You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

He made the final decision.

Three seconds later, the entire city wall switched back from the illusion to its real structure.

In that instant, Ron saw it clearly—

The gray-faced figure did not stand on the top of the wall.

It is the "connector," the true gray entity, hidden deep within the illusionary spring pool of the main hall.

"Walk."

Ron turned around and led his men through the newly revealed real city gate.

The illusionary storm subsided, and the first line of defense was breached.

Chapter 158 The City Lord Appears

Ron led the charge into the City of Shadows.

The passageway behind the city gate was wider than I had imagined, and it was excessively clean, without a trace of blood. The ground was smooth black stone, feeling like ice underfoot, without a single trace of sand or mud.

The army followed one after another. The bone dragon landed outside the city wall and did not enter, while the bone snake and the demolition soldiers went ahead for a while.

Ron walked at the front, but he was very wary.

He always felt that this place was not a "city", but more like a closed "consciousness space".

They weren't attacking the city; they were trying to break into the "brain" of the gray-faced enemy.

At this point, the system displays a prompt:

[Entering the Gray Surface: Illusion-reality synchronization rate increased to 91%. Domination authority is suppressed.]

He glanced at the map.

The interior of the entire Phantom City resembles an inverted amphitheater, with a three-story circular temple in the center and a ring of circular passageways around it, winding around like a maze.

"The gray side is in the middle."

He figured it out immediately.

Then, without waiting for the army to fully advance, he walked through the passageway and headed towards the temple.

He knew that having more people in such a place was useless; in fact, the more people there were, the more chaotic things would become, especially under the influence of strong illusions.

After walking a few steps, a soft sound suddenly came from inside the temple.

It sounds like someone is walking, and it sounds like someone is talking.

"You finally came."

It was a male voice, but it was deep and had a sticky, drawn-out quality, as if water was soaking in his throat.

Ron stopped.

Directly ahead, the one called Grayface finally appeared.

It is not an illusion, not a projection, but his true form.

A humanoid monster, over two meters tall and dressed in tattered royal robes, trailed illusory threads behind him, and still wore the bone crown on his head. He had no feet; he floated, leaving a semi-transparent shadow behind him, like a black cloth soaked by rain.

He drifted over step by step, leaving ripples of his illusory image on the ground.

Do you know where the system you have comes from?

Ron didn't reply, and Grayface didn't wait for his answer either.

"You think that's a cheat code?"

"wrong."

"The 'dungeon system' on you is part of what we created back then."

"We were the first managers of the early world."

Ron sneered, "You're just bragging without even taking a breath."

"You're alive, and you can still float around here, so the system becomes yours?"

The gray-faced voice remained unchanged, still carrying that gloomy, somber tone.

"You think you are conquering these cities, but in fact, every place you step into is a testing ground left by me."

"You are just following the path I have walked, repeating the failed attempts I made back then."

"You think you can control the system?"

"Once your fusion rate exceeds 70%, you'll know what you'll become."

Upon hearing this, Ron finally frowned.

Grayface's statement wasn't entirely nonsense.

If the system integration is too high, there will indeed be a risk of "privilege personality intrusion" - he had already received a system warning about this when he was in Rift Rock Fortress, but he forcibly suppressed it at that time.

But that doesn't mean he's afraid.

He said coldly, "Are you done?"

Grayface chuckled, and the pile of illusory threads behind him suddenly exploded. The entire temple space was like a thunderclap in the water. Amidst the distorted illusions, gray shadows appeared around him, like clones or battle models.

A system prompt pops up:

[WARNING: Illusionary entity is being generated.]

[The gray face has activated the mastermind control mode.]

[The host is passively resisting...]

"Come."

Grayface suddenly pointed.

The entire space collapsed instantly, and Ron felt his feet sink into the void, falling into a black ocean.

It's not the sea, it's an illusory realm of consciousness.

There is no ground, no reference points, only countless "self" floating in the sky.

He saw a hundred, a thousand “Ron”s dressed in black robes, holding the same weapons, standing in the same pose, charging towards him.

Gray Face's voice rang out from all directions:

“Kill them, and you can detach yourself from humanity and become a complete part of the 'system'.”

"Your struggle now is instinctive."

"Take one more step, and you'll never be able to go back."

Ron ignored him.

He stared at the "selves" rushing towards him.

Then, without retreating an inch, he raised his hand and unleashed a wide-range aerial sweeping attack.

The bone blade swept across thirty meters, instantly sending an entire "copy" flying and dissipating into mist.

The system prompted that the following had been refreshed:

[Intrusion successfully prevented.]

[Partial return of control.]

[Should we try entering the gray core?]

"Enter."

Ron didn't hesitate at all.

The next second, he was pulled into a space that resembled a mechanical hub by the system.

A gray core wall stood before him, within which floated a mercury-like heart, pulsating rhythmically, each beat causing the illusions of the entire city to fluctuate.

The gray-faced entity is hidden behind this heart.

Ron stopped wasting words, drew his bone blade, and threw a blasting core at it.

System flashing red:

[Confirmed: Access control contest initiated]

The control of the City of Shadows is changing hands...

outside world--

The entire city suddenly trembled.

Grayface threw his head back and let out a strange noise, his body twisting into a ball, as if he had been burned.

Outside the temple, all the illusion walls collapsed, and the phantom mist fled wildly outwards.

A new notification popped up:

The transfer of control over the City of Shadows is complete.

[Control in progress, city ownership changed - Current controller: Ron]

He stood in the core space, watching the heart transform into data points and flow into his system.

The gray surface is gone.

The City of Shadows has completely changed its flag.

The City of Shadows fell completely silent.

The fog-like or cloth-like covering over the city had completely dissipated, revealing the actual stone bricks on the ground, which was as damp as if it had just been rained on.

Ron stood in front of the temple, took two steps forward, and his feet touched the ground clearly, no longer feeling unsteady.

In that battle, no one saw clearly what he did; all they knew was that after he walked in, the entire city erupted in a frenzy, a suffocating chaos. When he emerged again from the main hall, Grayface was gone, not even bones remained.

He didn't speak, but simply raised his hand, gesturing for Viser to come in.

The rear troops began clearing the passageway. The corridors on both sides were filled with fragments of illusions, like shards of glass, stuck to the walls, reflecting light and looking eerie.

Viser carefully circled around, making sure no one was lying in ambush, before speaking in a low voice:

"This place...you really have it under control?"