Impenetrable darkness weighed down on the abyss pit.
The cave behind the city wall was brightly lit.
The rocking chair swayed slowly, its creaking sound like a lullaby. Chen Fan, who had endured immense pressure since arriving in this world, gradually relaxed as he listened to the cheerful chatter of Zhou Mo and the others in the camp.
A night breeze brushed against his face.
The cool, rain-moistened air extinguished his restless mood.
Even Chen Fan, lying in the rocking chair, drifted off into a deep slumber. His chest rose and fell gently with his breath, his body greedily savoring this moment of peace and tranquility.
Seeing this, everyone in the cave instinctively lowered their voices.
They gazed at Chen Fan, who was lounging in the rocking chair on the city wall.
The side of his face was girded by the soft glow radiating from the Eerie Fire.
This scene—
Zhou Mo unconsciously stopped grilling meat, straightened his back, and stared blankly. It was as if he saw the Station Master, alone in his chair, splitting the Perpetual Night in two. Behind the rocking chair was the camp the Station Master had built with his own hands; before it was the all-consuming Perpetual Night.
It was as though…
The man sleeping in the rocking chair was the camp's true city wall.
Holding the darkness at bay outside.
…
Rivernorth City.
"Tonight is the twelfth night since the rainy season began."
The leader of the Wild Wolf Gang stood on the battlement, his expression complex as he gazed silently into the darkness outside the city. Several days had passed since the last "Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide" assault, and Rivernorth City had ultimately withstood that disaster.
But…
The losses were severe.
The Wild Wolf Gang's reserves were nearly halved. Despite the donations from the commoners and merchants, the losses couldn't be recovered. Those precious Extraordinary Treasures were hard to replenish—they took time and chances to accumulate.
However.
The rainy season wasn't over yet. It had another twenty days to go.
"Gang Leader."
A trusted subordinate stepped forward and said solemnly, "Our resources are no longer enough to defend the city. We may have to retreat to the gang's territory. Unless… we spread the news that the Rivernorth Chen Clan impersonated us to receive supplies on the night of the Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide. This way, the commoners and merchants would pressure the Rivernorth Chen Clan to help defend the city."
"…"
A long silence later, the Gang Leader rasped,
"We've done our best."
"Don't do that. Even if the whole city were to pressure them, as long as the Rivernorth Chen Clan hides inside their level 3 city walls, no one can touch them. It would only turn both sides into outright enemies."
"The city… will most likely fall."
"When the city is about to be breached, by custom, the Rivernorth Chen Clan would shelter some people. At least they will survive."
The subordinate nodded heavily and continued, "Then do we still defend the city?"
"Yes."
The Gang Leader shook his head and sighed softly. "We'll continue defending as long as we don't face a major crisis. If we encounter another major crisis like the 'Flesh Worm Ghost Eerie Tide,' Brothers, take your families and retreat to our territory."
"I can expend the gang's reserves to defend Rivernorth City."
"But I won't expend the lives of my brothers to defend it."
"Understood."
The subordinate replied again.
…
Meanwhile—
Somewhere else, in the darkness.
A man wearing a cloak, sitting cross-legged on a jade platform, slowly opened his eyes. From them came a burst of piercing light, and a crimson triangle slowly rotated deep within each, looking utterly creepy.
Shattered Eerie Stones were scattered all around him.
"Just one step away."
Sitting in the rain, the man spread his arms and greedily breathed in the rain-saturated air, murmuring with longing in his eyes, "Cultivation indeed progresses faster during the rainy season. Now, I'm just one step away from ascending to Eerie King!"
"Rivernorth…"
"Witness the ascension of this king!"
The next moment—
"Hmm?"
As his gaze landed on the four Life Stones before him, he knitted his brows with a darkened face. One of the Life Stones had shattered—it belonged to "Qian Hou." Before entering seclusion, he had ordered Qian Hou to lead his subordinates to destroy the city walls of the two cities in the wasteland.
Now, it seemed something had gone wrong.
"How could this be…"
Anger and confusion flickered in the man's eyes. He had been to Rivernorth during last year's rainy season. The defensive structures of those two cities weren't enough to kill Qian Hou. With Qian Hou's duplication ability, as long as he wanted to escape, it would be hard to kill him.
He didn't speak again.
His expression kept shifting.
This meant his plan had been thwarted.
Without Qian Hou to destroy the city walls, breaking into the cities would cost him many of his troops.
Most importantly…
To break through the last barrier to become an Eerie King, he had to set up a Blood Sacrifice Formation on the Rivernorth wasteland. The materials and Eerie Stones for the Formation had all been carried by Qian Hou. With Qian Hou dead, those items were gone too.
The rest hardly mattered.
But the "Mountain Embryo Corpse" was a priceless treasure, the main material for the Blood Sacrifice Formation. Without this natural treasure, the Formation would be much weaker, and it couldn't guarantee a 100% breakthrough into Eerie King.
Next year?
Prepare for another year, wait until next year's rainy season to break through into Eerie King?
The moment this thought emerged, he crushed it. He had waited for too long; he couldn't let all his efforts go to waste now. At any cost, he had to ascend to Eerie King during this rainy season!
The man scanned the army of Eerie Creatures around him, a flash of determination crossing his face.
Picking up two Life Stones from the ground, he rasped,
"Qian Xi, heed my command."
"I order you to awaken from the desert, bring the Eerie Stones accumulated this year, lead your subordinates north to the 'Rivernorth wasteland,' investigate the cause of Qian Hou's death, find the lost Mountain Embryo Corpse if possible, assess the damage to the two cities' walls, and hunt freely for the remaining time."
"Qian Hu, heed my command."
"I order you to lead your subordinates through the 'Dead Sea,' bring the Eerie Stones accumulated this year, head south to the 'Rivernorth wasteland,' go to 'Nameless Mountain' to search for a Mountain Embryo Corpse. If you can't find it, join Qian Xi on the wasteland and await my arrival."
Every word he had uttered materialized in the air, drifting slowly into the Life Stones in his hand.
Soon.
The two Life Stones in his hand glowed simultaneously. Tangible characters floated out from the stones and appeared on blank Eerie-hides nearby.
One of the Eerie Hides had only one word.
"Understood."
The text on the other Eerie Hide was more complex.
"My King, Nameless Mountain is the seclusion site of You-know-who from 180 years ago. Over the years, all Eerie Kings on the Rivernorth wasteland have tacitly forbidden their subordinates from approaching Nameless Mountain, fearing they might offend You-know-who's taboos. Should we… still go?"
"…"
The man's expression darkened, indecisive at the moment.
180 years ago.
You-know-who was in seclusion on Nameless Mountain. After a cultivation breakthrough, just before leaving, he delivered a casual hammer strike, drawing power from heaven and earth, nearly smashing the Nameless Mountain apart, leaving a clear… hammer crater.
Even if he had ascended to Eerie King, he would have no chance of blocking that hammer strike.
They weren't on the same level of power.
He hadn't witnessed it himself.
But over the years, he had also followed the rules passed down by his predecessors, never approaching Nameless Mountain. Even though he knew "Nameless Mountain" likely had a Mountain Embryo Corpse, he had never considered it. Instead, he traveled far from Rivernorth to find a Mountain Embryo Corpse elsewhere.