Inside The Black Mist

Closing the door, Tianyang took out Death Knell and continuously infused his Star Essence into the gun. The energy conversion components of Death Knell emitted a faint hum as it charged, and one by one, the bullet crystal slots on the drum began to light up.

However, after the third bullet crystal slot was filled, Tianyang could no longer infuse any more Star Essence into the massive handgun. It seemed that being abandoned in the Inverse Universe for so many years had left the gun with some defects.

This wasn't entirely bad, though. Filling three bullet slots had already consumed nearly thirty percent of Tianyang's Star Essence. If he filled all the remaining slots, the Star Essence consumption would be excessive.

Tianyang remembered that Han Shu had once advised him never to deplete his Star Essence completely.

He took out a bottle of Star Essence replenishment liquid, uncapped it, and drank it.

The liquid, which emitted a faint blue glow, entered his mouth, filling it with a sweet, fruity taste. However, the synthetic flavor could be nauseating if smelled too much.

After drinking the replenishment liquid, Tianyang felt his Star Essence begin to recover, though it only restored enough for one bullet.

He tossed the empty bottle aside and quickly walked toward the small building's exit.

At the exit, the team member who had brought Tianyang back stopped him. "You can't go out."

Tianyang pointed outside and said, "I'm here to help."

The team member looked troubled. "But the captain said you should stay in the room. If he sees you leave, I'll get scolded."

Suddenly, a firing point on the small building opened fire. It was a multi-barrel machine gun set up by the Frostcloud Guard, using physical bullets. The machine gun roared with an impactful sound, echoing through the entire building.

Someone outside shouted, "I see Mr. Yun and the others; quick, support them!"

Several firing points in the camp erupted, the roars of machine guns and rifles interweaving, making the air grow hot. The fire of physical bullets and the blue glows of star energy beams illuminated the area.

A Frostcloud Guard even fired a guided missile. Moments later, the distant explosion lit up the small building like daylight, and the blast shattered the windows one by one.

Soon, a group of people squeezed through the front gate. Yun Ze was being supported by a tall figure with a bald head, making him very conspicuous in the crowd.

But even more eye-catching was the fist shield on his hand!

Tianyang was stunned to see that it was Gu Gang, whom he had briefly met on the high-speed train.

Two Frostcloud Guards immediately took Yun Ze from Gu Gang. Yun Ze had blood on his face and appeared injured. The guards helped him into a vehicle equipped with a medical chamber capable of saving anyone not critically wounded.

After handing Yun Ze over, Gu Gang collapsed to the ground, exhausted and panting heavily.

Behind them, Kong Zhang was being helped in by two students. The old man didn't look injured but was pale, likely scared.

As for Adam and the others, they shut the gate after entering and immediately joined the defense. At that moment, a black tide surged outside the gate—a dense crowd of Wanderers!

These twisted figures, resembling lepers, staggered toward the gate, which was blocked by the walls and iron gate. Bullets and star energy beams from various firing points mowed down the low-level dark creatures in droves.

Whether hit by machine gun bullets or blue star energy beams, the Wanderers' bodies would be riddled with fist-sized holes.

Even if they didn't hit the will cages, the damaged bodies wouldn't do much harm.

But the sheer number of Wanderers was overwhelming. If they breached the defense, the camp would be doomed!

Tianyang pushed past the team member and ran to Gu Gang. The bald man looked up and exclaimed, "It's you?"

"Yes, it's me." Tianyang glanced at the gate. "What's going on? Why are you with them?"

The young man noticed that Wang Liangyi was not in the group and wondered where the expert was.

Gu Gang gave a bitter smile and stood up. "It's a long story. We ran into trouble. My companions all died, and I was the only one who escaped. To avoid those things outside, I ran into Gemstone Town and met them."

He pointed at Adam and the others. "There was a high-ranking dar creature, a Shadow Knight, chasing me on a wolf-like creature. I almost got killed, but a man with eagle-sharp eyes among them saved me."

At this point, Gu Gang's face showed lingering fear.

So Wang Liangyi had gone to intercept the high-ranking dark creature. Tianyang had never heard of a Shadow Knight, but it must be formidable to terrify a fortress-class ascendant.

"Watch out, Mad Dogs are joining in!" a gunner on the building's roof shouted.

Before the words were finished, a black and red beam shot across the camp, hitting the gunner.

The gunner's body shuddered violently, and he slowly looked down at his chest, where a hole had been blasted by the beam.

His body then fell from the rooftop, landing not far from Tianyang.

