Chapter 481: Another Victory, Though Not Quite a Victory
“Bang!” A hole was blasted through the Humanoid Nightmare’s head. Then, its chest took a bullet, staggering it. A Sharp Blade narrowly missed its back, severing a few hairs.
Fabes did not immediately pass out, as severing hair did not seem to count as an injury. But the Nightmare was not dead yet, and it lunged at him again.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” A series of crisp gunshots rang out. The Humanoid Nightmare took several more bullets, shattering on the spot. Even several other Nightmares that were trying to besiege Fabes were incidentally dealt with by the gunfire.
Having narrowly escaped death, Fabes let out a cry of relief. He looked up in the direction the bullets came from. As a Werewolf, he had powerful dynamic vision, allowing him to clearly see the trajectory of the bullets and even what they looked like.
Fabes saw a youth and a maiden on the rooftop. They knelt side-by-side, each holding a plain-looking rifle, continuously firing in his direction.
The two were remarkably coordinated, with each shot eliminating one Nightmare. Larger Nightmares were simultaneously targeted by both. There was no need for communication, and not a single bullet was wasted.
The rifles they wielded had a fast rate of fire and were accurate. Fabes could even see that the bullet trails were perfectly straight, moving in almost a single line from barrel to target.
Good guns! That was Fabes’s first reaction. But he couldn’t spare any more time looking. Taking advantage of the covering fire, he quickly bolted, finally retreating with his people to the second defensive line.
The second defensive line was formed by utilizing the residential houses on the outskirts of the town, creating urban combat. A large amount of supplies were piled up in the town square at the entrance. These firearms and harpoons lay on the ground. The Nightmares wouldn’t pick them up to use; instead, they became obstacles to their advance.
Numerous townsfolk, using the residential houses for cover, were launching attacks on the Nightmares in the square. The residential house where Jayad and I were located was one of them.
The Otherworldly beings who retreated from the front line were reorganizing their defenses, but their morale was shaken and they would likely need some time to recover.
Nightmares continuously scaled the fence and rushed into the town. If this continued, the townsfolk would eventually break, the town would fall, and everyone would fall into a Nightmare.
Even with both Jayad and I wielding Mosin-Nagant rifles, we couldn’t stop them. This was no longer a situation one person could reverse. The current situation was extremely critical. Even with the best guns in my hands, it was futile.
“This is wrong! There are too many Nightmares! There have never been this many before!” the Hunter next to me exclaimed in disbelief, panic evident in his voice.
Everyone was in the same situation now. Once panic spread, they would completely scatter, and the Nightmares could strengthen indefinitely and then charge straight in.
I looked at the people around me. They were all starting to think about retreating. So, Jayad and I would also have to consider our exit strategy. I quietly leaned in and whispered to him, “Older Brother Jayad, if the line collapses later, we’ll crush the Seal of the Deep Sea.”
Although we didn’t manage to rescue Amelia, if we both got trapped here, there would be even less hope. We could only return to Reality first and discuss what to do next with Samantha.
Just as the Nightmares were pouring in continuously, the front line was on the verge of collapse, and they were about to break through the battlefield, an invisible wave suddenly emanated. The Nightmares in the square froze instantly, their bodies trembling violently, as if they had a poor signal.
I was very familiar with the aura of this wave. Wasn’t this the Queen of the Insects’ aura? Her mental power surged, far stronger than those Sh who used psychic guns.
Then, a river of blood flowed from the high reaches of the castle, swirling like a blood dragon in mid-air. It instantly split into countless blood threads, flowing towards the Nightmares below.
Any Nightmare touched by a blood thread instantly turned into a pool of blood. The townsfolk cheered loudly. It seemed the High-levels of the Four Great Families could no longer sit still and had personally intervened to deal with the Nightmares.
Facing this spectacular scene, all I could think was, how much blood did that legendary Matriarch have? With so much blood, the town square could be turned into a blood pool.
However, after turning the Nightmares into pus and blood, all the blood was sucked back, leaving not a single drop on the square. It seemed my worry about the Vampire Banshee Matriarch losing too much blood was unfounded.
The townsfolk cheered, as if the intervention of the High-levels of the Four Great Families already signified their victory. But in reality, Nightmares were still pouring out of the Black Forest continuously.
However, the direct intervention of the High-levels instantly cleared out a large area of Nightmares, relieving pressure on the front line and stabilizing morale. Now, the townsfolk had the courage to pick up their weapons and fight the Nightmares again.
The combat continued for a while longer. Whenever Nightmares got close to the defense line, the High-levels of the Four Great Families would take turns intervening, sometimes with a mental storm, sometimes with a blood river, sometimes with a tsunami, or with piercing wolf howls.
They were indeed powerful. Each intervention would completely clear the Nightmares in the area. I felt a bit like I was playing a tower defense game. The big shots of the Four Great Families were like ultimate abilities with charging times; whenever the situation became unbearable, they would unleash a wave of ultimate abilities to clear the field, with four ultimate abilities used in rotation.
But I couldn’t understand why they didn’t fight alongside everyone on the front line from the start. If they had used their ultimate abilities from the beginning, no one would have died, and their morale wouldn’t have been shaken.
Could it be that their interventions had a limit? Or was there some benefit to them in killing the Nightmares after they had grown stronger? I couldn’t figure it out.
However, after the High-levels of the Four Great Families intervened, the combat became much easier. At least everyone had no further worries. I also took this opportunity to practice my marksmanship well.
About half an hour later, new Nightmares finally stopped appearing, and the area in front of the town returned to its former tranquility. Only the bullet holes and arrow marks in the square bore witness to the brutal battle that had just taken place.
The townsfolk cautiously peeked out from their cover and houses. After a while, once they were sure no new Nightmares were emerging, they came out with relief.
“Send the wounded to the Church first! Hurry and lend a hand! Others, clear the battlefield!” Fabes shouted loudly, carrying two comatose individuals, one in each hand, and heading into the town.
The townsfolk quickly carried all those who had fainted during the battle and rushed them to Amelia’s temporary clinic, which was the town church.
Although they had won a battle, no one wore a smile. This time, more than a dozen people had fallen victim to Nightmare Syndrome. With each Nightmare attack, someone would fall into a deep sleep and never wake up.
And the Nightmares were endless. Killing them was meaningless. Even contact with the outside world was almost completely severed. If the root cause couldn’t be resolved, perhaps after two or three more attacks, morale would completely collapse.
Jayad and I also breathed a sigh of relief. My hands ached just from cocking the bolt and pulling the trigger. Next, let’s go see Amelia.
