Chapter 609: Pre-Battle Meeting
Chapter 609: Pre-Battle Meeting
"Ladies and gentlemen, within the depths of the Snow Crystal City, there lies an unimaginable danger!"
A rotund cleaner from the Pisces Division spoke with a grave expression:
"As you all know, our Pisces Division was founded by the first Pisces Director, and we've inherited a great deal of her legacy. Among these legacies is an anomaly named the Soul Compass, specifically designed to monitor the Dream Realm, Shadow Realm, and Death Realm—these 'non-material realms'.
This anomaly is displayed opposite our Director's desk. I saw it once when I went to submit a report. The warning light for the Dream Realm on the compass has been constantly lit, and its location corresponds precisely to the deepest part of the Soul-sink Abyss. It must be the Snow Crystal City!"
"I've also heard some information about the Snow Crystal City."
After the Pisces Division cleaner shared their knowledge, a cleaner from the Aries Division stepped forward, looking slightly anxious, and shared their experience:
"Recently, a large-scale disaster seems to have occurred in the Dream Realm, causing countless nightmares to escape and linger in the real world, invading the dreams of many people and trapping them within their dreams, unable to wake up.
Our Aries Division Director has assigned numerous temporary tasks, sending us second and third-class cleaners with anomalies provided by the headquarters to expel these escaped nightmares from the Dream Realm.
During the expulsion missions I participated in, many nightmares, once locked onto by the headquarters' Dream Needles, would cry out in desperation when forced to leave, pleading with us not to do this to them, saying they didn't want to return to the Snow Crystal City..."
"I've also received similar tasks..."
"Me too!"
"The nightmares I encountered said the same thing!"
"That Snow Crystal City is definitely not a place of goodness!"
After the Aries Division cleaner shared their experience, a total of eighty-odd cleaners stood up, all stating that they had carried out similar tasks and had heard of the reputation of the Snow Crystal City from the nightmares.
It is said that this dreaded lair, feared by countless nightmares, was built upon the ruins of the Nightmare King's palace. It is a place of blood-red gore and chilling, snowy whiteness. If one were to approach within a certain range, they would be subjected to a terrifying, corrupting melody, causing severe mental pollution.
The de facto ruler of the Snow Crystal City is the Snow Maiden, one of the seven Nightmare Messengers under the Nightmare King. After the king's death, she managed to escape back to the Dream Realm, but for some reason, she seems to have been tainted by the aura of some extremely terrifying existence.
It is said that anyone who gets close to her will feel an overwhelming pressure, almost enough to shatter their soul. Even other Nightmare Messengers dare not approach her. When a Holy Spirit, sent by a True God to inquire about the situation, came within five steps of her, they couldn't bear the immense pressure and trembled, kneeling on the spot...
"..."
The Snow Maiden had left an impression...
After hearing these various rumors about the Dream Realm, Lyon, with a peculiar expression, couldn't help but open the panel to look at the hidden golden badge he had obtained after allowing the Dream-devouring Armor to feed on the Dream Realm.
[Nightmare of Nightmares: You, who are extremely insane and completely disregard consequences, even willing to destroy an entire world for momentary relief, have become the most feared nightmare in the Nightmare King's heart.]
[Equip Effect: Feared deeply by the Lord of Nightmares, you are now equivalent to standing above all nightmares, and no nightmare has the right to affect you.]
[Evolution Path: None]
[Hidden Trait (No Equipment Required): As the infamous villain who plans to annihilate the entire Dream Realm, your notoriety will echo throughout the Dream Realm. All beings below the True God level will experience immense fear upon merely sensing your presence.]
So, the so-called mind-corrupting brainwashing melody that erodes souls is probably the Snow King's March that Snow Maiden heard from me. As for the terrifying presence, it likely originated from the Director, who borrowed the Nightmare Invader from me and gave it to Snow Maiden.
That thing was my main Anomaly for a long period, and it carried a lot of my aura, which could also trigger the effect of the Nightmare of Nightmares... Hmm... Or perhaps Snow Maiden, who had been secretly traveling through dreams while carrying my aura.
...
"So, let's put it to a vote!"
Just as Leon was listening to the gossip and analyzing the situation in Snow Crystal City, the temporary meeting of the Cleaners was drawing to a close.
Among the Cleaners, excluding the cannibalistic pervert, the most powerful Cleaner, "Death," whose body was shrouded in mist, spoke up:
"I believe we can accept the Goddess of Dreams' conditions. The power of the Nightmare Messenger is similar to that of an ordinary Holy Spirit, and I, along with Abigail from the Scorpio Bureau, are both veteran Third-Class Cleaners. We have the ability to kill a Holy Spirit in a one-on-one situation or even fight against two Holy Spirits at once.
Aside from the two of us, there are over ten other veteran Second-Class Cleaners, like Rudy from the Taurus Bureau and Ashima from the Aries Bureau, who can each hold their own against a Holy Spirit in a one-on-one situation. With a little coordination, we might even be able to take down a Holy Spirit in a multiple-on-one scenario.
After the Nightmare King is killed, there are no True Gods in the Soul-sink Abyss, and the Nightmare Messenger, similar in power to a Holy Spirit, is already the highest level of combat strength. Twenty Holy Spirit-level Anomalies against seven Holy Spirit-level Cleaners is a clear advantage for us."
"Well... It's hard to say."
A Cleaner from the Aries Bureau stood up, hesitantly offering a reminder:
"Mason, we believe in your abilities, but even if the high-level combat strength is similar, the numbers are still vastly different. There are countless millions of nightmares in the Soul-sink Abyss, and with just four hundred of us, it might not be easy to handle them!"
"Why not just avoid them?"
The silver-armored man who was knocked down by Leon within five seconds of the second examination began, spoke confidently:
"My ability can be used on others. Even if the effect is limited when spread among four hundred people, it can still boost our speed to a level where ordinary nightmares can't catch up. If we rush in, we can quickly pass through the Soul-sink Abyss where nightmares dwell and reach the deepest part of Snow Crystal City.
The aura on Snow Maiden will make ordinary nightmares want to flee instinctively, so there are probably only a few elite nightmares in Snow Crystal City, and that's already a good thing."
"I was thinking the same."
The horned man, who had been knocked down by Leon, also stood up and added with narrowed eyes:
"At that time, we can split into two groups. Those of us who can handle Holy Spirits will surround and kill the Nightmare Messenger, while the rest will deal with the elite nightmares and block the entrance to Snow Crystal City, blocking any ordinary nightmares that might be forcibly summoned for support.
Although the number of nightmares is almost infinite, this kind of defense won't last long, but as long as we defeat the Nightmare Messenger quickly, everything will be fine."
(End of Chapter)
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