The ghoul tribe seemed no larger than a small village, comprised of stone-built houses.
Numerous ghoul sentinels wielding bone knives patrolled the area, most of them above level 25.
From a distance, Jeremy could see the altar at the tribe's center.
His eyes flickered with determination.
The hidden boss must be inside that altar. If he could defeat this hidden boss, his level would likely catch up.
However, to trigger the hidden boss, he needed the head of the ghoul chieftain. So, Jeremy had to find that creature first.
"Finally... stopped!" Richie bent over, gasping for breath, sweat pouring down his forehead.
His stamina was already lacking, and he wasn't good at combat. So even finishing off enemies had exhausted him.
Emma and the other two women let out sighs of relief when they saw Jeremy stop.
The way he mowed down monsters was a bit terrifying, reminding them of his berserk state a few days ago.
Jeremy turned to Emma and the other three and said, "You guys stay here and level up. I'm going in."
At this point, they had all surpassed level 20, so with their combined strength, leveling up here wasn't an issue. Following him into the core area, however, would only increase the likelihood of encountering danger.
Emma and the others could see that Jeremy was aiming for the top of the leaderboard and didn't want to be a burden. They all nodded in agreement.
"Be careful." Emma advised.
Jeremy smiled, "You all be careful too."
He then broke away from the group and swiftly approached the ghoul tribe.
Two ghouls sentinels were chatting at the tribe gate.
Suddenly, they saw a human rushing towards them.
The two ghouls were momentarily stunned but quickly became excited, shouting,.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Seeing Jeremy charge at them, their faces lit up with excitement.
They couldn't believe their luck—encountering a human walking right into their territory!
But their joy didn't last long. They soon realized something was off.
This human was incredibly fast!
"Boom!"
Jeremy's figure was like a dark red lightning bolt, whipping up a strong gust of wind as he charged into the ghoul tribe.
By the time the two ghoul sentinels reacted, Jeremy was already upon them.
In their stunned gazes, Jeremy's face was cold and stern.
With a flick of his wrist, the two dark red long knives in his hands slashed through their bodies like lightning.
"Whoosh!"
The flash of the blades was fleeting.
Without pausing for a second, Jeremy passed through the two ghoul sentinels and rushed into the tribe.
Outside the tribe gate, the bodies of the two ghouls stood rigid.
A light breeze blew past.
Their heads slid off their necks, thudding heavily to the ground.
[You have killed a level 26 ghoul sentinel (normal), gaining 5079 experience points!]
[You have killed a level 27 ghoul sentinel (normal), gaining 5736 experience points!]
At this moment, the other ghouls in the tribe noticed the uninvited guest, Jeremy.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
A horde of ghouls immediately grabbed their weapons and charged at him.
Their numbers reaching well over a hundred, and their aggression palpable.
Jeremy's expression remained calm, but a dark red flame ignited in his eyes.
[Defense]: 893
[Skills]: Roar, Multi-Slash, Thrust...
[Hint]: High perception, average strength, and speed, weak defense.
As he looked at the information before him, Jeremy's eyes gleamed like fire.
As he finished speaking, a burst of silver and deep blue light intertwined and radiated from his body.
"Shadow Step!" "Advance!"
Jeremy's speed surged dramatically!
Every muscle in his body tensed as he pushed off the ground forcefully.
"Boom!"
Dirt flew in all directions, and the ground shattered!
He shot toward the ghoul chieftain like a cannonball, his terrifying speed creating a whooshing sound in the air!
Giving the chieftain no chance to react, Jeremy appeared before it in the blink of an eye.
His gaze was as cold as ice, and a greenish blade light emerged from his long sword.
"Gale Slash!"
Without hesitation, Jeremy swung his long sword down fiercely!
A wind blade several meters long flew out, slicing through the ghoul chieftain's neck in an instant.
"Splat!"
Under the horrified gazes of all the ghouls, the chieftain's head, still wearing a bewildered expression, flew into the air!
[Ding! You have triggered a lethal strike!]
[You have slain a Level 30 ghoul Chieftain (Lord), gaining 167,000 experience points!]
["Seven Sins - Gluttony" activated! You randomly gained 30 strength points!]
As the kill notification appeared, a white orb of light formed over the ghoul chieftain's headless corpse.
At the same time, a golden light indicating a level-up glowed around Jeremy.
[Your level has reached 28, gaining 30 free attribute points!]
[You have received class-specific attributes: Strength +40, Spirit +40, Stamina +20, Agility +20!]
Jeremy reached out and caught the ghoul chieftain's bloodied head, then stepped forward to pick up the white orb.
Instantly, a menacing bone spear appeared in his hand.
[Equipment]: Bone Spear
[Type]: Weapon
[Level]: Platinum
[Quality]: Purple (Rare)
[Attributes]: Strength +200, Stamina +200
[Skill]: Bone Wrath (Passive)
[Description]: The player's attacks can ignore 20% of the target's defense.
"Not bad attributes!" Jeremy raised an eyebrow. The weapon's attributes were as good as both of his long swords combined.
The skill was also impressive, allowing him to ignore monster defenses, effectively increasing his damage by 20% against high-defense monsters.
Looks like the Blaze Knife and Frostwind Blade could retire now.
Jeremy sheathed his two long swords and equipped the bone spear, boosting both his strength and stamina by 140 points.
"Whoosh!"
He gripped the spear's shaft, his wrist applying a slight force. The bone spear spun gracefully in his hand before the tip lunged out like a viper, piercing through an elite ghoul's head that was still in a daze.
The elite ghoul's head exploded, splattering red and white brain matter onto the faces of nearby ghouls.
"Nice feel." Jeremy nodded slightly.