Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 685 Chaos on the Riverfront

Can't there be fewer riddle solvers in the world?

Tang Zijun hates guys who don't speak their minds. "What kind of feat could even the gods accomplish? Explain it clearly! Even the gods of yesteryear couldn't do it, and even the progenitor of greed couldn't return. This is obviously no simple task."

Although Tang Zijun could tell that Poseidon was unwilling to say it because he didn't want to put too much pressure on himself, his actions only increased her own pressure. As the saying goes, the unknown is the root of fear.

If you don't even know what you're about to face, how can you be fully prepared?

However, besides that, Tang Zijun was actually more curious about another thing Poseidon mentioned: you haven't truly mastered your own power yet.

To truly master one's own power?

What does it mean to truly master one's own power?

Tang Zijun narrowed her eyes slightly, her thoughts inevitably turning to her belt, the Wolf Rider Belt. This was the power she had been using since she transmigrated to this world. Although she had always thought it was a cheat code she had brought with her, she now understood that the power of the Wolf Rider should come from the power of desire of the greedy, a great power created by a young man's admiration for heroes.

This is quite different from traditional Kamen Riders; instead, it's somewhat like Ultraman, possessing a special energy that's a bond of light. However, Tang Zijun doesn't understand what true power is.

Since his first transformation, his combat power has risen from an ordinary cadre to a god-level, and he has even mastered the ultimate form (Ultimate Greed), an incredibly powerful ability that allows him to hold his own against anyone.

Tang Zijun didn't understand why Poseidon would say he hadn't mastered true power when he already controlled such a powerful force.

Could it be that I overlooked something, or perhaps I took the wrong path before...?

"Brother, are you alright?"

Just as Tang Zijun was deep in thought, Tang Cao's voice suddenly came from the side, bringing Tang Zijun back to his senses. He turned his head and saw Tang Cao holding a lollipop in her mouth, looking at him with a curious expression.

"I, I'm fine, why do you ask?" Tang Zijun rubbed her temples and replied casually.

"Are you sure?" Tang Cao looked unconvinced. "But ever since we left the Crown City and came to the Dream World, you've seemed preoccupied. What are you worried about? Tell me, and maybe I can give you some advice."

"I'm really fine, I was just thinking about those two Old Ones." Tang Zijun waved her hand. "By the way, shouldn't you be on patrol right now? What are you doing here? Is something the matter?"

"You old rascal, you still say you have nothing on your mind? My patrol time is long over, and now Sister Xiao is watching over us." Tang Cao sighed, then continued, "Sister Tan asked me to come and call you for dinner. Didn't we agree to have a nice meal together tonight?"

'

"...It's already evening." Upon hearing this, Tang Zijun subconsciously glanced out the window, only to find that the sky outside was already dark. "It must be because it's too dark here. I've been lighting candles all day and didn't even notice how quickly time has passed."

"Tch, you just forgot." Tang Cao stuck out her tongue, then reached out and pulled Tang Zijun up. "Come on, come on, everyone's waiting for you."

The long dining table, made of some kind of dark hardwood, was covered with a clean but slightly worn linen tablecloth.

At this moment, the table is filled with an incredible feast!

This is not something produced in the dream world. Apart from mutated cockroaches, lizards, and some unidentifiable fungi, there is almost nothing here that can be called "food".

These are all luxuries painstakingly brought in from the real world: a whole roasted chicken, golden and crispy, exuding an enticing aroma of oil; a small mountain of steaming hot meat sauce noodles, covered in sauce; a fresh vegetable salad that looks as if it still has dew on it; soft and fragrant steamed buns; and even a few bottles of cola with fine bubbles.

The aroma of the food forcefully dispelled the original stuffiness and rusty smell in the restaurant, bringing a long-lost sense of warmth and abundance, a feeling of "normal world". The flickering candlelight danced on the silver cutlery and glasses, casting a warm glow.

The table was already full of people.

Tan Zhixin was wearing a relatively soft, dark-colored long dress. Beside her was Qin Nan, who was wearing a neatly pressed shirt and slowly wiping a dinner knife.

The elven district chief and Grilando, unusually, removed some of their armor, wearing dark green robes adorned with green leaf patterns. Their pointed ears trembled slightly in the candlelight, and their emerald eyes scanned the food on the table with a hint of elven curiosity and reserved scrutiny of human culinary arts. Behind them stood two elven guards, also dressed in civilian clothes, but whose hands never left the short blades at their waists.

Chang Lei casually took a seat, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the roast chicken and meat sauce noodles. He made no attempt to hide his licking of his lips, his fingers tapping restlessly on the table, clearly impatient for the meal to begin.

The atmosphere was subtly lively, yet tinged with a quiet anticipation.

Everyone is waiting for someone.

"Hurry up, brother! Look, we've been waiting for you." Tang Cao's clear voice broke the brief silence. Like a gust of wind, she grabbed Tang Zijun's arm as he walked in and pulled him to the head seat at the top of the long table.

Tang Zijun was pressed down to sit by Tang Cao. Her gaze swept over the table full of delicacies and familiar faces, and a rare, warm smile appeared on her face.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting, I had some things to take care of."

