I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

"Trying to use ordinary epidemic prevention measures to deal with the Iron Cross Plague is nothing short of a fantasy."

"Of course, this doesn't mean we have to wait here to die."

He picked up a suitcase from the side of the sofa. Hiltina had not seen this suitcase before. It must have been prepared by Last while she was sleeping.

Last stood up straight, his eyes slowly scanning the window. Order had collapsed, and the neighborhood was dominated by chaos. "If a minefield full of landmines appeared on your route right now, what would you do?"

Hiltina glanced at Last with some confusion, then thought for a moment, "Of course we have to clear the mines first before we can pass through... According to what we teach at university, we can use metal detectors or mine-sweeping dogs."

Rust nodded. "That's right... but what if the mines in this minefield are extremely complex and interconnected, and you're running out of time, so you don't have time to use metal detectors and mine-clearing dogs to clear them one by one?"

Hiltina was slightly startled, but Rast didn't wait for her response and said directly, "Besides the methods you mentioned, there is another way."

"That is, with an explosion—"

He paused for a moment before walking out of the side door of the main house, carrying his suitcase.

"Reduce the entire minefield, including all the mines within it."

Chapter 16: Grand Escape in the Sunshine

Hiltina followed Rast out of the side door.

The side door of the main house is connected to a small stable. The battle in the early morning and the commotion outside at the moment have not affected the horses raised in the stable. The horses are still leisurely eating grass in the stable.

"Do you want to gather all the Iron Cross infected people in Deep Blue Harbor and destroy them together?" asked Hiltina.

Rust nodded. "That's right. Even though the evil god can descend through the Iron Crosses imbued with his aura, there are still certain requirements for the number of Iron Crosses."

"A few scattered iron crosses simply cannot bear the might of God's descent."

Rast stopped in front of the tallest horse, one with a bright red mane. "So, if we can wipe out most of the Iron Crosses in this city, we can destroy the prerequisite for God's Descent."

This was obviously a wild horse. It raised its front hooves the moment Last reached out to touch it, but Last seemed to know its movement in advance. He dodged sideways and jumped onto the horse.

The red horse kicked and jumped furiously, but Rast's body remained motionless on the horse's back, as steady as a rock.

Hiltina looked at Rast, who was taming a fierce horse with ease. "Wipe out all the Iron Crosses in the city? How do we do that?"

"I should have told you before that Deep Blue Port also has military uses, so there is a Royal Navy stationed here."

Last gently stroked the horse's chestnut fur, and within a few breaths, the unruly horse visibly tamed itself. "The freighter that crashed into the dock was actually an arms carrier disguised as a merchant ship, laden with over 4,000 tons of gunpowder, shells, and nitroglycerin."

"Right now, these explosives are scattered throughout the harbor following the shipwreck, intermingled with Deep Blue Harbor's former munitions depots and steam boiler plants. If the bombs are placed in the right locations and detonated in the right sequence, the chain reaction of thousands of tons of gunpowder and steam boilers will be enough to destroy all life within the port area."

"The center of the explosion only includes the port area? What about the Iron Crosses in other urban areas?" asked Hiltina.

In the close combat just now, she had deeply realized the Iron Cross's almost terrifying vitality. Even if its heart was blown up, it would not die immediately. If it was just affected by the aftermath of the explosion, it would not be enough to kill these hideous creatures.

"This is our next mission. Draw hatred, gather monsters, lure all the Iron Crosses in the city to the port area, manually set the time bombs, and then blow them up into the sky."

Last held the reins in one hand and took out the lead box containing the evil god's contaminants from his arms with the other hand. He opened the box, revealing a metal sculpture of a bound human figure inside.

He tightened his right foot, and the big red horse under his crotch understood and walked out of the fence, coming to Hiltina's side, in front of the stable gate.

"The evil god sculpture has a certain appeal to these Iron Crosses, but it's not enough to make them give up on ravaging the living creatures before them, so we need to add some more ingredients."

"Can you lend me your sword?"

Hiltina glanced at Last and threw the Twinkling Morning Star over to him.

