Chapter 76: The Nightmare

Su Yueyuan forced a smile and said, “General Zhao’s willingness to fight for the Port City is truly a blessing for the people, and also a boon for the Su family.”

Mentioning Qian Ye, Yeting smiled faintly and said, “He’s always about fighting and killing.”

“Yes, but the Neutral Grounds are in turmoil, danger lurks everywhere. Only the strong can protect their families completely,” Su Yueyuan felt he was talking nonsense, his words empty and hollow.

“Only someone like City Lord Su can be called a true powerhouse.” When Yeting said this, it seemed natural, not at all like flattery.

Su Yueyuan had a strange feeling, as if only someone of Su Dingqian’s caliber would leave an impression on her.

After a few more exchanges, Su Yueyuan got up to take his leave. As he left the courtyard, it felt almost like an escape.

Liu Daoming hurried towards him, walking as if flying, clearly very anxious. Seeing Su Yueyuan emerge from the courtyard, he was taken aback and asked, “You’re out?”

“Of course, I’m out.” Su Yueyuan was still somewhat dazed, glancing back to confirm the courtyard door was behind him.

“Did anything happen?” Liu Daoming asked, his face serious.

During wartime, with Qian Ye being someone Su Dingqian highly valued, if something happened to his family while he was away, especially something involving the City Lord’s mansion, it would cause an uproar among the freelancers. These warriors fought for survival, loyal to no one. If they were pushed away, they might end up fighting on the opposite side. Su Dingqian had been actively recruiting these freelancers, knowing that each one he won over was one less enemy on the battlefield.

Seeing Liu Daoming so tense, Su Yueyuan was confused, “Just a few words, what could happen?”

“Good, as long as nothing happened,” Liu Daoming sighed in relief, not asking further about why Su Yueyuan visited Qian Ye’s residence.

After Su Yueyuan left, Yeting sat quietly in the courtyard, a book in hand, reading it intently as if she could read it forever. She looked much as she did when they were in the Empire.

In the room, Little Zhujī yawned, finally waking from her deep sleep. As she awoke, her eyes still hazy, she suddenly sensed something and jolted upright, her hair standing on end!

In an instant, she leaped up, landing on all fours, her body pressed close to the ground, ready for battle. In her small heart, she sensed a pair of enormous eyes watching her from the shadows, a presence so ancient and terrifying that just a glance left her nearly paralyzed with fear.

Little Zhujī acted half on instinct, half on reason. It was the primal fear that made her want to flee.

Yeting raised her head and said coolly, “Awake?”

At the sound of her voice, Little Zhujī jolted awake from her nightmare, returning to reality. She cried out, jumped off the bed, and tried to rush into Yeting’s arms. But as soon as she hit the ground, her legs gave way, and she tumbled, unable to get up.

With Little Zhujī’s physical strength, falling from a bed or even a hundred-meter cliff wouldn’t harm her, yet here she was, unable to rise from a simple fall.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have no strength,” the little one pouted. A mere moment’s gaze into those ethereal eyes had drained her completely.

Yeting sighed, seemingly resigned to her mischief, and rose to pick up Zhujī, saying, “Better now?”

Zhujī stood unsteadily, ready to fall again. She clung to Yeting’s clothes, “I… I think I had a bad dream.”

Yeting squatted before her, asking, “Oh? This is your first dream? What did you dream about, tell me?”

Zhujī thought for a moment, “I forgot.”

“Try to remember.”

She tried hard, but after a while, still pouting, “Really, I forgot.”

“Alright,” Yeting stood up, but Zhujī grabbed her, “I’m hungry.”

Zhujī had eaten well the day before. She had already passed the stage of needing daily meals, often going days between meals to digest and absorb the essence of the food. Sudden hunger meant most of her stored energy was gone.

Yeting sighed, heading for the kitchen. Little Zhujī cheered, following closely. The kitchen was stocked with large chunks of beast meat, of high quality. Some of it was purchased by Qian Ye before he left, and more came from the original seaside cottage.

At her eating pace, Little Zhujī’s daily meal cost hundreds of gold coins, easily summing up to thousands in a month. In normal times, she alone could consume the budget of an entire army division. Such a little one was truly beyond the means of ordinary people.

