MTLNOVEL Chapter 186: The Latter Is Even More Terrifying
On the long pier stretching from the shore into the water, a mass of oak planks is rotting and weathered, producing a clear creaking sound as the black-clad soldiers' straw sandals step on them.
The canoe sways in the water, stirring up ripples, as the black-clad soldiers jump onto the pier one after another, heading toward the streets of the dock.
A few short Child Soldiers scouts duck their bodies and run in three directions away from the dock.
Only after confirming there was no danger, did Horn prop himself up on the boards and climb onto this pier full of holes.
Walking to the end of the pier, the entire dock unfolds before Horn's eyes.
This dock on Autumn Dusk Island is larger than Horn imagined. Although it had been abandoned for over a hundred years, traces of its former splendor could still be seen.
At the dock's shore, rows of warehouses with brick and stone structures can be seen, with shops lined up on both sides of the street, though most are reduced to rubble and remnants.
At the corners of these buildings are faded Abasis mosaic tiles, and beside the columns are bird-beak style positive and negative wave moldings.
Among the rubble and remnants, many small wooden houses or thatched roofs were placed atop the brick houses.
This mixed style of architecture, combined with the previous long bridge, suggests that there once was a small town or legion base of the El people nearby.
After the fall of the El Empire, it is unknown whether the El people relocated, or the Beastman servants rebelled and occupied this island.
Without the El technology, the Beastmen could only utilize the local infrastructure, making simple modifications.
The current batch of Beastmen behave so Pu Xin, likely because they have been unconsciously assimilated by El culture while adapting to these grand infrastructures.
The oar moves, the boat cuts through the fog and lake water, heading towards the broken bridge.
Victor commands everyone to drag wooden blocks and fences from the ruins and pile up the mud to build rows of small barricades between the street and the lake water.
This was a skill they learned during the blood battle at Joan of Arc Castle.
Horn stands in the middle of the barricades, looking toward the center of the island, and he seems to see groups of houses and a sudden high tower amidst the indistinct scenery.
According to the Beastmen, that tower is the altar of the Blood God.
The boat has just moved, and the barricades are not even fully built when a rapidly urgent whistle sound spreads over.
"Toot-toot-toot—"
The figure of a Child Soldier begins to clear in the fog as he stumbles and runs, clutching his right arm, which is covered in blood, while continuously blowing the whistle.
The ground shakes, and the fog moves between their hair, swirling in the water mist.
Half-human-sized hairy creatures with the reddish-brown fur over a foot long leap out of the fog, crouch on the ground, and awkwardly run towards them.
"Roar—" His hoarse roar captures everyone's attention.
"First row, turn to the right," Victor quickly shouts, "Clockwork guns, ready!"
Ten clockwork guns extend from the incomplete barricades, aimed at the running hairy creatures.
In facing these sudden attacks, the Holy Gunmen actually have to wind the clockwork key first.
Hearing the "creak-creak" sound of winding the clockwork beside him, Horn can't hold back his difficulty in restraining his expression; it seems the improvement of the clockwork gun must be prioritized.
Fortunately, the hairy creatures are quite far and running quite slowly, while the Child Soldier scout's whistle was rather timely.
"Aim!" Victor shouts aloud.
Just as Victor's voice falls, the Child Soldier scout rolls over the barricades like a puff of smoke, lands by Victor's feet, and shouts, faking authority, "Kill it!"
"Praise Holy Wind!" Victor finally gives the firing command as they see the hairy creatures' shape clearly.
Instantly, the bodies of all ten Holy Gunmen tremble simultaneously, and hundreds of iron shots burst forth, causing the first seven or eight hairy creatures to shake briefly.
Curiously, they neither cry nor struggle, nor even bleed, simply fall straight down suddenly.
The other hairy creatures behind them show no signs of shock and continue running, not changing their speed at all.
Horn frowned: "Jeanne!"
Jeanne immediately dashed over the crowd and stood behind the second row of Long Spearman, as the first row had finished shooting due to the clockwork gun's effective range of only thirty yards, it was now the turn of the Long Spearman and Jeanne.
"Roar."
The previously running hairy creatures suddenly stand up before the barricades, while twenty spears instantly thrust, piercing through their unflinching bodies.
A stench immediately explodes, and Horn, standing relatively far back, instinctively covers his nose.
But the hairy creatures show no signs of injury. Though a firm flesh sensation was felt as the spears entered, they still couldn't kill them.
Some even had opened neck wounds yet continued moving.
The hairy creatures' bodies stretch beyond the barricades, and the hand hidden within the fur sweeps horizontally, stirring a gust of fierce wind.
Even though wearing chest armor and helmets, three soldiers are still knocked to the ground, blood flowing from their sleeves as they clutch their arms and ribs and cry in pain.
Is it really Innate Divine Power?
Horn widens his eyes; he presumed the Beastman barbarians exaggerated, but this strength rivals a bear.
Seeing those Long Spearmen fallen, the hairy creatures crawl onto the barricades, trying to flip over and chase, but a dazzling white light mixed with an angry roar pierces through its brain.
Trembling all over, amid a concentrated burnt and decayed stench, the hairy creature collapsed on the ground.
Several service soldiers behind Jeanne move forward, dragging the injured away from the formation and immediately begin treating them.
As for their vacant positions, they are filled by the Long Spearmen and Sword & Shield soldiers from the rear as Patrick steps up to the front row.
Standing on the front line, the brightness and embers from his hands fluctuate, but cannot affect the hairy creatures.
Until his longsword continuously pierces through under the hairy creature's neck, only then does the creature heavily fall down.
As if understanding something, Patrick shouts to the crowd: "Their weakness is the heart and the back of the neck! Aim there and thrust!"
Upon hearing Patrick's statement, they immediately aim at the hearts, thrusting continuously, or attempt to pierce through the necks.
A Long Spearman pierces through a creature's heart, causing it, previously lively, to fall heavily.
There actually was a miraculous effect.
The remaining Long Spearmen stabilize the formation immediately, two rows of spears sway, repeatedly stabbing out and retracting mechanically.
But those hairy creatures seem unaware of their weakness, neither blocking nor evading, rushing straight at them.
Despite this, the Long Spearmen retreat from the first to the second barricade since their thick skins make it challenging to consistently and accurately pierce the neck or heart.
Fortunately, Jeanne stabilizes the formation; each time her hand glows with lightning, three to five hairy creatures fall in a cloud of black smoke.
With the cooperation of the Holy Gunman, Jeanne, and the Long Spearmen, these dozen hairy creatures and another dozen from unknown sources, nearly fifty hairy creatures collapse between the barricades.
However, on Horn's side, similarly, over ten soldiers fall one after another, but fortunately, most only suffer fractures, not deaths.
After finishing off the hairy creatures one by one, Jeanne issues the "Maintain vigilance" order to the remaining soldiers before returning to Horn's side.
Horn is surrounded by four or five guards, as Patrick steps on the hairy creature's chest, burning the hair on its face with a torch and cutting it away with a small knife.
As lock after lock of hair falls, just as Horn expects, a Beastman's face appears before him.
Seeing those hairy creatures sometimes walk on all fours and sometimes stand to attack, Horn faintly suspects.
"Demonized Beastman?"
Beside Horn, Patrick's usual mad expression surprisingly turns serious: "No, they died long ago; these hairy creatures are zombies."
"Zombies, do you mean those zombies of vampires?"
Patrick looks to the distant indistinct tower in the fog: "Either a vampire resides there or the Scales Hermitage has mastered necromancy... but if I were to say, the latter is even more frightening to me."