I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

Those who achieve great ascension do not retreat but advance.

His right arm, which had been stripped of its fist, suddenly extended, the entire arm splitting open at the wrist joint, the silver alloy casing springing open to the sides to reveal a thick cannon barrel inside.

"boom."

A streak of eerie green alchemical flame shot out from the cannon barrel.

With temperatures and destructive power far exceeding those of a furnace torch, this was a unique technique of the Ascension Society. The eerie green flames, carrying a blinding light, plunged headlong into that massive mass of flesh and blood.

Flesh and blood scorched and rolled in the eerie green flames, emitting a teeth-grinding sizzle.

The servants realized what was happening without being told.

His aura suddenly surged, his eyes glowed with intense purple light, and numerous purple cracks appeared on his skin.

The ground beneath my feet began to tremble.

Purple cracks spread from the soles of his feet, expanding wildly in all directions, instantly covering the entire hollow floor. Faint purple tentacles emerged from the cracks, swaying slowly.

Countless purple lights surged out from the cracks, shooting towards the mass of flesh and blood scorched by the eerie green flames.

Purple light and eerie green flames simultaneously poured into the body of that mass of flesh and blood.

Under the double attack, the mass of flesh struggled desperately, churning violently. Fist-sized blood bubbles bulged on its surface, bursting, healing, and bursting again. Eerie green flames scorched finger-thick holes in the flesh, each emitting acrid black smoke.

The mass of flesh began to curl and shrink, emitting a silent wail.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this; it seemed that the thing was definitely dead.

Just when everyone thought it was going to die.

The next moment, the mass of flesh that should have been severely damaged suddenly broke free.

An extremely powerful wave of pollution burst forth from his body, even more intense than before, causing the air inside his cavity to vibrate and buzz.

The injuries healed at a visible speed, and the blood holes that had been burned closed up in just a few breaths, while the purple light threads were severed and swallowed up one by one.

Even the cannon barrel of the Great Ascendant was affected by the backlash; the eerie green flames suddenly went out, and a layer of grayish-white frost appeared at the mouth of the barrel, as the temperature was rapidly reduced by the contamination drawn from the inside.

Splattered blood and flesh landed on the Ascended One.

Even with the double protection of high-temperature burning and silver alloy, the mechanical body was still corroded and developed several pits.

Although not deep, the silver alloy surface was visibly dented, with the edges showing a dark gray tinge of corrosion. Even the alloy body, which was at a high temperature, could be contaminated.

The great ascendant's expression changed.

The only good news is that after this round of fighting, that mass of flesh and blood has become noticeably weaker.

Its volume has shrunk by almost a full circle, its creeping speed has slowed down, and the frequency of surface churning has also decreased.

"Now, kill it." The mechanical voice of the Great Ascendant emanated from the scorching steam.

All four pressed down at the same time.

The Ascended One suddenly attacked, his remaining left fist, wreathed in scorching heat, blasting towards the mass of flesh and blood. The servant's purple light surged forth once more, ignoring the injury on his right arm, he exerted force with both hands simultaneously, purple light threads weaving into a large net that swept down towards it.

The hooded Night's Watchman's flesh transformed into sharp blades, each piece carrying the force to pierce into the weakened mass of flesh. His arm was already reduced to bone, and he was prepared to discard this piece of flesh at any moment.

Rex's swarm of insects also pounced, the dark red fleshy worms curling into a ball, trying to devour and tear at the weakened flesh and blood tissue.

The four attacks were about to land.

The sound came from deeper into the passage.

"Thump...thump..."

Somber and ancient, like a violently beating heart, emanating from a depth far older than ghouls.

These two thumps and two vibrations alone instantly disrupted the four's offensive rhythm.

The swarming worms abruptly retreated back onto Rex, their dark red fleshy worms clinging tightly to his skin, none daring to peek out.

The servant's purple net loosened for a moment, causing the hooded Night's Watchman's flying blade to veer off course, and the Great Ascended's left fist to be a beat slower.

The mass of flesh that should have been chopped up suddenly reacted.

It closed up in the same instant.

The churning flesh and scattered tissue fragments suddenly shrank towards the center, coalescing into a ball, much smaller in size, clearly severely injured, yet it did not die.

The shrunken mass of flesh and blood swept deeper into the passage at incredible speed, leaving a dark red trail in its wake, disappearing into the darkness of the deeper passage within moments.

We can't catch up.

"Thump...thump..."

Deeper inside, the heartbeat sounded twice more, deep and resonant, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

Rick's expression changed drastically.

He stared at the passage leading deeper into the world, the swarming insects trembling wildly over him.

"Retreat! Quickly!"

While they were fighting to the death at the foot of Bronze City, Lu Yuan had already traveled for a whole day.

When leaving Lilin City, you can still see many caravans on the official road, and merchants and pedestrians coming and going in twos and threes, with people everywhere near and far.

