The Creators: From Night City

Page 361

The axe blade was polished to a gleaming shine, its edge gleaming coldly and appearing extremely sharp; it would surely cut firewood in two with a single stroke.

Of course, it's also very useful for chopping people up.

Ryan held the axe in his hand; the handle, worn smooth from years of use, felt wonderful to the touch.

"Redas, I really should have been nicer to you. At the very least, I shouldn't have thrown stones into your cowshed," Ryan thought to himself.

But soon, he had the opportunity to apologize in person.

Rydas's cabin was located on the edge of the village, with the vast snowfield and the undulating Kanduras Mountains just outside.

As long as the brother and sister escape into the mountains, they will have saved their lives.

But as soon as the wooden door was opened, a figure standing outside heard the sound and suddenly turned around.

It's Rydas!

However, this widower, who always had a sorrowful face, now had only a bloodthirsty madness on his face. His throat was ripped open, and logically he should have been dead long ago, but he was still standing there strangely.

His stiff body was covered in large patches of red rashes, which were still writhing incessantly, looking as alluring and sinister as flowing blood.

"Damn it!" Ryan roared inwardly.

He never expected that such an unexpected event would occur at the very moment when he was about to escape.

A bloodthirsty howl erupted from Rydas's mouth, causing an uproar throughout the town, and at the same time, the enemy pounced on him.

At this moment, the widower was nothing like an old cowherd. His eyes were bloodshot, he was drooling, and several of his fingernails were turned outwards. He looked like a madman.

"He's already infected, how pathetic," Ryan thought to himself.

"I'd rather die than have this happen to me!" he continued to roar in his heart.

Without hesitation, Ryan swung his axe.

His arms, honed from years of physical labor, possessed immense strength, while his extensive experience chopping wood allowed him to wield the axe with ease.

The gleaming axe traced a graceful arc in the wind and snow, embedding itself precisely into the old widower's bald head.

The axe had been well maintained by its original owner, and 17-year-old Ryan was in the prime of his life, so this chop directly split the opponent's head in two evenly, with the chin as the center, and the head spread out to both sides.

The body crashed to the ground, but Ryan had no time to rejoice at surviving. He turned and grabbed his sister, running frantically towards the edge of the village.

Behind them, a large group of villagers wielding farm tools and sticks chased after the two frantically.

Behind the crowd, a blood-red, clawed serpent swam swiftly, parting the crowd with its claws as it approached the brother and sister.

The brother and sister were no match for the human-snake, and the distance between them was shrinking at a visible rate.

"Damn it!" Ryan's heart was instantly filled with despair.

"You go first!" Ryan shook off his sister's hand, signaling her to run quickly while he stayed behind to cover the rear. But before he could turn around, two human figures suddenly appeared in the thick, swirling snow ahead.

The next second, a clear voice rang out: "Rasma, I didn't expect there to be any living people in this town."

Chapter 741 The Witcher of Sanctuary

Death struck Ryan once again, only this time the targets were inhuman creatures.

His former good neighbors were engulfed in a sudden burst of flames and turned to ashes amidst screams, while the blood-red human-snake became the 'spoils' of the two mysterious visitors.

"Hey Rasmar, what does this thing look like to you?"

Jiang Bing slammed the blood-red, deformed human-snake onto the scaffolding as if it were skinning a limp scalpel, and then used steel cables to stretch it outwards as much as possible.

"Clawed Viper," the necromancer replied.

"It seems Diablo has created something incredible in the desert!"

Looking at the twisted and deformed alien clawed viper, Jiang Bing sighed.

“All the twisted and corrupt things in hell are poison to mankind,” Rasmar said, not surprised at all.

“Compared to this, I think you should pay more attention to him,” the necromancer said, glancing at the trembling brother and sister beside him.

“Ryan, right?” Jiang Bing walked closer and snapped his fingers. Flames instantly rose from the fireplace in the town inn, even though there wasn’t a single piece of firewood in the fireplace.

"Thank you both for saving my life. These monsters, they..."

The boy hesitated, but the harsh reality ultimately left him speechless.

"Blood Plague"

Jiang Bing revealed the code name of the great demon that the two of them had been tracking.

Are they demons?

The boy shared the answer he had come up with from the legend he had heard.

"Instead of worrying about this, you should worry about yourself." Jiang Bing pointed to his left arm, indicating that the other person should roll up their sleeves.

The boy obediently complied.

Blood had soaked through his clothes, seeped into his skin and bone marrow, and turned into a writhing blood rash.

"What happened to me?" The boy's face immediately turned pale. He thought of Rydas, whom he had 'split into separate groups', and the other man had large areas of similar marks on his body.

