Chapter 42: Dreams and Assassination

Reyn revealed the true nature of this dreamscape to the Nightmare Legion soldiers trapped within it.

The soldiers fell into a collective silence.

A dreamscape forged from transcendent power...

To be honest, even if a dragon were standing right here, the Imperial Legion would not feel a shred of fear, but transcendent power fell beyond the scope of what courage and physical might could handle.

No matter how sharp a blade was, it could not extinguish fire or melt ice; such were the limitations of physical laws.

"Mage," the military judge said with a solemn expression, "we ask for your help."

"Of course, after all, you don't have any other choice," Reyn chuckled and said.

The Imperial Legion possessed one very distinct advantage: their moral values were quite traditional and conservative. The quality of repaying a kindness, which was almost on the verge of extinction in the outside world, was instead a widespread phenomenon within the legion.

An opportunity to make the Nightmare Legion owe him a favor was something Reyn would never allow himself to miss.

"I have observed the magical circuits here," Reyn continued. "Highrock City is the center of the entire dreamscape, and the negative emotions of your fallen comrades are collectively flowing toward that direction."

"In other words, the ritual site maintaining this entire dream-prison is most likely located within Highrock City."

"We will conquer Highrock City!" the Nightmare Legion soldiers declared one after another. "This is a battle of glory for the legion, and we will never allow failure!"

Then why don't you go and conquer it yourselves instead of shouting slogans in front of me?

If the types of spells were unrestricted, Reyn possessed countless methods to capture Highrock City within the dream without losing a single soldier.

However, considering the perceptions of the Imperial Legion soldiers around him...

"Give me a sword," Reyn said.

"Aha, it seems you are also a magic swordsman?" the military judge laughed heartily, instructing the soldiers to bring him a longsword, a shield, and a spear.

The standard equipment of an imperial soldier was a sword in the right hand, a shield in the left, and a spear slung across the back. Short and long weapons were switched at any moment according to combat needs, but the shield was the soul of a legion soldier.

Yet Reyn refused the shield and spear, grasping only the longsword in his right hand and beginning to draw circles in the air directly in front of him.

"Hey, Parrot!" the imperial soldiers asked the military judge. "What is he doing?"

"Clearly, he is casting a spell on himself," the military judge said with a steady expression. "Although magic swordsmen use magic for assistance, they primarily fight with a sword. I can tell at a glance that he is a true warrior."

Just as his voice fell, everyone saw the blade in Reyn's hand begin to emit brilliant sparks, which then transformed into a ring-shaped path of fire, within which the scenery shifted to the interior of Highrock City.

Dream-shrouding technique, an evil art that allowed one to traverse within dreams, was also Reyn's greatest reliance in daring to enter this collective dreamscape.

The Imperial Legion soldiers were dumbfounded.

"Let's go, soldiers," Reyn said, leaping into the ring with his sword in hand. "It is time to demonstrate your courage!"

"Let's go!" The legion soldiers finally snapped to their senses, hastily following Reyn as they leaped into the ring and directly teleported into Highrock City. "For the Empire!"

In the real plane, in a certain partitioned room of the Nightmare Castle's underground warehouse, the floor was covered entirely with filthy runes written in fresh blood. Several bald cultists sat huddled around the magic array, maintaining their connection to the infernal plane through prayer.

Suddenly, they all opened their eyes at the same time, their expressions as gloomy as stagnant water:

"The dreamscape is about to fall."

"Where did that mage pop out from? Why can he also use the dream-shrouding technique?"

"Could he be a believer from another sect?"

These questions were destined to remain unanswered, for there was a far more important matter at hand.

"The enemy has mastered the dream-shrouding technique, and Highrock City can no longer be defended," the leader quickly made a decision. "Immediately attack the castle hall and kill that mage's physical body!"

In the castle hall, Fahel's family knights had already put away their swords and shields, standing in a circle around Reyn instead, glaring fiercely at the legion soldiers opposite them.

