The runes on the Bronze City walls flared with sudden intensity.
It was not the faint, ghostly shimmer from before, but a blinding burst of bronze light.
The radiance radiated from the walls into the city, surging along the bronze structures on the ground like blood being reinjected into withered veins.
A holy aura swept through the air.
It was a warm, heavy sensation, carrying a certain ancient and solemn power.
It collided head-on with the mutated black clouds in the sky.
The churning black eyes began to spasm.
One by one, they squeezed shut as if scorched by the light.
The bronze light permeated the interior of the black clouds, peeling away the layers of eyes.
The black clouds began to retreat.
Where the light touched, the clouds turned to ash, drifting down and covering the entire Bronze City in a thin layer of black soot.
After a moment, the sky cleared, and the moon hung high once more.
The black clouds had completely dissipated, and those pitch-black eyes had all closed, sinking back into the unseen depths.
Only a faint, lingering scent of char remained in the air.
【Sanity: +2... 39/120】
The holy aura brought back a small amount of Sanity, but only a fraction.
As his Sanity dropped below 40, Lu Yuan's vision began to distort slightly, and small, twisted worms seemed to exist in the air of the Alchemy Workshop.
They meandered and coiled in the air, occasionally passing through buildings and vanishing into stone.
Lu Yuan did not know why his hallucinations took this form.
He merely frowned and averted his gaze.
His eyes drifted over his own shadow.
He realized that what had been a solid shadow now seemed to have something writhing within it.
Lu Yuan focused his mind to look closer, but everything appeared normal.
The grey-white text gave no warning.
'It seems I really did bring something back from the Sea of Knowledge...'
Shaking off the thought, he looked around. A heavy silence filled the Alchemy Workshop, both inside and out.
Everyone was staring toward the inner city.
The bronze light there was slowly receding, like a massive heart finishing a single pulse and returning to stillness.
Lu Yuan stood at the door, his gaze lingering on the horizon for a long time.
This was what it looked like when the Guardian truly took action.
He did not just stand there to intimidate opponents with his presence; he directly rewrote the rules of the battlefield.
A single person had cleared the majority of the ghouls from the entire city.
Lu Yuan glanced down at the numbers at the edge of his vision.
【Sanity: 39/120】
The mutation fluctuations caused by the Guardian's strike had caused him to lose Sanity passively.
Although the holy aura had restored a bit, the net loss was still significant.
Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned back into the Alchemy Workshop.
The Nightwatchers at the door were still in a defensive stance, but the despair in their eyes had faded considerably.
Some were whispering to one another, their voices filled with the relief of survivors.
Others had collapsed onto the floor, finally letting go of the nerves they had kept taut all night.
Lu Yuan looked at the pitch-black scene outside and frowned slightly.
The Guardian had cleared the ghouls on the surface.
But what about the ones underground?
The holes were still there, the fungus mats were still there, and the dense, writhing things covering the walls of the tunnels were still crawling beneath the earth.
This action was more like a temporary measure to stop the bleeding. Moreover, the Bronze City seemed to be affecting the Guardian as well...
Lu Yuan closed the window and returned to his corner to sit down.
The rooms on the second floor had been requisitioned for the wounded, so if he wanted to rest, he had to make do with the chairs on the first floor.
Meanwhile, Glock arranged for two-man rotating watches to prevent any surprises.
The rest of the group stayed inside the Alchemy Workshop to rest.
Some stared at the ceiling, while others gazed out the window in a daze.
The older Nightwatcher from the Seventh Team sat on a cot, his lips moving soundlessly as if reciting a prayer.
It was very quiet outside.
After the Guardian's strike, the shrieking of the ghouls had vanished entirely.
Only the faint hissing of the march lamps and the occasional low conversation from afar broke the silence.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes, trying to get as much rest as possible.
The night passed quickly.
When the first ray of morning light bled over the horizon, the entire Alchemy Workshop outpost fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then, someone let out a long sigh of relief.
In front of Lu Yuan's eyes, the familiar grey-white text appeared right on schedule.
【Sanity: +12... 51/120】
The effect of Guard remained stable; as long as he rested properly, he could recover a fixed amount.
At this rate, it would still take nearly a month to reach rank 2.
As the darkness receded, a carriage pulled up outside the Alchemy Workshop.
Two Nightwatchers climbed out, carrying four small wooden crates and a leather bag.
"Lu Yuan? These are for you."
"That's me."
"Miss Laurina had us deliver these. She said you would know how to use them."
After speaking to him, the two Nightwatchers shouted to the rest of the outpost.
"Everyone, come help move your supplies!"
Lu Yuan moved the wooden crates to the side and opened them.
The first box contained potions.
There were six bottles of Sanity recovery potion, each with a handwritten label from Laurina.
Three were marked as perfect, and three as excellent.
The second box contained healing potions and anti-pollution potions, four of each.
The third box held a row of small, sealed iron canisters.
Lu Yuan unscrewed one lid, and a familiar oily scent hit his nose.
