our family is gone

Deep in the undeveloped wilderness, there was a farm that was once destroyed by a comet from outer space.

Today, it is divided into two parts with the celestial pillar as the boundary.

The outside was devoured by the nature with powerful vitality, while the inside was eroded by unknown crystals, and then dragged into the chaotic time and space, turning into a dead land full of shrunken monsters.

With the death of the ancestor, the isolation rituals gradually became ineffective. Lance had previously entered the farm through the weak point of the ritual in order to explore it, which meant that the things inside could also escape.

So after Lance returned, he immediately sent two teams of guards to garrison here and also to monitor the area.

Lance directly sent a batch of supplies over, and there were countless woods here. The guards used the local materials and quickly built a solid camp in this winter.

Their daily task is to walk around the ritual boundary to determine the power of the ritual, while also being vigilant against the spread of crystal contamination.

There were no problems during this period, until there was a heavy snowfall last night. After the snow stopped, the patrolling guard discovered a strange mark and quickly called his teammates over.

Two untied hunting dogs were wagging their noses excitedly as they seemed to have smelled a hint of prey; they hadn't hunted for a long time.

However, compared to the excited hounds, the guards who had gathered together were not so optimistic about this, because the traces left by the mysterious existence were really weird.

"Why does it feel like a palm handle? Could it be the mark left by a fall?"

"To be able to leave such footprints on the snow, one's weight must be no less than that of a wild bear in the wilderness. How can an ordinary human leave such traces?"

"I can't tell what kind of monster it is..."

Even the knowledgeable guards found it difficult to find the corresponding target in their own experience and the monster encyclopedia they had learned.

"Whatever it is, we must find it. We must not let anything that escapes from it run wild."

Soon everyone agreed and started hunting that unknown creature with hounds.

The hounds selected to join the Royal Guard are definitely the best among the captured hounds. They may not be as smart as Figus, but they can still complete this simple task.

Not to mention that traces are also left on the snow. The royal guards do not only fight and kill, their learning intensity is higher, and they have to learn everything and specialize in one or two things. There are trace masters in the team.

And as they pursued, they soon found the monster wandering in the wilderness.

Crystal blocks so big that they make you shudder!

They had seen the rotting corpses controlled by fungi in the wilderness, the ugly pigmen in the sewers, the hideous fish-headed monsters wrapped in slime, the out-of-control and twisted deformed bodies of the cultists, and even the shocking flesh and blood creations deep in the dungeon.

But now the appearance of this monster also made them feel a sense of weirdness that was difficult to describe in words.

The whole body seemed to be made up of various corpses. The most conspicuous part was the half body made from a deer corpse, because a thick crystal pillar extended from the lower jaw of the horned skeletal deer head, and the other arm was directly a hoof.

One of the legs that allowed it to stand was actually supported by a human's crawling half-body, with the lower body integrated into it. On the other side, there were several bones that could not be seen at all, stuck together by rotten flesh and blood. The two supported the huge and terrifying body.

The intestines were exposed above the chest cavity, and all over the body were organs that were a combination of animals and humans. Clusters of crystals grew in it, like a pile of corpses thrown together until the crystals stuck them together.

The head was still that of a human, but a crystal grew out through the top of the head, declaring who was the owner of this body.

"Wang!"

A sudden dog barking woke everyone up. While the guards were silent, the two hunting dogs became agitated and rushed forward and barked without waiting for their master's orders.

It's really not their fault, because they have been trained like this since childhood by the nobles. When they see prey, they will shout and harass it to attract the prey's attention and create opportunities for the nobles.

Even if they were captured and brought to Hamlet to be tamed by William, a short period of transformation would not be enough to change their instinct.

However, this caused trouble for the guards, because the crystal monster seemed to have noticed the visitor.

The lower limbs of such a huge and ugly monster are just like that. Anyone with a little discernment can see that it can't be fast, but the magic of extraordinary power lies in the fact that it is completely unreasonable.

A cross-time and space bite!
The monster's head suddenly opened its mouth, and a flesh-column mouthpart like an abyss worm stretched out from it, with fluorescent liquid gushing out from it.

The weird thing is that at this moment the guards are still some distance away from it, but that thing seems to ignore this, causing time and space to overlap at a certain moment.

Anyway, that kind of unreasonable attack was difficult to dodge even if the personal guards were strong. They only had time to raise their hands to block their faces before being splashed all over.

"Take off your coat!"

But the teammates nearby noticed that the fluorescent liquid began to grow tiny crystals when it fell on their clothes.

The man who was hit was an experienced and ruthless man after all. He did not panic because of the attack and quickly took off his warm coat amid the shouts of his teammates.

It has to be said that the weather was cold, so everyone wore thick warm clothing, which also helped to resist the initial attack.

At this time, the monster had moved its huge body to attack. If I thought it was a target before, now I felt full of pressure.

"Do it!"

These people are not ordinary people. Their mission is to stop the spread of crystal pollution, and now they must kill this monster.

"Be careful with grenades!"

With a shout, one person threw two grenades directly at the beginning. It was a test and also a response to the previous attack.

The teammates also started to move, loading the rifles on their backs.

They are the royal guards, and they all have strong melee combat abilities, and some even specialize in melee combat, whether it's fighting or not. But that doesn't mean they have to rush up for close combat. If they can kill the opponent from a distance, why do they have to get up there and take the risk of casualties?
In fact, what is more important is that the enemies they face are very dangerous and there is also the risk of pollution.

At this time, two explosions occurred beside the monster. Neither the power of the explosion nor the flying fragments seemed to have much effect. However, the flickering luster and the undulating liquid flowing out of the crystals that were shattered or scratched by the fragments seemed to have some effect.

However, before the monster could react, the guards had already finished reloading and started shooting without any further ado.

They all knew that the monster's weakness was the crystal, so those who were sure would aim their guns at the monster's head, and those who didn't have the crystal would aim at other parts of the monster's body.

Bullets fired sporadically, the sounds of the ten rifles echoed in the wilderness, and the smoke lingered in the air for a long time.

The lead bullets hit the monster and immediately caused obvious scars. A gap appeared on its protruding head, and the crystal on its head kept bursting into fragments. Even the monster subconsciously raised its hand to hold up the crystal column to block it.

If it wasn't so huge, this move might have been enough to seriously injure it, but unfortunately this move seemed to anger the monster. It suddenly let out an indescribable roar, and then the crystal on its body became dim, but it was covered with a layer of electric flash.

Return to the starry sky!

The wound on the monster's body stopped instantly, and then a piece of crystal broke out. It grew as soon as it hit the ground, and in the blink of an eye it formed a cluster half a person's height.

"Knock down that crystal!"

Although they had never entered the farm, they had heard from the lord about the behavior of the shrunken monsters. They must be careful with the distorted crystals, otherwise it would be troublesome if they allowed them to develop.

Another round of gunfire rang out, and the crystal cluster exploded. However, the lead bullets that landed on the monster seemed to be blocked by something, and their power was greatly reduced, so they had no effect at all.

However, the monster's counterattack went far beyond that. It raised the crystal pillar on its deer bone arm and thrust it forward fiercely.

Killing blow!
The crystal column was surrounded by fierce flashes, and as it stabbed out, it was like a lance charging. This attack ignored the distance in time and space and directly pierced the guards who were shooting guns outside.

The pure damage was enough to knock the man to the ground with just one move. Fortunately, the man reacted in time and held the rifle across his body. The rifle in his hand sustained some damage, but its power could be seen from the fact that it broke into two pieces in his hand.

However, the monster did not stop its counterattack and opened its mouth again, but this time what came out was not mucus, but crystal fragments with strange power.

Paralysis fragments!

A strong fluorescent light emanated from its mouth, forming an exaggerated beam of light. Under the push of that power, crystal fragments turned into shrapnel-like power and attacked everyone.

"hidden!"

There were many trees in the wilderness, and everyone knew what to do without shouting, but one of the personal guards was unlucky enough to be caught in one of the trees.

The fragments lost most of their power when they penetrated the thick coats, but the power of just scratching the flesh made the guards feel pain like an electric shock, and their entire bodies were controlled by the sudden paralysis.

Compared to these, the interference of the crystal on the will is the most terrifying, and it bears huge pressure in an instant.

However, the guards were blessed by Lance, and all of them had strong physiques of masters and champions, so they were resistant to all kinds of messy abnormal conditions, and they resisted the paralysis in just an instant.

The guards, who also have the motto of "Iron Will", will never easily succumb to the fear brought by the crystal.

He simply cleaned the wound, applied medicine powder, and bandaged it before continuing to prepare for battle without a single word.

The sense of oppression brought by this monster was too strong. It was rare for their Royal Guard to be suppressed like this since its establishment.

Of course, it was also due to environmental issues. Last night's heavy snow left a thick layer of snow, and they would sink into it wherever they stepped on it, making it difficult for them to move flexibly.

And because we were not familiar with the monsters' abilities, we only used rifles and no heavy weapons, otherwise they would have been destroyed after a few shots.

However, after several battles just now, the guards understood the situation quickly and got into the state of being. Knowing that there was no way to avoid it, they immediately decided to take ruthless action.

He pulled out a few glass bottles and threw them at the monster, breaking the glass and allowing the murky and sticky fluid inside to flow out.

After a few bottles, the monster was almost completely dyed. At this time, a torch was thrown out. When it landed on the monster, the flame instantly burned and turned it into a fire.

The only thing Lance agrees with the church is - let the fire purify everything!
The force field constructed by the crystal can resist attacks, and the power of muskets is reduced to the same as throwing stones, but facing this kind of pure real damage, even monsters from the starry sky cannot withstand it.

Return to the starry sky!

The explosive force actually extinguished the flames, but the burn marks left by the flames were difficult to conceal, and the remaining liquid could be reignited with just a spark.

The prerequisite is to withstand the monster's counterattack. The injury makes it even crazier. The light emitted from the crystal flashes faster, just like the accelerated heartbeat.

Fragments of weakness!

Pierce the pieces!

The monster opened its mouth and spewed out fragments with strange power. Some people who were shot became weak, while some crystal fragments with destructive power fell on their bodies and easily tore horrible wounds.

The whole person lost most of his fighting ability. It was no longer a simple matter of stopping the bleeding and bandaging it. He had to drink the healing potion directly to save his life.

The negative state + severe pain plus the erosion of the crystal tortured their will. Fortunately, the effect of the potion was really powerful. As long as it was not a broken limb, ordinary flesh wounds could be easily healed. Even if it could not be completely healed, it could stop the deterioration and save their lives.

But even if someone gets infected, so what? We are in numbers.

Being injured in one or two cases did not prevent the others from fighting back. Soon the flames ignited again on the monster, forcing it to interrupt the attack and clear its own negative energy.

"Brothers, give me some grenades!"

At this time, someone simply dropped his heavy coat and took the opportunity to rush forward carrying a cluster grenade made of several grenades.

The weight brings power, but the price is that you have to be close enough to throw it, and it is obvious that he seized this opportunity. When the monster returned to the starry sky to eliminate the fire damage, he didn't care about the nearby guards until he threw the thing at the monster's feet.

Killing blow!
The monster reacted and immediately stabbed out the crystal column to kill the enemy in front of him, but the man didn't even stop and turned and ran after throwing it out, then flew as far away from the explosion as possible.

However, he was not dodging this move, but just happened to dodge it, which was enough to prove that these skills of distorting time and space were not necessarily effective.

"hidden!"

Just as the monster was about to move, the grenade was detonated, and an explosion several times more exaggerated than the previous one was heard. No matter how strong the monster was, it was affected by the violent explosion, and its huge body fell uncontrollably.

At this time, the waiting teammates rushed up again and stuffed the grenade in their hands into the monster's body.

"Let's go!"

Everyone ran out while shouting, and then quickly threw themselves on the ground.

Before the monster could even struggle, all parts of its body exploded.

The crystal shattered, the intestines were blown to pieces and even the open mouth was filled with them. During the explosion, the entire head along with the crystal inside was blown away.

Destroyed, torn apart, the pieces scattered in the wind! (End of this chapter)