Chapter 336: The Dream Demons Who Hit a Wall in the Underground District
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 336: The Dream Demons Who Hit a Wall in the Underground District
"Dream Demons?"
Hearing my words, Bai Yu looked surprised. She instinctively moved to shield me behind her. Even though she had personally killed a Dream Demon before, she didn't dare be careless when facing another incursion.
I looked up at the ceiling. Just by counting, I could see five of them, and there were likely many more hiding in the shadows.
Their presence here was certainly unexpected.
The Dream Demon I had previously resurrected and killed repeatedly had given me information suggesting they didn't value this place. By the time they realized its importance, it had already been sealed off.
That one had followed Ninglan Qiuyue down here, so these ones were...
Either that Dream Demon had lied to me, or they had found a way to invade by retracing the path Ninglan Qiuyue took. After all, they didn't possess a Dream Rewriting Spell like mine; for them, the boundary between dream and reality wasn't so easily blurred. To get down here, they needed a physical passage. Even if they tried to dig by hand, it would take forever to reach this depth.
"Xiao Han, let's pull back for now. If this many Dream Demons work together, their methods will be troublesome for us," Bai Yu suggested.
"But look at their stance—their target is the Ley Line, isn't it? If they sever it, Ninglan New City will vanish from atop these ruins."
"Do you want to save them?" Bai Yu asked.
"Just making an observation. This was their own mistake," I said, shaking my head. "Let's go. We need to notify the people at the research base."
These Dream Demons were very likely brought down by Ninglan Qiuyue. Even if she didn't lead them here directly, she was undoubtedly involved.
They must have learned that the Ley Line's root network was exposed here and went to great lengths to reach it.
As a branch of the Abyssal Demon transcendent race, Dream Demons might be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of raw combat power, but they didn't lack the insight inherent to a transcendent race.
They understood the concepts of Luck and Scripts. They knew the influence a Ley Line had on a world, and they were well aware of how vital this Ley Line breach was to Ninglan New City.
However, based on the intelligence I had, if the Dream Demons wanted to seize the Luck of Ninglan New City, they needed to wait for the transition between the old and new City Lords. Only when the Luck was in flux could they use a Destruction Ritual to steal it.
Therefore, the Dream Demons had at least two reasons not to completely destroy the Ley Line breach right now.
First, it wasn't time for the transition yet. The new City Lord's ascension wasn't marked by the departure of the old one, but by the inaugural speech and the city-wide announcement. The previous Dream Demon had also mentioned that they needed the new City Lord to be under the gaze of the citizens to seize the Luck, as the people represented the city's collective Luck.
If they destroyed the Ley Line early, Ninglan New City would be consumed by the impending energy tide. Without the counter-pressure of Ley Line energy, the city would be gone. What would be the point of a new City Lord then?
Second, if the resistance army led by Ninglan Qiuyu was currently overwhelming the Dream Demons, they could use a "base-trade" threat as a final trump card. Destroying the Ley Line now would be a mutual suicide pact, inviting a desperate final counterattack from everyone in Ninglan New City.
So, this move was either a deterrent or a probe, but definitely not an act of total destruction.
The Dream Demons' next actions confirmed my suspicion. They stopped their assault.
"Let's go. To the base," I said.
Even without my warning, a commotion this large would have been enough to alert the Ground Patrol and the base staff. If they could tolerate someone sneaking into their backyard like this, they were truly something else.
But when we arrived at the base, we found it looking as if it had already been overrun.
"Oh? What's this... two more little cuties? You look like Outsiders. How should I address you?"
"I've only been gone for how long, and you've already taken control of the base?" I didn't bother answering. I had no interest in talking to these creatures, nor did I care what they were called. In this place, the only good Dream Demon was a dead one.
"Heh, they're just a bunch of defenseless ordinary people. With our Dream Demon methods, dealing with them is as easy as snapping our fingers."
"I suppose... how many of you came?"
"Still asking useless questions? Shouldn't you be more worried about your own situation?"
The speaker chuckled, her tone mockingly concerned. Then, several more Dream Demons emerged into our field of vision. Numerically, they held a decisive advantage.