It was refined sandworm oil, packaged in small vials for field use. Each canister could burn for about three days, and there were eight in total.
The fourth box contained ammunition.
It was more silver-plated bullets, four boxes in total.
Inside the leather bag was a letter.
Laurina's handwriting was clean and sharp.
"The potions were made using materials from headquarters. The quality isn't as good as the equipment in the Alchemy Workshop; I only managed to produce three perfect ones."
"I spared some sandworm oil for you. I'm using the rest to refine a potion that you should find useful. By the way, your Sanity is likely very low, so remember to drink a perfect Sanity potion..."
The letter was not signed.
Lu Yuan looked at the lines of text, his gaze pausing for a moment.
It was obvious that Laurina had rushed to make these at headquarters using unfamiliar equipment.
To produce only three perfect bottles at such a failure rate meant she had likely stayed up all night.
Lu Yuan folded the letter and tucked it into his inner pocket.
Then he picked up a bottle of perfect Sanity potion, uncorked it, and drank it in one go.
【Sanity: +10... 61/120】
His Sanity recovered significantly, enough for him to continue.
He did not drink a second bottle.
Laurina had mentioned that there must be at least a six-hour interval between doses of perfect quality potions.
Lu Yuan organized the potions and supplies, distributing some of the potions to the members of his own team.
When the Nightwatchers in his team took the vials, they looked at Lu Yuan in surprise.
"This medicine... the quality is this high?"
"Don't waste it," Lu Yuan said, patting one on the shoulder.
Just as the other Nightwatchers were collecting their supplies, Glock arrived with new orders.
"The branch just finished an emergency meeting." He stood in the center of the first floor, signaling for everyone's attention. "The missions have been assigned."
"What are the missions?"
"Two of them." Glock held up two fingers. "First, clear out any ghouls and scavenger ghouls that haven't returned to their nests."
"After the Guardian's strike, the vast majority on the surface have been eliminated. However, a small number are hiding in completely dark interiors or corners where the bronze structures are incomplete. Some places weren't fully covered by the Guardian's power, so we must clear them all out while it is daylight."
"Second, clear the fungus mats. The branch has begun allocating alchemical fire and holy water to be distributed by sector. The fungus mats in the North Ward are extensive, and different teams will be assigned to handle them."
"Furthermore, it is now daytime, and the Guardian has just struck. The activity of the ghouls should be at its lowest. Any lone ones will have almost no combat capability."
At that moment, Bo Er walked over.
"Captain Lu, the eight brothers from last night... they've asked to stay with you."
Lu Yuan did not respond to that directly.
"Departure time?"
"In one hour. We assemble at the branch entrance."
"I understand."
After Bo Er left, Lu Yuan organized his gear.
His revolver was fully loaded with six silver-plated bullets.
He had forty-eight spare rounds on his belt.
He took two canisters of refined sandworm oil.
He carried one excellent Sanity potion, keeping the perfect one to drink in six hours.
He also took two healing potions and one anti-pollution potion.
There was also a fresh supply of alchemical fire powder, but Lu Yuan didn't take it himself, handing it over to Bo Er instead.
An hour later, at the branch entrance.
Eight grey-cloaked Nightwatchers were lined up, far better equipped than they had been the previous night. Two red iron canisters marked with the symbol for alchemical fire hung from their waists.
Some also carried canvas bags filled with bottles of holy water and alchemical fire powder.
Bo Er saw Lu Yuan and gave a nod.
"Captain Lu, everyone is here."
"Move out!"
At Lu Yuan's command, the Ninth Team set out once again.
On the way from the branch to the North Ward, Lu Yuan saw the full extent of what had happened the night before.
Blood.
There was blood everywhere.
On the streets, the walls, the doors, and the window frames.
Some of it had already dried into dark brown stains.
Some was still wet, gleaming with an unnatural sheen in the sunlight.
The first street wasn't too bad. There were scattered bloodstains and signs of fighting, with the occasional broken lamp cover or shell casing.
But the further they walked into the North Ward, the more horrifying the traces became.
One wall had massive claw marks, five parallel grooves carved from the base to the eaves.
At the end of the claw marks was a large pool of dried blood, with scraps of cloth and fragments of leather boots scattered around the edges.
There were no bodies, however; they had clearly been dragged away.
The door to a textile workshop had been smashed open, the hinges snapped, and half the wooden door lay slanted on the ground.
The bloodstains from the doorway stretched ten meters down the street.
Someone had tried to escape, but they hadn't made it.
There was something else on the ground as well.
Pools of dark brown pus were scattered throughout the streets. Some had begun to dry, their edges turning black and emitting a pungent, acrid stench.
These were the marks left by the Guardian's power; every pool of pus had once been a living ghoul.
Further ahead, fungus mats began to appear on the ground.
A pale green membrane spread along the cracks between the paving stones, its edges already yellowing and curling in the sunlight.
The daytime sun and the bronze ground were slowly killing them.
But it was clear that this speed was far from enough.
"Start clearing," Lu Yuan said at the sight.
