Chapter 321: Chapter 20: The Battle for the Giant Wall, the Blood Hunters’ Anomaly

"???"

At that very moment, on the Giant Wall, the seven squads holding the defensive line began to notice strange occurrences on the battlefield after regrouping.

And in the Abi Squad’s position, a young woman was now overcome with profound self-doubt.

"Captain, everything I said is true! You have to believe me!"

"I was ambushed by two members of the Blood Race. I had no choice but to let my Blood Core absorb all the blood in my body, which allowed me to kill one and scare the other away."

"Just as I thought I was about to die from having all my blood drained, I felt myself being enveloped in a holy light."

"And now, as you can see, Captain, I just look a little pale from blood loss. There’s no sign I’m on the verge of death at all."

The other youths looked at the girl as she spoke, their expressions strange.

"Huh? How is that possible? You sacrificed all your blood and still survived?"

"Jasmine, are you sure the blood mist didn’t get to your head and make you hallucinate?" a young man asked, his mouth agape in disbelief.

"No, come to think of it, I noticed something strange during the fight just now, too."

"Yeah, you’ll probably find this hard to believe, but just as a member of the Blood Race was about to cut me down, its head suddenly flew high into the air."

"I thought I was hallucinating at first, too. But after hearing Jasmine’s story, I think it’s highly likely these aren’t isolated incidents." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

As he spoke, the young man suddenly pointed toward the nearest Blood Hunter Squad.

In the distance, they could see all the members of that Blood Hunter Squad gathered together, and they could occasionally hear exclamations of surprise.

"This..."

The entire Abi Squad was stunned.

Just then, Captain Abi’s expression turned serious.

"All of you, stay put. I’m going to check on the situation!"

Without another word, Abi blurred into an afterimage and shot off toward the other squad on the Giant Wall.

「A little over ten minutes later.」

Abi quickly returned.

"Captain, how was it?" Jasmine asked anxiously.

Meeting the eager eyes of his squadmates, Abi’s expression turned grave as he nodded.

"It’s confirmed. These aren’t isolated incidents."

"Therefore, it’s almost certain that a mysterious power unknown to us is helping us defend against the Blood Race’s attack."

"And as for who could be capable of this... I’m sure you remember the people I told you to watch."

Jasmine looked dazed for a moment, but the young man beside her suddenly realized what he meant and exclaimed.

"Captain, are you suggesting the people from the Dragon God Church in the Commoners’ District are helping us?"

"Them?"

"That’s right. The Power of this Dragon God Church is bizarre. I heard their Bishop has the ability to heal others."

"Those Commoners really trust that Bishop!"

"Now, whenever someone from the main district enters the slums, the way countless people stare with such wariness and hostility... it gives me chills just thinking about it."

"That Church is just too strange. It’s so strange I get goosebumps just thinking about it."

As he spoke, the young man turned to Abi and asked:

"Captain, it’s been over a year. Hasn’t the Hummingbird Team sent back any intel on whether these people work for some big shot in the Imperial Capital?"

Abi’s expression was grave as he shook his head.

"The higher-ups in the Hummingbird Team don’t believe this Dragon God Church possesses any kind of superhuman Power."

"In fact, I received a report about six months ago. It said the Brighton Mayor had already investigated them and concluded that the Church is just an ordinary charitable organization. The Mayor himself even vouched for them. So, as you know, with the Mayor’s guarantee, the Hummingbird Team certainly won’t get involved."

"Huh? That fat pig of a Mayor? He vouched for them?"

The squad members exchanged glances, clearly holding a poor opinion of the Brighton Mayor.

"I remember he’s the illegitimate son of some big shot in the Imperial Capital, right? So, Captain, do you think these people are connected to the Mayor’s backer?" Jasmine suddenly mused.

Standing on the Giant Wall, Abi gazed down toward a certain part of the city. His eyes were heavy as he spoke.

"Hard to say. Maybe, maybe not."

"But this clearly isn’t something we should be concerned with. They have these kinds of methods, and the Mayor is vouching for them."

"These are clearly troubled waters we can’t afford to get involved in."

"Besides, with this miraculous Power helping us, our chances of survival have just gone up."

"Maybe the entire Empire will finally have another way to fight back against the Blood Race. In any case, this is a tremendously good thing!"

"..."

As Abi considered the positive possibilities, the gloom that had settled over him was swept away. He could almost envision the Empire launching a counterattack against the Blood Race.

But clearly, time was not on the side of the Blood Hunters.

Because the second wave of the Blood Race’s assault had already begun.

This time, vast numbers of Blood Beasts surged over the horizon—even more than before. The same was true for the members of the Blood Race.

And so, everyone from the regular soldiers of the city guard to the Blood Hunters quickly began preparing for battle once more.

Meanwhile, hidden within the clouds and mist, a Blood Guard revealed a faint, knowing smirk.

’Just as I thought. There’s something wrong.’

’The human Blood Hunters didn’t suffer a single casualty?’

’Heh... Although I haven’t found any trace of them, their methods are certainly mysterious.’

’But they must be hiding among the human Blood Hunters, right?’

The Blood Guard, Maureen Merrick, stroked his chin.

’This is fine, too. The three little runts from the Benest family managed to keep their lives.’

’However, this second wave of probing has to continue. After all, this result clearly won’t satisfy the Prince. And we can’t have any misunderstandings.’

’It’s time for the Baron Level members of the Blood Race to get involved. I refuse to believe you rats can stay hidden so well this time!’

"..."