Six fiery trajectories cut through the air simultaneously, flying toward their targets along their predetermined paths.
But the man in grey’s reactions were incredibly fast.
He tilted his body slightly, raising his mechanical arm to block with his metallic forearm.
He took two bullets head-on; sparks flew as they left shallow dents on the metal surface.
As for the four bullets aimed at the body on the floor...
Every one of them hit home.
Yet that woodenized body only swayed slightly.
There was no other movement, and not even a visible wound.
The bullets embedded themselves into the wooden flesh, and the attached flames left a few charred marks on him, burning for a few seconds before quickly flickering out.
"Interesting."
The man in grey’s voice had a metallic, raspy quality, his tone even holding a hint of amusement.
"Being able to complete your shots before I could even move... are there actually talents like this among the Nightwatchers?"
As he spoke, he continued his forward charge.
Raymond’s blade had already slashed out, intercepting the man in grey.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the room.
The man in grey blocked with one hand, using the momentum to throw a fierce punch with the other.
A nearly berserk strength slammed into Raymond’s long blade, the massive force staggering him back several steps.
Raymond’s hand went numb, and his expression shifted slightly.
This guy's strength actually overwhelmed his own, and he was clearly holding back.
Otherwise, if that palm had landed on his body, he would have certainly been injured.
"Farewell."
The man in grey leaned down and grabbed the woodenized body on the floor, effortlessly slinging it over his shoulder.
"Stop him!" Raymond barked.
Karl flanked from the side, his short blade slashing toward the man in grey’s back.
But the black-robed figure moved.
With a mere wave of his hand, an invisible force sent Karl flying, hitting the wall with a dull thud.
Helen’s short-gun barked.
Bang!
The bullet streaked out, but the man in grey simply leaned to the side, letting the bullet graze his coat as it flew past.
The black-robed figure pressed his palm against the wall.
A crack appeared.
It was a secret door.
"It’s time to deal with the evidence as well."
The black-robed figure’s voice was low and devoid of emotion.
He pulled something from his robe and tossed it into the center of the room.
The moment it hit the floor, a blinding light erupted.
Flames surged upward.
They were no ordinary fires.
The flames glowed with an eerie blue-white light, the temperature so terrifyingly high that they instantly incinerated the runes on the floor.
"Retreat!" Raymond shouted.
The six of them scrambled backward.
The fire spread far too quickly—unaturally so.
Those runes, those patterns, and all the evidence they hadn't had time to examine were being reduced to ash in the inferno.
The man in grey carried the woodenized body through the secret door as they retreated.
The black-robed figure followed closely behind.
"Keep up!"
Raymond rushed toward the secret door.
But just as he was about to step through...
The secret door slammed shut, turning back into a solid wall.
And that wall was already being devoured by the blue-white flames.
"Damn it!"
Karl scrambled up from the floor, wanting to rush back and salvage something.
Helen held him back.
"It’s too late."
Her voice was calm, but there was suppressed anger in her eyes.
"Go! This fire isn't normal!"
The six of them retreated from the room and then the house.
Behind them, the entire building had been swallowed by a sea of fire.
The wooden structure crackled in the blue-white flames, burning several times faster than normal.
It would soon be nothing but ash.
All the evidence was going up in smoke.
The group stood in the alley, staring at the burning house with grim expressions.
"Was that... an Eerie?" Amy’s voice trembled slightly. "Was it really an Eerie? Inside the Bronze City?"
No one answered.
Because everyone already knew the answer.
That was indeed an Eerie.
A living Eerie.
Inside the Bronze City.
"How is that possible..." Karl’s face was full of disbelief. "An Eerie shouldn't be able to survive inside the Bronze City! The seal on this city..."
"That is exactly the problem," Raymond said in a low voice.
He stared at the burning fire, his eyes dark.
"Someone has found a way for an Eerie to survive within the Bronze City."
"Or..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
But everyone understood what he meant.
Or the seal of the Bronze City was failing.
Regardless of which possibility it was, both were terrible.
"Let's go back."
Raymond’s voice broke the silence.
"Everything that happened tonight must be reported."
He turned around, his expression even more solemn than before.
"It’s not just a missing persons case anymore."
"It’s also about the Eerie."
The six of them left the alley.
Night had fully descended, and the streets were empty.
Lu Yuan walked at the back of the group, glancing back at the fire that was finishing its incineration of the scene without spreading further.
An Eerie.
The Ascension Society.
The Polymath Tower.
The Sea of Knowledge.
These things were intertwining, forming an increasingly complex web.
And he was already caught in the middle of it.
The night wind blew past, carrying a chill and the acrid smell of burning.
Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze.
The carriage sped through the night.
Behind them, the light from the burning house gradually faded into the distance before finally being swallowed by the darkness.
No one spoke in the carriage.
Helen kept her head down, rapidly recording something in her notebook.
Karl leaned back in his seat with a dark expression, and Raymond stared out the window, lost in thought.
Lu Yuan was also silent.
He looked down at his own hands.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text emerged quietly:
【Sanity: 48/120 (Total Value)】
Tonight had taken quite a toll.
Using his ability at the Baron's manor and then enduring the encounter just now had dropped his Sanity to less than half.
His Sanity still wasn't enough; he needed to find a way to steadily increase his Sanity experience soon.
But none of that was the most important thing.
The most critical issue was the trace of Eerie activity appearing inside the Bronze City.
This meant that this fortress, which had stood upon this land for untold ages, had developed a fatal crack within its interior.
He hoped the Nightwatchers here were prepared.
The carriage traveled quickly and soon returned to the outpost.
The outpost was still lit up deep into the night.
After getting out of the carriage, Raymond walked straight toward the main building.
"Go get some rest first," he said without looking back. "I’m going to report. Also, Lu Yuan, you did well. I’ll need you to continue participating in the follow-up investigation."
"I'm coming with you." Helen closed her notebook and followed him.
Karl yawned and patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder.
"Let's go. Get some sleep first. We’ll talk about everything else tomorrow."
"But I didn't expect you to have such tricks up your sleeve. As expected of a 'legend'!"
Lu Yuan nodded as a response.
His gaze swept over the other carriage.
Ryan and Amy also stepped down, looking exhausted.
"What about you two?" Lu Yuan asked.
"There are some things from the Merchant Association's side that need organizing," Ryan said briefly. "We’ll consolidate everything tomorrow."
Amy waved at him, and the two headed toward the archives on the other side of the outpost.
Lu Yuan stood in place, watching everyone go their separate ways.
An Eerie.
The Ascension Society.
The Polymath Tower.
What exactly lay behind all these things tangled together?
He pulled back his thoughts and turned to leave.
Rate on N.U.
