Mist Obstruction Karma Fire!

At the end of the corridor, in front of the bishop's room, stood a monster that even Jie La Er had never seen before.

At first glance, it resembles a pollutant, but it has more bizarre organs than the pollutant, which has virtually nothing except for its mouth. Furthermore, its shape differs from the pollutant's irregular form; it looks like a strange doll that has burst open from being stuffed with too much cotton.

It really is this guy.

Jie La Er didn't recognize him, but Bai Wei did.

Although there are some differences from what I remember, the thing in the game is much larger than it is now, but overall it is still pretty much the same.

The difference in size is likely related to the time of its creation. In the game's storyline, it was created a month later by those who attempted to overthrow Lyra.

Now, because Bai Wei protected Jie La Er, it caused a series of chain reactions, which led to its premature birth in such an incomplete form.

Upon seeing Jie La Er, the monster immediately emitted a similar shriek to the previous ones, but it was just a simple shriek without the added power of [Domination]. Therefore, Jie La Er was not affected as before and directly plunged the Chainsaw Sword into the monster's body, simultaneously entering [Overload] mode, with all the devices on his body humming at the same time.

"Pfft."

The roaring Chainsaw Sword tore a huge gash in the pierced area, and then Jie La Er swung the sword violently, widening the gash even further.

Immediately afterwards, a pool of dark red, minced meat splattered out of the opening.

Jie La Er's brows furrowed immediately as he looked at the gushing chunks of flesh.

Because these chunks of meat look like internal organs, but contaminants don't have internal organs.

So, what exactly is this?

Jie La Er had a terrible suspicion, but before he could verify it, the monster used other parts of its body to attack Jie La Er.

After landing a successful attack, Jie La Er didn't greedily continue. He immediately drew his Chainsaw Sword and, using his body enhanced by [Overload], quickly retreated to a safe distance, thus dodging the monster's attack.

In this first encounter, Jie La Er was not harmed except for being splattered with the monster's "blood" on half of his body. On the contrary, he dealt a heavy blow to the monster.

It appears that, apart from its appearance, this monster is no different from ordinary pollutants.

But this did not make Jie La Er feel at ease.

If that's all there is to it, how was the Ku De defeated?

Jie La Er glanced at Ku De lying in a pool of blood out of the corner of his eye, and unconsciously gripped his Chainsaw Sword even tighter.

The reason he was waiting in the coffee shop downstairs was because he was afraid something might happen to Ku De, so he planned to come up and help as soon as he sensed something was wrong.

With his state-of-the-art metal body, a cleaver whose destructive power rivals that of Chainsaw Sword, and his exceptional combat experience, Ku De is certainly no less formidable than Jie La Er in his current state. Therefore, even if he were to encounter an invincible foe, delaying the inevitable and creating some disturbance should not be difficult for him.

But why did he fall so silently, and Jie La Er didn't even see any signs of fighting nearby?

What exactly happened?

Could there be some hidden enemy nearby who ambushed Ku De?

Jie La Er became even more vigilant, keeping a close eye on the monster in front of him while cautiously observing his surroundings.

Then he heard Bai Wei's voice. "Don't get distracted, you only have to deal with it... It's coming."

Jie La Er saw the monster raise its enormous limb, which he couldn't tell was either a hand or a foot, and slam it down towards him.

Jie La Er didn't take such a simple and straightforward attack to heart. He was just a little puzzled as to why Bai Wei had reminded him of such an attack.

But he soon understood why.

When he instinctively tried to back away to avoid the attack, he suddenly realized that his legs felt as heavy as lead, so much so that he couldn't lift them at first.

What's going on?!

Before Jie La Er could even figure out what was happening, the massive limb had already swung towards him.

With no other option, he raised the Chainsaw Sword once more, only to find that lifting it was also quite difficult. Fortunately, he had been mentally prepared after what had just happened, so he used all his strength, wielding the Chainsaw Sword like a dagger, piercing the center of the monster's limb and pinning it firmly to the wall.

This simple action made Jie La Er's face turn red, and soon he was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

What exactly happened?

Jie La Er knew he didn't have much time to rest, so he quickly bent down to check his body.

Then he found the reason.

All of his metal bodies have entered a state of "shutdown".

