Chapter 88 - 85: I’ll Recommend a Place for You

Chapter 88: Chapter 85: I’ll Recommend a Place for You

At the front lines, a temporary base.

The Countermeasures Bureau had established this base at the entrance to the Ancient Village Nightmare, which was located within the Black Street Nightmare.

The deputy captain of the Sixth Squad, a Tier Two Refinement Stage powerhouse codenamed ’Long Niu,’ was the overall commander.

He frowned slightly.

"Based on the intel from the logistics team and our own reconnaissance, it’s confirmed. We’re facing an intelligent aberration! And this aberration holds authority over all the Nightmare Areas in the vicinity."

Just as the logistics camp had been attacked, their own position had also come under assault from aberrations.

Long Niu had already redeployed his forces, sending several Elites from the Guidance Squad back to defend the camp.

Ultimately, though, the key was their position here.

If they could just take down the boss aberration and shatter the Nightmare Core of this region, all the surrounding Nightmares would dissipate like smoke.

They would then be able to shatter all these Nightmares, easing the ever-worsening disaster of the Nightmare invasion in Baijiang City.

But if they couldn’t...

Everything would be for nothing.

And now...

"Our offensive has stalled."

Their assault teams had made some progress, taking down several aberrations. Despite this, their elite squads were still unable to push through to the very center of the Ancient Village Nightmare.

Long Niu looked at the map.

They had already scouted over 70% of the Ancient Village Nightmare, with only the core 30% remaining—a sprawling cluster of old hamlets.

The environment there was complex, and the terrain was treacherous.

Aberrations and various dangers lay hidden within, ready to strike at any moment.

They could, of course, launch a preemptive strike, but now that they knew the boss aberration was intelligent, rushing in recklessly would almost certainly lead them straight into an ambush.

This boss aberration had turned the entire Nightmare into a fortress.

A direct assault was not only inadvisable, but the Countermeasures Bureau Elites inside the Ancient Village Nightmare were also suffering from constant ambushes by aberrations.

That place was the aberrations’ lair, after all. The enemy’s familiarity with the environment was far beyond theirs.

The boss aberration also possessed authority over the Nightmare, allowing it to get a bird’s-eye view of the entire area from time to time, giving it a clear picture of all their tactical deployments.

"This is tough! Way too tough!"

"The aberrations we just killed are about to revive. Let’s have our people pull back for now and just hold the entrance. The aberrations have endless energy, but we humans don’t. If this becomes a war of attrition, we’ll be the first to break."

"How should we proceed with the attack? I’ll have to come up with a plan. First, let’s see if the Bureau has any siege equipment they can send down."

Long Niu paced back and forth anxiously.

Just then, he received some good news.

It wasn’t the good news he had been hoping for from the Countermeasures Bureau in the real world. This news came from the logistics team.

’There are some expert Dream Descenders active in this area, including even a Refining Stage powerhouse?’

Long Niu murmured, ’Old Song can’t be joking, can he? No, no, in this situation, Old Song wouldn’t joke. Besides, when the logistics camp was surrounded earlier, a mysterious powerhouse did step in to help.’

’So Old Song is saying that if the Countermeasures Bureau just offers some benefits, we can recruit these powerhouses to help us conquer the Nightmare?’

’Old Song really pulled through in a big way this time!’

This was a major morale booster.

Of the three main divisions, the Assault Squad was the most critical, followed by the Guidance Squad, and then Logistics. The primary function of Logistics was to provide supplies and serve as an Anchor Point for powerhouses to enter.

But who would have thought that this time, it would be the Logistics Squad that found the key to breaking the stalemate.

Of course, the attack couldn’t happen right now.

The Elites of the Assault Squad had to rest for a while to regain their full combat strength.

As he was thinking this, a familiar figure approached from the far end of Black Street.

The newcomer offered a cupped fist salute.

"Captain Niu, what’s the situation?"

"Group Leader Song? What are you doing here!"

Long Niu’s eyes widened.

Song Jianshen said, "There’s a special situation. It’s too slow and complicated to explain through messages, so I came in person. And don’t worry, it’s good news."

Hearing that it was good news, the weight on Long Niu’s chest finally lifted.

He had been afraid something else had happened at the logistics camp.

With the front line at a stalemate, if logistics ran into problems, they might as well give up the fight.

Long Niu added, "But Group Leader Song, you shouldn’t have come in person. You know the boss aberration is intelligent, and unexpected dangers can pop up in any of the Nightmare Areas at any time. Even here in the Black Street Nightmare, where the local aberration is sealed, we’ve still been attacked twice."

"I understand, I understand."

Song Jianshen knew what Captain Long Niu was worried about. He said, "I didn’t come alone. I hired a bodyguard."

He beckoned with his hand.

Only then did Long Niu notice a young man with a sword following not far behind Old Song.

His figure was half-hidden in the shadows; if Old Song hadn’t gestured, Long Niu might not have noticed him at all.

’He’s an expert!’

"Captain Niu, let me introduce you. This is the youngest disciple of the Master of Extreme Intent, young Xuan Jian. When our logistics camp was attacked before, Xuan Jian was one of the powerhouses who came to our aid."

"And it’s thanks to Xuan Jian accompanying me that the journey here was so uneventful."

Long Niu had heard of Xuan Jian.

He was said to be the most talented of all the Master of Extreme Intent’s disciples, having spent the shortest amount of time advancing to the Refining Stage.

