The sea boiled, and terrifying monsters never seen before appeared one after another.
The entire embankment fell into a cold silence. Fear, like giant pythons, climbed onto the trembling bodies of the newcomers, binding them tightly.
It choked their throats and strangled their necks.
Muffled cries of terror came from their slightly parted mouths.
"Hoo~ Hoohoo~"
At this moment,
Xu Yun, a professional physician from the Xinhuo Medical Department, held a silver bell and shook it constantly, emitting a clear and pleasant soothing sound that spread for hundreds of meters, reaching the ears of each newcomer.
"Dingling~!"
"Dingling~!"
This was naturally the eerie artifact, the Tranquil Bell!
The welcome ceremony was meant to open the newcomers' eyes, let them witness the truth hidden beneath the surface of the world, and understand their duty as Xinhuo members and the monsters they needed to fight.
It was not meant to simply scare the newcomers.
Facing the onslaught of the eerie tide for the first time could leave psychological scars even on well-trained investigators. While these newcomers recruited by Xinhuo from various places might have potential, the vast majority were currently pure novices.
They could not withstand such an onslaught of the eerie tide.
If they were scared senseless, it would defeat the purpose of the welcoming ceremony.
However, under the effect of the Tranquil Bell's chime, although the newcomers were terrified, they did not break past a certain threshold and retained the ability to think.
Their faces were ashen, their limbs were weak, and many could no longer stand, collapsing onto the ground.
In contrast, the few figures who remained standing appeared quite striking.
Ye Luo and Ma Nian stood steady and upright, but…
This did not mean they were not afraid!
They were almost scared to death; they had merely overcome their instinctual trembling and were trying hard to stand straight, not wanting to make a fool of themselves!
Especially Ma Nian, as a former Eerie Hunter, he had a clearer understanding of these monsters.
And… he was even more terrified!
It wasn't just instinctive fear; he knew better how terrifying these eerie creatures were. This dark mass of an eerie tide could annihilate a city. Was something going to happen?!
Moreover, there were many large eerie creatures among them!
Those monsters that were over three meters tall, possessed immense strength, and had all sorts of terrifying abilities. Ma Nian had faced them before. At that time, six Eerie Hunters had joined forces to take them down, and two of them had sustained minor injuries.
And now, as far as he could see, there were dozens of such large eerie creatures!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground began to shake violently. A colossal figure emerged from beneath the sea, first its head, then its upper body, slowly pushing aside the seawater and walking towards the shore.
Its eyes were like the headlights of a large truck, its muscles were coiled and bulging, yet it seemed to have no skin, with bloody flesh exposed, ferocious and terrifying.
Especially its terrifying height, four to five stories tall. Even large eerie creatures stood like infants next to it, easily kicked away by this giant.
This was…
A colossal eerie creature!
Ma Nian had never seen one, but he had heard old hunters talk about it. Colossal eerie creatures would cause great disaster and heavy casualties whenever they appeared.
Very few Eerie Hunters could deal with a colossal eerie creature. Among the old hunters he knew, only one could – the legendary First Hunter, the Burst Fist Martial Saint, Elder Xing.
As for others, even a dozen veteran hunters working together could not deal with such a terrifying eerie creature.
This was evident!
Ma Nian was terrified, fear surging through his mind like a tide.
Most newcomers had no understanding of eerie creatures, but just looking at this flesh-and-blood giant parting the sea made them almost faint.
This was truly personally experiencing a great disaster, a great terror!
They were going to die, they were going to die, they were going to die—!
They could no longer speak, their hands and feet were cold and weak, and they stared blankly into the distance. The few who remained, like Ye Luo and Ma Nian, who were awakened individuals, were also in a state of panic and helplessness.
At this moment,
Luo Jianxing and the others moved!
"Launch the Blazing Fire Beads!"
With a flick of his wrist, pebbles the size of goose eggs, filled with flowing fire light, appeared between his fingers.
With the force of his wrist and precise throwing technique, the Blazing Fire Beads were flung out fiercely, flying one to two hundred meters before landing in the crowd of eerie creatures surging like a black tide.
Boom—!
Puffs of orange-red flames exploded, the flames raged, and the heat wave spread outwards, hitting them.
These were single-use weapon items.
Improved by the Investigation Bureau's 'Fire Beads' and referencing the principles of the Green-tier skill 'Fireball', one such Blazing Fire Bead was equivalent to the full-power strike of a first-level awakened individual using a fireball.
Xinhuo had even more powerful weapons, but combat also considered cost. Blazing Fire Beads were cheap, and within their mission reimbursement limits, using high-end weapons was unlikely.
Under the explosions of the fire beads, creatures like Doorkeepers, Shaking Corpses, and some strange aquatic weak eerie creatures were instantly annihilated.
Even a two-star eerie creature, if hit head-on, would be injured.
If multiple Blazing Fire Beads hit simultaneously, it was possible to kill a two-star eerie creature, but it was not worth it.
Luo Jianxing and the other frontline combat personnel threw out a total of forty to fifty Blazing Fire Beads, specifically targeting areas where the eerie creatures were densely packed.
