Chapter 39: Chapter 30: Killing the Dog
Rod had also activated the Eye of the Soul, a color like ink diffusing from the material, light spots beginning to appear in the air, and Reslin and the other two turned into glowing mists, with nerve-like veins running through them, very dazzling.
In front of them, a group of black shadows was evaporating, seemingly a monster that Reslin had just shattered.
A bit further away, there were many such black shadows, wandering scattered in the thin black fog, sometimes actively approaching the front of a house on one side, but jumping away like frightened dogs when encountering a Spirit Lamp.
Rod shouted, "There are many more up ahead."
"Alright!"
Reslin, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, swung his right hand sharply, with a click, the folded blade sprung open, then he roared loudly, Spiritual Light erupted from his body, layers of phantoms emerging around him.
He stomped his foot and charged into the pack of dogs.
The sudden bright lights dispersed the already faint black fog, scattering the ghost-like big dogs.
But in the next moment, the big dogs' eyes turned bright red, their mouths elongated, and huge fangs popped out from their upper and lower jaws, completely disproportionate to their bodies, instantly transforming from somewhat strange black dogs into terrifying monsters.
Huge mouths snapped from all directions, Reslin swung his long blade, bisecting three gaping maws, with his shield, he split another wide open, but at the same time four huge mouths firmly clamped onto his back.
"Careful!"
But in the next instant, countless steel spurs popped from Reslin's back, turning the four big dogs into porcupines.
He then turned around, positioning his back towards where most enemies were.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
The steel spurs shot out like a violent rain, piercing through a swath of black dogs.
The dead black dogs fell to the ground, tiny black specks rising from the bodies and dissipating in the air, the steel spurs gradually becoming transparent, vanishing into thin air as phantoms.
And all the while, Egger and Karamon showed no intention of stepping forward.
Karamon even shouted, "Put some muscle into it, didn't you eat?"
Reslin angrily retorted, "Did Donna ever ask you that?" He backhandedly cleaved a black dog in two, but more black dogs surged forward, quickly surrounding him.
"Aren't you... going to help?" Rod asked hesitantly.
Egger curled his lip and said, "These Grey Level monsters, he can handle them by himself."
Karamon, his cheeks flushed with anger, huffed, "He's the best, just let him do it."
Rod's mind raced, realizing this was a perfect opportunity, he pulled out the Spirit Gun from his chest and asked, "Can I attack them from a distance?"
Egger gave him a strange look, "No need, True Silver Bullets are expensive."
Rod of course knew they were expensive, he still owed money for those fifty True Silver Bullets, but compared to his life, that amount of money was nothing.
"I want to practice a little, so I won't be scared when I encounter them again in the future."
Egger smiled, "As long as you don't mind wasting them, it's fine."
Determined, Rod lifted his gun.
Now he had become much more proficient, simultaneously injecting Spiritual Energy and aiming in one second, the Spirit Pressure Gauge maxed out just as the muzzle aimed at the target.
Accompanied by a loud bang, the True Silver Bullet burst forth, striking a black dog precisely, piercing through and exploding from the other side of its body.
A burst of silver light exploded around, shattering four nearby black dogs.
Debris scattered and fell to the ground, seemingly due to destructive damage, their evaporation speed increased, with a large cloud of black dust rising quickly and dissipating in the dark void.
This time, Rod clearly saw four extremely thin black lines formed of black dust, shooting from the void and entering his heart.
Then, the faint tiny text "Dust-like Souls" flickered briefly at the bottom of his eyes, barely noticeable if not paying attention.
Rod nervously watched Egger and Karamon, but they seemed to notice nothing, commenting, "Nice shooting, clean and neat."
"Indeed, much more powerful than Reslin's useless Counterattack Barrier."
They seemed not to see... Rod's heart relaxed, and his second shot also precisely hit the pack of dogs, taking down five more black dogs.
The pack became somewhat unstable, with some black dogs turning towards them, as if to rush over, but Reslin leapt forward, skirmishing with a flurry of steel needles, his blade chopping and shield hitting, quickly pulling the pack's attention back to him.
This pull of hatred was truly steady... Rod instantly grasped the meaning of Tactical Position, rapidly starting to fire consecutively, each shot hitting the densest part of the dog pack, with large numbers of black lines continuously coming his way, "Dust-like Souls" blinking repeatedly at the bottom of his eyes.
Egger and Karamon couldn't sit still anymore, the former started shooting out white smoke, impaling the black dogs, and the latter brandished a long whip, lashing at them from a distance.