“I already said it, it’s the blood plague,” Jiang Bing repeated.

Not all demons are reckless, bloodthirsty killers. In the bizarre and varied ecosystems of hell, there are always some despicable and vicious demons who wield forbidden power.

The great demon summoned by the Claw Vipers clearly possesses unique skills in blood manipulation and plague.

The boy started shivering, looked up at me pleadingly, and asked, "Am I going to die?"

"This plague won't kill you; it will only drive you to a perverse craving for blood and killing." Jiang Bing, being a doctor, quickly explained the facts to the brave young man.

But his words of comfort still drained the other person of all color from their face.

"Like Taka, Ruslan, Adolf, Skahn, and the others?" Ryan rattled off a list of townspeople's names.

“Strictly speaking, they are just failures. If you can withstand the erosion of this ‘blood plague,’ you will become similar to it.” Jiang Bing pointed to the blood-red human-snake that was being treated as a specimen and lying on the shelf.

"Of course, I'm talking about strength. As for appearance, you're human, so you certainly won't be twisted into this shape. At most, you'll grow some deformed flesh like tumors or polyps."

However, such consequences are not something a 17-year-old boy can accept.

This sudden 'blood plague' spread northward from Alaroc along the eastern foothills of the Candulas Mountains with lightning speed, reaching the very edge of the Land of Fear, and no village along the way was spared.

The 'blood plague' spreads through blood, but it is not fatal. People who are completely infected by the 'blood plague' will not only not get sick, but will also gain superhuman physical abilities. However, the price is bloodlust, a desire to kill, and cannibalism.

Or rather, they enjoy eating human flesh and blood.

"I can't die, I still need to take care of my sister!" the boy murmured to himself.

"Of course you don't have to die." Jiang Bing's words were like a ray of sunshine piercing through the dark clouds and shining into the boy's heart.

"But as a price, you might lose something."

Ryan immediately said, "How much do you need? We don't have much money, but can I owe you some? Trust me, I'll definitely pay you back!"

"Money is like fleeting clouds to me."

Looking at the young man before him, Boss Jiang smiled slightly and asked, "Young man, will you pass on the torch?"

…………

As the saying goes, life is precious, love is even more so, but for freedom, both can be given up.

Ryan felt that freedom was far less important than the large plate of fatty meat in front of him.

But he couldn't start eating right away. He had to wait for the whistle to sound before he could feast, quell his hunger, and be himself again.

Finally, before he became dizzy from hunger, a tall, unarmored 'Apostle' instructor blew the whistle to signal lunchtime.

In an instant, the clinking of plates and spoons filled the spacious dining room as the orphans, whom Jiang Bing had sent back from the land ravaged by the 'blood plague,' ate with gusto.

All 32 eligible young men here were survivors of the 'blood plague'. After being rescued by Jiang Bing, who was chasing an unknown great demon northward, they were all thrown back into the new military camp near the New Blind Monastery to receive intensive military training.

They bear an important mission: to be among the first native "Witch Hunters" to receive the torch-linking ceremony from Anti-Entropy.

The Blind Monastery has now been completely transformed into a bustling construction site. Massive amounts of building materials and supplies from [Anti-Entropy] are continuously being poured into the vicinity of the crater caused by the nuclear explosion, and in just a few days, a not-so-simple temporary military camp has been built on the original site.

Rasmar's deal with Jiang Bing was very simple: Jiang Bing needed to prove that the humans of Sanctuary could also master his power to 'annihilate demons'.

This is a crucial 'turning point' for humanity, representing that all three parties are now truly on the same starting line, meaning that gods, demons, and humans will all 'die'.

This means that the 'Apostles' who have already passed on the fire cannot be presented as ready-made results to complete the transaction. To verify the integrity of this plan, a new batch of native 'Firebearers' must be selected and trained from among the humans of Sanctuary.

Fortunately, on this continent ravaged by demons, there is no shortage of 'soldier resources' who have been ravaged by hell, displaced and destitute.

Meanwhile, the 32 reserve "demon hunters" who are enjoying their meal in the "canteen" are the most outstanding reserve "demon hunters" among all the survivors, who harbor the deepest hatred for demons and have performed the best.

They are all avengers whose loved ones were murdered by demons, and who are determined to fight the evil forces of hell to the end.

It must be said that Sanctuary is an excellent place to recruit soldiers. These potential Nephalem are all exceptionally talented and do not require any prior modifications. Many of them have shown remarkable talent in just over ten days of training.

Ryan was one of the best among them.

