Gerald quietly sighed. Having machines to automate most of this time-consuming process would be so much easier.

"It seems you got the hang of it…" Gerald stood up from the table and stretched his back, "I'm going home now, I'll see you tomorrow, good night!"

He yawned and went to the door.

Alchemist Ashbrew was also tired already and had dark circles under his eyes, however, it seemed that he would be having a sleepless night based on that excited look on his face.

"Ah, yes… Good night!" the alchemist answered absentmindedly. He was currently busy writing all his thoughts into a book while his brain was still under the effect of the potion and his mind was still sharp.

For an old man like him, this potion was a godsend. He was worried that after another decade he would be too muddle-headed to operate normally, but now he had a chance to get his mind back to the peak working condition. Of course, he would give it his all to not let this opportunity go.

Gerald returned to the mansion and absorbed another Essence Core before going to sleep. He had so many things to do and think about, it was honestly quite exhausting. Teaching four girls chemistry, physics, and magic, as well as making deals with the Auction House, and refining Essence Cores after a hunt…

He had too many things on his mind and a good quality sleep was a must.

It was a dark night under the mountains. The moonlight shined on the snow-covered mountain peaks in the north, but the village on the foot of the mountain was covered in darkness.

There was a distinctive reddish rock sticking out of the ground and pointing to the sky. Quiet footsteps sounded out in the quiet night and many small shadows quickly advanced towards the village.

Among the wooden and mud-covered houses, the shadows merged and became one, completely disappearing in the darkness.

Crack!

There was a loud sound of wood breaking and a door was thrown off its hinges, landing loudly on the floor.

"Who's there?!" A man's shout was heard and a dim light soon came from one of the rooms. A horrified shout was soon heard from another house across the street and a flame suddenly erupted as the building was soon covered in flames.

Shouts and screams soon filled the village and people were waking up one after the other.

"Alarm! Fire! Everyone wake up! There's fire!" the village guard shouted and banged on a bell to wake everyone up.

People were running out of their houses confused and disordered. Most of them just woke up and had no idea what was going on. They were still in nightgowns and were barefooted and unarmed.

The night guard threw a torch on a pot of oil and lit it up for some light and then continued to shout and bang on the bell.

Suddenly, he felt a warm breath on his neck. He swiftly turned around and his eyes bulged out as his sight landed on a towering figure that was standing before him.

It was a hairy humanoid, more than two meters tall and clad in mismatching pieces of damaged metal armor, with a horrifying face, with small red eyes and big white fangs coming out of its mouth.

The guard almost forgot how to breathe from fear. His body trembled and his teeth clattered together. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

The beast slowly moved.

"Orc-!"

The guard's shout was cut short as his body was cleaved in two and his guts fell on the ground, with one half of his body landing on either side.

His shout was drowned out by the horrified screams of the villagers as many small shadows emerged from the darkness with wooden clubs and daggers in their tiny hairy hands.

The place was soon overrun with Goblins and the few men that managed to take a weapon and fight were soon buried underneath the swarm of screeching monsters.

One valiant soldier swung his sword, shouting and cleaving the beasts, but there were too many. He killed two with one swing and turned around to defend himself from those attacking his back.

Then suddenly, there was a pain coming from his right thigh. There was a crude arrow sticking out of his flesh. He turned his head and in the light of the flames, he saw a Hobgoblin sneering at him from the thatched roof. The beast was mocking him with its gaze as it loaded another arrow on the bow.

There came another sharp pain from his lower back. The child-sized beasts stabbed him with a hooked dagger and pulled on his flesh.

Then there was another. It jumped on his chest and dug its claws and teeth into his neck. Another Goblin bit him behind the knee, making him lose his balance and fall down.

Then his left eye suddenly went dark and a piercing pain erupted from his head. He screamed in pain and turned his head, only to see one of the beasts lift a spiked club and bring it back down on him. Then the world went black.

He felt his arms and legs being held down and his body stabbed at least a dozen times. The soldier screamed at the top of his lungs, but then a rock was smashed into his face, breaking his teeth and filling his throat with blood.

Now only gurgling sounds came from him as he choked on his own blood. The extreme fear and panic were the only emotions he had before he died.

The same things happened all over the Bloodhorn village. The males were brutally murdered and devoured, some of them even while still alive, while the women were beaten up and dragged away into the darkness.

Stabbed, beaten, torn, cut apart, and devoured. Young and old, women and children, none of them were spared by the monsters. Their blood-curdling screams filled the forest for many hours to come, and the trails of blood on the ground told the story of their struggles.

The mountain wind fanned the flames and the blaze expanded, all of it reflecting in the cold red eyes of an Orc. The humanoid monster stood there, watching, observing. It did not join in the fight, instead, it was just standing there, silently, until the end.

As the first rays of daylight peaked over the mountains, the destruction was clear. Bloodhorn village was no more.

Blood and ash mixed with each other, forming a vomit-inducing smell of charred human flesh and feces. Bodies covered the ground and dismembered corpses were scattered all over. Even the farm animals and pets weren't spared. The horses and cows burned in the stables while the chickens and ducks were trampled during the attack.

The fields of emerald-green grains were trampled and burned, leaving a depressing black land of death.

Around noon a few travelers came out of the forest. Almost immediately they stopped and stood there as if petrified. The sight was just too horrifying to see.