Several mentors carrying the boxes followed close behind her, retracing their steps.
The grey mist still enveloped them, and the inscriptions dispersed around them, ensuring they encountered no further trouble along the way.
As they stepped out of the area covered by the copper wall, Selena paused.
The four Nightwatchers were still leaning against the wall, completely unconscious. Their breathing was steady, however, meaning they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
Selena glanced at them, let out a helpless smile, and shook her head.
She had no intention of doing anything to them.
Their contract was fulfilled up to this point. Now that The Man on the Wall had called a halt, she was completely off the hook.
They hadn't accomplished anything, but she didn't have to bear any of the consequences either.
“Hurry up. The relief shift will be here soon.”
Selena picked up her box and led the mentors into the darkness of the pipe network layer.
At the top of the Polymath Tower.
The Guardian sat in his original spot, unmoving.
Black threads wrapped around the massive skull layer after layer, so dense that the original bone color was almost completely obscured.
The black eyeballs growing from the threads sat side by side, all staring in the direction where the consciousness of The Man on the Wall had departed.
The Guardian waited, but not for long.
Deep within the skull, the mass of greyish-white mist suddenly surged. The consciousness of The Man on the Wall had returned.
The mist coalesced inside the skull once more, slowly spinning and condensing into the shape of a small head.
The moment it formed, all the black eyeballs snapped their gaze toward it in unison.
The misty face of The Man on the Wall froze.
It saw the threads wrapped around the skull, the eyeballs crowding the surroundings, and the aura currently radiating from the Guardian—all of it pure killing intent.
A brief silence ensued.
The small, greyish-white head floated out from the skull, hovering three paces in front of the Guardian at eye level.
Its misty facial features faced him, but it did not speak.
Neither did the Guardian.
He simply sat there, his white hair draped over his shoulders, as black eyeballs sprouted from his shoulders, chest, and the backs of his hands one by one, all fixated on the small head.
The air at the top of the tower grew so heavy it almost solidified.
The Guardian's eyelids finally fluttered, slowly lifting.
“Where did you go?”
Just four words, spoken quietly, yet the underlying message was crystal clear.
If it could not provide a reasonable explanation, then today would be the end. Neither of them would walk down from this tower alive.
The misty face of The Man on the Wall remained unchanged. It stared at the Guardian for a moment before finally speaking.
“I sensed something.”
Its voice drifted from the mist, as calm as before, though its pace was a fraction faster.
“Beneath the seal of this city lies something of the same origin as myself.”
The Guardian's gaze did not waver, but his fingers twitched slightly.
The Man on the Wall continued.
“Trapped in this vessel, I grow weaker by the day. Since that object shares my origin, if I could obtain and utilize it, perhaps I could alleviate my current plight.”
It paused.
“Thus, taking advantage of the opportunity just now, I dispatched my consciousness to investigate.”
The Guardian did not reply, his gaze locked onto the small head, waiting for what came next.
A slight wrinkle creased the misty face of The Man on the Wall.
“Only upon drawing near did I realize that this object has already birthed its own consciousness. I cannot touch it. Forcing the matter would only trigger a backlash.”
It looked at the Guardian, its voice dropping slightly.
“Therefore, I desisted and retreated.”
Silence fell over the top of the tower once more.
The Guardian's fingers slowly tapped against his knee, once every two breaths.
Every word spoken by The Man on the Wall lined up perfectly.
It had indeed gone to a place beyond the sensory reach of the Bronze City, had indeed not shown its face in any corner of the city, and had indeed not returned any stronger. The explanation held water.
But the Guardian also knew that this entity before him never told the whole truth.
What exactly was this “object of the same origin” it spoke of? When it said it “could not touch it,” did it mean it truly couldn't, or just that it couldn't this time? When it said it “desisted,” was it only for this instance, or had it abandoned the idea entirely?
The Guardian's tapping finger stopped.
He did not press further, because there was one thing the other party had not lied about. There were currently only two places in the Bronze City that could evade his full-power detection: one was the copper wall, and the other was the Abyss.
As for why he didn't keep questioning, the reason was simple: he would have the Nightwatchers investigate. Furthermore, this matter could not simply be brushed aside.
The Man on the Wall seemed to sense that the Guardian did not intend to probe any deeper, and its misty face tilted slightly.
“I have a proposal to discuss.”
The Guardian did not show any reaction.
“The seal of this city is on the verge of collapse.” The voice of The Man on the Wall was flat, stating a fact everyone already knew. “You and I are trapped here. If we continue our internal strife, it will only end in mutual destruction.”
The Guardian still did not speak. He merely listened.
“I am willing to make a covenant,” The Man on the Wall said. “With the battle drawing near, we shall not take advantage of each other. I will offer assistance within my power and will absolutely not cause any other trouble.”
“And after the battle?” the Guardian finally replied.
“We will discuss post-war matters after the war,” The Man on the Wall answered cleanly.
Another silence descended.
The Guardian lowered his head, looking at his hands resting on his knees.
