Soon, Huai Shi, armed with an automatic rifle and wearing a gas mask, was kicked off the vehicle. He followed the burly men of the Sublimators Suppression Troops into the manor, which still had flames burning in places.
All around, a swath of white met the eye.
In the desolate ruins, amidst burnt ashes, the remains of enormous monsters were constantly visible. Whether it was scales still retaining a terrifying hardness or the savage skeletons... they looked as if they had come straight from Hell, in a bizarre form that natural evolution couldn't possibly produce.
Besides that, only a deadly silence remained in the manor.
The further Huai Shi advanced, the colder his heart became—What the hell were these bastards hiding here? Even now, streams of black gas continued to rise slowly from beneath the white ashes, dissolving into the air.
The robust soldiers in gas masks also seemed unable to withstand the pressure here. Many grew weak-kneed, stumbled, and fell, only to be quickly dragged away by their teammates for emergency medical treatment.
But Huai Shi seemed completely unfazed.
He didn't feel any discomfort; on the contrary, his mind was exceptionally clear, and his body's reaction speed and perception were becoming sharper.
"Abyss sediment. This place has been transformed into a feeding ground. The concentration of Abyss sediment here is even higher than at the Border."
In response, Ai Qing said through the communication link, "Appropriate pressure can accelerate the operation of your Soul, similar to diving. But for ordinary people without a forged Soul, these sediments are potent poison. Cultists are particularly fond of this kind of trick."
"Uh..."
Huai Shi raised his rifle, carefully watching his surroundings. "What exactly are they trying to pull off?"
"Who knows? They probably want to go big," Ai Qing replied calmly. "Once the main force enters, they would use the God-given Engraved to elevate the depth here, like stuffing us into something's stomach. The black gas you see is akin to stomach acid, slowly digesting us..."
A chill ran down Huai Shi's spine. He tucked his neck in, growing even more vigilant.
Although the Special Affairs Department's power was vast, they were still within the establishment and faced many inconveniences—they could only resort to rounds of mortar fire in situations like this. Even with terrorists, who could have imagined that there would be a lame woman in the decision-making echelons who would fire missiles at the slightest disagreement?
This is still domestic territory, for crying out loud! What are you doing?
Not just the allies, even the spirits of those unfortunate souls would probably be utterly confused.
Fortunately, Ai Qing's heaven-sent justice and the subsequent White Phosphorus Incendiary Bombs had thoroughly cleansed the ground; now, not even a live insect could be found in the manor.
Even if any worthless remnants hadn't been blasted or burned to death, they would have had their lungs ravaged by the poison gas and collapsed.
In the innermost part of the ruins, Huai Shi saw a body that could only be described as ferocious. It seemed to have been within the destruction radius when the missile exploded. Half its body was charred and mangled, yet it hadn't died on the spot but had struggled to escape.
Then it was swallowed by a White Phosphorus Incendiary Bomb that rained from the sky, burned alive by the flames that clung like maggots to bone, leaving behind a twisted mass of char.
One could vaguely make out a face reminiscent of a beast.
The half-charred, half-shattered face revealed a fragmented skull resembling that of a monkey, with large, sharp teeth, which crumbled into two pieces with a simple tap of the rifle barrel.
Though there was science, and there was Divine Power, facts had shown that Divine Power still couldn't beat science.
While it was unclear what stage Sublimator it was, or what bizarre Stigma it possessed, in the Current Circumstances, it couldn't withstand the oppression of the iron flood.
It's said that in the Old Magic Era, things weren't like this. But with the successive establishment of the three major blockades of the Current Circumstances, the difficulty for Sublimators to wreak havoc in the Current Circumstances has only increased.
As for the details, Raven said he would tell Huai Shi after he officially received his Stigma. But until then, nothing more had been mentioned voluntarily—probably some sort of hidden secret.
After Huai Shi did one final sweep for any hidden dangers, he waved. A few soldiers in hazmat suits carrying large boxes came over. They briskly tossed the body into a box, sealed it, and took it away.
The remains of Sublimators also hold value; even burned to a char, one might still be able to extract some remnants of a Stigma, and an autopsy might directly reveal their identity.
Unfortunately, the incineration from the Incendiary Bomb was too thorough; the body crumbled into pieces with a touch.
Impossible to piece back together.
Huai Shi continued forward, but after taking two steps, he sensed something off. He retreated to his original spot, bending down to sift through the still-warm ashes on the ground.
Through the ashes whose residual warmth hadn't yet dissipated, he saw a hint of metallic luster. As he dug further, he made out the outline of steel.
It was a Dagger.
Its guard was melted and deformed by the heat, and the cord wrapping on the hilt was almost completely carbonized, but the blade itself remained intact, covered only in a layer of black char.
It was about forty centimeters long and five centimeters wide, with a single-edged blade. The style resembled some kind of ceremonial artifact used in rites, but Huai Shi found it surprisingly well-balanced when he tried a few practice slashes; it seemed to be more than just for show.
He weighed it in his hand and felt it was no ordinary item.
"It's a Border Relic, you know," chimed Raven's voice, suddenly materializing as if from nowhere near Huai Shi's ear. "It should be an excavation from Hell, depth 7 to 8. Judging by the style, it's a Sacrificial Knife used for live sacrifices by the Tenochtitlan Empire—good stuff, eh!"
Hidden in the shadows, Raven peeked at him secretively, his small eyes blinking. "Think you can find a way to pocket it on the sly?"
