Chapter 134: Flesh and Blood Mutation, Efficient Processing

(Returning home from school today, I found myself swamped with tasks; this chapter is somewhat brief. Starting the day after tomorrow, I will increase the output, guaranteeing at least five thousand words daily.)

"Team One, proceed immediately to the vicinity of the city sewer exits for inspection. Teams Two through Four, take your squads and patrol the districts and other areas. If you discover anything similar, dispose of it by fire immediately. Pay special attention to the city wall sectors; do not neglect the situation there."

"Teams Five and Six, join all technical personnel and head to the Stevenson School of Magic. That should be the epicenter of all these events."

Within the Nightblade's magical communication system, layers of orders were being transmitted. Every Nightblade operative stationed in the capital acted swiftly under these commands, rushing to their designated posts.

The Winter Wolf horde rampaging outside the city had begun to affect the capital. The bloodthirsty, maddened wolves no longer prioritized migration; the desire for slaughter had occupied brains that possessed little intelligence to begin with. And the place nearby with the most flesh and blood was, without a doubt, the large population within the capital city.

The city guards currently stationed inside were, aside from a few new recruits, either soldiers recalled from the front lines or survivors of the Hellgate incident. They were no longer the ragtag bunch they had been before the Hellgate invasion.

Guided by intelligence, they assembled in an orderly fashion, diverted, and rushed to various areas along the outer city walls to join the hunters who had been preparing for the winter hunt, forming a defensive line.

While there was no breakthrough increase in their individual strength, the growth in these guards' willpower and execution was clearly evident. After converging, they utilized their defensive positions and collective strength to basically bring the maddened Winter Wolf tide under control.

Although casualties continued to occur due to these wolves, which had completely abandoned any instinct for survival and knew only how to launch suicidal attacks, the guards fulfilled their duties admirably. Not a single wolf stepped within the walls of the capital.

The Nightblades were also in action, and the things they faced were even more troublesome than the crazed Winter Wolves.

"Here! Mark it and let the scavengers handle it."

"Dig out the surrounding area; there's more underneath!"

"What on earth is this thing? When did it spread to this extent?"

"Do not use methods that detect Void energy or mana; it's useless. These are not magical creatures, nor are they creatures of the Void. Use your eyes, and use your hands to dig them out."

Several Nightblade teams were conducting rapid search and cleanup operations throughout the capital, and their target was a type of non-"supernatural" organism that had begun to spread beneath the city at some unknown time.

"What exactly is this?" A Nightblade soldier pulled a mass of flesh-like tendrils from the soil, which were tangled and coiled like plant roots, spreading in all directions.

These things, composed of flesh yet spreading like plant roots, had appeared in every corner of the capital shortly after the Stevenson School of Magic was abruptly enveloped by a blood-red barrier.

They crawled out of garden soil, climbed up trees and walls, or emerged from cracks in buildings, growing toward the surface of anything they could reach. Though similar to plant roots, they possessed unimaginable growth rates and mobility.

The Nightblades initially attempted to use standard methods for dealing with Void creatures—banishing them back to the Void—but they soon discovered that these ever-growing flesh-roots seemed unrelated to so-called Void creatures. They... seemed to be nothing more than exceptionally bizarre organisms.

"When did they spread so widely? Team One says there seem to be even more inside the sewer walls. How could this growth go undetected?"

The soldier pulled out a large mass of flesh-roots. Due to the force, many snapped, and fresh red blood spilled from them, staining the surrounding soil.

Watching these flesh-roots twist and writhe in his hands, the soldier wore a grave expression. The nature of these things was too similar to Void creatures, yet every detection method yielded the result that they had no connection to the Void.

"It is precisely because they have no connection to the Void that they cannot be detected. Even our most elite members cannot count how many plant roots or rat tunnels exist beneath the capital. If they have no relation to the Void, then in essence, these things are no different from tree roots or sprouts. We cannot discover them until they reveal themselves."

A mage responsible for providing fire spells for incineration answered the question of this soldier, who, despite his doubts, had not let his hands falter for a moment.

"Understood. But the timing of these flesh-roots' appearance is too coincidental; it must have something to do with the barrier that appeared at the Stevenson School of Magic."

"Yes, Teams Five and Six, the technical support squads, have already rushed there. There should be results soon. What we must do is clear away these suspicious things first," the mage continued, answering the questions of this soldier, who was noticeably more talkative than the silent Nightblade operatives.

"What is this?" The soldier continued to rapidly dig through the soil of a small garden near the central district. What appeared inside was no longer a complex tangle of flesh-roots, but a wall of flesh. The wall had a curve, and as more soil was cleared, its overall shape was revealed.

It was a sphere composed of flesh, with a large number of flesh-roots connected to it, pulsating rhythmically. Through the semi-translucent flesh shell, one could clearly see something moving inside.

This soldier was merely talkative; once he discovered this flesh sphere, he did not hesitate. His mission was to clear these flesh-roots and related items. It was not his job to figure out what these strange things were—that was for the research team. He was just field personnel, and his job was to execute.

He raised his sharp longsword and thrust it into the flesh sac without hesitation. A large amount of bloody fluid sprayed out the moment the skin was pierced. Internal substances, resembling amniotic fluid, flowed out continuously, and organic matter like cotton batting slid off the collapsing flesh skin.

