Vanguard

The streets of the North Ward were narrower than other parts of the outer city, which also meant they were more dangerous.

On both sides were low textile workshops and warehouses, their walls blackened by years of dye and smoke stains that had seeped deep into the brick joints.

During the day, this was the territory of workers, but at night, almost no one could be seen.

Now, it was even more desolate.

This was not necessarily a bad thing, at least the team's progress would not be interrupted by people suddenly appearing.

At this moment, the electric streetlights on both sides of the street were lit.

However, the light could only cover a small range.

Deep within the alleys on either side, there was still nothing but patches of pitch black.

The team's speed slowed down.

This was because the two Nightwatchers scouting ahead raised their fists simultaneously.

Stop advancing.

Lu Yuan's footsteps stopped immediately.

The eight people behind him stopped at the same time.

The surroundings were quiet.

There were only the distant gunshots and the creaking sound of the wind blowing across the eaves.

Then, Lu Yuan heard it.

Sss— Sss—

The sound was very light.

It sounded like the strange noise something makes when it is being scorched.

And the sound was coming from more than one direction.

Deep in the alley to the left, above the eaves to the right, and at a dark corner ahead where there were no lights.

"Surrounded! On alert!"

Lu Yuan barked in a low voice.

At the edge of his vision, the greyish-white text was still flickering.

【Environmental Perception: Massive amount of weak pollution sources... Continuous detection in progress... It is recommended to stay away.】

It was exactly the same as before.

It had not changed.

That was the problem.

When the number of pollution sources reached a certain level, Environmental Perception would no longer show specific positions and quantities.

Only a vague "massive amount" remained.

In other words, in this kind of environment, Environmental Perception was almost useless.

Sss— Sss—

The sound was getting closer.

Bo Er did not wait for Lu Yuan to give the order.

He reached under his grey robe and pulled out a short-barreled firearm. The barrel was thick and short, and the silver muzzle reflected a cold light under the streetlights.

A silver-plated short-shotgun.

Almost at the same time, the Nightwatchers on the left flank and the rear also pulled out similar weapons.

Three muzzles pointed in three different directions.

Sss...

Something moved in the darkness.

At the same time, Bo Er pulled the trigger.

An explosive gunshot erupted in the narrow alley. The silver-plated pellets spread out in a fan-shaped barrage, tearing a hole in the darkness at the entrance of the left alley.

The firearms on the left flank and the rear followed suit.

Three directions opened fire simultaneously.

The dense rain of silver bullets covered the dark areas on both sides of the street in a flash of fire.

Something was hit.

Not just one.

Several of them stumbled out of the darkness, falling onto the edge of the streetlight's glow.

Lu Yuan saw them clearly.

They were not human.

Their bodies were similar in size to humans, but they moved on all fours with their backs arched upward. Every segment of their spine protruded high, looking like a row of misaligned gears.

They had no skin.

Or rather, their skin had merged with their muscles, becoming a layer of damp, greyish-red membrane.

It was so thin that the veins pulsing underneath could be seen.

Their heads were the most striking part.

They had no eyes.

The area above the brow bone was a smooth fleshy membrane, and all other facial features except for the mouth were fused together.

But their mouths were open.

They were split from the lower jaw all the way down to the chest.

The entire lower half of the face flipped open to both sides, revealing three layers of overlapping teeth of varying lengths.

Viscous liquid hung from every tooth, pulling into thin, long threads in the light.

Ghouls.

The areas hit by the silver bullets were smoking, and the greyish-red muscles were curling outward, but they were still not dead and were still struggling desperately.

The ground, which contained cast bronze, was constantly corroding their bodies.

But the ghouls still dragged their broken forelimbs, using their remaining three legs to crawl toward the direction where the light was weakest.

Bo Er's reaction was faster than Lu Yuan expected.

"Close combat team, go!"

Before his voice had even faded, two grey-cloaked figures had already cut out from the sides of the formation.

Their shortswords were a bit longer than the standard issue, with a faint copper plating on the blades.

The first man's positioning was extremely precise, a horizontal slash cutting right into the center of the ghoul's arched back.

The moment the copper sword touched its body, the muscles around the wound contracted violently, and the pierced tissue let out a sizzling sound.

The ghoul let out a shrill roar, its split mouth snapping shut as three rows of teeth gnashed together like a meat grinder, lunging for the nearest Nightwatcher's calf.

The second man's sword had already fallen.

A silver flash streaked through the air.

The blade sliced through the center of the ghoul's head, splitting it down the middle.

The two halves of the body fell to either side, and a dark brown liquid splashed across the ground.

The remaining few were also dealt with in an instant.

The entire process took less than a minute.

There were no wasted movements and no unnecessary sounds.

This temporarily assembled team performed better in actual combat than Lu Yuan had anticipated.

Bo Er began to reload his ammunition with clean and efficient movements.

"Small numbers are not hard to deal with," he said in a low voice. "But if they come in swarms..."

"Wait a moment."

Lu Yuan interrupted him.

He walked toward the nearest ghoul corpse.

It was not completely dead yet.

The body that had been split in half was still twitching, and its broken claws were unconsciously scratching the ground.

But its movements were slowing down.

To this thing, the bronze material was like a red-hot iron plate.

The dark brown flesh slowly curled under the contact with the copper, the edges charring and blackening as wisps of greyish-white smoke rose from the wound.

Even though it was already dead, the copper was still decomposing its body.

Lu Yuan crouched down.

He did not touch the corpse.

At the edge of his vision, the greyish-white text emerged.

【Target Detected: Ghoul (Absolute Hunger)】

【Status: A twisted species that has not eaten for a long time. The intestinal tract has shriveled, and there is almost no energy reserve in the body. They often serve as a vanguard to scout the way, driven forward to test for threats.】

【Weakness: Holy attribute items】

【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +0.1】

Lu Yuan's expression darkened.

"Absolute Hunger."

He took another look at the ghoul's body.

Looking at it now, many details clicked into place.

Its waist was severely sunken, its ribs were clearly visible, and its intestinal tract was nothing more than a shriveled, thin line.

They were beasts driven by hunger.

They were also suicide soldiers used to test the defenses of Bronze City.

The words "vanguard" had a very clear meaning.

Behind the vanguard, there was a main force.

Lu Yuan stood up.

He looked toward the north.

In that direction lay the collapse point of the North Ward.

Their destination.

It was also the place where these things were pouring out from.

If even the vanguard had already spread this far, then the situation at the collapse point itself was likely dire.

"Pick up the pace."

Lu Yuan's voice was calm.

But Bo Er heard what was behind it.

He did not ask why.

"Regroup! Breakthrough formation, full speed ahead!"

Bo Er's command was crisp and decisive.

The eight grey-cloaked figures instantly tightened their formation, changing from a spread-out defensive array into an arrow-shaped breakthrough queue.

Two close-combatants led the way with copper swords in hand.

Two firearm users followed closely behind, ready to provide covering fire.

The remaining four protected the flanks and the rear.

Lu Yuan was in the center of the queue.

They began to run.

Along the way, a few more ghouls lunged out from the alleys.

But they were quickly dealt with.

Every ghoul left behind shared the same characteristics.

They were so thin they were nothing but skeletons.

Their ribs were distinct.

Their waists were sunken.

They had been starving for a long time.

They were all vanguards.

In the darkness ahead, the scent of decay was growing stronger.