With a swift slash, a burst of black light erupted. Three or four massive Dream Wraiths were cleanly sliced in half at the waist, and a swath of gray, violet, and blue Dream Wraiths were instantly slaughtered alongside them.
Yet, at that moment, I felt my blade strike something incredibly hard—it was the orange Dream Wraith. With one hand, it gripped my Deathbane Aura.
In the instant I was shocked, the orange Dream Wraith suddenly darted toward me, its palm outstretched, eyes glaring at me with vicious intent.
My mind instantly understood its intention. But just as the orange Dream Wraith’s hand was only three or four meters from my cheek, a burst of fire erupted with a roar. I screamed in pain, instinctively flapping my wings and taking flight.
Agony flooded my consciousness as I clutched the left side of my face, now burned away. Just then, I sensed something flying toward me from afar, so I hurriedly flapped my wings and soared higher.
Sharp icicles slammed into the city wall, shattering on impact. Glancing not far away, I spotted another orange Dream Wraith, which surprised me.
My mind felt as if it were being stabbed by needles, the pain unbearable. Gunfire erupted behind me. Turning my head, I saw people from the other three city gates rushing over. With their advantage in numbers, they quickly cleared the Dream Wraiths off the wall.
The chaos was temporarily suppressed. Because when I descended just now, Dream Wraiths from all directions lunged at me, buying some time for those above.
"Ethan, hurry back!"
Susie shouted. I flapped my wings, preparing to return, but at that moment, I sensed something amiss through the Specter Web. I quickly drew a black longsword and slashed downward. It was another orange Dream Wraith—how did it get so close to me? I only sensed it through the Specter Web.
My black longsword was caught by the Dream Wraith, its grip creaking with immense strength. Pulling my black aura blade toward me, it seized my wrist. Instantly, Deathbane Aura surged from me, transforming into spikes that stabbed at it.
"Watch your back!"
Susie shouted again. I was restrained by this orange Dream Wraith, agile as a monkey, unable to turn around. My Specter Web clearly sensed an attack from behind—sharp icicles.
"Vermilion Bird!"
I shouted loudly. In that instant, it felt as if every nerve in my body was scraped by blades. My consciousness throbbed with pain as crimson flames erupted around me.
With the Vermilion Bird’s cry echoing, I flapped my wings and dodged immediately, then drew the Phoenix Blade and hacked fiercely at the Dream Wraith grabbing my foot.
The orange Dream Wraith clutching my foot was struck by a massive burst of flame and fell downward. I seized the chance to fly back to the city wall. As soon as I landed, Susie dropped her weapon and hurried to me. I gave her a smile, and she stared at me in astonishment.
"Your injuries?"
"It's nothing. It'll heal soon."
The burns on my cheek and the wounds on my body gradually healed, ignited by the crimson flames.
At that moment, for reasons unknown, the Dream Wraiths beneath the city wall began to retreat. They stopped their assault, turned away, and ran.
Gunfire gradually faded, and the Dream Wraiths’ silhouettes slowly disappeared into the distance. The grasslands below were a scene of devastation—every barrier and fence destroyed, the ground pockmarked with countless overlapping footprints.
I gasped for breath, staring at the dim sky. There were no cheers; everyone’s faces were ashen with despair.
"Someone come with me—let's go out and repair the city gate, reinforce it."
Henry Cole, drenched in sweat, came over and called out. He looked exhausted, and the residents resembled walking corpses. Only a dozen or so followed Henry, who tied a rope to the city tower and slid down.
But now, not a single person wanted to go down. Even those who followed Henry stared fearfully at the ground below.
"Come on, someone get down here!" Henry shouted again, but all the residents remained indifferent. Susie walked over angrily, and I followed her.
"Ethan, go rest. You look exhausted."
She was right. My mind was utterly fatigued, desperately needing rest. After a moment’s thought, I didn’t follow Susie down, instead leaning against the city wall, watching the residents.
After just the first day’s siege, there were barely any survivors left at the East Gate. Of over five hundred, fewer than a hundred remained. Fear was slowly turning into despair, and many left the city wall, heads hanging low.
