Chapter 56: Bloody Rain

The City Guard Bureau staff had all heard more or less about Sirian’s rumors; he dared to traverse the wilderness alone at a young age, even having enough energy to bring a dog along, and what was more critical, he would chat endlessly with this dog.

The staff also learned that in his personal life, Sirian was an extremely boring person: he would go on duty if there was work, attend gatherings if there were any, and wander around Heer City during his holidays.

He rarely took the initiative to do anything; all his actions were passively initiated, and over time, the staff lost interest in Sirian.

Sirian was a slightly neurotic, boring eccentric.

This was the relatively consistent impression the staff had formed of Sirian over time, and tonight, this impression would be shattered, spiraling wildly towards another extreme.

“Haha!”

Amidst bloodthirsty, Laughing wildly laughter, Sirian cleaved through the obstructing demon and sprinted along the side of the Mountain of Decay, wildly swinging his boiling sword, tearing open a long, narrow wound that erupted with foul blood.

“I call this move ‘Fiery Passion’!”

Sirian thrust the gun barrel into the wound, pulled the trigger, and a soul marrow bullet detonated inside the Mountain of Decay, flames expanding wildly, and tendrils of fire shot up from the gaps in its flesh.

Large patches of corrosive foul blood splattered onto Sirian, but before it could corrode his flesh, it was completely evaporated by the smoldering high temperature on his skin.

Dailin arrived late with the other staff, only to find no Torchbearer needing rescue, but merely a madman who was constantly laughing wildly and dancing beside the Mountain of Decay.

Good news: the staff could confirm that Sirian was not a boring person; he did have some definite hobbies.

Bad news: Sirian’s hobbies were a bit twisted.

The continuous injuries agitated the Mountain of Decay, its coiled limbs extended, and sharp claws, like thorny thickets, slashed down at Sirian.

Terrifying chaotic power mixed with foul blood spewed from its riddled body; for a moment, the surrounding grey fog grew even thicker, and even the soul marrow fire on Sirian’s blade flickered wildly.

Sirian dodged backward; his actions seemed frantic, but he always maintained his rationality.

“Concentrate fire on its wound!”

Dailin was clearly not fighting this kind of chaotic creature for the first time, and he commanded loudly.

Numerous metal bullets and various energy attacks poured into the wound Sirian had previously torn open, almost destroying more than half of the Mountain of Decay’s body.

However, the Mountain of Decay, amidst the rolling grey fog, and through the fusion of many demons, healed its wounds at a visible speed.

Seeing this, Sirian whispered, “Troublesome.”

An endless rain of blood poured down, mixing with the thick grey fog, suppressing everyone.

“Is this the power of a noble bloodline?”

Anya, a Melting Warrior of Rank Two in the team, glanced at Sirian at the very front. Even with extremely high chaos resistance, walking in this grey fog felt like wading through a muddy swamp, every step leaving her utterly exhausted.

But Sirian, seemingly unaffected, moved swiftly and lethally.

It was hard to imagine he was merely a Torchbearer who had just embarked on the Torch-Leading Destiny.

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from the team.

A City Guard Bureau staff member was completely covered by the blood rain; his uniform was burned through, his skin corroded with dense holes, and his flesh and bones melted into putrid pus.

“Save…”

He tried to say something more, but the corrosion had already spread to his throat and lungs, until half of his body rapidly collapsed.

Swarms of demons attacked from the grey fog; before anyone could offer aid, their intersecting claws tore the staff member to shreds.

The first casualty appeared, like a heavy hammer striking everyone’s hearts.

“Should we retreat?”

Someone suggested.

While retreating would certainly avoid casualties, if the Mountain of Decay approached the high wall and brought the blood rain within, it would trigger an even more tragic disaster.

Bursts of artillery fire rained down from the sky; they did not hit the Mountain of Decay but landed near it.

Sirian did not believe the Spirit Artisans would make such a mistake. Looking around, he realized that the rolling black fog had completely obscured this area.

The Mountain of Decay had hidden in the grey fog, and even the artillery on the high wall lost its target.

“Don’t think you can escape.”

Sirian pulled the trigger upwards, and a signal flare slowly ascended.

