The Ninth Team took their positions across the battlefield.
Bo Er crouched behind the cover, checking the newly issued copper-cased incendiary rounds one by one before loading them into his ammunition belt.
The four members of the melee group tucked their pure copper short blades into their waists, gripping their copper swords with edges that glinted a heavy, dark red under the light.
Two gunners set up their short-shotguns at either end of the cover, their muzzles pointed into the darkness ahead of the barricade line.
The two Descendants stood on the far left of the position.
They carried no additional weapons.
Their black robes trailed on the ground, bird-beak masks facing the collapse site, remaining motionless.
They looked like two statues cast into the earth.
Lu Yuan stood in the center of the position, his gaze crossing the barricade line to look ahead.
The collapse site was thirty meters away.
On the ground cleared during the day, the fungus mats had been burned clean, revealing the corroded, blackened copper floor.
As long as the scavenger ghouls crawled out again, the fungus mats would re-cover this area within a few hours.
And that dark, hollow collapse site sat there quietly for now.
Everyone was in place.
The light from the march lamps burned steadily in the night.
The barricade line shimmered with a dark red copper light under the lamps.
The wind blew from the north, carrying a faint scent of acidic rot.
Lu Yuan gripped his revolver, his thumb resting against the hammer.
Then, he heard something else.
It came from underground.
An extremely faint, rustling sound.
Like countless claws climbing up rock walls.
It was getting closer.
【Environmental Perception: Large number of pollution sources detected... count rising...】
Lu Yuan's gaze turned cold.
"They're here."
His voice was not loud.
But everyone on the position heard him.
Guns were raised.
Copper swords were unsheathed.
The light from the march lamps swayed slightly in the night wind.
Behind him, the two Descendants moved simultaneously.
The sound of mechanical operation came from beneath their black robes; the shape of their arms began to change, metal skeletons reorganizing, forearms splitting open to reveal hidden weapons.
Inside that dark collapse site ahead, the first grey-red claw reached over the edge.
When the first claw reached the edge, Lu Yuan fired.
Bang.
The silver-plated bullet hit the base of the claw; the grey-red fingers convulsed, loosened, and slid back down.
A short roar echoed from within the hole.
Then came a second claw.
A third.
A fourth.
They were not coming from just one direction.
They were reaching out from the entire perimeter of the collapse site simultaneously.
"Copper powder!"
Lu Yuan's voice cut through the gunshots.
Bo Er reacted quickly, grabbing a canister of copper powder from behind the cover, unscrewing the lid, and throwing it toward the collapse site.
The dark red powder dispersed in the air like a heavy mist, drifting toward the hole with the night wind.
Two Nightwatchers followed by throwing a second canister, then a third.
The moment the copper powder fell into the hole, sounds erupted from below.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle...
It sounded like red-hot iron being dropped into water.
That was the sound of copper powder burning the ghouls' skin.
The sound rose and fell, traveling from deep within the hole to the edge.
It was accompanied by the roars of ghouls.
Not just one or two.
It was a swarm.
The claws reaching over the edge retracted once more; the burning of the copper powder made them instinctively recoil.
But they only retreated for a few seconds.
Then more claws reached out.
The first ghoul flipped out of the hole.
Its palms and forearms were covered in charred burn marks, flesh curling to reveal the greyish-white fascia beneath.
But it did not stop.
On all fours, its back arched, it charged toward the barricade line.
Closely followed by a second, then a third.
Five.
Ten.
The speed at which they surged from the edge of the hole grew faster, as if they were being pushed by even more of their kind behind them.
"Fire!"
Bo Er did not need Lu Yuan's order; he had already pulled the trigger.
The roar of the short-shotgun exploded across the position.
A fan-shaped barrage swept through the three ghouls in the lead; silver-plated pellets tore through skin and crushed bone, one of them knocked flat on the spot, limbs twitching.
The other two stumbled but continued to charge forward.
The two gunners fired simultaneously, their alternating fire covering the twenty-meter range in front of the hole.
Lu Yuan held his revolver, firing shot by shot.
Every round hit a ghoul's knee or ankle joint.
He did not seek to kill, only to slow them down.
Ghouls with broken legs collapsed to the ground, using their forearms to drag their bodies forward, but their speed had slowed by more than half.
The ghouls behind them simply trampled over their own kind to charge ahead.
At the edge of the hole, the scavenger fungus began to spread.
The pale green fungus layer surged from the inner walls of the hole, spreading outward across the ground at more than twice the speed of the daytime cleanup.
It was night.
Without the suppression of sunlight, the activity of the scavenger fungus was fully released.
Wherever the fungus layer passed, the copper floor emitted a faint sizzling sound; the covering layer of copper powder was being decomposed.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan gritted his teeth.
"Holy light grenades! Toss them at the hole!"
