Zhou Mo naturally knew what Wang Kui was thinking, patted Wang Kui on the back, and comforted, "Don't dwell on the past anymore."
"'The Station Master is so generous to us. I feel like I'll never be able to repay Station Master unless I die in battle someday.'"
"'Green-grade martial skill.'"
"'In an ordinary Clan, this would be a martial skill off limits to outsiders. Only direct descendants would be qualified to learn it. Didn't you see how the Station Master just tossed it into my arms?"
"'I saw it.'"
His expression complicated, Wang Kui said pensively, "I saw it from below. It even made me a bit jealous of you. Shouldn't this thing be kept in the warehouse under my care..."
"Forget it, let's not talk about the past."
"You focus on contemplating it."
The more the camp flourished, the more down he felt from his thirteen years as a worker bee. What a miserable life he had lived before.
"Okay!"
Zhou Mo grinned and immediately headed towards the Stone House, intent on bathing and washing up before starting to contemplate.
Very soon.
A loud shout came from inside the Stone House.
"Who stole my bedsheet?"
"Was it you, Pockmark Wang? Did you steal it?"
"Why would I steal your bedsheet? Are you crazy?"
"Then where's my bedsheet gone?"
...
Darkness descended on time.
"The thirteenth night of the rainy season."
Chen Fan, from a rocking chair on the city wall, muttered to himself. He stared blankly for a moment at the pitch-black darkness above the abyss pit, then stretched and was about to go back inside to sleep. For the past few days, no one in the camp had kept night watch.
On one hand, they trusted the camp's defenses; even if Eerie Creatures attacked, the commotion would definitely wake them.
On the other hand...
There were simply not enough people. Having one person on night watch meant one less person working the next day.
A chill drifted into the cave on the night breeze.
It was getting colder and colder.
On the heels of the rainy season came winter.
"Thud."
The familiar crash rang in his ears. Chen Fan's body stiffened a little. He turned and looked at the Eerie Creature that had fallen to its death in the abyss pit, frowning. He then glanced at the crocodile feasting heartily inside the cave.
For the past two days, the crocodile had not returned to its own den.
It slept in the camp at night.
If it wasn't Heyhey hunting, then was there someone else hunting?
The next moment—
Eerie Creatures fell to their deaths one after another.
The crocodile seemed to have sensed something, too. It let go of the food in its mouth, a flash of panic in its lantern-sized eyes, then scurried to the deepest part of the cave, pressing itself against the wall.
"Squeak—"
An Eerie Creature's shriek tore through the rainy night.
An Eerie Creature had plummeted from a cliff but survived it, though already terminally injured. It paid little attention to this city wall, but instead let out a fierce but weak scream as it fixed a fearful gaze in the direction of the canyon. It struggled to move backward, trying to get as far away from the canyon as possible.
"..."
Chen Fan looked towards the canyon shrouded in darkness, knitting his brows. All these abnormalities indicated that an enemy had arrived, and, unmistakably, a strong one. The Eerie Creatures dropping into the abyss pit most likely fell accidentally while fleeing.
"Wang Kui."
"Count the number of Eerie Stones."
"Yes!"
Wang Kui, also realizing what was happening, immediately darted towards the warehouse to take stock of the Eerie Stones brought back today.
He knew there had originally been 1,335 Eerie Stones in the camp.
But Crippled Monkey and Zhou Mo had each brought back a batch of Eerie Stones today, both of which hadn't been counted yet. With a major enemy arriving at any time, these Eerie Stones had to be counted immediately for the upcoming battle.
Amid the pitter-patter, a massive rumbling sound could be heard, as a sharp cry ripped through the rainy night now and then.
The sounds drew closer and closer.
The next moment—
A rotting wild wolf, tail between its legs, bolted into the abyss pit from the canyon. But it did not charge the city wall; instead, it ran around and around in fear and panic, as if looking for an exit.
Immediately after.
More and more Eerie Creatures poured into the abyss pit like a tide.
"..."
Watching with a calm expression, Chen Fan knew there would be a tough battle tonight. These Eerie Creatures looked very familiar; they were native to the Nameless Mountain. Moreover, this horde of Eerie Creatures didn't seem to intend to attack his camp.
This suggested that these Eerie Creatures had been herded here by other Eerie Creatures to wear him down.
Tonight's enemy was an Eerie Creature with some intelligence.
But...
He smiled. He had enough confidence in the current camp. The "Meat Grinder" had taken shape. As long as it wasn't an Eerie King attacking, the camp could hold.
It suited him just fine.
Usually, it was hard to come across these Eerie Creatures. It was just as well that they had all been herded over; he could hunt them down with great ease.
"Boom!"
The long-silent Level 5 Cannon Tower on the battlement of Cave No. 1 was suddenly activated as the copper pipes came to life. As the Cannon Tower's core instantly glowed, a dark blue pattern spread outward from the core, crawling across the exterior of the Cannon Tower in the blink of an eye.
The next moment!
A searing white beam of light, as thick as a forearm, tore through the rainy night, hitting a frantically fleeing Eerie Creature. Its body was smashed through and began to melt rapidly outward from the wound.
A miserable howl echoed through the rainy night.
It was like the bugle call announcing the beginning of tonight's great battle.
Immediately, three arc-shaped lights, like thunder snakes, burst from the stricken Eerie Creature. With a speed invisible to the naked eye, they struck the three nearest Eerie Creatures.
"Crackle—!"
The three Eerie Creatures were split through, dying miserably on the spot.
The remaining nine Level 5 Cannon Towers on the city wall shone simultaneously, slaughtering with efficiency the Eerie Creatures that had barged into the abyss pit. It was overwhelming strikes. Suffering chain damage, the Eerie Creatures collapsed like harvested wheat.
Soon.
Fewer and fewer Eerie Creatures dashed in from the canyon, and those still fleeing within the abyss pit also kept decreasing.
"..."
Chen Fan peered into the darkness-enveloped canyon from the parapet, patiently waiting. The eighteen Level 5 Cannon Towers on the cliffs hadn't been activated yet. He wanted to let the enemy in, then wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
The Eerie Creatures had been rapidly diminishing.
These Eerie Creatures were just the most basic types, unable to withstand these Level 5 Cannon Towers.
The "Eerie Blood Pattern" on the city wall, which had never awakened since its creation, had finally been lit up. As Eerie Blood flowed from all over the abyss pit to the base of the city wall, the wall sucked it all in and changed from the original dark red to a crimson red, glowing faintly.
It was eye-catching in the night.
Finally—
Perhaps having decided that they had worn down the camp enough, or perhaps the nearby Eerie Creatures had all fled far away.
An Eerie Creature, like a giant turtle, emerged from the darkness of the canyon, moving slowly yet firmly into the abyss pit.
With unusually sturdy limbs, it humped a bulky shell that was nearly three meters wide, composed of bleached bones, from which countless twisted bone spikes of various lengths bristled.
Immediately after.
One, two, three.
A total of nine giant turtle-like Eerie Creatures, lining up in a row, emerged from the canyon and stepped into the range of the Eerie Fire. Behind them was a mass of other Eerie Creatures: female Eerie Creatures in soaked white clothes with a fishtail, crabs with huge pincers and a human face, and... a lot of sea snakes slithering along.
"Quite lively."
"Looks like they all came from the sea."
Chen Fan stepped down from the city wall and, with a glance at the crocodile trembling in the deepest part of the cave, couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey, stop shaking."
"I'll get you something rare tonight, some seafood."
"Never had that before, huh?"