However, due to the hunter's spirit of inquiry, the snow crow persevered to its destination: the small hill.

Five minutes later.

At last he came to the bottom of the hill, and Vicor took his pipe back into his coat pocket after scavenging the ashes against the cold wind: before hunting some prey with a strong sense of smell, he had to put away his pipe in advance and blow it in the direction of the wind for a while, until the smoke on his body dissipated. Otherwise, these agile animals will become alert as soon as you get close to them, and they won't be able to hunt at all.

This room...... Alerted by the light of the oil lamp, Vicol raised his head and felt uneasy: Didn't they say that no one lived here?

It's been abandoned for so long, and the locals don't dare to approach it, so how can it still be inhabited? Could it be that some outsider who can't afford to stay in a hotel and doesn't know the truth is living here temporarily?

Could it be that the owner of the dog was going back to his own house? Thinking of this, Vicol couldn't help but smack his tongue a little: it was possible that he went to the town on an errand, and then led the dog home. After that, he was inexplicably attacked on the road.

Damn, I had brought that puppy with me! Maybe he's awake by now, but he can't move because he's injured. I don't have any extra clothes on me, otherwise I would have given it one to keep warm.

So he fled all the way home, right? Thinking that the man might not be in danger of life, Vicor finally felt a little relieved. However, he knew that he still couldn't let his guard down: the enemy couldn't fail to catch up with him, so he must still be in ambush around.

Of course, the worst-case scenario is that the man has already been killed in the hut. If he saw a body in the house, Vicol decided to retreat immediately after a little investigation. To be on the safe side, he would circle back to town from the northern coast instead of walking through the treacherous woods again.

...... Of course, he will rush over as soon as he calls someone. It's all because the puppy is still lying on its stomach.

At this time, Vicol thought in his heart - it was really unfortunate that his master had died. But from today onwards, you can follow me! This puppy is only a few months old, and he's at this age when he's growing up.

Well...... I heard that you can't feed the dog chicken bones. This hollow structure can easily be bitten and injure the esophagus and organs. And it's easy to make it grow up and loop. And it seems that chocolate and onions are not good either.

But I tried to poison the wolf with chocolate meat as bait, but it didn't work...... Only now did he not know the difference between wolf liver and dog liver, and after squatting in the grass for a while, Vicol was sure that there was no one lying in ambush around. At the same time, he was looking for a definitive clue to prove that the man had entered the house.

It wasn't long before he found it.

Right, he was up the hill! Gripping his crossbow arrows, Vicol looked excitedly at the grass not far to his left: it was clear that someone had fallen there. And bent a row of grass in the grass.

I hope this person is okay...... Vaguely thinking that he could only find a corpse, Vicol tucked away his padded jacket and walked slowly up the snowy hillside.

The doorknob doesn't have much dirt and has obviously been used a lot lately. Standing at the door, Vicor, who had discovered this, withdrew his hand that wanted to knock on the door and looked carefully at the threshold first. However, it was such a casual look that shocked him: from the distribution of ice ballast on the threshold, it can be seen that there are two people's footprints. Their footprints are unknown.

I've never seen another person's footprints in the grass before, so it can be judged that there are no companions...... The enemy chasing him must have been hiding in the house and not left!

Or...... Feeling that the hairs were a little upside down, Vicor felt palpitations: he was afraid of ghosts, and it was better not to go in if possible.

It is a two-storey standard room with lights on the second floor...... Clenching the weapon in his hand, the snow crow took a deep breath: don't rush in first, and then observe the door of the house.

The door looks like it has just been smashed, and the person who closes it is very violent...... Reaching out, Vicol gently pulled the door, and in an instant withdrew his hand: the door was unlocked.

If you're being chased, you're going to close the door as soon as you open it, right? So...... Looking closely at the handrail, Vicol only felt uneasy: had the attacker already opened the door and fled? Judging by the two types of footprints, the attacker must have entered the house.

Could it be that the attacker knew the way to go, so he came to the house and waited for him? But he couldn't open the door without a key.

His thoughts were confused for a moment, and it was not until the snow crow peeked through the moonlight into the crack of the door that his doubts were relieved: blood on the ground was faintly visible through the crack in the door, presumably the man had been stabbed before he could close the door. At that time, the man was cornered, and there was no time to lock the door.

Why did he run to his own house when he was being chased so closely by the enemy? Wouldn't this be a self-defeating retreat? In other words, I would definitely take advantage of the night in the forest to find an opportunity to run back to the town.

At first, it was a little incomprehensible, but Vicol thought about it for a moment and was relieved: people always subconsciously seek refuge in the face of disaster, and the object of this search is often home - it always gives people the illusion of security.

With so much blood, he was probably dead. After listening quietly for a while, Vicol was regretfully convinced that no one was talking: it seemed that I had to keep my voice as low as possible on the first floor, so as not to arouse suspicion from the other person on the second floor.

This man shouldn't have noticed me...... And this man is certainly not an ordinary robber, and probably does not know the owner of the house. After thinking about it in his head, Vicol was convinced that he was right: the man had suddenly attacked him in the woods. The purpose was obviously to kill him directly.

To put it bluntly, is it a murderer who doesn't care about the identity of the target? But the chances are very small.

Remembering the rumors that the Dark Glacier was rich in ghouls, Vicor felt uncomfortable: how many kinds of creatures are there, and where they are? I have not heard of a single outsider who has suggested that there are no ghouls in his hometown.

However, it is very difficult for people in the Permafrost to encounter ice ghouls. Because people dare to go as far as the middle of the snowfield and turn back.

Pulling open the door, the snow crow slowly walked into the middle of the room, taking a closer look at the blood on the ground: the blood was scattered and stretched straight up the stairs. In addition, you can see two rows of footprints with snow on them.

It's really a footprint made by an iron boot...... It's pretty obvious here. Crouching down to take a closer look at one of the footprints, the crow pondered for a moment: the footprints seemed to appear out of thin air in the room. Maybe it's a mage in armor.

Judging by the distribution of this blood, he could not have been stabbed in the same way as a puppy. In other words, enemies may be able to attack with a slashing spell. You'll have to be careful later.