Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

The man in the center looked to be around forty or fifty years old, wearing a light blue robe, with his beard and hair meticulously groomed; it was Leonard himself.

Looking at the sand table, Aloe vera thought to herself, "This is much more convenient."

Originally, she needed to use her magic to locate Leonard and then find a way to place him within the array's core. Now, with a reference image, she only needed to focus on drawing the magic circle.

Since Leonard imparted the method of separating the source power, Aloe has practiced it countless times, and its proficiency has long since reached the point where it is as easy as using an limb.

The magic array was completed in no more than 15 minutes.

Aloe vera let out a soft breath, thinking to herself, "Next comes the crucial step. Separating the source of the god is tantamount to extracting bone marrow; under normal circumstances, it's impossible not to sense it. Once Leonard discovers it, I have no chance of succeeding, but..."

However, Leonard's qualities are indeed beyond doubt, but the Dragon Queen is no ordinary person either.

Aloe vera is willing to believe that Leonard has lost his autonomy, and now may be the most likely time for him to succeed.

Furthermore.

While the movement of drawing a magic circle is subtle, how could it possibly go unnoticed under normal circumstances?

Leonard remained completely still on the sand table made by Mussogen.

This is enough to prove that he is now deeply immersed in his dream.

"This risk is worth taking."

The aloe vera took a deep breath and activated the formation.

……

……

"How pitiful..."

A deep voice suddenly rang out.

Leonard paused slightly, then "woke up." His mind was sluggish, and he didn't immediately grasp his situation, only sensing that something was amiss.

"Look at you, Leonard. You consider yourself a genius, looking down on everything in this world, not even the gods! And what happened? With a few simple tricks from the Dragon Queen, you became lost in the illusion she created."

The sound continued.

The voice was unusually calm, devoid of any inclination or emotion, yet Leonard detected blatant disdain and sarcasm within its neutral tone.

He finally came to his senses and realized with a start that he was tied to a rack!

This was quite a shock. He tried to struggle a couple of times, but found that he could not break free of the restraints.

A strong sense of unease arose, but Leonard instantly felt relieved.

He relaxed and murmured to himself, "It was a dream..."

"Don't you understand? This is the Dragon Queen's power. She deceives your senses and mind, making you believe that you are in a dream, so that you can calmly accept the impending harm—after all, no matter how dangerous, bizarre, or illogical a dream may be, it is still reasonable."

Leonard saw it clearly.

Beneath his rack sat a small black and white spotted dog, its dark eyes devoid of emotion.

The dog continued, “By the time you realize this isn’t a dream, it will be too late. I can tell you with certainty—you’re in a crisis.”

Leonard looked at the puppy and frowned slightly: "Who are you?"

The puppy replied, "I am the devil."

"Ha!" Leonard scoffed. "Black and white spots, a little devil?"

The war demon wagged its tail with a hint of boredom: "Believe it or not. I came here because I don't want the show to end so quickly. I'm looking forward to a grand war, a fierce and chaotic battle, not a short-lived farce. The gods have gone to great lengths to build such a magnificent stage; you 'dancers' should contribute an even more spectacular performance."

Leonard had no idea what the dog in front of him was saying!

However, as he began to truly think, the hints given by the Dragon Queen gradually faded away.

The ropes binding his hands vanished without a trace, and the rack supporting him disappeared as well. Leonard landed on his feet, standing on the crimson lake.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered—

The Dragon Queen of Community 2 is known as the "Dragon of Dreams"!

Legend has it that she does indeed possess the extraordinary skill of killing in dreams, and her greatest expertise lies in causing people to die in their sleep!

Combined with the "dragon-like" species discovered during this period...

Leonard shook his head: "No, that's impossible. Uh... 'Demon,' I don't deny the Dragon Princess's power, but you must understand, the Dragon Princess's abilities may not work on me! I, Leonard, am no ordinary person!"

The War Demon sneered: "Your realm has fallen to the twelfth level; aren't you just an ordinary person?"

"Everyone's cultivation level is declining! It's not just me!"

"How foolish. Everyone, are you sure? As far as I know... your daughter, the Spice Queen, is at the Thirteenth Realm now, isn't she?"

"?!"

Leonard was taken aback, not understanding why the dog in front of him knew about this.

