Chapter 13: Nightmare
At dusk, the setting sun on the horizon was like blood. Outside the Alliance, in the western Great Swamp region, stood the Ghost City.
Ghost City was originally the main city established by the Soul Ghost Clan after they invaded this world. However, after being dealt with by the Alliance and the Northern Empire, the Soul Ghost Clan, also known as the Ghost Clan, completely abandoned this place. This led to the area becoming a lawless land, a den of iniquity where dragons and fish mingled together. From a certain perspective, this place was actually the lair of the Dark God Cult.
At this moment, inside an underground palace within Ghost City, the hall was shrouded in darkness. On a high platform at the back, a figure coiled there. This was the leader of the Dark God Cult, known as the Controller·Sirvis, also called the Abyss Lord·Sirvis.
With the faint light filtering down from above, one could see that the upper body of Abyss Lord·Sirvis was that of a human, while his lower body was like black mud, resembling a thick serpent's body coiled on the platform.
At this moment, the human upper body of Abyss Lord·Sirvis had its eyes tightly shut. Although his physique was robust, his complexion had a sickly pallor. His long black hair drifted freely, while his lower body, like black sludge, occasionally opened one eye after another. These eyes would close after a few seconds, only for others to open in different places. The pupils of all these eyes were formed by chaotic overlapping rings.
Suddenly, the cheek of Abyss Lord·Sirvis twitched stiffly. After his right eyelid trembled a few times, his eye opened. This didn't feel like a natural opening of the eye, but rather like two invisible hands forcibly pulling the upper and lower eyelids apart—stiff, and with a chilling, unsettling strangeness.
A Dark God Cult bishop clad in a black robe quickly stepped forward, slightly bowing as he awaited the command of Abyss Lord·Sirvis.
"Go find, tell, the betrayers. Their Law Annihilation has arrived."
Abyss Lord·Sirvis uttered these words in a stiff tone. All the eyes on his lower body, like a twisted black serpent, opened wide. Just as the ring-shaped pupils within these eyes began to turn dark, a translucent blue light appeared in one of the ring pupils. The next second, with a *pop*, a healed sword wound on Abyss Lord·Sirvis's sludge-like body burst open, and fine blue arcs of electricity surged near the wound.
The facial expression of Abyss Lord·Sirvis contorted wildly. He opened the eyes on his head, which were now uneven in size, giving a strong sense of stiffness and disharmony.
"ROAR!!!"
A roar mixed with a black energy tide spread through the underground palace. On the stone platform, Abyss Lord·Sirvis's right arm stretched out, and with a *squelch*, it plunged into his own lower body of black sludge. He grasped the hilt of a blade inside and began to pull it outward, which caused him to let out continuous, agonized roars.
*Humm~*
Blue threads extended from the long blade, connecting to every part of the black sludge body. The more Abyss Lord·Sirvis pulled the blade outward, the more pained his expression became, to the point where his upper body even appeared to have an afterimage effect—a sign that the flesh and soul of his human part were beginning to separate.
Finally, when Abyss Lord·Sirvis could bear it no longer, he had to release the blade, which he had only pulled out halfway. A miraculous scene occurred: the long blade sank back into Abyss Lord·Sirvis's black sludge body on its own, and the blue meridians redistributed themselves within.
The human part of Abyss Lord·Sirvis gasped heavily for air, sweat dripping down in droplets. He looked as if he had been drenched in water.
"Law Annihilation!!"
The roar of Abyss Lord·Sirvis echoed through the underground palace, causing the entire structure to tremble for a moment before stabilizing.
...
Holy City, Tulip Hotel Banquet Hall.
After a full day of striking hard at the Dark God Cult, it was naturally time to celebrate as night fell. Therefore, several representatives of the Golden God Cult organized this evening banquet.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, Eileen, Dray, Silver Mask, Veronica, and others were at one table, while Amu was at the neighboring table, the one with the Old Dean and Tessa.
"Commander, why don't we call Amu over to our table?"
Veronica, who was enjoying some sweet shrimp, spoke up, glancing at Amu sitting at the next table without eating.
"Sitting at the same table as Amu, you won't get enough to eat."
Baha's wings moved like hands as he spoke, his speed of wolfing down food not slowing in the slightest.
"How is that possible? Look, Amu isn't even eating. Is he shy?"
Veronica, with a bit of shrimp skin on her finger, pointed at Amu at the neighboring table.
"Cough~, huh?"
Baha turned his head to look at Veronica with a look of concern. Veronica responded with a middle finger, a gesture clearly learned from Baha.
Was Amu shy? Of course not. When Su Xiao told Amu to sit at the neighboring table, he instructed Amu to sit there quietly for at least five minutes before starting to eat. Now, the time was up.