The dog pack was firmly tethered by Reslin, never once turning to attack them, and was quickly cleared out.
Reslin came back, high-fiving the trio, "A small Victory."
He turned to Rod and smiled, "You fired ten shots, that's seventy silver coins, why not treat us to a session of soul therapy at the Cult?"
Rod exclaimed in surprise, "Just seventy silver coins?"
"Ah? Not enough?"
Rod hesitated for a moment, not revealing his experience, he felt even adding a zero to the end wouldn't be enough for him alone.
Reslin didn't mind, he took off the Spirit Lamp from his waist, raising it high.
Rod saw the veins in his hand brighten, clearly as Spiritual Energy gathered, being injected into the Spirit Lamp.
The next instant, the Spirit Lamp emitted dazzling Bright Light, illuminating the entire block with vivid clarity.
Reslin controlled the Spiritual Energy, making the Spirit Lamp shine brightly, ten times before hooking it back to his waist.
"This is our routine, used to tell the residents that the battle is over, and there's no need to panic.'"
Only now did Rod notice the many figures in the houses on both sides, who only began to disperse after seeing the flash, their voices of prayers, blessings, and thanks still faintly audible.
"Let's go."
The patrol squad resumed their journey, chatting lightly as if the recent events had never happened.
Only Rod was anxious inside, though he had just harvested many souls, he couldn't return to the Dream Realm. What if the stars extinguished at this moment...
It doesn't matter, as long as I move quickly, there should be no problem.
Rod folded his arms within his sleeves, his thumbs crossed to form the Lightning Symbol, and all at once his vision began to blur, his soul soaring upwards.
In an instant, he was back in the Dream Realm.
The grey, dull fog floated quietly in this boundless space, a solitary obelisk stood at the center, and a black altar was erected toward its rear right.
Above the altar, over sixty dust-like flames floated.
Without taking time to observe closely, Rod sprinted to the obelisk, touched its surface, and once again, the night sky appeared, with one red and one blue star entering his vision.
Rod quickly scanned them.
The dark red star still burned brightly, it displayed:
[Dark Devourer]
[State: Constant Burning]
[Star Energy: Soul Erosion]
[Inject: Unavailable]
[Quantification: Dark Abyss, Eternal Fog, Ancient Russia Blood]
[Position: Eternal Fire]
[Strength: Thirty]
[Description: Brief.]
Whereas the blue star was as dim as those illusory points of light, it displayed:
[Frost Blue]
[State: About to Extinguish]
[Star Energy: Spirit Revival]
[Inject: Soul Without Spirit]
[Quantification: Unavailable]
[Position: Dull Fire]
[Strength: One]
[Description: We still need to love each other with life, even if the world deceives with meanness.]
The translation had now become quite accurate, Rod focused his gaze on the blue star, thought for a moment, and over sixty bundles of flames instantly plunged into the obelisk, forming over sixty tiny meteors in the night sky, all flying into the blue star.
It visibly brightened, its light beginning to boil, like a burning bonfire.
The state changed from "About to Extinguish" to "Weak Burning," and the strength also changed from "One" to "Two," slowly increasing.
But the other parameters remained unchanged.
Rod slightly furrowed his brow, it seemed it still needed more souls.
[Dark Devourer] seemed much more special, having consumed the soul only once to become a "Constant Burning" "Eternal Fire," it no longer required further soul injections, but it could be "Quantified."
But what did "Quantify" mean?
Why were they so different from each other? Was it their nature, or was it the souls they consumed that differed?
Rod did not dwell on these thoughts, quickly made the hand signals, and his vision blurred again, a strong sensation of weightlessness enveloping him.
In an instant, he was back in the real world.
Opening his eyes, on the dim street the three people turned back to look at him, their gazes somewhat eerie.
"What's up?"
Rod quickly relaxed his hand, letting out an embarrassed laugh.
"Sorry, I was very tired, I accidentally fell asleep."
Rod noticed Karamon had a slight flicker of Spiritual Light in his hands, an invisible ripple brushed past his face, and he felt momentarily invigorated, as though bathed in the warmth of spring.
Only then did the three smile, hooked his neck, and pulled him along with them.
"Sleeping is not allowed, you know."
"You should know, for us, that might just be an ordinary monster, but for the commoners, it is a family's nightmare."
"We are now the Guardians of Royal City, Steel Cross District, thirty-four hundred households, twenty-one thousand people's lives, all on our shoulders."
"Come on, let's talk about something more thrilling, such as the dream of the Miboer family's young miss, one of Royal City's ten beauties, how about that?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone