Lu Yuan seized the opportunity to activate Timekeeper once more, moving along the edge of the battlefield.
Every shot he fired hit a vital point with pinpoint accuracy.
Without the protection of the water screens, the power of the enchanted standard revolver increased manifold, especially when facing mutated creatures.
Although the Deep Sea Kin were powerful, they began to retreat step by step under the dual crushing force of the firepower and the transcendents.
Alice swept her war hammer in a wide arc, sending one of the Kin flying.
The creature tumbled several times across the ground, its chest caving in and its ribs shattered.
But it actually survived.
The Kin struggled to its feet, its murky eyes scanning the battlefield before suddenly locking onto a grey-cloaked figure who had not yet had time to mutate.
The next second, it lunged forward.
Before the grey-cloaked figure could even scream, the Kin bit down on their neck, tearing their entire head off in a spray of blood.
The Kin opened its mouth, which split all the way to its ears, and swallowed its companion's head whole.
Then came the arms, the torso...
It was devouring its own kind!
As the flesh entered its belly, the aura surrounding the Kin began to churn violently.
The sunken chest healed at a visible rate, its scales hardened, and its body size expanded by a whole circle.
"Bad!" Mary’s pupils constricted.
"Don’t let them succeed!" Alice bellowed upon seeing this.
The other Kin seemed to receive some kind of revelation and lunged at the grey-cloaked figures who had not yet completed their mutation.
However, Lu Yuan, positioned on the edge of the battlefield, reacted even faster.
Under the enhancement of Timekeeper and Mary's silver halo, bullets cloaked in flame blew the heads off all the cultists who had yet to mutate!
The Kin's plan had failed!
Alice’s mouth curled into a slight arc at the sight.
"Well done!"
Her speed suddenly exploded, and she rushed toward the Kin that had finished eating like a bolt of lightning, her war hammer descending with the force of thunder.
The Kin actually extended its webbed claws, attempting to take the blow head-on!
Boom!
The ground cracked, and the Kin paid a heavy price for its arrogance.
It let out a miserable shriek and collapsed directly to its knees.
But it still struggled, opening its large mouth to snap at Alice's face.
Alice's eyes were cold as she stepped aside to dodge, her war hammer once again crackling with lightning.
Rumble!
The Kin's head exploded instantly, its massive body slumping onto the ground like a pile of mud.
However, the cost was a gash on Alice’s arm from the creature's sharp claws.
Seeing that the tide had turned, the last few Kin let out unwilling roars, preparing for a final desperate struggle.
"Retreat!"
A command echoed from somewhere unknown.
The remaining Kin immediately broke away from the fight and vanished into the night.
The Nightwatchers did not pursue; they simply had no strength left.
The battle was finally over.
The Nightwatchers did not rest but quickly began clearing the battlefield and counting their casualties.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Team, which had stayed to guard the base, quickly fanned out to ensure no members of the Deep Sea Church were lying in ambush nearby.
Deaths: five.
Heavily injured: twelve.
Lightly injured: almost everyone.
This was the price the Nightwatchers paid to hold off this wave of attack.
Lu Yuan finally deactivated Timekeeper.
【Sanity: 29/71】
【Sanity III: +1, 3/71】
After this battle, Lu Yuan’s Sanity experience had, quite rarely, increased by one point.
Once his Sanity reached level three, the difficulty of obtaining experience for it had jumped to a much higher tier.
At this moment, however, Lu Yuan only felt dizzy.
Wave-like patterns began to manifest before his eyes, and the world seemed to twist.
Clearly, these were hallucinations caused by the depletion of his Sanity.
Shaking his head vigorously, Lu Yuan took out the Holy Water Cup from his coat, poured water into it, and after a flash of light, downed it in one gulp.
【Sanity: +3...+3..+2..37/71】
Lu Yuan had used up all of the Holy Water Cup’s conversion effects for the day in one go.
His Sanity finally recovered to a relatively stable level, and the hallucinations before his eyes gradually faded.
Lu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.
However, that sensation of being watched from the deep sea remained lingering and wouldn't go away.
Alice put away her person-sized hammer and walked over, scanning him from head to toe.
"So you’re the new consultant?"
Her gaze fell on the revolver in Lu Yuan’s hand, then flicked to the corpses of the Kin with their heads blown off on the battlefield.
Her lips curved up slightly. "Not bad, you’ve got some real skill."
Lu Yuan nodded as a response.
He really didn't have the energy to speak right now.
As the Nightwatchers were cleaning the battlefield, footsteps approached from outside the base.
Old Morgan returned with a few others.
He was covered in blood, his iconic black greatcoat was in tatters, and a deep claw mark ran down his face.
Blood flowed down his cheek, making him look quite disheveled.
However, the scent of blood emanating from him indicated that whatever had attacked him had not met a pleasant end.
Mary was surprised to see Old Morgan return in such a state. "Old Morgan, you were attacked?"
Old Morgan panted heavily, plopping down on the steps.
"Was the base attacked as expected? The Ascension Society was attacked as well; many died, and even an alchemist was ambushed, their laboratory blown to pieces."
He paused before continuing, "The High Priest who came from the Holy Church was also ambushed. I was worried about the base, so I rushed back and dealt with a few pieces of trash along the way."
"The timing of the Deep Sea Church's attack was perfect. They arrived basically right after you left," Mary said as she checked her wounds.
"Could it be that they knew about your meeting?"
Old Morgan shook his head.
"It’s unlikely. The base’s defenses weren’t activated, and even a Prophet couldn't see through those defenses to peer into the future."
"Captain Mary! Emergency telegram from the inner city!"
In the middle of their conversation, a Nightwatcher ran over anxiously.
"The inner city district came under attack! Although the garrisoned army held off the assault, the Viscount is furious. He is now demanding that Captain Old Morgan attend a meeting immediately."
Everyone was stunned.
They attacked three major factions and even the inner city at the same time???
How did they do it? How meticulous must their plan have been to hide such a large force right under everyone's noses?
Upon hearing this news, a cold light flashed in Old Morgan’s murky eyes. "It seems the rats hiding in the shadows couldn't sit still anymore!"
He then gave Lu Yuan a meaningful look.
Clearly, Old Morgan had reason to suspect that it was precisely Lu Yuan's Strange Dreams that had forced the Deep Sea Church to move their plans forward prematurely.
Based on the intensity of the offensive on the field, they could have done much better, but they had clearly rushed, eagerly exposing themselves to launch an indiscriminate attack on all of Gelimu Port's combat-ready forces.
Whatever their goal was, the Nightwatchers had at least been severely wounded...
Lu Yuan finally recovered a bit of strength and spoke up. "Old Morgan, Lawson came to see me this afternoon."
Old Morgan turned to look at him.
"He is also infected by the Strange Dreams, but he used them to step onto a transcendent pathway. He claims to have been chosen as a priest of the Deep Sea Church," Lu Yuan continued. "He warned me that this attack is only the beginning."
"Also, most of the people on the Iron Whale have become 'nutrients'."
After hearing this, Old Morgan's blood-stained face took on a solemn expression.
Finally, Old Morgan stood up, brushed the dust off his coat, and whispered, "It seems the storm has truly arrived."
He remained silent for a moment before he began issuing orders.
"Everyone, head into the base to treat your wounds."
"Alice, increase the guard; send out all the scouts."
"Mary, compile a detailed list of the casualties. I’ll change my clothes and go meet the Viscount."
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