Nightmare Assault

The woman in the white dress appeared again. Both Jiang Cheng and Chen Ran had a deep impression of the woman. She had never appeared in Black Stone Town or the group as they headed into the forest. She materialised out of thin air. She had a special connection with the white stone plate.

As the woman appeared, the ritual officially began. The elder was the first to kneel. The other locals who were captured followed. The low crying became the main rhythm.

Various images appeared in Jiang Cheng’s mind. They were from different angles. It was as if he had travelled back in time and was watching everything from the townspeople's perspective.

A giant figure appeared above the white plate. Even without lifting its head, it was around 5 meters tall. The majesty it exuded was indescribable. The scales on its body had sharp reflections. Even if it merely stood there, it was as gorgeous as the greatest product of nature. No one knew what it was, but everyone had to submit to its presence.

The outsiders were taken over by fanaticism. They were compelled to kneel to shower this unknown creature with their greatest respect.

Everything… changed in that moment.

To everyone’s surprise, the child that was placed on the stone plate didn’t get better. Instead… he was consumed by the strange creature. There was a series of harrowing munching sounds. The child’s tendons, bones and skin… were crushed by sharp teeth. Everyone was shocked.

It was not until the creature disappeared from the stone plate that someone screamed.

The woman on the stone plate used the corner of her sleeve to wipe at her lips like a gentlewoman after dinner.

The woman changed in the outsiders’ eyes. She… calmly ate the child. She had to be a devil!

A light red halo appeared. A bloody barrier surfaced around the edge of the stone plate. The barrier expanded to envelop the locals and the outsiders. The outsiders’ eyes turned red. The unknown power was corroding their last bit of rationality. Their fear of the creature and the mysterious altar turned into greed and anger.

“Kill her!” Someone shouted among the crowd. Their remaining rationality was overshadowed. The outsiders charged forward with the weapons.

Some of the locals moved to stop the outsiders, but it was pointless. Soon, the locals lay in pools of blood on the ground. Their blood dyed the place red. Blood could be squeezed out of the soil.

The woman lifted her head. Her eyes were clear, as if she couldn’t see the slaughter that was happening around her.

As the leader of Black Stone Town, the elder was the last to be killed. Before that, one of the outsiders sliced his granddaughter in half. He poked one half of her body with his blade and tossed the other half onto the stone plate. He wanted to know if someone with only half her body left could still be resurrected.

The elder’s eyes were red. He glared at the bandits with gripped fists. The hatred in his eyes was palpable. However, moments later, the elder laughed. As the outsiders’ lance was about to pierce his chest, the elder turned and ran. With difficult steps, he charged at the white stone plate. As his hands touched the stone plate, something incredible happened.

From his arms, it looked like the blood in his body was boiling. Terrifying boils appeared on his skin. His flesh fell off in pieces until only white bones remained of his arms. Even then, he didn’t let go.

The outsiders slowly approached. Only madness remained in their eyes.

Since… the woman allowed the devil to eat their child. Then… they’d eat the woman. Disgusting saliva dripped down their gaping mouths. Perhaps… they’d gain the woman’s mysterious power after they ate her. The power of immortality…

The outsiders’ eyes bulged. Their hands that held the weapon popped with veins. They surrounded the stone plate.

The woman stood there quietly. The bloody mist fluttered the corner of her dress. Her pure white dress was stained with minor sprays of blood. She stood there unfazed, as if she had nothing to do with the things around her. The cruel outsiders and the locals who sacrificed themselves to protect her were the same to her. There was no anger or sadness. Instead of calmness, it was more like detachment.

Everything in her eyes was a manifestation of history. The wheels of history moved forward. The flesh crushed underneath the wheels was just a flash in the pan. After all, new flesh would eventually take the place of the old ones.

The dying elder whipped his head around. His face had half-fallen away to reveal his skull. Even his voice had taken on a hollow quality. His lips were gone.

The elder cackled as blood tears flowed down his face like an inmate in hell.

Jiang Cheng frowned. The elder’s unbridled laughter echoed in his mind. This was not strange. Certain clues in the nightmare could affect people’s minds. Those with a weak mind could be swayed if they encountered the clues without warning.

In any case, the thing that confused Jiang Cheng was the emotions he captured from the elder’s laughter.

His whole clan was slaughtered, and his kin was brutally tortured before his eyes… It was understandable if the elder lost his mind and started laughing.

Hatred, anger and helplessness were emotions Jiang Cheng could understand. However, none of these emotions was present in the elder’s laughter. In fact, his laughter was coloured by…. A sense of release.

Yes.

Release.

Like an inmate who had been released after serving the end of his sentence.

The flesh disintegrated. The elder’s bone collapsed on the stone plate. His round skull rolled on the plate until it bumped against the woman’s feet and stopped.

His hollow eye holes stared at the woman accusingly.