The War Demon remained crouched and continued, “Dragons are creatures with long lifespans. Their long lifespans not only ensure that they have many high-level powerhouses, but also guarantee the inheritance and continuation of knowledge—the ‘ancient method’ your daughter uses is very likely a training method used by a dragon when it was young; since your daughter is unaffected, then the dragons are unaffected as well.”

“I can tell you something interesting. The Dragon Princess’s cultivation level has also declined, just like yours. But as a monarch, she is fully capable of using the power of other dragons to activate her abilities—the ‘Dream Entry’ from a fifteenth-realm supreme being. Can you, a twelfth-realm ‘Water God,’ withstand it?”

After the war demon finished his long-winded speech, Leonard remained silent.

Looking at the crimson sky above him and the scarlet lake below, he slowly came to understand his predicament.

The war demon continued, "If you still don't want to believe it, you might as well wait a little longer. Soon, you'll find out from others whether I'm lying or not."

Leonard turned around: "From whom?"

The demon laughed, "From the mouths of those who kill you."

Chapter 366 Strategic Retreat

No sooner had the war demon finished speaking than ripples appeared on the blood-red lake.

One, two, three.

Three people emerged from the lake. Leonard turned his head and recognized two of them.

Blue headscarf, pitiful cherry blossoms.

The last one was clearly a dragon. Leonard didn't know his name, but he could sense his murderous intent.

"Ok?"

Leonard watched them silently, his expression revealing little bias, his gaze calm.

The person wearing the blue headscarf expressed their confusion.

Without any restraint, he pointed at Leonard and said, "What's going on? Why is Leonard's dream different from everyone else's? Shouldn't he be tied to the rack?"

The dragonman was also unsure.

He hesitated, looking at Leonard carefully, as if trying to glean some clue from Leonard's expression—

Unfortunately, he couldn't.

As the leader of the Hersey family, Leonard has already formed some initial ideas and deductions, even though he cannot fully grasp the situation yet.

He judged that he couldn't act too "normal" right now.

The Dragon Princess's dream-based murders were too infamous; combined with his previous experiences, Leonard had reached a conclusion:

The princess's power is similar to "the alteration of common sense".

She used the dream as cover to lower the target's vigilance and defensiveness to the extreme, but she was not in a dream at the moment, but in an illusion.

He deserved to die if he was killed here!

and so……

"I will die, and the other party will not escape death either! In that case, why don't I turn the tables and use 'dreams' against them?"

Leonard squatted down as he thought about it.

He didn't dare touch the little dog that called itself a "devil" directly, but just raised his palm and made a "slurping" sound, as if he was teasing the dog.

"Humph……"

The war demon remained crouched on the ground, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Haha! I never expected that Mr. Leonard, the head of the Hersey family, who is said to have a net worth of trillions, would have such a tender side!"

The man in the blue headscarf laughed heartily and walked over step by step.

"..."

"..."

Sakura and the dragonman stood still, observing cautiously.

"Something's wrong."

The dragon-man thought to himself.

“I am familiar with the princess’s power. Her dreams are fixed; whoever is within the range of her ability’s effect will dream of being bound to a rack. If there is an exception, it means… the target has broken free of the restraints.”

"His mind is no longer under control, and he is very likely to fight back when faced with danger, rather than waiting to be killed!"

"but……"

Very strange.

The dragon-man looked at the blue-turbaned man who had already stood behind Leonard, raising his greatsword high as if to strike, and continued to think, "Normally, someone whose mind is out of control would be wary of someone invading their 'dream.' Why does Leonard still seem completely unguarded?"

"die!"

The man in the blue turban suddenly became unusually fierce. His eyes widened in anger, and he swung down his large knife.

With this strike, he used all his strength. As he pressed down, the blade gleamed with a chilling light that permeated the area within ten feet of him!

This strike is enough to cleave mountains in two!

but……

Ripples spread through the air, layer upon layer, like blooming lotus flowers. The slash, which should have been unstoppable, faltered, as if frozen in time.

Even faster than sight, the man in the blue headscarf noticed the anomaly.

The sensation in his hand gripping the knife was vastly different from before. Each ripple was a tremendous obstacle, hindering the blade's descent; each spreading ripple eroded his offensive.