Chapter 84: The "Meat Grinder" Takes Shape
Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The "Meat Grinder" Takes Shape
Zhou Mo naturally knew what Wang Kui was thinking. He patted Wang Kui on the back and said reassuringly, "Let’s not dwell on the past."
"The Chief is so generous to us. I feel like if I don’t die fighting tomorrow, I’ll have failed him."
"A Green Martial Technique."
"In an ordinary family, this would be a closely guarded secret. It’s a Martial Technique that only someone of the Direct Lineage Bloodline would be qualified to learn. Didn’t you see how the Chief just casually tossed it to me?"
"I saw."
Wang Kui muttered with a complex expression, "I saw it crystal clear from down below. To be honest, I’m a little jealous. Shouldn’t that be kept in the Warehouse under my care...?"
"Ah, forget it. Let’s drop it."
"Just focus on mastering it."
The better the camp became, the more he thought back on his thirteen years as a worker bee, and the more miserable he felt. ’What a wretched life I used to live.’
"Alright!"
Zhou Mo grinned and headed straight for the Stone House. He planned to wash up before diving into his study of the technique.
Soon.
A loud shout echoed from within the Stone House.
"Who stole my bedsheet?"
"Wang Mazi, was it you?"
"Why would I steal your bedsheet? Are you crazy?"
"Then where’d my bedsheet go?"
...
Darkness fell, right on schedule.
"The thirteenth night of the rainy season."
Chen Fan, sitting in his rocking chair on the City Wall, muttered to himself. He stared blankly for a moment at the pitch-black darkness above the Celestial Pit, then stretched and prepared to head back to his room to sleep. For the past few days, no one in the camp had stood night watch.
On one hand, they trusted the camp’s defenses. Even if a Ghost Object attacked, the commotion would definitely wake them.
On the other hand...
They were simply too short on manpower. Leaving one person on night watch meant one less person to work the next day.
A chill drifted into the cave on the night wind.
The weather was getting colder and colder.
After the rainy season would come winter.
"THUD."
The familiar sound of something falling from the cliff echoed in his ears. Chen Fan’s body stiffened slightly. He turned to look at a Ghost Object that had fallen to its death in the Celestial Pit, his brow furrowed. Then he glanced at the alligator that was feasting inside the cave.
For the past two days, the alligator hadn’t returned to its own nest.
It had been sleeping in the camp at night.
’If it wasn’t Hey Hey hunting, then was something else out there?’
The next moment—
One after another, Ghost Objects fell from the cliff to their deaths.
The alligator, lying on the cave floor, also seemed to sense something. It dropped the food from its mouth, a flash of panic in its lantern-sized pupils. It scrambled towards the back of the cave, pressing itself tightly against the deepest wall.
"SCREECH."
A sharp cry from a Ghost Object suddenly pierced the rainy night outside the city.
A Ghost Object plummeted from the cliff, hundreds of meters high, yet somehow survived the fall. It was grievously wounded and near death. Completely ignoring the City Wall, it stared toward the canyon and shrieked, its eyes filled with a terror masked by a flimsy show of aggression. It struggled to drag itself backward, desperate to get away from the canyon.
...
Chen Fan looked towards the darkness-shrouded canyon, his brow slightly furrowed. ’All these strange occurrences clearly indicate an enemy has arrived, and it’s not a weak one. Those Ghost Objects that fell into the Celestial Pit must have lost their footing while trying to escape.’
"Wang Kui."
"Count the camp’s Ghost Stones."
"Yes, sir!"
Realizing what was happening, Wang Kui immediately rushed to the Warehouse to tally the Ghost Stones brought back that day.
He knew the camp had 1,335 Ghost Stones.
But Lame Monkey and Zhou Mo had both brought back a batch of Ghost Stones today, and they hadn’t been counted yet. With a powerful enemy about to attack, the exact number had to be tallied as quickly as possible so they could be used against the impending threat.
Amidst the sound of the rain, the faint thunder of countless stampeding feet could be heard. Occasional screams ripped through the rainy night like lightning.
The sounds grew closer and closer.
The next moment—
A wild wolf, its body completely rotten, rushed out of the canyon and into the Celestial Pit with its tail between its legs. But it didn’t charge the City Wall. Instead, it scrambled around the Celestial Pit in a panicked frenzy, as if looking for an exit.
