Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 682 The "Temporary" Threat (Part 1)

"I feel... a force... is reviving..."

About fifteen minutes after "Red Wolf" left, Adaloni, who had been asleep for three days, finally awoke. However, his first reaction upon waking was not the brief period of confusion that most people experience; instead, he immediately sat up and, in a slightly weak voice, called out to Wright in front of him:

“I am surrounded by the power of my own kind, and it has been suppressing me ever since we entered the Nabusk Plain.”

“Slow down, Adaloni. You just woke up and haven’t eaten anything yet. You’re still very weak.” Dark quickly went to Adaloni’s side, helped him half-lie down, and then asked:
"What do you mean by the power of 'our own kind' that you just mentioned? Is it... located in this city?"

“He shouldn’t be here.” Adaloni slowly shook his head. Just as he was about to explain further, a violent sound, like an electric drill constantly chiseling in his brain, exploded in his consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, one of Adaloni's eyes suddenly turned pure gold, and a jet of pure black liquid, resembling a mixture of tar and pitch, shot out from his mouth. Instantly, a grating, mechanical grinding sound echoed throughout the room, and even "humans" like Dark and Wright, who were used to extraordinary things, felt a sudden unease and discomfort rising from the depths of their souls.

However, it seemed that the increasingly thick fog not only blocked the view but also completely swallowed the sound. Even though such a loud noise was coming from room ST.905, no one in the surrounding rooms cursed or knocked on the door to ask what was going on.

It was as if the entire room was now in a strange state of isolation from the world!
Soon, the fog outside the window dissipated slightly, and a massive, magnificent lighthouse, which could not possibly exist around Nebusk, stood like a mirage in the center of the city.

Dark and Wright speculated that if this was not a light and shadow illusion created by the city's rulers, the "Temporary Cooperative Council," then it must have been the activation of technology left over from the old empire, causing buildings buried underground to rise from the ground amidst the mist.

Is it to calm people's hearts? To assist in eliminating those "alienated lost ones" of the "Chaos Group"? Or... for some ulterior motive? Just like the "Old Fireworks Incident," does the "Temporary Cooperation Council" also want to sacrifice the humans of Nebusk to obtain energy?

Chaotic thoughts swirled in Wright's mind like swarming mosquitoes, constantly eroding his brain cells and causing him pain and itching.

However, soon, an even thicker fog completely enveloped the magnificent lighthouse, plunging the entire city back into the initial mist.

"Cough cough." Just as Dark got up to close the doors and windows to shut out the unsettling fog, Adaloni suddenly coughed a few times.

After a series of rapid breaths, Adaloni slowly opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice:
"He's here. Now, he's here."

“What ‘in’? Explain yourself, Adaloni.” Wright seemed a little anxious, pulling Adaloni along and asking urgently.

“The Dragon Clan… here lingers… unsettling… no, exhilarating and terrifying… the power belonging to the ‘Dragon Sovereign.’ No, He shouldn’t be here. The Dragon Realm is His divine domain; He has never left this place. Even when the ‘Upper Spirit Emperor’ activated Dragon's Ceremony, He never left that lava-filled prison through the ‘Gate of Karlov.’” Adaloni said in a panic.

"Someone has resurrected a dragon race with a purer bloodline. By... unorthodox means. This will bring disaster."

Before Adaloni could finish speaking, a dizzying crimson light flashed across the room, followed by a rapid whistle.

The cacophony didn't originate from the outside; rather, it emanated from the depths of each of their souls, like seeds already planted in their hearts, brains, and souls, ready to grow into towering bamboo with just a little external nourishment.

Using the wooden furniture, even the door frames and floors, the interior began to collapse uncontrollably into puddles of rotting powder, indistinguishable to the naked eye. Strands of black and crimson threads began to weave haphazardly through the rotten matter, emanating a strange, gloomy, and nauseating stench, much like rotting seafood.

Fear, disgust, contempt, and anger began to accumulate in the room. As the mental strength weakened, everything in the room looked increasingly strange and eerie.

Ordinary people, even elite Crusad Federation soldiers, would immediately suffer a mental breakdown in this situation, screaming, scratching their skin, and ending their lives with guns. But Wright, Dark, and Adaloni's power far surpassed that of the mastermind behind the extraordinary power they were using for evil. In just a few minutes, their red magic power, dark magic power, and the passively released dragon power completely dispelled all the evil spirits around them.