There was no idle chatter. After this battle, after witnessing everything, I could sense that the last shred of hope in their hearts had vanished.
"Brother, come to the West Gate."
John Chou’s voice echoed in my mind. I walked slowly down the city tower and headed west. Today, the Dream Wraiths attacked only the East Gate, leaving the other three untouched. I still didn’t know why.
All I wanted now was to escape this suffocating atmosphere. I had no intention of speaking to the residents; after all, everything was their choice. No matter how much I said, as John Chou put it, centuries of habit wouldn’t change easily.
The only thing I could do now was pursue my goal: restore peace to this world. And there was Old Moe’s situation, too. Red Path had said it was Old Moe who incited Ouyang Meng’s Hundred Ghosts to rebel. The most reasonable solution might be to deal with Ouyang Meng. Beyond that…I dared not think further.
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I arrived at the West Gate—no one was there. Looking around, I spotted a two-story building and walked over. Inside, John Chou sat in a wide chair; Nolan was nowhere to be seen.
"Where’s Nolan?"
"Don’t worry, brother. That kid—I’m down here."
John Chou pointed to the floor. I walked over and knocked—it was hollow.
"There are many rooms like this here, heh, seems they were specially built as a precaution by someone."
John Chou stood up, walked over, and patted me on the shoulder.
"Brother, you look terrible. What’s wrong? Did you see something?"
"People."
"Exactly, brother. People are always selfish, aren’t they?"
"Was it you who got the people from the other three gates to come help?" I asked again. Thinking it over, it was likely John Chou.
"I just told them if they didn’t come, none of them would survive the night, that’s all. After all, they don’t want to die!"
I sighed. There might be only about 150 Dreamborn left now. Last night, many died on the city wall. Oddly, as if it had been foretold, all the Dreamborn gathered at the East Gate. I found this strange.
"Only Nathan Ouyang, that old fox, knows which direction the Dream Wraiths will attack. He’s aware of a lot, but pretends otherwise!"
I thought so too, but now Nathan Ouyang’s whereabouts were a problem.
"Where is that old fox now?"
John Chou shook his head.
"No idea. From the moment the attack started, he vanished right under my nose!"
"Even your ghost network couldn’t sense him?"
I looked at John Chou intently. After he nodded, I sat down.
"Maybe on the third day."
John Chou said cryptically. I let out a sound of surprise and asked, puzzled:
"What about the third day?"
"With Mona Ouyang’s current abilities, she can only control the Hundred Ghosts until the third day. After that, she’ll lose her grip. Tomorrow will be even tougher. Didn’t you notice the orange Dream Wraiths are the real commanders?"
As John Chou said this, I realized it too—the other Dream Wraiths were all being directed by something.
"The Endbringer’s will has already spread—the Dream Wraiths are simply carrying out its orders," John Chou said, pausing before continuing.
"Brother, you’d better go take a look outside. I need to figure out how to find Nathan Ouyang."
I nodded and left the room, heading for the East Gate. Since John Chou wanted me to check outside, something serious must have happened.
I got closer to the East Gate. Suddenly, I heard gunshots and felt a surge of anxiety. I rushed over. The residents’ faces were filled with anger, surrounding the stakes where Nolan’s father and his villagers were tied. Only Susie stood in front of them, arms spread wide, trying to protect them.
Looking around at the residents, I saw AK-47s in their hands. They were shouting that the deaths were the fault of traitors, refusing to admit that such losses were inevitable.
Henry Cole was shouting at the side, brandishing an AK-47 and facing off against the residents. My own anger was about to erupt—how could they still act this way at such a time?
"Step aside, execute the traitors!" As one resident shouted, others joined in, their cries for execution growing louder.
"Shut up, all of you!" I roared, slowly floating into the air. Wisps of black energy, like curling smoke, pointed at the residents.
"If you don’t mind, you can die here tonight. It’s better than being eaten by the Dream Wraiths tomorrow…" I paused, a cold smile on my face, then continued.
"I’m not joking. Take one more step, and face the consequences…"