Chapter 1482: Chapter 1480: Swarm of Rats
"Beep! Beep!"
After a series of screeching sounds, a sharp warning whistle followed, blowing from outside the carriage.
With a clatter, a group of people in the office carriage quickly opened the door and dashed out with Locomotive Captain Bob, seeing dozens of men in black uniforms running through the carriages, their expressions very serious.
"What’s going on?" Bob asked one of the men in black uniforms closest to him.
The other didn’t answer directly, he just pointed out the window: "See for yourself!"
Everyone immediately looked in the direction he pointed, although they were somewhat prepared in their minds, they couldn’t help but be startled.
On the side of the tracks, in the left front of the locomotive, about a few hundred meters away, a group of beasts was approaching with low growls.
These beasts were entirely grey, resembling rats in appearance but several times larger, akin to hunting dogs, with sharp teeth exposed outside their mouths, faintly glistening with saliva, chilling to look at.
What was most shocking was the number of these Abnormal Grey Rats—there were hundreds, charging toward the locomotive like a pack of wolves. The wind carried a strong stench of decay and blood, like a breath of death.
Seeing this scene, half of the crew went weak in the knees on the spot. After all, they weren’t warriors, just support staff looking to earn a decent living, not to live on the edge of life and death.
The remaining crew members weren’t particularly courageous; they just held onto a last sliver of Hope, looking at Bob and asking, "Locomotive Captain, do you think these abnormal rats are just a small group, or a large group?"
"It’s definitely far from being a large group. According to records, a large group of Abnormal Creatures numbers in the thousands," Bob’s response slightly eased the crew’s nerves, but then he added, "But... that said, the last time I encountered Abnormal Creatures, there were less than half as many as there are now. So, this doesn’t count as a small group either."
At those words, even the crew members who hadn’t gone weak in the knees felt a twinge of panic, looking at each other with fear on their faces.
"Are we going to die this time?"
"I don’t want to die."
"You think I want to die?"
"Will there be compensation if we die?"
"Locomotive Captain..."
The black-uniformed security personnel weren’t as frantic as the crew; they displayed the professionalism expected of them, quickly positioned themselves at various windows of the carriages while running. They then opened the windows, holding metallic tubular weapons, and aimed them at the Abnormal Rat swarm approaching outside.
Seeing this situation, the crew also slowly quieted down, realizing that their shouting wouldn’t help, so they watched the security personnel in silence, placing their Hope upon them to resolve the swarm of Abnormal Rats—though there were quite a few of them, it was their only option.
"Hiss~ Roar~"
The approaching speed of the Abnormal Rat swarm outside the locomotive increased, the distance continually narrowing.
Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters.
The security personnel held their weapons motionless, watching the rat swarm without any intention of attacking, causing the crew to breathe heavily.
Ninety meters, eighty meters, seventy meters.
The rat swarm formed a triangular formation, the foremost grey rats becoming very clear in view, but the security personnel still didn’t move, as if asleep, causing the crew to start sweating.
Sixty meters!
Even Locomotive Captain Bob couldn’t hold back, wanting to remind the security personnel that if they didn’t attack soon, the Abnormal Rat swarm would pounce.
Fifty meters!
"Attack!" Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Click!"
Almost the instant the command was given, all the security personnel pulled the triggers in the middle of their metallic tubes.
"Buzz!"
All the metallic tubes first trembled slightly, then their surfaces lit up with spiral Magic Runes, extending all the way to the end.
At the moment it reached the end, a "whoosh" sounded, and a beam of fiery red Light Beam shot out from the tube, hitting the Abnormal Rat swarm that had approached within fifty meters, striking an Abnormal Grey Rat’s body.
"Puff!"
A bloody hole appeared on the side of the Abnormal Grey Rat’s head, and the fiery red Light Beam penetrated deeper into its body.
"Boom!"
There was an explosion, like a bomb going off inside the Abnormal Grey Rat, shattering its body into pieces, instantly killing it.
This was just the attack from one security member; meanwhile, all the other security personnel made the same move.
Dozens of beams of light slammed into the Abnormal Rat swarm, more than half hitting their targets, collapsing part of their formation.
"Continue attacking! Choose your targets freely!" The person who issued the command spoke again.
Immediately, all security personnel pressed the triggers again for a second time, another thirty beams shooting out toward the Abnormal Rat swarm.
The Abnormal Rat swarm’s formation lost another part.
However, after taking two hits, the rat swarm quickly reacted, letting out a sharp cry and scattering rapidly, no longer rushing straight but zigzagging as they advanced.
This extended the time the rats took to approach, but also made it much harder for the security personnel to hit them, drastically reducing their aim accuracy.
"Attack, full force attack!"
"Whiz whiz whiz!"
The team captain of the security personnel—a man with thick eyebrows—kept waving his hand to command. Under his shouting, beams of Light continued to fly out, and one Abnormal Grey Rat after another fell dead. However, in the end, nearly half of the Abnormal Grey Rats managed to get within ten meters of the train, practically about to pounce at any moment.
The man with thick eyebrows noticed, his expression grave, and took a deep breath, announcing, "Everyone, prepare for close combat!"
"Swipe!"
Not sure where the security personnel pressed on the metallic tubes, but the air at the ends suddenly gathered fiercely, compressed into a twenty-centimeter-long, dagger-shaped, radiant white Wind Blade.
"Phew!"
Another light beam shot out, hitting the last unlucky Abnormal Rat. At that moment, the remaining rats, mere meters away, began to leap toward the train.
"Kill!"
The man with thick eyebrows shouted loudly.
The security personnel immediately gripped their weapons with both hands, stabbing the radiant white Wind Blades at the oncoming Abnormal Grey Rats.
"Slash!"
The radiant white Wind Blade made contact with an Abnormal Rat’s body, instantly slicing through its fur and flesh. It then acted like a high-speed circular saw, effortlessly cutting through the Abnormal Grey Rat’s Bone, splitting it in half down its chest.
"Puff!"
A large amount of blood sprayed out, staining the carriage exterior and some parts splashing inside, reddening the floor. The Abnormal Grey Rat, as the main offender, was killed on the spot, falling to the ground like trash, into the dust.
"Slash! Slash!"
More Abnormal Grey Rats were cut open by the Wind Blade, letting out wretched cries as they fell off the locomotive, the air overwhelmed with the scent of blood.
However, occasionally, an Abnormal Grey Rat succeeded in jumping onto the train, squeezing in through the windows, causing a commotion inside the carriage.
The combat situation grew increasingly complex.
