The creatures before them appeared to be the island's natives. Charles had read in the library that not all indigenous people on wild islands were malicious; some could communicate or even trade.

  "We mean no harm. Can you let us go?" Charles spoke slowly in the local dialect.

  The nasal creatures remained motionless, as if they could not understand, standing at a distance like lifeless objects.

  Seeing the bizarre scene before him, Charles waved his hand behind him, signaling the others to step back. If they couldn’t understand, it was best to retreat for now.

  As soon as Charles lifted his foot, all the nasal creatures twitched their noses and leaped forward, their black claws extending from their withered limbs.

  "Attack!!"

  Gunfire erupted in an instant, and the nasal creatures were quickly hit, falling into the water. They seemed to come in endless waves, swarming toward the group.

  The area was a chaos of mud and water, stained purple with the creatures' blood. No matter how many were injured or killed, they showed no signs of retreating.

  As the strange beings drew closer, Charles decided to take out the lightning-shaped short staff from his pocket.

  "Zzap!!" A surge of electricity swept across, causing the nasal creatures to convulse and fall into the water.

  They died, but Charles and his crew were not unscathed. The powerful electric current traveled through the muddy water, affecting everyone. Though they were at a distance, the crew was still severely injured, convulsing uncontrollably.

  Charles was the first to recover. He looked up and saw all the nasal creatures floating on the water's surface; they were finally all dead.

  Leaning against the wall, he gasped for breath. The relic was powerful, but the side effects were unbearable.

  No matter what those monsters intended, at least the immediate problem was resolved.

  "Rest for three minutes, then continue blowing the walls," Charles's deep voice echoed in the empty maze.

  God knew if there were more of these creatures nearby; they had to leave this place quickly.

  Just then, a nearly horizontal tube silently floated toward them.

  The underwater entity seemed intent on not disturbing anyone, slowly moving toward the corpses of the nasal creatures. But with Charles's night vision, he could see it clearly and raised his hand to fire a shot at the tube.

  The tube sank rapidly, and crimson blood bubbled up from the water. The pool of blood quickly turned and swam away.

  Whatever it was, Charles couldn't let it escape. He lifted his right foot from the muddy water and pushed off the wall, propelling his body into the air, his black blade aimed directly at the blood.

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  "Thud!" The black blade plunged into the underwater entity, causing more red blood to mix with the mud.

  With a powerful upward motion of his wrist, he lifted whatever was beneath the water.

  It was a person—a blind old man with milky-white eyes. His naked body was covered in wounds, and his expression showed immense pain. Yet, despite this, he made no sound, trembling hands gripping Charles's blade and pushing outward.

  Seeing it was a fellow human, Charles refrained from attacking and turned to shout at his companions, "Doctor, come help him! Don’t let him die!"

  Everyone gathered around, staring curiously at the old man. No one expected to find a living person in such a place.

  "Can you understand me?" Charles asked the old man, who was being treated by the doctor.

  The old man, seemingly startled, quickly placed a finger to his lips. "Shh~!! Keep your voice down; the Tormentor will hear!"

  Charles closely examined the peculiar old man. He was extremely thin, resembling a skeleton draped in human skin, with a hunched neck that made him appear fearful, as if always ready to flee.

  Richard's voice echoed in his mind. "Dude, doesn’t this guy look like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, the one who bites the protagonist's finger off at the end?"

  "Be quiet."

  At that moment, the doctor finished treating the old man's wounds, who limped over to Charles.

  "I just checked his body. He’s definitely human. Judging by his teeth, he’s only in his forties, but he’s severely malnourished. His skin shows signs of prolonged exposure to water; he must have lived in such harsh conditions for a long time."

  Charles's heart raced. So, this meant there were natives on the island?

  "Do you know where the exit is?" Charles asked the old man, getting to the main point.

  Upon hearing the question, the old man's filthy face lit up with joy. "You just arrived, right? Do you have food from the outside?"

  Charles didn’t want to waste time. He pressed the black blade against the old man's throat, threateningly stating, "You answer my questions, understand?"

  Feeling the murderous intent in Charles's tone, the old man stiffened and quickly nodded.

  "Who are you? Why are you here?"

  "My name is Blake. I came here because I heard the sounds of your battle with the Tormentor and wanted to steal some food. Don’t worry; the Tormentor is all yours; I don’t want any."

  Charles glanced at the corpses of the nasal creatures nearby. It seemed this was the "Tormentor" he mentioned.

  "Where is the exit to this maze?"

  "There is no exit. No one who comes in has ever left."

  "No one has ever left?"

  "I don’t know; I’ve been here for over twenty years and haven’t seen anyone leave."

  "What did you mean by 'Tormentor'?"

  "It's a monster, the strongest one here, and it can never be killed. If it catches us, it will burrow into our mouths and torment us from within. It feeds on our screams of pain."

  "How big is this maze?"

  "It’s vast. No one has touched the boundaries; it’s at least larger than England Island."

  Hearing this, Charles frowned. He had checked the size of the island before approaching; it was clearly smaller than Coral Island. How could the maze be larger than England Island, which is the largest island in the North Sea with a permanent population of nearly seven million?

  Adding to that the walls rising over a thousand meters, Charles increasingly felt that something was off about this maze.

  Looking at the trembling blind old man, Charles didn’t believe he would lie to him.

  "How many others like you are trapped here?"

  "Thousands, no, tens of thousands; I’m not sure. Most have been captured by the Tormentor, while a small portion managed to escape. There are over a hundred people in the place where I live."

  "Have you seen a person wrapped in bandages around here?" Charles inquired, hoping to find information about his missing first officer, suspecting that his disappearance might be related to the people here.

  "Bandages? I can’t see, so I don’t know what you mean by bandages, but about half an hour ago, I think I heard something moving toward my living area."

  Charles looked around the empty surroundings and gently turned Blake around, giving him a slight push. "Let’s go. Take me to where you live."