The spray of light-SMG bullets tore through the bodies of the Young Ghost Crawlers almost at the same time.
Small holes appeared across their bodies as the compressed Black Steel bullets struck them one after another, while their bodies were pushed back by the force of the impacts.
Ezra moved his hands sideways, catching sight of the other Young Ghost Crawlers rushing toward him.
He didn’t hesitate.
Boom!
His body flashed forward with speed.
His foot came down on the head of a Young Ghost Crawler.
Crack!
The sole of his boot crushed through the creature’s shell with ease, forcing its head into the snow beneath it.
Ezra didn’t even look down.
His Twin Viper was already raised toward the Young Ghost Crawlers approaching from the front.
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets tore through the nearest creature.
Ezra stepped off the Young Ghost Crawler beneath his foot, allowing its body to collapse into the snow.
At the same time, he threw one of his Twin Vipers toward the Young Ghost Crawlers behind him.
A thin black thread from his Black Magnetic Gloves was already attached to the weapon.
The Twin Viper flew through the air.
Ezra’s hand moved toward another Young Ghost Crawler.
He grabbed its dead body and lifted it in front of himself.
Splash!
Splash!
Poisonous spit struck the corpse.
The acidic liquid splashed across the dead creature’s body instead of Ezra.
Smoke rose from the places where the poison touched it.
The body twitched slightly from the force of the impact, but Ezra continued using it as a shield while keeping his attention on the creatures surrounding him.
Then...
Bam!
Ezra kicked the dead Young Ghost Crawler away.
Its body flew forward and crashed into the Young Ghost Crawlers behind him, stopping several of them from advancing for a brief moment.
At the same time, Ezra pulled his thrown Twin Viper back toward his hand with the thin black magnetic thread.
The weapon returned to his grip.
He immediately aimed both guns toward the Young Ghost Crawlers in front of him.
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
The rapid gunfire tore through the snowy forest.
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
The dying cries of the Young Ghost Crawlers mixed with the rapid gunshots of the Twin Vipers, roaring through the forest and echoing between the Winter Spruces.
The kicked corpse continued sliding through the snow until it crashed into the Young Ghost Crawlers behind Ezra.
Several of them stumbled over it.
Their advance was interrupted.
Ezra used that brief opening.
He threw one of his Twin Vipers upward.
The thin black magnetic thread attached to the SMG moved with it, stretching upward as the weapon rose through the air.
Ezra immediately reached into his Space Bag.
He took out another set of Black Steel bars and dropped them onto the snow.
His eyes remained on the surrounding Young Ghost Crawlers.
The creatures were already recovering.
Their bodies moved again as they prepared to charge.
This time, they moved in a combined motion.
Ezra didn’t rush.
His Cognis flowed through his body and into the thin black threads connected to his Black Magnetic Gloves.
The magnetic force activated.
The polarity locked onto the Twin Vipers.
The black threads pulled tight.
The weapons, which had been repelled upward, suddenly changed direction.
They came back down with speed.
At almost the same moment, the remaining Young Ghost Crawlers regained their movement and began another charge.
They rushed toward Ezra from both sides.
Their bodies moved through the snow as they closed the distance.
Ezra’s hands came together.
His Gun Alchemy Circle ignited.
The white Cognis formed the circle rapidly beneath him.
Ezra slammed his hand against the ground.
At the same moment, the falling Twin Vipers struck the snow.
Boom!
White Cognis lightning sparked across the Alchemy Circle.
Snow was violently pushed away from Ezra’s position.
The Twin Vipers began to melt.
The Black Steel bars on the ground melted as well.
The metal flowed across the glowing Alchemy Circle.
It compressed.
The two separate forms began taking shape.
They merged.
They were modeled.
And finally, two heavy-looking Black Steel launchers emerged from the ground.
The Gun Alchemy Circle continued glowing beneath them, its white brilliance briefly brightening the surrounding area.
The Young Ghost Crawlers were already close.
They were coming from both sides.
Ezra reached forward and caught the two M79 grenade launchers effortlessly.
The Young Ghost Crawlers had gathered together for what appeared to be their final attack.
Perhaps they believed Ezra would continue using his Twin Vipers.
Their plan was simple.
Even if one of them died, the others would continue advancing, using that once as a first advancing shield.
They would keep moving forward in a joint form until they finally reached Ezra’s position and could pounce on him.
But that was exactly what Ezra expected them to do.
The Ghost Crawlers...
From the research Ezra had studied, this particular detail had never been directly written.
