The game has become a real alternate world-Chapter 863 - 545: Seeking the Reason

When the last Blood Dragon Wing turned to dust in the Holy Light, the defenders were startled to find blood-colored crystal dust congealing at their fingertips.

These particles, flickering with an eerie red glow, seemed to possess life as they slithered through the gaps in the soldiers’ armor. Huo Lin wiped his cracked gauntlet across the battlement, and the surface of the bluestone instantaneously corroded into a dense, honeycomb-like pattern.

"Another unprecedented plague toxin, getting more troublesome!"

"All personnel, remove your armor!" The Defense Captain shouted hoarsely, simultaneously tearing off his helmet eroded by the acidic mist. As he moved, dark red scabs peeled from his forehead.

He glanced at the western horizon where thunderclouds roiled, the lead-grey clouds occasionally streaked by crimson arcs of electricity—a sign that the Blood God Cult was assembling for a second wave of assault.

Hundreds of meters below the city wall, the Blood God Apostle Batulu was stepping up onto the altar, treading upon his followers’ spines.

Twelve Bronze Pillars etched with blasphemous runes emitted a teeth-grating friction noise, dark green patina falling swiftly while viscous black blood trickled from the cracks. As the first drop of tainted blood hit the ground, the entire Rust Plain resonated with the buzzing wingbeats of tens of thousands of beetles.

"My God above!" Batulu’s spell echoed across the battlefield as his emaciated fingers plunged deep into a follower’s skull, dark red lines spreading from the follower’s spine, crawling up the Bronze Pillars.

Those fist-sized parasitic beetles shook their sheath wings, the blood god runes protruding on their dorsal plates flickering like a breath. They clung to the barbed bat wings of the Blood Dragon Wing, swooping towards the anti-air turrets atop the city wall with the monsters’ shrill screams.

The bombardment descended again.

Huo Lin mounted the Rune Crossbow at the breach in the city wall, the crosshair revealing six Blood Dragon Wings diving down in a triangular formation.

A few of the bat-winged creatures’ compound eyes suddenly turned towards him synchronously, and in the moment when hundreds of pupils contracted simultaneously, the parasitic beetles shot towards him like live ammunition.

But more beetles surged towards the Magic Cannon, evidently aiming to destroy these defensive weapons.

"How much longer until the Magic Cannon is fully charged?!" Huo Lin shouted angrily into the Communication Crystal, firing three Armor-Piercing Arrows with his crossbow.

As the arrows pierced the beetles, scarlet acid burst in mid-air above the city wall, and two United Army crossbowmen who could not evade in time screamed as they fell off the wall.

"Three minutes! We need at least three more minutes!" The Mage in charge of power supply replied with a sob, two places on the Crystal Matrix before him already shattered, and light blue Arcane Energy was frantically leaking from the cracks.

Suddenly, a glass-shattering crackling sound resonated through the sky.

Six silver-white meteors pierced the blood-colored sky, and the Silver Cross team’s Teleportation Array unfolded thirty meters above the city wall.

The leading Female Knight, her hair like burning platinum, hurled a Holy Pattern Javelin tracing a spiral trajectory in the air, the Magic Stone embedded in the spear tip exploding thunderously upon contact with the first Blood Dragon Wing.

It was no ordinary explosion—the space was torn open with a ghostly blue rift in an instant, dozens of Blood Dragon Wings along with the parasitic beetles on their backs were sucked into the Void. The resultant Arcane Storm swept across the battlefield, Batulu’s altar trembled violently, and three Bronze Pillars snapped in response.

"Holy Light above! It’s the Soul Guardians!" The defenders erupted in hoarse cheers.

The Night Watchers and even the entire United Army, all have heard of the elite unit within the Night Watchers.

Whenever these elite teams appear, they can always leverage their formidable strength to turn the tide of battle. And upon their entry, they possess both the collective traits of the Night Watchers as well as their own distinct personalities.

This is not only recognition of their honor but also a strong means of boosting morale for allied forces.

But Huo Lin noticed new cracks on the Female Knight’s breastplate, the silver-white cloaks of these elite Night Watchers already soaked with dark red. Clearly, they hadn’t come from headquarters but had forcibly teleported from some other arena of fiercer combat.

A Soul Guardian team member walked past him, seemingly understanding the worry in his eyes, smilingly saying, "Don’t worry, everything is still under control."

...

Meanwhile, fifteen miles behind the defensive line, the largest United Army granary on the Rust Plain was shrouded in eerie silence.

Deep in the cellar, seven barrels bearing the double-headed eagle emblem were bubbling continuously, the guard Laine swayed about while raising a torch, seemingly something was swimming in the murky liquid.

"Who’s in there?" After a consecutive twenty hours of duty, the man blinked vigorously, the bloodshot eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

Due to the Chaos Legion’s assault, the refugees around were in a state of panic, forcing increased patrols and vigilance, leaving them utterly exhausted.

The muffled thud his Nail Head Hammer made on the barrel woke a dormant darkness—the twisted shadow of his own, a dagger forged from coagulated blood plasma was slowly taking shape.

When Laine bent down to inspect the green mucus seeping from the barrel’s base, the Shadow Blade silently pierced through the back of his neck.

War Priest Galo emerged from the body’s shadow, blood mist suffused from beneath the black robe. His rotting left hand pressed onto the barrel surface, the toxic seeds bestowed by the Plague High Priest spreading along the wood grain, the entire cellar reverberated with the dying gasps of the deceased.

"Let the Holy Light and those damned Night Watchers go to hell." Galo sneered with maggots-filled mouth, the shadow at his feet began to split and multiply.

The plague-infested barrels of malt ale burst one after another, green poison gas flowed through the ventilator pipes towards the water systems of various anti-air turrets.

On the frontline wall, Huo Lin saw a distress signal on the communications channel.

"Damn it! There’s been a cultist infiltration in the rear! What do we do, there’s no manpower for reinforcements now."

Just then, a team responded to the call for aid in the channel.

...

"Plague elimination plan!"

A small Half-Elf said steadily.

As soon as the words fell, a Holy Light Potion shimmering with soft golden light was tossed over.

Someone caught the potion and poured it over the source of the plague outbreak before them.

"Thank you, thank you, sir, for your timely intervention." An injured United Army soldier leaning against a pillar expressed gratitude.

The crisis had just erupted, and before the plague could spread widely, this unexpectedly appearing team swiftly resolved the crisis.

The Half-Elf captain observed the surroundings, nodding his head without turning, saying: "No need for thanks, we happened to be passing through the Rust Plain en route to scout the enemy’s camp."

Meanwhile, his teammates were still clearing the battlefield, those Chaos cultists had already turned to ashes.

The reason they wield such power is because they are a Soul Guardian reserve team.

There’s actually no official title like this, as they typically also handle Night Patrol duties, but they possess the strength qualifying them to apply as Soul Guardians, and the application process is already underway.

"Another united operation by the Four Gods cultists." The Mage beside him, checking the readings on his Alchemy Equipment, said with a gloomy face.

Yet his captain did not reply, only furrowing his brows, gazing ahead as if pondering something.

The captain muttered to himself, "The Rust Plain enemy forces have retreated? How can this be so coincidental?"