Tianyang shouted, "It's a Deceptive Archer; take cover!"

He left Gu Gang and ran toward Adam. "Where's my equipment? Give it to me, quick!"

Before Adam could answer, a Frostcloud Guard hurriedly ran over, handing the Crimson Moon Warblade and the Assault Rifle to Tianyang. "Mr. Yun Ze told me to bring these to you. He said we might need your strength now."

Tianyang immediately took the equipment and rushed into the building. Moments later, he reached the rooftop and took control of the multi-barrel machine gun.

He laid prone, operating the machine gun to fire at the camp below. Only then did he realize that the camp was surrounded by dark creatures.

Thousands of Wanderers crowded the streets outside the camp. Among the dark creatures, Mad Dogs were recklessly charging through the barrage of bullets toward the defensive line.

Further away, black and red beams were whizzing through the air, fired by Deceptive Archers hiding in the buildings.

Tatatata!

Tianyang operated the machine gun, its muzzle spewing long flames, and the rain of bullets formed a red whip.

As the fire whip swept through the black tide outside the camp, it carved out a "trench." Unfortunately, the trench was soon filled again by more dark creatures.

However, the greatest threat to the camp wasn't the Wanderers or the Mad Dogs—at least, not at the moment.

The greatest threat was the Deceptive Archers attacking from a distance. Fortunately, both the Solar Gun Squad and the Frostcloud Guard had a Level 3 sniper master each.

These two Ascenders, using their skilled techniques, continuously eliminating the cunning archers with their beloved rifles.

Every time the distinctive sound of a sniper rifle echoed through the camp, a Deceptive Archer would be taken down. This boosted the morale of the defenders and allowed the melee-focused Ascenders to appear on the walls and kill the Mad Dogs attempting to climb over.

When Gu Gang recovered and started providing Star Essence barriers for the melee Ascenders, Tianyang breathed a sigh of relief.

Their numbers might not be superior, but their equipment was top-notch, and their teamwork was seamless.

As long as the number of dark creatures didn't increase, defeating them was just a matter of time.

Suddenly, a scream came from one side of the rooftop. Tianyang turned to see a soldier operating a machine gun with his head shattered.

Blood and brain matter splattered across the rooftop.

The "culprit" responsible for the soldier's death raised a staff-like weapon with a slow, eerie movement.

The twisted metal macehead was still stained with bits of scalp. The hand gripping the staff was purplish-red.

Dressed in a mix of fabric and metal, the creature's helmeted, mummified face gaped, panting like a Wanderer.

Black veins bulged under its purplish-red skin, and dark red light gushed from its hollow eye sockets. The terrifying figure, like something crawling from the abyss, emitted crackling noises from its body as it dragged the staff toward Tianyang.

From the plaza below, Gu Gang's voice shouted, "Watch out, that's a Shadow Attendant! They're freakishly strong, and their will cages are in their..."

Before he could finish, a deafening gunshot rang out. The sound was so loud, it was like a clap of thunder!

Gu Gang saw the Shadow Attendant on the rooftop have its head blown to pieces, the shattered helmet fragments, skull fragments, and other matter spraying everywhere.

Some fragments, stained with purple blood, landed on Gu Gang's face. He wiped his face and finished his sentence, "In their heads. Well, you've already blown its head off, so I guess my job is done."

Beside the machine gun, Tianyang had risen from the ground, half-kneeling. His arm was raised high, holding the massive handgun named Death Knell, with a wisp of hot smoke curling from its barrel.

Now Tianyang understood why Su Lie had engraved the name Death Knell on the gun. He hadn't expected the gunshot to be so loud and the destructive power to be so brutal.

One bullet had blown the Shadow Attendant's head clean off.

Now, the headless monster fell to the ground, its body rapidly decomposing. In moments, only its clothes and staff remained, the rest melting into a pool of black liquid.

Lowering the handgun, Tianyang felt a painful ache in his hand and a numbing sensation in his shoulder. He marveled at the immense recoil of Death Knell.

Had he not enhanced his physical abilities, the recoil alone would have torn his hand and dislocated his shoulder.

If Su Lie could handle Death Knell with ease, he must be at least a Level 4 Ascenders. This suggested that the secret of the gun must be formidable, enough to challenge even mid-level Ascenders.

At this moment, more Shadow Attendants were squeezing into the camp from all sides, using the Wanderers as cover. As they neared the walls, they swung their staffs down hard!

These creatures, as Gu Gang had said, were incredibly strong. One blow could create a gap in the wall.

The camp's defenses suddenly became precarious!