Chapter 643.5: Evil Entity - Phantom!
As long as one isn't malicious or burdened with sin—
Bay Territory generally welcomes almost all races.
Even now, the bar to become a soldier had risen to 3rd-tier Professionals.
Of course, becoming a soldier and undergoing the Dragon Warrior transformation meant a 20-year service term.
But for those desperate for the enhancement—
These conditions were barely even a concern.
Because what they stood to gain was something most could never reach.
Their power would soar—at least reaching high-tier Professional.
Their lifespan would increase by at least a hundred years.
Laura figured the Dragon Warrior transformation surely had more effects Bay Territory hadn't revealed…
Laura almost perfectly met the second method's requirements.
She had the merit.
And as more phantoms were hunted down by adventurers, even after buying high-grade supernatural gear, her merit kept rising.
She had the money.
Between her birth, savings, years of adventuring, and Bay Territory's task rewards—she already had over 1 million gold.
The only thing stopping her from qualifying—
Was the "3 years of adventuring for Bay Territory" part, which was actually easy for others.
In fact, Laura only needed to complete 12 high-tier tasks (one tier below her level) each year to earn discretionary time.
Even if she left Bay Territory, they'd still honor it.
Still, she didn't want to waste time. She wanted to explore more, learn more about Bay Territory, and keep adventuring.
As Laura pondered, a sharp booming sound echoed in the distance.
A bright red firework burst in the sky.
Alice glanced at her magic wristwatch. Lightning sparked across her body as she shouted:
"Phantom monsters spotted ahead! Everyone prepare for combat!"
"Activate defensive formation! Iron Golems—engage! Purification Barrier—ready!"
Phantom monsters—spotted in broad daylight?
They dared show up now? What the hell?
The adventurers in Alice's vanguard squad couldn't help but wonder—but soon, excitement took over.
"Damn, just the other day I said—'wouldn't it be great if phantoms showed up during the day.'"
"Ha! And look at that—it actually happened!"
"This is a damn gold mine, people. Don't miss out!"
"Yeah right. You said that last time when we hunted giant scorpions too."
"Pfft! Can't argue with you there…"
"…"
Laura closely observed the adventurers' expressions. They weren't tense at all. On the contrary, each looked utterly confident.
Laura marveled inwardly as she readied herself for battle.
She knew phantom monsters very well and was indeed curious about them showing up in broad daylight.
After all, they were a type of vengeful spirit in the undead category.
Under the sun's rays, they would continuously take damage, and their combat power would be weakened.
This was definitely a great chance to wipe them out!
However, phantoms had a natural aversion to sunlight and rarely appeared during the day—let alone in such large numbers.
What exactly was going on?
As Bay Territory's exploration team braced for impact, gray-black mist surged like a sandstorm across the barren dunes ahead.
Inside the mist, vicious phantom monsters bared their fangs and howled sharply.
The adventurers who were just joking moments ago froze in place.
They thought the phantoms were just "bare" and here to get slaughtered.
Turns out—they were here to kill!
"Well, this is damn serious!"
A helpless mutter drifted into Laura's ears.
She thought the adventurers were losing their nerve, but then Alice—previously calm—suddenly shouted excitedly:
"Artillery ready—fire!!"
Artillery?
What kind of unit was that?
Before Laura could respond, thunderous booms erupted from the rear.
Several blazing arcs shot out, landing precisely within the creeping gray-black mist.
Boom! Explosions erupted, and rolling flames swept outward.
The devastating shockwave blew away large swathes of the gray mist instantly.
Though the phantoms hidden within weren't hit by the blast directly—
The spreading fire clung to them like glue, burning with crackling sparks!
Then searing sunlight poured down like deadly blades, cutting open gashes in their forms.
The critically injured phantoms emitted silent screams—strange, invisible soundwaves radiated outward.
Some phantoms charged ahead in a frenzy—
Only to dissolve like bubbles under the sun's blessing!
Others, driven by a survival instinct, scrambled back into the surrounding mist.
The gaping hole torn in the mist rapidly healed like a living thing, covering the wounded phantoms once more.
Curiously, the heavily damaged phantoms recovered swiftly inside the mist.
But their ghostly eyes glowed brighter, while their consciousness and emotions grew even hollower.
Seeing this, Alice instinctively raised an eyebrow and shouted to Morak nearby without hesitation:
"Drive—dig a trench!"
Morak, with a huge gold chain swinging on his chest, cheered impatiently. Amid loud cheers from Bigo beside him, he floored the gas.
The plow truck at the front, fitted with a conical ram, roared forward.
Under Bigo's expert handling, the shiny ram tilted slightly upward and plunged into the sand.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the plow truck thundered past, a deep trench was forcibly "carved" open.
Morak and Bigo weren't stopping—they kept speeding across the front lines.
Calm-faced Ashes waved to the goblin engineers behind them.
The little guys decisively operated their exoskeletons and opened the already-laid pipes.
A stream of dark brown Inferno Oil gushed out, rapidly filling the freshly dug trench.
Thicker than water, Inferno Oil, once absorbed by sand, formed a more cohesive mass, preventing it from spreading too far.
