Embers Ad Infinitum

Long Yuehong switched positions from time to time and fired from the top, left, and right of the sandbag, not giving the mountain monsters a chance to approach.

Both sides hid behind their respective covers and exchanged shots.

Bai Chen and Han Wanghuo also joined in, but they didn’t put all their attention on this. One took the opportunity to quietly remove a grenade and search for a suitable angle. The other observed the mountain monsters’ activity patterns and slowly adjusted the muzzle’s position, hoping to seize the opportunity to kill the enemy with one shot just as they were about to fire.

At this moment, an artillery shell landed outside the window and landed on the top of the collapsed building.

Boom!

A violent shockwave—mixed with crimson flames—surged into the windowless and glassless room, forcing Bai Chen, Han Wanghuo, and Long Yuehong to retreat to the fortifications and lay prone.

After the explosion subsided a little, the remaining mountain monsters rushed out from their cover under their leader’s lead and ran toward Han Wanghuo and the others.

Long Yuehong had just looked up from behind the sandbag when he saw a mountain monster—who was not shorter than him—rush over. The assault rifle in his hand spewed out bullets with a roar.

He reflexively shrank back again, hearing the bullets hit the sandbags and them flying over his head.

Long Yuehong knew that hiding wasn’t a solution. He mustered his courage, jumped out from the side of the fortifications, and counterattacked with his Berserker assault rifle.

Gunfire echoed in the room. Of the two parties, one rolled on the ground, and the other ran forward. However, they failed to hit the other.

Almost at the same time, their magazines were emptied.

Long Yuehong didn’t hesitate. He gave up on the assault rifle and reached for his belt with both hands. Upon seeing this, the mountain monster threw the assault rifle in its hand at Long Yuehong’s head.

Long Yuehong hurriedly ducked and stood up when the rifle hit the ground. However, the mountain monster had already rushed in front of him and drawn a bayonet.

It was only then that Long Yuehong saw his enemy clearly.

He was taller and stronger than most of the mountain monsters in the vanguard team. Apart from his slightly blue skin and sharp teeth in his half-open mouth, he was no different from a normal human. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a square face with thick lips.

Long Yuehong didn’t have the time to draw his gun. He turned to the right and dodged the other party’s bayonet.

He constantly dodged and was in danger under the mountain monster’s indomitable attacks. Fortunately, this was the role he often played during combat training. Therefore, he was relatively adept despite having constant close shaves.

Long Yuehong was gradually forced behind the sandbags.

Suddenly, he stepped on a piece of concrete that appeared from nowhere and lost his balance.

Upon seeing this, the mountain monster smiled—this was what he had expected. He had been forcing Long Yuehong to the rubble-covered ground. Then, banking on his outstanding balance from climbing cliffs as if they were flat ground, he just needed to wait for Long Yuehong to fall.

Since the opportunity had appeared, he naturally wouldn’t let it go. He suddenly pounced forward and waved the bayonet in his hand.

At this moment, Long Yuehong suddenly exerted strength with his waist, slowing down his fall. He then tightened his right thigh and lashed it upward.

Bam!

His right leg kicked the mountain monster’s abdomen, making him bend his back uncontrollably.

Long Yuehong seized the opportunity to roll on the ground and stand up again with the rebound. During this process, he also drew his Ice Moss pistol.

Bang! Bang!

He repeatedly pulled the trigger, causing blood to bloom from the mountain monster’s body.

Upon seeing that the enemy had fallen to the ground with serious injuries and with no weapons beside him, Long Yuehong cast his gaze at Bai Chen in an attempt to provide support.

At this moment, Bai Chen happened to circle behind another mountain monster and kicked upward with her foot.

Bam!

The mountain monster revealed an extremely pained expression as its body involuntarily curled up.

Bai Chen took the opportunity to draw her gun and blow his head off.

As red and white splattered everywhere, Han Wanghuo also finished off his enemy. He used his left arm as bait to withstand a slash forcefully. He then seized the opportunity to get a hold of the other party and kick him out.

As the mountain monster staggered forward, Han Wanghuo pulled out the United 202 from his waist and gave it one last blow.

Bai Chen glanced at Long Yuehong and saw that he was fine. She quickly rushed to the first line of fortifications from before and picked up the Death rocket launcher that Jiang Baimian had left behind.

She carried the rocket launcher and half-kneeled. She then looked at the charging mountain monsters and merfolk outside and calmly fired.

Boom!

A fireball bloomed among the Subhumans and devoured many lives, reducing the enemy’s momentum.

This was like a signal flare. The Redstone town guards from different areas of the defense line counterattacked.

Before long, Redstone Collection’s artillery produced their own salvos.

Boom! Boom!

