Immediately after, the nun pushed her hands forward.
Imprisonment and Weakness—two greyish-white light chains flew toward Wolf.
The moment the light chains touched Wolf’s body, they instantly ignited.
White-hot furnace fire erupted from all over Wolf.
Imprisonment and Weakness were reduced to ashes like paper, shattering simultaneously.
The nun took a step back, her expression changing slightly.
Lu Yuan saw it.
Amidst the flames burning on Wolf’s body, within the dark red furnace fire, there was a faint trace of greyish-green.
Beside them, Heinrich moved.
The holy light on his armor surged. Golden-white light poured from his breastplate and bracers as he rushed in front of Wolf. He didn't use his sword, instead slamming a fist into Wolf's abdomen.
Bang!
The fist, carrying the weight of the holy light, struck true.
Wolf’s body arched slightly.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he straightened up.
His face was expressionless, showing no sign of pain. He simply struck Heinrich’s chest with his palm.
Bang!
Heinrich was sent flying. The holy light on his armor flickered repeatedly in the air as he slammed into the wall, denting the copper plates.
Bang!
The sound of a gunshot rang out.
Bo Er had switched to copper slugs in his short-shotgun and fired without the slightest hesitation, hitting Wolf’s calf at point-blank range. A mist of blood immediately exploded.
Wolf’s leg buckled, and he fell to one knee.
Blood poured from his pant leg, but the flames on his body grew even more intense.
Bo Er’s expression shifted. His muzzle was still aimed at Wolf, but his finger didn't pull the trigger again.
After all, Wolf was still technically a companion.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan knew that if even a short-shotgun could be resisted, and with the man not making a sound, he would have to use an item to take him down without killing him.
Lu Yuan decisively pulled out the Sealing Disc, pressing his thumb against the first dark red crystal while injecting spirituality.
【Sanity: -1... -1... 115/120】
After dropping five points in a row, the Sealing Disc finally activated.
The dark red crystal erupted with a blinding light.
An invisible ripple enveloped an area of about ten meters. Within this space, all transcendent activity was suppressed.
The nun’s blessing domain collapsed instantly.
Her whole body swayed, and she braced her hand against the wall.
The white-hot light on Wolf’s body extinguished as if it had been sucked away. He let out a low groan, clutching his chest as he curled up on the ground. The heat waves were compressed to within half an inch of his skin, unable to be released.
Heinrich’s holy light was also completely suppressed. The golden-white light on his armor went out instantly, but he was the fastest among everyone to recover.
By the time the Sealing Disc’s effect began to fade, Heinrich had already pushed himself up from the wall. His holy light lit up again; though it was only half as strong as before, he was the first to regain the ability to move.
Lu Yuan’s gaze fell upon Wolf.
Greyish-white text emerged.
【Target Detected: Wolf (Believer Pathway)】
【While resisting pollution, he is also undergoing a trial, but he seems to have overestimated himself...】
And at that moment, the greyish-white text suddenly changed.
【Environmental Perception: High-concentration pollution detected approaching...】
Before Lu Yuan could react, Lake had already moved.
His right arm suddenly expanded, the deep grey uniform tearing from within. Beneath it was not muscle or bone, but tangled and twisted grey meat strips, looking like countless worms coiled together.
The bloated worm-arm lunged violently toward Lu Yuan’s side.
Lu Yuan instinctively activated Timekeeper.
He dodged to the side.
【Sanity: -1... 114/120】
But Lake wasn't grabbing him.
Lake’s hand passed through the air half a meter beside Lu Yuan, where space distorted for a moment, like water being struck.
The moment the ripples spread, a figure manifested from the distortion.
It was only for a split second before the figure bounced away, instantly receding and disappearing into the darkness deep within the pipe network.
Seeing this, Lake threw the communication crystal directly to Lu Yuan and no longer hid himself.
The deep grey Nightwatchers robe exploded from within.
The things beneath surged out.
His human features nearly vanished. His short brown hair remained, but everything below his face—his neck, his torso—was replaced by countless twisted grey meat-worms.
These worms writhed and coiled, with dozens of tentacles extending into the air, hissing.
In this state, Lake could no longer be called a human.
It would be more accurate to say he was a mass of worms disguised in human form.
The true face of an Eerie transcendent.
A torrent of meat-worms poured from Lake’s body, chasing after the vanished figure along the pipe network tunnel.
They moved with extreme speed.
Within seconds, they disappeared into the far reaches of the darkness.
The pipe network tunnel fell silent.
The Sealing Disc’s effect faded. The disc was burning hot.
Everyone stood where they were.
Wolf curled on the ground, his breathing rapid.
Heinrich leaned against the wall, his armor dented.
The nun’s face was pale.
Bo Er’s muzzle was pointed forward.
Bolen leaned on his cane, not saying a word.
Lu Yuan looked in the direction where Lake had disappeared.
That thing just now... when did it get so close?
The greyish-white text hadn't given any warning; it only jumped out with a detection at the very moment it was practically pressed against his side.
Lu Yuan stood still, cold sweat soaking through his inner lining.
If something has no pollution, can turn invisible, and I don't stare at its location for a period of time...
The greyish-white text won't find it.
A blind spot in Environmental Perception. The pipe network tunnel was quiet.
The air was thick with the smell of charring.
It was the scent of flesh and leather scorched by furnace fire.