The Countermeasures Bureau had previously mentioned Xuan Jian when trying to borrow people from the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall, but the hall hadn’t let him go, saying that he was still young and his mastery of Curse Arts was too shallow, as he had only just entered the Refining Stage.

Long Niu knew that Xuan Jian was indeed young and had only reached the Refining Stage a few days ago, so his foundation was still weak.

’But now, it seems Xuan Jian is far more than just a newly advanced Refining Stage practitioner.’

The base was relatively crude, far less comfortable or secure than the camp.

In reality, it was just an area with a relatively open field of view that made ambushes difficult.

A bonfire was lit in the center of the area, slightly dispelling the gloomy cold of the Nightmare realm. The firelight, at least, brought a touch of warmth.

Long Niu invited the two to sit on a grass mat.

He said, "Conquering the Ancient Village Nightmare isn’t going smoothly. There’s no known strategy for that Nightmare, and the intelligent aberration has fortified it into an impregnable bastion. Our only option is a direct assault, but even that requires us to get a clear picture of the enemy’s situation to avoid being ambushed."

"It’s just that for now, the boss aberration hasn’t shown itself."

As Long Niu spoke, he asked, "What about on your end? What special situation made you come all this way yourself?"

Song Jianshen patted the black suitcase beside him and was just about to speak...

Suddenly, Long Niu’s expression changed drastically.

"Watch out!"

He stomped hard on the ground, and a powerful surge of Curse Power erupted from the sole of his foot. An invisible wave of energy spread forward along the ground, causing the paving stones to pop up one after another. THUMP THUMP THUMP.

The energy wave swept past, splitting a puddle of sewage in the distant shadows in two.

It was an aberration!

At that moment, the aberration’s sinister cold and ominous presence could no longer be hidden.

But after being split, the two halves of the sewage puddle acted like separate living entities, pouncing at the humans from the left and right.

One of the sewage blobs targeted Song Jianshen.

Perhaps the aberration recognized that Song Jianshen was the weakest among them, with his scholarly and refined appearance suggesting he wasn’t a fighter.

And he really wasn’t.

But as a member of the Countermeasures Bureau, who didn’t have the heart to fight aberrations on the front lines?

Song Jianshen acted before Xuan Jian could.

His Lifebound Curse Object was a piece of black cloth, a support-type item. But it could neither block attacks nor trap enemies, which was why even when he had reached the Great Perfection of the Control Stage, Song Jianshen had still been just a second-string operative.

But now,

"Curse Art: Eternal Night Weaving Net!"

The black cloth billowed out, expanding in midair into a massive curtain that instantly enveloped the half-puddle of the aberration.

Trapping the aberration within!

A short while later, the group joined forces to obliterate the divided and trapped sewage aberration.

No one was injured.

But Long Niu still felt a lingering fear.

An aberration could die many times, but if one of them were successfully ambushed just once, it would mean death or serious injury.

This aberration was also especially good at hiding; he only discovered it when it got close.

Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong.

Wait a minute. Long Niu suddenly realized something he had overlooked. He looked at Song Jianshen. "Old Song... you broke through?"

"Yes, just a small breakthrough."

With a serious expression, Song Jianshen pinched his thumb and index finger together, indicating ’just a little bit’.

But the old hands from the Countermeasures Bureau could all see that Old Song’s breakthrough was far more than ’a little bit’.

’He created his own Curse Art? And even entered the Refining Stage?’

’So all his accumulated potential burst forth at once, huh?’

"Wait a minute, Old Song, you didn’t come all this way just to show off your new strength after your breakthrough, did you? You want to join the front lines?" Captain Niu felt as if he had discovered the truth.

"How superficial!" Song Jianshen snorted. "Am I that kind of person? Let’s get back to the important matter at hand."

He opened the black suitcase he was carrying.

Inside were two Witchcraft Flying Eyes. He had gone to great lengths to get his hands on them—which had meant mobilizing several Countermeasures Bureau Elites to stake out the Safe Zone just to be the first to rent them.

He had heard about the situation on the front lines.

And the Witchcraft Flying Eye was precisely such a tactical tool.

The eyeball-shaped objects flew up, giving an unobstructed view of the Black Street Nightmare, the feed clearly transmitted to the Controller’s display panel.

"Drones? Drones that can be used in the Nightmare World!!"

"Isn’t this thing a hundred times better than the crappy robots our Countermeasures Bureau developed? Those things can’t even cross mountains or ridges; they just break down when they encounter any remotely complex environment."

"With these Witchcraft Flying Eyes, I’m not saying we’ll be able to map out the entire Ancient Village, but at least we can get a look at the situation in the core area."

"Old Song, Brother Song, Godfather Song! You’re the man! You’ve given us another hope of breaking this stalemate."

Song Jianshen let out a soft hmph, feeling quite pleased with himself.

But he stopped Long Niu from immediately laying out a new strategy.

He said,

"I’m not finished. Do you really think I’d come all this way just for this?"

"The problems with conquering the Ancient Village Nightmare are simply a lack of intel and insufficient combat strength. The former can be solved with the Witchcraft Flying Eyes, and I have a solution for the latter as well. It’s not just about relying on outside help; I can also recommend a place that can help Dream Descenders on the verge of a breakthrough finally take that last step."

"I felt the flow of Curse Power there. It’s where I took that step I’d been dreaming of."

"That place is called the Safe Zone."