As the defenses took shape, Alice let out a slight breath and, noticing Laura examining the Inferno Oil, glanced at her pointed ears and said calmly:
"This is a special desert-grade Inferno Oil. It lasts longer in sand and burns more thoroughly, maximizing deterrence and lethality."
"Our fuel labs are working to enhance its destructive power even further."
"Some valleys in the Dark Forest were found by adventurers to contain rich Inferno Oil deposits."
"Bay Territory plans to develop those areas, though the trolls there are troublesome."
"If you're curious, you can join us after we finish this Death Desert mission."
"…"
Even if she was slow, Laura realized Alice was hinting at something—but before she could think it through, the distant mist surged forward.
With her sharp vision, Laura immediately saw the flailing phantoms in the mist—and her heart skipped a beat.
"They're so fast!"
Normally, since they lacked physical form, phantom monsters moved slower than humans running.
Most ordinary folks got caught simply because they froze in fear.
The best way to handle them? Run immediately. Unless surrounded by bad luck, you could usually get away.
But these phantoms, swept forward by the mist, were completely different.
They moved as fast as regular people—maybe even faster.
Laura instinctively gripped her longbow, but Alice shook her head and said confidently:
"Not time for the fighters to act yet."
Before Laura could ask, Morak stuck half his body out of the plow truck.
He tossed away his cigar, saw the roaring flames rushing up, and screamed:
"Bigo!!!"
Seeing the flames in the rearview mirror, Bigo's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He slapped a red button and shrieked:
"Charge!!"
"Yoo-hoo!!"
Whoosh!
A burst of steam blasted from the truck's rear—two blazing jets shot out like explosions.
The massive thrust launched the bulky truck forward.
As they barely escaped the chasing inferno wall, the rest of the adventurers laughed and applauded their wild stunt.
Seven-to-eight-meter-high flames erupted—towering like true firewalls before them.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
The surging mist hit the fire and seemed to ignite itself, emitting eerie green flames.
The phantoms hidden within howled and threw themselves into the blaze.
They had high resistance to physical attacks, but against Inferno Oil's burning, they couldn't endure.
By the time they forced their way through several firewalls under the blazing sun, their bodies were falling apart.
The adventurers showed no mercy—pulling triggers, firing bolts, and pummeling them like drowning dogs.
Laura glanced at the pipes pumping Inferno Oil, felt the scorching heat on her face, and curiously asked:
"Why did you bury a stretch of sand at the front?"
Alice glanced at her but didn't answer directly—instead, she said seriously:
"When you come to Bay Territory for adventurer training and education, you'll understand."
"For now, we need to stay alert—something's watching us."
Laura instinctively looked toward the firewalls, noticed the activated Thunder Magic Armor on Alice, and frowned.
Danger?
She didn't feel anything yet.
As she scanned the surroundings, the mist surged like a tide.
Suddenly, a massive wave of mist leapt over ten meters high and swept past the firewalls!
Though it hit the second wall, the mist repeated the move and easily vaulted the barrier.
As the mist got closer, Laura couldn't help but draw an arrow.
Alice remained calm, continuing her command sequence:
"Cannons—shift fire backward, continuous free fire!"
"Purification barrier—activate! Melee squad, hold the entrances! Ranged units, focus fire!"
"We just need to hold for 15 minutes—Bay Territory's wyvern cavalry will arrive!"
Hearing that, the team instantly relaxed.
These strange mists were no match for wyvern knights.
Why? Because the Lord and Lady Yaya would be joining!
Over a dozen goblin engineers and several dwarf artillerymen manned the cannons on the wagons.
The mist was already closing in, and the artillery fire was soon swallowed in smoke.
They couldn't see the cannon strikes, but still followed orders without hesitation.
As golden light spread through the air, a glowing barrier enveloped the entire vanguard.
The living mist lunged at once, swallowing the 20–30 meter radius purification barrier.
Twisted phantom monsters emerged, clawing and biting at the glowing barrier.
Ripples shimmered across the surface—each wave of light burned the phantoms attacking it.
The more fiercely they attacked, the more pain they suffered.
Eventually, their bodies shattered under the purifying glow—unable to heal in the mist, they vanished completely.
With the purification barrier holding, only a few phantoms—three or four—squeezed through the entrances.
The vanguard adventurers swiftly jumped into melee.
Thick-skinned ogres and Thunder Warriors held the front. Behind them, crossbowmen fired in waves.
Even with high physical resistance, the phantoms couldn't withstand the concentrated, aura-imbued attacks.
Any that breached the entrance lasted maybe two or three seconds—turning to ash or leaving behind a soul crystal.
Meanwhile, their own attacks barely scratched the heavily armored purifiers.
Clad in enchanted purifying armor, the heavy warriors were nearly impenetrable.
The fight was intense—but the battlefront was holding.
The adventurers couldn't break out, but the phantoms couldn't break in either.
Until—
A massive gray-black figure loomed in the fog, exuding a terrifying presence.
It raised its claw and slammed down hard on the purification barrier!
Boom!
The barrier, once solid, now rippled violently—its glow flickering.
Feeling the deadly threat, Laura forced herself to stay calm, drew her bow, and aimed—only to hear Alice's calm voice:
"The Wraith has appeared—capture operation begins!"