Tang Zijun took her seat.

"Let's eat!" Tang Cao cheered first, eagerly picking up the biggest chicken leg.

Chang Lei made his move almost simultaneously, his fork aimed directly at the plate of glistening meat sauce noodles. His movements were so fast that they left afterimages. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about food, but the desire for food was still a kind of craving.

Tan Zhixin smiled slightly and began to take the food with elegant but highly efficient movements.

The dining table suddenly became lively, with the crisp clinking of knives and forks, the satisfied sounds of chewing, Tangcao's comments, Grilando's occasional exclamations of praise, and Heri's quiet inquiry about the ingredients of a certain sauce... These ordinary yet warm sounds, deep within this black city shrouded in despair, in a dream world where annihilation could be faced at any moment, constituted an extremely precious scene, yet one with a strong sense of contrast.

However, amidst this rare hustle and bustle and warmth, Tang Zijun's gaze subtly swept across the restaurant's heavy window, reinforced with metal strips. Outside the window lay the eternally oppressive, leaden gray of Black City.

Before long, the table was a mess of cups and plates, the roast chicken was reduced to a skeleton, the meat sauce noodles were completely devoured by Chang Lei, and even the salad bowl was empty.

The air still held the enticing aroma of food, a stark contrast to the perpetual gloom and oppression of the Black City outside the window. Satisfied burps and relaxed laughter gradually subsided, and an unspoken tension began to settle once more.

Tang Zijun put down the napkin she was wiping her mouth and glanced at everyone. Tang Cao patted her slightly bulging belly with satisfaction and leaned back in her chair. He Li was talking quietly with Qin Nan. Chang Lei was chewing on a toothpick he had pulled out from somewhere and was lazily half-closing his eyes.

Then, Tan Zhixin and Grelando exchanged a glance. On that beautiful face, which, though still showing signs of fatigue in the candlelight, retained its heroic spirit, all the ease had faded, leaving only solemnity.

"Lord of the City." Gloria's cool, slightly hoarse voice broke the post-meal tranquility, like a cold wind blowing through a silent forest. "Now, let me tell you about what has happened recently."

All eyes immediately focused on her.

"The civil war on the river front has escalated." Gloriand's voice carried a suppressed heaviness. "Those arrogant, foolish noble lords, who only know how to fight for power, have seen their armies clash in a large-scale conflict near the southern edge of the city. What started as a local skirmish over control of the mines escalated into a full-blown war three days ago."

"However, they forgot...or rather, they simply didn't care that the jackals in the shadows are always waiting for their prey to be at its weakest and most confused."

"Just as their army was in a bloodthirsty frenzy, their formations were scattered, and they suffered heavy casualties, the cultists of the Feast Order made their move. Like maggots crawling out of rotten soil, their numbers far exceeded our expectations. They did not launch a strong attack from the outside, but had already infiltrated deep into the camps of both sides."

Gloria's fingertips unconsciously traced a line on the tablecloth. "At the height of the battle, those lurking cultists suddenly defected. Ignoring swords and death, chanting blasphemous prayers that drove them mad, they detonated flesh-and-blood bombs made from twisted creature entrails and filthy minerals!" The heart of the battlefield instantly transformed into a meat grinder and a sacrificial altar.

"Their goal is clear," Tan Zhixin said, looking at Tang Zijun. "Interrupting the nobles' infighting is just a pretext. What they want is the blood and souls of every living being on the front lines of the entire river basin. It's a premeditated, unprecedented blood sacrifice. They want to use this massive death energy to forcibly impact the sealing node of the 'Pleasure-Crawling Being,' attempting to awaken it prematurely."

"Hiss—" Tang Cao gasped.

Chang Lei sat up straight, the toothpick having been bitten off.

"This is similar to the methods of the heretical demons. Those guys who are keen on killing and bloodshed also like to do this kind of thing. It's just that we have the Demon Supervision Bureau and magical girls to keep them in check, so they can't do this at all," Qin Nan muttered.

Tan Zhixin shook her head upon hearing this. "The main reason for the plight of the heretical demons is the instability of the passage between the inner world and the real world. They cannot freely enter and leave our world, which is why we have been able to suppress them all this time. If it weren't for this, we probably wouldn't have been able to do it so easily back then."

At this point, Gloriand brought the topic back. "Chaos and death filled the entire riverfront. The noble coalition collapsed instantly, and the survivors scattered like startled rabbits, only to find themselves surrounded by an invisible net. The cultists were harvesting sacrifices—no, they were harvesting wheat."

"When our scouts and Heri's pigeon friends risked their lives to relay the message, the battlefield had become a massive, ever-expanding vortex of filth and blood," an aura of evil was rising wildly, and worse, this catastrophe, ignited by cultists, had utterly shattered the fragile balance on the river front."

"The various churches, holding high their holy symbols, launched a purification offensive, claiming to cleanse the filth. The Heralds tried to soothe the desecrated souls, but were injured by the backlash of the frenzied blood sacrifice energy. All the sects, large and small, worshipping different idols, were also drawn in. The front line of the river basin is no longer a battlefield, but a huge meat grinder made up of madness, killing, sacrifice and conflict of faith."

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