At that moment, Zev also came over beside him and lay down, quietly looking up.
The two of them did not say anything. Only the sound of the snoring of the two who were sleeping could be heard.
Subedei kept staring at the sky and sighed as he spoke.
"Zev, I never thought I'd meet you in a place this terrifying."
Then he suddenly changed the topic.
"Do you remember?"
"When we used to make our own bows and arrows and shoot them for fun."
"When we turned long sticks into swords and played at fighting."
"But now, we're not playing anymore we're fighting for real."
Hearing his words, Zev smiled as if recalling memories from their childhood.
"Yes… time really passes too fast."
"How many people do you think there are who, like us, have been friends since childhood but only have one or two photos together?"
The two lay there in silence for a while, staring at the sky.
Before long, evening came, and Zev woke the other two.
Everyone prepared themselves and waited for the fog to thicken.
The fog gradually grew denser. From afar, the whispering spirits could be faintly seen, and demonic whispers could be heard.
Subedei and Zev paid no attention to it.
But the other two men were already gripped by fear, staring at each other warily.
Since witnessing the death of one of their companions, they had not spoken to each other even once.
The people who used to laugh and talk behind them were gone, leaving only fear and vigilance.
Subedei and Zev easily destroyed the whispering spirits.
[You have killed "Whispering Spirit"]…
Ahead of them, several large black shadows could be seen flying toward them through the fog.
Subedei and Zev ignored this as well and stood quietly, waiting for them to approach.
However, the black shadows kept increasing one after another.
At first, there were only one or two, but within a few seconds, they became hundreds.
Their numbers continued to grow without stopping, forming an enormous mass of shadows rushing toward them through the fog.
Seeing the whispering spirits increasing at such a terrifying speed, Subedei and Zev stood still as if stunned.
As the black shadows drew closer, the fog rippled in all directions, and a light wind began to blow.
At the same time, the demonic whispers grew louder.
When the black shadows were almost right in front of them, the two snapped out of their shock and quickly unleashed all their abilities.
Their weapons became covered in mana and began to shine with a faint blue light. By then, the spirits had already surrounded them.
Every time the two swung their weapons, two spirits were split apart and vanished into the air.
More and more whispering spirits approached, and the demonic whispers became clearer, making their bodies feel increasingly uncomfortable.
[You have killed "Whispering Spirit"]…
Although countless notifications appeared, Subedei and Zev ignored them and continued fighting nonstop with all their strength.
The whispering spirits seemed endless killing one turned into two, killing two turned into four.
They did not decrease at all, and this began to frighten the two of them.
The spirits circled around them, stirring up light winds and dispersing the fog.
As a result, the whispering spirits became clearly visible to their eyes for the first time.
Suddenly, Subedei's ears stung with pain, and he felt something warm flowing down from them.
He stopped attacking and slowly raised his hand to touch his ear.
"Blood?"
He whispered in surprise and looked to the side, only to see blood also flowing from Zev's ears.
Even so, Zev paid no attention to it and continued swinging his sword toward the whispering spirits.
When Subedei looked behind him, he saw that blood was pouring from the ears, noses, eyes, and mouths of the other two men. Their bodies were cut and wounded as if they were fighting each other.
They charged at one another like madmen, repeating the same words over and over.
"I will kill you!"
"I will kill you!"
Subedei saw this from afar but ignored it, turning back to focus on the battle ahead.
Zev likewise devoted all his attention to the fight in front of him.
Soon, the two looked at each other, exchanged bitter smiles, and charged into the massive swarm of whispering spirits.
They split the spirits' heads, pierced them, and destroyed them in every possible way.
After dozens of minutes passed, their attacks began to slow, but the spirits did not decrease. Instead, they increased even more and completely surrounded them.
Their faces grew pale, and blood began to flow from their ears, eyes, noses, and mouths.
At that moment, the demonic whispers felt as if they were scratching directly at their brains.
Subedei looked weak, as if he were about to collapse, but he did not stop attacking.
Zev was in slightly better condition than him.
[You have killed "Whispering Spirit"]
Before long, Subedei's mana was depleted, and he could no longer kill the spirits.
In the end, he leaned on his weapon to support himself, struggling not to fall.
Stopping his fight only made his condition worse.
In front of him, Zev continued fighting alone. Subedei silently watched, gripping his weapon tightly.
"I can't hold on anymore…"
Finally, Subedei's eyes closed, and he lost consciousness, collapsing heavily onto the ground.
Just before he blacked out, he saw Zev's sword becoming enveloped in even stronger mana than before.
Brilliant blue mana covered the blade, and the nearby whispering spirits vanished as if blown away in rage.
Seeing Subedei fall to the ground, Zev clenched his teeth and charged alone into the swarm of whispering spirits.
Several hours later, Subedei slowly opened his eyes.
When he looked around, it was already morning. The fog had dispersed, and the demonic whispers had faded away.
It seemed that the sunlight shining down on him had woken him.
When he tried to get up, his entire body and muscles ached intensely.
Gritting his teeth, he barely managed to stand and looked around, searching for Zev.
As he searched, a horrifying scene came into view.
The corpse of a tall, burly young man lay on the ground.
When he approached, he saw a sword lodged between the two bodies, piercing through their chests. The blood that had flowed onto the ground had turned dark and hardened.
They had died staring at each other with eyes filled with rage, fear, and confusion.
After confirming their deaths, Subedei turned away and began searching for Zev.
Some distance away, a person was lying on the ground.
He staggered over and saw that Zev's face was pale, and the blood from his wounds had dried.
Subedei ran over and checked his breathing. He was alive.
Relieved, Subedei let out a deep breath.
Looking closer, he noticed that parts of Zev's hair had begun to turn white, though his face still looked young.
"Why did Zev's hair turn so white in just one day?" Subedei whispered in astonishment.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he went hunting to prepare food while waiting for Zev to wake up.
Several hours later, he returned with game meat, lit a campfire, and sat down.
Before long, as he was roasting the meat, Zev slowly opened his eyes.
Hearing movement, Subedei turned around. Seeing Zev trying to get up, he hurried over, supported him by the arm, and helped him sit against a dead tree.
After the two silently stared at each other for a while, Subedei handed him the roasted meat.
Zev took it and began eating.
When he finished eating, Subedei could no longer hold back and asked,
"You look like you've aged several years."
Zev remained silent.
Seeing his silence, Subedei continued,
"It was because of that ability, right?"
"I saw the ability you used on the skeletal guardian before I lost consciousness."
"Using such a powerful ability must take something precious from you in return."
"For example… your lifespan."
Zev sighed slowly, showing that he understood everything, and then spoke.
"Yes. That ability is powerful, but it consumes my lifespan."
"The more power I draw out, the more of my life it takes."
"I didn't use much power on the skeletal guardian, so the change was small."
"But fighting the whispering spirits for so long, I used it a lot, so… I must have aged a little."