Nightmare Despair

Chapter 65 Approaching
Taking the monsters that Zhou Kai encountered and saw as examples, the monsters inside and outside the town can be roughly divided into four types.

Humanoid species: Wanderers, parasites, swordsmen, armored warriors—these are bipedal beings that are strangely shaped but still somewhat human-like, and can all be classified into this category.

Mutant: A wolf-like monster with insect-like arthropods, seen only once from afar.

Fearful species include: doughy faces seen through the study window, paper figures encountered in the basement, etc. The most prominent feature is the accompanying intense fear, hallucinations, and even mind control.

Zhou Kai called the fourth type a special species.

He categorized the enormous, mountain-like hand he saw in the distance; the dark, bluish-black hand reaching for him in the darkness; the insects in the tide of blood; and the willow-twig men wandering not far away as such.

Whether this classification method is correct or not, Zhou Kai obviously has no way of verifying.

After all, there were no reference materials.

But Zhou Kai felt that if Morning Star had stayed in Soraka town long enough and left behind more than nine notebooks, then he might have done the same thing.

This isn't just being bored; quite the opposite, it's crucial for surviving nightmares.

"Different types of monsters have completely different ways of being killed and their weaknesses are also very different..."

"For humanoids, physical exorcism will suffice. For fear-inducing species, you'll need Moonlit Orchid or some other sacred artifact to subdue them..."

Record the types of problems, identify weaknesses in the experiment, and analyze countermeasures.

Zhou Kai's eyes gleamed red in the darkness; he firmly believed that everything he had done would not be in vain.

……

The willow-twig figures seem to be searching for something, or perhaps just wandering aimlessly.

It seems as if there is an invisible track beneath its feet, running only on the town's wide main road.

It would occasionally approach the houses by the roadside and linger briefly at the door, but after observing for a while, Zhou Kai realized that no matter what, this thing would never step into the house.

It was as if... it knew perfectly well that the house was empty.

"Could they be looking for me? Wait..."

In the darkness, Zhou Kai crept up to the two houses that the willow-wielding men had already "inspected." By the light of a distant fire, he saw that the house numbers of the two houses were consecutive.

He found a third one, and they were still connected.

"This guy... is searching building by building, one by one, according to the house number!"

A chill ran down Zhou Kai's spine and straight to the top of his head.

The willow man had unknowingly found number 374, at a rate of about one house every two minutes...

Find his shelter number 777 in no more than sixteen hours!

Sixteen hours...

Unless Zhou Kai doesn't actively enter the nightmare in the next few days, the Willow Man will almost certainly run into him within the next twelve hours of forced conscription!

If this guy corners you at home, even a fool could tell that you won't end up well.

"Fortunately, it was discovered early."

Zhou Kai was glad he hadn't stayed put today and mustered up the courage to go out.

But identifying a problem is one thing, solving a problem is another.

Zhou Kai now understands that he must get rid of the Willow People as soon as possible, but how can he do it?

Lure it away? Judging from its rigid behavior, it's probably impossible to lur it away.

Fighting it? That would be suicide.

The zombies in the town, who are not afraid of blood tides and can bathe in insect swarms, seem to avoid the Willow People as if they have encountered their natural enemy.

What happens if you don't run? The chain-hammer armored warrior who was casually burned to ashes during the last Nightmare loading was a cautionary tale for all the monsters!
"We can only get closer to take a look... there's no other way."

Looking at the giant torch moving in the distance, Zhou Kai finally made up his mind.

The Willow-shaped Human was enormous, and besides the flames, it seemed to possess something else entirely.

He understood the principle of "the darkest place is under the lamp," and the key to defeating the willow man likely lay within the willow man itself. Having made up his mind, Zhou Kai immediately concealed himself and cautiously approached the willow man.

He put away his pistol during the operation, realizing that in this quiet town where only the sounds of rain and thunder could be heard, a gunshot would be far too conspicuous.

"In the end, I still find the greatsword easier to use."

Zhou Kai took out a greatsword from his inventory, dragged the blade along, and sped through the rain curtain stained red by the firelight.

A sharp whooshing sound swept past Zhou Kai's side, and his body reacted before the thought even crossed his mind.

Zhou Kai's arm muscles bulged instantly, and he exerted force from his waist and abdomen, channeling power throughout his body.

The broad greatsword swung upwards at an angle, meeting the attacker from the darkness.

clang!
A piercing clang of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying everywhere, like a burst of fireworks exploding in the night.

The two swords clashed, and one of them snapped in two!

The broken blade spun out and embedded itself deeply in the adjacent courtyard wall. A decaying swordsman, holding the half-broken sword in his hand, stood frozen in place.

It seemed unable to comprehend why the weapons it relied on for survival were so fragile.

Zhou Kai grinned. "This treasure that I've upgraded with experience points, is it something you, a lump of rusty iron, can touch?"
There is absolutely no need to launch a victory charge.

Zhou Kai held his greatsword horizontally in front of his chest, pushed off with his feet, and charged towards the swordsman like a cannonball.

The chariot engravings on his arm gleamed slightly, and the power of the second level of Falcon Strike Technique was pushed to its limit by the undiluted secret medicine.

At this moment, Zhou Kai is at the peak of his career like never before.

dead!
A flash of sword light, and the heavy object fell to the ground.

Before the decaying swordsman could even react, he fell backward into the muddy water.

This time, only one sword strike.

Zhou Kai then cleanly and decisively chopped off its head from its shoulder, just like cutting tofu!
Of course, it won't die even if it does that.

Without hesitation, Zhou Kai delivered a second blow, his sword plunging heavily into the swordsman's abdomen. With a twist of his wrist, he violently stirred the swordsman's energy a few times, and the swordsman's life force completely dissipated.

[Defeat the 'Rotten Swordsman' to gain 12 Universal Experience Points]

[Thanks to the Occult Skill Lv2, unexpected gains: a slightly valuable memory*1, a strange skin*1]

[You have achieved a decisive victory... Chariot Mark Experience Points +1]

[General Experience Points: 12 → 24]

【Scars: Chariot - Part 1 (2/100)】

"Got another skin?"

Zhou Kai's eyes flickered slightly, which meant that he would soon be able to make his first attempt at "plundering" the engraving.

The experience gained from plundering should far exceed that from a single victory.

But now, surrounded by the red glow of the rain, he didn't have the courage to perform the ceremony on the spot.

Moreover, this slight improvement is unlikely to be of any decisive help in dealing with the Willow People they will face next...

"Put it away for now, we'll talk about it when we get back!"

Zhou Kai glanced at the corpse at his feet, quickly sensed his surroundings, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he dragged the decaying swordsman's corpse to a corner, noted its location, and continued forward.

We're already quite a distance from the shelter, and dragging the prey back now will only increase the risk.

Zhou Kai decided to find out the situation with the Willow People first, and then decide whether to take the body back.

After all, the swordsman's corpse can improve Soraka's swordsmanship, and it's quite valuable. It's best not to waste it unless absolutely necessary.

……

(End of this chapter)