full moon.
Thinking of the unknown beast attack mentioned in the mission briefing, Ed's heart trembled, and the appearance of Mr. George could not help but appear in front of his eyes.
I hope things won't come down to that...
"Don't worry, Quinn is safe now. I have injected her with seventy-five times the dose of sedatives in advance. I hope the moonlight tonight will not break into her dreams." Rowan drew a seven-pointed star on his chest. .
Seventy-five times...that's enough to bring down an elephant.
Ed curled his lips. If it had been any other team member, such a dose would have been enough. Considering Quinn's extraordinary self-healing ability and resistance, I'm afraid only this dose can keep her calm for one night.
"By the way, why did Miss Olivia come?" he asked tentatively in a low voice.
Olivia has been subject to mandatory suspension. According to normal regulations, she cannot participate in any actions. In other words, the Crow's Nest was probably not notified of the mission at all.
"You're asking too much, boy." Anvil pressed his steel-clad right palm on Ed's left knee and warned in a low voice.
"In order to prove one of Eaton's guesses that the situation is imminent, we must rely on her power, even if it will further overwhelm her." Rowan rechecked his rifle and sidearms while saying.
"What's your guess?" Ed also ejected the bullets from the revolver and replaced them with silver-plated bullets, then raised his head and asked.
"Eton asked me not to tell you or anyone else just yet. But you'll know later."
Rowan closed his eyes and extinguished the light of the kerosene lamp, and his sharp and weathered face was once again shrouded in the dark blue night.
The sound of the carriage creaking and crushing fallen leaves suddenly stopped, and the gurgling water and the panicked flapping of birds and magpies could be heard vaguely.
"Pick up your weapons, we are here." Rowan was the first to jump out of the carriage, his skills were completely inconsistent with his age.
Ed followed closely behind. The pale moonlight illuminated the waves of the dam clearly. The forest in the distance was shadowy, and the broken outline of the watchtower could be vaguely seen.
It's close to the White Howling Forest, once controlled by the Auckland family for generations. The place is not only famous for the high-quality white oak it produces, but also famous for its horrifying werewolf legends.
"The first echelon has cleared the obstacles for us. Quickly pass here to the watchtower. Stay alert." Rowan said.
"Hmph, you put it lightly..."
In order to keep the noise low, Anvil, who had never run the power boiler at full power, picked up the big hammer and complained breathlessly while trotting.
Ed walked at the end with his head lowered, protecting the most vulnerable rear part of the dragoon's armor. At the same time, he also used the dim vision of the one-eyed spider on his shoulder to repeatedly scan the bushes on both sides to prevent a sneak attack.
The top of the watchtower has collapsed, and now it looks like a giant sitting with his knees crossed.
In addition to a large number of wooden parts made from local materials, this watchtower also seemed to have used a lot of stone bricks - but now most of them may have become canals, embankments or part of houses.
It is unlikely that such a small village can afford to build such a decent watchtower. He speculated that this was probably a product of renovations funded by the treasury or the municipal government during the Three Emperors War a hundred years ago. Due to the urgent construction period, it would be difficult to withstand the test of time.
"There is a situation ahead." Rowan stopped and raised his hand to indicate.
Looking in the direction indicated by Rowan, he saw a blurry mass of flesh and blood lying not far from the watchtower. Blood flowed on the hard wasteland, reflecting a black luster.
"...The man and the dog looked like they were all dead." The veteran glanced at the sights on his rifle and then lowered the muzzle of the gun.
hound?
Ed lowered his gun and stepped forward. The monster in front of him made him a little suspicious. It looked more like... some kind of more ferocious canine creature:
The sharp teeth, bloodshot and scarlet eyes, deformed jaws and tendons, and a white arrow stuck in the neck are obviously the work of Byakuya.
As for the corpse - technically there was still one breath left, but the nose and lips were missing, the teeth were exposed, and all the internal organs in the abdomen had been eaten away.
Judging from his clothes and the hunting knife in his hand, he might be a hunter in the village, but instead of being a hunter, he became the prey of hounds.
"Save me..." Instinct made Orion use his last bit of strength to plead angrily.
Ed shook his head secretly. For ordinary people, there is no possibility of rescue for such injuries.
"What happened here? How many monsters are there? What do you know?" Anvil came over and asked impatiently.
"Save me..." the hunter just begged repeatedly.
"Listen, you've fucking..."
"Okay -" Rowan interrupted the anvil, "Don't worry, I am a professional doctor. Your injury is indeed serious now, but there is still a possibility of recovery. Ed, help me put his head on Can it be higher?"
What? Are you going to have surgery here? Ed wondered if he heard correctly.
There are dangers all around, and the first echelon may be fighting a bloody battle. Is Rowan really planning to perform an almost impossible operation in this environment?
But out of trust in Rowan, Ed decided to do it anyway. He casually found half a stone brick and put it under Orion's neck, and his black gloves were immediately covered with blood.
Rowan took out a handkerchief and covered the hunter's eyes, and whispered:
"Now I have to stop your bleeding first. Close your eyes, it might hurt, and try to breathe as steadily as possible, okay?"
"Thank you, doctor..." Orion's voice was full of tears, almost deformed.
"You're welcome……"
boom. The bullet passed through Orion's chin and accurately penetrated the brainstem from the bottom. The shadow of death disappeared in an instant.
"...This is what I should do." Rowan sighed and put the gun back into its holster.
"You wasted almost thirty seconds on a dead man, old sweetheart." The big anvil reminded him in a bad tone, "You are taking risks every second over there."
"Then let us stop wasting it." Rowan climbed up the broken wall of the watchtower in one stride. "The dog was corroded by the 'Feast', and the situation may be worse than expected."
"...Ed, come up with me, I need an observer. Anvil, you stay below on alert for the time being."