"Xiao Han..."
"It's fine, Sister Bai. Don't you trust me?"
I spoke softly to soothe Sister Bai's worried tone, while instinctively preparing for battle. In terms of raw combat power and destructive potential, we held the upper hand. The only tricky part was their ability to phase between dreams and reality.
"Haha! Give up! What, do you really think you can win against this many of us? You poor Outsiders... you'll have to just watch us from the other side of the dream. Watch helplessly, unable to do a single thing."
One of the Dream Demons even had the audacity to walk right up to us.
"Two beautiful Witches. Witches... what a... pity." When she mentioned the word "Witch," a flicker of fear crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a twisted pleasure as she faced us. It was the classic bullying behavior of a coward.
It seemed the so-called Abyssal Demons had been "visited" by Witches before; otherwise, she wouldn't have flinched at the mere mention of the word. That fear wasn't for us specifically, but for the title "Witch."
"A pity? A pity for what? That you won't be able to attend your own funeral?" I drew my long-unused magic wand and pointed it at the Dream Demon closest to me, launching a lethal spell.
"Focusing · Fireball Spell."
I opened with a killing move from my derived Basic Shaping Chapter. I aimed right for the Dream Demon's forehead. It was so fast she didn't even have time to react.
Without the suppression of a Great Weakening Spell, the blazing Fireball Spell was terrifying. Using the Focusing derivation technique, I compressed it into a single point and fired. The high-temperature beam instantly vaporized more than half of the Dream Demon's body. She was obliterated before a single drop of blood could even splatter.
"Do it!"
I shouted to Sister Bai. Though she was startled by my decisiveness, she gave me her full support the moment I made my move.
With a wave of her hand, she pulled a long sabre from a ritual array. Strengthening spells surged, and runes glowed as they etched themselves onto the summoned blade.
With two simple slashes, she unleashed a chilling, sharp aura that cut down another Dream Demon who had tried to retreat into the dream world out of fear.
"No... Impossible! You're not Outsiders?!"
Seeing the situation turn so rapidly, the Dream Demon who had been gloating earlier felt a chill run down her spine. She reached a desperate conclusion.
They refused to believe I was just an Outsider.
"Wrong answer. Have a Fireball Spell!"
I lunged toward the most talkative Dream Demon. A Fireball Spell condensed in an instant. The searing heat left her with no doubt that I could interfere with reality. Faced with such an assault, she had no choice but to retreat into the dream to avoid the brunt of it.
The Fireball Spell passed through her phased body and triggered a violent explosion at the entrance of the Beyonder Research Base.
"Haha! So what if you're in reality... if you have the guts, then—"
Before she could finish, a hand clamped around her throat. Feeling her life held in a literal stranglehold, the Dream Demon finally panicked.
"Sorry, but I actually do have the guts." I shaped my other hand like a pistol. A moment later, a Focusing Fireball Spell punched through her head, and her body dissolved into dream bubbles.
"Come on! Let's see what you Dream Demons are really made of."
After eliminating her, I flicked my hand as if shaking off filth.
I turned to face the remaining Dream Demons. In the next heartbeat, my clothes transformed into a set of magnificent Witch robes. The sleeves and hem were loose and flowing, and my Witch cape was embroidered with mysterious runes.
By overlapping my dream consciousness with my physical body in reality, I could easily interfere with both planes. My Dream Rewriting Spell simply overwrote my original clothing in the physical world.
Finally, my signature Witch hat appeared in my hand, and I placed it firmly on my head.
This was the true posture of a Witch. The moment the hat was donned, the image of a "Witch" instantly triggered the deepest, most primal fears in the hearts of every Dream Demon present.
"A... a Witch!" one of them stammered, her voice trembling. The previously arrogant demons turned and fled instantly.
"That's it? You're just going to run?"
Sister Bai and I immediately gave chase. The tables had turned in an instant. It happened so fast that once they lost their greatest advantage and their composure broke, they lost all will to resist.
It was much easier to shatter their mental defenses than to beat them into submission.
