The continuous roars have completely broken the tranquility in Cemetery No. 3. The flames gushing from the muzzles of guns have illuminated the dim fog again and again. Shaking and twisted figures continue to emerge from the fog, and then fall one by one under the bombardment of sacred fire and metal - and where they fall, the dark and ominous substance has spread to the path.

These were clearly no longer “restless corpses”—they were something far more profane and ominous, and they must all be destroyed here.

The old man's shooting skills were very accurate. In his eyes, those deformed creatures coming out of the fog looked like slow reptiles. Even through the thick fog, he could kill them one by one.

In fact, he was better at using a dagger and a cane and had more experience - but the old man knew that he must try his best to avoid getting into close combat with those monsters too early.

He was already very old, and the experience of a veteran soldier could not offset the aging of his body, and it seemed that he could never completely kill the enemies. Once he got into close combat, he would no longer be able to keep those monsters on the other side of the path.

It was necessary to make precise calculations, to kill as many monsters as possible with the least possible effort, to delay time. The cathedral and the city-state authorities must be taking measures, and reinforcements would come, no matter which side - the city would not fall in such an inexplicable fog.

Faintly, other gunshots were heard from a distance.

"Guard Grandpa!" Annie shouted, handing the rifle she had just loaded to the old man again. At the same time, she looked nervously in the direction where the gunshots came from. "There are also shots fired elsewhere... Is there anyone coming to help us?"

"They are the guards of Cemetery No. 4 and Cemetery No. 2," the old man raised his gun and smashed an ugly head that emerged from the mist with a roar. At the same time, he said without turning his head, "Someone will come to help us. Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." Anne tried to speak loudly. Even though her voice was a little trembling, the old guard of the cemetery did not expose the little girl's forced courage.

Because she was brave enough.

"You are indeed very brave," the old guard said, trying to appear as relaxed as possible, even though his arms were actually starting to tremble. "Where did you learn all this? How do you load bullets into rifles and shotguns?"

"My mother has several guns. She hangs them in the bedroom and living room," Anne said as she quickly loaded bullets into the double-barreled shotgun's magazine. "The year my father didn't come back, my mother bought several guns. She said she needed to protect the family... Oh!"

The spring on the magazine catch suddenly broke open, and the sharp metal edge cut a long wound on the little girl's finger, and she screamed in surprise.

But the next second, she used her other finger to push the reed back into place and handed the loaded shotgun to the old man in front of her: "Here you go."

The old guard noticed the blood on the gun and heard Anne's exclamation, but he was silent for a moment, then threw the other gun behind him: "...Reload."

The gunshots rang out again.

The hunched old man in black was like a bent and tough tree, nailing himself firmly in the thick fog. He and Anne gradually stopped talking, and there was only silent shooting and an increasingly solemn expression. He was calculating, calculating how many monsters he had killed, and how many times Anne had handed him a loaded shotgun or rifle.

"The last box popped," he muttered softly.

"Grandpa Guard, the last box has popped!" Annie exclaimed almost at the same time.

"I know," the old guard said without turning his head. He silently killed a deformed freak who almost rushed to the front of the hut, then waved behind him, "Load the shotgun, and then put the gun and the remaining bullets at my feet. Go under my bed, there is a dark brown box with spare ammunition."

"Okay! Dark brown box, spare ammunition!" Annie said quickly, then pushed the gun and bullets out of the door, turned around and ran into the house.

The old guard silently looked down at the shotgun and bullets at his feet, then turned slightly, closed the door casually, drew the dagger in his arms, and nailed the dagger hard on the hook of the bolt outside.

Almost the next second, he heard some panicked footsteps coming from the cabin, followed by the sound of a girl banging on the door and screaming.

"…I lied to you for the last time."

The old guard said softly, then held the gun in one hand and shot at the deformed freaks closest to him, then turned quickly, used the door frame to jump up, and swung his free left hand from a corner above the door frame, and a black cane appeared in his hand - before landing, he smashed the black cane in his hand towards another monster that emerged from the fog, and at the moment the corpse with a broken head fell to the ground, he also landed steadily on the ground.