The two Nightwatchers in the front row removed copper-cased holy light grenades from their waists, pulled the pins, and threw them simultaneously.
The two grenades traced arcs through the air, landing accurately at the edge of the collapse site.
Boom!! Boom!!
The moment the copper shells shattered, a holy light shockwave erupted.
Blinding white light swallowed the area ten meters around the hole.
The ghouls crawling out were flipped by the shockwave; burning copper shell fragments embedded into their skin, and the holy light erosion spread rapidly from the fragments like a lit fuse, crawling across the ghouls' bodies.
Screams merged into a single wall of sound.
The fungus layer within the range of the holy light instantly withered and curled, burning into greyish-white ash.
The ghouls at the hole were blasted back inside.
The gunfire stopped as well.
The position fell silent for a few seconds.
Gunsmoke mixed with the residual white mist of the holy light, drifting slowly under the glow of the march lamps.
On the ground in front of the hole, over a dozen ghoul corpses lay scattered.
Some were still twitching, while others were completely still.
Copper shell fragments were embedded in their bodies, the burning still ongoing, skin curling and charring bit by bit.
Bo Er let out a breath.
His finger loosened from the trigger, still trembling slightly, but his emotions had clearly stabilized.
"But it seems we can only block one wave..."
There was a trace of undeniable gravity in his voice.
The other Nightwatchers clearly knew as well that this was merely the earliest appetizer.
However, being able to block the first wave proved that this copper wall was effective.
It meant there was hope of completing the mission.
Hopefully, they could hold until dawn and leave this place alive.
Unlike the other Nightwatchers, Lu Yuan did not lower his hand.
His revolver remained raised, muzzle pointed toward the hole.
Because at the edge of his vision, greyish-white text was jumping frantically.
【Environmental Perception: Massive number of pollution sources detected... count still rising... suggest moving away...】
【Environmental Perception: Massive number of pollution sources detected... count still rising... suggest moving away...】
Lu Yuan's expression changed.
The ghouls were about to storm the post!
"Sandworm oil!"
Lu Yuan's voice suddenly spiked; everyone was startled by the urgency in his tone.
"Throw all the sandworm oil in front of the hole! Now!"
Bo Er froze for a split second, but he did not hesitate.
He grabbed two canisters of sandworm oil from behind the ammunition crates, unscrewed the lids, and hurled them toward the hole.
The other two Nightwatchers followed suit, throwing their shares.
Four canisters of refined sandworm oil tumbled through the air, smashing against the ground in front of the hole; glass shattered, and the oil splashed, spreading rapidly across the floor.
Lu Yuan struck a match and threw it.
The moment the match landed in the oil, brilliant white flames roared upward.
The uniquely bright flames of sandworm oil formed an arc-shaped fire wall in front of the hole, illuminating the entire area.
The firelight shone into the hole.
Lu Yuan saw what was inside.
His pupils constricted violently.
The walls of the hole were covered in ghouls.
They were packed densely, layered upon each other, extending from the edge of the hole all the way into the darkness at the end of his vision.
Like ants.
Countless grey-red ants clung to the walls, climbing toward the opening.
Those grey-red bodies reflected a moist sheen under the firelight, three layers of teeth snapping in the darkness, creating a clicking sound.
The quantity could no longer be described as merely 'many.'
Bo Er saw it too.
His face turned pale.
Completely white.
Behind them, the two Descendants moved simultaneously.
It was not because of what they saw.
It was because a certain perception device inside them had been triggered.
Their black robes suddenly expanded, and the clicking sound of mechanical skeletons reorganizing came from within.
The forearms of the two Descendants split open simultaneously, revealing brass-colored nozzles.
Sizzle...
Eerie blue flames erupted from the nozzles, shooting straight toward the hole.
The temperature of the flames was extremely high; the air distorted in front of the nozzles, and even the light from the march lamps was suppressed.
The two pillars of fire merged with the fire wall of the sandworm oil, turning the area in front of the hole into a sea of blazing white fire.
In that instant, the entire collapse site was illuminated as if it were day.
Lu Yuan saw clearly.
The ghouls in the very front were still climbing up, pushing through the flames.
Their skin was burning, and their muscles were charring.
But they did not stop.
Because there were more of their kind behind them, pushing, climbing, and surging.
To stop was to be trampled underfoot.
So they could only go forward.
Upward.
Outward.
"Fire!! Everyone fire!!"
Lu Yuan's roar was drowned out by gunfire.
Everyone capable of shooting pulled their triggers at the same time.
Short-shotguns, revolvers, copper-cased incendiary rounds; a barrage of lead poured out.
The moment a copper-cased incendiary round hit a ghoul, the shell shattered, the alchemical fire powder ignited, and the burning of copper combined with the erosion of holy light took effect.
