Nightmare Despair

Chapter 67 Morning Star's Notes, Part 1
The tall willow-woven dolls wandered in the rain, their flames tearing through the town's gloom. The flickering flames tried to reach out to the outside world, but were swallowed up by an invisible barrier.

The town and its surroundings are like two folded worlds.

Beyond the nightmare lies an even deeper nightmare.

This small spark is not enough to illuminate the deeper darkness.

Within the town.

Wherever the firelight reached, the monsters that had been lurking in the shadows cowered and retreated, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.

Only Zhou Kai, dragging his long sword, went against the current like a moth drawn to a flame.

"We must learn to adapt to the darkness; the nightmares of the past should not have light. When the light of hope is exposed in the darkness, what it attracts, besides those who chase the light, is... monsters that intend to annihilate it."

As Zhou Kai drew closer to the walking natural disaster, a sentence from Morning Star's Notebook flashed through his mind.

If what Morning Star recorded was some kind of ironclad rule, then this thing in front of us is undoubtedly an anomaly... no, wait.

Zhou Kai's pupils contracted as he realized the key point.

The monster that intends to annihilate the light probably doesn't refer to these insignificant nobodys in town.

They are not qualified to challenge such an intensity of fire.

But there are things that are possible.

"For example... that giant hand that's as tall as a mountain!"

Zhou Kai quickly estimated the movement speed of the willow-twig men, the towering giant hand he had seen that day looming over his mind like a shadow.

A bold guess came to mind.

It's possible that the giant hand came looking for us by following the light from the willow man's fire.

"What has been will be again. It seems there is yet another reason to get rid of this thing."

Zhou Kai gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and charged toward the direction where the willow-wielding man was, his eyes resolute.

For the legacy of the Morning Star, to prevent this moving lighthouse from finding its own refuge, and to avoid attracting that giant hand.

We must all forge ahead!

As the distance closed, the thick willow weaving patterns became clearer, and the things imprisoned within and the flames became more visible.

Zhou Kai clearly saw that wooden puppet-like figures were struggling and burning inside the bodies of the willow-twig figures.

Their facial features were grotesque, and their limbs were twisted, making them look like living people being tortured.

Evil spirits! cult! wickedness!

Is this something your mother uses to pray for a good harvest? Praying for a good harvest in hell?
Just a meter away from the willow puppet, Zhou Kai took a deep breath, leaped up, and plunged his longswords into the side of the puppet's right leg.

This thing is too high; he has to create a foothold for himself so that he can reach the package in the shortest amount of time.

The silence was eerily quiet...

The only sounds were the hissing of raindrops hitting the flames and the crackling of the fire.

The willow man seemed oblivious to his actions.

Zhou Kai breathed a sigh of relief, but his vigilance remained high, and he dared not let his guard down for a moment.

In just two or three seconds, Zhou Kai had already climbed up the sword hilt and crawled to the vicinity of the flames using both hands and feet.

The closer you get to the flames, the more unbearable the heat becomes.

The corrosive heatwave assaulted Zhou Kai's face.

The hair was the first to suffer, instantly turning into charcoal and emitting a foul stench of burning protein.

Next came the clothes, and then the skin and flesh.

The excruciating pain surged like a tidal wave.

Zhou Kai's face quickly charred and carbonized...

However, the life force bestowed by Gastrodia elata suddenly erupted at this moment, and the healing ability of flesh and blood was forcibly stimulated more than tenfold.

New growths of flesh sprouted wildly beneath the charred skin, emitting a sizzling sound that sent chills down your spine.

Moonlight Orchid allowed his mind to remain absolutely clear and rational amidst the excruciating pain of being plunged into hell.

"Closer, just a little bit more!"

The armored hand reached towards the edge of the flames.

The jet-black metal was visibly glowing red from the heat... If it were flesh and blood that were extended towards it, the life force brought by the Gastrodia elata would probably not be able to withstand it and would immediately turn into ashes.

Zhou Kai had no time to marvel at the wisdom of upgrading his arm armor; he could only grit his teeth and endure the excruciating pain to extend another inch forward. Finally…

Just as the intense heat was about to burn through his arm armor and heat-resistant lining, and ignite his right arm, he grabbed the eerie package that seemed unaffected by the flames.

"got it!"

Zhou Kai, whose face was almost burned beyond recognition, temporarily lost his sight in the high temperature, but relied on his memory.

He quickly withdrew his longsword, clutched the burning hot package in his arms, and plunged headlong into the rain.

After rolling more than 100 meters in the rain.

The hissing sound of rainwater evaporating from the arm armor finally stopped, and Zhou Kai's eyesight was restored under the power of life.

This time, the cold rain actually helped a lot.

For the second time, Zhou Kai felt that the endless icy rain and the omnipresent chill were so endearing.

call!
He exhaled a foul, burnt breath, circled around, and headed straight for the shelter.

As for whether there will be monsters blocking the way...

"Victory charge!"

The marks on Zhou Kai's skin suddenly lit up, frantically draining all the remaining power in his body, and even some of the undigested medicinal power of the secret medicine.

The energy was transformed in an instant, and then poured back into Zhou Kai's body like a flood that had burst its banks.

It transforms into an unstoppable, high-speed charge!
A sword blade, wielded with murderous intent from the shadows? Smash it!

A malice-laden hand extended by the wanderer? Shatter it!
Such a violent commotion, occurring over a distance of hundreds of meters, must have attracted the attention of countless monsters.

This time, however, Zhou Kai was not surrounded again.

Victory charge.

He was no longer a human, but an unstoppable humanoid war machine that crushed everything in its path!
Twenty seconds later... Zhou Kai rolled and rushed into No. 777 Soraka Town, then slammed the door shut behind him and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

At the same time, the warm light from the fireplace gently bathed him, and the delicate fragrance of gastrodia elata wafted over him.

The speed of recovery from injuries and physical strength suddenly increased dramatically!

The horrific burns remaining on Zhou Kai's face almost immediately sprouted pink granulation tissue and healed rapidly.

Zhou Kai rolled over and lay down in a "wood" position... revealing a relieved smile.

Once he returned to the shelter, the temporary peace would protect him from any external disturbances...

After lying on the ground for a few seconds, Zhou Kai struggled to get up and went upstairs to take a quick look—just a fleeting glance to avoid being discovered.

Outside the door, only a few monsters that had followed them were lurking in the darkness.

As for the Willow People?
It was still leisurely lingering in the distance, completely unaware of Zhou Kai's risky scheme.

After confirming that everything was alright, Zhou Kai returned to the first floor.

Next... it's time to open the blind boxes.

Look at what treasure I've gained after risking my life.

The wrapping fabric is amazing; it doesn't repel fire or water, and it feels gentle and dry to the touch.

Zhou Kai subconsciously felt that even if all he got from this trip was this piece of cloth, it would still be worth the price of admission...

Open the package.

The contents came into view.

First, there was a palm-sized notebook with a purple cover, gilded patterns on the cover, and a line of cursive script.

Morning Star's Adventure Journal, Part 1

The second one was an oil lamp that was much more exquisite than the one he had lost, with a built-in hanging ring so it could be hung on his waist without a rope.

The third item was a folded piece of parchment.

In short... every item exudes an air of exquisiteness and mystery.

There must be some information here that can help resolve the Willow People's crisis!

A look of delight flashed in Zhou Kai's eyes.

"It's worth it!"

As for the excruciating pain of burns that others had experienced, it was no longer worth mentioning.

(End of this chapter)