Global Fog Survival

“The first phase of ‘The Homesick Witch’ is done. Next, I need to find out if there’s any way to obtain information on the ‘Witch’s Forest.’ I’m really interested in the rewards for those tasks…”

Colin took a deep breath and bent down to pick up the witch’s head. After placing it in his backpack, he glanced at another vague area illuminated by the surrounding light.

In the next moment, his figure transformed into a streak of light again.

Before long, outside the saltpeter mine, a streak of light flashed from afar.

Colin’s body materialized from the tip of his toes, from transparency to solidity, emerging from the void. He stepped onto the damp ground, his foot sinking into a sticky “puddle” full of blood, fragments of organs, and other gruesome mixtures.

At the same time, a faint warm breeze brushed against him, carrying the smells of charred flesh, rotting meat, and acrid smoke, all mingling unpleasantly.

“This…”

Colin didn’t pay attention to what was beneath his feet or the foul odors. Instead, his gaze fell ahead, momentarily dazed by the sight…

A four-meter-high “wall” made of corpses—a combination of flesh and blood—stood like a dam around the entrance to the saltpeter mine.

The silence here was deafening, with barely any sound beyond the occasional, irritating wails of mutants. It seemed the area had fallen, and no one had survived to receive the “gifts” that were promised. Behind the ravaged defense line, made of battered war chariots, there was no sign of life…

Colin’s eyes shifted to the dismembered body of a lord-level mutant not far away. Nearby, faint fires continued to smolder, releasing black smoke, and among the wreckage, shattered lanterns and human remains scattered like watermelon fragments.

It was clear that a desperate and costly battle had been fought to hold off these lord-level mutants, but the eerie quietness now made Colin feel uneasy.

Holding a defensive position at the saltpeter mine meant abandoning the mobility of the war chariots, giving up the advantage of solid walls. The fight would have been much more difficult.

He and the others had discussed this plan in that fateful conversation: if the territory was breached, they would use the war chariots to escape and survive. The saltpeter mine was always a secondary concern—staying here meant fighting under extreme disadvantages.

But in order to maintain ammunition supplies, they had held out to the bitter end. Colin noticed several piles of mutated corpses bound together with the “Thorns of Suffering” to prevent them from regenerating.

This strategy had been effective.

Still, seeing dozens—if not hundreds—of these corpse piles left Colin momentarily stunned. He couldn’t begin to fathom the kind of battles they must have endured to achieve this.

He took a deep breath and felt some relief, sensing a large group of people moving quickly nearby, fighting off the mutants that followed them. His intuition triggered involuntarily, providing him with some clarity.

[From the traces, you realize that after the lord-level mutants intervened in the battle, a portion of the defenders chose to retreat underground, using the war chariots to block the entrance…]

[Another group chose to drive undamaged chariots, abandoning the defensive position to escape…]

“That’s good…”

Colin exhaled, seeing a sealed mine entrance blocked by war chariots and clear signs of movement away from the battlefield. This meant many had survived. As long as they were alive, that was all that mattered. He didn’t care how they survived—he only wanted to see more of them make it through.

“Escape must’ve happened after the gifts were given. Many of them are probably still alive and might even return here soon…”

Colin silently offered his best wishes.

“There are lord-level mutants here, but where?” He scanned the area, and suddenly, from a pile of corpses, a mutated knight wielding a longsword and wearing a pointed hat began to crawl out.

“Mutant—Citizen of Suffering—Knight of Suffering.”

[You realize its life force is incredibly unique, as though it’s been blessed, making it extremely difficult to kill for good.]

“The Blessing of the Seventh Miracle, ‘The Pain Bearer’…” Colin narrowed his eyes, recalling the faint sense of this “Great Miracle” from his dreams…

He could feel its presence within the knight, recognizing it as a true “immortal.”

The message continued:

[When they’re reduced to a single entity, they will fuse into a lord-level mutant, but after a certain time, they will split again…]

[Perhaps severing their unknown connection and using more violent methods to destroy them at their final stage of fusion could result in their permanent death.]

“More violent methods…”

Colin murmured as he observed the knight. Unlike ordinary resurrecting mutants, this one was truly immortal, and there seemed to be many more of its kind. Russell’s generation had already encountered similar “expeditionary forces,” but Colin hadn’t expected to run into one so close.

Just then, the pointed-hat knight turned its bloodshot, ferocious eyes toward Colin the moment it crawled out. But before it could strike, chains of light shot from the void, piercing its brain and killing it instantly. Colin didn’t hesitate, methodically eliminating other pointed-hat knights trapped by war chariots or buried under corpse piles.

Suddenly, a powerful surge of energy erupted as a war chariot buried beneath a heap of corpses was violently thrown aside. Blood and dismembered limbs flew through the air, and in the next second, a figure launched itself toward Colin with a loud sonic boom. But just as it leaped into the air, aiming to slash at him, the broken sword in its hand came within three meters of Colin’s forehead.

Everything froze.

Somehow, dozens of glowing chains had emerged from the light, binding the creature, and rendering it completely motionless. Its wrists, joints, knees, neck, and even its pointed hat were all tightly bound, making it resemble a statue. Thanks to Li Chou, Colin had learned a bit about the “art” of binding.

“You lord-level mutants are terrifying. A moment of carelessness, and you cause unthinkable disaster.” Colin gazed calmly at the immobilized creature as he took two steps forward, now standing right in front of it.

The chains trembled slightly as the creature struggled, growling in a low, disturbing tone.

Colin’s eyes shifted toward its bloodied, flesh-covered longsword.

In an instant, another chain of light shot forth from the void, piercing through the creature’s mouth and silencing its growls. Ignoring its murderous glare, Colin lifted one foot, swinging it slowly toward the creature’s side in a horizontal kick.

The speed wasn’t fast, but the large motion caused Colin’s body to become covered in tiny cracks, as though he might shatter at any moment.

“Have you ever been kicked by the speed of light?” As he finished speaking, Colin suddenly accelerated, channeling all the light into his leg.

Amid a burst of blinding radiance…

A new periodic table of elements appeared.