The Creators: From Night City

Page 405

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

The three hunters who came to visit Master William quickly reached a consensus.

The academy occupies a large area. The three of them strode through the wide-open gate and first noticed the twisted human-shaped sculptures that could be seen everywhere along the walls.

These sculptures vary in size. Although they are human-shaped, they do not have distinct facial features or limbs. Instead, they are all sculpted into a chaotic, fluid state. Only the faces are uniformly carved with deep pits, as if to express the feeling of some kind of matter flowing outward from the brain.

“The Inner Eye?” Henrik noticed the strange statues and quickly came to a guess, which he shared with his teammates.

“Very likely, after all, Master William advocated resisting blood healing and revering the blood of the ancient gods, which is also the main reason why the Healing Church split off from here and became independent,” said Father Gascoigne, a former hunter from the Healing Church.

"Gentlemen, stop chatting, we have work to do."

The crow pointed to a withered tree near the entrance of the second courtyard and gave the two a hint.

The thin mist reduced visibility in the courtyard, but the three were equipped with specially designed combat armor that integrated powerful night vision and heat source sensing functions.

Combined with the hunters' already highly developed senses, "bright as day" is not just an adjective.

Beside a withered tree that takes two people to encircle, several strange creatures were squatting, lying down, or crouching.

They were humanoid in shape, but their backs were covered with dense, spider-like limbs, and two moth-like broken wings grew above the limbs, reflecting a faint light in the moonlight.

What's most disgusting is their head area. What should be the head has been replaced by a huge lump of flesh. This lump of flesh, shaped like a lotus seedpod, is full of holes, but inside are not lotus seeds, but eyeballs of different sizes, which look just like the compound eyes of deformed insects.

Although these monsters were dressed in rags, almost completely naked, it was still easy to tell that the style of their tattered clothing belonged to the school uniforms of the Byrkinworth School.

"Looks like those missing researchers have been found," Henrik joked.

Chapter 827 Corruption from the Stars

"Do you think if we had a proper talk with them, these 'big flies' might let us through?" Henrik continued to tease.

After Jiang Bing's expedited special fire-transfer ritual, the gloom that had settled in Henrik's temperament due to long-term killing was completely evaporated with the blood of the ancient god, and he returned to his original state.

He's sarcastic and talkative.

But it's more like a living, breathing human being, rather than a snarling beast.

The answer to this question is obvious, so obvious that the other two hunters' eye rolls were faintly conveyed even through their faceplates.

"Let's do it!" the crow decided, and the two hunters readily agreed.

Henrik held a huge shotgun in his hands, its thick barrel and heavy weight making his blood boil.

Although he had already been excited when he first joined the company not long ago, he still couldn't contain his emotions.

Henrik is a 'powder barrel' style hunter.

Compared to the Workshop Hunters, this school of hunters deviated from the traditional pragmatic weapon design philosophy of the Workshop, instead becoming obsessed with complex machinery, explosives, and flames.

Piling machines, flamethrowers, rotary saws, burning blood wine, and heavy rotary machine guns are all their 'masterpieces'.

But none of these can compare to the shotgun that Henrik is holding at this moment.

Accuracy is truth, power is justice.

Made by 'craftsmen', trustworthy.

Henrik couldn't wait to fire the first shot in this battle.

The monsters in Yharnam have very hard bones and strong vitality. Getting shot, slashed, or even losing an arm or a leg is nothing to them.

However, just as there are differences between people, there are also differences between guns.

The tumorous head, covered in eyes, exploded instantly as the gunshot rang out, turning into a shower of blood, 'smearing the wall in desperation'.

It was as if an elephant was inside the huge shotgun, kicking wildly outwards, sending the monsters in front of Henrik several meters away.

“That’s it!” Henrik roared into the communication channel. If it weren’t for the fact that the blood of the ancient god in his body had been burned away, the other two would have suspected that he was having a 'lapse'.

A buzzing sound, like a swarm of flies, rang out, startling all the monsters at the same time, which then pounced on the three of them.

Talking about rationality in Yharnam is a very irrational thing. For example, right now, these monsters can briefly lift their heavy bodies off the ground by flapping their short wings, which are about the size of a palm, in exchange for terrifying mobility.

They rushed towards Henrik almost without touching the ground, leaping high into the air, their limbs and dozens of arthropods on their backs opening wide, like a ferocious maw ready to pounce, lunging straight at the old hunter.