His eyes swept across the thick fog in front of him, and the old man swung the black staff in his hand vigorously. The dirty black fluid fell from the staff like mutated blood. He slammed the staff hard on the ground, and the metal mechanism clicked. The black staff immediately shortened by half an inch, and countless sharp blades popped out on both sides.

The moment the sharp blade bounced back, it seemed as if mixed with countless shouts and roars from the past.

The foggy cemetery was even silent for a moment.

The old guard turned around, glanced at the door of the hut, and at the corner where the secret compartment was located above the door frame. Like most veteran guards, he chose to place the weapon that had accompanied him for half his life above the last door he guarded in the year of his retirement. He never expected that he and this old friend would fight side by side again in front of this door.

"We are guarding a door... We are Bartok's guards..." The old man's waist was still hunched. In the cold and dim fog, he slowly turned around, his eyes fell on the swaying figures, and he recited the oath passed down from generation to generation by the guards, "We swear to guard the border between life and death, so that the dead can rest in peace and the living can be at peace..."

The deformed monsters in the fog became restless, and countless swaying figures began to cross the path and rush towards the still standing cottage.

In response, they were answered by the old guard's gunshots and the whistling of his staff and sword breaking through the air.

"If you don't want to rest in peace, I'll send you to rest in peace!"

The sounds of hacking, roaring, and rifle and shotgun fire, the defenders' final battle made the cemetery tremble.

In the caretaker's hut, Anne's small body curled up at the door, holding her head and listening to the noise outside.

She sobbed softly, and finally burst into tears amid the roar of gunfire.

When she was twelve years old, she was deceived by her caretaker grandfather again.

※※※

At the same time, Frost Off the Sea.

The thick fog was not limited to the sky above the city-state. At noon, the fog had already crossed the coastal boundary and covered the patrol range of the Sea Fog Fleet.

In such a thick and strange fog, even the Cursed Fleet, which possessed extraordinary properties, had to remain on edge.

On the bridge of the Sea Mist, Tirian stood in front of the large porthole with a frown on his face, staring at the thick fog on the sea that was like a wall. First mate Aiden came behind him and reported the situation in a serious tone: "... So far, our communication with Cold Harbor, Ice Bay, and Pirate Island has been strongly interfered with. There is no response to calls on all frequency bands. Although the communication with the Frost Navy and the port area of ​​Frost Island has also been interfered, it can still be contacted. The coverage of this thick fog has spread to at least 100 nautical miles outside Frost Island...

"In addition, according to the report from the small boat we sent to the edge of the fog, the fog has stopped spreading and the density has not continued to rise. However, all efforts to sail outward have failed. All small boats that tried to leave the fog have circled in place and unknowingly returned to the depths of the fog."

"How's the observatory going?"

"I still can't observe the correct star phases," said First Mate Aiden with a serious expression. "It's as if a blurry lens suddenly appeared between the spirit world and the deep sea. The star phases I observe have double images, and the mental stress caused by stargazing has also increased sharply. I can't observe for a long time at all."

"...It seems that the blockade is complete. The Frost City and the surrounding seas have been isolated from the outside 'normal world'." Tirian had a blank expression, and there was only calmness in his one eye. "Don't waste your energy running out."

“Blockade…Who created the blockade?”

"Use your brain once in a while - do you even need to ask?" Tirian looked back at Aiden. "The cultists, the crazy people who worship the Lord of the Deep, aren't they the ones causing trouble recently?"

"I know," Aiden stared, with an expression that said, "Isn't this a bit exaggerated?" "But can a bunch of cultists really cause such a big scene?"

"A bunch of lunatics may not have this ability, but the 'Lord' they worship is another matter," Tirian put his hand on the railing in front of him and said in a low voice, "The Lord of the Deep... Blocking time and space, interfering with the stars... Is this the power of the Old Gods..."

Aiden swallowed subconsciously.

"So...are we really going to confront the power of the Ancient God directly this time?"

"Afraid?"

"A little bit," Aiden nodded, forcing an ugly smile on his face, "but there's nothing we can do about it, the world is just like that - in fact, if you think about it carefully, it's nothing. When we faced the old captain in the first place, didn't we all go ahead with it anyway? Now at least the old captain is on our side."

"That's all. Let's get everyone ready," Tirian exhaled softly and waved to the first mate, "After so many years away from the Frost, we may have to make a big fuss in this sea again."