SWDnovel Chapter 146 Border Town Rescue
Chapter 146 Border Town Rescue
The Gu Mother's roar echoed from the west of the city to the east, like an invisible giant hammer smashing against every window of the bluestone border city.
The first things to shatter were the glass. Not from the sound itself, but from the sheer force of the evil power—the overwhelming malevolent energy that surged forth from the earth the moment the Gu Mother emerged, engulfing half the city like a tidal wave. The glass, unable to withstand the invisible pressure, crackled and shattered, the fragments scattering across the windowsills, gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Then came the doors. Not from the wind, but from being pushed open—the sleeping people, awakened by the screams, rushed barefoot from their homes, not even having time to dress. The streets were filled with panicked figures; some carrying children, some supporting the elderly, some carrying nothing but their underwear, running desperately through the night, not knowing where they were going, only knowing they couldn't stop.
The Gu worms detached from the Gu Mother, falling like black snowflakes from the sky. They landed on rooftops, walls, and people's shoulders. Those that landed weren't the problem; the problem was those that burrowed into the body. Those possessed by the Gu worms first stiffened abruptly, then their eyes turned red, their pupils dilated, saliva drooled from their mouths, and their limbs began to twitch uncontrollably. In a few breaths, they became puppets only capable of killing. Some picked up stone blocks in front of their doors and smashed them against their loved ones; some grabbed shovels from the roadside and hacked at strangers; some charged bare-handed at a wall, bleeding from their heads, then got up and charged again. Everywhere there were cries, shouts, and flames. It was unclear who started the fires—perhaps an overturned oil lamp, perhaps a broken power line when the Gu Mother collapsed a building, or perhaps someone deliberately burned those loved ones completely controlled by the Gu worms and beyond saving. Flames spread from the west of the city to the east, thick smoke billowing and obscuring half the sky.
The martial arts soldiers stationed at the border city arrived immediately. Clad in tattered armor and gripping their weapons, they advanced in skirmish lines towards the Gu Mother. The commander, surnamed Han, was in his forties, with an old scar running diagonally from his forehead to his chin, a remnant from a battle against the evil race on the border ten years prior. His cultivation was at the early stage of the Transformation Realm, the highest in this border city, but he knew very well that at the early stage of the Transformation Realm, they were no different from paper before the Gu Mother. His soldiers knew this even better. Yet, not one of them retreated.
"Fire!" Commander Han gave the order, and dozens of arrows were fired simultaneously, densely embedded in the body of the Gu Mother.
The arrows struck the Gu Mother's hard shell like chopsticks hitting an iron plate, breaking or snapping without leaving even a white mark. The Gu Mother didn't even feel pain; she merely flicked her tail impatiently, the tail segment sweeping across the soldiers' lines like a broom sweeping through a pile of dust. Seven or eight men were sent flying, crashing into the wall behind them, spitting blood, unable to get up again.
The Gu Mother opened her mouth and spat out a large mouthful of dark green venom. The venom rained down on the streets, onto the houses, and into the crowd. Deep pits were corroded into the bluestone pavement, their edges blackened and charred, emitting white smoke. Wooden houses splashed with the venom instantly burst into flames, the flames eerily green and terrifying. Soldiers hit by the venom didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were corroded into pools of pus within moments.
General Han's eyes reddened, and his hand gripping the sword trembled. It wasn't fear, but hatred. He hated his own weakness, his soldiers' weakness, the dullness of his sword, and the thinness of his armor. He hated everything, but he could do nothing. He could only stand there, watching the Gu Mother slowly crush him, watching his soldiers fall one by one, watching the city he had defended for ten years turn into a living hell overnight.
"Hold on! We're here!"
General Han looked up and saw five figures rushing out of the ruins in the west of the city.
Leading the charge was Leng Feng. His battle blade was drawn, the dark red runes on its surface glowing in the night like flowing lava. He didn't attack the Gu Mother head-on, but instead flanked her, slashing at her hind leg. The blade struck the hard shell, exploding into a shower of sparks. A shallow white mark appeared on the shell; it wasn't broken, but the impact made the Gu Mother sway slightly. The Gu Mother turned her head, her eyeless face facing Leng Feng, as if sizing up this tiny insect who dared to offend her. Leng Feng didn't retreat but advanced, slashing at the same spot again, then a third, then a fourth. His aim wasn't to break the shell, but to draw the Gu Mother's attention away from the densely packed crowd.
Su Muyue did not approach. She stood on the rooftop of a two-story building that had not yet collapsed, twelve array flags fluttering in the air, forming a huge ring above her head. Blood still clung to the corner of her mouth, and her face was as pale as paper, but her hands were steady, forming hand seals with great speed. The Martial Emperor Guardian bloodline was operating at full power, and golden array patterns poured down from the array flags like a golden waterfall, enveloping the Gu Mother's massive body.
The Xuan-rank superior grade, the Gu-suppressing Grand Array, was being used for the second time. This time it was faster and more stable than the last, with a higher density of array patterns and a stronger suppressive force on the Gu worms. The Gu Mother's figure froze, and her movement speed noticeably slowed down. The low-level Gu worms on her body seemed to be held down by an invisible force, falling from the air and piling up in heaps of black worm mounds on the ground.
Chu Fan did not participate in the attack on the Gu Mother; his battlefield was on the outer perimeter. He took out the last three array plates from his backpack, activated them all, and set up a triple isolation array. The first layer was soundproof to prevent the hissing of the Gu worms from disturbing residents further away; the second layer was barrier to prevent the Gu worms from spreading to other neighborhoods through underground, air, and sewer systems; the third layer was a trapping and killing array, specifically designed to deal with any Gu worms that had already escaped. His movements were swift, his forehead covered in sweat, but his hands did not tremble.
Su Ling'er, along with several surviving military doctors, set up a temporary treatment point at the edge of the isolation array. She emptied all the exorcism pills, antidotes, and healing pills from her medicine box, distributing them to the doctors and instructing them on how to use them, who to treat first, and the dosage. She herself knelt beside a little girl bitten by a Gu worm, applying the powder from a Gu-clearing pill to the wound and bandaging it. The little girl's mother knelt beside her, repeatedly kowtowing, her forehead hitting the gravel, breaking the skin, blood mixed with ash, smearing her face. Su Ling'er didn't help her up, nor did she say "you're welcome." She simply kept her head down and continued treating the next wound.