Nightmare Despair

Chapter 31 Blood Tide

As the blood beetles surged, the rain that had enveloped the town of Soraka gradually subsided.

The occasional thunder and flashes of lightning had all fallen silent.

The entire region sank into boundless darkness amidst the rustling sound of insect limbs rubbing together.

Apart from……

chap!
The crisp sound of shattering glass was particularly jarring amidst the monotonous buzzing of insects.

A faint blue light shone in the endless darkness, flickering and instantly drawing the attention of all those who could perceive the area.

Amidst the watchful eyes of countless lurking figures in the darkness, Zhou Kai, covered in shattered glass and thick blood, crashed heavily to the ground near that single lamplight.

boom!
A cushion of rotting flesh and bones crashed into the swarm of insects, splashing black sap everywhere.

Zhou Kai used the cushioning force to roll over, and when he landed, there was a series of crisp, crushing sounds as he stepped on the carapace.

With his current physical condition, using the parasitic corpse as a buffer, he could jump from the second floor and immediately proceed to the next stage of his plan.

So he didn't pause for a single frame, dragging the nearly crushed corpse as he ran wildly.

"Seventy meters, let's give it our all!"

The warning in Morning Star's Notes made Zhou Kai very vigilant. He knew very well that it was best not to take the chance of being resurrected and seek death lightly.

Anyway, at this moment, I am not necessarily in a situation where I am doomed.

Zhou Kai held the Moonbeam Amulet tightly in his hand. The faint blue light that should have been there shone brightly under the stimulation of the Blood Beetle!
The icy blue light spread outwards like a ring of hot oil.

Any blood beetle that came into contact with the light shrieked in agony, emitted white smoke, and curled up into a charred mass.

Several birds that were clinging to Zhou Kai and couldn't escape in time were shrouded in white mist and withered and died on the spot.

This isn't a hopeless situation... as long as we get back to the shelter before the amulet burns out!

With a sudden burst of strength, Zhou Kai's arm veins bulged and muscles swelled as he flung the corpse high into the air and carried it on his back.

Then, he strode forward toward that one last hope.

tread!
tread!
On average, each footprint crushes eight or nine beetles.

The dense swarm of insects, like the Red Sea before Moses, parted a path for Zhou Kai to reach No. 777.

Amidst the mixture of mud and insect carcasses, Zhou Kai was on high alert, his adrenaline surging, and the whole world seemed to slow down.

The buzzing of insects, my own heartbeat, the sound of the wind...

Everything seemed distant. Only the door before me remained crystal clear.

On the contrary, his speed was astonishing.

My body felt like it no longer belonged to me; every movement was so precise, as if it had been calculated.

Carrying a corpse of equal weight to himself, he ran through the mud with incredible speed!
Last second.

At the moment the amulet began to flicker, just before it was about to burn out completely.

Subtitles flashed before Zhou Kai's eyes.

[A magical flow experience, light steps experience points +5]

[The power of the blood tide yields to you... Universal Experience Points +1]

His speed suddenly increased dramatically in an instant.

It was this very addition that caused a giant hand, covered in bluish-black scales and with nails as long as short blades, to emerge from the darkness and grasp at nothing!
bang...

Zhou Kai slammed open the shelter door and tumbled inside.

The door is open.

The fire in the fireplace inside the door suddenly flared up, and a wave of scorching heat mixed with warm red light rushed towards us!

laugh--

The giant hand looked as if it had been doused with concentrated sulfuric acid; its skin instantly blistered, charred, and emitted wisps of blue smoke.

It paused for a moment, then slowly retreated into the darkness with resentment.

Zhou Kai threw the corpse on the ground, drew his two-handed sword, and turned back with a ferocious expression.

"This is my territory, get out!"

With a hoarse growl.

Bang!
The heavy wooden door slammed shut, shutting out the cold night and despair.

Amidst the endless swarm of blood beetles, Moonlit Orchid No. 777 grows like an isolated island in the sea.

Divine power protects this place, and the blessed furnace roars with fire.

Evil and despair are temporarily kept outside a certain area.

temporary……

……

call……

Huff... Zhou Kai gasped for breath.

Separated by a door.

Before me lay the warm glow of a fireplace, behind me an endless, dark, cold night.

Zhou Kai had been hoping the rain would stop, but when the damned rain finally stopped, he missed the continuous sound of the rain.

"If the rain stopping means a surge of blood, then it's better if it keeps raining!"

Zhou Kai took a while to catch his breath before his wildly beating heart and rapid breathing gradually calmed down.

He listened intently through the door; outside, he could hear the eerie sound of countless insects layered upon each other, their carapaces colliding and rubbing against each other.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the underground Moonlit Orchid, these insects always kept a distance of one to two meters from the sanctuary.

But the insect swarm was no longer Zhou Kai's biggest worry...

What he fears more now are the other monsters that gradually gather around him after they realize he is there.

Those things could very well break down the door!

Zhou Kai gripped his two swords tightly, ready to fight to the death at any moment.

Several minutes passed, but no impact was heard from outside the door.

Zhou Kai breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems my previous judgment was correct; the so-called "territorial law" is in effect when the flames are raging.

Some monsters won't rashly invade their sanctuary...

"But what about the wanderer? The second floor... is it because the fireplace doesn't provide enough light?"

"Or is there another reason?"

Zhou Kai frowned and glanced at the dark staircase leading to the second floor.

I'm not going out tonight.

Just in case, he'd better keep an eye on the second floor, which isn't illuminated by the fireplace.

"Now... it's time to fertilize the plants."

Zhou Kai dragged the sword in one hand and grabbed the corpse with the other, walking towards the basement.

The nursery was a brick pool raised above the ground, filled with so-called "clean soil".

The entire nursery covers an area of ​​approximately fourteen square meters.

Zhou Kai's Moonlit Orchid was planted only in a small area, about the size of a palm, in the lower left corner.

After this experience, Zhou Kai finally realized the importance of the Moonlit Orchid and the nursery.

Because of the blood tide, a fireplace alone is simply no match for this endless nightmare!

He dug into the soil and threw most of the monster's remains into the nursery.

"Should we divide it into pieces? To make it easier to absorb."

While Zhou Kai was hesitating about whether to chop the fertilizer into smaller pieces...

The moonflower in the corner of the nursery trembled as if it had smelled blood.

Countless spiderweb-like brown roots burst forth from the soil, twisting and climbing like a group of living creatures, instantly enveloping the corpse.

The roots pierced the rotting flesh, and the corpse shriveled up at a visible speed.

[With ample fertilizer, the Moonlit Orchid grows faster]

A short while later, a dialog box popped up on the nursery, and Zhou Kai nodded slightly...

It seems he doesn't need to worry too much; he just needs to throw the "fertilizer" onto the nursery.

……

There is no peaceful sleep in a nightmare.

This is an endless deadly predicament; one must remain constantly alert.

Zhou Kai frequently shuttled between the fireplace on the first floor and the nursery in the basement.

For the most rest of the time, he stood guard at the top of the stairs leading from the second floor to the first floor, practicing his swordsmanship while listening carefully, wary of anything creeping in from a corner he couldn't see.

"About five more hours."

Using the fireplace's fuel countdown timer to tell the time, Zhou Kai exhaled a heavy breath through his nose.

Morning Star's journal mentions that the blood tide will last for three to six hours...

Judging from the current situation, Zhou Kai felt that it would probably last for six hours.

Even if it isn't, it's not that different.

"Hopefully it will end soon... Moonlight Orchid can hold on, but Fireplace might not."

(End of this chapter)