Chapter 742 Jiang - Never Piggybacking on Materials - Upholding

"Gaza, wanna go 'to the movies' this afternoon?" Ryan asked his newly acquainted companion, setting down the stainless steel bowl of broth in front of him with satisfaction.

In just over ten days, this young man from the Zawain Hills border region quickly mastered a series of modern and trendy terms.

"No," the boy named Gaza replied silently. Although he ate quite quickly, he ate very politely, which showed that he had been well-mannered.

"So what are you preparing for this afternoon?"

"Go to the firing range," Gaza replied casually.

"Oh my god! Gaza, this is a hard-earned break! We only get one afternoon like this every ten days. Shouldn't we relax a bit?" Ryan wailed, his cries quickly drawing the glare of the 'Apostle' responsible for maintaining order during the meal.

Ryan could only sheepishly shrink back and turn off the engine.

“I can’t wait any longer, Ryan. The fire of hatred is burning in my heart, urging me to take revenge on those bastards as soon as possible.”

The orphan of a wealthy merchant family, whose more than a dozen members had been murdered by demons, explained in a detached tone.

“I need to train some more, Ryan. Every bit of effort I put in now will make me more efficient at killing demons in the future.”

"Besides, my first 'internship' is just around the corner, Ryan, and I don't want to be 'kicked out'."

The vengeful boy shouted at his companion across from him, emphasizing the word "was".

“I’ll go too,” Ryan scratched his head and finally made the same decision.

Not only because of the hatred of the villagers, but also because he wanted his sister to have a better living environment, he couldn't be eliminated.

The requirements for the torchbearer in the "fire-passing ceremony" are actually not high: a strong body and a firm will.

However, only 7 out of the 32 new 'Witcher' recruits met the physical requirements.

This ratio is already remarkably good, considering that the 'Apostles' in the Red Dead Redemption world often need to undergo extensive pre-training and long-term modifications to bring their physical fitness up to the standard for the Firelinking.

These native inhabitants of the sanctuary had only undergone a dozen days of training, yet some of the elites had already reached the required physical fitness level; Anu's bloodline remained formidable.

As the saying goes, comparisons are odious, and the disparity between different planes is the very meaning of 'promotion and transformation'—that is, to maximize the balance between the differences in the physical qualities of soldiers between strong and weak planes.

Although there were few "Torchbearers" among this batch of new "Witcher" recruits, they were still capable of being deployed on missions. Of course, for some reason, a certain Mr. La was very anxious about testing the possibility of a deal.

So the day for the mission soon arrived.

In the armory of the New Blind Monastery [Anti-Entropy], in storage room number 7, Boss Jiang is mass-producing weapons by hand.

Considering that this newly formed group of 'Demon Hunters' is a special unit localized to the dark world and adapted to deal with demons, their weaponry was all created by 'Jiang Bing' and made localized modifications.

The most obvious change is that the main weapon has been changed from a bomb gun to a finely crafted enchanted bomb gun, which, while reducing the caliber and power, increases the magical damage against demons.

With a complete set of rune knowledge and a large number of rune words in his hands, Jiang Bing naturally took this opportunity to monetize the relevant knowledge as soon as possible.

However, when manufacturing these prototype weapons, he unconsciously fell into his old habit of piling on too many materials.

The newly manufactured bomb guns were made with precious magical materials and were engraved with a large number of mysterious runes, forming various precious runic phrases.

For example, the [Edge Light Bomb Carbine] has three runes engraved on its body: 'Tel', 'Tal', and 'Am'. These runes form the [Edge] runeword, which significantly increases its lethality against demons and undead creatures and increases its accuracy when shooting. In addition, the bullets fired from the gun have an enchantment that blocks life force, which can effectively prevent monsters from healing themselves or using magic to recover.

This model of bomb gun was originally intended by Jiang Bing as the primary weapon for his 'elite demon hunters' due to its excellent handling, balanced firepower, versatility across various terrains, considerable lethality, and special ability to kill demons and undead.

However, after it was created, he discovered that this level of firepower was seriously excessive for fighting ordinary demons. In addition, the manufacturing difficulty was extremely high (currently, it could only be handcrafted by Jiang Bing), and the rune word composed of three runes had a problem of suppressing the user's mental abilities. As a result, none of the newly formed 'Demon Hunters' were qualified to use it yet.

After all, these 'witch hunters' were all new recruits who had only been trained for half a month, and before that, the vast majority of them were civilians.

As a result, the dozen or so prototype weapons that Jiang Bing had handcrafted were given to the champions of the various companies in the 'Black King Apostles' competition.