A different world game? A different world game!

"Hey! Calm down!"

Pan Shi grabbed Claw's shoulder and warned him in a deep voice.

"Look where you are! This is the Abyss! Those things are just 'local specialties' here!"

Following his direction, Claw saw something that even more shocked him about his "professional bottom line".

At the entrance of a pawnshop with a sign that read "Twisted Demon Horns," several mercenaries were struggling to drag the corpse of a massive demon that resembled a hellhound but had three heads.

The corpse was still dripping steaming black blood.

On the side of the pawnshop, piles of various demon horns, claws, tails, and thick, scaly hides were stacked as high as a stack of firewood.

A dense, almost solidified, blackish-purple mist swirled around it, emanating a strong demonic aura.

If this were in the main world… Claw felt his temples throbbing.

This is no longer evidence that needs to be investigated; it's a demon's slaughterhouse and wholesale market.

Shadowy Green's gaze swept over this bizarre and chaotic Abyss Market, brimming with the primal energy of trade.

His expression was hidden behind the metal mask, but his fingers, which were pressing on his waist and tracking the short blade, were also turning white from the force.

Clearly, he was also forcibly suppressing the intense discomfort brought on by his witcher instincts.

The pastor leading the way seemed unfazed, calmly walking through the bustling crowd.

Their journey, though brief, was filled with sights and sounds that challenged their established perceptions and instincts for order.

When they finally made their way through the chaotic yet vibrant market and arrived at the entrance to the relatively quiet and tidy Night Watch residential area, the team members all instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

Claw glanced back at the still bustling, demonic street, then looked at his teammates with their varied expressions.

Finally, his gaze fell on Yingzong, and he grinned, revealing a smile tinged with exhaustion, shock, and a hint of helplessness:

"Boss...it looks like it'll take us a damn long time to get used to the 'rules' of this godforsaken place."

The pastor continued, "Do you see those strangers?"

“They are not the Night's Watch, and I believe you can tell that as well.”

Aside from those avengers who slaughter demons purely out of a desire for revenge, the main targets of ordinary soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, and the like are actually these materials, which are readily available in the abyss.

However, some slightly better materials can fetch an extremely high price in other worlds, especially these perfectly processed materials.

These are immense riches; only such wealth and benefits could motivate so many powerful individuals to willingly participate in the bloody war within the abyss.

The priest's words were like a key, slightly unlocking the minds of the Claws, which had been locked by their professional instincts and sense of shock.

Claw wrinkled his nose and forced himself to look again at the mountains of demon remains and the busy vendors.

This time, he observed more calmly and indeed noticed some differences.

Those seemingly randomly piled-up carapaces, feathers, and claws mostly had smooth and clean breaks, and the remaining flesh and blood had been cleaned up relatively well.

At the edges of some stalls, devices emitting faint purifying energy were operating silently, dispelling the most stubborn chaotic aura from the materials.

Although the air was still filled with the strong smell of sulfur, blood, and the stench of the abyss, the "goods" themselves seemed to have been cleaned up very well.
At the very least, it has been stripped of its potentially lethally chaotic core and transformed into a usable "resource".

"Damn...it really is..." Claw muttered under his breath, his tone complicated.

It feels like a hunter seeing the beast he's hunted his whole life turned into pelts and chunks of meat in someone else's hands—absurd yet carrying a cold sense of reality.

After all, demons are quite troublesome in the main world.

But this is an abyss.

Demons are everywhere, and they're still using sheer numbers to their advantage.

The nightingale nodded silently, her eyes showing less disgust and more scrutiny.

The pastor seemed pleased with the subtle change in their attitude and said no more.

He led them through the bustling edge of the market and towards the outer perimeter of the fortress.

The air seemed to suddenly become heavy and oppressive.

The edge is just ahead.

The towering metal city walls, like the spine of a silent behemoth, stretched out before us.

It stands twenty or thirty meters tall, its surface covered with thick armor plates and metal plates gleaming with defensive runes.

