Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 606 Bastion Castle (8)

"boom!!"

“Run, run ...

"Ok??"

Just as Han Zu was leaning against the wall thinking, he suddenly heard some loud noises, as if something heavy was hitting the ground. The source of the noise seemed to be on the right side of the Bastinburg Armory. Han Zu moved along the city wall at the edge of the armory in the direction of the sound, passed through the rotten side door of the armory, and came to the right side of the armory. Looking up, he found a dilapidated building here. Judging from the style of the building and the stained glass windows that had not been completely damaged, it can be roughly guessed that this place should have been a chapel.

After entering the area of ​​Bastinburg Church, Han Zu heard shouting. Looking in the direction of the sound, he spotted a small group of people, about seven or eight, who seemed to be tumbling and crawling away from something. Han Zu picked up a piece of wall debris from the ground nearby and leaned it against the wall. He quickly built a simple temporary hiding place for himself, then observed the outside through the gap in the hiding place.

“Kerala!!”

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

About a minute or two later, the group of guys who were fleeing in panic passed by Han Zu's position. From their clothes, it could be roughly guessed that they were a few researchers and their guards. But they looked a little funny.

Besides their tattered, scratched dust-proof jumpsuits, the researchers also wore medieval-style leather and cloth armor. Judging from their condition, these armors weren't modern replicas, but genuine pieces scavenged from somewhere within Bastion Castle. It was clear that these ancient armors had been battle-hardened, yet for some reason, these researchers wore them anyway. As they passed Han Zu, he could see traces of modern-day stitching where the damage had occurred.

Although it looked out of place, based on Han Zu's previous experience, these armors must have a certain function, otherwise they wouldn't have been wearing them all the time. But even if they were wearing these armors that must have a function, if they still chose to escape, then they must have provoked something terrible.

As Han Zu pondered this, the guards behind the researchers caught up. They were wearing partial plate armor, which made them look even more ridiculous. For these guys, wearing plate armor breastplates and helmets over their combat uniforms, but wearing sneakers or other boots, some even wearing shorts, this outfit was truly hilarious. If Han Zu had seen them elsewhere, he would have thought they were drunk. But in Bastion Castle, this outfit made perfect sense. The plate armor helmet and breastplate provided excellent protection for the most vital parts of the body. The lack of armor on the legs mitigated the weight of the armor, making it less difficult to move.

"Pfft!"

“Save me! Save me!!”

"You're on your own, idiot!"

"Crack!!!"

"Ahhhhh!!!"

"Run!!!!"

“Crack!!”

Soon, Han Zu spotted the pursuers who had sent them madly fleeing. A researcher was running at the very back of the group, even slower than the guards wearing partial plate armor. It wasn't because he was wearing heavy protective gear, but because he was holding a large bundle of objects wrapped in rags. These objects might not be large, but they were certainly heavy. This slowed the researcher down, and he fell behind the rear of the group.

This guy was unlucky. While running, he stepped on a shallow pit in the ground. His body sank down, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground. When his face hit the dirt, he finally let go of the pile of things he had been holding. They made some metallic collision and friction sounds, but Han Zu didn't have time to observe.

The unfortunate feller tried to get up, but he seemed to have twisted his ankle and couldn't stand up on his own. He called for help from his companions, who were running farther and farther ahead, but they didn't return to save him. Soon, accompanied by the heavy thud of horses' hooves and the curses of his companions ahead, a long halberd, blackened for unknown reasons, struck the unfortunate feller's leg, severing it directly. Han Zu looked up along the halberd and saw a burly man on horseback, his face obscured by the backlight.

As the unfortunate individual screamed in agony from the chopped-off leg, several massive animals surrounded him, opened their bloody maws, and bit into his three remaining limbs and head. With a simple flick of their heads, the unfortunate individual was instantly torn to pieces and killed. The animals chewed and devoured the food at an incredible speed. In just a few seconds, the unfortunate individual's body was almost completely devoured. After finishing their meal, they immediately followed the rider and continued their pursuit of the researchers and their guards who had escaped.

As their figures were about to pass through the armory's gate, they left their backlit position. Upon closer inspection, Han Zu realized that the figure holding the halberd wasn't actually a rider, but a centaur. The animals accompanying it were ferocious hounds, about the size of giant wolves, wearing spiked collars.

Soon, a variety of noises rang out from the armory next door. Centaurs wielding halberds and their hounds charged through the armory, chasing the unfortunate souls who had escaped there, but didn't know where to leave. The screams, cries of fighting, and counterattacks were loud at first, but as Han Zu heard the sound of skeletons rising from the ground in increasing numbers and the piercing noises, the sounds gradually faded, and after a few minutes, they disappeared completely. Han Zu realized that those unfortunate souls must have been completely eliminated.

"Oh?"

While the fighting continued next door, Han Zu carried the fragment of the wall to the outside of the armory, from where he could clearly see what was happening inside. He was surprised to find that after the unfortunate creatures were killed, the centaur and its hounds resumed their fight with the skeletons in the armory. This was a new discovery. After all, Han Zu had originally believed that the monsters in Bastion Castle would not fight each other, but judging by the current situation, that did not seem to be the case.

The outcome of the battle was predictable. Compared to the slower-moving (compared to the centaurs), the halberd-wielding centaurs and their hounds were bound to emerge victorious. It wasn't just their speed that mattered; the way the centaur wielded its halberd revealed its age-old combat prowess. Han Zu's predictions unfolded precisely as he charged, wielding his halberd, and annihilating every skeleton, giant bat, and living armor in the armory. He himself wasn't even injured, merely stung by a few arrows from the skeleton archers. But judging by his appearance, he seemed unharmed.

