Chapter 154: I've Been in the Nightmare World for Ten Years!

The castle stood at the center of the Sea Kingdom, occupying the highest point on the island. Built from stacked gray stones with towering walls, its exterior possessed a rugged, ancient grandeur—a far cry from the ornate palaces of fairy tales.

As the carriage reached the castle, its heavy wooden doors were slowly pushed open from the inside, letting out a dull rumble.

Stepping inside the castle, they were greeted by a spacious courtyard. Its stone-paved ground was spotlessly clean, centered around a mermaid fountain.

Yang Dongqing continually scanned the castle grounds. He kept a vigilant watch on every bush and decorative rockery, terrified a monster might suddenly leap out.

He had survived the Nightmare World several times, but he had never encountered a nightmare this safe.

The two soon stepped down from the carriage. Led by the consul, they entered the castle's great hall and finally met the so-called king.

The king was a middle-aged man. Unlike the dark-skinned people outside, his complexion was remarkably fair. His chiseled face carried a distinct charm tempered by age, and a warm smile rested on his lips. He didn't look like a king at all; he looked more like a friendly neighbor.

However, Su Mu and Yang Dongqing didn't keep their eyes on the king. Instead, they continually studied the seven people sitting in the chairs lining both sides of the hall.

These seven were dressed entirely differently from the citizens of the Sea Kingdom. One wore a sharp suit, another was in a tracksuit, and one girl wore a short skirt.

It was obvious—these seven were Nightmare Apostles!

The seven Nightmare Apostles stared right back at them, but their gazes were strange—anxious, panicked, and even desperate.

Well, not all of them. Two of the seven looked as if they had completely given up. They leaned back in their chairs with empty eyes, while attractive maids stood behind them, massaging their shoulders.

"Hello, Mr. Su, Mr. Yang. I am the king of the Sea Kingdom," the king said with a friendly smile. "But of course, as modern men, you can just call me by my name, Hu Jie."

Yang Dongqing froze, blurting out, "You're from the Real World too!?"

King Hu Jie answered frankly, "That's right, I'm also from the Real World. I am from the Longyuan Empire. May I ask which of the Seven Great Empires you two hail from?"

"The Longyuan Empire?" Yang Dongqing was taken aback. Even a terrible student like him knew basic geography. The Real World was ruled by the Seven Great Empires, and the Longyuan Empire was universally acknowledged as the strongest among them.

"The Chiyan Empire," Su Mu said with a faint smile.

"Oh? The Chiyan Empire?" Hu Jie said. "What a coincidence. It seems Miss Mu Qing, one of the Nightmare Apostles who arrived this time, is also from the Chiyan Empire." He looked toward the only girl in a short skirt.

The short-skirted girl's delicate eyebrows were tightly knit. She looked weighed down by something and showed no intention of speaking, merely offering a polite nod.

Curious, Yang Dongqing stole a couple of glances at Mu Qing, a flash of amazement crossing his eyes. Mu Qing's cold expression did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Her delicate face was palm-sized and fair, resembling a white porcelain doll. Her long, straight black hair was styled in a hime cut. Paired with a red plaid JK skirt and a petite frame under a meter and six tall, she looked exactly like a girl who had stepped straight out of a manga.

Yang Dongqing couldn't help but steal another look, thinking to himself that he would buy a JK outfit for Jasmine once he returned.

"I know you two must be very confused right now," Hu Jie said, "but there's no need to rush. The banquet is about to start. We can talk while we eat."

Before long, the castle servants brought out plate after plate of food, filling the long dining table. It looked like a lavish spread at first glance, but a closer inspection revealed that the dishes were almost entirely fish, shrimp, and other seafood, along with wild greens and potatoes.

Once everyone took their seats, the king finally began to slowly explain.

"Please, don't be so tense. I know it sounds unbelievable, but in truth, this dream island isn't as terrifying as you might imagine. It's different from any nightmare you've encountered before. The island itself is perfectly safe, completely devoid of any nightmare monsters. The only threat comes from the sea.

"You could even live a peaceful life here."

Su Mu took a sip of the coconut wine unique to the Sea Kingdom and asked, "Mr. Hu, as far as I know, Nightmare Apostles can't survive in the Nightmare World long-term. Even if we can't break the current nightmare, we will automatically wake up and return to the Real World once the time is up. What exactly do you mean by a 'peaceful life'?"

Hu Jie smiled faintly and was about to explain, but a highly agitated Nightmare Apostle cut him off.

"What does he mean? He means we can't go back! None of us can ever return to the Real World, and we can only live on this damn island forever!" The speaker was the young man in the tracksuit. His fists were clenched tight, his face twisted in fury.

"What did you just say!?" Yang Dongqing shot up from his chair. "What do you mean we can't go back!?"

He panicked, because he wanted to return more than anyone else; Jasmine was still waiting for him.

The young man in the tracksuit looked grim. "It means exactly what it sounds like. Ask him."

He pointed at the king, then stopped talking. He snatched his wine glass off the table and drained it in one gulp. When one wasn't enough, he poured himself another, seemingly trying to drown his sorrows.

Finding this hard to accept, Yang Dongqing looked at the king. "Mr. Hu, what does it really mean that we can't go back?"

"Alas." Hu Jie let out a heavy sigh. "Mr. Yang, I know this is hard to accept. Every Nightmare Apostle who arrives here finds it hard to accept, but it is the truth. This nightmare isn't a normal one like the ones we've experienced before. It has been invaded by the power of the Sea God."

"What do you mean it's been 'invaded by the power of the Sea God'? What does that have to do with returning to reality?" Yang Dongqing grew increasingly anxious; he had to get back!

"The Sea God is a God of the Nightmare World. No one has ever seen Him, and no one knows what kind of existence He truly is. All I know is that after the Sea God's power invaded this dream, its connection to the Real World was completely severed. In the past, a Nightmare Apostle only needed to survive in a nightmare for a period of time before naturally returning to the Real World.

"But due to the effects of the Sea God's power, no one can go back." A look of profound sorrow touched Hu Jie's face, as if recalling past memories.

"I don't believe it! To hell with this bullshit Sea God, I'm definitely going back!" As Yang Dongqing's emotions flared, an uncontrollable metallic sheen appeared on his body.

"You can't go back," Hu Jie sighed. "Mr. Yang, do you know how long I've stayed here? Ten years! A full ten years!"

"What!?" Yang Dongqing was abruptly startled. His first reaction was disbelief; how could there be a Nightmare Apostle who had stayed in the Nightmare World for ten years?

He instinctively checked the reactions of the others around him, only to find everyone wearing expressions of sorrow. No one questioned the claim.

"That's right, ten years. I entered this nightmare a decade ago. At the time, I was attacked by undead sirens. They weren't particularly strong, but they were utterly unkillable. My original plan was to slaughter the nightmare monsters, break the nightmare, and return to reality. When I realized they couldn't be killed, I changed my strategy and decided to wait for the time to end so I would return automatically. But I waited a month, then two months... then a year, then two years. I never woke up from the nightmare.

"Many Nightmare Apostles arrived during that period, and just like me, none of them could wake up either. That was when we realized that this nightmare is a dead zone. There is simply no going back.

"Later, after years of investigation, we learned that the culprit behind it all is the Sea God. The Sea God is the God of the sea. The undead sirens originate from Him, and His power has affected this nightmare."