If this group of people could be successfully trained, then the camp's foundation would begin to take shape.
The purpose of this evening talk was not only to help everyone get acquainted.
Another important goal was to assess the temperament and capabilities of these individuals.
For now, it looked promising—each person had their own strengths.
As for him…
He excelled at recognizing what others were good at.
...
Just as the conversation was in full swing, the voices suddenly cut off, and the room fell into an eerie silence.
A sense of foreboding instantly gripped everyone's heart.
Chen Fan stood up, walked to the doorway of the shack, pushed open the door, looked at the rapidly encroaching darkness in the distance, and softly said, "It's here."
Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly stripped off his dry clothes, changed into the still-damp hemp garments hanging by the door, grabbed a long spear from the weapon rack nearby, and stepped out into the pouring rain.
Although resources had been relocated from other stations to the camp, clothing was still relatively scarce.
Changing clothes before going out ensured that a dry set remained inside; otherwise, wearing damp clothes all the time would cause a full-body rash.
Crippled Monkey was the first to react.
He quickly changed his clothes, picked up his 『God-Slaying Spear』, and limped out into the rainy night, closely following Chen Fan.
Currently, the camp had too many people, and though it seemed everyone had pledged loyalty to the young master, hearts were hidden behind faces, and nothing was certain.
He needed to stay by the young master's side at all times, lest the young master fall victim to a hidden blade.
The others also quickly changed clothes and rushed out into the rainy night.
...
On the city wall.
Chen Fan and the others, armed with various weapons, stood behind the battlements in the heavy rain, gazing out beyond the camp.
The Perpetual Night had fallen, plunging the entire camp into utter darkness.
Above and all around was an abyss-like blackness.
Only the glow of the Eerie Fire, resembling an eggshell, domed the camp underneath.
All these weapons were what the other station masters had brought along with them. They were ordinary weapons, effective against low-level Eerie Creatures but nearly useless against high-level ones.
However, weapons like the 『God-Slaying Spear』 held by Crippled Monkey, which were Extraordinary Treasures, still had considerable effects against high-level Eerie Creatures.
"Rustle, rustle..."
Faint rustling sounds came from the darkness outside the camp, like a tide of insects sweeping by. Though they couldn't see through the darkness, the sounds did reach their ears.
The sheer number implied by the noise alone was enough to strike fear in them.
Zhou Mo instinctively held his breath, tightly gripping the hilt of his blade, afraid to make the slightest sound that might draw the Eerie Creatures from the darkness into the camp.
Screech…
A piercing sound suddenly echoed from the darkness, like nails repeatedly scraping against rusted sheet metal—harsh and grating.
"..."
Chen Fan furrowed his brow, tightening his grip on the long spear. Tonight was vastly different from previous nights; there had never been such a great disturbance before. Though he had been somewhat confident, he was now unsure if they could hold out.
The next moment—
A burst of laughter erupted from the darkness.
The sound was incredibly high-pitched.
There was no joy in the laughter, only a madness that spoke of revenge and destruction. Mingled with the pattering rain, it sent a chill down everyone's spine. Wang Kui's legs trembled, and his face took on a tearful expression.
Though not a single Eerie Creature had appeared yet, the group was already under immense mental strain.
Immediately after, the wild, overwhelming laughter suddenly turned into low, intermittent sobs lingering in their ears. Though soft, the crying was soul-sucking.
The laughter grew increasingly shrill, as if countless female Eerie Creatures' laughs overlapped, surging into the camp like a tsunami.
Just as everyone's nerves were stretched to the breaking point, the laughter abruptly stopped.
Then, dozens of Eerie Creatures charged out of the darkness into the camp, claws bared as they rushed toward the city wall. They were… humanoid Eerie Creatures, exceptionally tall, over three meters, and as thin as bamboo poles.
Their arms were long enough to reach their ankles.
Their sharp, elongated fingers gleamed with a pale light.
A type of Eerie Creature they had never seen before.
At the same time—
The two nearest Level 2 Archery Towers on the city wall swiveled their crossbows, aiming at the dozens of Eerie Creatures that had swarmed into the camp. As the crossbows atop the towers gave a violent shake, a bolt nearly as thick as a baby's forearm transformed into a black thread whistling sharply through the rain with thunderous force.
"Whoosh!"
The bolt pierced through the chest of the Eerie Creature leading the charge, pinning it to the ground. The bamboo-pole-like creature twitched a few times before falling still.
Bolt after bolt shot out.
Soon, all twenty or so Eerie Creatures were slain. Only one of them managed to reach the base of the city wall, but its full-strength swipe didn't even leave a scratch on the stone.
"Phew..."
Seeing this, Chen Fan let out a sigh of relief. Not until this moment did his inner tension ease a bit. He pulled his hand out from his chest and looked down at the twenty or so Eerie Creature corpses in the camp, a smile forming on his face. He even spotted a white-glowing item lying beside one of the bodies.
It was an Extraordinary Treasure.
Finally, another Extraordinary Treasure had dropped.
Earlier, after constructing all the traps and the hut, they had three Eerie Stones left.
When Wang Kui went to the two abandoned stations for supplies, he also brought back 127 Eerie Stones. These stones had originally been the life savings of others, but after their stations were breached, the stones became ownerless assets.
All of it benefited him.
Now, they had 130 Eerie Stones in total.
These 130 Eerie Stones were reserved as emergency resources. He didn't use them immediately.
If the number of Eerie Creatures became overwhelming and the two Archery Towers couldn't handle them, he would build more towers. If powerful Eerie Creatures appeared that the Level 2 towers struggled to deal with, he would use the Eerie Stones to upgrade the towers to Level 3.
Two of the options would be available when necessary.
All potential threats were within his scope.
Only by doing this could they remain unfazed.
The farmland was on the left side. This batch of Eerie Creatures had completely ignored the farmland, so they hadn't triggered the five "Spike Trap" traps on the front. Tonight's primary task was to ensure the camp's safety, with the secondary task being to protect the farmland.
When this wave of Eerie Creatures was all eliminated at the base of the city wall, everyone's hearts, which had been stuck in their throats, finally settled, and excitement gradually took over. The camp seemed… it seemed… quite safe!
"Station Master!"
Wang Kui, excited, leaned over the battlement and looked down at the pile of Eerie Creature corpses. "It seems that even if the number of Eerie Creatures doubled, we could still hold them off."
He had originally addressed Chen Fan as "young master," but Chen Fan told them to simply call him station master, as "young master" wasn't appropriate.
So he switched back.
"..."
Chen Fan cast a narrowed gaze into the depths of the darkness. Although the city wall and Archery Towers seemed effective, he didn't let his guard down. After all, he knew clearly that this was just the beginning.
If nothing else, at the very least, that eerie laughter definitely didn't come from these bamboo-pole-like Eerie Creatures. This meant that somewhere in the darkness, a powerful Eerie Creature was watching the camp intently, ready to charge in at any moment.