To avoid unnecessary conflict, the legion soldiers also put away their weapons, maintaining a certain distance from them, and then continuously bounced up and down in place to keep themselves from accidentally falling asleep.

Ellyna stood beside Reyn and suddenly heard Betharia whisper:

"Reyn only ordered us to protect his safety, right?"

"What do you want to do?" Ellyna asked coldly.

"Just do something that won't endanger his safety," Betharia said with a smiling expression. "For example, give him a makeover?"

"Boring."

"Don't be like that. You've accumulated plenty of resentment toward him usually, haven't you?" Betharia was about to continue persuading when she suddenly turned her head toward the depths of the hall, her hand already resting on the hilt of her waist-sword. "Ellyna?"

"Mm." Ellyna raised her long spear.

The two drew their weapons simultaneously, which actually startled Messer nearby. The old marquis had told him to protect Reyn and the two elves, but had never mentioned what to do if the two elves simultaneously attempted to assassinate Reyn—which one should take priority in protection.

Better protect Reyn; after all, he was the old marquis's own son.

Without changing his expression, he drew his longsword, prepared to strike down the two elves instantly at the slightest sign of abnormal movement from them.

Seeing Messer suddenly draw his sword, the family knights also drew theirs one after another, causing the legion soldiers opposite them, despite not understanding the situation, to instinctively pull out their weapons as well.

Immediately afterward, a large number of demons surged forth from the depths of the castle hall.

There were imps, small in stature like mischievous children with wings; horned demons, wielding flaming whips and stepping with inverted goat hooves; and wrath demons, robust in body and covered in spikes. They snatched up the shield racks from the sides of the wall, charging fiercely toward the knights along with the large wooden shields mounted on them!

Just as expected!

When Reyn uttered the phrase "protect me well" before entering the dreamscape, Betharia had keenly guessed that Reyn must have anticipated that enemies would attempt a direct assault on his physical body.

She swiftly scooped Reyn up into her arms while dodging backward with astonishing agility.

Ellyna abruptly thrust forward with her spear, the tip precisely catching the gap in the shield rack, and then swept it into a large circle, cleverly neutralizing the force while redirecting its momentum to hurl it back, knocking away an imp that was currently casting a spell.

The castle hall instantly plunged into a chaotic battle!

The individual tiers of these demons were not particularly high. Both imps and horned demons relied on ranged attacks and could be forcibly intercepted with shields; only wrath demons excelled in charging and possessed boundless strength, requiring multiple knights to join forces to restrict their movements in order to counter them.

Under these circumstances, Messer temporarily cast aside his wariness and allowed the legion soldiers to join in, constructing a consecutive wall of shields to counter the demons.

The legion commander led by example, joining the frontline with a shield in hand, shouting and commanding the soldiers to exert their strength and hold their ground.

The tribune hurried backward, found Betharia holding Reyn, and asked in a deep voice:

"How much longer before he wakes up?"

"Mmhmm," Betharia shrugged and said. "The enemies are jumping in panic, most likely because he is about to succeed..."

She spoke in a relaxed tone, yet she watched as the tribune suddenly whipped out a dagger and lunged it toward Reyn's chest!

The tip of the poisoned dagger was about to touch Reyn's clothes, yet it could not advance a single fraction of an inch further—for Betharia had reached out her left hand with even greater speed, gripping the legion tribune's wrist.

"Assassination technique, 7 points," she said with a smile. "But the intent of approaching was far too obvious, 0 points."

Her response was met by a piercing scream from the tribune.

The poisoned dagger slipped from his fingers, making a crisp sound as it collided with the ground. The tribune collapsed in agony, twisting, struggling, and screaming as though enduring the torment of some poison, startling many of the legion soldiers who turned their heads back, hesitating whether they should come to the rescue.

"Focus on the combat!" the legion commander's voice resounded through the hall like thunder. "Our brothers' lives are in critical danger! We must protect that wizard lord!"