"..."
Chen Fan swept a swift glance over the few stragglers that had slipped past the wall and dashed along the camp's western flank. Once those flesh worm ghosts barreled into the gray mist, the agony etched into the human faces on their bodies vanished instantly, replaced once more by that initial gleeful expression.
Yet it was far from over!
Flesh worm ghosts continued to pour into the camp in an endless stream. Moreover, vast numbers of flesh worm ghosts churned within the gray mist, and even more surged out from the Eternal Night into the dark fog. There was no telling how many there actually were.
Standing beside the Level 3 arrow tower, its mounted crossbow covered in runes, he didn't pause for an instant. He slotted a ghost stone back into the socket, waited patiently for several seconds, and only triggered the skill once enough flesh worm ghosts had rolled into the target area.
"Arrow Rain Storm!"
The runes across the crossbow bolts flared once more, lifting into the air to circle around the arrow tower.
Countless light arrows shot into the sky, then came crashing down through the raging storm like a deluge of arrows, obliterating every flesh worm ghost in their radius!
Eighteen ghost stones left.
He quickly checked his remaining ghost stones. He could activate Arrow Rain Storm eighteen more times at most.
Activating Arrow Rain Storm required a complete, intact ghost stone. The one previously slotted in the arrow tower had already been slightly depleted and could not trigger the active skill, so he had taken it out and placed it on the walkway pavers atop the wall.
One.
Two.
Three.
Amid the raging storm, this seemingly crude outpost displayed astonishing resilience. Wave after wave of Arrow Rain Storm butchered the flesh worm ghosts trespassing into the camp like wolves tearing through sheep!
It was a breathtaking sight.
Yet not a single smile could be seen on the faces of Chen Fan and the others. Every one of them looked grim, because they all knew the ghost stones were running out...
Only six ghost stones remained.
He could only trigger Arrow Rain Storm six more times.
And still the flesh worm ghosts poured endlessly from the Eternal Night into the gray mist, and from the gray mist into the camp!
Thirty-seven years ago, the rainy season had arrived ahead of schedule, bringing with it a devastating ghost tide.
The outposts across the wasteland had been wiped out to the last man.
Jiangbei City had fallen, its people slaughtered, not one in a thousand surviving.
Every person present knew this history by heart. Those lucky enough to have elders who survived the tragedy had heard firsthand of the cruelty and despair from that rainy season thirty-seven years ago.
Yet...
Hearing of it was one thing.
Nothing compared to witnessing it with one's own eyes.
In this moment, everyone present understood what a true ghost tide was—a boundless, endless surge, charging fearlessly and ceaselessly like an ocean tide until the outpost was utterly destroyed.
And it was also in this moment that they finally realized that even with an architect to rely on, surviving the rainy season—especially one that had arrived early—was an impossible pipe dream.
This was a dead end.
Certain death.
*Thump.*
A dull impact rang out. A stray flesh worm ghost had struck the wall, its fleshy sphere instantly bursting into a thick green fluid that steadily corroded the stone.
No one could count how many had slipped through by now.
Was it the fifth, or the sixth?
Even with Arrow Rain Storm, stragglers occasionally slipped past the kill zone and slammed into the wall.
They had held out long enough.
Yet instead of hope, what awaited them was absolute despair.
At first, the flesh worm ghosts had not been overwhelming in number, but the tide's volume and breadth soon expanded drastically. They could only kill the ones charging at the wall, while to the west, far more flesh worm ghosts swept past the camp and rolled off into the darkness.
That was also the direction from which the female ghost had launched her charge earlier.
They were situated on the periphery of this ghost tide.
Looking closely, one would realize:
The gray mist to the west was packed entirely with flesh worm ghosts, with not another creature in sight, sweeping across the perimeter like a plague of locusts.
To the east, by contrast, there were only two or three isolated stragglers.
The outpost wasn't even the flesh worm ghosts' objective.
Far more of them swept in from the dark gray mist beyond the outpost, bypassed the camp entirely, and pushed deeper into the Eternal Night. The camp had merely been caught in their path. The flesh worm ghosts hadn't even set out to kill them, yet even so, he had already been backed into a corner of near-certain death.
"Can we dig a hole and hide?"
Chen Fan slotted another ghost stone into the arrow tower, his tone quickening slightly. "Abandon the entire camp. These flesh worm ghosts don't seem interested in attacking us, and while they pass, no other ghost creatures will dare approach. We hide in a subterranean tunnel, wait for them to pass, and then build a new ghost fire."
"No good," Wang Kui rejected the plan immediately. "An architect cannot create ghost fire in the Eternal Night."
He didn't understand why the stationmaster wouldn't know this, but now was hardly the time to dwell on it.
"I'll go!"
Xiao Qiu stepped forward once more. Looking up at the rain of arrows shooting into the sky for who knew which time, his knuckles turned white from gripping his clothes tightly. His voice rushed out: "A lot of flesh worm ghosts died out there, and plenty of ghost stones dropped below!
"I'll go out and throw the ghost stones back onto the wall as hard as I can!
"Earlier during our chat, I didn't say what my wish was. I wanted to go home and see it again. Brother Wang knows where my home is. If there's ever a chance in the future, take my ashes back and bury them beneath the big locust tree at the village entrance."
Xiao Qiu had stepped forward once again.
This time was different from the last.
The horde of flesh worm ghosts was immense. The moment Arrow Rain Storm crashed down, there would indeed be a fleeting opening, but that gap would instantly be plugged by the flesh worm ghosts behind them.
Just a split second.
That was not enough time to make it back to the wall; anyone outside would be swallowed up by the oncoming horde.
And in that split second, Xiao Qiu would only have enough time to scoop a dozen ghost stones into a sack and heave it up over the wall with all his might.
The ghost stones would make it in.
The person would definitely not.
If the previous task had merely been perilous, this one was certain death.
Just as the words left his mouth, Zhou Mo, who had been standing quietly at the side, patted Xiao Qiu on the shoulder. He thrust the broadsword he had never let go of into Xiao Qiu's arms, speaking calmly: "You're still young. Keep this blade. It's been with me for many years."
Before anyone could react, he vaulted over the parapet into the downpour, landing solidly on the wasteland outside the wall.
Right at that moment, Arrow Rain Storm crashed down.
A brief clearing opened in front of the wall. Without a second's delay, Zhou Mo trampled through the puddles of thick green fluid, ignoring the searing burns as he stumbled forward, rapidly shoving ghost stones one after another into a cloth bag. He looked up at the swarm of flesh worm ghosts bearing down on him.
An uncontrollable sliver of fear welled in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he gathered all his strength, roared, and hurled the cloth bag toward the top of the wall.
Only then did he seem to deflate, standing in place as he lifted his face toward the ceaseless downpour overhead. Throwing back his head, spreading his arms wide, and closing his eyes, he waited for death. A smile tugged at his lips.
He hadn't smiled like this in a very long time.
"Not bad. Got my wish before dying.
"Finally got to be a hero for once.
"Felt damn good."
Chapter 26