All sound had vanished abruptly after the chaos of the last few dozen seconds, leaving only Wolf’s heavy, ragged breathing coming from the floor.
The Sealing Disc was scalding.
As Lu Yuan stuffed it back into his coat’s inner pocket, the copper surface burned a blister onto his finger.
The luster of the first crystal had completely dimmed, leaving only two with a faint dark red glow.
The white-hot light on Wolf’s body finally died out, and the greyish-green receded as well. The furnace fire patterns on his skin went dark, clearly exhausted.
The man was now huddled on the ground, his breathing rapid.
The wound on his calf from Bo Er’s copper slug was bleeding; dark red blood seeped along the pant leg into the gaps of the copper floor, glistening under the light of the march lamps.
Everyone stood in place.
Wolf going berserk, an unknown entity approaching, and Lake’s true form being exposed.
Three events, stacked together.
For a moment, no one had recovered.
After a brief silence.
The two from the Imperial Iron Guard moved first—the one with the scorched forearm and the one who had been flung against the wall. They struggled to their feet, their first instinct being to move toward Wolf.
The fronts of both their uniforms were scorched by the furnace fire, but neither bothered to look at their own injuries.
Lu Yuan was the first to speak.
“Lake was someone Kraus arranged in secret.”
His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet pipe network tunnel, it was enough for everyone to hear clearly.
“He suspected someone was up to something, so he came to help.”
Lu Yuan didn't explain further.
Bo Er’s muzzle finally lowered, and he let out a sigh of relief. He leaned against the wall and clicked the safety back onto his short-shotgun.
Heinrich stood straight, bracing himself against the copper wall. The dented part of his armor creaked, and his holy light flickered weakly, signaling a partial recovery.
He listened to Lu Yuan’s words, his brow furrowing slightly. He didn't respond, clearly somewhat dissatisfied with Kraus’s arrangement.
The nun stood in the corner, her face paler than before.
“Nun, help treat Wolf’s leg wound,” Lu Yuan said to her.
The nun nodded, not minding the command. She stepped forward, clasping her hands as pale golden blessing light seeped from her fingertips, covering the wound on Wolf’s calf.
As the golden light faded, Wolf’s bleeding stopped.
But it was only stopping the bleeding. The wound on Wolf’s leg still looked horrific. It was clear that if the situation hadn't been controllable, Bo Er would only have needed to swap to silver-plated bullets and aim a little higher.
Wolf could have said goodbye to this world.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan felt a bit relieved and took out the communication crystal Lake had tossed to him before leaving.
Channeling his spirituality, he spoke into it.
“Glock, Lu Yuan reporting.”
A few seconds later, Glock’s voice came through, intermittent and clearly affected by the strong interference near the copper pillar.
“...Copy, go ahead.”
“Wolf went berserk; he has been suppressed but is heavily injured. At the same time, an unknown entity appeared in the pipe network and is being pursued by Lake. Preparing to evacuate.”
The crystal was silent for two seconds.
Glock’s voice rang out again:
“Evacuation approved. A support team is already on the way. Return along the original path to meet at the relay point.”
He paused.
“Stay safe.” Lu Yuan put away the communication crystal.
Bolen had also finally figured out the current situation.
“This copper pillar won't have any problems for the time being. We can leave it for now.”
“Right. Retreat!”
Lu Yuan led the team to prepare for evacuation, his gaze falling once more on Wolf.
Greyish-white text emerged.
【Target Detected: Wolf (Believer Pathway) (Furnace Transcendent) (Heavily Injured) (Advancing)】
【A person of faith who has completed the ?? trial. Relying on his tenacious will and great strength, he has met Him’s challenge and is currently advancing.】
Lu Yuan’s movements paused for a split second.
‘A trial? Advancing?’
‘That wasn't a loss of control just now. It was a trial?’
Lu Yuan looked down at Wolf’s face.
‘It seems we might have misunderstood something... But his trial actually involved letting hyphae enter his body? Shouldn't those things have become pure pollution the moment the core died?’
As Lu Yuan was thinking, the two Imperial Iron Guard soldiers had already hoisted Wolf up by his arms. The one with the scorched forearm draped Wolf’s arm over his shoulder while the other supported his waist, the two of them working in perfect synchronization.
Wolf’s head hung low, his breathing slowly stabilizing. It was clear his condition was gradually recovering.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan was just about to turn around.
Something flashed through his mind.
‘Wolf was infected by hyphae in the North Ward pipe network. He was back on the surface for several days without any reaction.’
‘But as soon as he entered the pipe network and got close to the copper pillar, he suddenly went berserk.’
‘Why?’
He looked back at the space where the copper pillar stood.
Under the light of the march lamps, the dark golden inscription patterns on the surface of the copper pillar were flowing slightly.
‘There was a hyphae core beneath that copper pillar in the North Ward.’
‘What about beneath this copper pillar?’
‘Could there be one here too? Just one that hasn't fully grown yet?’
“Wait!”
Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks.
He turned back decisively.
Everyone looked at him.
Lu Yuan didn't explain. He walked quickly back into the space where the copper pillar was located.
He crouched down, his gaze scanning the ground repeatedly.
The base of the copper pillar, the seams in the floor—Lu Yuan didn't miss any spot where there might be a rift.
Just as Lu Yuan was speculating whether his judgment was wrong.
The greyish-white text emerged once again.
Rate on N.U.