"...Where did you spring from? And what the hell are you thinking?!" Huai Shi asked through the Book of Fate. "There are people watching from behind; where would I even hide it?"
"Isn't ninja-looting gear in a party pretty common?" Raven shrugged. "Also, watch your back."
In that instant, a biting wind howled—a Space Break—as something tore through the air.
A chill raced up from the back of his neck.
Huai Shi didn't hesitate; he parried behind him with the Sacrificial Knife. With a sharp, loud BANG, he was almost sent flying by the tremendous force.
Fortunately, he was no longer the novice he once was. Mid-air, he somersaulted, landed on his feet, and faced behind him.
Then, he saw a figure slowly materializing out of thin air.
The first thing he noticed was thick blood dripping from its charred husk. As the muscles moved, countless tiny, fresh red cracks burst open on the skin that had been burned pitch-black.
Immediately after, he saw numerous pieces of charred skin slowly peel off.
It was like a snake shedding its skin, breaking free from its old shell and death and embracing rebirth.
In the midst of painful spasms, the burned dead skin fell off bit by bit, but it seemed the new skin hadn't yet had the chance to grow, revealing only a mangled, bloody, and twisted visage.
And those resentful eyes.
Huai Shi sucked in a sharp breath.
"Bro, need me to call an ambulance for you?"
Though he said that, his body was already moving; dropping the Sacrificial Knife, he lifted his automatic rifle and opened fire with a RAT-TAT-TAT.
Within ten meters, he maintained precise recoil control, emptying a magazine in a few seconds. Then, he skillfully pulled out a new one from the Quick Reaction Vest on his lower back, changed the magazine one-handed, and continued with another RAT-TAT-TAT.
Who was he kidding? If I don't shoot, am I supposed to wait for that thing to close in and slash me up instead?
Huai Shi had no confidence in going toe-to-toe with a being strong enough to survive incendiary bombs—could he really win? Better to shoot first... After training with the Book of Fate, Huai Shi wouldn't dare call himself a king of marksmen, but he was no longer the rookie who didn't even know how to control recoil. The one-handed magazine change he'd crammed for this morning nearly made the eyeballs of the Suppression Troops behind him pop out.
Chang Wei, and you still claim you don't know martial arts!
The moment Huai Shi pulled the trigger, the eerie figure tried to dodge. It was probably caught off guard by Huai Shi's quick response, not even bothering with the Border Relic in its hand. Seeing Huai Shi drop something, it instinctively lunged forward, trying to reclaim the weapon.
But bullets are always faster than people. In an instant, twenty steel-core bullets riddled it, turning it into a bloody mess, and strangely colored green blood splattered everywhere.
While Huai Shi was reloading, the figure had already scrambled and rolled behind a broken wall in the ruins.
The brawny men of the Suppression Troops weren't just standing around. Though stunned at first, they quickly reacted and unleashed a storm of bullets, nearly turning that half-wall into a sieve.
With his magazine reloaded, Huai Shi found a moment to pick up the Border Relic from the ground again and casually slipped it into his vest. Without hurrying to check the results behind the wall, he took a few "iron potatoes"—grenades—from a comrade's pouch, pulled the pins, waited for the right moment, and heaved them over.
Before the sound of the explosions, a shadow bolted out from behind the broken wall with a piercing howl, charging straight at Huai Shi.
BANG!
Huai Shi instinctively executed Drawing Sword to block, only to feel the knife in his hand snap at the center. Using the momentum, he fell backward, feeling something cold graze his face, chilling him to the bone.
It was a sharp bone spur.
The chaotic gunfire stopped abruptly. The soldiers who had been closing in suddenly grew weak at the knees, collapsing to the ground as if drained of strength.
Even through the gas mask, Huai Shi could still smell a sweet, sickening scent, and his vision blurred.
Poison!
He threw a handful of Apocalypse, forcing the figure back. As he got to his feet, he felt a wave of weakness.
Only now did he get a clear look at the newcomer's true face.
After surviving missile bombardments and White Phosphorus Incendiary Bombs, the person looked as though they had shed a layer of skin. The new flesh faintly showed a layer of pink scales, and three strange horns, each a different color, grew on their forehead.
What the hell!
"Don't wimp out, get 'em!" Raven's voice rang in his ears, encouraging him. "The Stigma of the Crying Snake is only Second Stage. It survived only because its Soul Ability makes it a little tougher. That poison is nothing compared to what I feed you every day!"
Just shut the hell up, will you?! And what exactly *are* you feeding me every day?! Huai Shi fumed internally.
There was no time to berate that treacherous creature. The Sublimator with the Crying Snake Stigma lunged at him again, its bone spur thrusting straight for his throat with lethal precision and astonishing speed... yet its stance was almost laughably inept.
Dude, are you even serious?
Huai Shi easily dodged the Thrust Attack. Swiftly performing Drawing Sword, he retrieved the Sacrificial Knife tucked at his chest, flipping it in mid-air to hold it in a reverse grip, and stabbed downward.
As their figures crossed, before Huai Shi could stabilize himself, he heard a ghastly scream from behind.
From shoulder to lower back, the Sacrificial Knife had carved a huge gash into the Crying Snake's body, revealing the color of the bone beneath.
When the Sacrificial Knife tasted blood, the layer of charcoal on it seemed to wash away, exposing the Bronze beneath.
The flowing blood seemed to be absorbed by the blade, converging on the edge and writhing like living tendrils. Meanwhile, the wound it inflicted didn't bleed at all, instead withering as if it were dry, split wood.
It looked sinisterly terrifying.