But their hunting methods and the way they adapted their illusion ability had already revealed enough.
They were noticeably smart.
This was why the Whitecrest Eagles, despite being much stronger than the Young Ghost Crawlers, had looked like the ones struggling when Ezra and Diane had watched their fight before entering the Elder Ghost Crawler’s main habitat.
The Young Ghost Crawlers were capable of adapting.
They could quickly change their strategy depending on the fight.
That intelligence wasn’t something anyone facing them could afford to underestimate.
But for Ezra, none of that mattered.
Since their intelligence could also be used against them.
They had gathered together.
That gave him an easy chance to use the one-round M79 grenade launchers against both sides at once.
Ezra’s expression remained as plain as always.
He raised both launchers.
His fingers moved toward the triggers.
Click.
He fired both at the same time.
BANG! BANG!
The gunshots echoed through the forest like cannons.
Ezra’s shoulders moved slightly backward from the recoil.
Two 40 mm grenades flew through the air.
The Young Ghost Crawlers continued rushing forward from both sides.
They were getting closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Then...
BOOM! BOOM!
The two groups collided with the grenades at almost the same time.
A small explosion erupted on both sides.
The force of the blasts threw snow into the air and disturbed the ground beneath the creatures.
But Ezra didn’t stop there.
He dropped the grenade launchers and immediately took two bottles from his Space Bag.
The bottles contained Draconium Lacrimal Extracts.
Also known as the...
The Dragons Tear.
Without hesitation, Ezra threw one toward each of the exploded areas.
The bottles flew through the air.
Then they struck.
BOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOM!
The explosions became much larger.
The surrounding air was thrown into violent motion.
Snow flew away from the center of the blasts.
Mud and soil were torn from the ground.
The Winter Spruces surrounding the area shook violently as their branches were pushed backward by the force.
Flames spread across the battlefield.
The entire area was consumed by fire.
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
The screams of the burning Young Ghost Crawlers echoed through the forest.
Some of the creatures tried to run.
Their burning bodies moved through the snow as they struggled to escape the flames.
But they couldn’t get far.
One after another, their movements slowed.
Then they collapsed.
Ezra stood in the center of the burning area.
The flames moved around him.
He pulled his Long Coat around his body, using the heat-resistant material to protect himself from the fire as he moved away from the center of the explosion.
He didn’t remain there longer than necessary.
The heat pressed against his body even through the coat.
Ezra continued leaving the area.
Then...
A cold sensation spread through the surroundings.
Ezra stopped.
A fluctuation of Cognis spread through the air.
He looked toward the source.
He already knew what it was.
An Alchemy Circle had been activated.
Ice balls began falling from above.
One after another, they struck the burning area.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The ice struck the flames.
The moment one of the ice balls touched the ground, the surrounding area froze.
The flames were quenched almost immediately.
More ice continued falling.
The fire weakened.
Smoke spread across the frozen ground.
Within a short period of time, half of the area where Ezra had been standing was frozen.
The flames had been reduced greatly, leaving only smoke residue drifting through the cold air.
The cold environment also affected the Draconium Lacrimal Extracts.
Because of the low temperature of the area, the bottles hadn’t been able to do as much damage as they would have in a warmer environment.
Ezra looked across the frozen battlefield.
The flames were almost gone.
Only patches of smoke remained.
"I kept hearing loud gunshots and explosions coming from here."
A soft and tired toned voice came from the forest.
Ezra looked at the person.
Diane walked out from between the Winter Spruces.
Red blood stained parts of her clothes.
Some of it covered her gloves.
A small amount was also present on her face.
None of it appeared to be hers.
Her light-blue eyes looked tired as usual, and the way she walked made it clear that she had already gone through her own fight before arriving here.
She looked toward the battlefield.
Then she looked at Ezra.
"You handled your own side well."
Her voice remained plain.
Ezra looked at her for a moment.
"I can say the same to you."
His tone was as calm as ever.
He placed the M79 grenade launchers into his Space Bag.
Then he deactivated his Black Magnetic Gloves.
The thin black threads detached from the bodies of the weapons inside the space bag.
They immediately moved back toward Ezra’s hands, following the magnetic force before fixing themselves into the gloves once again.
Diane’s light-blue eyes followed the movement.
A small hint of surprise appeared in them as she looked at the device.
She remained quiet for a moment.
The frozen battlefield continued smoking behind Ezra.
The last traces of the battle slowly disappeared beneath the falling snow.
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