The underground abyss.
The wave of ghouls was still surging frantically.
Following the heavy thump of that massive heartbeat, the greater ghouls grew increasingly vicious. Their chitinous carapaces gleamed with a dull green luster, and their charge was significantly faster and more powerful than before.
Kraus swept his bone sword outward, striking the neck of the nearest greater ghoul that leaped out.
The moment the bone sword sliced in, a hard resistance jarred his wrist. His normally unstoppable blade actually got stuck halfway through the neck, failing to sever it in a single strike.
An enemy he could have easily dispatched with a single strike now required a follow-up blow.
Kraus frowned slightly. With a twist of his wrist, dark green crystals detonated from within the incision, blasting the creature's head and half its neck away.
But immediately after, another seven or eight snarling ghouls lunged forward.
The Blue Knight's rapier sliced horizontally from the flank, severing the arm of one ghoul at the root. In the next instant, she flipped her longsword, cleanly slicing through the necks of four or five more that lunged in quick succession.
The flesh of their necks had hardened considerably; as her blade sliced through, it even produced a faint sound of scraping metal.
The Blue Knight's brow furrowed slightly.
What is going on? How did the ghouls get so much stronger?
Things were not easy on the attendant's side either.
The net woven of purple light covered several openings on the left flank. However, when the greater ghouls slammed into it, the light net that should have shredded them failed to exert its usual power, its surface buckling from the impact.
In the past, an impact of this level would not have even caused a ripple.
Frowning deeply, the attendant twisted his wrist. The purple light suddenly tightened, completely shredding the few ghouls that had breached the perimeter.
Yet the moment they were shredded, their blood splattered onto the adjacent stone wall, causing a sharp, hissing sound of corrosion that quickly burned several finger-sized pits into the rock.
Not only had the greater ghouls' physical attributes enhanced, but their pollution was also more than twice as potent as before.
Adrian's holy light hovered above everyone's heads, but its coverage had shrunk considerably compared to before.
The old bishop's face was somewhat pale. The blessing from earlier had taken a heavy toll on him, but fortunately, the holy light should still hold for a while.
Margaret pulverized a greater ghoul that lunged close with a single punch, her water film shielding her from the splattering flesh.
She shook her fist, a touch of seriousness entering her gaze. Yet she still seemed eager for more, savoring the brief clash she had just had with that special individual. Clearly, she had not yet had her fill of slaughter.
Another beam of light shot from the Great Ascendant's chest, instantly piercing through the foremost greater ghouls.
Where a single beam could have swept away a vast crowd before, now it could only pierce the few directly in front of him.
Their mutated carapaces absorbed most of the damage, preventing even such a high-intensity beam from penetrating very deep.
Everyone present could feel that, along with the sound of that heartbeat, the greater ghouls before them had become several times stronger than before.
Lu Yuan huddled in the exact center of the group. The greyish-white text in front of him flickered rapidly.
【Environmental Perception: Low-level pollution source detected...】
【Environmental Perception: Low-level pollution source detected...】
His vision was filled with these alerts. But unlike before, a few extra words began to appear at the end of these notifications.
【Target Detected: Greater Ghoul (Polluted) (Catalyzed) (Advanced)】
Lu Yuan stared at the two new tags, “Catalyzed” and “Advanced,” for a couple of breaths, his gaze darkening slightly.
Previously, the greater ghouls only carried a single “Polluted” tag, but now every single one had these two additional labels.
Clearly, something was actively accelerating their mutation, forcibly pushing them toward a higher tier.
What made his skin crawl even more was that the weakness column was completely blank now.
Whenever he scanned ghouls in the past, there would at least be a weakness prompt, but now there was absolutely nothing.
It seemed the piece of flesh down below had begun to make its move, forcibly catalyzing these greater ghouls.
But does this also mean it's getting desperate?
Before Lu Yuan could think any further, another greater ghoul broke through Adrian's holy light deceleration zone and lunged toward him.
Margaret waved her hand, and the moisture in the air condensed into a long whip. She lashed it fiercely from the side, sending the creature flying. It slammed into the wall of the void, its chest severely caved in, unable to rise again.
“Keep up,” Margaret said without turning her head.
Lu Yuan shrank a few steps closer to the center of the group, remaining silent.
In any case, he wasn't needed right now. If it weren't for the fourth fragment, he wouldn't actually want to venture this deep.
The ghouls continued to swarm forward. As soon as one batch was slain, another took its place, significantly slowing the group's advance.
Kraus cleaved through a greater ghoul in front of him, but instead of immediately engaging the next one, he paused for a brief moment.
The bone ring spun slowly on his finger as his gaze drifted past the mangled flesh covering the ground, landing on the passage leading deeper down.
This pause lasted for only two breaths, but everyone noticed it.
Kraus clearly had a new plan. In the past, whenever they reached a decision point, he was always the first to make the call, never showing any indecisiveness.
But this time, he stood in place, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead, delaying his decision.
The attendant witnessed this from behind the purple light net. While maintaining the barrier and slicing through the path of the oncoming ghouls, he spoke in a low, slightly raspy voice.
