Chapter 531: Buying Time

“Good, then there was no major problem. Messenger, inform each Squad Leader to organize shooting again—still five consecutive shots!”

Hodge’s order was quickly carried out. After the Soldiers prepared themselves, they halted once more and fired five consecutive rounds. Their condition was slightly worse this time—the accuracy inferior to before—but after observing, Ash told Hodge that they had once again successfully slowed the momentum of the Wriggling White Bones.

The furrow between Hodge’s brows finally eased.

Since bullets were effective, then it was not a major issue. What the Expeditionary Army feared the most were enemies that bullets could not deal with; as long as that was not the case, the threat behind them should not be too big.

But soon, Ash’s next words made Hodge feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

“They’ve caught up again.”

“What?!”

Hodge froze, his tone full of disbelief. “Wasn’t the number of those White Bones not that many?”

“Indeed, not many.”

“Then how did they catch up again? And even faster than before? After the first round of shooting, they stopped for quite a while. Why did they catch up again so quickly this time?”

“Unclear. This batch of White Bones didn’t look injured. Perhaps they were originally farther back.”

Hodge fell silent for a moment before gritting his teeth. “Keep shooting! We still have plenty of bullets. Another round will do. Messenger! Convey my order!”

The shooting effectiveness was still decent, yet Hodge’s face had completely lost all trace of ease. He marched forward in silence. When Ash’s voice sounded again, Hodge’s entire body trembled.

“The White Bones have caught up again.”

Hodge: “.How many?”

“Not many. The same ones.”

Hodge took a deep breath and looked toward Ash. “Lady Ash, may I ask you to fall back slightly and help me observe what exactly happens after the White Bones are shattered?”

“No problem.”

“Please be extremely careful. No one has ever survived the White Calamity. Keep away from that mist.”

Ash nodded. The sway of her serpentine tail slowed. Hodge’s expression darkened as he shouted loudly, “Messenger! Convey my order! Organize shooting again!”

Five consecutive gunshots resounded. The Expeditionary Army was already visibly exhausted—they had run more than ten kilometers while frequently stopping to steady their breathing and shoot. The strain was enormous.

Soon, Ash rushed back from the rear.

“How was it? What did you see, Lady Ash?”

For the first time, Ash’s tone carried emotion; her voice seemed heavier. “Those Wriggling White Bones are actually monsters constantly running forward. They are made of White Bones—mostly human bones.”

“And when bullets flew at them, those bones shattered into pieces under the barrage. The strength of the bones seemed no different from that of normal human bones.”

“But—”

Ash raised a hand and pointed at the White Mist in the distance. “Isn’t that White Mist supposed to be chasing the White Bones?”

Hodge and Gwen turned back together, looking far into the distance.

Rather than saying the White Mist was chasing the White Bones, it was more accurate to say that the White Bones were dragging the White Mist forward, forcibly increasing the speed of the White Mist.

“After the bones were shattered, they remained on the ground. But the White Mist soon spread over them.”

“Inside the Mist, the bones rapidly regenerated, then stood up, running faster and faster until they burst out of the Mist again—dragging the Mist as they charged toward us.”

Hodge sucked in a breath of cold air.

Was this… not endless?

If the Expeditionary Army had infinite stamina and endless bullets, then these White Bones would not be hard to deal with. But at this moment, the Expeditionary Army was already at

the end of its strength. The Soldiers’ condition had deteriorated significantly. If they kept running, many would soon fall behind.

“Lady Ash… we need you to take action. The Expeditionary Army can no longer maintain a forced-march state. I need the Soldiers to slow down and rest next. Can you delay those White Bones for a period of time?”

“No problem.”

Ash did not hesitate at all. She nodded toward Hodge and Gwen, then turned and headed toward the White Mist. Hodge pressed his lips together and summoned the messenger again.

“Slow down, but do not stop. Tell the Soldiers they won’t need to prepare for shooting for now. Drink some water and eat some rations—but absolutely no stopping!”

The Soldiers had run nearly twenty kilometers nonstop, with battles in between. Their stamina was so depleted that if they stopped moving now, they might not be able to walk again.

Not long after, the sound of a heavy machine gun firing came from the rear. The Soldiers who had slowed down to stuff food into their mouths paused and looked at each other.

“That’s a heavy machine gun!”

“Heavy machine gun? How can there be a heavy machine gun?”

“Did some unit bring one?”

“Impossible! Who can drag a cart and still keep up with a forced march? That must be Lady Ash!”

“Lady Ash? Then…?”

“She is buying time for us. Why do you think we suddenly got to slow down?”

“But—but that’s the White Calamity. No one survives the White Calamity…”

“If I were you, I’d stop talking right now. Focus on getting your food down and recovering your strength. Don’t waste the time Lady Ash risked her life to give us!”

The Expeditionary Army quickly fell silent. They quietly finished their food, used water to moisten their throats, and then voluntarily walked faster.

Hodge listened to the gunfire behind them with a pounding heart.

“The interval between bursts… shortened again.” His expression grew heavier as he looked at Gwen. “The White Bones are reviving faster and faster. This can’t go on!”

“How long until the Train arrives?”

“It should be very soon. Hopefully we’ll get some good news.”

But no good news came.

Before long, a Scout ran over, panting, “Lord H-Hodge! White Mist spotted at the ten o’clock direction!”

Hodge rushed to the left side of the formation. Indeed, far away, Mist was encircling them. A terrible feeling tightened around his heart.

“Gwen, help me look…”

“Yes. In front of the Mist—there are White Bones.”

Hodge felt his heart sink.

“The number…”

“More than the ones behind.”

Hodge fell silent for a long moment before asking with difficulty:

“Gwen… can you use a Gatling Gun?”

As it turned out, Gwen could not.

Such things were simple—either someone could use them or they could not. Teaching her even the basics took much time.

The Expeditionary Army had never expected Gwen would ever need to go to the battlefield, so no one had ever taught her how to use such advanced weapons.

And after teaching her, Hodge suddenly realized something he had overlooked.

“…Why do you only have one pair of hands?”

Gwen widened her eyes.

With only two hands, she could operate only a single Gatling Gun. No matter how strong Gwen was, she could not change that—meaning her firepower was at least two-thirds weaker than Ash’s.

She might not be able to stop the White Bones on the left side.