Xu Xiong legs were running like a motor, and with his keen senses, he was able to avoid any patches of molten lava.
Though there were some close calls.
If it wasn't for a sudden red bubble of fire appearing in front of him, I'm afraid he would've biked straight into it, causing him to live a short life.
With the current speed Xu Xiong was going at, it only took one and a half hours to reach the village, cutting the time in half.
If anyone was watching Xu Xiong riding his bike from afar, they'd currently be seeing a bright streak of fire behind him. Due to the hot ground and the friction of his tires, he has created a line of fire behind him as he biked.
Because of this, Xu Xiong slowed down and let his tires cool down as he approached the village.
Dead Birds are very sensitive to heat, so having a trail of blazing hot fire wasn't the smartest decision, as it could cause them to attack him or flee.
As Xu Xiong approached the village, he didn't directly enter, but rode up to the nearest advantage point to look down at the village from afar.
'Currently, no sign of life. Not surprising, judging by the temperature in the air, the rain has probably hit here as well.' Xu Xiong observed and made mental notes in his head.
During his first mission, he was very inexperienced, causing him to nearly die at the villagers hands.
That's right, at the hands of the villagers!
Many villages use people as sacrifices to Dead Birds, primarily Dead Birds who were once humans but turned into monsters with some intelligence.
During his first mission, Xu Xiong was investigating any tracks of the Dead Birds, but noticed that there weren't many children in the village. This hunch made his gut stir, and asked the village chief what happened to all the children?
But what greeted him was poison, and he was knocked unconscious.
If it wasn't for the system voice asking to claim his rewards, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any Xu Xiong amongst the living.
'Hmm, footsteps seemed to be washed out, the blackstone buildings also have a bit of white steam coming off it, confirming my suspicions of rain.' Xu Xiong commented.
'No signs of any footprints of any creature in a three mile radius, the presumed Dead Bird tracks vanished. Did it know that I was following it? Or was there another underlying cause that I haven't found out?' Xu Xiong frowned.
He thought back to the tracks.
It was human-like, but also had chicken-like prints, making him almost certain that it's a Fallen Human turning into a Dead Bird.
Dead Bird…
'Wait, only one?'
Suddenly, Xu Xiong pupils dilated, and finally knew where he went wrong.
'Only one! This mission said it's a pack of Dead Birds! I've been so fixated on the rain that I completely forgot this detail.'
Knowing his mistake, Xu Xiong took a deep breath and got up from the hill he was stationed at, and decided to find a place to stay nearby.
He knew that this mission was going to be a long one, especially since the rain has washed away all previous traces, so now he can only wait for new ones.
As for the villagers? They won't be coming out of their house for another two or three days, by then, he could ask some questions.
Of course, he will learn from his mistakes from before and be utterly cautious with them and won't eat or drink anything they give him.
With all that in mind, Xu Xiong decided to set up camp directly under the cliff.
It brought him shade considering he wasn't in Sunless Forest anymore, it also had a pond nearby if for some reason he loses his silver bottle. He could also use it as bath water, but that would be utterly wasteful.
It's seen as a luxury to bathe once a week, let alone clean yourself.
Some villages would go one for a month without washing down their body with water, as it's that precious of a resource.
Arriving down at the bottom of the cliff, he reached a very rocky area, and tied his bike onto one of the rocks sticking out of the bottom of the cliff. With his bike secured, Xu Xiong started to move the rocks around in a certain formation.
This is so when someone finds the place and comes over, Xu Xiong will be alerted if he's asleep or if he comes back here he'll notice someone wrong with the formation and immediately start to move.
After all, this place wasn't really hidden, and the only people who would come out here are Dead Birds or fellow cultivators. Villagers wouldn't dare to step out this far if they didn't have to.
With his little base set up, he decided to get a little closer look at Ashen Village, as he could only see some things from afar with the fog obscuring his vision.
Not only that, he only got to see the village from one angle, perhaps he could find some more clues he couldn't see from the top of the cliff.
Taking his bag and swords with him, he started to move around the village in a circle as he made a metal map of the village.
'East side, no noticeable clues. Only twenty houses on this side, it must be on the newer part of the village. Could there be an over population?'
'North side has the most houses, a total of 110 houses. Quite big for a village. Are all these separate families? Typically you'd have ten people per house, so that's 1,100 people just living on the north side. That's a little much.' Xu Xiong frowned, but didn't find anything off.
'West side, the same side I looked at when I was at the cliff. 50 houses, but they have a lot more farms growing back here. Speaking of, the farms on the north side are a little small. No way could it feed a family of ten. Could it be the west side supplying? If so, does that mean the social circles of the village split?' Xu Xiong commented.
He felt like he could see some things a little clearer in the village now. So when he goes and questions them about the Dead Birds, he'll get some answers.
'Hmm, still no signs of any Dead Birds. That's to be expected, since the rain washed away any tracks that could appear. That's assuming that the Dead Bird entered the village before.'
Without thinking much, Xu Xiong observed the south side of the village, but when he did, he frowned.
The houses were destroyed, with no living being to be found. Even if they did live, they'd surely die due to the rain.
'Troublesome.' Xu Xiong muttered.
Ordinary people are also affected by the Phoenix Curse and can have a Scar of Rebirth, but they typically explode and die before reforming, but that doesn't mean some don't become Dead Birds, but they're extremely weak.
Of course that's just to Xu Xiong, any ordinary person would have to work in groups to subdue and kill it.