Through the tiny gap, he could see that the interiors of these metal bodies were sealed with a glue-like liquid.

In this way, the body, which had already entered the "overload" state, was completely sealed off, and the prosthetics that were meant to facilitate movement became heavy and useless pieces of junk.

How could such a thing exist?! When did it get into the prosthetic limb?!

After a brief moment of astonishment, Jie La Er understood.

It's blood!

It's the monster's blood!

Jie La Er abruptly raised his head, looking at the monster still writhing before him. The wound he had previously stabbed was still bleeding, and the blood congealed visibly as it fell to the ground.

How could such a thing exist?

Jie La Er couldn't understand it at all.

This monster's blood seemed to be born to fight metal.

With a piercing scream, the monster launched another attack on Jie La Er.

It stood still, its other limb stretched out infinitely, slapping towards Jie La Er.

Wow, so fast! Even faster than before!

Jie La Er gritted his teeth, trying to dodge the attack, but he soon discovered that not only had the monster become faster, but his own body had also become more sluggish.

With a "thud," he was slammed against the wall by those tentacle-like limbs.

Like a mouse stuck on a sticky trap.

What's going on here?

Jie La Er felt as if he had returned to the time many years ago when he first encountered pollutants, filled with bewilderment and shock.

Just then, the monster let out another roar.

Unlike the previous shrieks, it was a very rhythmic chirping.

As he cried out, Jie La Er felt an itch spreading throughout his body. He instinctively looked down at his chest, where a metal plate stood.

Then he saw the monster blood that had been congealed under the protective plate suddenly begin to writhe rhythmically in response to the roar.

Jie La Er's eyes widened little by little.

Because soon, he saw buds of flesh peeking out from the congealed blood.

And it wasn't just on his chest; on his legs, arms, even on the Chainsaw Sword stuck in the wall, inside Ku De's corpse—wherever there was metal, these tiny monsters would wriggle in the shadows.

They resembled countless maggots about to emerge from their cocoons.

This scene sent chills down Jie La Er's spine, even though he had lived in the Land of Corruption for more than ten years.

What... is this thing?!

At the end of the corridor, Yong Xin and Zamen stood side by side.

Upon seeing this, Yong Xin nodded with great satisfaction.

"Although it's a month ahead of schedule, the Lord is clearly not greatly affected," Yong Xin said softly, his words full of admiration. "It's still so robust, healthy, and full of life."

Thriving... healthy?

The man standing to the side Zamen, genuinely disagreed.

The scene not far away was somewhat unacceptable even to him, a believer in the New God.

Is that... their New God?

This looks more like a persistent, deep-seated problem.

Yong Xin saw through Zamen's thoughts and said with a faint smile, "Perhaps in most people's eyes, He is not that beautiful, but don't worry. Just as everyone is at their ugliest when they are a baby, He also needs time, and... food. Be patient, and He will surely grow into New God that we can be proud of."

Zamen didn't dare to refute Yong Xin at all, after all, he had caused a huge disaster. He was the one who led that Skeleton Corps guy here.

Although he was forced into it, he was indeed very guilty.

Fortunately, that guy has been killed, and Lord Yongxin has no intention of causing him any trouble. So, at this time, isn't it the case that whatever Lord Yongxin says goes?

And...

Zamen raised his head and watched as the strange little insects began to devour the metal, subconsciously swallowing his saliva.

That is indeed their New God.

Jie La Er could feel his body disappearing.

To be precise, the metallic parts are disappearing.

The tiny insects raised by the monster were frantically tearing at the metal, making a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, and their bodies were growing larger at a visible speed.

Jie La Er had never seen, or even heard of, an insect that could feed on metal.

His body and his weapons were slowly turning into food for these insects.

These insects seem to have been born to fight the Lyra.

The very foundation upon which Lyra was once proud and relied has vanished under the ravages of these insects.

The monster not far away was still howling, and it was constantly urging more and more insects to hatch from its blood.

"Ah!!!"

He struggled to twist his body, trying to break free from the restraints, but without the aid of his metal prosthetics, he was just an old man with slightly more strength than the average person. He couldn't break free at all, and even with all his might, he could only watch helplessly as more insects crawled out of his metal body and continued to gnaw at it.

