Chapter 604: Church of Eternal Life - Swarm Technology
The blazing flames, carrying intense heat, devoured the corpses on the ground with madness.
Yet the battle atop the Carlisle city walls became increasingly difficult.
Knight Hawk was horrified to find that the zombies charging again had undergone terrifying deformities.
They had grown sharp claws capable of piercing the sturdy walls and climbing swiftly upward.
Their strength and size were much greater than before, making them harder to kill.
"Deploy the golem units for defense!"
"Attack their heads. That's the only way to kill them."
"Keep burning their corpses to prevent further reuse."
"Anyone injured, report immediately, take Purification Potion, and undergo purification rituals."
Brown shouted with a stern face, though his eyes brimmed with deep worry.
The mutation speed of these zombies was too fast!
Even faster than the aberrants he had seen before!
Each new wave of zombies was harder to deal with than the last.
Guardian golems stepped onto the walls, instantly bringing a strong sense of safety to the soldiers.
With towering bodies, immense strength, solid defenses, and a longer attack range than ordinary soldiers...
These wall-climbing zombies were smashed into bloody mist the moment they reached the top.
With pressure relieved, soldiers immediately made way and intensified their attacks.
The zombies, lacking offensive capabilities, were quickly knocked down and crushed.
The steady guardian golems stood like dark reefs, unshaken by the waves of zombies.
As the construct golems joined the fray, the arrogance of the zombies climbing the wall was crushed.
Their small bodies, though powerful, couldn't withstand heavy blows.
Most critically, their zombie plague lost its effect—unable to infect enemies, they were easily overwhelmed.
Knight Hawk, hastily summoning more troops to the wall, breathed a sigh of relief and muttered:
"Good thing we bought a batch of combat golems from Bay Territory—otherwise we might not have held out!"
Brown, however, remained tense, his cold gaze fixed on the approaching horde. He frowned instinctively:
"What's going on? Why hasn't their number decreased at all?"
"We clearly burned the corpses..."
Suddenly realizing something, Knight Hawk looked below the wall.
Beneath the scorched remains, strange vine-like tentacles had sprouted, dragging bodies backward.
At some point, the ground had turned blood-red.
Massive tentacles greedily bound the corpses—even the charred ones.
It was as if the entire land had become a monstrous being.
It was constantly digesting, devouring, plundering all surrounding flesh and blood.
Knight Hawk, scalp tingling, felt a deep, unspeakable fear. He turned to Brown and said:
"We might hold on, but the nearby towns won't. Bloodmoon City already said many have lost contact..."
Brown instinctively looked up, thought of something dreadful, and ran toward the city without hesitation.
Knight Hawk's face showed bitter despair as another wave of zombies approached.
If these zombies were truly transformed from killed civilians and Professionals...
Then just the dozen towns near Carlisle had over 300,000 to 400,000 people.
Carlisle had only 10,000 soldiers, and its elite troops were still in Bay Territory. How could it withstand such an assault?
"This isn't even the scariest part. According to Bay Territory's records of certain aberrants..."
Brown paused in worry and, under Viscount Larry's calm gaze, forced himself to continue:
"These monsters can reuse flesh repeatedly. Even if we keep burning the bodies, we'll still face twice the enemies..."
Even now, Viscount Larry remained calm, as if the enemy was a mere mob, incapable of breaching the walls.
Until Brown sighed, rubbed his throbbing forehead, and said under the light penalty of a minor contract breach:
"According to secret records from Bloodmoon City, monsters with such flesh-recycling and mutation abilities are at least tied to a demigod-level abomination!"
A demigod?
An abomination?
Viscount Larry, calm moments ago, immediately dropped his Arcane Journal, eyes sharp, his face pale as he stared at Brown.
A heavy pressure fell on Brown.
But he shook his head, took a deep breath, and unlike the past, didn't seem afraid:
"Yes. They once encountered a similar peak-legend monster on the sea..."
"According to Lord Matthew's speculation, someone is researching and exploiting terrifying evil flesh and tissue."
"These monsters possess semi-immortality. Even partial flesh, once it consumes enough energy and resources, can regenerate..."
A complicated light flashed in Viscount Larry's eyes. Without questioning Brown, he hesitated, then suddenly said:
"Head north. Escort Laura to a Thorn Chamber of Commerce convoy. Ensure her safety."
Brown, confused, took the storage item handed over by Larry in a daze.
At that moment, Viscount Larry stood up, exuding overwhelming might.
In Brown's stunned gaze, an invisible Mage Hand equipped Larry piece by piece with dark red leather armor.
A storm-like aura surged. Brown instinctively stepped back, his eyes flashing with excitement and joy.
The Viscount was going to act personally!
Though his aura wasn't as terrifying as Yaya's momentary glimpse, Viscount Larry had truly reached level 20.
That was the pinnacle of the Extraordinary tier!