If he continued to waste away with The Man on the Wall, he would only have one opportunity left to strike.
Regardless of whether he could kill his opponent, he would be dragged down with them.
But if they established this covenant and refrained from fighting during the battle, he would instead be able to free up his energy to deal with the external threats.
When the seal collapsed, he would be able to strike more than once.
He raised his head and looked at the small, greyish-white head hovering in front of him.
The misty face of The Man on the Wall was as calm as still water, its features blurry and devoid of any emotion. It simply hovered there, waiting for the Guardian's response.
The Guardian knew there had to be a catch in this transaction.
This Man on the Wall had never made a losing bargain; behind every word lay something left unsaid.
But the current situation left him no room to choose.
“Only for the duration of the war,” the Guardian spoke, his voice deep and muffled. “After the war, everything returns to how it was.”
“Naturally.” The misty face of The Man on the Wall lifted slightly before returning to calm.
The moment they spoke, an ethereal force connected the two of them. The covenant was now in effect.
The air at the top of the tower finally eased slightly.
The black threads of the Guardian slowly loosened their grip on the skull by a few coils, and the densely packed eyeballs closed one by one, retracting into his body.
The small, greyish-white head of The Man on the Wall slowly retreated, sinking back into the massive skull once more.
Two existences that had been locked in a death grip were now forced onto the same side by a city on the verge of collapse.
The Guardian closed his eyes once more.
Silence returned to the top of the tower, as quiet as before, though the fragile tension in the air had dissipated.
The Guardian had also obtained what he wanted. After all, how much worse could the outcome possibly get?
It would be nothing more than death.
Meanwhile, in the underground Abyss.
The silhouette was moving. Before Lu Yuan could even make out its actions, several lines of grey-white text flashed in his mind.
【Environmental Perception: High-level source of pollution detected. Please stay away immediately.】
Right after, a second line popped up.
【Target Detected: ? (Mutated) (Forbidden)】
【An entity mutated and advanced from an unknown object, perhaps the only special individual of its kind in this world.】
Lu Yuan's gaze locked onto the darkness ahead. The grey-white text continued to flash.
【Weakness: Sever the connection with Him.】
The moment he saw the word “Him,” the expression on his face froze.
The grey-white text used the word “Him,” referring to the entity deeper behind this massive silhouette.
The creature before him was merely a puppet pulled by strings from the outside; the true source of its power lay much deeper.
The weakness was written clearly, but how was he supposed to act on it? Sever its connection with Him?
If he had the ability to reach that entity, would he still need to touch the bronze pillars one by one here?
Lu Yuan pushed the text to the back of his mind; he had no time to overthink it.
Because the massive silhouette was already rushing toward them.
Its rising speed was not fast—in fact, it could even be described as slow.
But the moment it stood fully upright, the oppressive aura it radiated caused everyone's breath to hitch.
It was clutching something in its hand.
Adrian's holy light shone from behind the group, barely reaching the lower half of the silhouette.
Lu Yuan could see clearly that it was gripping the carcass of a greater ghoul. Only half of its body remained, the other half missing, but the flesh at the severed edge was still fresh.
Holding the severed carcass, it tilted its head and looked in the group's direction.
In the next instant, it tossed the carcass onto the ground.
It let out a roar, deep and muffled, completely different from the sharp shrieks of the previous ghouls. It sounded more like the bellow of a giant beast.
The ground beneath their feet shook with a dull vibration.
It charged toward them.
Only when it crashed into the area illuminated by the holy light did everyone see its full appearance.
This thing was staggeringly massive.
It was several times taller and dozens of times wider than a normal special ghoul, bloated beyond recognition.
A head that vaguely resembled a human's was embedded at the top of its torso. Two misaligned eyes grew on its face, one above the other, and it had no nose or ears.
A massive mouth gaped open on its belly, its lips curled back to reveal rows of densely packed teeth.
Other than that, it possessed no other organs.
Its entire body was covered in a layer of dark red flesh-membrane, thick and glistening, wrapping tightly around its skin.
Rather than a ghoul, this creature felt more like some entity's crude imitation of a human.
Allen Kraus's gaze froze.
He glanced at the speed of the approaching creature, then at the impenetrable darkness behind it.
If they wanted to go deeper, they would have to get past this obstacle first.
If they turned back now, trying to come down here again in the future would likely be no easier than this attempt.
The afterimages around Allen Kraus emerged once more.
“Go!”
Just a single word, spoken softly, yet everyone heard it clearly. After all, now that they had come this far, telling everyone to retreat would hardly be a good suggestion.
The Blue Knight did not hesitate.
She unslung the silver-white containment sarcophagus from her shoulder and set it on the ground by her feet.
The special individual had already retreated deeper inside. The creature before them was dozens of times larger than the sarcophagus, making it impossible to fit inside, but she could still consider slicing off a few pieces of its flesh.
She drew her rapier as light blue filaments spread from the seams of her armor, instantly enveloping her entire body and forming a set of deep blue armor.
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