Unfortunately, what awaited them was Father Gascoigne's 'steel baby'.

A massive axe swept through the air, causing a swarm of buzzing flies to crash spectacularly.

The priest gripped the axe handle and activated the plasma field on the axe blade. The terrifyingly high temperature caused the air to distort and rise like the surrounding mist.

His fighting style was the complete opposite of his old friend Henrik; he preferred heavy weapons and his own skills to gunpowder and explosions.

The sharp axe burned a fly monster in two. The priest, relying on the power granted by his armor, swung his giant axe in a bright arc, unleashing a bloody frenzy.

The monsters' formidable vitality meant that their deaths would not be dignified.

Henrik kicked one of the stragglers to the ground, and pulled the trigger with his shotgun almost piercing the swollen, writhing mass of flesh around the man's eye.

The priest, on the other hand, was ruthless and unrestrained, either cleaving his opponent in two horizontally with an axe or vertically splitting him in two, displaying unparalleled brutality.

Without even the crows lifting a finger, the dozen or so monsters transformed by Byrgenworth's students and teachers were reduced to bits of flesh scattered all over the ground.

"It seems the research on the inner eye has gone wrong."

After the war, a crow perched in front of a deliberately preserved, intact head of flesh, studying the distorted mass of flesh.

“No one in Yharnam is immune to madness, and the Church of the Healers is no better than Byrkinworth.” As a veteran of three reigns, the old hunter Henrik was clearly a man of great authority to speak on this matter.

Even after being separated from the body, this deformed mass of flesh and blood, filled with eyes, continued to writhe, its countless eyeballs constantly scanning the three of them. Because there were no eyelids to cover it, it looked particularly disgusting.

The feathered serpent lantern, modified by Jiang Bing, was held high by the crow, radiating a warm orange light. The next moment, as a faint white mist rose from the corpses scattered on the ground, a golden figure condensed in the void.

"Mr. Sabur!"

The three hunters gazed at the descending deity with surprise and anticipation.

"You've found a way to enter the dream world?!" the crow asked excitedly.

"It's just a projection; it has no power," Jiang Bing waved his hand, indicating.

"Things outside have calmed down for now, and I've been bored, so I came in with you to take a look."

The modified Quetzalcoatl lantern contained a small amount of Jiang Bing's [Etheric Flame], so manifesting an avatar was naturally not difficult.

“This thing is very interesting,” Jiang Bing said without explaining further, and instead shifted the topic back to the deformed mass of flesh that had already turned into a 'rolling eye'.

The soul of this thing has been completely burned away by the [Etheric Flame], and its body will naturally become lifeless as well. However, some new 'knowledge' has also been burned out from these firewood.

"It turns out that Bailkingworth has been exploring the stars all along." Jiang Bing stared at the dilapidated academy manor, unsure whether to say they were enterprising and pioneering, or that they were reckless and fearless.

Jiang Bing felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of the deep waters of this world's starry sky. These researchers, on the other hand, were actively courting him. If they didn't become corrupt and distorted, who would?

This was even with a layer of dream-like isolation; otherwise, the entire academy would probably have been 'elevated'.

"The starry sky?" The know-it-all Henrik instantly became alert.

"Within the Healing Church, there is a hidden upper-level organization called the 'Chorus,' whose research focuses on the stars," Raven revealed some secrets. Countless reincarnations had given her knowledge of many secrets unknown to ordinary people.

"It seems that this group of people originated from the astronomical research branch of the Byrkinworth School."

"Judging from the current situation, something must have caused the academy's teachers and students to become distorted," Raven said, offering his speculation.

"Could it be some 'superior' from the stars?" Henrik cautiously glanced at Jiang Bing, who was looking up at the architectural design of Byrkinworth College, and guessed.

"I can't be sure," Jiang Bing replied without turning his head, "It just has a slight 'flavor'."

"Is Master William still alive under these circumstances?" As an outsider, the priest was not familiar with these intricacies and did not particularly want to know them; he was more focused on the question itself.

His greatest pursuit is to complete his mission, return to his sweet home, and enjoy the warmth of his wife and children.

"Why don't we just charge in and see for ourselves?" Henrik, as expected of an elite among the powder keg hunters, had a temper as explosive as a powder keg himself.

However, his suggestion was indeed correct.

Chapter 828 The Origin of Moonlit Lake

Bailkingworth College has indeed fallen into decline.

