Watch City's Foundations
At this moment, the rapid screening below has officially begun. The on-site process is very well arranged. Instead of having a batch of crystals brought out and everyone lining up in a long line to touch them one by one, the testing is carried out simultaneously in groups, with a Captain and a small team as the unit.
Eight long tables covered with white cloths were lined up in the center of the training ground. On each table were snowflake-shaped [Wailing Crystal] that had just been delivered and were cut and packaged in metal trays.
Although tonight's stockpile isn't enough to test all the Night Watcher in the city, including those in the outer clerks and logistics, it's sufficient to screen the main Night Watcher of the ten battalions in front of us.
After the ten Third Order Captain stepped forward to press the crystals and verify that they were all normal, the screening proceeded at an extremely fast pace.
Each time, the Captain would call out the names of their squads, and the entire squad of about ten people would walk to the long table at the same time, place their palms on the Wailing Crystal detection slots corresponding to their respective numbers, and the entire squad could be tested in just a dozen or so breaths.
After the entire team completed the tests, the snowflake-shaped Wailing Crystal in front of them remained crystal clear without any cracks.
The clerks behind the long table immediately checked the roster and registered each person. Once the registration was complete, the entire team was led by a designated person to the fully enclosed rest hall on the east side of the training ground to wait for orders. No one would be allowed to leave alone until the screening of all personnel was completely completed that night.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief on the platform announced that the Iron Furnace Street workshops were working day and night to produce [Wailing Crystal], which would be distributed in batches to every registered Night Watcher to carry, preventing secondary Contamination after tonight's screening when they went out on missions.
The nine squads under the three brigades in front of them came forward one after another to press the grooves, register, and lead them into the rest area. The whole process was orderly and surprisingly fast.
However, when it was the turn of the fourth, fifth, and sixth squads, which were under the jurisdiction of several intermediate brigades, to step forward at the same time, and dozens of Night Watcher simultaneously placed their hands on the metal detection slots of the long table, something unexpected happened!
A series of dense, slight cracking sounds suddenly erupted in the center of the silent training ground. On several long tables, the interiors of more than a dozen snowflake-shaped [Wailing Crystal] suddenly developed dense, pinhole-like cracks. Four or five of the Wailing Crystal shattered on the spot, leaving the grooves full of broken crystals!
None of the dozen or so Night Watcher standing in front of the long table were indeed replaced foreign Heretic, but their Transcendence Path had already been silently Contamination by the Heretic ' [Pathway Contamination Potion]!
Of the dozen or so Night Watcher poisoned by the [Pathway Contamination Potion], some were tricked into taking the potion without their knowledge, while others voluntarily drank it in pursuit of power or to save their lives.
When the [Wailing Crystal] beneath their hands suddenly shattered and triggered the latent medicinal power within their bodies, the Transcendence Path within these dozen or so people immediately began to Mutation unknown and distorted direction!
A strange, gray, and chilling aura seeped from beneath their skin. As their internal Pathway underwent a violent Mutation, these dozen or so Night Watcher were all losing control of their bodies and Transcendence powers.
Several of the Night Watcher, whose Contamination was still in its early stages, were able to put up a fight. Their bodies convulsed and swayed violently at an abnormal angle, their internal Pathway surging outwards uncontrollably. Even their hands, which were pressed against the edge of the table, were trembling violently. Their faces were contorted with rage, and they couldn't care less about showing any remorse.
He could only grit his teeth and desperately resist the Mutation Pathway mental manipulation within his body with his last remaining rationality. At the same time, he immediately began to quickly recall where he had been and what he had come into contact with in the past few days before falling into this trap!
The other Night Watcher, whose Contamination had penetrated deep into the source, had completely gone berserk.
The ever-spreading Pathway of Mutation completely overwhelmed their reason the moment the crystal shattered. Their eyes were glazed and murky, and their bones and muscles creaked and twisted under the influence of the Alienation Path. They uncontrollably drew their weapons and unleashed a frenzied, Mutation Transcendence power that swept outwards!
Almost at the same moment those people Pathway Mutation and attacked, the Night Watcher and the Captain standing next to them simultaneously made their move!
None of the Night Watcher were selected for the main force of the Watch City division were rookies.
Although they were reluctant to kill their own brothers, with whom they had shared life and death, this did not mean they wouldn't take action.
The dozen or so Night Watcher and three Third Order Captain reacted with astonishing speed, drawing their swords and unleashing their Transcendence abilities to meet the attack head-on. Amidst the clash of swords and combat techniques, they not only firmly blocked the berserkers' ferocious offensive from the front, but several team members also rushed forward with lightning speed, grabbing the arms of their comrades who were still struggling against the Mutation and whose bodies were becoming somewhat out of control!
Standing behind the railing of the second-floor observation deck, Lu Yuan watched the battle below without moving an inch. Lin En beside him simply placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, steadily guarding Lu Yuan's side, showing no intention of jumping off the platform either.
Lin En's duty tonight was to protect Lu Yuan's safety, and Lu Yuan himself was very clear that, apart from Lin En's team, he was just an ordinary Knowledge Transcendent consultant in the eyes of outsiders. In such a large scene with hundreds of people watching, he had no need to step forward and put himself on the spot.
Moreover, there's no need for Lu Yuan to intervene in the current situation.
Although the current situation in Watch City has been thoroughly infiltrated by Heretic, as the largest city in the Northern Territory, its resources are certainly not so bad that it cannot even handle a dozen or so second and third-tier monsters that have gone berserk through Mutation Pathway.
Especially with the addition of [Wailing Crystal], the high-end combat forces in the city, who were previously hampered by the difficulty in distinguishing friend from foe, have now been completely liberated!
The Fifth Order [Guardian] and the Fourth Order peak Night Watcher Watch Chief in the very center of the main stand didn't even lift an eyelid. As soon as the Night Watcher colleagues and Captain around them took action to restrain the rampaging individuals, the three Fourth Order Deputy Chief who were already on high alert around the testing table, along with several Fourth Order powerhouses sent by the workshop and the Knight Academy to provide support, simultaneously launched a thunderous attack!
Several powerful, incomparably strong Fourth Order Transcendence pressures, mixed with complex sealing Formation Patterns and alchemical chains, descended from the sky.
Those Night Watcher had completely gone berserk couldn't even hold on for a single breath. The swords in their hands were knocked away on the spot, and they, along with the other Night Watcher who were still gritting their teeth and struggling to resist the Mutation of their Pathway, were forcibly pressed down on the cold stone bricks of the training ground by several vast Fourth Order auras!