I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

A strange wind rustled the trees lining the street.

The palace was covered in blood.

The aging red dragon lay on its bed, unable to rise, as a shadow slowly approached.

"Well!"

He woke up from his dream with wide eyes during the day.

I sat up, and the warm light from the small lamp illuminated the tent, dispelling the darkness.

Kal'tsit was studying by candlelight, seemingly writing something.

"Your Highness?"

Noticing the boy's actions beside her, she put down her pen and looked at him.

"I had a nightmare, Kal'tsit."

During the day, he touched his chest, feeling the pulse of his heart, and his mood gradually calmed down.

"But I shouldn't be dreaming, it's a nightmare."

"You've already thought of that, haven't you?"

Having confirmed that nothing was amiss during the day, Kal'tsit picked up her pen and continued writing.

"Looking at it this way, the people these guys are transporting are really quite interesting."

He rises in the daytime, awakening the Heavenly Fiend.

"Be careful, Your Highness."

Daylight vanishes into shadow.

"Many people are having nightmares. The scope is so vast, and this Originium Arts, which doesn't even spare its own people, only causes nightmares. It's really interesting, isn't it, Tian Sha?"

He moved through the darkness by day, silently passing through one tent after another, checking on the Kurantas resting inside.

"Gurgle."

Having not been able to consume any AoNeng energy for the past two weeks, TianSha didn't want to speak. However, it transmitted the information about the energy fluctuations it sensed to BaiZhou.

"Oh, I found it."

By following the patterns of that energy, Baiyue found its source.

A secluded camp.

However, it was surrounded by a dozen guards, who were the elite of the elite.

The characters here look quite valuable.

He brazenly walked into the camp in broad daylight, following the shadows.

"Oh, what do you think it is? It's just a crybaby pony."

The deep voice startled the little creature huddled under the blanket, causing its black ponytail to sway rapidly.

"Who? Who is it?"

A voice, still trembling with sobs, rang out, and a small head peeked out, nervously looking around. The horse's ears were twitching and flapping.

"Hehehehe".

A terrifying, low sound surrounded the foal, sometimes far away, sometimes near, sometimes elusive.

"I, I'm not afraid of you."

Her small hands gripped the dagger, brandishing it, her fear clearly overflowing, yet she still tried to appear strong.

The little pony seemed unaware of the Originium Arts.

However, we need to test the waters a bit more.

Bai Zhou thought to himself, then a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

"Really? That's wonderful."

Shadows surged in from all directions, like a pack of hungry wolves pouncing on the trembling colt.

"I love eating brave little kids the most."

"Waaaaaah!"

The screams rang out, but were muffled by the shadows, failing to alert the guards who were lying in wait.

Back to the Nineteenth Nightmare Child, Attila

"Pfft, hahaha!"

He laughed without any restraint during the day.

The little black pony nestled in the blanket, its tiny body trembling.

A faint fishy smell wafted from the blanket.

After laughing enough, Bai Zhou stood in front of her and called out to her.

"Hey, little girl, lift your head."

"..."

The little guy curled up into a ball in fear.

"Oh, I forgot, I don't speak Kazimierz. So all that pretense was for nothing."

Slightly distressed, Bai Zhou bent down and grabbed the blanket.

The shadow swallowed it up along with the foal and carried it away.

Then, a shadow exactly like her appeared, wrapped itself in a blanket, blurring the lines between reality and illusion to deceive others.

"Kal'tsit, I'm back."

"Your Highness... this..."

Baiyue returned with someone else, something Kal'tsit hadn't expected.

"Kal'tsit, come and see what interesting toys I found."

During the day, he threw the blanket he was carrying on the ground, revealing a foal curled up inside.

"As expected. She is a descendant of Nightmare. The nightmare was caused by her."

Seeing her appearance, Kal'tsit confirmed her earlier guess.

"Kal'tsit, I'll ask her, can you translate for me?"

Bai Zhan snapped his fingers, and a figure emerged from the shadows, offering him a chair.

"I ask, you answer. If you lie or refuse to cooperate..."

Sitting in front of the foal, Bai Zhou reached out and gently pinched the horse's ears.

"You poor little ears are going to suffer."

The cold, bureaucratic tone of Kazimierz reached his ears as if it had triggered something, and the little pony immediately tilted its head back and stared at the daylight.

"I, I won't tell on you!"

"The Golden Family has no informers!"

"Just kill me!"

With her trembling sob and tear-streaked face, she should have looked scared, but unexpectedly, she gave off a very tough vibe.

Even though he was already so scared that he couldn't control himself like a baby, this little guy still dared to defy the daylight.

What is supporting her?

Is it that so-called honor from one's bloodline? Or that so-called responsibility?

"Ha, that's not up to you, you little nightmare."

Before he could even ask anything, this kid had already revealed the biggest secret.

Suppressing a laugh, Bai Zhou slightly raised her hand, and a golden light flashed, taking away a strand of her hair.

Touching his severed hair, the little guy slowly lowered his head.

Where is this army taking you?

"Gu..."

They're as stubborn as ducks.

"Yes, even if you don't say it, I can guess."

A deep voice uttered obscure and difficult-to-understand language, which the woman behind him translated into an ancient family language.

"A noble Nightmare Bloodline secretly travels to a foreign land."

"On the surface, the direction you're heading is Syracuse, but your destination is..."

In the daylight, he bent down, and a pale blue glow emerged from the gilded mask, like the gaze of a demon.

"It's Gaul, isn't it? The hostages of the Golden Family."

The fear intensified.

It seems he guessed right.

Bai Zhou smiled slightly and continued speaking.

"You're crying, why are you crying?"

"You are afraid. Why are you afraid?"

"Child of Nightmare, you are the empire's hope for survival."

"The Ursus legions are invading southward. They have brought with them a harsh winter. The Imperial army, long since corrupted by warmth, crumbles at the first blow in the cold."

"Countless citizens of the empire perished in the frigid winds of Ursus. Every day, vast swathes of land were devoured by giant bears that carried the biting winds."

"..."