Bo Er took the lead, unscrewing a canister and pouring alchemical fire powder over the thickest area of the fungus mats.
He then struck a match.
Fwoosh—
The alchemical fire burned with a blue-white flame, possessing a faint holy attribute. It produced no thick smoke but burned at a much higher temperature.
The fungus mats shriveled violently the moment they touched the flames, sizzling as their edges charred and curled, peeling away from the bronze floor in sheets.
The cleared ground revealed the corroded bronze structures beneath.
There were black pits; some were only skin-deep, while others were deep enough to fit a finger into.
"The corrosion is severe," Bo Er muttered, crouching to look closer, his brow furrowed.
"Yes," Lu Yuan agreed, also frowning at the scene.
Fortunately, the runes on the Bronze City were primarily inscribed on the massive walls separating the inner and outer cities.
The team pushed forward along the street, clearing as they went.
In some places, the fungus mats were thin and vanished with a single burn.
In others, they were thick and required repeated scorching.
Upon entering the heart of the North Ward, Lu Yuan stopped.
At the edge of his vision, the grey-white text flashed.
【Environmental Perception: Faint source of pollution detected...】
Lu Yuan signaled for the team to halt.
He looked around and saw a faint, almost invisible black mist swirling in front of a two-story textile worker dormitory.
The windows here were intact, and the door was closed.
From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"There is something in that building," Lu Yuan whispered.
Bo Er's hand immediately went to the weapon at his waist. "How many?"
"Likely just one."
As Lu Yuan finished speaking, two melee Nightwatchers stepped forward, their copper swords unsheathed.
One stood guard at the door while the other kicked it open.
The interior was dark, the curtains drawn, with only a small patch of light from the doorway illuminating the floor.
Nothing could be seen, but the smell was unmistakable.
It was a stench of blood and rot mixed with an acrid decay.
As the door was kicked open, the black mist in Lu Yuan's vision intensified instantly.
"Second floor, on the left."
The wooden stairs creaked under their weight.
The second-floor hallway was short. The door on the left was slightly ajar, and a thicker stench of rot seeped through the gap.
The Nightwatchers exchanged a glance and kicked it open.
A ghoul was curled in the corner.
It did not pounce, nor did it even hiss.
It was huddled in a ball, its limbs tucked in, its split maw clamped shut with its three layers of teeth ground together.
It was currently shivering.
A localized aura of extreme evil clung to it; it was the lingering power of the Guardian.
The ghoul's grey-red flesh membrane was covered in charred black spots, the edges of which were slowly curling.
"Finish it."
A copper sword pierced the back of its head.
With a dull thud, the ghoul's body convulsed once and then went completely still.
Lu Yuan walked over and knelt beside the corpse.
Grey-white text appeared at the edge of his vision:
【Target Detected: Ghoul】
【Status: Deceased. Large areas of surface tissue necrotic due to prolonged exposure to bronze environment and eerie ripples. Faint activity remains in internal organs.】
【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +0.1... 11.5/100】
It had increased.
Unlike his previous observations of living ghouls, this corpse provided new information regarding how the eerie ripples destroyed the ghoul's physical structure.
Clearly, these eerie ripples were the power of the Guardian.
Lu Yuan was intensely curious about this power.
More importantly, this might be an opportunity to increase his Forbidden Lore and Sanity.
"Mark the location of this corpse. Have someone collect it later."
Bo Er was surprised. "Collect it?"
"Bring it back to the branch." Lu Yuan stood up, his tone flat. "The Guardian's power left traces inside them. These traces will dissipate over time. If we preserve them now, we can use them later to study the structural weaknesses of the ghouls."
Bo Er thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Understood."
Over the next two hours, the team cleared the fungus mats from four streets and found two more lone ghouls.
All were hiding in windowless rooms, all had been weakened to the point of being unable to move, and all were killed with a single blow.
Lu Yuan examined them as well.
The second one had almost the same characteristics as the first, and the grey-white text did not appear again.
But the third one was different. It was larger, and there were obvious signs of secondary growth on its flesh membrane.
【Target Detected: Ghoul (Metamorphosis Individual)】
【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +0.1... 11.6/100】
Individuals at different stages provided new information.
Lu Yuan had Bo Er mark all three corpses.
"Recover them all."
In the afternoon, the team returned to the Alchemy Workshop.
Six hours had passed.
Lu Yuan drank his second bottle of perfect quality Sanity potion.
【Sanity: +10... 71/120】
He stood by the window, looking out at the street.
The sunlight was bright.
But the city was in a terrible state.
Every wall he could see was stained with blood, and every alley showed signs of something being dragged through it.
Pools of dried pus dotted the ground, marking where ghouls had died.
Occasionally, a Nightwatchers patrol team would pass by, their footsteps heavy and weary.
The residents who were lucky enough to survive peeked timidly out from their buildings, took a single look outside, and then retreated back into the shadows.
In the distance, someone was crying.
The sound was intermittent, and it was impossible to tell where it was coming from.
Rate on N.U.
