Chapter 322: Targeted Outsiders
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 322: Targeted Outsiders
"I see..." Ninglan Qiuyue murmured. Hearing my blunt inquiry, she realized that further empty words would be useless.
A moment later, her tone became profoundly sincere.
"Teacher Xiao Han, I beg of you—save Ninglan New City. I cannot stand by and watch my father destroy it with his own hands."
"Sigh... First of all, what makes you so sure I can save the city? You must understand that I am merely an ordinary Outsider myself. Secondly, how do you know your father is destroying it? Perhaps he is simply saving Ninglan New City in his own way," I replied.
Her behavior was simply too illogical. Even if she wanted to seek help, why come to an unrelated person like me?
If she wanted to leverage the power of the Outsiders, guiding the targeted groups to rise up in resistance would be far more effective than relying on a single person like me.
Besides, shouldn't the most anxious person right now be Ninglan Qiuyu?
As the City Lord’s eldest son—and seemingly his only son and heir—he should be the one acting. Based on my understanding of him, he didn't seem particularly fond of us Outsiders, but he surely hated those Dream Demons even more. After all, they were the ones who had brought this great calamity upon the city. His father choosing to side with the Dream Demons should have him at his wit's end.
"No... it’s different. I know you possess great power. Every Outsider is a force I am trying my utmost to win over. Besides, you don't understand what the City Lord has actually done." At this point, Ninglan Qiuyue stopped referring to him as "Father" and used his title instead.
"He used the power of the Dream Demons to transform the City Guard into those... things. He claims it's to deal with the Nightmares and the Outsiders, but those guards who entered the dream have become nothing more than puppets. He is handing over the strength of Ninglan New City to others on a silver platter."
"Let me stop you there," I interjected. "You keep emphasizing how your father’s actions harm the city’s interests, but what do you plan to do? Overthrow his rule and... take his place?"
Ninglan Qiuyue’s pupils shrank at the words "take his place."
"Don't tell me... you didn't just have a sudden rush of blood to the head and decide to rebel against your father's authority, did you? Do you think this is still some game of house between father and daughter? You’d dare to lead us Outsiders to risk our lives against your old man?" My expression and tone were stern. If she didn't even have a final goal in mind, this wasn't a plan—it was a farce.
"This isn't just a rush of blood to the head!" she argued.
"Oh? So you do have a plan? But if I recall correctly... every Ninglan City Lord in history has been male. I don't know if your society favors men over women, but the sheer momentum of history suggests your claim to the seat would be met with immense controversy."
My words seemed to sting her, but I didn't care. If she couldn't handle a bit of verbal provocation now, how could she possibly shoulder the terrifying pressure that was to come?
"Boring." I looked at the silent Ninglan Qiuyue and gave my blunt assessment. I didn't want to waste any more time and prepared to leave.
"Wait, please don't go! Where are you going?"
"After hearing all that, I'm naturally going up to see the 'new scenery' of Ninglan New City for myself," I said with a smile.
"No, please don't! You are on the newly issued wanted list for Outsiders. If you go up there, you'll be besieged immediately!"
"Hmm? Wait."
I paused, feeling a sense of disbelief. I turned back to her to confirm. "I'm on the wanted list? Are you sure? Have I done anything harmful to Ninglan New City?"
"I don't know, but there is definitely something wrong with that list. According to what I learned from Miss Tan Han, it covers almost all the powerful experts from your Transcendent Academy."
"Oh~" I nodded. Hearing that, I think I understood. We had a traitor among the Outsiders. Otherwise, they couldn't have compiled such a targeted list to prune our strength.
They wanted to eliminate the troublesome opponents first. But we would see if they actually had the ability to do so.
"Now, I have one more question. What exactly are those City Guards relying on to expel or arrest us? I'm truly curious about that."
"I... I don't know the principle behind it. But the City Lord has mastered several methods. I heard they can completely annihilate Soul Essence, causing an Outsider to die permanently."
