An incessant crackling sound echoed beyond the city wall.
It came from Flesh Worm Ghosts crashing against the wall.
"Heh heh..."
Chen Fan found the sound particularly pleasant. He spun around and signaled Crippled Monkey and the others with a look, then headed toward the "Meat Grinder Passage."
"Let's go, take a look from above."
This scene would be truly awe-inspiring only if witnessed firsthand.
The Flesh Worm Ghosts couldn't fly up to 40 meters, right?
Having ascended along the winding Meat Grinder Passage, Chen Fan had the wall retract at the opening and cautiously poked his head out for a look.
He froze for a moment, then couldn't help but blurt out.
"Shit!"
He didn't swear often.
But this time, he could no longer hold it back. Swear words were like sperm—no one wanted to spurt them out, but they always slipped out uncontrollably at certain moments.
Crippled Monkey, from behind, also leaned out to look. Upon seeing the scene, he too let out a curse.
"Holy shit!"
From several nearby openings came the shocked voices of Zhou Mo and the others through the pitter-patter of rain.
His initial plan was simple.
Employ the Storm Suction to draw in a portion of the passing Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide.
But perhaps he had underestimated the Storm Suction.
And overestimated the weight of Flesh Worm Ghosts.
Leading to the episode where... a massive air-current vortex sucked countless Flesh Worm Ghosts in through the canyon.
Not only bringing them into the abyss pit.
But also sending them slamming into both canyon cliffs.
The Flesh Worm Ghost was a brownish-black shade.
At the moment, the place looked like a gigantic...
Only a few of them crashed into the city walls; more smashed into the cliffs of the canyon and the abyss pit. These Flesh Worm Ghosts' screams resounded through the canyon in waves.
"Bang."
Chen Fan watched as a Flesh Worm Ghost smacked into the rock wall, causing almost no damage.
But as more and more Flesh Worm Ghosts struck the same spot, bursting with green, sticky fluid,
Gradually, a dark green shallow pit was worn into the rock wall.
Crippled Monkey muttered, "Young Master, this is causing too much damage to the camp. After this, these rock walls will be a mess, all covered in these dark green potholes... Isn't it a bit unsightly? Should we fill them in afterward?"
"Fill them in?"
"No, no, no."
Chen Fan lay prone at the opening, looking down at what was unfolding down there. As the rain pattered on his head, his eyes were filled with excitement.
"This is the best proof."
"After the rainy season ends, we'll interact with other forces. Haven't we been planning to establish a marketplace, like the Rivernorth Marketplace?"
"We haven't decided on a location yet."
"Now I've thought of one—right along the canyon. Then everyone can see these potholes."
"Everyone will know."
"That we—"
"Survived a massive Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide!"
"Isn't that the greatest testament?"
Chen Fan was almost feverish. His original plan for "Phase Two" was to set up a Cannon Tower every five meters along the kilometer-long canyon.
Now that seemed too petty.
From the looks of it, tens of thousands of Flesh Worm Ghosts had died in the canyon. Perhaps they could deploy Cannon Towers at different heights every five meters.
"Such a pity, though..."
Chen Fan looked regretfully toward the canyon entrance. The wind direction tonight was unfavorable; an immense Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide had brushed past outside the canyon.
Even with the "Storm Suction" at full power,
Only a small fraction of those Flesh Worm Ghosts had been sucked in.
More got swept further away by the night wind.
"Ping City will eat their fill tonight."
He cast an envious gaze in the direction of Ping City.
Should the wind not change direction, this Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide would trek all the way to Ping City. How many Eerie Stones would they be earning...
It struck him that humans could actually benefit from the rainy season.
As long as you were strong enough.
This was the best time to rake in Eerie Stones.
Outside of the season, there were no Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tides like this.
Of course,
If one weren't strong enough, they'd end up like he had done at the old camp—like a lone boat on the raging ocean, facing an endless tide of Flesh Worm Ghosts, sinking into boundless fear and despair.
"I wouldn't find a safer place anywhere else."
Thinking of this, Chen Fan couldn't help but remark with emotion.
Just then—
"Young Master, it's gone."
"Gone?"
Pulled from his thoughts, Chen Fan looked toward the canyon. The huge air-current vortex was still churning violently, like stirring butter, but there were no longer any Flesh Worm Ghosts.
Only some rubble and the like.
"So it's over already."
Chen Fan rose to his feet, feeling a lingering desire for more. He had the wall move back up to seal the opening again, then turned and walked down the Meat Grinder Passage.
"Let's go take a look."
...
The Wind Tower had stopped operating.
Getting hit by a barrage of Flesh Worm Ghosts, it should have fallen apart earlier on. But thanks to the Altars, it remained intact now, and the city walls had also been restored.
"Burp..."
Chen Fan stood outside Cave No. 1, lifting his gaze at the Eerie Blood Pattern all over the level-3 city wall. They flickered with a crimson glow. He felt as if he had heard the Pattern making a satisfied sound from drinking their fill, and couldn't resist adding a sound effect himself.
The battle was over.
But it kept sucking blood like crazy as it gurgled away.
The Flesh Worm Ghosts had no blood.
Only thick green fluid.
He didn't consider it blood.
But the Eerie Blood Pattern clearly thought otherwise. Torrents of thick green fluid gathered at the base of the city wall, then got drained by the Eerie Blood Pattern.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but it seemed to him that the Eerie Blood Pattern had turned from its original dark red to a somewhat greenish tint.
Finally—
After a stick of incense's time(30 minutes),
The Eerie Blood Pattern had dimmed again, fully satiated this time.
"Good."
Chen Fan surveyed all around with satisfaction. Given how much the Pattern had drunk in this time, the city wall would surely be strengthened significantly. Moreover, it made cleaning up the battlefield much easier.
Outside the cave lay countless skins packed with human faces. Flesh Worm Ghosts had no bones or flesh—just a skin filled with green fluid.
After the green fluid was absorbed, only a skin crowded with human faces remained.
Full of wrinkles and sinisterly eerie-looking.
Especially under the pitch-black dome, it looked even more bizarre.
More skins were stuck to the rock walls, swaying at the mercy of the wind.
They didn't need dissecting.
Eerie Stones lay scattered across the ground like ordinary rocks, in the midst of these skins.
Amid such a setting, Chen Fan recalled a poem from his past life and subconsciously adapted it, then murmured it,
"One piece, then another, and yet another,"
"Two, three, four, five pieces and more."
"Six, seven, eight, nine pieces follow,"
"All disappearing into the cave."
He hadn't understood this poem before.
Now he did.
Seeing so many Eerie Stones, only these simple numbers could do justice to his feelings!
"Phew..."
Chen Fan took a deep breath and gave a wide wave of the hand. "Brothers, get to work! Bring all the Eerie Stones back!"
Crippled Monkey, Zhou Mo, and the others, unable to contain their excitement, rushed out, each shouldering a chest.
Although it was a rainy night,
The twenty Eerie Fire had been keeping the canyon brightly lit. The Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide had just swept past; no Eerie Creatures would approach. There was hardly any danger in picking up Eerie Stones now.
Even if Eerie Creatures came,
The Meat Grinder was ready to activate at any time.