"Kill them all? What nonsense. Who doesn't know how to boast?" Uncle Ma sneered.
Teest didn't respond. He was scrutinizing Nol's features—there was no sign of collapse, despair, or any other unusual expressions on Nol's face. Nol was just smiling, his face full of satisfaction, as if he had found the "solution".
Even though they all knew what that solution implied in terms of slaughter and bloodshed.
…It was truly great.
Teest was staring intently at Nol. Every time he thought he had seen through Nol, this man always managed to give him a new surprise.
"What are you going to do?" Teest's voice became somewhat hoarse with excitement.
"I haven't figured out the details. It's my first time considering annihilating the enemy." Nol scratched his head embarrassedly. "But the direction is confirmed. The next steps are simple… I will find a way within two days."
"Mm, but I need to capture a monster to study. Uncle Ma, do you know how to exit the 'dream within a dream' of the Nightmare?"
His tone was as if he was saying, "The lightbulb at home is broken, so I'll buy a new one in two days."
Ma Zhigang inhaled sharply. "What are you thinking—"
"Don't worry. I've said we won't force you to leave or force you to take us to the queen." Nol smiled. "Once we organize the plan, I'll discuss it with you again."
Uncle Ma sneered coldly. "Then you have to be able to catch me."
"The magic that guards here is an evolved version of 'Dream Manipulation', 'Dream Dominion'. Only the ruler of the succubus tribe can use it." Nol explained calmly, "'Dream Dominion' hides the succubus territory on the Dream Edge, like an invisible shield."
"If I'm right, those monsters are surrounding this shield from all sides, just waiting for it to break. The succubi that left the shelter of the shield to feed would directly fall into the pile of monsters."
Nol probably understood the truth behind the disappearance of the succubi.
The stronger the ruler of the race, the larger the shield. In the early years, when the border of the succubus territory was wide and there weren't many Nightmares, some lucky succubi could successfully return home after feeding.
However, as time passed, maybe the number of those terrifying monsters surged, maybe the ruler of the succubi weakened generation by generation—or maybe both—the shield shrank, and monsters densely surrounded it, and the leaving succubi naturally died.
A simple but brutal reality.
"We could encounter monsters so close to the succubi lair. The current queen's condition must be very poor, and the shield has shrunk further," Nol continued.
Ma Zhigang's expression darkened. "I know all these damn things, so what? What does this have to do with how you catch me?"a
Nol stopped next to Teest, who was sitting cross-legged, his fingers lightly brushing through some silver hair.
He answered almost gently, "The reduced protection magic is easy to calculate. I can calculate the queen's position—I mean, real-time location."
"You know, this is the best threat I have ever heard." Teest looked up at him happily.
Uncle Ma's face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. "You damn fool…"
"If we really wanted to force a meeting with the queen, I wouldn't tell you all this."
Nol's tone didn't carry a trace of anger. He still had a weird sense of sincerity. "You might as well teach us how to leave. Otherwise, we can only follow you—I honestly don't want to waste time on this kind of harmful and unbeneficial thing."
Uncle Ma's skeletal face twitched for a moment, and he looked at Nol again. The old man's eyes were no longer careless but had become much more cautious.
"I can 'Travel Through Dreams'," Ma Zhigang said irritably. "You know everything. I won't explain. You guys quickly do whatever you need with the monster, and I'll get you out, okay? After that, you do whatever you have to. Just don't bother me."
"Thank you." Nol bowed his head to him.
[Travel Through Dreams] was a passive skill that a few succubi were born with.
If the succubi possessed this skill, they could jump directly from one dream to another, entering and exiting freely between dreams and reality without preparing complex tools and magic rituals like their peers.
Most uniquely, they could pull other living and non-living things directly into the dream realm.
In general, [Travel Through Dreams] was very suitable for protecting specific targets and was likely a skill that Malvina inherently possessed.
'[Travel Through Dreams], huh…' Nol looked at the ground covered with fallen leaves and fell into contemplation.
...
Anakin decided to wait until the theoretical nightfall. If the "brothers" couple didn't return for a long time, she and Solo couldn't keep waiting like this.
Malvina's room also had a timer hourglass. The time was gradually approaching midnight. The hazy sky outside the window didn't change at all. Solo went to draw the curtains and turned on the light, creating a bit of a nighttime atmosphere in the room.
He honored his agreement with Anakin and didn't inform anyone in Hermitage about the information of "peculiar monsters in the succubus territory".
"According to the rules, I should inform 'Mentor' of important information. This is serious misconduct."
Solo sat a bit dispiritedly by the bed, tearing blank paper piece by piece. "Sister, Hermitage studies these, and they are neutral. Why can't we speak out? …Those higher-ups definitely have better judgment than us."
Anakin crossed her arms. Leaning against the wall, her gaze was fixed on some non-existent point in the air. "I don't want to create conflict."
"What conflict could there be?"
"You think the subordinates will believe everything the leaders say?" Anakin said lightly. "Besides, the Temple of Life specifically chose the explanation everyone wanted to accept. Didn't you have any doubts?"
"But their explanation has no issues."
Solo, rubbing his face in pain, said, "Mr. Eugene's explanations are all reasonable, and the Temple has been helping everyone. There's no reason to lie about such things… I also want to ask, sister, how are you so sure that they have issues?"
"Firstly, that Malvina was almost seamlessly replaced. It's not that easy to enter a succubus lair," Anakin said.
"That's too absolute. Didn't the succubus say her personality changed? And she often goes out alone to find the queen. The possibility of being replaced is obviously the greatest," Solo countered quietly.
"Secondly, that old man's shirt was sewn too meticulously," Anakin mentioned with a bitter smile.
"…Huh?"
"You can tell, the person who sewed it takes life seriously, at least the kind who finds joy in suffering and plans to live meticulously here." Anakin said, "If it really was a monster created by the Eternal Church, would they have such leisure and elegance?"
"Maybe the Eternal Church thought of this and deliberately misled you—" Solo just wanted to continue when suddenly his mouth snapped shut, unable to make a sound.
Anakin put away her wand and sighed heavily. "See, even we with such a good relationship can argue. That's why I said I don't want to create conflict."
Solo rubbed his mouth. His lips were sealed by a silencing spell, only making unclear mumbles.
Anakin seemed conflicted, looking at her wand and then her toes.
Seeing the troubled look on Anakin, Solo gradually calmed down. Yes, they weren't ordinary guild members. Bluntly put, everyone here had close relationships, and he guessed Anakin also wanted to inform "Amazon" about this matter.
However, she didn't reach for her wand.
Only the slight sound of the hourglass could be heard in the room. Finally, the last grain of sand fell leisurely, stopping on top of the pile.
Midnight had arrived, and the hourglass automatically turned over. At this moment, the room door was abruptly knocked.
"Come out, humans," the voice of the Succubus Doni rang out, more panic than indifference in his tone. "Te… Landus and the others are back!"
The succubi were all crowded in the square in front of the dungeon. Although they looked mummified, the scene was still spectacular when gathered like this. Anakin glanced around. There were thousands of succubi. This was indeed a large tribe.
When the two Players approached, the succubi quickly made way.
'Interesting,' Anakin thought. Disdain and respect sometimes had the same effect.
The two Players soon saw the object of attention—
A monster covered in arms around its neck was tightly wrapped in vines, struggling on the ground. It was pawing madly at the ground with the palms on its "head", emitting an incomprehensible scream.
An ominous aura surrounded it, giving Anakin goosebumps.
"We didn't find the queen, but we found this thing in the forest." Teest kicked the horrifying monster lightly. "They attack with dream within a dream. It's conservatively estimated that there are tens of thousands."
Nol raised his head, showing his bruised neck to the succubi. To enhance his credibility, he deliberately didn't heal the marks on his wrists and neck.
The succubi finally showed some emotion, whispering like ripples in the water. Many succubi guessed the sad fate of the missing ones, and the sobbing in the whispers became more and more intense, like ripples caused by raindrops.
But not a single succubus in the field collapsed or went mad, to Nol's surprise. The atmosphere felt somewhat familiar, and Nol couldn't help but recall the day he first arrived and buried the tragically deceased college student with his neighbors.
These succubi were very much like his initial neighbors. They had no excess energy left to despair.
"It took us a great deal of effort to capture this one that was left behind." Nol questioned angrily, "You all never explained that there were such risks in the selection of the heir. My partner and I need an explanation—we've seen ordinary monsters, but we've never seen this kind before!"
"What exactly happened to Her Majesty? What are these things? We need more detailed explanations!" Teest feigned tearing up, "painfully" putting an arm around Nol's shoulder. "Yes, I almost doubted everyone's sincerity…I came to help, but you keep concealing the truth time and time again. This has been a scam from the start, right?"
"If so, I'd rather accept the punishment for breaching the contract… My partner can heal me. I believe the pain from the punishment will never be greater than the betrayal of my compatriots."
Anakin perked up. Here comes the NPC key event!
"This is the Demon King's—" But before she could finish, she was pushed aside by Succubus Doni.
Doni rushed to Teest, kneeling halfway. "It's not like that, sir. It's not like that! This is also the first time we've seen such an ominous creature."
After saying this, he bit his jerky-like lips, as if making some kind of resolution.
"You brought very, very valuable information. As…as a return, I will thoroughly explain the detailed information about Her Majesty. We… um, please change to a more private place."
Teest and Nol exchanged glances before calming their anger. "Let's go."
'Never mind,' Anakin thought. 'It's the succubi's exclusion phase again. It doesn't matter if I wait for them to finish talking.'
"…Wait."
As he was passing by Anakin, Nol stopped and said stiffly, "I want to bring our human companions."
Doni subconsciously wanted to refute, but his gaze lingered on the frightening bruise on Nol's neck, and then looked at Teest's face, which contained a hidden warning, and could only bitterly say "fine."
...
Anakin's rare good mood dissipated the moment she stepped into the conference room—
The door of the room shut directly behind her, sealing with seven layers of magic. The atmosphere was oppressively terrifying. If it weren't for the fact that Doni was the only succubus present, Anakin would have suspected that the succubi were planning to silence them.
"Before we start, I want to ask a question." Everyone sat around the round table while Nol crossed his fingers. "Our companions should have done some investigation…"
"Yes, the two have investigated Knight Malvina's room, and we didn't stop them." Doni's voice was somewhat tense.
"I see." Nol turned to the two Players. "Did you find anything?"
Solo subconsciously looked at Anakin, who paused for half a second before smiling and responding. "No, we found nothing—Ah!"
Before she could finish her sentence, countless golden threads shot out from under the table, binding her and Solo tightly to their chairs.
"Excuse me."
A voice sweet as honey water came from behind her. Teest had left his seat at some point. He bent over and swiftly took Anakin's magic wand.
"How can the two of you lie to your companions? This isn't a good habit."
Anakin was blank for a second.
These two NPCs…
"What do you want to do?" Rogue Solo was already yelling, horrified to find that his [Lockpicking] skill was ineffective against these beautiful golden threads.
His [Lockpicking] had been invincible before. This had never happened!
Wait, golden threads? Golden threads…?! Golden threads—!!!
Solo froze on the spot.
Anakin also came to her senses, shivering all over and nearly shrieking, "Are you the Mad Monk?!"
Teest looked at Nol, somewhat aggrieved. "You see, honey. This is the reaction I wanted."
Nol pretended not to see.
Anakin slumped in her chair. She knew they must be hiding their identities when she found out these two weren't brothers. But this…this was too much!
She didn't know whether to be shocked that the Mad Monk was as handsome as a mainline NPC or that the Mad Monk actually had a husband. Speaking of which, that black-haired young man who called himself "Ross" seemed to be fully aware. Where did this supervillain come from?
Are they going to die?
This was what she thought, somewhat blankly. Coming from the Temple, she naturally knew of the "glorious" deeds of the Mad Monk. Anakin was a person who feared pain very much. She firmly believed that she couldn't withstand half a minute of bloody torture.
But she didn't want to die yet…
Anakin's eyes were sour, and tears were about to fall. Beside her, Solo had already started to snort loudly, twisting like a worm. "Wuwu… Wuwuwu, we should have brought Eugene in… Wu…"
"Oh, so Mr. Eugene is outside. Thank you for informing us. You're so kind." Teest patted Solo on the shoulder with a smile, and Solo choked, looking like he was going to pass out.
"Stop messing around, Teest." Nol sighed heavily. He had the illusion of watching a cat playing with a mouse.
Play with the people of the Eternal Church if you want but spare the normal ones.
"Ah, fine." Teest stood up straight, went behind Nol, and circled his shoulders. The stolen priestess' wand was now pressed against Nol's throat, causing the mark on Nol's neck to quickly disappear.
"We're sorry. We don't intend to harm the two of you. It's just that the matter is of great importance, so we can only forcibly keep you here." Nol put one hand on Teest's forearm, apologizing to Anakin with a smile.
Anakin trembled all over, looking increasingly panicked.
"As for the specific actions, please hear the whole story before deciding." Nol felt the weight of Teest on his shoulders. "We swear we won't hurt the two of you. If you are not reassured, we can sign a formal agreement."
"Tsk." Teest clicked his tongue.
"I'm serious." Nol muttered back.
Hearing this, the two Players finally weren't as panicked.
Maybe they realized, the Mad Monk's binding was relatively gentle—he really just fixed them firmly to the chairs. The force was just right. There was no bad bruising on their various parts.
"Okay, okay." Seeing that the other party had no intention to kill temporarily, Anakin barely squeezed out a response.
Succubus Doni had been trapped on the Dream Edge for a long time and obviously didn't know about the Mad Monk. He blankly watched this "infighting" until four pairs of eyes focused on Doni's face, and then he came to his senses.
"Ah…" he uttered numbly. "Yes, yes… the situation with Her Majesty…"
Having said that, Doni stood up and took a deep breath.
"Lord Teest, you're a succubus. You must be able to see. This place has been long guarded by 'Dream Dominion', and the next ruler also has to maintain this magic."
Teest was still leaning on the back of Nol's chair, loosely embracing Nol. "Mm, continue."
He knew about this matter early on.
"Even the Great Queen Hyacinth couldn't support such complex magic uninterruptedly… To be foolproof, the ruler must wear a magical ornament called 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to enhance their own abilities."
Anakin held her breath, Solo's sobbing stopped, and even Nol's gaze was more focused.
"But there has been debate within the tribe about that set of ornaments. In fact, the current queen isn't the only one who has fallen into madness."
"The Great Queen Hyacinth committed suicide inexplicably, and her successors either killed themselves or were obsessed with bewilderment grass, eventually weakening and dying… Our lifespan should be around four hundred years, but our rulers rarely live to two hundred years… Even a few died before a hundred."
Doni twisted his branch-like fingers.
"So some people suspect that there may be a wicked curse on the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'."
"Impossible!" Nol stood up straight away.
The author has something to say:
Anakin: Help, it's a gay pervert—!!!
↑ Definitely from the heart.