"Heh." EeDechi sneered coldly. "What an interesting ghost story. Too bad you picked the wrong audience."
Before her eyes, demons danced in wild chaos!
The night hags had completely torn away their disguises. Their elegant clothes faded and turned ragged, their faces shriveled and withered, black pockmarks erupting across their skin. Their knuckles bulged sharply, fingers grew thin and elongated, curved razor-sharp nails extending wildly, and their hair hung dry and disheveled.
Three night hags! Plus the "friend" night hag who had just come through the door, making four in total. The once warm and harmonious family, full of joy and laughter, had in an instant transformed into a night hag paradise!
Two of the night hags opened mouths filled with crimson teeth and let out deafening roars at EeDechi and Barrett. The sound waves shattered the glass cups on the table. This had to be some kind of psychic attack, the voices carrying magical waves that could drive ordinary people to mental collapse.
But unfortunately for them, they weren't facing ordinary people. EeDechi's bodily resistance was at its absolute peak, and Barrett was a battle-hardened elite adventurer as well.
One night hag stepped onto a chair and lunged toward EeDechi. EeDechi swung her fist in fury, smashing it squarely into the night hag's face. The creature's face caved in completely, and it collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"I really should have checked your bunch's Justice Value first!" EeDechi roared as she sprang to her feet. She had already been stewing with resentment after going so long without any vegetables or fruit, and now these monsters were putting on their pathetic charade right in front of her. Her fury was exploding.
Another night hag lunged through the air, claws slashing viciously at her face. EeDechi kicked upward hard. Her foot shattered the dining table and smashed straight into the night hag's waist at the same time.
The night hag's body folded completely in half from the brutal impact and slammed into the wall, sending bricks and dust flying everywhere.
The last night hag saw the tide had turned and immediately spun around, bolting for the window. EeDechi closed the gap in one powerful stride, spun into a flying kick, and her heel connected with a loud bang! The night hag's neck snapped instantly. Its body flew like a discarded rag and smashed flat against the wall like a pressed specimen.
On the other side, Barrett was tangled up with the "friend" night hag. He leaned aside to dodge its raking claws, pulled a gleaming dagger from his waist, and drove it deep into the creature's neck.
While the night hag howled in agony, Barrett yanked a shortsword from his spatial ring and nailed it firmly to the door. He then drew a spiked warhammer, raised it high, and brought it crashing down, caving the night hag's skull wide open.
Looking at the four night hags sprawled across the room in various twisted poses, already stone-cold dead, EeDechi spat on the floor. "Disgusting!"
Barrett sheathed his dagger and let out a sigh. "Let's go notify the villagers. The man-eating night hags have been eliminated."
...
Barrett went from door to door, knocking on every villager's house. Under the dark night sky, the villagers held torches and trudged through the snow, entering the manor lord's home half in disbelief. When they saw the gruesome scene and confirmed the night hags had been slaughtered, the whole village erupted in excitement.
In the end, a respected elder of the village decided to pile the four night hags together and burn them. Braving the freezing cold, the villagers gathered around the bonfire, singing and dancing with joy.
Some villagers mourned and sighed, silently paying respects to the manor lord's family who had long ago been killed by the night hags. Others gathered their courage and timidly stepped closer to watch the night hags burn.
Most of the villagers crowded around Barrett, thanking him profusely for his great contribution to the village. They spared no words of praise, heaping compliments on Barrett and treating him almost like a savior sent down by Gaia.
A portion of the villagers whose children had gone missing even prostrated themselves before him in worship, nearly falling to their knees and kowtowing. This left the ever money-driven Barrett completely at a loss. How was he supposed to have the nerve to ask these villagers for payment later?
As for EeDechi, who had done the most work, the enthusiastic villagers seemed to automatically ignore her—probably because of her lingering Favorability Level issues. She was left standing alone in the corner.
Watching Barrett being surrounded and celebrated by the crowd, EeDechi felt quite annoyed. But there was nothing she could do about it. She could only snort and act like she didn't care about the praise of ordinary people.
EeDechi kicked at the snow under her feet in boredom. Suddenly, a bowl of hot soup was held out in front of her. She looked up and saw a kindly old woman smiling gently.
The old woman's weather-beaten face showed a warm, motherly smile as she offered the bowl of steaming soup to EeDechi.
"I believe you also played a big part in eliminating the night hags tonight. It's so cold out, and you're dressed so lightly. Have a bowl of hot soup to warm yourself up."
Thick steam rose from the earthenware bowl. The clear broth contained chunks of chicken, along with tender cabbage leaves, thin translucent slices of radish, cauliflower, lettuce…
It was exactly the vegetable soup EeDechi had been craving after growing sick of eating nothing but meat. She swallowed hard, took the bowl without hesitation, and drank every last drop.
The old woman's eyes widened in alarm. "Careful! Don't burn yourself!"
...
The next day, at the villagers' request, Barrett and EeDechi cleared out a foggy swamp near the village. EeDechi used 5th Tier magic to blast the entire swamp into a dried-up crater, forcing out the final night hag that tried to flee and beating it to death on the spot.
As for their reward, Barrett only asked the villagers for a few silver coins out of courtesy. Meanwhile, EeDechi carried a large burlap sack even taller than herself, stuffed full of white radishes, cabbages, bok choy, onions, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, spinach, mustard greens, kale, lettuce…
The two "travelers and winter huntsmen employed by Count Charles" left the village under a grand farewell from all the villagers lined up to see them off, reluctantly setting out once more on their journey.