"Annihilate Soul Essence?!" I couldn't help but cry out in shock. How could such a method be mass-produced to deal with us?
Annihilating Soul Essence meant true, final death!
"Yes. The City Guards who enter the dream are fearless. Even if they die, their consciousness can reform. Even if you Outsiders are powerful, you are fighting a war of attrition against a dream where consciousness does not perish. They have the ability to wear down your lives, but you have no way to wear down theirs."
"So it's an infinite respawn strategy..." I nodded. It was essentially the "Fourth Calamity" rogue playstyle.
I had indeed overlooked a crucial question: what happens when one dies in the dream? Now Qiuyue had given me the answer—they simply respawn. This was a dream, not reality, after all. But now that the enemy possessed "true damage," things were indeed getting troublesome.
However... I was now very interested in this method of annihilating Soul Essence. They called it "annihilation," but who knew what the reality was?
If I could figure out the trick, a killing move that directly snuffed out Soul Essence would be terrifyingly powerful.
There was an eighty percent chance the City Lord got this method from the Dream Demons. After all, Dream Demons could feed on Soul Essence.
Of course, it could also be a pre-prepared part of the Abyssal Demon's plan. It was a clever calculation. But would the Academy Dean really just let them slaughter the students like this? This method was completely one-sided, and our side from the Main World had no way to fight back...
Wait, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. Nightmares were monsters that traveled between dream and reality. Did the deaths of those Dream Demons earlier... count as permanent deaths?
The dead Dream Demons showed no signs of reviving. Even with my Spirit Vision, I could see they were thoroughly dead; their physical information had turned into unrecognizable data and dissipated into the dream. Both times Dream Demons died, they died within the dream, which made me certain they could be killed!
Originally, this seemed like a fair fight to the death—perhaps even slightly disadvantageous for the Dream Demons. But now, the situation had completely reversed.
The Dream Demons had found a way to hide behind the scenes, letting the people of Ninglan New City go to their deaths instead.
And more importantly, there was the matter of morale.
The Outsiders were used to being reckless. Once the threat of true death was introduced, the contrast with their previous fearlessness would likely cause a massive psychological collapse for most, making them "cowardly" and "fearful."
They were used to not fearing death. Seeing their companions actually die before their eyes would be a massive shock to the freshmen who had just entered the Transcendent Academy. Many of them weren't prepared to die; they naively thought they were safe, believing that no one could actually die within the Academy's jurisdiction.
Lest we forget, a large portion of the people here were freshmen with no combat capability.
Once the method of annihilating Soul Essence became synonymous with the concept of death, it would become a symbol of deterrence—an irresistible force. Because resistance meant death.
It was the ultimate way to defeat an enemy without even fighting.
"Yes. So, you must not go to the surface right now. Stay in the Underground District; at least here you can..."
"Weren't you the one who wanted to rebel against your father? Wanted to use my strength? And yet your advice is for me to hide here? Heh." I let out a short, mocking laugh.
"That... actually, I want to move the people I trust to the Underground District. Even the City Lord would have to think twice before making a large-scale move against this area."
"But the Underground District isn't your personal kingdom either, is it?" I pointed out.
"I know that. But... I heard you applied for a project: the Nightmare Killing Weapon. You must have found a way to deal with the Nightmares, right? Compared to the City Lord who compromised with the Dream Demons, the Underground District's approach stands in stark contrast. Naturally, the Underground District is at odds with him..."
"That’s also far too optimistic. You are the City Lord’s daughter; would he really just let you act as you please? I remember you have a brother. What is he doing?"
"My brother... he is naturally the one most vehemently opposed to Father's actions. He has already had a falling out with him. Although the official family factions within Ninglan Township Castle are split, not many support my brother—at least not openly. The Dream Demons haven't just bewitched the City Lord; they've done the same to those other factions. Such low-handed tactics... it's shameful!"
"So, the core of everything you're working for is your brother?"
"More or less. If my brother tries to persuade him again and fails, I suspect he might..."