Just one step away from breaking human limits and advancing to Legendary!
What shocked Brown more was Larry's silent spellcasting.
Such power gave Brown an illusion of seeing Matthew himself.
Larry spoke no more. In full combat mode, spear glowing slightly, he strode out.
His appearance greatly boosted Carlisle's soldiers' morale.
With him came other powerful Extraordinary Professionals onto the battlefield.
They were the backbone of the Carlisle Family, their foundation on this dangerous continent.
Before Brown could ask, a cloaked figure silently appeared beside him.
Recognizing him, Brown's eyes widened in disbelief. He bowed respectfully and whispered:
"Why are you here?"
The man didn't answer. He glanced at the eerie scene in the distance and told Brown:
"Don't overthink. Prepare to retreat. Just lead the way and stay alive."
Forcing himself not to dwell on things, Brown recalled the dealings with the Thorn Chamber and quickly moved toward the city's rear.
A plain-looking carriage made his heart skip.
But he said nothing and boarded with gritted teeth.
Under his tense gaze, the northern gate slowly opened a crack.
The old man gently flicked the reins. The carriage rolled forward. Horrid howls echoed from all directions.
Zombies, smelling prey, encircled like hyenas.
Alarmed, Brown gripped his sword hilt.
But he quickly relaxed as the old man calmly drew his sword and slashed at the red zombies.
Splat!
The zombies halted instantly.
Their bodies were sliced into countless pieces by the terrifying sword aura.
A strange blood mist spread, swept away by the shockwave.
But the old man's brow furrowed—he noticed the shredded flesh was being absorbed by the blood-colored carpet.
Within his sensing range, that fragile-looking red carpet extended over a thousand meters.
He realized this was no exaggeration from Viscount Larry. Abandoning further attack, he drove the carriage away from Carlisle.
Brown scanned the surroundings anxiously.
He kept calculating the combat power of Professionals in other towns. None escaped—proving the enemy's strength.
Though confident in the old man's strength, Brown wasn't sure he could survive a siege.
This thought made him uneasy.
He originally planned to recruit and train an adventurer team in Bay Territory.
But halfway through, this crisis erupted, and his mind began to wander.
"If Bay Territory faced this, how would they respond?"
"Would they be this passive?"
"Probably not..."
Just then, bizarre fleshy structures appeared in the distance.
Unlike zombies, they had chitinous beetle shells and tentacles rooted deep in reddened earth.
Most were over ten meters tall—taller than most buildings in Carlisle.
They had gaping mouths, twisted limbs, and watching eyes.
Brown felt their gaze.
Then came piercing, eerie shrieks.
Brown saw blood-gushing holes at the base of the structures ejecting squirming red cocoons.
The cocoons burst open, revealing claws and two-meter-tall zombie monsters.
Clearly, to counter the golems and soldiers, these zombies had further "evolved."
The old man glanced at the memory crystal in Brown's hand and spoke for the first time:
"Is Bay Territory interested in them?"
Brown instantly understood and nodded without hesitation:
"Yes, Bay Territory pays high prices for monster intel."
"These here are worth over 100,000 gold. With flesh samples or combat data, that price would multiply."
As he finished, he saw the old man strike again.
With a slash, invisible sword energy cleaved dozens of zombies in half.
Perhaps the zombies had grown stronger—or the old man held back.
They didn't fall apart instantly, but kept struggling on the ground.
Even with half a body and dragging twisted innards.
Brown recorded everything, heart pounding.
Just as he thought the old man would attack the flesh structures, the sword was sheathed.
A sudden sense of danger surged—Brown felt watched by something dreadful.
Luckily, the old man's strength deterred the enemy.
Even as they passed the structures, no further attack came.
Brown sighed in relief, looking at the blood-red glow beneath. He glanced at the sky.
The sun still shone—no Blood Moon had risen.
He couldn't help but wonder what terrifying forces and organizations had caused this catastrophe.
How far would it spread? What was the goal?
Instinctively, he tore two scrolls—one for the carriage, one for the horse.
"Featherfall!"
"Levitate!"
The old man gave him a curious glance. Seeing his look, Brown explained:
"Got used to it while adventuring in Bay Territory's underground ruins. Even a slight boost means less danger."
The old man, having heard many Bay Territory stories recently, nodded silently and asked:
"If it were Bay Territory, how would they respond?"
Recalling their tactics, Brown sighed and said:
"Bay Territory is versatile—skilled in ranged weakening and counter-offensive breakthroughs."
"They'd probably use the simplest means."
"Let Lady Yaya bathe the area in dragon breath, advance with artillery, then flood it with fire oil to burn it all..."
Hearing this "simple tactic," even the old man raised his brows.
It did sound "simple"—but achieving all that would be extremely hard...
While they spoke, a nearby ruin caught their attention.
Twisted flesh coated it like a skin layer, covering every inch.