A waiter passed by the table of the Old Dean and Tessa. The waiter noticed the atmosphere at this table was a bit off. Taking a closer look, he saw the table was completely empty. Cold sweat ran down his back. These guests had waited so long, and it seemed they hadn't been served any food. Such negligence would certainly result in a deduction from his end-of-month salary.
Before long, plates of delicious food were brought up. The members of the Golden God Cult who organized this banquet were currently at a large table in the main banquet hall next door, clinking glasses with several Alliance high-ranking officials, unaware of how staggering the bill for this meal would be.
It wasn't until ten o'clock that, under the streetlights, Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat of a car, his hand holding a cigarette resting on the open window. Baha, on the car roof, yawned and said, "Is Amu still not done eating?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Amu walked out of the hotel. He squeezed into the back seat and let out a satisfied burp.
"Amu, full."
Amu was in a good mood and even spoke voluntarily.
"Drive quickly, let's go!"
Baha quickly flew into the car. Veronica, who had just woken up in the driver's seat, didn't know what was happening but instinctively started the vehicle.
When the car reached the backstreet district, Veronica's expression grew increasingly serious. She rubbed her own full stomach and tentatively asked, "Commander, where are we going? Find a hotel in the backstreet district to stay?"
"No, we're going back to the Asylum."
"Can... can we go back tomorrow?"
As she spoke, Veronica had already slowed down the car.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, which made Veronica's expression on the driver's seat even more conflicted. She drove the car into a warehouse and saw, in the corner, the chandelier she had ridden here on.
A moment later, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha stood on the teleportation array, ready to return. However, Eileen, Dray, Silver Mask, and Veronica all stood outside the array.
"Dean, do you have any important business tonight?"
Eileen asked.
"No."
"Is that so? Then I'll drive back. Veronica, you drive for me."
"Okay!"
Veronica agreed as she got into the car. Before Dray and Silver Mask could come up with excuses, the car had already driven out of the warehouse.
*Boom!*
The spatial teleportation was complete. In the bedroom connected to the office, Dray rushed into the office and then bolted out the door. Before long, the sound of Dray's dragon-like roar came from the washroom in the hallway.
Silver Mask, a top-tier assassin, calmly walked out the door. As soon as he reached the hallway, he had to lean against the wall. He rested there for a long time before moving forward, his steps as slow as Kingsley's aunt.
Su Xiao sat alone in the office. Eliminating Vice Dean·Yesinger today had clarified the current chaotic situation. Not only that, but he also received a kill notification.
[You have killed Vice Dean·Yesinger.]
[You have gained 10.7% World Source.]
[You have gained Ambition Box (Special Chest Item).]
...
Although Vice Dean·Yesinger had no combat power, his status and his role as a core figure in this confrontation warranted such a kill notification.
In Su Xiao's view, compared to these gains, pushing the eager Dawn God Cult back to the Holy Orchid Kingdom was the biggest reward.
During this cooperation with the Old Dean, Su Xiao found that this old man, despite having no combat power, was practically an encyclopedia of this world's factions. Thinking about it, managing the Asylum so well without any martial power meant he must be exceptionally outstanding in other areas.
Compared to Tessa, the Old Dean's intelligence channels were weaker, but they were stable and could be freely mobilized. Unlike Tessa's side, only one of the three promised favors remained.
This was normal. Tessa was neither Su Xiao's subordinate nor a close ally. They were partners, with equal standing. Naturally, she wouldn't help Su Xiao for no reason, especially when their interests weren't aligned.
Tessa had been so cooperative in the Parliament building earlier because of her deep-seated hatred and animosity towards the Dark God Cult.
Having dealt with the Dark God Cult today, Tessa was naturally in a good mood. However, there were also some things troubling her, namely her rebellious younger sister, Alisa. As a new generation member of the Mono family, her sister Alisa was indeed a bit spoiled by the elders.
The good news was that Alisa had recently made rapid progress in her supernatural cultivation, to the point where Tessa was somewhat astonished. She even suspected that her sister might be targeted by something like an ancient soul, so she casually chatted about some questions only her sister would know. This seemed like idle talk, but if anything was off, Tessa, as the leader of the Hunters, would immediately notice.
The result was reassuring to Tessa. Her sister was fine, still her rebellious but beloved sister. As for the rapid progress in cultivation, if there were no further issues, Tessa had to admit that her sister was the strongest genius she had ever seen. This made Tessa, known as the strongest in the Alliance, feel both extremely happy and a little sour.
These were the things Tessa, slightly tipsy, told Su Xiao while hugging his shoulder tonight. The more Su Xiao listened, the more silent he became. His 'adopted daughter' really knew how to choose.
Without even thinking, Su Xiao knew that the change in Tessa's sister was due to Crimson Red. Moreover, Crimson Red was symbiotically bonded with Alisa. Without Alisa's cooperation in hiding, letting Crimson Red hide inside her heart, it would be impossible to fool a powerhouse like Tessa.
Her sister's change made Tessa happier than dealing with the Dark God Cult. Half-drunk, she didn't talk about commanding the capture of Abyss Spawn or apprehending Hatred and the Mind Master, but about her sister's rapid progress.
Not only that, but during their drunken chat, Tessa inadvertently mentioned something. In the westernmost Ghost City, the stronghold of the Dark God Cult, a formidable new-generation figure had emerged, known as the Dark Saint.
Hearing this news, Su Xiao knew that his rebellious son, Black A, had developed well. For Darkness, Ghost City was indeed an excellent development location. It was a chaotic place, perfectly suited to Black A's style.
Thus, of the five Devourers, only Dark Sun, Sun Apostle, and Crystal Lady remained unaccounted for.
There was no rush in this regard. The Devourers needed time to develop. After the development phase, it would be time for them to clash with each other.
Furthermore, through the Old Dean, the faction encyclopedia, Su Xiao learned about the situation of the Mysterious·Black Rose in the Holy Orchid Kingdom.
Currently, the Holy Orchid Kingdom was unstable. The new king was young, and power was in the hands of the ministers, the queen, and the high priest of the Dawn God Cult.
In simple terms, the Holy Orchid Kingdom was internally divided into three factions. The first faction consisted of several powerful ministers, all influential officials under the old king. With the new king's ascension, their best outcome was to gradually retire and enjoy their old age. However, this was easier said than done. After tasting the sweetness of power, few were willing to give it up voluntarily.
Therefore, the queen's faction approached these powerful ministers, promising that if they supported the queen, they could retain their power. Naturally, the ministers couldn't refuse.
As for divine power interfering with royal power, this had always been a problem in the Holy Orchid Kingdom. In a world where gods truly descended, suppressing divine power was extremely difficult. This highlighted the strength of the Alliance and the Northern Empire.
Currently, the Dawn God Cult also sided with the queen. It seemed the queen was powerful, but she was merely a puppet. The one truly wielding power was Black Rose, who had cultivated and supported the queen.
Calling Black Rose the queen of the Holy Orchid Kingdom was no exaggeration. By controlling the queen, she controlled several powerful ministers. As for divine power, the Dawn God Cult showed a sincere attitude. In the history of the Holy Orchid Kingdom, no king had ever achieved what Black Rose had.
Undoubtedly, Black Rose, the Mysterious on the Hunt List, was very difficult to deal with. In terms of combat power, she was above the Deceiver, the Usurper, and the Informer, ranking in the upper-middle tier among the six traitors. In terms of strategy, Black Rose was likely the strongest among the six traitors.
Su Xiao took out the Hunt List. Apart from the Deceiver and the Usurper, the hunting order was already set. First was the Informer, to prevent this guy, who could hide in nightmares, from causing any trouble.
Next was Black Rose of the Holy Orchid Kingdom. After dealing with her, he would go to the Desert Kingdom to find the Sand King (the Defector).
The reason Su Xiao wanted to find the Informer in the nightmare first was because the Old Dean mentioned a key piece of information: Lightless Island, or more accurately, Nightmare Island.
The Old Dean mentioned this because of the Golden God Cult. A long time ago, when the Deer God was still in this world, the prototype of the Golden God Cult was established, called the Ascetic Monastery. They didn't worship the Deer God as a deity but admired his will to constantly pursue strength.
The current core doctrine of the Golden God Cult, tempering oneself, originated from the Deer God. Before the Deer God left this world, he claimed not to care about these followers, but in reality, he left one of his two treasures, the Golden Jar, to the Golden God Cult. In fact, the name Golden God Cult came from the Golden Jar.
What was the Golden Jar? The answer was that the Deer God had killed many evil gods and collected their blood in this Golden Jar. Due to the immense divinity within, it produced what was called golden power.
In simpler terms, none of the current members of the Golden God Cult possessed golden power within them. Essentially, the ultimate goal of these people was to temper themselves to the point of possessing divinity.
In the war years ago, the Golden Jar was taken by the Northern Empire and later stolen. At first glance, this seemed like an excuse from the Northern Empire, but it was indeed stolen by a thief. That thief, a few years later, became the first Pirate King, ushering in the maritime prologue of the Four Seas Kings.