But the further west you go, the fewer people there are on the road. Once you leave the territory of Lilin City, you can count the number of living people you encounter on one hand.

The road leading to the Bronze City was completely invisible.

No longer needing to accommodate the large caravan, the three carriages noticeably increased their speed.

Bor tightened the reins, and the sound of the horse's hooves on the stone road was fast and frequent. The two carriages behind followed closely, and the sound of their wheels rolling over the road echoed on the empty official road.

No one spoke.

Bohr was wiping his knife, while Dunn leaned against the back of the wagon, disassembling his crossbow to examine each part.

The other Night Watch brothers were tidying up their belongings; some were wrapping new strips of cloth around the hilts of their swords, while others were putting the mithril back into the leather pouches at their waists.

Everyone is doing the same thing: preparing to engage in battle at any time.

Lu Yuan sat in the lead carriage, with the ancient music theory handwritten book given to him by Hai Meng tucked in his arms, his fingers unconsciously pressing against his chest.

The situation in Bronze City is far from optimistic; this trip back will inevitably involve dealing with ghouls.

Moreover, this attack was clearly different from the previous one. The communication crystals were completely silent, and not a single message could be transmitted. From any perspective, this was not a good omen.

He didn't say it aloud; there was no need. Everyone present understood that.

After dark, the group found an abandoned roadside inn to rest briefly, taking turns on night watch. They kept watch by the light of sandworm oil lamps and got along peacefully.

They continued their journey before dawn.

The next evening, fog rolled in on the road.

At first, it was just a thin layer, floating close to the ground, but in less than half an hour, the fog thickened, becoming so thick that it was impossible to see more than five steps away, and even the shadows of the trees by the roadside became a blur.

Bor frowned and slowed down.

"I've walked this road at least twenty times, and I've never seen such thick fog." He lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on the hazy gray expanse ahead.

Fortunately, they were familiar with this official road, which was paved with stone slabs. They could tell whether they had deviated from the path by the feel of their feet and the sound of their wheels. However, their speed slowed down significantly, but they were still able to move forward.

A sound suddenly came from the thick fog.

It was the sound of footsteps, heavy and slow, as if something very heavy was moving through the fog.

Almost at the same instant, gray and white text popped up in the corner of Lu Yuan's field of vision.

[Environmental Awareness: Strong pollution source... Please move away immediately.]

Lu Yuan's expression changed.

Without hesitation, he immediately turned and gestured to the two cars behind him, his communicator pressed to his mouth, his voice extremely low: "Move closer, gather in one place, stop where you are."

Several carriages slowly drew together in the thick fog. Bor had already drawn his knife, the blade pressed against his leg, and remained silent.

Dunn and his brothers grabbed their weapons and formed a semicircle, their backs against the carriage.

All eyes were fixed on the fog.

The slow, deliberate footsteps neither stopped nor approached, but walked back and forth not far away.

Lu Yuan stared intently at the white void in the fog, the gray text still hanging in the corner of his vision, the words "relatively strong pollution source" quietly glowing.

The thing in the fog didn't attack them.

To be precise, it wasn't aimed at them at all.

The footsteps stopped at a certain moment.

Lu Yuan sensed a gaze.

He couldn't see the source or discern the direction, but that gaze was unmistakably fixed on him, carrying a strange...curiosity, not like it intended to attack.

The gray text jumped to another line.

[You are being watched by an unknown entity... Reason assessment in progress, assessment successful.]

Lu Yuan paused for a moment.

The next moment, a voice came from the thick fog.

It is "speaking".

However, Lu Yuan managed to glean a few fragmented meanings thanks to his translation skills.

"...Strange...you...can hear me..."

Lu Yuan didn't move.

His hand was already on the revolver at his waist, instinctively gripping the most convenient weapon.

The gaze from the mist remained fixed on him.

It seemed to have never seen anything like this before: a human, at the second level, was able to receive its thoughts.

Lu Yuan knew he was walking a tightrope. The gray and white text marked it as a "stronger source of pollution," meaning this thing was far more powerful than him. If he angered it, everyone present combined wouldn't stand a chance.

But it showed no intention of taking action.

"What are you?" Lu Yuan asked, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

There was no response from within the fog.

A few breaths later, the fragmented thoughts came again.

"...You smell familiar..."

Lu Yuan's heart tightened.

That "scent," the mycelium core once called "the scent of its kind." He carried too many things with him: the sea of ​​knowledge, authority, and the inexplicable scent he had encountered even before he came into contact with the sea of ​​knowledge.

He didn't respond to that question, but instead asked a question in return.

Where are you going?

The fragmented thoughts paused for a moment before continuing to flow.

"...Something...is about to wake up...I'll go check it out..."

Just this one sentence, without beginning or end, it's impossible to tell what it refers to or where it's located.

But Lu Yuan's back tensed up instantly.

"Something's about to wake up? What is it? Where is it? Could it be Bronze City?"

He tried asking again, hoping to get some information out of the situation.