Nightmare Despair

Chapter 90 Tactical Base Swap
Monsters corrupted by nightmares will always gain superhuman strength in some way.

For example, the vitality to struggle for a long time even after losing one's head, or the ability to wander eternally in the darkness without any energy replenishment...

But the world of nightmares also follows a twisted kind of fairness. To gain something, you must inevitably lose something else.

Just like the chain-hammer armored warrior in front of Zhou Kai.

The price it paid for being adored by nightmares was being completely abandoned by the light of twilight.

The once incredibly powerful power of the engravings is now nothing more than a useless "strange piece of skin" on his body.

His combat power was firmly limited to the limits of this physical body.

The rain curtain was violently torn apart by a ferocious figure. Zhou Kai shot out like lightning, transforming into a phantom that ripped through the night.

The silver blade reflected the red light, and before the chain-hammer warrior could react, Zhou Kai's figure had already charged forward fiercely!
Two figures, one tall and one short, collided violently in the dark red rainy night.

boom!
A tremendous sound of tearing cloth rang out in the heavy rain, the terrifying impact even causing the raindrops caught between the two to evaporate instantly, creating a white mist.

The massive body of the chain-hammer warrior was actually blasted away by the force of the impact.

His heavy body was lifted into the air, a full meter off the ground. His hard armor was slammed inward, and flesh and bone fragments were squeezed out from the gaps between the armor plates.

Teng!
The chain-hammer warrior was lifted off the ground for less than two seconds before crashing heavily into the muddy water like a bag of cement, stirring up a large wave of filth.

The chain hammer flew out of his hand, and he couldn't get up for a while.

Zhou Kai pulled the greatsword that was embedded in his shoulder without any expression.

Fresh blood gushed from the wound, but under the effect of the life-giving effect, the flesh was visibly wriggling and repairing itself.

"Given similar combat strength, this 'Victory Charge' tactic, while inflicting a thousand casualties on the enemy, will also result in at least five hundred casualties on oneself..."

"Now I understand why the Soraka family's private soldiers are all heavily armored, each one of them wanting to be armed to the teeth."

The pain is tolerable.

Zhou Kai dragged his sword and walked step by step toward the fallen chain-hammer armored soldier, his thoughts never ceasing.

No wonder these markings are called chariots; if paired with heavy armor... they would be nothing short of human siege engines from ancient battlefields.

Zhou Kai could even imagine the terrifying bloodshed that a heavily armored charioteer with engraved markings could unleash in the era of cold weapons hundreds of years ago.

"Unfortunately, the power that should have been passed down to you is no longer available to you yourselves."

Zhou Kai's eyes were cold and devoid of any pity as he swung his sword and slashed at the armored soldier's head.

He precisely pierced the gap in the armor on the soldier's neck with his greatsword, and then twisted it violently.

Thick bodily fluid gushed out, and subtitles slowly appeared above the corpse.

[Defeat the 'Chain Hammer Warrior' to gain 17 Universal Experience Points]

[Benefiting from the Lv2 Mysticism skill, unexpected gains: 1 slightly valuable memory, 1 strange skin]

[You have achieved a decisive victory... Chariot Mark Experience Points +1]

[General Experience Points: 3 → 20]

After inspecting the harvest, Zhou Kai, dragging the heavy body of the armored soldier, returned to the shelter.

Previously, just one arm could burn for so long; this stuff is simply excellent fuel.

Perhaps with just this one body, we wouldn't have to risk traveling back and forth between the shelter and the town today.

There were no surprises along the way.

Zhou Kai skillfully filled the massive body of the armored soldier into the fireplace.

This armored soldier was over 2.5 meters tall, and even without an arm, his physique was still terrifying.

Once stuffed into the fireplace, it took up almost four-fifths of the space, and the flames were suppressed and shortened.

However... the flames in the fireplace were not ordinary fire.

Even if the entire furnace is completely filled, even if there is not a single bit of oxygen to aid combustion.

It is still burning.

The remaining burnable time quickly became apparent. [41h]

The two-digit burning time gave Zhou Kai a sense of security.

Zhou Kai slowly sat down in front of the fireplace and began to bleed himself to grind blood ink, preparing to absorb the power of the engravings.

A few seconds after the pattern was skillfully drawn, the bloodstains disappeared like wisps of smoke.

The corresponding rewards are displayed directly on the panel.

[You absorbed Mark 1*1, gaining Mark Chariot EXP*3]

【Scars: Chariot - Part 1 (17/100)】

"It's still faster to improve by absorbing other people's marks. If I collected all the human skin in the town, I could at least reach the late stage of level two, right?"

"How strong must a level two engraving be..."

As Zhou Kai recalled the hordes of monsters he had seen when he was surrounded and attacked that day, a burning glint flashed in his eyes.

A short while later, the fireplace responded.

Perhaps because the fireplace always retained the information carried by that arm, Zhou Kai still gained a lot of experience points from this burning.

In addition to the four general experience points, Zhou Kai also gained three gun skill (shooting) experience points, directly advancing his gun skill to level one.

"I've seen the marksmanship experience several times already. It's definitely worth learning this skill! Even if I don't practice or add any points, I can level up to level three or higher just by burning corpses!"

However, it's a bit of a shame that Zhou Kai didn't gain any experience with Soraka swordsmanship.

After searching through the chat box, Zhou Kai discovered that the chain hammer warrior had not learned the Soraka swordsmanship... His core skill was a skill called [Arcana Army Chain Hammer Technique].

Zhou Kai isn't interested for now, but if given the chance, whether in reality or in a dream, he'll probably collect it.

After all, these skills that can appear on dream monsters don't require any skill points or practice; they can be enhanced simply by burning corpses.

For Zhou Kai, it was practically free.

After that, Zhou Kai searched the area around the shelter again.

But perhaps because the light of the infernal fire was getting closer, monsters became increasingly rare.

After about an hour, Zhou Kai had gained almost nothing.

The only improvement I made was in the two points of experience with light steps.

"It's time to explore the Western-style mansion again."

The surrounding environment grew brighter, and even the rain and air felt warm. The flames of the burning sin were approaching the shelter.

Zhou Kai glanced back at the shelter and rushed straight towards the mansion.

No matter what happens next, there's no need to think about it for now.

He has done everything within his power to prepare.

……

Upon entering the mansion again, what Zhou Kai saw completely exceeded his expectations.

This place, which used to be dilapidated and empty, now seems to have... been inhabited?
The marble floor was as smooth as a mirror, and the precious carpet looked as if it had just been cleaned... The windows were bright and the room was spotless.

Zhou Kai's wary gaze swept around, and almost everything in sight gleamed with a faint, shimmering light.

"Is it guidance, or a hallucination? When did you fall for it?"

Zhou Kai subconsciously gripped the two-handed sword in his hand, but the touch from his palm was very delicate.

"Hey, where's my sword?"

Zhou Kai was shocked to discover that his rough, strong hands had somehow transformed into a pair of small, delicate hands.

And the two-handed sword in his hand, which looked like a door panel when he swung it, actually turned into a bunch of tulips.

Please read on and vote with your monthly tickets to help speed up the release and update more frequently! We'll be resolving many plot points from the beginning, including why the flashlight didn't work in the nightmare. The story definitely won't disappoint!
(End of this chapter)