I am the watcher on the walls.
A five-meter-long creature covered entirely in black insectoid crusty skin. It boasted a pair of sharp, giant pincers and long claws, while a dark green poison needle, bristling with barbs, protruded from its rear.
She revealed herself to be a monstrous hybrid—a fusion of a human upper body and a scorpion's lower body!
With a thunderous crack, fire erupted from the revolver on the city wall.
The creature, while extending several pairs of appendages to climb the city wall, was struck and brought to a halt.
The woman's head lifted slowly, fixing her gaze on old K. "You possess stingers too? But they're weak..."
"F*ck you!" Old K snatched up another pistol and aimed it at the woman.
Before he could shoot, a sudden barrage of gunfire erupted behind him.
TA TA TA TA TA TA TA!
In a matter of seconds, a green poisonous needle appeared beside Old K, darting back and forth menacingly.
Had it not been for this timely intervention, the poisoned needle might have succeeded in its attack on Old K!
Cold sweat broke out on Old K's head as he stole a glance behind him.
It was the newbie!
He wielded a miniature submachine gun, unleashing Hell!
Qi Lu reacted swiftly, brandishing his battle axe and cleaving through the air, projecting an axe phantom.
Clang!
The poisonous needle, measuring five or six meters in length, was struck by a bullet and then intercepted by the phantom of the battle axe. Only then did it begrudgingly retract beneath the city wall.
—Returning to the woman's back.
In that moment, Old K glanced back at Liuping in disbelief. "You know how to handle a gun? Why didn't you mention it earlier?"
Liuping replied, "I simply observed and learned from what you demonstrated. It's quite simple."
"..."
Old K had no response.
Was a gun truly that simple?
Undoubtedly, anyone, even a moron, could grasp the basics of pulling a trigger in a short span.
But hitting the hidden stinger in the darkness...
If what he's saying is true, then his capacity for learning and mimicry is terrifying.
Meanwhile, the woman leaned forward, her six pairs of appendages swiftly scaling the wall.
The bullet struck her body, but it merely created a shower of sparks, failing to penetrate her resilient chitinous skin.
"This won't do it, buy me some time!" Qi Lu instructed.
With that, Qi Lu took a few steps back, closed his eyes, and began to breathe in a strange rhythm.
"Buy time? No problem, leave it to me" Old K affirmed.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his face turned grim.
He almost fell prey to the creature's cunning just moments ago!
With that thought in mind, Old K retrieved a silver bullet and loaded it into his revolver.
Without bothering to aim, he fired directly into the void beyond the city wall.
Crack!
A streak of silver light shot from the barrel, arcking through the air before piercing the ground beneath the city wall.
after a brief moment, the woman's agonized cry pierced the air: "Ah, cursed mortal! How can you wield divine power!"
Old K remained unmoved, pulling out s grenade from his waist, pulling the pin, and hurling it fiercely.
Three,
Two,
One.
Boom!
In the darkness, a fiery blaze erupted into the sky, accompanied by a deafening explosion.
"You bastards—damned—"
The woman's frantic shout was cut short as a dark silhouette emerged from the flames, scaling the city wall.
The monster's speed increased, darting forward, covering tens of meters and climbing the city wall.
Though it now appeared somewhat pitiful—its shell cracked and oozing a green substance, with one appendage ripped off—it paid no heed.
It was determined to ascend and feed on those hateful mortals!
Da da da da da da.
A volley of gunfire erupted.
Liu Ping, who had been observing from the sidelines, suddenly raised the mini submachine gun and unleashed a relentless stream of bullets.
The monster lunged towards Old K, only to be repelled by the onslaught of dense bullets.
With Liuping's assistance, Old K evaded backward, continuously shooting.
Under the suppression of double firepower, the monster was forced to retreat to the brink of the city wall, nearly falling.
Click—
It thrust a pair of colossal claws into the wall, trying its best to regain its balance.
"Old K, I'm out!" Liuping's voice rang out.
Old K's heart sank.
His firepower alone was insufficient to drive back the monster.
The creature, too, heard Liuping's declaration.
While fending off Old K's assault with its tail needle, its gaze fixated on Liuping.
In the next instant,
The monster convulsed and charged toward Liuping!
Old K's expression contorted in horror as he shouted, "Damn it, run for your life!"
Flames continued to spew from his dual guns but were intercepted by the dancing poison needle, failing to slow the monster in the slightest.
The creature closed in on Liuping.
It chuckled maniacally, "What delecte flesh you have! What an appetizing aroma..."
In the blink of an eye—
The monster's laughter came to an abrupt stop.
Liuping's movements seemed to falter for a moment, casually slipping between the pincers of the monstrous claws.
