"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Scary birds!!!"
"Red eyes are attacking us!! Ahhhh! Ahhhhhh!"
"Save me! Save me!"
The group of children started shouting and screaming in fear.
A dozen black ravens descended upon them out of nowhere and each and every single of the ravens was extremely strong and emitted a sinister aura.
The children instantly became extremely scared. They did not even have the strength to run away and simply stood there in shock and fear.
Tears and snot dripped from their faces. They were just young tender children and they were standing like innocent sheep waiting to be devoured.
Everything also happened too fast and no one was able to react.
In fact, all the villagers only noticed the ravens when the children started screaming and it was already too late.
"Where did these monsters come from? What is happening?"
The small village that was in a celebratory mood just now completely turned upside down. It was as if a giant scythe was hanging over their heads.
This was it! Their village was doomed!
Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhh! Everyone started screaming loudly.
Most of the villagers were too terrified to even take a step forward and could only watch helplessly.
They were not strong enough. They wouldn't be able to do anything.
They did not even completely process what they were seeing. They saw the ravens and the childrens standing there defenselessly.
Just as their brain made the connection and they started to scream, the ravens already descended.
"Oh no!!!! Ahhhhh!"
The men and women screamed. They already knew that it was too late and they shrieked in horror. Their heart ached for the small children. The entire village looked petrified.
However, at this most unfortunate time, before any raven could reach the group of children, suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere.
A hero!
A hero stood tall in front of the children!
He had a purple sword in his hand and there was a small white fox on his shoulder.
His black eyes glowed with infinite determination and he seemed as if he would rather die first than let anything happen to the children.
Or at least it appeared to be so.
This hero was of course none other than the newly arrived stranger, Lord Duke.
All the villagers gasped in shock. Even the beggar looked at the scene with a strange glint in his eyes.
And right in front of everyone's eyes, the Duke's figure blurred as he single-handedly fought against and parried the dozen birds.
"DON'T WORRY! DON'T BE AFRAID! I WILL TAKE CARE OF THESE MONSTERS!" Liam shouted. "Someone come here and bring the children away. Staying here is too dangerous for them."
Even as he said that he heroically led the cackle of birds who were all violently screeching and clawing at him, away from the children.
He slashed down at them relentlessly and the fox next to him spewed out fire like there was no tomorrow.
Everyone was completely awestruck. This was the first time they were witnessing an expert fight personally. It was simply too inspiring! It made their blood boil!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
BOOM! BOOM!
The purple sword flashed here and there, small and big fireballs appeared now and then, a burst of gale tore apart from the middle.
Everything looked utterly chaotic but one thing was for sure, the hero had the upper hand.
Everyone awed and oohed, moved their body left when Liam moved left, moved their body right when Liam moved right, completely engrossed in the battle.
Even the beggar stared at the sight unblinkingly though it was for a different reason.
The fight itself did not last long. After the initial shock, Liam dominated the birds completely and overpowered them from the start to the end.
It was as if he had plenty of experience in fighting these kinds of monstrous ravens. He predicted their every move and was prepared for their every attack.
He cleanly blocked them and countered perfectly. Every single attack of his drew blood.
While Liam continued fighting with the ravens, another figure also finally moved. The beggar who was squatting on the floor was now standing next to Liam.
He was not wearing any armor or guards. He did not possess any weapons. He just silently appeared next to Liam and started fighting with the ravens.
He fought them with his bare hands.
And unlike Liam who was struggling against the dozen ravens because of the huge difference in their levels and attributes, this man was different.
He only needed a single attack to finish a bird and two seconds later, the fight ended just like that. In fact, it could no longer be called a fight. It was just a massacre.
All the ravens laid on the ground, their face punched in and their beaks squashed.
The dozen terrifying pitch-black ravens might as well be crows that were scattered on the ground after a stormy night.
All the villagers gulped in disbelief as they stared at the dead birds. No one moved a muscle. They were too shocked.
Complete dead silence ensued after the massacre, which Liam finally broke. "Your fighting skills are amazing, Lord Raizen."
Not paying any more attention to the beggar, Liam shamelessly walked over to the children and squatted in front of them. "Are you alright? Don't be scared. The birds are now dead, see?"
"Ah…"
"Thank you, Lord"
"Thank you, uncle"
The children started shouting and clapping. The villagers also then started rejoicing, some of them thanking the beggar and some of them thanking Liam.
However, Liam quickly stepped aside.
"Please, thank Lord Raizen. It is only because of him that the ravens were quickly taken care of." He shook his head and did not take any praise.
He pointed all the villagers to the beggar. Everyone thanked him with tears in their eyes, while Liam patiently waited on the side with a warm smile on his face.
He even squatted down to check on the children again.
"I am not sure why the ravens attacked, I will go check the borders." He loudly informed the villagers. He then did not linger and walked over to the outskirts of the village.
No one was able to see his face from the back but at this moment Liam had a big grin on his face. He knew that his quest was already as good as completed.
"Thank you fuckers." He looked at the sky and mumbled.
And as far as the ravens were concerned, Liam already figured out why they hounded him non-stop.
He had almost forgotten it but after seeing the damn birds circle around him relentlessly even if he was brain dead he would remember this.
These ravens belonged to the very first dungeon, the beginner's dungeon. He had even obtained a quest from that dungeon that he had long forgotten.
And now these birds were probably trying to remind him about the quest. Perhaps some sort of punishment for leaving the quest unattempted for so long?
By now Liam had seen so many different types of events and quests in 'Evolution Online' that this was no longer surprising to him.
But what was surprising was the fact that a beginner's dungeon offered such a quest. It was also rather rare for a quest to have such peculiar negative effects.
Usually, only the quest failed notification popped up. However, for this specific quest, ravens were attacking him repeatedly! How strange!
Liam was originally planning on leaving this quest on the back burner because he had other important things to do but now he couldn't help it. He had to re-evaluate things.
Perhaps after reaching level 50 and forming a core, he could see this quest through and check where it leads?
"Hmmm… before that I definitely need to get rid of this damned guy from my head. Get the recipe, find the herbs and make the potion."
He let out a deep breath feeling the tiredness seeping in.
Liam did not know why but ever since he received the notification about the vengeful ghost, he had also been hearing the dull wailing of several souls from before.
He first heard them when the dark elf crashed the black pearl and he had not heard them again that is until recently.
Now, no matter how he tried he couldn't unhear them. They were like a dull background noise constantly gnawing at him.
If Gorak's presence was a headache that throbbed from time to time violently and painfully, these souls were like the constant ear ringing noise that was always present though only mildly annoying.
They did not hurt as much but something told Liam that they were not so simple. Everything together was draining him and his mental energy rapidly, leaving him tired more often than not.
He could already feel these effects slowly starting to worsen. He needed to get to 50 soon and he needed the recipe for the body cleansing potion even sooner!
"Damn it, I hope that worked. That old fart better hand me over what I need." He rubbed his temples in tiredness.
And before he could close his mouth, the same figure appeared in front of him.
"Lord Duke is it?" The beggar coldly snorted.