Returning to his quarters, Su Yueyuan saw Qingyue sitting quietly, and suddenly, he felt as if he had just woken from a dream, tongue-tied. Everything that happened seemed like a dream, his behavior so odd, unlike himself.

“Master Su, is something wrong? You look terrible,” Qingyue asked.

“No, no, I’m fine, perfectly fine! Rest for now, I have some things to handle,” Su Yueyuan replied, and fled again.

Watching him go, a shadow of unease flickered in Qingyue’s eyes.

In the wilderness, Qian Ye captured another crystal spider reconnaissance squad. This time, he didn’t interrogate them but launched a sudden attack, ending the battle swiftly and leaving without cleaning up, as if avoiding something.

After Qian Ye left, a deep gray shadow appeared in the distance, the mysterious killer and the knight specialized in defense. They watched Qian Ye’s direction, speechless.

“How is it?” the knight asked.

“How could it be? He never stays in one place for more than three seconds. At this distance, even if I aimed, I couldn’t hit him. So, there’s no chance,” the gray shadow’s voice was strange, distorted and fluctuating, making it unpleasant to hear.

The knight spoke slowly, “He must have noticed us.”

“Not necessarily, it seems more like professional caution. He must be a skilled sniper, only a sniper knows how to avoid being sniped.”

“Do you think I don’t know we’re tracking him?”

The gray shadow calmly said, “He probably doesn’t. If he knew, he wouldn’t have attacked the scout team. Any mishap during the attack would give me an opening. You know, if I strike, he has at most a fifty percent chance of dodging.”

The knight pondered in silence.

The gray shadow sneered, “Even in a direct confrontation, you’re there. He can’t break through your defense. Just stick to him, and I can finish him off.”

Confident in his defensive capabilities, the knight nodded, “Alright, we continue. But try not to kill. This person is sharp, maybe a good recruit.”

“You’re good, but you prioritize the organization above everything!”

“The organization is that great man’s legacy!”

“Fine, fine, I won’t argue. I’ll hold back then.”

They vanished into the void, pursuing Qian Ye’s direction.

Qian Ye launched another surprise attack on a reconnaissance unit, but this time, it wasn’t as smooth. The unit was led by a viscount, a rare original-form arachnid, a giant spider. He disguised himself as a servant spider until Qian Ye attacked, then struck with sharp, bladed limbs. Qian Ye dodged, but not fully, getting slashed on his back.

Qian Ye grunted, turning to fire. The level-seven gun blasted the arachnid viscount back, tearing two limbs off. But Qian Ye, seemingly injured, fled rather than pursue.

The arachnid viscount struggled up, calling for his subordinates to tend to his wounds. While not fatal, the injury reduced his combat power. Staring at Qian Ye’s retreating direction, fear flashed in his eyes.

Cui Yuanhai’s gun, despite its flaws, was powerful. A hit felt like being shelled, instilling fear even in the fierce arachnid viscount.

The arachnid viscount, thinking, ordered a retreat. With him injured, the unit’s power was halved, a dangerous situation. He re-disguised himself as an injured servant spider, blending in and retreating.

After safely traveling ten kilometers, the arachnid viscount felt a false sense of security. A force bullet, enveloped in deep gray light, silently flew and penetrated him, destroying his magic core.

Instantly incapacitated, the other soldiers remained oblivious until he fell. The knight appeared like a specter, his indestructible shield in hand. Swinging it, the sharp edges turned it into a fearsome weapon, slicing through flesh and bone, annihilating the entire unit.

Facing such a victory, the knight showed no joy. The gray shadow appeared beside him, “No big deal, we lost him anyway, right?”

The knight lightly clapped his hands, shaking off non-existent blood. The heavy armor gloves creaked, making the gray shadow shout, “Stop! That sound is disgusting! Losing him isn’t my fault, it’s yours!”

The knight circled the battlefield, the shield’s light breaking apart the remaining bodies.

The gray shadow conceded, “Let’s drop it. Time’s running out, we should leave this wretched place. I don’t want to run into those things.”

Finally convinced, the knight and the gray shadow departed.