In a short period, countless small eerie creatures were eliminated.
The entire eerie tide became significantly sparser.
"Brothers, let's go."
Luo Jianxing drew his battle saber from his waist. It was a Green-tier battle saber, its blade gleaming with a cold light. He was the first to charge towards the surging tide of eerie creatures.
Hiss—!
At this point, the eerie tide had significantly reduced, but the large eerie creatures remained as numerous as before.
The specialized weapons that had made such a large display earlier could only eliminate ordinary eerie creatures. Seeing Supervisor Luo draw his saber and charge into the remaining horde of hundreds of eerie creatures, former hunter Ma Nian gasped.
Ye Luo's eyes widened.
"So fast!"
Luo Jianxing was indeed fast. His awakened ability was speed enhancement, and he had cultivated his swordsmanship to a master level!
He possessed a second-level micro-control of his body! Even when he exerted his speed to its maximum, there was not the slightest deviation.
His figure flashed past a two-star eerie creature like a gust of wind, a flash of crimson light within the wind.
This was Blade Slash.
The Blade Slash descended, accurately hitting the vital point of the eerie creature. With one strike, it was instantly killed.
KO! Monster kill count +1!
Luo Jianxing moved like the wind and felt as free as the wind, heading directly towards the most terrifying three-star eerie creature.
His speed increased again, leaving a trail of black afterimages.
Skill: Shadow Step!
He first severed the blood-and-flesh giant's most dangerous forked tongue, then cut off one of its legs, and finally, Blade Slash unleashed a red light several meters long. He gripped his saber with both hands and struck down heavily!
Boom—!!
The red light tore through the giant's skull.
Luo Jianxing landed from mid-air, kneeling on one knee.
His comrades around him had almost cleared the remaining eerie creatures. Amidst the smoke and fire, he let the flesh-and-blood giant fall heavily behind him. The wind blew his hair; he didn't need to look back.
Luo Jianxing gave himself an 82 for this act of showing off.
Compared to the Grand Instructor and other top figures, he was certainly far behind, but he finally had a chance to show off. It wasn't easy!
And it was in front of the cute newcomers.
Luo Jianxing panted slightly, recovering from the discomfort of significant life energy depletion. He soon returned to the embankment.
Facing the shocked, admiring, and awestruck gazes from all directions.
Ah~ how long had it been since he enjoyed such gazes.
Luo Jianxing's eyes welled up a little.
Since joining Xinhuo, from his student days to his time as a formal warrior, he had never been the most dazzling person.
Among his peers, Luo Rui, Ming Deng, Old Gou, Xu Tian… four of them had combat power superior to his.
Fan Anyuan, Bai Yansi, and others who joined later had caught up or surpassed him.
Then there were newcomers like Wang Wu, Lin Daozhi, Yue Qiwuka, Xi Beier, and Ma Wen, who were monstrous talents. Despite only training for just over a week, they were already close to catching up to him.
Their progress speed was simply terrifying!
Perhaps there were monsters like Wang Wu among this batch of newcomers.
The more Luo Jianxing thought about it, the more bitter he felt. He had it so hard.
But at this moment, he still wore a faint smile, sheathing his battle saber.
To the newcomers, especially insiders like Ma Nian, this exuded the aura of a top-tier powerhouse!
Boss Luo must be a top expert!
He also wanted to become such an expert!
…
A new era had dawned, and the reality hidden beneath the surface of the world was gradually being revealed to the public.
The Easternhuang Nation experienced slight unrest but quickly suppressed it.
The public's attention was more focused on the awakened individuals of the new era and the intensive training of the Investigation Bureau. If there was any change, it was that awakened individuals had stepped into the spotlight, and many companies were eagerly recruiting them.
Having an awakened employee at this time was a matter of great prestige.
Having a child in the family who passed the Investigation Bureau's selection was almost comparable to being admitted to Huangdu University or Shuimu University in the past.
It brought glory to the ancestors.
However, this was only in Easternhuang. In other countries, as the great terror beneath reality was unveiled, storms had erupted one after another.
Protests, attacks on the Super Combat Department buildings, live broadcasts of people being devoured by eerie creatures…
These incidents were causing endless trouble for the entire Seagull Nation.
Minister Anderson felt his handsome chestnut short hair was about to fall out!
Especially when,
"Look at that ancient Eastern country; they cleared out the eerie creatures in a timely manner. What are we doing? Our Super Combat Department is full of useless people, wasting our taxpayers' money."
"Why is there no disaster in magical Dongfang? Is this God's punishment!"
"Great Lord, your devout follower is willing to offer this flesh and blood to beg for your forgiveness."
In the Red Moon ritual, the Seagull Nation, the most severely affected, was in chaos.
Even doomsday cults had emerged. Most of them were naturally fake, lacking any supernatural power. However, in this environment, their Super Combat Department could not clearly distinguish between true and false.
Arrest them all? They didn't have enough manpower.
Moreover, this was about people's hearts.
The entire Seagull Nation was more chaotic than before the Red Moon disaster.
Under such circumstances, Anderson, representing the Super Combat Department, visited the Xinhuo branch office in Snowfall City for the third time.