Luster had rolled up his sleeves, and as he flung the door open, he cut his own vein with the blade of his silver rapier.

Blood shattered in the wind and splashed onto the black iron sculpture of the bound human figure.

sizzle-

Blood dripped, white smoke rose, and faint blood-colored lines appeared on the surface of the sculpture.

Almost at the same time, all the noisy noises and laughter on the street outside the door fell silent, and it was so quiet that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard clearly.

In the dead silence, the Iron Crosses ignored the prey being chased or abused in front of them, turned their bodies, and looked towards the main entrance of the manor, or more precisely, in the direction of Rast riding a red horse.

As the horses under Rast's crotch slowly walked out of the manor, these Iron Crosses turned their heads in unison, as if sunflowers were turning with the sun, but the disks of those sunflowers were gray and broken human faces, with hideous arcs at the corners of their mouths and blood-red flames burning in their pupils.

"Last, they seem to think you are delicious..." Being stared at by countless pairs of eyes that had lost their humanity and were filled with only pure cruelty and hunger, even with Hiltina's experience, a chill rose in her heart.

This feeling reminded her of the time when she was a child and got lost in the wilderness at night. She saw pairs of green wolf eyes light up in the darkness. If she had not been discovered and driven away by adults in time, Hiltina might have been eaten by the hungry wolves.

"Well, the Iron Crosses consider my blood a delicacy, but I'm not sure why. Based on my experience, other humans' blood doesn't have a similar effect." Last bit the bandage and wrapped it tightly around the wound on his wrist. "But now's not the time to talk about this. Come up."

"what?"

"Get on the horses before they get completely crazy from the excitement." Rast grabbed the reins with one hand and stretched out his hand to Hiltina.

"I know you're faster than the best racehorse, but in order to gather the Iron Crosses from across the city, our route needs to pass through all five districts of Deep Blue Harbor. Saving as much energy as possible is essential."

Hiltina grabbed Rast's hand. The hand was not strong but the knuckles were distinct. She used the force to jump up and landed lightly on the horse's back, behind Rast.

"In the eyes of those Iron Cross infected people, we are no different from those who are wanted by police with five stars on their heads..."

"So, you need to keep your Night Blade, that lightsaber that can slash bullets, active throughout the game. Don't be stingy... Bullets could be fired at us from any direction in this city at any time. In my previous loops, more than half of them died in this stage."

"Hold on."

After saying this, Rast felt his shoulders being gripped tightly and kicked the horse hard in the belly.

The big red horse under him neighed. It was obvious that it was no coincidence that Rast chose it as his mount from the stable. At this moment, it was not afraid of the terrifying sight of being watched by countless iron crosses.

It suddenly jumped up, jumped over the low fence, and rushed towards the end of the street in the distance, facing the midday sun.

Behind him, the Iron Crosses, as if waking from a dream, trampled on each other's bodies and chased after him desperately, like dark waves chasing the light at sunset.

Chapter 17: Hiltyna, You Are Like a Delicious Red Bean Paste Bread

At the junction of the inner city and the port area, Hiltina pulled out a rapier from the heart of an Iron Cross. The gray body in front of her fell down with a bang, bringing up a string of inky black blood.

Intensive gunfire rang out behind Hiltina. It was some kind of drum-type automatic rifle that was still in the prototype stage at that time and had never been truly popularized.

After the Iron Cross's physical fitness was enhanced, his shooting skills were very accurate, and the timing of his shooting was extremely tricky. It happened that Hiltina was turning sideways to deal with the Iron Cross who was rushing towards her head-on. At that moment, she had no time to take care of other things around her. According to common sense, she would definitely die.

But Hiltina still reacted. A bright silver light flashed in her eyes, and the rapier in her hand was also covered with a layer of silver-white light.

All the movements of the Iron Cross infected people in front of her, the trajectories of the flying bullets, the flow of the strong wind, the noisy noise...Hiltina's surroundings turned into slow motion. The only thing that remained unchanged was the silver sword in her hand.

