Our Family Has Fallen

Indeed, the judgment should be made by the Lord, not by him.

But Geralt, upon seeing the reinforcements that arrived, also felt something was off.

Because the number of troops was much fewer than planned, though a few Transcendents among them were indeed formidable.

”Wasn’t the plan for the second battalion to provide support with seventy men? Wasn’t Junia supposed to be at the second target? Why is she here?”

”The situation is quite complex...”

After securing the second target back then, Balistan dared not rest for even a moment and prepared to provide support.

However, after witnessing the power of the artillery, he realized the situation was dire.

The artillery’s power left Boudica and the others without room for melee combat, and it was clear that thirty men couldn’t hold the artillery position.

More importantly, he knew time was running out; support needed to come quickly. If he took seventy men, it would be too slow, and smaller groups could move faster.

After a quick discussion, they decided to leave eighty people at the second position to assist the artillery.

Then bringing along Dismas and twenty veteran elites.

It was fortunate he made the change, otherwise, if the plan was fully executed as the Lord intended, by the time they arrived, Geralt and the others might have been turned into jerky by the Heretics.

”The Heretics’ resistance is much fiercer than we imagined, even with us holding the advantage.

At the time of the second target, if not for the artillery, losses would have likely been devastating.”

Listening to Balistan’s words, Geralt deeply felt the significance, and couldn’t help but add a sigh.

”Flesh Monsters appeared at the second target, and here we have ghouls modified by the evil cult, yet we haven’t seen the evil cult’s [Seed], nor have we identified any particularly powerful Heretic Priests. Where could they be?”

Geralt’s concerns clearly articulated the dilemma faced by Hamlet, that despite their full efforts, the Sect of Ascension’s methods remained unseen.

Even the real cores had not appeared.

”Weren’t those guys slayed by the boss?” At this moment, Boudica walked up carrying her Axe Spear, clearly having gotten her fill of killing, showing a slight smile, with bloodstains across her face making her look ferocious.

It was indeed true, back when they encountered the evil cult Saintess in the Beast Lair, along with the Ascension Priests guarding the Saintess.

Didn’t they all get slain by them, naturally reducing a batch of high-end combat strength?

”But caution is still necessary, until success at the frontline is secured, we struggle to receive support.” Balistan would not relax due to these words, instead maintaining ample vigilance.

”Dismas, you take ten people to set traps, I’ll take ten to set up camp, so even if Heretics emerge, we can delay them.”

The numerous bodies left from continuous fighting at the third target couldn’t be transported, but couldn’t be left to become the Evil God’s food.

So after Alhazred took a brief respite, he pulled out something.

This thing was the [Blood Chalice] taken from the Wizard, used directly to extract Spiritual Essence from the corpses, turning them into blood beads.

Extracting Spiritual Crystals isn’t difficult, and there are numerous ways to do it, the real challenge is purification.

Just like the blood beads extracted now, the impurities inside can easily contaminate a Transcendent’s Spiritual Essence.

Unless it’s meant for waxworks, which are inherently dead, or specific Transcendent paths, or special ritual offerings, any Transcendent with knowledge would not use them directly.

Yet they still hold value to a Transcendent, who can remove impurities through various means, as purified Spiritual Crystals can be used in any domain.

That’s why quality is often judged by purity.

Sometimes a fist-sized piece’s worth is less than a grain-sized one.

But this has nothing to do with Alhazred, as these items belong to the Lord, and he is only responsible for operating them.

One corpse after another was drained through a bizarre ritual, yet those present showed no reaction.

On the contrary, some even helped move the dried corpses to the side, they were decent fuel and shouldn’t be wasted.

With the arrival of reinforcements, the situation at the third target gradually calmed down, but tonight wasn’t peaceful.

The explosions during the day only caused slight tremors and sounds around the target area above ground.

However, underground it was an undeniable earthquake.

Below, Pigmen and Heretics were constantly digging together, could you even talk to them about construction safety?

Though the Pigmen actually seemed to wear helmets mostly...

Anyway, many areas below were hollowed out, mostly being danger zones, and now the explosions caused many parts below to collapse.

When had the Pigmen faced such disgrace?

They immediately went on a furious attack against all seen enemies, including Heretics on their menu.

The day’s ground battle was fierce, underground was just as frantic.

Probably the Pigmen helped Hamlet hold off some Heretics, otherwise, the situation above could be much more difficult.

It’s just unfortunate that there was no control, and both sides’ deaths would become nourishment for the ancestors.

Now the Sect of Ascension’s people don’t know what they are brewing, they abandoned large areas, leaving Pigmen to wander over, occupying passages originally dug by Heretics.

Most entrances and exits were blasted shut, yet the strong scent of blood was spreading through the cave entrance towards the Beast Lair, which the Pigmen’s sense of smell naturally picked up as the scent of food.

Following the scent led them to Heretics’ temporarily abandoned exits.

During the daytime’s string of battles, they had no chance to emerge, yet the darkness after nightfall would pave the way for their appearance.

A Pigman butcher carrying a serrated blade emerged from the passage, then saw two figures ahead, looking at him, holding broken sticks.

The Pigman appeared irritable under the firelight, yet it didn’t affect its combat. It immediately raised the blade to charge forward, which drew two gunshots.

The lead bullets tore through flesh, instantly leaving the Pigman’s already underdeveloped mind with only pain.

They weren’t Heretics who revel in pain, the sudden loud Pig squeal even slightly overshadowed the sound of gunfire.

But the second shot hit squarely, the hard skull was shattered, and the brain turned to pulp.

Its death was not the end, rather it marked the start of the battle.

From that passage, Pigmen streamed out in an endless flow, quickly exceeding the Sentinels’ capacity to handle.

Barton hadn’t even slept, not even loosening the breastplate over his uniform because he was ready to battle the Heretics tonight.

In fact, both artillery positions had people resting separately, just waiting for Heretics to surface.

Only upon emerging did he realize, something was terribly wrong.

Why were there Pigmen?

But at this moment, he couldn’t afford to dwell on it, immediately taking command, ordering the Musketeers to fall back, while personally taking aim at the chaotic Pigmen formation and firing a cannon shot.

Serendipitously, the remaining structures at the post limited the emergence of these Pigmen, coupled with their lack of response.

The stone shot whistled into the Pigmen, instantly exploding into a shower of blood and flesh, along with the amplified ear-piercing pig squeals echoing.

Seeing this, Barton got a rough idea; now they were truly shooting live targets.

”Come on, come on! Fire the cannon!”

The noise carried farther at night, even more pronounced, this cannon shot declared the end of the ceasefire and the beginning of a new round of warfare.

The Beast Lair was essentially an extension of the old city’s sewer system, so naturally, the closer to the northern relics, the deeper it went.

The second target saw the most peripheral Pigman butchers, cripples, Hookhands, and maybe a drummer.

But approaching the third target wasn’t just basic Pigmen anymore, they were the enhanced version.

Pigman Stalkers, Mobs, Priests, all sorts of craziness emerged, and if not for the narrow passages restricting them, a Pigman Knight charging out wouldn’t be surprising.

Fortunately, after adjustment, everyone’s condition was restored quite a bit, as they lit those dry corpses, illuminating the surroundings, making stealth attacks by Pigmen difficult.

Not to mention, the team was full of fierce individuals, every single one ready to cut them down.

Boudica, having followed Lance into the Beast Lair twice, as an adept pig slayer, greeted these Pigmen quite warmly...