Because He Had Worked Out in Advance

As night fell, the Eternal Nightmare Cultist sat on the ground with their eyes closed.

"Are you sure your plan is effective?" Luo Qi looked at the cultists in front of him with great suspicion and said, "Are you trying to scam me?"

"Of course, Bishop Luo Qi, please believe us, he is not as terrible as you think," Fenris said. "As long as you do as we say, with your strength, you will be able to take him down the moment he sees you."

"You make it sound so easy, but your elite troops all died mysteriously." Luo Qi was very cautious. "Either you're too weak, or you're setting me up."

Currently, delegations from the Rhine and the Nightmare Church are gathered in a secluded corner of the De La Town, preparing to hunt down the Forbidden Scholar Ai De Wen.

The main target of this hunt was Luo Qi, while the Church of Eternal Nightmare provided assistance.

However, Luo Qi was still very cautious about personally leading the charge; he didn't want to capsize before even reaching Nameless Town.

"I don't deny that the Nightmare Follower's defeat was somewhat unexpected," Fenris said. "But considering what he possessed, defeating the Nightmare Follower wasn't impossible."

"You mean that forbidden knowledge?" Luo Qi looked into Fenris's eyes and said sarcastically, "You think he stuffed that forbidden knowledge into the heads of your elite troops and then 'boom' your elite troops' brains exploded?"

Fenris ignored Luo Qi's sarcasm and even nodded slightly, saying, "That is indeed the most direct method."

"Damn, knowledge really is power."

"Yes, Bishop Luo Qi, knowledge has always been power. Forbidden Knowledge is forbidden power, and I'm glad you understand that."

"Who the hell told you that?! What I'm trying to say is, if that guy can cram that forbidden knowledge into the heads of your elite troops, why can't he cram it into mine?" Luo Qi tapped his temple. "I don't want my head to explode for no reason!"

"You can rest assured about that," Fenris said calmly. "That Forbidden Knowledge is ultimately just a piece of information, not an invincible weapon. Mental attacks can naturally be intercepted using mental means, and in this respect, no one is better than us, the Eternal Nightmare Apostle."

"Your words carry absolutely no weight now that your so-called elite troops have been wiped out," Luo Qi said. "If they were so effective, why don't you put protective gear on yourselves?"

"It's simple. After we put on the protection, we will also lose our fighting ability," Fenris said. "All our attack methods come from the mind and dreams. After shielding these two points, we are just ordinary people... no, even weaker than ordinary people. As you can see, due to being immersed in dreams for a long time, our physical bodies have long since degenerated to a certain extent."

Indeed, compared to the tall and imposing Rhine Knight on Luo Qi's side, the Eternal Nightmare Apostle looked like a group of starving old, weak, sick, and disabled people. Even Fenris, the highest-ranking member, was so thin that he was almost unrecognizable.

"If you're completely powerless without your spirit and dreams..." Luo Qi was still suspicious. "Then shouldn't Ai De Wen be the same? Why didn't you just block them all out and capture him? Why did he manage to escape?"

"Because that guy made very thorough preparations in order to escape smoothly, we were unable to stop him."

"What ample preparation? You still haven't told me something after all..."

"He trained for six months ahead of time," Fenris said calmly. "He even ate, slept, and excreted on time every day, which eventually gave him a strong physique. So when he was on the run in reality, our people couldn't beat him at all."

Luo Qi: "..."

"That's why we need your help," Fenris said earnestly. "We can't possibly train for six months just to capture him; it would be too late. But it's no problem for you. Especially you, Bishop Luo Qi, your muscles are much bigger than his. I believe he is no match for you."

Luo Qi was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure what expression to wear. He couldn't help but ask, "So, assuming there's a powerful man wielding dual swords who can completely shield himself from dreams and the mind, he could wipe out all of you Eternal Nightmare Apostle?"

"Theoretically speaking, it is indeed possible, but in reality, it's zero," Fenris said calmly. "Because we also have the means to shield dreams and the mind, and even we can't completely shield them. As long as someone has a brain, even if they are mentally challenged, we can still kill them in their sleep in a million ways. Without such means, how could we have survived until now?"

Luo Qi thought about it and realized that it did seem to make sense.

"So what exactly are you planning to do?" Luo Qi remained cautious. "Don't think I didn't hear you. You just said that even you can't completely block out dreams, so there's still a possibility that he could blow my head off?"

"It might be possible elsewhere, but not here." Fenris spread his hands, behind him the town lights fading into the distance. "This is a whole town's dream."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason we chose to act at night is because of the dreams of the townspeople," Fenris said. "We will use a compensatory spell to redirect all his mental attacks on you into the dreams of these townspeople, including that Forbidden Knowledge."

"...It's actually possible?" Luo Qi was somewhat surprised. "What would happen to the person whose knowledge was transferred... Well, I think I asked a pointless question."

"They will return to the Lord's embrace," Fenris said calmly. "And you, until all those who dream tonight are dead, you will not be affected by any dreams. I think that's enough time for you to kill that guy countless times."

"Only if you can find him."

"Of course, it's not difficult," Fenris said with a smile. "Because he clearly shares the same idea as us, wanting to use the dreams of these residents to complete his forbidden research, so when he starts, we can naturally find... oh?"

Halfway through his sentence, Fenris narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled softly.

"It has been found."

The moment Fenris finished speaking, the Eternal Nightmare Cultist behind him raised their hands in unison, as if to embrace something.

Fenris stood between them and extended his hand.