This is the effect after she activated the Night Blade. Hiltina's Night Blade can give the concept of "weapon" to anything and completely control it. Even a weak child holding a branch can be as lethal as a skilled soldier wielding a sword.

And Hiltina was a seasoned swordsman. This rapier called the Shining Morning Star had accompanied her through countless battles in the night world... So when she activated the Night Blade, the experience gained from hundreds of times of swinging the sword was elevated to a whole new realm.

She entered a special flow state. The intersecting trajectories of dozens of bullets, the flaws in the enemy's movements, the weak points in the encirclement formed by the Iron Crosses... everything turned into a complex stream of information that poured into Hiltyna's mind. She analyzed and judged it in an instant, and then became clear and traceable.

To use the words from Last's previous life's martial arts novels, it is the so-called "the sword's heart is clear, and man and sword are one."

Ding ding ding ding, a series of crisp sounds, and a swift strike flashed in the blink of an eye, intercepting all the incoming bullets.

At the same time, Rast beside her also fired, and the full metal jacket bullet spun out.

The bullets did not land on the chest or head of the gunman Iron Cross. The steel diaphragm protecting the vital parts prevented them from being killed in one shot. It was also meaningless to shoot at an automatic rifle with a single-action revolver. Last was aiming at the wrist of the Iron Cross holding the gun.

Amidst the flash of gunfire, the automatic rifle that had been entangled with the two men for a long time fell out of their hands and was then submerged by the Iron Cross that was trampled from behind.

Last fired continuously in both directions, and the bullets accurately hit the gas pipes on both sides of the street. The flying sparks ignited the leaking gas, and the hot flames swept across the entire street, temporarily hindering the progress of the Iron Crosses.

But they still couldn't stop, because in addition to the direction they came from, there were Iron Crosses coming from all directions, tempted by Rast's blood and the evil god statue.

If we switch to a bird's-eye view, the Iron Cross group in Deep Blue Harbor is like a surging wave, while Last and Hiltina are dying people who have no time to return to the shore before the tide rises and can only be chased by the tide.

The two ran towards the port area that was vaguely visible in the distance. This was the last leg of the journey, but they could only walk.

The big red horse was gone. When it was jumping to avoid the trap buried by the Iron Cross on the ground, it was hit in the left leg by a stray bullet in mid-air. The only thing Rast could do was to shoot the big red horse in the head before it was overwhelmed by the Iron Cross.

"Everyone dies."

This was what Rast was muttering to himself at the time, and Hiltina didn't know whether it included them.

……

Ten minutes later, Rast and Hiltina appeared in the port area, covered in blood.

Unlike the residential areas with mostly houses and homes and extremely high population density, the population in the port area is much sparsely populated, with arsenals and steam factories scattered throughout.

Luster checked his watch and stopped walking: "Let's take a break."

Boom——

As soon as Rast finished speaking, there was a loud thunder.

Hiltina subconsciously looked up and saw that the sky, which had been sunny not long ago, was now covered with dark clouds.

Seconds later, heavy rain poured down, highlighting the capricious climate of coastal areas.

Last leaned over, propped up his knees in the rain, and gasped for breath. "The Iron Cross mainly relies on scent to track us, but heavy rain will wash away the traces of blood. They won't be able to find us in a short time."

The pale silver light in Hiltina's eyes disappeared in a flash, and her pupils returned to their original light brown color.

These Iron Crosses, who can use guns and even set traps in advance, are much more difficult to deal with than the zombies in the movies.

The physical exhaustion of this escape was secondary. In order to block bullets, Hiltina had to activate the Night Blade throughout the entire process and enter the state that Last called "Sword Master Mode".

This state consumes a lot of mental energy. After continuous use, her spirit is on the verge of exhaustion. At this moment, her tense nerves relaxed, and fatigue and sleepiness suddenly came like a tide.

However, in this moment of trance and relaxation, an extreme violent impulse suddenly surged in Hiltina's heart.

She looked at Rast in front of her and felt that he was like a neat and clean rag doll, which made her want to tear it into pieces.

