Chapter 406: The City of Death and the Desert
Chapter 406: The City of Death and the Desert
It's here!
At the moment the Gray Mist Giant embraced the Six-Layer Nightmare, attempting to squeeze in, even without any apparent signs, everyone in the Nightmare World sensed the presence of the Nightmare King.
If one had to describe the sudden eerie feeling that gripped their hearts, it was like a rabbit grazing, spotting the shadow of a hawk on the ground, or like sailing in the vast ocean, witnessing a massive shadow approaching underwater.
Even without an actual crisis, the mere sound of alarm was enough to make their hearts sink.
If the Nightmare King arrived first, I'm afraid it would be too late to save anyone...
As the surroundings suddenly became lively, as if welcoming something, the Scorpion Chief, standing atop a city tower shrouded in smoke and dust, frowned slightly. He then raised his hand and snapped the neck of the pale human puppet beside him.
"Crack!"
Accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking bones, a frail woman among the crowd trying to escape through the city gate below the tower let out a scream. Her scarred, slender neck twisted to the side, mirroring the broken neck of the pale puppet.
Strangely, even with her neck suddenly broken, the frail woman did not die. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders, supporting her head, and ran towards the crowd with sickly faces.
Unfortunately, before she could take two steps, a slender bloodied sword pierced her chest, impaling her to the ground and pinning her there.
With her death, the city tower beneath the Scorpion Chief began to move eerily.
The crowd scattered in terror; a black-robed doctor with a peculiar bird-beaked mask shouted; soldiers behind wooden barricades prodded intruders with long poles;
Blackened corpses lay intertwined, the dirty streets filled with the fallen; and outside the city, the crematorium emitted white smoke day and night, having burned countless bodies of the diseased.
This city, dragged into death by the plague, mirrored the movement of a stone thrown into a lake, as if the shadow of the frail woman's death rippled across the city.
The next layer of the nightmare should be the Sand Dune Colossus's desert, right? After killing the Plague Maiden, who was responsible for guarding this layer of the nightmare, and temporarily breaking the 'Plague City' nightmare, the Scorpion Chief, with a weary expression, narrowed his eyes at the dimly yellow and scorching lower dream realm. With a sigh of regret, he stepped into the endless desert below, holding onto his last hope.
Upon learning that Lyon had voluntarily entered the dream realm, the Scorpion Chief rushed downwards without hesitation, passing through three layers of nightmares in an attempt to reach him as soon as possible. But it was already too late.
Compared to himself, who needed to kill the corresponding world's nightmare to escape, the Nightmare King, as the ruler of nightmares, could move freely through all nightmares at will.
In the instant it touched the Six-Layer Nightmare, it had already located Lyon's position and could travel directly without hindrance, arriving at his nightmare in an instant.
Facing the Nightmare King, reinforced by both the Dream Realm and the Abyss of Fallen Souls, and fighting in his home turf within the nightmare, the Scorpion Chief, without the Star Palace's blessing, feared a challenging battle.
With Lyon's Third-Class Cleaner abilities, even with numerous trump cards, they would likely be crushed. The Nightmare King's desire to kill him was as easy as squashing a bug.
What a waste of a promising talent... Sigh... This was the fate of many Cleaners.
...
Recalling Lyon's actions, the Scorpion Chief sighed again.
The more stubborn and risk-taking a Cleaner was, the greater their potential and the faster their growth. In the past, there were even records of rapid promotions within five years, directly becoming a Bureau Chief.
Unfortunately, the more exceptional the talent, the more prone they were to irrational actions due to intense emotions, often leading to premature demise during missions with incompatible anomalies. Few survived.
And just like Leon, who could maintain his rationality and calmness despite his intense emotions, he was a promising young man. With steady progress and hard work, if he continued for another decade or two, his future would be limitless.
But that damned Olivia, she completely failed to fulfill her duties as a Commissioner. How could she allow a Third-Class Purifier like him to meddle in a mission of true deity-level difficulty? It was truly...
The Scorpion Director's expression darkened as he shook his head in disappointment. He waved the rapier in his hand, slicing through the dim yellow outer wall of the Dream Realm, and voluntarily entered the Endless Desert, the domain of the Sand Dune Colossus.
"Boom!"
As the Scorpion Director left the damp and chilly Plague City, where rain curtains lingered, and entered the scorching desert under the blazing sun, scorching heat waves rushed towards him, instantly drying the remaining moisture on his body.
When the Scorpion Director adjusted to the temperature change, he looked around through the heat waves that distorted the horizon. In the distance, a somewhat familiar figure suddenly caught his eye.
It was... Leon?!
The Scorpion Director's eyes widened as he saw Leon, who was frantically fleeing with the Snow Maiden on his back, and the Gray Mist Giant behind him, emerging from the sand dunes over a dozen miles away.
Damn it! Why in the vast Endless Desert? It's too far away!
Having discovered Leon and the Nightmare King's traces, the Scorpion Director activated some anomaly, causing his lanky body to fall backward. The shadow beneath him stretched eerily, extending for over a thousand meters until it was abruptly cut off by a huge, sunken sand pit.
Then, the Scorpion Director's elongated shadow snapped back, and when he stood up, he had instantly crossed a thousand miles, standing directly in front of the giant sand pit.
I have to catch up! Maybe I can still make it in time!
Without bothering to brush off the sand, the Scorpion Director reactivated the anomaly and was about to move again when he suddenly realized that both the Gray Mist Giant and Leon had disappeared without a trace. They were nowhere to be seen in the sand dunes over a dozen miles away.
It was just a mirage...
Gazing at the distant, empty sand dunes, the Scorpion Director's expression turned solemn.
This mirage, similar to a sea city, was a 'specialty' of the Endless Desert, a Nightmare. It was caused by the fallen scales of the Sand Dune Colossus, which, through the dream realm, created a refracted light that showed people what they most wanted to see, luring them towards their goals.
However, once enticed by the mirage, one would continuously lose water while moving, eventually perishing in the boundless sand sea, becoming a mummified corpse buried in the yellow sand. Although the vision was not fake, it was impossible to truly reach it.
"Huff..."
With a disappointed sigh, the Scorpion Director turned back towards the way he came and reactivated the anomaly for his journey.
Let it be a mirage...
Judging by the environment in the mirage, Leon should also be in the Endless Desert. This desert, named 'Endless,' was the most expansive of the six Nightmares, larger than the combined area of the other five. It was too late for the Scorpion Director to reach Leon.
Since he couldn't save him, the Scorpion Director decided to use the mirage to witness Leon's fate, a duty he felt as a fellow Cleaner.
With this thought, the Scorpion Director elongated his shadow and returned to where he had entered the Endless Desert. He solemnly gazed at the location where the mirage had appeared, but...
"Huh?"
In the mirage, Leon punched the Nightmare King's foot, causing the Gray Mist Giant and the Nightmare King to distort their faces and scream in unison. The Scorpion Director's eyes widened in shock, almost popping out of their sockets.
"Huh?????"
(End of Chapter)
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