Various alchemical cannons, automatic crossbows, and energy emitters were densely packed on the battlements and protruding gun emplacements like steel thorns, their cold muzzles pointing obliquely at the sky and the filthy wilderness outside the city.

Just by getting close, one can feel an invisible pressure, as well as a stronger smell of gunpowder and a faint burnt odor in the air than in the market—the traces left by the frequent operation of energy weapons.

"This is...our city wall?"

"Island," Pan Shi asked in a deep voice, looking up at the heavily armed steel wall, his eyes revealing a professional assessment.

This was far more extravagant than any fortress they had ever seen on the Leviathan continent.

“Yes, it’s part of the ‘defense line,’ and also the boundary of Blood Pit Fortress,” the priest replied, with a hint of pride. “Go up and take a look; the view is excellent.”

They climbed the city wall along the wide ramp.

When their feet finally landed on the shoulders of this giant constructed of metal and rock, the vast and brutal panorama of the abyss battlefield was revealed to them for the first time without reservation.

Below the city wall, instead of the moat or open space one might imagine, lies a vast, chaotic yet orderly "processing area."

As far as the eye can see, there are rolling "hills"—mountains of corpses piled up layer upon layer of countless demon corpses!
Various bizarre and sized remains of demons were roughly dumped and piled up here, forming nauseating "landscapes" that exuded a strong stench of decay and burnt smell.

The air here became thick and scorching, and the smell of sulfur mixed with the burning flesh was so strong that it almost made the stomach of the claws, which had just begun to adjust, churn again.

Countless ant-like figures darted among the mountains of corpses.

Strong, multi-armed races dragged massive hook chains, pulling mountain-sized demon corpses toward a fixed area;
There were "butchers" dressed in simple protective suits and wielding sharp cutting tools.

On the makeshift platform, they deftly dissected the corpse, skinning, removing horns, and deboning it with dazzling speed, like workers on an assembly line.

Piles of pre-processed materials—shells, claws, bones, internal organs, and certain types of demon organs are quite valuable.

Many organs, and even viscous blood, were sorted and piled together, then transported by small transport vehicles or handcarts to nearby packaging areas. Further away, a vast caravan camp could be seen, with pack animals and transport wagons laden with sealed boxes of demonic materials lined up in long rows.

Under the watchful eye of armed guards, it slowly drove away from this land of death, heading towards the interior of the fortress or towards the outside, where the only place outside was the Bloodbath Fortress.

This place is a giant, highly efficient factory that uses death as its raw material, far exceeding the “retail” scene they saw in the market.

"By the gods above..."

Nightingale's voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from being shocked by the pure, unadulterated treatment of the demon's corpse.

The drowsiness vanished completely, and his sharp eyes scanned the hellish scene below.

The pastor's voice rang in their ears, calmly introducing the topic.

"It wasn't like this before, but now they call this place 'Harvest Plain,' hahaha."

"It is also the first 'barrier' outside the fortress. Every attack by the demons leaves their 'offerings' here."

"These materials are a key source of support for the operation of the fortress, motivation for mercenaries, and provision of vital supplies to allies."

"See those processing points? Their skills are truly superb. Even with the most chaotic demon variants, they can identify the most valuable parts and remove useless contamination in the shortest amount of time. This is experience gained at the cost of countless lives and blood."

Claw's gaze swept beyond the massive "slaughterhouse" and the bustling camp, reaching further into the distance.

At the edge of the horizon, the horizon was occupied by another massive city wall, even larger and more rugged in style.

It is like an ancient behemoth lying prostrate on the filthy earth, silently resisting the impact from the deeper darkness.

There, the faint flashes of energy beams piercing the dark red sky could be seen, and the muffled, thunderous explosions echoed from afar.

"That's the outermost line of defense."

The pastor pointed into the distance.

"The front line of the battlefield. You've come at a good time. Six months ago, when the demons' offensive was at its fiercest, you could see from here the overwhelming tide of demons crashing against the city walls."