“Are you sure we should keep going forward?”
Kraus did not answer immediately.
Without waiting for his response, the attendant continued.
“We haven't even gotten a clear count of those special individuals from earlier. There are at least three, and we haven't managed to kill a single one.” He casually shredded a greater ghoul that slammed into the net, his face somewhat pale. “The moment that heartbeat sounded, the greater ghouls were clearly enhanced. If we go any deeper, our situation will only get worse.”
He did not look at Kraus, but his meaning was already perfectly clear.
The current state of the team was not suited for pressing deeper.
How could Kraus not know what the attendant was saying?
He certainly knew the attendant was right. Given their current state, the safest course of action would be to retreat first and do their best to purge these ghouls from a secure position.
If they could slay thousands or tens of thousands of them, then no matter how many ghouls the abyss held, they would eventually run thin, which would at least greatly dilute the danger threatening the Bronze City.
“Besides, we have a low-level member with us,” the attendant added. He didn't look at Lu Yuan, but it was crystal clear who he was referring to.
Adrian's tome flipped open several more pages, expanding the holy light's coverage outward by a small margin. The old bishop's expression was calm, his gaze resting on the darkness deep within the passage, showing no bias either way.
Margaret sneered, her gaze sweeping over to Kraus.
“What's there to fear? If something really charges out, won't the Blue Knight and I be at the front to block it?” Her tone carried a hint of excitement and provocation, clearly showing she had no intention of lingering on this topic.
In any case, no matter what Kraus decided, she would support him unconditionally.
As for the Great Ascendant, he did not state his stance immediately. His silver-grey eyes turned toward the depths of the passage, carrying an interest he couldn't hide.
Standing to the side, Lu Yuan saw this clearly.
The Ascension Society was once again making its own calculations regarding that piece of flesh.
He suddenly recalled the incident at Gelimu Port and felt a wave of speechlessness.
Kraus had clearly taken everyone's reactions into account.
His gaze hardened as if he had made up his mind. He swung his bone sword, cleaving a ghoul vertically in two.
“We press on.”
The attendant's purple light faltered slightly.
Kraus did not look at him. As he cleared away the ghouls in front of him, he spoke, pausing after each sentence.
“If we retreat this time, there might not be a next time.”
This was his first reason. Although the Bronze City's seal was currently collapsing, it was still holding.
If they retreated now, given the current rate of collapse, they would likely never be able to spare the resources for another dive.
Kraus flipped his wrist, holding the bone sword horizontally in front of him to block the lunges of several greater ghouls. He raised his hand slightly, the bone ring on his ring finger gleaming with green light.
“I left marks on those special individuals so we won't get lost down there.”
Those dark green crystals were a contingency Kraus had prepared early on.
This underground area was like a maze; without guidance, no one would dare to blindly venture deeper. Those special individuals were retreating downward at full speed; as long as they followed the marks, they could find out exactly what lay below.
This was the second reason.
The attendant didn't speak this time, merely stabilizing his purple light net once more. He hadn't known about the marking beforehand.
Kraus felled another ghoul, his tone turning heavy.
“As of now, we don't have a single shred of ironclad evidence proving that what is sealed below is an existence within the Forbidden.”
Hearing this, Lu Yuan's heart stirred.
“It's true that the thing can speak human language, but the fact that the Ghost-Dampening Bell works on it means it doesn't exceed Rank 5. If it doesn't exceed Rank 5, it cannot possibly be the actual body of the forbidden existence. At most, it's a byproduct related to the Forbidden.” Kraus's voice sounded exceptionally clear amidst the shrieks of the ghouls.
“Whether we defend the Bronze City or report this to the imperial center is closely tied to this.”
He swept his gaze over everyone present, his bone sword gleaming with green light, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Our current evidence is insufficient, and our deductions are not enough. We must see it with our own eyes, or at least collect relevant proof.”
“Otherwise, are you willing to be buried along with the Bronze City?”
This was his final reason.
Having said his piece, Kraus did not ask for anyone else's opinion.
The Blue Knight pinned a lunging greater ghoul to the ground with her blade. As she withdrew her rapier, she gave Kraus a slight nod. She agreed with his reasoning.
The attendant fell silent for a few breaths. The purple light in his hand grew more condensed, and the net shifted from blocking the cave openings to a fan-shaped barrier pushing forward. His stance was already clear; he had ultimately been swayed by Kraus.
Adrian nodded slightly. The coverage of his holy light began to contract, shrinking in size but becoming much more concentrated.
As for the Great Ascendant, his silver-grey eyes flickered, and the sound of gears turning echoed as his entire mechanical body began marching toward the depths of the passage.
As for Margaret and Lu Yuan, there was no need to say more; both naturally followed Kraus's arrangements unconditionally.
The stances of the seven individuals were rapidly aligned in the brief gaps of battle.
Standing in the very center, Lu Yuan had also made his own calculations.
Kraus's desire to press deeper suited his plans perfectly.
Rate on N.U.