Ghouls hit by the rounds looked like ignited torches, their bodies erupting in flames as they screamed and fell back into the hole.
But the ghouls behind them simply stepped over their burning kin to scramble out.
One.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
More and more.
The obstruction of the fire wall was rapidly fading.
The burning time of sandworm oil was limited, and the intensity of the fire had already begun to weaken.
The flames from the Descendants were still spraying, but the two pillars of fire could not cover the entire width of the hole.
Ghouls scrambled out from the sides where the fire pillars could not reach, surging toward the barricade line.
"Hold them back!!"
Bo Er's voice was already hoarse.
"Hold them back!!"
Just then, in the very center of the hole, a massive figure rose from the flames.
It was a full size larger than the other ghouls.
Its shoulder width was nearly two meters, bone spikes on its back pierced through its skin to jut outward, and its grey-red muscles were covered in a thick layer of keratin.
Its body was on fire.
The white flames of the sandworm oil and the blue flames from the Descendants covered its body simultaneously.
But it stood firm.
The flames slid off the surface of the keratin layer, only burning the outer shell without reaching the depths.
【Target Detected: Greater ghoul (metamorphosis stage individual)】
The greater ghoul lowered its head, its three layers of teeth opening to their maximum, and let out a low-pitched roar.
But that was clearly more than just a roar.
It was some kind of command.
The speed of the ghoul swarm behind it suddenly accelerated.
Then it moved as well.
Its hind legs kicked off the ground, and its entire frame took flight, soaring over the residual flames of the fire wall to dive straight at the barricade line.
Its speed was terrifyingly fast.
It covered the distance from the hole to the barricade in less than three seconds.
A dark shadow intercepted it from the side.
A Descendant.
As one of the Descendants retracted its nozzle, the metal skeleton of its forearm reorganized once more.
The nozzle withdrew, and a long blade glinting with a cold light sprang out.
It made no redundant movements.
It kicked off the ground, leaped, and delivered a horizontal slash.
The movement was stiff but precise, like a calibrated machine.
The long blade slashed into the greater ghoul's shoulder.
Thud!
The sound of metal striking keratin was like a hammer hitting stone.
The blade edge cut about two inches deep into the keratin layer and got stuck.
The greater ghoul's momentum was deflected by this strike; its body tilted in mid-air, missing the barricade and slamming heavily into the ground three meters in front of the barricade line.
The ground shook.
The moment the Descendant landed, the greater ghoul had already stood up.
Its speed was faster than a creature of that size should possess.
It swiped a claw toward the Descendant's chest.
The Descendant did not dodge.
It raised its left arm to block.
Metal collided with bone claw; the Descendant's left arm was deformed by the blow, gears and linkages flying out from the cracks.
But it did not flinch.
The sense of pain in the Descendant had long since been stripped away along with its modifications.
The long blade in its right arm pulled free from the keratin layer, and it stabbed backward into the greater ghoul's abdomen.
The blade tip pierced in.
The greater ghoul roared and stepped back, grabbing the Descendant's right arm.
The sound of metal being twisted was ear-piercing.
The Descendant's right arm was snapped raw, the long blade and half the forearm falling to the ground.
But the other Descendant had already arrived.
It approached from behind the greater ghoul, aiming its nozzle at the back of the creature's head.
Blue flames sprayed at point-blank range.
The back of the greater ghoul's head crackled in the flames; the keratin layer finally could not withstand it, cracking and shattering.
It let out a hoarse scream and released the Descendant's mangled arm.
The Descendant with the mangled arm did not retreat.
It used its ruined left arm to pin the greater ghoul's shoulder; a short spike sprang from the base of its severed right arm, stabbing directly into the cracked back of the creature's head.
The greater ghoul's body convulsed violently twice.
Then it fell.
But no one was looking there.
Because the fighting had already reached the barricade line.
The first wave of ghouls to reach the barricades let out agonizing screams the moment they touched the copper-plated surface.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
The moment their claws grabbed the copper spikes, the flesh of their palms curled and charred instantly.
The burning spread outward from the point of contact, and the muscles of the entire arm convulsed.
It screamed and let go, falling away.
A second ghoul tried to squeeze through a gap in the barricades; the moment its body touched the copper wire mesh, its entire torso began to emit white smoke.
The copper wire bit deep into its skin, and the contact surfaces were all charred black.
It roared and struggled for a few seconds before finally being pushed against the copper wire mesh by the kin surging up from behind, unable to move.
More ghouls slammed into the barricades.
The burning of the copper meant every contact was accompanied by screams and the smell of charred meat.
But they did not retreat.
Those in front were burned until they could not move, and those behind simply climbed over their own kind's bodies.
Corpses piled up, and the copper wire mesh began to deform.
The bases of the barricades emitted the sound of metal bending under the impact of the ghouls.
The ground spikes were being pulled loose from the copper floor.
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