Then.
More and more Ghost Objects poured out of the canyon and into the Celestial Pit like a tide.
...
Chen Fan watched this scene with a calm expression. He knew he was in for a tough fight tonight. He recognized these Ghost Objects; they were all from Nameless Mountain. Furthermore, it was clear this group had no intention of attacking his camp.
This was enough to prove it.
These Ghost Objects were being driven into the canyon by other creatures to wear down his strength.
Tonight’s enemy was a Ghost Object with a certain level of intelligence.
But...
He started to laugh. He was more than confident in his camp. The "Meat Grinder" was already taking shape, and he believed that as long as a Ghost King didn’t attack, he could hold them off.
’This is perfect.’
’It’s usually a pain to hunt down these Ghost Objects. Now they’ve all been conveniently herded over for me to slaughter.’
"BOOM!"
The Level 5 Cannon Tower, long dormant on the City Wall of Cave No. 1, whirred to life. As its Copper Pipe activated, the core within the turret flared, and countless ethereal blue energy lines spread out from it, instantly slithering across the turret’s cold surface.
The next instant!
A blazing white beam of light, as thick as a forearm, tore through the rainy night and accurately struck a frantically fleeing Ghost Object in the Celestial Pit. Its body was instantly pierced through, and the flesh around the wound began to visibly melt.
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the rainy night.
It was like the horn call that signaled the beginning of the night’s great battle.
Immediately after, the Ghost Object hit by the beam erupted from within, releasing three identical arc-like flashes of light. Like lightning snakes, they struck the three nearest Ghost Objects at an imperceptible speed.
"CRACKLE—!"
The three targeted Ghost Objects were also instantly pierced, meeting a grisly death in the rainy night.
The remaining nine Level 5 Cannon Towers on the City Wall all lit up in unison, rapidly slaughtering the Ghost Objects that had invaded the Celestial Pit. It was a one-sided slaughter. Under the chain attacks, the Ghost Objects fell in swathes like wheat during an autumn harvest.
Soon.
The number of Ghost Objects rushing out of the canyon steadily decreased, and the number of those still fleeing within the Celestial Pit also dwindled.
...
Chen Fan stood on the City Wall, looking towards the darkness-shrouded canyon, waiting patiently. The 18 Level 5 Cannon Towers installed on the four surrounding cliffs had not yet been activated. ’I’ll let the enemy in, then wipe them all out in one fell swoop.’
The Ghost Objects grew fewer and fewer.
These were only the most basic Ghost Objects; they couldn’t withstand the attacks of the Level 5 Cannon Towers at all.
The Ghost Blood Pattern on the surface of the City Wall, dormant since the wall was first forged, finally awakened tonight. Within the Celestial Pit, the Ghost Blood of the fallen creatures flowed uncontrollably toward the base of the wall. As the City Wall greedily drank the Ghost Blood, its patterns shifted from dark red to a vibrant scarlet, emitting a hazy, crimson glow.
It stood out starkly against the night sky.
Finally—
Perhaps the true enemy felt they had worn down the defenses enough, or perhaps all the nearby Ghost Objects had fled.
A hulking Ghost Object, resembling a giant turtle, emerged from the canyon’s darkness. Its movements were slow, yet it stepped into the Celestial Pit with unshakable determination.
Its limbs were incredibly thick, and its back was covered by a heavy shell composed of pale, skeletal frames. Countless twisted bone spikes jutted out from it at odd angles. The creature was nearly three meters wide.
Then.
One, two, three.
A total of nine giant turtle Ghost Objects emerged from the canyon, forming a line as they entered the Ghost Fire’s range. Following them was a large host of other Ghost Objects: female spirits in soaked white robes with fish-like tails; crabs with enormous pincers and human faces; and... most numerous of all, Sea Serpents slithering swiftly across the ground.
"Quite a party."
"Looks like they all crawled out of the sea."
Chen Fan stepped back from the City Wall and looked at the alligator cowering and trembling in the deepest part of the cave. He couldn’t help but laugh.
"Hey, stop shaking."
"I’ll get you something special tonight. A little seafood."
"You’ve never had it before, have you?"
...
ps: The novel is going premium tomorrow night. These two extra Chapters tonight are actually tomorrow’s regular update (scheduled for 23:59), just released early.