I raised my wand and locked onto my targets. Casting simultaneously in both dream and reality, my spellbook drained mana to fuel the most aggressive Shaping spells. I laid down a terrifying barrage of intercepting fire. Whether they hid in the dream or stayed in reality, they couldn't escape the onslaught.
"Witch! If you keep chasing us, I'll kill everyone here!"
"I'm an Outsider. Think carefully before you try to negotiate with me. Do you really think I care if these people live or die?"
"No! Don't kill me... No!" Caught in the crossfire of my Mayfly Spells and my relentless pursuit, the Dream Demon at the back of the pack let out a desperate plea for mercy before dying within the dream.
"Witch... don't push us! At worst, we'll take everyone down with us!"
"The Ley Line is in our hands! If we destroy it, Ninglan New City will be wiped off the face of these ruins!"
"You'll be the greatest criminal in the history of the city! You'll implicate all the other Outsiders who came with you, and they'll kick you all out!"
"What a joke. You're the ones destroying it. Naturally, I'd just kill you first to 'avenge' them."
I watched them head toward the Ley Line. Their threats were as harmless as being hit by a beanbag.
"Then you can see if they believe you! Those stupid natives will only vent their rage on you!"
"Oh, then go ahead and chop it! Go see what happens if you destroy the Ley Line!"
"You!"
They had never encountered someone so shameless. Weren't people like me supposed to be on the side of "justice"? Shouldn't I be desperately trying to stop their sabotage?
This attitude of total indifference...
"Go ahead and try. I've already killed five of you. I'll give you five chances to attack it. Once you've had your fun, I'll kill one of you for every additional strike you take." I spoke in a flat, bored tone. "Oh, wait, I almost forgot. You already took a few swings earlier. Sorry, your free trial has expired."
"You!"
"Is 'you' the only word you know? If you have the balls, do it. Let's see if a sixth Dream Demon dies the moment you land a sixth blow on that Ley Line."
"You monster! You really are a Witch!" The demon gnashed her teeth as if she wanted to eat me alive, yet she didn't dare move a muscle.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Damn Witch, do you really think having power means you can do whatever you want?"
"Actually, yes. Having power means I can do exactly what I want. If you hadn't raided the Underground District, I wouldn't have even bothered coming down to play with you. Did you really think your situation was going well?" I spread my arms and mocked them openly.
"Damn it... I knew a place as important as the Ley Line wouldn't be so simple. I didn't expect you to be here..."
"Aha, I suppose that makes sense. But would you believe me if I said this was all a coincidence?"
"Heh... a Witch's word is never to be trusted. Do you think I'd believe you?"
"Fair enough..."
Hearing that familiar sentiment made me feel like I was back at the Dream Exchange Competition. Had the Witches' reputation already spread to the bottom rungs of the Abyssal Demons?
If the entire Void knew that a Witch's word couldn't be trusted, that would be quite troublesome.
"So... the situation is clear. Leave the Underground District, or I can't guarantee I won't change my mind and wipe you all out."
"Heh, we might not be able to threaten you, but there are many of us! Your threats are equally useless! We'll keep using this Ley Line as leverage. I don't believe you'd truly be indifferent if we destroyed it!"
"Are you sure? If you destroy the Ley Line now... how exactly do you plan to steal the Luck of Ninglan New City?"
"You! How do you know about that!"
Neither my previous threats nor the deaths of their companions had shocked them as much as me exposing their plan.
"I'm not an idiot. Why wouldn't I know? As long as you still want to seize the city's Luck, you'll be even more desperate than I am to keep this Ley Line intact."
"You're just guessing! What kind of joke is this? Why would we care if the Ley Line breaks? Impossible!"
"Is it?" I listened to her forced, defensive tone and suddenly laughed. "Then let's just say I'm guessing."
I looked down. The commotion and the magical battle had naturally attracted a large crowd of onlookers—the type who valued a good show over their own lives. However, what I was really looking for were the security personnel from the research base and the Ground Patrol.
They were a bit late, but people were finally emerging from the base. That meant the Dream Demons hadn't completely neutralized everyone inside. Now that they had a moment to recover, they were immediately shifting into a combat-ready state to deal with the invaders.