However, its hounds weren't so lucky; a third of them died. It wasn't that the hounds weren't any good, but rather that the slow-moving skeletons and living armor were quite capable. When the living armor swung their greatswords and polearms, even the centaurs had to sidestep their attacks, proving that their attacks weren't easily taken.

"Click."

These monsters seemed devoid of emotion. After the battle ended and calm returned, the centaur reached out with his left hand, yanked out the arrows that had pierced his body, crushed them, and threw them to the ground. Without a moment's silence for the dead hounds, the centaur, accompanied by the remaining hounds, left the armory expressionlessly, retracing their steps. After passing the church area, Han Zu noticed that they appeared to be descending a ramp or staircase, but the angle prevented him from seeing the specifics of the area. He planned to investigate further.

"Clang."

After the surroundings quieted down, Han Zu pushed away the fragments of the city wall in front of him and walked to the body of the unlucky man who was being eaten by the hounds.

"Fuck, he ate it so fast, it was almost boneless."

Han Zu had originally wanted to see if there were any clues or things he could use on this guy, but seeing that he was basically just a skeleton, Han Zu could only grumble. After all, there really wasn't much to investigate in a skeleton.

Kicking the skeleton aside, at least what was left of it, Han Zu walked over to the pile of things he had dropped on the ground. He lifted the rags wrapped around it, revealing a worn leather backpack. Inside were many things that looked like burial objects: gold and silver objects, whole and broken gemstones, several ornate ceremonial daggers made of precious metals, a few scrolls, and two or three books with leather covers made of cowhide, sheepskin, or perhaps human skin. In addition, there was a Morning Star Hammer that seemed out of place among the pile.

"Why is this thing placed together with these things?"

That one-handed Morning Star Hammer was indeed quite out of place. Judging from the type of other items, the unfortunate individual was probably searching for something to research Bastinburg's history before his death. However, the Morning Star Hammer had no inscriptions, no gemstones inlaid on the handle, and no removable parts. It was simply a weapon used for combat, with no research value at all.

However, if this Morning Star Hammer is compared to other Morning Star Hammers of the same period on Earth, there are indeed some differences. The first is the length. This thing is a bit short. Generally, the length of a one-handed Morning Star Hammer used in actual combat is mostly around 60 cm to 90 cm, but this Morning Star Hammer is only a little over 40 cm, about the same length as a dagger when held. If a Morning Star Hammer of this length wants to achieve the same attack effect as a normal-length Morning Star Hammer, the user's arm length will be very long. Otherwise, the swing range is insufficient, and it is impossible to use kinetic energy to achieve sufficient armor-piercing effect.

The second factor was weight. Even a 90-centimeter Morning Star Hammer wouldn't weigh more than four kilograms, but the one in Han Zu's hand, a mere 40 centimeters, weighed over ten kilograms. Medieval smelting techniques couldn't create an alloy with a high enough density, so this thing was either a magical artifact or a modern imitation. However, judging by the fact that the unfortunate researcher was able to place it with the burial objects, the former was more likely.

"It's a little short, but it should work."

Holding the Morning Star Hammer in his hand, Han Zu began to look through the scrolls and leather books. Although most modules of the contractor's equipment had malfunctioned, the translation function was still usable. According to the translation of the contractor's equipment, the texts in these scrolls and leather books did not mention any records related to Bastinburg. They were just poems and some things like account books, which were not important.

“Kala-la…”

Just as Han Zu finished his investigation and stood up, carrying the Morning Star Hammer, the unfortunate skeleton suddenly moved. Under Han Zu's gaze, its scattered bones rolled together, and after they were assembled, it slowly stood up. Han Zu saw this scene and became interested. He did not stop the skeleton from rising, but simply observed its movements.

"boom."

After the skeleton stood up, it immediately turned towards Han Zu. Of course, this process was not very fast. Han Zu waited for it for more than ten seconds. After facing Han Zu, the skeleton immediately launched an attack. But even when the skeleton's arm hit Han Zu's face, it only made a dull sound and nothing happened. Han Zu raised his hand and punched the skeleton's head fiercely. However, the newly stood skeleton was not directly blown apart, but was only slightly pushed back a few steps. After regaining its balance, it slowly walked towards Han Zu again.

Han Zu stretched out his finger and scratched his chin. His eyes slid down to look at the Morning Star Hammer in his other hand, then he looked at the skeleton that was still tickling him and nodded.

He reached out and gently pushed the attacking skeleton away, then raised the Morning Star Hammer in his hand and, without much force, struck the skeleton's skull. With a loud crash, the unfortunate skeleton fell to the ground and fell apart. Han Zu kicked it with his foot, and it had indeed fallen completely.

"Now that he's standing up, those other guys who were killed should also..."

Thinking of this, Han Zu returned to the armory area. Sure enough, he saw those guys who had been killed standing up again, but they did not turn into skeletons like that unlucky guy, but became zombie-like walking corpses.

Han Zu quickly walked over and made a comparison. He first dispatched a zombie with his fists and discovered that even with full force, hitting only the head, it took four or five hits to finish one off. However, using the Morning Star Hammer, he only needed two hits to the body and one to the head. And he didn't need to go all out; just swinging his hammer was enough. Han Zu now confirmed that Bastion Castle indeed had some strange rules that restricted the power of all who entered, whether monsters, humans, or other life forms. They had to follow the rules of Bastion Castle. This was a significant discovery. Although similar situations had occurred in the "duplications" created by the Infinite Company, Han Zu had always sensed immense energy maintaining the rules. But now, in Bastion Castle, Han Zu didn't sense the massive energy needed to sustain such rules. This meant that Bastion Castle was even more mysterious than the duplications created by the Infinite Company. This was not a common occurrence.

"No wonder Sebastian is so confident and ambitious. This place is really weird."