The room quickly returned to its original state.

However, at the open doorway, there was another figure dressed in a black fiery robe embroidered with a giant dragon, and a pale, bloodless face of a young Khitan Ris.

At this moment, he was holding a "Krusk Eagle" pistol, known for its high rate of fire, pointed directly at Wright's calm and composed head.

"Who are you?" Wright, sensing the danger, did not panic. Instead, he took advantage of the still thick fog to quietly move the two newly awakened "Dark Touches" behind him.

Immediately afterwards, he quickly lowered his head and rolled forward once, waving his two crocodile-like tentacles forward in a crisscross motion.

Bang bang bang... *smack*
The boy in the flame suit was exceptionally agile, or reaction time, even surpassing most elite Federation soldiers. However, he was 0.05 seconds slower than Wright, who had inherited the red magic power.

It was precisely because of this slight difference that he only fired a few shots randomly before the Dark Touch twisted his arm off.

In an instant, thick blood, a mixture of pitch black and deep red, slowly gushed out from the cut, and the next second, it flowed down like a stream.

Instantly, the nauseating deep-sea stench from before filled the room once more, and the boy's severed hand, upon hitting the ground, turned into a pool of rotten, foul-smelling mud that grew in the abandoned swamp, flowing down the filthy ground to even lower levels, leaving only that standard, eerie, and desolate white skeleton standing there all alone.

Even though it had long since lost its life, it still maintained the same shooting posture as before.

Click!Click!
Wright strode forward, crushing the disgusting, grotesque bones with his foot while simultaneously kicking them lightly. With one hand, he grabbed the "Krusd Swift Eagle" pistol that was "rising" into the air and placed it against the chest of the boy in the flaming clothes.

“His name is ‘Emperor’, he’s an ‘Executor’ of the ‘Dark Night Investigation Team’, and he should be… Hoshino Shota’s contact with us.” Because everything had happened so fast, in the instant he came to his senses, Dark immediately stepped forward and snatched the “Crewd Swift Eagle” pistol, explaining to Wright.

“An enemy?” Wright observed “Eternal Light” with a cautious gaze. Intuitively, this young man with a strong “flavor” of Khitanris did not reveal the slightest friendliness. On the contrary, his brows and expression reflected a worrying sinister aura.

Even though his expression seemed perfectly normal on the surface, when he shone the power of the "Peeping Bracelet" on the back of his hand at "Eternal Light," it gleamed with a pure black color that instilled a slight sense of fear and wariness.

"Order 2: Abandonment. Your magical power is a level higher than ours. If the administrators of Nebusk are sincere, and the leaders of the Dark Night Investigation Team are not hostile to us, they don't necessarily have to choose someone like you, whose strength on paper is just better than ours... The Lost One. The Lost One... No, I smell something else in you." Wright walked thoughtfully to "Eternal Light," tightly binding his arms with "Touch of Darkness," completely restricting his ability to resist.

"As expected of the inheritor of 'Red Magic Source Power,' Mr. Light Sogra. Originally, Atlanca and Leader Kazama Zero only wanted me to test your strength before making any plans. It seems their judgment was clearly flawed in certain aspects." "Eternal Light" changed the subject.

"This slight advantage in magical energy is indeed insignificant in the face of the 'ancient gods,' those powers that can never be seen or explained. But this is not enough to make the rulers of this city abandon their crazy ideas."

“Speak clearly, don’t play games with us. We don’t want to do any reading comprehension. At worst, I’ll use your head to negotiate with those guys from the ‘Dark Night Investigation Team.’ By the way, that level of mental attack was completely ineffective against us. I suggest you don’t do anything stupid like that again. Otherwise, you’ll just become a laughing stock,” Wright threatened.

"Do you really want to know the rulers' plans? Fine." "Eternal Light" smiled wryly, sighed slightly, and said to Wright behind him, facing the open wooden door:

"The 8th to 10th floors of the St. Basil's Hotel were cleared out an hour ago. Now the area is surrounded by heavily armed Nebusk guards. If you are willing to take the dragon with you to the 'Hall of Truth' in the 'Magnificent Building,' someone will be there to answer your questions."