Then, Luo Qi saw strange rays of light emanating from the bodies of these Eternal Nightmare Cultists, eventually converging in Fenris's palm, which Fenris then handed to Luo Qi.

"Please use it, Bishop Luo Qi."

"Before you say 'please,' could you at least tell me how to use this thing?" As a bishop of the orthodox Church, Luo Qi was wary of everything related to cultists. "At least tell me what this thing is?"

"This is the 'Dreams of All Living Beings,' the dream of everyone in this town tonight," Fenris said softly. "Place it into your mind, and it will lead you to Ai De Wen and protect you from all his dream-based attacks, including that forbidden knowledge. Don't worry, Bishop Luo Qi, you will be fine until everyone who enters this dream tonight goes mad. So you have plenty of time to find that guy and take care of him."

Since Fenris had put it that way, Luo Qi really couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the Dreams of All Living Beings, and then put it into his head.

To be honest, it felt strange, like something had flowed in, cold and refreshing, which made Luo Qi feel a chill.

But soon, he "saw" some strange images.

An elderly person was holding a child and laughing heartily; a child was gazing at the snacks and swallowing hard; and a man was holding a piece of black bread, looking worried...

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Luo Qi realized that this was the so-called "Dreams of All Living Beings".

"Don't get lost in other people's dreams." Fenris's soothing voice pulled Luo Qi back to reality. "Unless you have received professional training like us, Bishop Luo Qi, you should set off."

Beyond these dreams, Luo Qi did indeed vaguely sense a guiding force.

That should be Ai De Wen's position.

"You'd better finish this quickly, or at least not make too much of a commotion," Fenris advised. "Making too much noise will disturb these people's dreams, and if they all wake up, the Dreams of All Living Beings will end. Of course, you probably wouldn't want to make such a commotion that wakes up the whole town by dealing with a scholar who is completely powerless in reality."

"Don't underestimate me." Luo Qi snorted and turned to leave. "Capturing them alive might be a bit difficult, but if it's just about killing, I can kill as many guys like you as I see."

Having confirmed Ai De Wen's combat strength multiple times, Luo Qi decided not to have his subordinates accompany him. After all, more people would naturally make more noise, so he might as well go by himself.

After the fight, you can find an excuse, saying that you still suffered some emotional trauma, so you plan to go to the Nameless Town to recuperate or something.

However, just to be on the safe side, Luo Qi used Rhine's magic to buff himself with a bunch of mental buffs, just in case those cultists were unreliable.

So, after walking through a small part of Dela Town, Luo Qi arrived at a secluded house.

He could sense that Ai De Wen was inside.

Luo Qi snorted and, despite his mental resistance, kicked open the door to the hut.

Sure enough, Ai De Wen was inside.

Luo Qi had seen the old man's portrait at Fenris's place, so he recognized him at a glance.

He looked like a complete weakling, utterly posing no threat whatsoever.

Luo Qi gave a disdainful smile.

But who is that red-haired woman next to him?

Luo Qi looked at the other person raising his staff with great suspicion.

Then,

"Boom"!

The towering white beam of light almost illuminated the entire De La Town, and even the delegations from Eternal Nightmare and Rhine, located halfway outside the town, could see it clearly.

"Why such a commotion?" Fenris frowned slightly as he looked at a Rhine Knight standing beside him. "Are your bishops always so extravagant?"

The Rhine Knight scratched his head.

Fuck you!

Fenris, I'm on the 8 AM shift!

Luo Qi roared inwardly.

What kind of information did this guy give me?! Didn't he say it was just Ai De Wen?! Didn't he say this guy only uses mental attacks?!

What's the deal with this red-haired lunatic?!

I have maxed out my mental resistance, and you're telling me this guy is a magic user?!

One day I'll make you taste the terror of Rhine's number one steel gun!

Luo Qi is furious and on the verge of going berserk because he is in a terrible state, covered in wounds.

But you can't blame him, because he really was under a lot of mental buffs, and then he ran into He Wei Ni Ya who was prepared.

If it had been someone else from the delegation, even someone of the same rank as him, Fenris, instead of him, they would have been blasted to smithereens by now. Only he could still hold on.

But where did this woman come from?! Why does she know how to use...?

A melodious tune rang in Luo Qi's ears. He watched as He Wei Ni Ya tapped her staff like a conductor, and then the space in front of him began to distort.

Luo Qi's pupils narrowed slightly, and he immediately twisted his massive body, making an extremely bizarre, twisted shape in mid-air.

However, this also successfully dodged He Wei Ni Ya's attack. After a tooth-grinding "snap," the space of the [Five Sounds · Magic Cube] twisted and turned into nothingness.

This confirmed Luo Qi.

This woman is indeed a musician! But where did she come from?! Aren't Holy Sound all dead?!

Could this guy be...?

"A tongue?!" he exclaimed in shock. "You're a tongue?!"

Tongue, whose is that?

Is Bai Wei?

He Wei Ni Ya realized this guy knew something, and it seemed she'd have to pry something out of him later. But not now. For the moment, He Wei Ni Ya remained silent and continued her attack.

In Luo Qi's eyes, this was already an admission.

Damn it, wasn't Tongue supposed to be in Nameless Town?! How did he end up here?! And he's ambushing him!

What kind of false information did that damn Hand Eye provide!

Luo Qi was truly enraged, feeling as if the whole world was deceiving him.

Do you really think I'm a pushover?!

Luo Qi roared, and then, out of He Wei Ni Ya's blind spot, gave himself a thumbs up.

[Disturbance]!

Then power surged forth like a tide.