According to Alliance records, the final location of the Golden Jar was determined to be on Nightmare Island. However, this was useless. To reach Nightmare Island, one had to cross the Storm Sea, also known as the Dark Sea.
The Dark Sea, abbreviated as the Black Sea, appeared together with Nightmare Island. Years ago, an abyssal hole appeared in this world, during the era of Law Annihilation. After the abyssal hole appeared, dense abyssal energy, appearing as black liquid, poured down from the hole above, drenching an unnamed island. This unnamed island was now Nightmare Island.
After Nightmare Island was eroded by the abyss, the remnants were more evident in the nightmare areas on the island. The area truly severely affected by the abyss was the sea centered around Nightmare Island.
The seawater of this vast sea appeared black. The sea creatures within were invaded by abyssal power. The abyssal energy made them exceptionally powerful. In contrast, they were also extremely ferocious. Upon seeing a ship on the Black Sea, they would actively attack.
The horror was comparable to throwing a skinned cow into a pool full of piranhas. Anything that could float on the sea was a target for these dark sea beasts.
Years ago, the Pirate King, unwilling to give up the Golden Jar in his old age, was pursued and forced to enter the Dark Sea. By sheer luck, he reached Nightmare Island and sought refuge with the Nightmare King there.
Hearing the Old Dean mention the Nightmare King, Su Xiao remembered that he had once slain a Nightmare King. That opponent had used a weapon called Final Fall to create a small arena for a one-on-one duel. The only impression left was that the Nightmare King was indeed quite resilient.
Su Xiao thought of Nightmare Island for two reasons. First, there was a seventy percent chance the Informer was there, known as the Nightmare King on the island.
Second, even if the Informer wasn't there, the Deer God's Golden Jar was worth a trip. Regardless of its effects, the massive amount of divine source blood inside was what he wanted. Moreover, divine source blood had no expiration date. Calling it blood was more of a metaphor. It was more accurately described as source divinity, a rare energy exclusive to the divine system, which only divine beings could condense.
Su Xiao's thoughts became clearer. First, go to Nightmare Island at sea, then the Holy Orchid Kingdom, followed by the Desert Kingdom.
The problem was how to cross the Dark Sea. Su Xiao never gambled on luck in such matters. If he didn't prepare thoroughly, it would be a miracle if he could reach Nightmare Island by ship.
To cross the Dark Sea, a guide familiar with the area was necessary. The problem was that no Alliance ships went there. Only sea outlaws would risk going there for the supernatural materials produced by the Black Sea beasts.
After filtering through his options, Su Xiao found that such sea outlaws wouldn't be locked up in the Asylum; their crimes weren't that severe. There were no sea outlaws, but there was one Pirate King.
Su Xiao took off the ring on his finger and tossed it to Baha with a *clink*. "Go release Rage Shark."
"Do I need to put shackles on him?"
Baha caught the ring representing the Dean of the Asylum, tried to activate it, and put it away after confirming it was fine.
"No need. Just bring him back directly."
"Got it."
Baha flew off. He returned more than half an hour later, entering the office with Rage Shark.
"Sit."
Su Xiao pointed to the chair opposite the desk. Rage Shark looked around for a few seconds before sitting down, feeling very uneasy.
"Rage Shark, there's something..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Rage Shark refused, speaking in a tone ready to negotiate terms:
"No way, Captain White Night. I'm a pirate, a Pirate King who signed the Pirate Code."
Hearing this, Su Xiao called in Veronica, who had just arrived outside the door. Half a minute later, Veronica sat beside Su Xiao, her nearly 1.8-meter-long sniper cannon resting on the desk, the muzzle almost touching Rage Shark's forehead. Munching on some instant noodles she got from Bubu Wang, Veronica held the noodles in one hand and the gun grip in the other, her index finger on the trigger.
"Pirate, I'll give you a chance to rephrase."
Baha spoke from beside the desk, signaling Veronica to fire anytime.
Rage Shark, with his shark-like face, glanced at the dark muzzle, then smiled disdainfully. Relaxed and smiling, he said, "Dean, what are your orders? I, Rage Shark, will do my utmost. I was just joking earlier, livening up the atmosphere."
Seeing this, Veronica picked up the sniper cannon from the desk, the dark muzzle no longer aimed at Rage Shark. Silver Mask also withdrew the sharp arm blade pressed against Rage Shark's throat. Dray's close-combat gun cannon was no longer aimed at the back of Rage Shark's head. Finally, Amu's Dragonheart Axe was also removed from Rage Shark's neck, the blade letting out a soft ring.
Judging by Rage Shark's beaming shark-like face, he was clearly moved by Su Xiao's negotiation skills and willingly chose to become the navigator for this sea voyage.