The crossbow firing window was located on the second floor. Countless Blood Corpse jumped from the highest terrace, most of them falling into the surging river below. Some unlucky ones were even cut in two by thin metal wires, but some Blood Corpse with amazing jumping ability still landed near Gray.
They stretched out their black claws, trying to grab anything around them, including but not limited to Gray's calves and trouser legs, as well as every part of the Blood Corpse Leader's body.
As the Blood Corpse relentlessly attacked, the total number of monsters pulling at Gray increased from one to three or four, and then to six or seven.
Although his arms had undergone mechanical modifications, Gray's lower body was still purely flesh and blood, and it simply couldn't withstand such a strong pulling force.
A look of pain immediately appeared on his face. As a cyborg with a modification level of about fifty percent, Gray's modifications were mainly concentrated on his arms and the outside of his torso, while his lower body, internal organs, and spine remained unchanged.
In other words, his waist and hips were experiencing unprecedented tension, which caused him indescribable pain.
"Sizzle!"
A crisp tearing sound rang out, and a Blood Corpse, clinging tightly to Gray's trouser leg, fell into the river below.
Gray's right leg was exposed, with three clearly visible scratches.
The scratches started on the outside of his right knee and continued to extend diagonally downwards. Although they only tore open the skin, Gray could already see the exposed skin turning black.
His heart sank; the worst thing had indeed happened.
Regarding infections caused by scratches from Blood Corpse, the merchant training manual of the Graycast Corridor does indeed record appropriate coping methods.
Unfortunately, it wasn't some magic pill, but simply a single word—"cut."
Having reached a dead end, Gray's eyes widened as he made up his mind. His left mechanical arm swung half a circle at a special angle, and a folding blade, slightly shorter than his calf, appeared in his palm.
Gray gritted his teeth, raised his right leg, and personally severed a part of his own body.
Intense pain assaulted his brain, and his reason teetered on the brink of collapse.
Gray was incredibly grateful that his arm had been modified into a mechanical one; otherwise, the nerve spasms caused by the excruciating pain would have prevented him from gripping anything.
He knew what this pain meant, that he had grown even further removed from humanity, but he had no choice but to survive, for he was a merchant of the Graycast Corridor, one of the last remaining sparks of humanity.
There was no time to grieve for the lost flesh; the Blood Corpse leader and three ordinary Blood Corpse were still hanging below Gray's left leg.
Under the pale moonlight, the five of them stood vertically on the metal zipline, like a line segment that was constantly shifting.
Looking at the flesh that had been resolutely severed, the Blood Corpse leader seemed to realize something.
It began trying to climb up Gray's body, attempting to grab him by the waist or abdomen—positions difficult to cut off.
But those Blood Corpse minions that had been obeying its commands and leaping over just seconds before had become the biggest obstacle.
At that moment, Gray saw a hint of anger on the monster's face. This was the first time the monster had shown such an expression. Combined with the monster's subtle arrogance during their previous fight, Gray believed this was very important information.
Because in all the records of the Graycast Corridor, the Blood Corpse after the Demonic Tide were monsters driven purely by instinct, and should not have shown such rich emotional expressions.
In the instant he hesitated, the Blood Corpse leader below had already kicked the three burdens into the river. Recovering from the excruciating pain, Gray had to act swiftly and ruthlessly cut off his other leg.
The sharp blade swung down on his left arm, but the expected excruciating pain did not come.
The Blood Corpse leader freed one hand and clamped Gray's blade with a claw sharper than a metal blade.
After grabbing the blade, the Blood Corpse used the momentum to pull, and with its other hand, it released Gray's left leg and instantly grabbed his belt.
Gray, who thought the Blood Corpse would continue climbing, found that the zombie had made no further moves. Upon closer inspection, he realized that his left arm, which was wielding a sharp blade, and the zombie's arms had formed a solid triangle. Neither of them could easily break free, nor could they continue to use the zombie's strength to do anything.
But Gray knew that time was not on his side, and he had to come up with a solution as soon as possible, because he had already crossed at least two-thirds of the river, and if he didn't make a decision soon, he would be the one to suffer when he reached the other side.
Ignoring the Blood Corpse's gaping maw, Gray turned to look at the opposite bank, mentally calculating the maximum time he would need to reach it.
Seeing that Gray dared to look in another direction, the Blood Corpse at his waist angrily bit down on the yellow plaque on Gray's abdomen.
Gray's abdominal armor was a lightweight, thin armor permanently attached to his body. After the Blood Corpse took a bite, a row of tiny holes appeared, and his internal organs underneath were already slightly damaged.
Gray turned his head back, having already made up his mind.
To the astonishment of the Blood Corpse, Gray twisted his left arm at an odd angle, severing the connection in his wrist.
The brass blade gripped by the Blood Corpse's right hand suddenly lost all its strength, and as it loosened its grip, the blade fell into the surging river and disappeared without a trace.
Gray then raised his left arm, which was now only at the wrist, and a small but internally sharpened hook popped out from the broken part of his wrist.
With a desperate resolve, Gray slashed the metal wire above him with his last usable blade.
"Smack!"
The taut metal wire snapped under immense force, and amidst the other party's puzzled gaze, Gray, carrying the Blood Corpse, plummeted into the rushing river below.
During his descent, Gray used the still-functioning mechanical structure to forcefully twist his body, plunging the sharpened hook into the lower part of the Blood Corpse Leader's collarbone, and finally adjusted his position, stepping on the opponent's back as he fell into the river.
The man and his body had fallen not far from the shore, and Gray, whose head was barely above water, was still confused about what he was doing.
He seemed to want to drown a Blood Corpse?
The intense pain impaired his judgment, Gray could only increase the pressure on his knees, trying to squeeze out every air bubble from the Blood Corpse's lungs.
The monster, having fallen into the water, struggled violently, while simultaneously using the slope of the underwater surface to determine the approximate location of the shore.
Gray felt a considerable force coming from below, carrying him towards the shore.
At this moment, the man and the corpse were like a cowboy and his wild horse. Gray knew that with his current physical condition and little strength left, he could not get ashore, so he simply let the Blood Corpse leader do as he pleased.