Jie La Er couldn't even imagine the disaster that would occur if these insects multiplied to a certain extent and spread throughout Lyra.

It's important to understand that the Lyra People nowadays are much more inclined towards mechanization than before. After losing all his metal body, Jie La Er was just an ordinary old man. But now, most Lyra People would become handless and footless cripples, completely at the mercy of others if they lost their metal bodies.

So, this was their plan?

No, we absolutely cannot let this happen!

Jie La Er is still struggling.

After using all my strength.

"Pfft!"

He finally managed to free his right hand from its restraints.

But it was only one hand, and even pulling that hand out almost exhausted all his remaining strength.

He was panting heavily, and before he could even feel relieved, he looked up and saw that the first batch of insects in the distance had grown from the size of a finger joint to the size of a palm.

They are faster than Jie La Er.

At that moment, Jie La Er felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

We were already so close to the truth.

Is this the only way it can end?

Jie La Er remained silent for a long time before softly asking, "Visas, are you still there?"

"I've always been here," Bai Wei said slowly. "What? You're finally deciding to ask me for help?"

"... Can you do it?"

"What do you mean?" Bai Wei asked, "Help you free yourself from your restraints?"

"...No, that's not enough," Jie La Er said in a low voice. "I need power, more power, to solve everything right now."

Bai Wei chuckled and said, "So you're finally not afraid of becoming a monster?"

Jie La Er gently closed his eyes. "I finally understand the question you asked me two days ago."

"Um?"

"You asked me what price I was willing to pay for the truth," Jie La Er said slowly. "My answer then was everything, but now I know that everything is more than just death."

Bai Wei laughed, "It's really not easy to make you understand this principle."

So, what should I do now?

"The method has always been with you," Bai Wei said calmly. "The second pocket from the right. As for how to do it, you know it yourself."

Jie La Er opened his eyes and looked again at Ku De was not far away.

All the metal parts on his body had been eaten away, making him look like a broken doll.

But lying in a pool of blood, Jie La Er couldn't help but think of the chunks of flesh he had seen in that carriage in Somu City.

He finally knew what he had to do.

So he slowly raised his hand and reached for the Chainsaw Sword beside him.

The Chainsaw Sword had been gnawed away beyond recognition, leaving only a few rusty chainsaw pieces.

But that's enough.

Jie La Er extended his middle finger and then pressed it down hard.

"Alright, it's time to end this."

Seeing that Jie La Er's body had been swallowed by the insects, Yong Xin shrugged and turned to go downstairs.

Zamen was slightly taken aback. "What are we going to do now?"

"The plan has been brought forward, so all we have to do is execute it," he said calmly. "In three hours, the Lord's power will cover the entire Fourth District, and we need to resolve some potential troubles for the Lord in advance."

Three hours later... will those insects spread throughout the entire Fourth District?

A chill ran down his Zamen couldn't help but ask, "Was it really that smooth?"

Yong Xin, halfway down the stairs, looked up at Zamen and chuckled, saying, "Everything the Lord did was to kill Lyra. Nothing in Lyra can stop Him. We should embrace the new era... Hmm?"

Yong Xin's brows suddenly furrowed.

What's next to you?

Zamen was slightly taken aback.

He discovered that a thick white fog had somehow spread around him.

Fog?

Why is there fog here?

Zamen subconsciously turned his head and then discovered that the entire corridor was inexplicably shrouded in a white mist.

What's going on?

Zamen reached out and grabbed at the white mist.

Then, he saw a crimson light rapidly expanding from the deepest part of the white mist.

Countless worms twisted and struggled in the crimson light.

Zamen then understood.

That's fire.

A second later, flames rising from the white mist engulfed everything on the top floor.

All of this happened too fast. It wasn't until Zamen's body turned to ashes under Yong Xin's gaze, and the intense heat that followed almost set his body ablaze, that Yong Xin suddenly realized what was happening.

Rhine's spell - Mist Obstruction Karma Fire!

I'm having a bit of writer's block, so I'll stop here for today.

I read the comments on the previous chapter, and I do feel that I didn't achieve the desired effect. So I was a bit affected by it today, thinking about whether I should change the plot later on. But in the end, I decided to stick to the outline. I'll leave the shortcomings of this volume for the next volume. That's all.

By the way, I'd like to recommend this book.