This was a special signal flare issued by the City Guard Bureau; the moment it ascended, the soul marrow inside burned rapidly, and the instantaneous light and heat evaporated the surrounding grey fog, briefly re-exposing the hidden Mountain of Decay to the high wall’s sight.

The Spirit Artisans observed the flare’s position, adjusted their angles, and corrected their trajectories.

Moments later, a sky full of flowing fire roared down.

Heavy fireballs rose one after another, like gaping mouths, savagely tearing at the Mountain of Decay’s body, dismantling and ripping it apart, evaporating it into countless ashes.

The heatwave, mixed with burnt bone fragments, struck Sirian, causing stinging pain.

On the scorched earth, the figure of the Mountain of Decay was no longer visible.

“Evacuate! Evacuate!”

The commander’s voice came through the channel; the target had been cleared, and Sirian and the others no longer needed to fight fiercely in the grey fog.

“Phew, it’s finally over. Want to grab a drink?”

“I want to go back and take a shower.”

“Haha…”

Just as everyone’s strained nerves began to relax, suddenly, the lingering fires on the ground were extinguished by the returning grey fog, and the putrid flesh re-coalesced, supporting a hideous, deformed body.

The Mountain of Decay, which should have been completely killed by the flowing fire, had, through the fusion of countless demons, reassembled a certain remnant of its body.

Sirian shouted, “It’s not dead yet!”

Someone had already reacted, disregarding their safety, and fired another signal flare, but as soon as the flare ascended, it was swallowed by the rolling grey fog, unable to leak even a trace of light.

Facing this deathly still darkness, everyone froze, fear wildly spreading in their hearts.

Ripples emerged in the Sea of Origin; waves passed through the Spirit World, crossed the Liminal Gray Area, and reached reality.

They converged, layer upon layer, forming a crest powerful enough to destroy everything.

The wave crest struck.

Lethal chaotic power engulfed everything; the boundary line of light and dark continuously collapsed beneath the high wall, almost pressing against it. A little further push, and it would enter the city.

Trapped in darkness, the people could not see each other’s positions, accompanied only by coldness and demons. The Spirit Artisans also lost their targets, their cannon muzzles helplessly pointing into the vast night.

Sirian, relying on his extremely high chaos resistance, successfully weathered the impact of the wave crest, and belatedly realized,

“I knew it; it was burned to that extent, but the soul marrow concentration didn’t increase much.”

When the Mountain of Decay burned to ashes, Sirian had not sensed the joy of the ouroboros seal.

Clearly, he could use this method in the future to determine if he had truly killed an enemy.

As for now…

Sirian advanced with his sword, even though everything before him was dark.

Once the Mountain of Decay recovered, those plunged into darkness would become nothing but lambs to the slaughter.

As for whether he could kill it alone, that was no longer something Sirian could consider.

He could only act.

The soul marrow fire burned wantonly along the boiling sword, emitting as much light as possible.

If someone saw the firelight and was willing to accompany Sirian, he would warmly invite them. If someone was afraid of death and hid in the shadows, Sirian didn’t mind at all.

Sirian simply killed all the demons in his path until the firelight illuminated the outline of the remnant body.

Foul blood gathered into a crimson pool, and the Mountain of Decay was located in the very center of the pool. Most of its body had disappeared, leaving only jagged, twisted white bones and mutated flesh intertwined.

The Mountain of Decay detected Sirian’s arrival; its festering remnants moved clumsily, hundreds of limbs flailing wildly.

“So hard to kill!”

Sirian cursed as he fired all his Soul Marrow Bullets; the great fire had just ignited when it was extinguished by the cold grey fog.

He had still underestimated the threat of the incoming wave crest; the chaotic power within the entire Liminal Gray Area had reached an extremely terrifying level.

The soul marrow fire could only burn around Sirian’s body; once it left his body by a certain distance, it would be easily extinguished.

The Mountain of Decay suddenly let out a hoarse, low growl; the foul-smelling blood actually gathered, transforming into sharp blades that shot towards Sirian like a torrential rain.

Sirian gritted his teeth and counterattacked, his boiling sword trailing a streak of rapid firelight.

Stepping through the corrosive blood, Sirian, like a meteor, crashed into the twisted remnant body.

Instantly, his soul marrow fully ignited.