, "Also, a gift is required; the chief loves sand worm crystal cores, you need five."

Hilia: "..."

Getting stranger.

Who talks like this?

Beside her, Rose suggested, "So troublesome, why not fight your way in?"

Hilia hesitated, asking, "What’s the difference between fighting your way in and getting those things as they ask?"

Rose said, "There is a difference. Fighting in is quick and convenient, but you might not obtain crucial intelligence; completing tasks is tedious but can improve relations, helping you receive information that’s usually unobtainable... though crucial facts might not be what you desire."

Hilia thought it over, deciding to complete the ’task.’

Compared to fighting her way in, she was more concerned about why this village deep within the Divine Realm had people speaking so unusually.

The hints about mutated Mitian scorpions had been given. The gate guards said killing too many would cause mutations.

As for sand worms...

Hilia inquired, "Where can I find sand worms?"

"Sand worms will move with the mutated Mitian scorpions."

"Alright, understood."

Hilia nodded, turned, and walked out.

Soon, she arrived at the area with Mitian scorpions, felt around, and with one spell, she instantly eliminated dozens of Mitian scorpions.

Soon, she sensed a change.

In the distance, the power of Mitian scorpions had increased.

From harmless ordinary creatures, they transformed into first-tier demons.

"Is mutation just an increase in strength?"

Hilia pondered and made a more daring conjecture —

"If I keep killing them, will they continue to grow stronger until I can’t beat them?"

This sounds like trouble.

Hilia looked at the mutated Mitian scorpions and the sudden presence of other creatures’ movements.

They were also first-tier.

"Then... I’ll just stop after killing enough."