The Crimson Flame Demon Tiger, which had been charging ferociously moments before, suddenly froze in place.
Its eyes filled with terror, as though it were being gripped by an invisible hand. No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free.
The next moment, Franklin clenched his hand tightly.
Boom!!
Before the stunned eyes of soldiers and players alike.
The Gold Grade Lord monster that had pushed Cassman to the brink of death exploded into a mist of blood.
Splat! Splat!
Blood and pieces of the monster’s organs rained down from the sky.
Franklin, seeming to remember something, reached out and grabbed something mid-air. His hand now held a mangled piece of flesh.
He chuckled darkly, “The tiger’s whip is a useful thing—not just for potion-making, but also a good supplement for young Luca’s vitality…”
The soldiers and players stood there, dumbfounded.
None of them could believe that the old man, who had looked so exhausted moments earlier, possessed such terrifying power.
Just then, Luca, Sophia, and the others arrived at the scene.
“What on earth happened here?” Cassman asked in confusion, still not understanding why a group of strong figures had been chasing Rudolph.
Luca replied casually, “Oh, nothing much—Rudolph has been colluding with the Nightmare Cult.”
“The City Lord is colluding with the Nightmare Cult?!” Cassman’s eyes widened in disbelief. What did Luca mean by “nothing much”? That was a massive deal!
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Rudolph’s figure darted through the trees, desperately trying to flee.
Behind him, Lucia and the others were in hot pursuit.
Although Rudolph had used a secret technique to push his speed to the limit.
Energy Masters weren’t known for their speed, and he was still badly injured.
It didn’t take long for Bright to catch up.
As soon as he was within striking distance, Bright wasted no time. His crystal dagger sliced through the air, aiming straight for Rudolph’s back with lethal precision.
Assassin mid-level skill: Heartpiercer!
Sensing danger, Rudolph tried to dodge in a panic.
Though he narrowly avoided a fatal blow, the dagger still sliced deeply into his arm, leaving a deep wound.
In an instant, the fresh red blood from the wound turned black.
It was a hallmark of the Assassin’s Poisoned Blade skill.
The poison can make paralysis in short time.
The poison caused Rudolph to briefly seize up, his body nearly collapsing to the ground.
Although he quickly gathered his Qi, forcing the poison out of his body as fast as he could, the delay was enough.
By the time he recovered, Bayou and the others had closed in, surrounding him.
Hovering in the air, Bayou’s robe flapped in the wind, golden energy swirling around him.
His wrinkled face was twisted in anger as he shouted, “Rudolph, I never expected you to become a lackey for a cult! Do you even realize what you’ve done? Do you know how many lives will be lost because of your actions?”
Bayou’s anger was genuine.
He had watched Rudolph grow up, even acting as something of a mentor to him. He never could have imagined that Rudolph would fall so far.
Surrounded by a group of powerful warriors, Rudolph knew there was no escape. He no longer bothered to hide his true self.
With a twisted expression, he snarled, “What do I care about the lives of others? As long as I achieve my goal, it doesn’t matter how many die! They’re nothing but worthless ants. It’s an honor for them to sacrifice their lives for me!”
Bayou shook his head, the last shred of hope he had for Rudolph completely gone.
“What’s the point of talking to him? Just kill him and then hunt down the rest of the Nightmare Cult scum!” Kurk crossed his arms, his body surging with blood energy so powerful that it distorted the air around him.
“You think you can kill me? We’ll see if you’re capable of it!” Rudolph sneered, his body enveloped in a swirling aura of Qi. He had no intention of surrendering—if he could hold out until the Nightmare Cult reinforcements arrived, the tables might turn in his favor.
The group exchanged cold looks. There was no point in continuing the conversation.
They drew their weapons, prepared to deal with the traitor once and for all.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the entire forest, emanating from the depths of Beast Forest.
The earth trembled violently, sending birds and beasts into a frenzy. All the monsters that had been attacking the Iron Mountain army abruptly stopped, dropping to the ground in submission, eyes filled with fear.
“What is that?!” everyone gasped, turning to look in the direction of the disturbance.
From the heart of Beast Forest, a massive blood-red beam of light shot up into the sky, painting the heavens crimson.
At the same time, an overwhelming wave of black demonic energy radiated out from the forest’s core, spreading like a flood.
Wherever the black energy touched, grass withered, trees cracked, birds and beasts rotted away. In the blink of an eye, the once lush and vibrant forest was reduced to a desolate wasteland devoid of life.
It was then that the group noticed something even more shocking—deep in the forest, a gigantic black vortex, several meters wide, had appeared, though none could say when it had formed.
From this vortex, countless monstrous creatures crawled forth, their numbers seemingly endless.
The variety of monsters was staggering: rotting undead ghouls, human-bodied werewolves with wolf heads, eight-armed crawlers, and more.
Even the skies were filled with monsters.
Pale-skinned, winged abominations and eerie birds swarmed out of the vortex in a thick cloud, blotting out the sun.
But what truly sent a shiver through everyone’s spine was the massive creature at the center of it all—a behemoth with nine heads, towering over a hundred meters tall.
Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar!!!
The nine-headed beast let out an earth-shaking roar, its colossal body looming like a mountain, inspiring awe and terror alike.
Its overwhelming presence instantly blanketed not only Beast Forest but even Riverfall City.
Under the immense pressure of its aura, even the high-level warriors felt their hearts quake.
In that brief moment, they all came to the same conclusion.
This creature was beyond a high-level monster—it was a Superclass nightmare!
“This… is a King-level monster?” Kurk swallowed hard, suddenly regretting his decision to come here.
If he had known such a terrifying creature existed, he would have ordered an immediate retreat!
“Hahaha! The cult’s plan has succeeded!!” Rudolph, now restrained by the group once again, was ecstatic.
With the Nightmare Cult’s plan coming to fruition, his goal was within reach.
If he could just hold out until the cult’s reinforcements arrived, his dreams of a grand future were close at hand!
Meanwhile, on the Iron Mountain army’s side, the players stared at the massive creature in the distance, utterly stunned.
“Holy crap, is this the boss?!”
“Unbelievable! It looks so real! Zenith Tech is on another level!”
“Does it have to be this realistic? That zombie monster is leaking corpse fluid all over—so gross!”
“Mom, I don’t want to play anymore, this game is way too scary!”
“What are you scared of? Other players would be jealous of a mission like this. Even if you die, you’ll have an epic story to tell!”
…
The players were buzzing with excitement and disbelief, assuming this was some kind of boss encounter. They were all in awe of Zenith Technology Company’s brilliance.
The immersive feeling was beyond anything virtual reality had ever provided!
Among the crowd, Malina was equally thrilled.
She moved around, capturing the grand spectacle from every angle.
Every shot she took could easily be used as a poster.
Other players from different cities wouldn’t have the chance to witness something on this scale!
On the other side, Luca also laid eyes on the colossal Hydra.
If his calculations were correct, they had only been apart for a few days.
“Still too late… we couldn’t stop that beast from emerging,” Luca sighed inwardly.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried. His original plan had been to take down Hydra while its strength was still manageable.
But so many unexpected events had occurred since then, delaying their efforts.
Fortunately, their actions hadn’t been for nothing.
This Hydra was just a projection, and its strength seemed limited to the high-level range—likely due to the forced breakthrough caused by the cult’s interference.
Even if the Riverfall City warriors couldn’t defeat it outright, they could likely hold it off for a few days until Count Ryan returned, and by then, they would have a fighting chance.
The only thing Luca wasn’t sure of now was whether the Nightmare Cult had managed to release the Dream Lord Jormungandr.
As the monster horde surged toward the Iron Mountain army, Luca gripped his Mithril Mage Spear tightly.
If another King-level monster showed up, he might have to start giving serious thought to an all-out retreat…
Meanwhile, deep within Beast Forest, the Nightmare Cult’s followers had been decimated. Out of the original thousand, fewer than three hundred remained.
Everyone knelt on the ground, their eyes filled with fanatical devotion as they stared toward the center of the ritual.
At the heart of the formation, a stunning silver snake, about a meter long, had appeared at some unknown moment.
Its eyes shimmered with a dreamlike purple hue, and its body was adorned with twelve intricate, radiant patterns. The scales glowed faintly with a soft purple light, giving it an ethereal appearance, as though it existed somewhere between reality and fantasy.
As the worshippers gazed upon it, visions began to dance before their eyes—visions of their deepest desires and fantasies.
Some saw themselves becoming immensely wealthy overnight, others saw themselves surrounded by beautiful women, while still others saw themselves as powerful, legendary warriors.
Each vision was different, yet all were dreamlike, enchanting, and utterly captivating, leaving the onlookers spellbound.
It was none other than the Dream Lord, Jormungandr!
There was no doubt now—The Nightmare Cult’s plan had succeeded!
Tia knelt on one knee, her voice filled with reverence as she said, “Eternal Dream! We welcome our Lord’s arrival!”
Jormungandr slowly lifted its head, its pale purple eyes gazing down at Tia and the cult members who bowed before it.
Its tongue flickered in and out, glowing with a faint white light, accompanied by a soft hissing sound.
Then, to the shock of everyone present, Jormungandr’s body began to fade.
“What… what’s happening?!” The worshippers’ visions were abruptly shattered, and panic filled their faces. They didn’t understand what was going on.
“Tia, my Lord is disappearing! Did our plan fail?!” one of the deacons asked in a panic. They had spent over a decade on this plan, sacrificing countless cult members to see it through.
Success had seemed so close—immortality in the dream realm was within their grasp—and now, at the last moment, something had gone wrong.
“The plan hasn’t failed,” Tia said, shaking her head slightly. “Although we used the blood sacrifice to summon our Lord into the Eternal World, we couldn’t bring His full power with Him. His form is weak right now.”
At this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the plan hadn’t failed, there was still hope.
The same deacon asked, “Tia, what should we do now?”
Tia turned her gaze toward the silver snake in the center of the formation, frowning. “Our Lord needs a body—a vessel—to temporarily contain His power.”