"However, the battlefield has now been moved beyond that city wall. As arranged, you need to stay here for a few days to adapt to the environment and pass the basic assessment before you can go over there."

Claw nodded silently, feeling a dryness in his throat.

Everything he saw today, from the chaotic market to the factory of corpses, and then to the blood-and-fire barrier in the distance, was constantly pushing the limits of his understanding.

The sheer scale, brutality, and distorted "order" of the Abyss Battlefield made even this self-proclaimed well-informed demon hunter feel an unprecedented sense of insignificance and an indescribable excitement.

They stood silently on the city wall for a while, feeling the cold steel beneath their feet and the faint pulse of the distant battlefield, until the priest signaled that it was time to go down.

Before going down, I saw an alchemy machine start up and fire a shot into the sky.

It appears that some flying demon has been shot down.

Leaving the city walls and returning to the interior of the fortress, the priest led them through several relatively quiet passages until they finally arrived at an area.

The architectural style here instantly felt familiar—simple, efficient, and modular, bearing the distinct design imprint of the Night Watch, with clean and crisp lines in the metal and stone, and alchemical streetlights emitting a steady white light.

The air was no longer filled with the mixed stench of the market, but with the faint scent of disinfectant and air freshener.

Most importantly, the omnipresent, clinging whispers of the abyss and the chaotic will were reduced to a minimum here.

It was almost identical to the environment of the main world they were familiar with.

The cool sensation from the calming stone ring on my forehead became even purer, as if a heavy shackle had been removed.

"Hoo..." Claws let out a long, truly relaxed breath, feeling his tense nerves finally get a chance to breathe.

Nightingale, Rock, and Sleepy also showed obvious signs of relief.

“This is the Night's Watch’s private quarters,” the priest said, stopping in front of a two-story building constructed from prefabricated metal modules. “Number B-17. Both floors are designated for your squad’s use. The upper floor is for rest and living quarters, and the lower floor is for equipment maintenance and the squad meeting room, with a separate storage room next door. Your information has already been entered into the access control system.”

The priest handed them several access cards.

"Take a good rest and get used to it. The fortress has facilities such as a canteen, training ground, and tactical database, all of which can be used with your access card."

"Remember, the barriers of order are most effective within the residential area, so make the most of this time to recover your energy. You will be notified of any further arrangements."

After saying this, the pastor nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Shadow used the crystal card to open the heavy explosion-proof alloy door, and a breath of purified air with a slight warmth rushed in.

The five-person team filed in.

The door closed behind him, completely shutting out the clamor and filth of the abyss.

The room lights automatically turned on, soft yet bright.

Standard night watchman's dormitory layout:

The simple metal bed, the built-in storage cabinets, and the small air vents working silently.

There was even a small simulated sunbathing device in the corner.

Everything felt so familiar, so normal.

Claw ripped off the helmet and took a deep breath of the "fresh" air, which had almost no sulfur smell, as if he wanted to replace all the filth accumulated in his lungs.

He looked around at this "cozy" temporary stronghold, and then recalled the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood he had just seen on the city wall and the distant war fortresses. An extremely strong sense of separation arose spontaneously.

He walked to the window, pushed open the inner protective panel, and looked outside through the thick bulletproof glass.

All that can be seen are other similar buildings and quiet streets within the residential area, while the hustle and bustle of the market and city walls in the distance seems to come from another world.

“Damn…” Claw leaned against the window, looking at the orderly scene outside that was actually deep in the abyss, grinned, and once again let out that complicated sigh, “This damn place is really fucking weird.”

Nightingale had already begun checking the room's facilities, Rock silently placed his heavy gun against the wall, and Sleepy simply collapsed onto the nearest bed, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Shadow stood in the center of the room, his eerie green gaze sweeping over each team member before finally settling on the false tranquility outside the window. His expression behind the metal mask was unfathomable.

The first lesson in the abyss, the education about chaos and order, death and survival, has only just begun.

Their demon-hunting careers are about to undergo a new and unknown trial in this most brutal crucible. (End of Chapter)