"Overthrow the current City Lord, take his place, and establish a new order?"
"Yes. Knowing my brother, he is capable of such a thing. Or rather... he has been waiting for an opportunity like this."
"Oh? I couldn't tell." I recalled my previous meeting and cooperation with that youth, Ninglan Qiuyu. He didn't seem like an ambitious type; he felt more like a hothead. Could someone like that really topple an old fox who had held the City Lord's seat for so long?
"I felt the same way at first..."
"So, what changed your mind about him?" I asked.
Since the old City Lord had chosen to ally with the Dream Demons, he had already become a target I needed to eliminate. I understood the stakes; I couldn't let the Abyssal Demons gain a single advantage.
Though I seemed to be bickering with Ninglan Qiuyue, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I was merely testing her limits and her attitude.
From the look of it, she was still a bit green.
"It was when I saw him learn how to hide himself..."
"Hide himself? Now that's interesting." Hiding one's emotions and thoughts, feigning weakness while biding one's time—that was the mark of someone planning something big.
The charge of patricide might be a bit difficult to handle later... but if it was framed as "executing a relative for the greater good" because the current City Lord had gone astray, the meaning would be entirely different.
"So, how do the ordinary people of Ninglan New City view the City Lord and the Outsiders right now?"
"The ordinary people... many of them have been plagued by Nightmares. Even those who haven't have heard of their terror. So, the people in the city still rely heavily on the City Lord's protection. Furthermore, the arrival of the Outsiders has caused quite a bit of trouble for the residents. When the City Lord deals with the reckless Outsiders, they actually cheer for it..."
"Oho~ No power and no popular support. Is your brother also planning to use the strength of the Outsiders to rebel?"
"Yes. So... the first step is that we need to make the City Lord's actions public."
"A war of public opinion. But that will be difficult. You can't just expose what the City Lord has done; it would directly shake the foundations of Ninglan New City and destroy the prestige of the Ninglan lineage."
"As my brother says, the labor pains are only temporary."
"True. If Ninglan New City can return to its former state or even progress further after these 'pains,' then it's worth it. But that's a big 'if.'"
"Alright, I'm done chatting. My stance is that I have no stance. Regardless, I should thank you for bringing me here. I don't usually provide help to those in desperate need—most people don't. Only when you prove your own value will you attract more people to jump on the bandwagon."
"I see..."
"Yes. I just hate trouble."
"By the way, I want to ask you a question on behalf of someone else."
"Oh? Who? Tan Han?"
"Yes. She... said she has some things she wants to discuss with you privately. She asked if you would give her the chance."
"If it's just a chat, sure. Why, are you planning to bring them down here soon?"
"Yes. Also, she said that if you refused, I should tell you that what she wants to talk about is something deeply personal to her, not a request for you to do anything. That's about it."
"Is that so? That's fine then. I'm not that difficult to get along with. I just don't want to respond to stupid questions. Many people already have the answer by the time they ask, which just makes me look like a fool or a clown."
"Anything else? If not, I'm heading back," I said. If Ninglan Qiuyue hadn't suddenly found me, I would be looking for Sister Bai right now.
But as I had hoped before, I didn't mind Qiuyue coming to find me frequently. She could bring a lot of useful or interesting news from the surface.
Even if she eventually brought me troublesome dilemmas to choose from, like she just did, I didn't mind. Such choices weren't difficult for me; I was simply curious to see how far people facing hardship would go to achieve their goals.
This Ninglan Qiuyue didn't seem as simple as she acted.
"I might have some other things to attend to here. In any case, I apologize for the intrusion."
"It wasn't an intrusion. Everyone has their own choices. If possible, I'd like you to tell me more about the situation outside. I'm quite interested."
"I will. Next time, if everything goes well."
Watching Ninglan Qiuyue's departing back, I fell into thought. I had intended to push the script's development myself, but it seemed those Dream Demons were a step ahead of me. It looked like I needed to go up and see the situation for myself. But before that, I had to talk to Sister Bai. I hoped she would support me.