Chapter 108: Armed and Ready
Reign slowly opened his eyes, only to realize he had overslept.
Despite his seemingly large energy pool he found himself inexplicably needing sleep. It was as if his physical body didn't require it, but some other force within him did.
Initially finding it odd, he brushed off the feeling when he realized it didn't typically with his activities. He just assumed it was a part of his biological needs.
Glancing around, he noticed something in the distance—the mine was still brightly lit despite the late hour.
Large spotlights illuminated the area, casting a glow over the road where trucks transported raw materials from the mining site to the processing area.
It was a clear indicator that this place was buzzing with activity around the clock, with workers swapping shifts to maintain production all the time.
Realizing this, he hurried toward the site where a small living area was set up, located a safe distance away from the mine to avoid the dangers of inhaling unrefined cobalt directly.
Though the distance was around 5 km from the edge of the mine, the terrain was flat, allowing him to traverse the area quickly with his current speed.
After reaching the place, he counted over 100 small houses scattered around.
Portable houses lined up, all made from modified containers, providing spaces good for 2-3 people.
He scoped out the area cautiously, ducking into the shadows as he strategized his approach.
Taking out a large number of people without being found out was his priority.
It would be a hassle if hundreds of humans suddenly started running in all directions, especially since they could use cars, making it impossible to track them down once they started fleeing for their lives.
He wouldn't face such a problem if he had a domain.
Regrettably, Summit City offered limited information on the matter, leaving him clueless about what to do next.
Details about demons were scarce in Summit City, mostly limited to basic knowledge and rumors.
To add to his frustration, there wasn't even a demon in Veiled Nights whom Reign could consult with for answers.
True, Veiled Nights does accept demons under certain circumstances, but most of them were found in Tier 1 cities, with the occasional presence in Tier 2 cities according to Byron.
As a result, Summit City lacked the expertise or resources to provide Reign with the information he needed.
'Slowly but surely,' he muttered to himself as he crouched in the corner, patiently awaiting the perfect opportunity. He decided to kill off his targets one by one at first.
Once the crowd thinned to around 200-300, he could afford to be more daring in his actions.
15 meters from him, he spotted a cluster of five people on the back of one of the portable house, they seemed relaxed, laughing and having a good time, blissfully unaware of the imminent death creeping up on them.
Reign slowly and carefully approached them, making sure to stay in the shadows.
Seeing an opportunity, he noticed one of them standing up and relieving himself in a dark corner.
Silently, he crept up from behind, using makeshift bone blade resembling an icepick.
Its unique design ensured that after stabbing his prey, blood would clot and bleed internally rather than externally.
This approach would make his killings much cleaner, a lesson he learned after witnessing the mess he caused at Cyril's family Mansion.
"Hey, stop bothering me," the man rolled his shoulder when he felt that someone was tapping on it.
"I said stop!" he exclaimed as he hurriedly zipped his pants and turned around, thinking it was his friend playing around.
But when he did, a cold, hard palm covered his mouth, and he felt a stabbing pain in his chest.
"URGH..URGH.. URGHH," he mumbled and struggled in pain, but the cold hand prevented him from crying out in agony.
After confirming the kill, Reign wasted no time, and devoured his prey quickly.
Thanks to his upgraded Bone Eater skill (I) - (IV) , the devouring process was now quicker than before , ensuring a seamless and efficient action.
The poor man died just like that, leaving behind only his clothing as evidence of his existence.
The other four, still laughing and enjoying themselves, didn't even notice that one of their friends was now gone.
They continued to laugh and gulped their cold beer, eat meat, and joke around, using the gathering as a way to relieve some of their stress from work.
Because of how oblivious they were, they did not sense someone jump from behind them and land on their table.
Without a paused , Reign shot his icepick blade directly in their hearts, instantly killing each one and absorbing them.
'That's one,' he chuckled to himself, feeling that this was somehow a good start.
He then proceeded from one house to another, ensuring not to cause too much commotion.
[Level Up + 1]
Reign finally heard the sound of leveling up after killing around 140+ people, most of them where sleep and did not realized that they were killed off.
However his easy going strategy came to an end when a loud sound alarm echoed in the area.
"So they finally noticed," Reign sighed as the alarm rang much sooner than he had anticipated.
Seeing people start to run out of their houses, he immediately changed his plans.
"Monster!!!"
"Help! a monster!!!"
"Run! Run! Run!"
Screams of fear filled the air as Reign began his massacre .
Without remorse, he ended the lives of those nearby, their heads severed from their bodies with each flick of his arms. While his claw bullets took out anyone within range, leaving no chance for escape.
As the casualty count rose, armed guards arrived in a military-grade vehicle, its mounted machine gun ready for action.
However, they hesitated to open fire, because they were too many innocent civilians blocking Reign .
"What's the plan, sir?" asked a guard, his finger hovering over the trigger, wary of the potential collateral damage.
Opening fire would risk the lives of numerous bystanders caught in the crossfire.
The commander of the guards furrowed his eyebrows, feeling conflicted.
Many of the people caught in the chaos were familiar faces, adding to his uncertainty about what action to take.
But if they just stand there, the monster will close in on them, putting their lives at risk.
"Open fire once that goddamn monster get closed, then help the survivors, load them onto the truck, and let's get out of here," he ordered.
When Reign finally reached their striking distance, four vehicle with machine guns opened fire on him.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The powerful sounds of the machine-guns echoed loudly, filling the air with their thunderous bursts.
In response, Reign grabbed a live human and hurled them at the vehicles , repeating the action multiple times while dodging .
The bodies slammed into the vehicle with sickening thuds, making the guards felt intimidated and disgusted.
One unlucky gunner met his end when a body collided with his gun, the force of impact causing his head to snap back violently, resulting in instant death.
"Not good," the commander exclaimed, ordering a retreat.
But before he could do so, Reign began shooting at their vehicles. The projectiles he hurled had enough power to penetrate the metal exteriors, killing the people inside.
"Jump out and scatter!" he ordered, realizing it would be dangerous to stay inside.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
As they retreated, some guards began shooting with their rifles while backpedaling to slow the monster in front of them down. However, it proved to be too fast and agile for them.
In reality, Reign was capable of tanking all those bullets, but he decided to dodge them instead to conceal his true abilities.