In her mind, she even imagined the doll Rast's limbs torn into pieces, with the cloth strips and mechanical gears used as stuffing scattered all over the floor... Only a handsome head was left hanging on the broken body, and she twisted the head with her hands and rotated it 360 degrees counterclockwise, which was a beautiful scene.

Hiltina was startled, and the Night Blade and Chariot Sequence Long Stage were automatically activated. A pale silver flame ignited in her pupils, and the pendants in her arms bloomed with dazzling brilliance, and gorgeous emblems appeared.

After a long time, Hiltina barely suppressed the inexplicable violent impulse in her heart, and the silver fire in her eyes slowly went out.

On her right arm, a dark cross pattern gradually faded under the heavy rain, and finally faded from the fair skin.

Hiltina forced herself to look away from Last, who held a great attraction for her, fearing that if she looked at him any longer, the impulse to twist his head off would turn into action.

"Laster, I feel like you are a beautiful rag doll, and I am a naughty child who wants to tear the toy to pieces."

"It's normal." Last didn't look up. "Although the wound isn't infected, the lead box can't completely seal the sculpture. A little contamination has leaked out, subtly affecting you."

"However, it seems that your Sequence Elder rank is high enough, and your spirit is strong enough. Without direct wound exposure, the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague can be temporarily suppressed."

His voice remained calm in the rain. "By the way, Miss Hiltina, you look like a delicious and tempting red bean bun to me right now..."

"It's so tempting to chew through the white outer layer and feel the sweet red bean paste inside burst in your mouth."

Chapter 18 This is the last level

After hearing Last's answer, Hiltina suddenly took a step forward silently and pulled off Last's sleeve.

Black iron cross.

Not just one, but dozens of iron crosses were deeply branded on the back of Last's hand, covering the entire skin of his arm. The inky black color was much deeper than any iron cross that Hiltina had seen before.

This was a matter of course, yet a fact that Hiltina had previously subconsciously overlooked—a mere casual glance could contaminate an ordinary person. Even the slightest aura emanating from the lead box could silently infect her...

Then how much contamination would Rast, who had previously prevented himself from touching the evil god statue and kept and carried the pollutants on his own, have suffered?

The pollution suffered by the Iron Crosses in the outer city combined may not be as much as what Last has endured... He does not have the heraldic costume and extraordinary props like Hiltina, and he does not have the Night Blade by his side. The level of the Sequence Long Stage is even more different.

"You..." Hiltina subconsciously took out an emerald green crystal from her arms. Just as she was about to do something, Last raised his hand to stop her.

Only then did Hiltina see clearly what Rast looked like at the moment.

The dilated and twisted veins had already climbed up Last's once handsome face, looking hideous and ugly like a pitch-black spider web. The blood vessels, some thick and some thin, were throbbing under the skin like black snakes.

But for some reason, his bloodshot eyes were still clear, as if there were bright stars at the bottom of the lake, just the same as when the two met.

"Don't waste this disposable item that looks so precious. I won't use it. Leave it to yourself later."

Luster's voice was a little hoarse and rough; the Iron Cross contamination had affected his throat and vocal cords, but his tone remained steady. "It's really nothing to be surprised about. The ability to suppress primitive instincts and impulses is the biggest difference between humans and beasts."

"Just as spies can rely on repeated training to find a way to counteract Veritaserum, the contamination of the Iron Cross is not uncontrollable—all that is required is restraint of desire, extreme restraint."

"Don't you feel any pain?" Hiltina looked at Rast's bloodshot eyes.

She knew exactly what Rast was going through at the moment. Just now, Hiltina had briefly experienced the taste of the Iron Cross Plague.

The feeling is somewhat similar to a drug addiction attack, but it is hundreds or thousands of times stronger than human drugs. Once you choose to indulge in the desire for sadism, you can enjoy bliss. On the contrary, choosing to restrain the desire is like being eaten by thousands of ants.

Ordinary people cannot bear it for even a second and will immediately degenerate into sadistic beasts.

If Hiltina's protective item hadn't been activated in time, purifying the pollution, she didn't know how long she could have endured such erosion. Perhaps tens of seconds, perhaps minutes...