Arrow Tower Upgraded to Level 3

Upgrading a Level-2 Arrow Tower to a Level-3 Arrow Tower required 50 Eerie Stones.

He still had 120 Eerie Stones.

Without lingering any longer.

He pulled five Level-2 Eerie Stones that glowed green all over from his robes. The stones immediately shattered, turning into wisps of ghostly green liquid that floated through the air and flew toward the nearest Level-2 Arrow Tower.

A panel quickly appeared before him.

-

"Arrow Tower upgraded to Level 3."

"Please select an upgrade path."

"1: Crossbow bolts will gain the fire element, increasing their power."

"2: You may use the active skill 'Arrow Rain Storm.' Once activated, the crossbow mechanism atop the tower will fire rapidly upward, pouring several seconds of dense arrow rain over a designated area. Costs 1 Eerie Stone."

"3: Crossbow bolts will gain the lightning element, effectively paralyzing enemies and dealing a certain amount of chain damage to up to three creatures near the target hit."

-

"An active skill."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the upgrade paths before him. This was the first time he had encountered an active skill among the upgrade options, and its effect looked quite good.

If he encountered Strange Entities charging into the camp in swarms.

One skill could settle them all.

And the cost was low as well, requiring only one Eerie Stone.

After the Arrow Tower rose to Level 3, it began changing gradually. First, its original wood-and-stone skeletal structure turned into a purely stone structure, merging with the City Wall without the slightest sense of discord.

It became even sturdier.

The power of the crossbow bolts fired by this active skill called "Arrow Rain Storm" was equivalent to that of a Level-2 Arrow Tower. Their power had not increased much, but against a Strange Tide with enormous numbers but little strength, it was extremely useful.

Though it tempted him greatly.

He ultimately chose the first upgrade path, further increasing this Arrow Tower's single-target damage.

The two Strange Entity minor leaders outside the camp, along with the female wraith of unknown strength atop the sedan chair, were still eyeing him like tigers watching their prey. What he needed most right now was a means capable of threatening those three.

The instant he made his choice.

The Arrow Tower changed once more.

The crossbow mechanism at its peak gradually changed from its former pitch-black color to dark red, while fierce flames ignited around the crossbow teeth at its front. They swayed arrogantly in the torrential rain, making the entire mechanism more intimidating and more soul-stirring.

For now, it seemed.

That every building would present three upgrade paths whenever it rose a level.

And those three upgrade paths seemed to be fixed.

At least, the upgrade paths for his two Arrow Towers had been identical.

Just then—

Crippled Monkey's urgent voice suddenly rang out beside him. "Young Master, a Strange Tide is charging at us!"

Following Crippled Monkey's gaze, Chen Fan saw a large mass of Strange Entities some dozens of meters outside the camp. Like a tide, they were rushing straight toward the camp from the north, with no intention of making way whatsoever.

His brows furrowed slightly.

This batch of Strange Entities was not under the command of those three leaders. They were a group traveling through Eternal Night. They were small, roughly the size of human infants, with no limbs. Their entire bodies were plump balls of flesh, their surfaces covered in human faces about the size of palms.

They were exceedingly bizarre.

They traveled by rolling.

There were many of them—more than a hundred at a glance—and an endless stream of flesh balls continued emerging from the gray mist behind them, with no end in sight.

Their speed, however, was not fast. They rolled along leisurely, as though strolling through a market. The several faces on each flesh ball even showed emotions. They had all worn cheerful smiles at first, but as they neared the camp, every face became incomparably ugly, revealing expressions of intense pain.

"Stationmaster, those are Meatworm Wraiths."

Zhou Mo, standing on the City Wall with a Great Knife in hand, spoke rapidly and urgently. "I know this kind of Strange Entity. They only appear during the Rainy Season and never during an ordinary Eternal Night. They have no offensive methods. Their only means of attack is self-destruction."

"They will self-destruct upon touching any relatively hard object, their entire bodies turning into thick green liquid with extremely high corrosiveness. If a human gets any of this liquid on them, they will be melted in excruciating pain."

"They can cause considerable damage to the City Wall."

"The chief culprit behind the destruction of many cities during the Rainy Season is these Meatworm Wraiths. They are social creatures and surge forward endlessly like a tide. Once they appear in groups, it often means the City Wall will be breached!"

"..."

Chen Fan did not reply. Time was pressing. No matter how slow these Meatworm Wraiths were, they were already only a dozen or so meters from the camp. Quite a few were even briefly blown into the air by the gale before landing and continuing to roll forward.

He turned his head toward the sedan chair within the gray mist west of the camp.

The instant these Meatworm Wraiths appeared, the sedan chair and the Strange Entities around it had, at some unknown time, retreated into the gray mist and vanished into Eternal Night.

"How considerate!"

He could not help taking a deep breath. He once again pulled five green-glowing Eerie Stones from his robes and smashed them into the Level-2 Arrow Tower beside him. As he upgraded it to Level 3, he selected the active skill upgrade path, "Arrow Rain Storm"!

The camp had reached a moment of life and death.

If these two batches of Strange Entities attacked the camp together, it would be incredibly troublesome. Fortunately, the female wraith had led her Strange Entities back into Eternal Night. Naturally, he did not think she truly did not wish to bully the few with the many.

Clearly, she feared the Meatworm Wraiths as well and did not want to suffer disaster from a fish in a moat.

"Ahhh!!!"

An ear-piercing scream resounded through the camp. The first Meatworm Wraith had already broken through the gray mist and entered the camp. Upon sensing the presence of Eerie Fire, the several human faces on its flesh ball uncontrollably let out agonized shrieks, their expressions twisted in extreme pain.

They clearly did not want to approach the Eerie Fire.

Yet their bodies still obediently rolled straight toward the camp.

As more and more Meatworm Wraiths rushed into the camp, waves of piercing screams mixed together throughout the camp.

The next moment—

The runes embedded in the crossbow mechanism atop one of the Level-3 Arrow Towers on the City Wall suddenly blazed with light. Dozens of profound and intricate runes floated up from the mechanism, shining white as they hovered around the Arrow Tower.

Immediately afterward.

"Click."

A nearly imperceptible sound of machinery rang out.

Countless light arrows shot continuously from the crossbow mechanism at extreme speed, surging toward the sky like a waterfall flowing in reverse. They formed a cloud of light arrows dozens of meters overhead, then fell like heavenly punishment, interweaving with the downpour as they blanketed the entire area north of the City Wall.

"Scraaaape—"

Several dozen Meatworm Wraiths rolling across the ground met disaster and were nearly wiped out to the last. A series of sizzling sounds rang out like red-hot iron rods plunging into butter. As the light arrows gradually faded, all that remained were Meatworm Wraiths across the ground, continuously melting into patches of green liquid that corroded the wilderness.

Eerie Stones fell one after another from their bodies, lying quietly amid the liquid and looking exceptionally enticing.

The Meatworm Wraiths' first charge was nearly annihilated.

The Arrow Rain's coverage was not that large, and some fish had slipped through the net.

Though the few survivors had entered the camp, they were not heading toward the City Wall. Instead, they sped past the edge of the City Wall and crossed the camp, continuing to roll into Eternal Night without the slightest intention of looking back or lingering.