Aside from the fly monsters at the entrance, the group walked all the way to the front of the academy building and only encountered a few small cats and dogs. The entire manor was as deserted as an abandoned construction site where the developer had run away with the buckets.

"From here, doesn't the moon look a bit too big?" the priest asked, standing by the main gate of the college building and gazing at Moonlit Lake in front of him.

The entire Bailkingworth estate is surrounded by a lake, like a ring encircling the perfectly circular Moonside Lake.

Standing beside the main building, the bright moon hangs high, its still reflection like a jade disc. With no obstructions in sight, the moon appears extraordinarily large, dazzlingly bright, and extraordinarily round.

“It’s not that it’s big, it’s just that it’s closer to you.” Jiang Bing followed behind the crow, admiring the Victorian architectural style of the college with great interest.

"Him?"

Henrik seemed somewhat surprised.

"Then aren't we under His influence all the time?"

Jiang Bing did not answer the question, but clapped his hands to attract the attention of the three people.

"We've got a job, folks. We've finally found something of substance. It looks like we've caught a 'family member'."

The Bailkingworth building was constructed in a very strange way. The main entrance did not face forward, but instead went around to the back of the building from one side, facing the direction of Moon Lake.

This means that to enter normally, one must walk along a main road between the lake and the buildings.

At the end of the stone passage, in front of the building, stood a monster silently.

An absolute monster.

Its appearance is beyond human imagination.

Its body, resembling a centipede, is made up of dozens of thin human legs, while its upper body is made up of dozens of arms.

It has a flat, enormous mouth, as big as a starfish baring its teeth, covered with sharp teeth, and almost takes up the entire abdominal space.

The most peculiar thing is its head.

A slender bone stretches high into the sky, but its end is not a head; instead, it consists of tiny bone spurs, like an old-fashioned television antenna, neatly spread out to both sides, resembling a flesh-and-blood signal receiving device.

A faint light lingered around it, like starlight fragments, or like a constantly surging current flowing back and forth on it.

The monster stood alone at the entrance of the building, facing the full moon above Yuebang Lake, its antenna held high as if receiving a call from afar.

A burst of flames erupted first from its thin, stick-like body, as an uninvited bomb from a crow kissed its deformed form.

Despite lacking vocal organs, the three combatants suddenly heard a clear and distant howl from some corner.

The monster frantically wriggled its tentacles and smoothly climbed toward the crows by the railing.

Meanwhile, the enormous antenna had somehow become powered on, gathering a cluster of deep purple stars. Deep within the flowing nebula, a burning meteorite suddenly appeared, flying towards the crow like an asteroid.

'boom!'

The meteorite struck the railing in front of the crow, exploding with a loud bang and creating a huge gap in the delicate railing.

More meteorites emerged from the nebula, one after another, relentlessly bombarding the crow's swift footsteps with terrifying firepower.

Until the priest and Henrik, who had circled around, silently appeared behind it using the pillars as cover.

The servo motor hummed softly, and the nanofiber muscle bundles inside the priest's armor contracted wildly, giving him a huge boost in strength.

The blade of the switch axe gleamed brightly under the high temperature of the plasma, and it precisely struck the junction between the monster's 'antennae' and its body.

In the priest's mind, this should be considered the other person's vital point, the neck.

The limb, as thick as a bowl, was cleanly and decisively severed in two by the high temperature and immense force. The enormous 'antenna' was slammed aside, and the nebula and electric current above began to dissipate rapidly.

The monster that had been frantically bombarding the crows just moments before suddenly stiffened, flipped over, and its nearly one hundred limbs twitched wildly before falling silent.

It seems that the antenna-like organ is indeed its weak point.

The soft light engulfed the corpse, and a pale white mist of souls rose toward the being known as the Lord of Eternal Flame, extracting, understanding, analyzing, and categorizing the information contained within.

"Meteorite?"

Jiang Bing stroked his chin, thoughtfully considering the information he had just received.

This monster was born from Moonlit Lake, which itself was formed from a meteorite impact sometime in the distant past.

The reason why Moon Lake is so round is because it is actually a meteorite crater.

Jiang Bing looked up at the second moon overhead, then gazed thoughtfully at its reflection on the lake's surface, feeling that the water here seemed deeper than he had imagined.

"Does anyone know when this estate was built, or when the Byrkinworth School came to prominence?" Jiang Bing suddenly asked.