The thing he had seen moving inside did not seem to die in such a short time; it continued to writhe and roll among the remains of the ruptured flesh sac.

The longsword was raised again and thrust down, snuffing out the still-active creature. Then, the mage's fire arrived, burning the shattered flesh the soldier had unearthed into a pile of charred debris.

No matter what they faced, they were efficient, calm, and handled things with a rigorous yet flexible attitude. This was the Nightblade—not numerous compared to the city guards, but undoubtedly the elite among ordinary soldiers.

"Anomaly here. Watch the surrounding soil." A stern warning came from nearby. A Nightblade soldier stopped digging and placed his hand on the longsword at his waist, looking at the ground nearby. Around him, the soil was showing abnormal vibrations and bulges.

"Understood." The team's mage, responsible for vigilance and emergency response, immediately shifted his attention from observing the surroundings to the area around the soldier who had issued the warning.

Having gained experience, he no longer used supernatural detection methods to observe the situation underground. Instead, he tapped his staff against the surrounding ground. Vibrations emanated from the tip of the staff, conducted into the earth, and fed back the situation within a certain range beneath the soldier.

"Watch your feet. There are numerous abnormal cavities, and some unknown non-supernatural creatures are crawling out of these cavities, approaching your position. Handle it, and the rest of you, be alert."

The mage quickly processed the information transmitted by his spell and relayed it, warning all Nightblade members engaged in the cleanup.

"Understood." A brief and clear reply. All Nightblade soldiers quickly adjusted their stance, ceasing their digging of the flesh-roots hidden underground, and instead gripped their weapons, focusing their attention on the surrounding ground.

Abnormal bulges and vibrations were appearing all around. Cracks formed on the surface of the soil, and soon, from those cracks, creatures—small in size but fast in speed—burst forth.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" These flesh-colored, strange creatures, which looked somewhat like rats, let out shrill screams. However, they were met by the various weapons held by the prepared soldiers.

Longswords swept through, easily slicing these small, fragile creatures in two. These small creatures, emerging from the flesh sacs underground, were destroyed rapidly before they could perform any destructive acts.

The soldiers' handling was swift, but the number of these small flesh creatures was also high. The ground continued to rupture, and these small beasts darted out, their powerful hind legs pushing off the ground, erupting with exaggerated speed as they lunged at the Nightblade soldiers.

"Clack!" The wide-open mouthparts met heavy iron armor. These field-duty Nightblade members were, without exception, clad in heavy armor. Unlike the plate armor used to signify status and rank, they wore true heavy fortresses that protected all vital parts.

The sharp, tough teeth in the small beasts' mouths were unexpectedly keen, and under their powerful bite, they actually embedded themselves into the heavy armor.

But unfortunately, compared to the thickness of this armor—which consisted of an outer metal layer nested with tough leather—the small beasts' teeth were simply not long enough. Even if they barely pierced the armor, they could not cause any harm to the soldiers.

"Squish!" The soldiers used their free hands to directly crush the small beasts that were hanging on them, biting their armor, turning them into a puddle of meat paste. They continued to handle the creatures emerging from the ground while killing those that had successfully "attacked" them.

"Based on observation and magical confirmation, these things have no command. They are simply following their instinct to slaughter. Do not let these things run to crowded places; it would be a disaster. Notify all residents to stay safe. Mage team, conduct the most thorough sweep possible of the entire capital's underground."

The mage observing the situation analyzed the gathered intelligence and then, with the help of communication tools, transmitted it to all Nightblade squads operating in the capital.

"Received!"

"Received!"

"Mage team is assembling, preparing to use a reduced-power earthquake spell. Is it approved?"

"The highest authority is not currently on the line. I am acting in their stead. Approved."

Information flowed rapidly. The Nightblade teams communicated and consulted at high speed, arranging every step of the operation in an orderly manner.

"A large number of non-supernatural, bizarre flesh creatures have appeared at the sewer exit. Their displayed strength is somewhat abnormal. There are currently no casualties. Requesting support from the reserve squad."

"Received! Team Seven, accelerate to Team One's position to provide support. Team Eight, remain on standby and be ready to move at any time."

Longswords swept horizontally, hacking the large number of bizarre flesh creatures rushing forward into corpses. Shields were held at the front, and repeated impacts knocked any monster attempting to charge back to where it belonged. Continuous chain fireballs, cast alternately by the mages, effectively damaged and segmented the gathering swarms of flesh creatures.

At this moment, Nightblade Team One was facing a tidal wave of flesh creatures pouring endlessly from the sewer exit, but their formation remained perfectly orderly. They were efficiently and calmly slaughtering and blocking these things of unknown origin.

Blood flowed like a river, and fragments of flesh littered the ground, yet it could not shake the willpower of these warriors, who had long dealt extensively with the Void, in the slightest.

At this moment, various numbers of flesh creatures were also bursting from beneath the ground throughout the city, but they were given no opportunity to act or cause destruction. Nightblade soldiers rushed to every location where these creatures appeared, efficiently completing the cleanup and defense.

The sudden situation and the bizarre, hard-to-detect flesh-roots did not cause any panic or loss of composure among the Nightblade soldiers and their leaders. This was the Nightblade, one of the most elite forces in the capital.