With each echo of gunfire, another bloodling dropped on the ground, dead. Lumen continues her retreat in a slow and steady manner while putting down any threat that entered her field of vision with few accurate shots.

Thanks to her compound eyes, she can locate and identify anything that enters her field of vision.

The group of animals sticks close behind Lumen without making any sound or hindering her steps, as they understand right now. She is their only safe haven against those things.

But even under the suppression of Lumen's light machine gun, the Bloodlings and Corrupters continue to pour out from the rift, forcing her to focus more on prioritizing Bloodling over the Corrupter.

Despite their lanky appearance, Bloodlings got a very high amount of vitality that they could even move and fight after being their whole body blasted apart while half of their head was missing. Mixed with their second ability to infect any animal and turn them into its nest with just a touch would make any player scratch their head with annoyance.

It was not something simple like a well-known zombie virus that grows by turning one into one, but it's something that grows by turning one into ten or even a hundred.

Thankfully just like usual, Lumen's faction Zera's starting location is something akin to a wasteland. Let alone locating a village. Not even weed grows in this whole province.

But now, with its new possible 'nests' in the form of defenseless animals, Lumen must do everything to not let Bloodling even touch a hair of their body. Lumen continues to pull the trigger of her light machine gun in worry, with worry coming from both Lumen's own concern and genuine worry Sylvesris for the animals. Made more comfortable to move.

Her worry grows a bit weaker as she observes the countdown number of Bloodlings trickling down with each burst of her weapon.

Screeching, Bloodling, who survived from the lethal shots, rushes toward her while its putrid red blood sprays out from its large holes opened by a bullet. Ignoring its fatal wounds, it opened its bloody jaws and slammed shut against something it presumed as food.

Followed by a soft cracking sound, the Bloodling's sharp teeth failed to penetrate the plating of Lumen's power armor, let alone leave even a mark. Maybe in a fit of humiliation or just by natural instinct, the Bloodling tried to take a bite again, but only to powerlessly drop on the ground as its vitality had already drained. Meanwhile, the Lumen continues to hold her trigger, utterly oblivious to its last struggle.

Of course, Lumen knew it and let it happen, and it was not because she knew the Bloodligs possessed a second to no armor-piercing ability but due to her trait.

Personality Hatred of Neverborn Effect Nullification of any influence related to neverborn in every region under control. Complete eradication of buildings and facilities related to neverborn in the conquered regions.

+50% Damage against anything related to Neverborn.

+25% Damage reduction against anything associated with Neverborn.

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-50 lord's affinity against anything related to Neverborn.

Personality Suffer Not The Unclean Effect In each turn, it reduces corruption in regions under its control and occupying allied or friendly areas. Units under the lord don't affect by corruption.

Lord immediately declare war on any faction where stability and public order were under 20 or affected by Kleptocracy and Corrupted.

+40 stability to provinces under control.

+10% efficiency to provinces under control.

+100% cost of character recruitment

Every character and units under the lord receives the trait 'Uncorruptable'.

Every character and units under the lord receives no negative trait after recruitment.

Her deep-seated hatred of Sylvesris against such creatures was due to her personality traits. Even though she knew those things only follow their bestial instincts, it didn't stop her from humiliating them to the extent their limited mind could understand.

But Sylvesris and Lumen didn't let the hatred cloud their judgment as they continued to protect the group behind them. With the counter of her enemy number trickling down every moment, Lumen noticed the large group of the corrupters peeking out behind the snow.

Knowing she left with no choice, Lumen placed her light machine gun on the holster and reached towards the lock of the eraser cannon slung over her back, releasing the lock.

Wielding its cannon almost big as the Bloodling itself, Lumen aimed toward incoming corruptors.

Pulled its lever.

Followed by a clear clinking mechanical sound, the mechanism inside the gun starts to operate.

Almost immediately, immense chaotic energy erupted between the cannon and batteries placed on her's chest piece.

The cannon fires as the pieces begin to give off cracks made of purple, black, and gold lightning.

An enormous pillar made of destructive energy, perhaps twice as tall as her, shot out from the end of the barrel and erasing every in its wake. Leaving nothing behind but scorched ground.

Lumen heard a distinct sound followed by a gentle click as she observed a single case of chaotic battery protruding from the socket being released from its lock, asking her to dispose of the spent case.

Throwing away the spent casing, Lumen checked the remaining numbers of enemies and saw only 13 left from the initial force. Those 13 were now laid in front of her, missing large chunks of their body and still trying to reach her, but there was no use.

Wave 1 clear!

Unit kill count: Sylvesris-500

Due to a unique trait, Sylvesris didn't receive level.

Dead or Injured Characters: None

Obtained Items: Corpse of Corrupter-120

Corpse of Bloodling-86

A clear reward has been sent. Please check your inventory: Random Legendary Equipment: 1

A screen appeared before Lumen when she finished off the last Corrupter.

"Follow me."

Lumen decided to bring the group back to her base and check her reward in peace. But to tell the truth, Lumen has little to no hope of getting good equipment and using it due to her trait turning them no better than decoration.

Meanwhile, outside of the antarctic, the earth has begun to go through a change.

Under the eyes of superpowers, the dungeons began appearing around the world more often, along with new land masses and the sudden growth of people who awakened as hunters, followed by other powers possessing supernatural power who decided to show themselves for various purposes.

With its growing need for force against dungeons and monsters, the government slowly began to lose more of its power and public support, forcing them to seek contact with opposing forces like Hunter Association, which they used to look down upon.

But that doesn't mean they would give in that easily, as Hunter Association know they still have some informations from the Patriot project that they are able to extract before their sabotage.