It remained unclear whether Liuping had aimed for the monster or if the creature had unwittingly thrust its head forward—either way, Liuping's body pressed against the woman, the miniature submachine gun firmly lodged in its gaping maw.
"I lied" Liuping remarked with a smirk.
Da da da da da da da da!
A thunderous roar erupted from the submachine gun.
While the monster's body was encased in a resilient shell, its mouth had no such defense.
A jagged hole punched through its head as screams of agony escaped its throat, and its massive form thrashed frantically against the wall.
At that moment, Qi Lu's eyes snapped open.
His figure swelled several times over, towering close to five meters tall. Every muscle bulged like steel, his stature befitting the three-meter-long battle axe in his grasp.
"Ha—"
He drew a deep breath, his body bending slightly before vanishing from his position.
A dazzling flash of cold steel erupted from the city wall, soaring skyward.
The poison needle met the keen edge head-on, only to be cleanly severed.
"Ah—Just you wait—"
The monster bellowed frantically, transforming into a black shadow and hurtling off of the city wall, disappearing into the wilderness.
Qi Lu, Old K, and Liuping remained atop the wall for a few moments longer.
The wilderness remained still, devoid of any movement.
Gradually, Qi Lu's figure reverted to its normal size, collapsing on the ground.
"I'll be fine, just a bit drained from unleashing that much strength," Qi Lu gasped.
Liuping and Old K remained silent, turning their attention to Qi Lu's trembling hands.
His arm shaking nonstop.
"That was quite a blow," Old K remarked, impressed.
Liuping knelt beside Qi Lu, murmuring "Stay still."
Activating his techniques, Liuping conjured a mist that gently settled upon Qi Lu's hands.
Qi Lu's furrowed brows relaxed.
"Ahh, the pain's gone!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"You shouldn't use your hand anymore today, or the wound might worsen," Liuping cautioned.
"Thanks, Brother Liu, your healing skills are amazing!" Qi Lu grinned.
Turning to Old K, he requested, "Pass me a gun."
Old K took out a pistol, loaded it, and tossed it to Qi Lu.
The trio settled against the wall, observing the wilderness.
"Brother Liu, you got me good with that bullet bluff earlier. I actually believed you" Old K chuckled.
Liuping remarked, "I had no choice but to gamble. It understands our language and it's here to hunt. It must know how to pick its targets."
He examined the severed poisonous needle carefully.
'This material seems interesting. If I could refine it into a sword...'
With a sword, my combat abilities would reach new heights, and survival won't be such a struggle.
"This poisonous needle comes from a Death monster. It's quite rare," Liuping observed.
"It's our team's spoils. once our shift is over, we can take it to the bar and sell it. Whatever we earn will be split equally among us," Qi Lu declared.
Old K nodded in agreement.
"Sounds good," Liuping agreed.
'What a shame. But... there's no rush.'
'The priority is to integrate into this organization.'
Suddenly, the three of them shifted their attention toward the wilderness beyond the city wall.
"Something's coming" Qi Lu whispered urgently.
Liuping hastened to speak, "I've really run out of bullets this time, Old K. Do you have any bullets for a gun like mine? I'll pay you back later."
Old K kept his gaze fixed on the wilderness, retrieving a heavy black box and placing it on the ground before nudging it towards Liuping.
Liuping opened the box to find it filled with bullets.
He swiftly removed the magazine and began loading the bullets.
—The miniature submachine gun was remarkably easy to handle. It required no physical exertion at all, unleashing a potent attack with just a pull of the trigger.
"Here it comes" Liuping announced.
He raised his head alongside K and Qi Lu, peering into the darkness.
In the depths of the wilderness, a human figure emerged once more.
The figure strode towards the city wall.
As it drew nearer, the three of them finally discerned its features clearly.
It was a young girl.
With ruby eyes, long flowing hair, and an elegant dress.
'Could it be her?'
Liuping was taken aback.
He hadn't expected to encounter her here.
He wasn't sure what kind of being she was.
Watching as the young girl effortlessly dragged the enormous scorpion past the city wall.
—It was the same scorpion from before, now unmistakably dead.
Suddenly, the girl seemed to sense something, turning her head to meet Liuping's gaze.
"What?" she exclaimed.
Her eyes flicked from the gun in Liuping's hand to the poisoned scorpion in her own.
In the next moment,
Liuping heard a voice in his mind: "You've coated the bullets with poison. I just tasted its blood, and it's the same poison."
"Ah, yes, this poison has proven quite useful. I extracted it from killing a wolf demon, just in case of emergencies" Liuping replied mentally.
"Crafty little devil...but this makes it even more delicious. Thanks." the girl murmured aloud,
turning away from the city wall without another glance.
She continued dragging the scorpion's corpse toward the wilderness.
Her figure vanished before long.