Amidst the fierce salvo, the mountain monsters and merfolk’s charge was interrupted.

Before long, a whistle sounded. The Subhumans abandoned the corpses and returned to their original base.

…

Phew… An Awakened at this level hasn’t experienced much mutation in their bodies… Uh, I can’t think of it that way. Otherwise, Shang Jianyao would say that it’s inauspicious again… Jiang Baimian heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Shang Jianyao had successfully knocked out the tall murloc who wore a wreath laurel.

She quickly ran over and prepared to make the final preparations.

At this moment, the skin of the tall murloc on the ground suddenly twitched strangely. It looked like countless gigantic parasites were burrowing around, making it appear extremely terrifying.

An indescribable aura emanated the next second, instantly dimming the moonlight in the area.

A vortex and a black hole seemed to appear inside the tall murloc’s body. They were about to devour everything around them and give birth to a living being that didn’t belong in the world.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian felt like her breathing had stopped and that her heart stopped beating.

Although this couldn’t compare to the gaze that came from behind Bishop Renato’s door when he contracted the Heartless disease, it was still very terrifying.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao held his breath, drew both pistols, and pulled the triggers at the mutated tall murloc as if he were unaffected.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He hit the target with every shot, but an invisible barrier seemed to appear around the murloc’s body, preventing the bullets from penetrating.

Shang Jianyao remained unfazed. He continued firing under the accompaniment of Dagger Group Prelude.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jiang Baimian was infected by this stubbornness and firm attitude. She also stepped forward and aimed the United 202 at the tall murloc on the ground.

The two of them fired crazily without hesitation.

Finally, the invisible barrier shattered, and bloody holes appeared on the murloc’s body.

He contorted a few times and completely lost his life. The anomaly in his body also stopped as if it had never happened.

…

After a hard-fought battle to force the merfolk and mountain monsters into a retreat, Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief and said to Bai Chen and Han Wanghuo, “I’ll go check if anyone is still alive.”

This was to prevent the enemy from launching a sneak attack at critical moments. Of course, the targets he checked included the town guards. He wanted to see who could still be saved.

After a round of inspection, he realized that the mountain monster—which he had shot twice—was still alive.

Upon seeing Long Yuehong—who was wearing a fat pig mask—walk toward him, the mountain monster, who had already entered a critical state, exhaled and said, “You’re very strong.”

He used mountain monster language, but it seemed to derive from Ashlandic. It was closer to a dialect, so Long Yuehong could barely understand him.

Long Yuehong was happy and a little embarrassed when he heard his enemy praise him. He squatted down and honestly said, “I’m the weakest on my team.”

The dying mountain monster was stunned for a moment. “Aren’t you from Redstone Collection?”

“We are mercenaries,” Long Yuehong replied kindly when he saw that the other party was about to die.

“They were really lucky to hire such a strong team like yours,” said the dying mountain monster as he panted.

Seeing him on his last breath, Long Yuehong couldn’t help but ask, “Why must you seize Redstone Collection? Why must you become enemies with the townsfolk here? I heard that there are farms and coal mines in the mountains. There’s no need for you to go to war.”

The dying mountain monster fell silent for a moment before he gasped for breath. “This is an obsession passed down by us mountain people from previous generations. M-my great-grandparents and grandparents have repeatedly told me that this fertile lake—this Old World city is our hometown.

“They said that there were a garden and a swing in a courtyard by the lake. There was a very small vegetable field with gentle winds, clean water, and white pigeons from the city. One of the rooms in the courtyard was specially prepared for the children. There were toy blocks, jigsaw puzzles, toys, comics, and books…”

His voice became softer and softer before gradually falling silent.

…

“What happened just now?” Jiang Baimian muttered without expecting an answer.

Shang Jianyao squatted down to search the corpse and replied seriously, “Reanimation.”

“…You learned that from the radio programs?” Jiang Baimian’s facial muscles twitched as she asked.

“Yes.” Shang Jianyao was very calm.

Jiang Baimian exhaled and said, “Is this something that happens to all Awakened at this level after they die, or is this Awakened abnormal?”

Shang Jianyao sincerely said, “You’ll have to ask him.”

“Do you think he will answer?” Jiang Baimian asked angrily. She then muttered to herself, “We can consult Harbinger Song later.”

At this moment, Shang Jianyao took out a neatly folded map from the pocket of the tall murloc’s tattered dark-blue cloak.

This map was very old. It was obvious that it came from the Old World.

Shang Jianyao quickly unfolded it and realized that it was identical to the map given by Song He—they were all city tour maps from the past.

This map didn’t label many things. It only had a red circle drawn somewhere in the city.

Outside the red circle was a word in the Red River language: “Home.”