Encirclement

The Ghoul reacted differently.

Those in the center of the Dense Fog were the first to be affected.

The moment the powder mist touched the skin, it emitted a sharp, ear-piercing scream.

The gaping mouth, stretching from the jawline to the chest cavity, suddenly opened to its limit, exposing all three layers of teeth, as if trying to expel all the air from its chest cavity.

Large black charred marks appeared on the grayish-red flesh membrane, the subcutaneous tendons were broken, and dark body fluid seeped from the cracks.

A Ghoul staggered two steps, its forelimbs giving way, and it collapsed to its knees.

The second one, swaying unsteadily, dragged its festering body and stumbled back towards the cave entrance, rolling off the edge and disappearing into the darkness.

The Ghoul in front of the cave entrance were mostly wiped out within ten seconds.

But the situation is different in the surrounding areas.

By the time the powdery mist reached the edges, its concentration was already quite low. Although the Ghoul on the outer edge were also howling and had scorch marks on their skin, they did not fall.

It simply took a few steps back, shrinking into a corner where the powder mist couldn't reach it, and hissed angrily.

The powdery mist was still slowly dissipating.

But that's enough.

A clearing was created within a dozen meters of the cave entrance; the fungal layer withered, the Carrion Ghost melted, and the Ghoul temporarily retreated.

A passage leading to the cave entrance was briefly opened.

"Keep up!"

Lu Yuan strode forward.

Boer followed closely, raising his Short Shotgun gun to protect his wings.

The rest of the Night Watcher quickly followed.

They need to get a clear view of the cave entrance before they can decide what to do next.

Plugging the breach to prevent the strange phenomenon from spreading was Klaus's order.

Whether or not it can be plugged depends on what exactly the hole is.

Twenty steps.

Ten steps.

The ground beneath our feet began to tilt.

The floor at the edge of the hole broke and sank, with gravel and soil mixing together to form a slope.

There was still a lingering powdery mist in the air, with a pungent smell mixed with a sour, rotten odor.

Five steps.

Lu Yuan stood at the edge of the cave entrance and looked down.

The faint light from the powdery mist couldn't reach the bottom.

I can't see anything.

Only darkness.

The darkness was pure and thick, like a bottomless well.

Wrong.

It's not that you can't see anything at all.

After a few seconds of his eyes adjusting, Lu Yuan it in the depths of darkness.

The wall is moving.

It's not the wall itself that's moving.

It's something stuck to the wall that's moving.

Dense, grayish-red chunks of flesh clung to the cave walls, layer upon layer, extending downwards from the entrance and continuing until the very end of sight.

They are climbing upwards.

Not just a few.

Not just a few dozen.

It covered the entire cave wall, with countless Ghouls and Carrion Ghost crawling like ants on the vertical rock face, slowly inching towards the cave entrance.

Those eliminated by the Eeriebane Potion were only the first batch to reach the top.

There's more below.

There are too many to list.

Lu Yuan's gaze continued downwards, and the crawling sounds no longer came from deeper within.

It's the sound of water.

It's like an underground river, or a distant, surging undercurrent.

And beneath the sound of the water, there was a lower, more subdued vibration, almost imperceptible to the human ear.

It wasn't made by Ghoul.

It's something bigger.

At the edge of my field of vision, grayish-white text flickered:

[Environmental Perception: High-risk Source of Pollution detected... Please leave immediately...]

[Environmental Perception: Detected a massive amount of strange...]

Lu Yuan stood at the edge of the cave entrance, and after confirming the situation, he took a step back.

"If you can't stop them, retreat!! Quickly!"

Upon seeing this, Lu Yuan turned and ran without hesitation.

Boer stood behind him, glanced down following his gaze, and then quickly looked away.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"Run!?"

Boer didn't ask any more questions.

Lu Yuan's expression said it all.

Boer did not hesitate.

"Listen to my command! The entire team retreats! Return via the same route!"

The nine people turned around and ran back the way they came.

The lingering effects of the Eeriebane Potion were still suppressing the Ghoul around the cave entrance, but this thin veil wouldn't hold for long.

Several birds had already circled out from the side and were following behind the group, maintaining a distance of several tens of meters.

They did not catch up immediately.

It's like they're waiting for something.

By the time the team had passed through the fungal layer area, the fire wall of Sandworm Oil was almost extinguished.

The last pale flame struggled against the wall, reducing the illuminated area by more than half.

After passing through the remaining area of the fire wall, the feel underfoot changed from rotten to dry.

The bacterial layer is already quite thin here.

But the smell of blood in the air was even stronger.

Lu Yuan was the first to notice.

It didn't come from behind.

That's ahead.

He slowed his pace.

Then it stopped.

Something was moving at the edge of the streetlight's halo.

They didn't come from the direction of the cave entrance.

It came from deep within the city.

From the road they came by, from the alleys that had been cleared along the way, from every fork in the road leading from the North Spinning District to the heart of the Outer City.

Ghoul.

In large groups.

They appeared simultaneously from multiple directions in the shadows of the streetlights, on all fours, moving slowly, even appearing somewhat leisurely.

Because they have something in their mouths.

The first Ghoul was biting a human leg.

The cross-section was uneven, with bone fragments exposed and only half of the muscle remaining.

Blood trickled down from between his teeth, leaving a long, dark red trail on the ground.

The second one was dragging a complete corpse.

She was wearing the same coarse cloth clothes as the textile worker, the same style as the woman she had seen on the street earlier.

The abdominal cavity had been emptied out, and the hollow body cavity faced upwards, resembling a dissected fish under the light.

The Ghoul dragged the corpse by the neck, its head slamming against the ground, splashing dark liquid with each impact.

The third one.

The fourth one.

More.

Each one dragged prey in its mouth or claws. Some were whole carcasses, some were only half left, and some had been gnawed down to just the skeleton and internal organs.

Blood pooled on the ground, forming a crisscrossing network of dark red drag marks.

They are carrying food.

Returning to the nest.

The entrance to the burrow is their nest.

Lu Yuan's team blocked their way home.

The Ghoul stopped.

Those carrying their prey placed the carcass on the ground, their mouths slowly closing, their three layers of teeth grinding the remaining flesh, making a crunching sound.

Those with empty mouths lower their bodies, arch their backs, and brace their hind legs.

A poised stance, ready to pounce.

Behind them, the Ghoul following from the cave entrance were getting closer and closer.

The powdery mist has dissipated.

They no longer hesitated.

Ahead lay a pack of predators returning to their nests, while behind came the guards pouring out of the cave entrance.

Nine people were trapped in the middle.

Boer took a walk around and got a clear look at the situation.

He didn't speak.

Because there's not much to say.

Lu Yuan's right hand was already gripping the Revolver.

Place your thumb on the hammer.

Time Bestower.

There's no need to hesitate.

There is no room for hesitation in this situation.

Click.

A slight click of a mechanism was heard.

The world has slowed down.

All sounds were stretched out; roars turned into low-frequency hums, and the sound of the wind became a long, drawn-out whistle.