From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

Chapter 85 Knowledge Trading

Edmund immediately turned his gun, his gaze sweeping between the surrounding doors and windows.

A slight chill suddenly ran through his feet. His shadow, which had been dragged behind him by the moonlight deep inside the window, was now stretching forward against the light.

Just as he became wary, the shadow's edge unfurled its tattered wings, and then the Night Demon pounced out from within.

Edmund used his swift steps to step to the right, his body brushing past the monster's outstretched arm.

The spot where he had been standing was immediately covered by a shadow, and several stone slabs quickly lost their color after touching the Night Demon's fingers.

Rick had already grabbed his forked staff and rushed over, trying to wedge the monster's neck from the side.

"Step back and cover your ears!" Edmund raised his hand to stop him.

Rick reacted quickly, turning around and lunging behind the nearest door frame.

A sharp whistling sound then erupted in the center of the intersection.

The "Banshee's Wail" lasted only a few seconds, but all the surrounding windows shook violently in the sound.

The Night Demon, having taken the blow head-on, froze in place, cracks appearing on its body as it spewed out black gas.

Edmund noticed out of the corner of his eye that many struggling human faces were mixed in with the black mist, appearing and then breaking apart with the howling sound.

The Night Demon tried to raise his arm, but lost his balance and fell forward onto the stone pavement.

Edmund stopped speaking, a familiar burning pain immediately shooting through his throat: "Now!"

Rick burst out from behind the door frame, his right hand sharply reversing the brass wheel at the top of his short staff.

The dreamcatcher that had been hanging in the air immediately fell on the Night Demon's head, and the gold threads tightened, compressing the Night Demon and the surrounding black mist into a deformed shadow.

One of the monster's claws suddenly sank into the ground, attempting to escape from beneath the stone slab.

Edmund raised his gun and fired another shot, the bullet hitting his wrist and severing the claw that was already embedded in the ground at the root.

The black, severed claw rolled to the side of the road, thick, shadowy liquid continuously flowing from its wound.

The headwind accumulated during the second shot seeped into Edmund's arm along the grip, causing a slight numbness in his wrist, but fortunately it didn't affect his movements.

Rick knelt beside the dreamcatcher and pulled a long nail engraved with fine lines from inside his coat.

He drove the long nail into the center of the net and pressed down three times with his palm, finally calming the deformed shadow in the net.

Rick remained kneeling for a while to catch his breath before finally having the chance to properly examine his suddenly appearing helper.

Edmund's face was unfamiliar, but he recognized "Eagle in the Wind".

.

Rick's tone held a hint of surprise: "So it was... the eye of the storm."

Edmund raised his hand in greeting: "Hello, Mr. Abyss, your product performs very well."

Rick chuckled, then put on his gloves and opened a gap in the edge of the dreamcatcher.

Edmund stood by and watched as he first used his forked staff to jam the Night Demon's split mouthparts, then plunged his entire right hand into the monster's throat.

The black mist climbed up his glove, only to be blocked by a silver thread around his wrist.

Rick fumbled for a moment, then suddenly pulled his arm outward, pulling a dark, sac-like organ out of the Night Demon's body.

【Night Demon's Pouch】

[A spiritual organ that embodies nightmares, fear, and suffocation. Its integrity is acceptable.]

Rick stuffed the magic sac into a glass jar filled with gray liquid, and then used a knife to cut off part of the still intact wing membrane.

He then walked to the roadside, picked up the hand that Edmund had broken off, examined the break, and handed it over.

"The magic sac is my main target for setting up the dreamcatcher tonight; this claw is yours."

Edmund took the Nightclaw. It weighed about the same as a piece of wood of the same size, but its three claws were exceptionally hard.

"What's the use?"

"A spiritual bullet, a dream anchor, or a spirit anchor. Hmm, it can even briefly pierce the boundaries of shallow dreams." Rick retracted the dream catcher. "Also, I should give you another sum of gold coins as a reward."

"Forget the cash, how about sharing some knowledge about the spirit world?" Edmund put away the Night Demon Claw. "Structure, techniques..."

Biological beings... I think a hunter of spirit creatures should have experience in this area.

Rick looked up at Edmund: "This is more than the price of a Nightclaw."

""

"I saved you once too," Edmund replied. "Of course, I'm willing to make up the difference."

,

Rick remained silent for a moment, then finally put away his staff.

"We can talk, but not here. Although the Dream Realm is secluded, some knowledge, if spoken aloud, will attract unwanted attention."

We should...

Suddenly, a continuous metallic scraping sound came from nearby, and Edmund looked in the direction of the sound.

The rust on the fire escape ladder on the exterior wall of the office building next to the intersection is proliferating at a visible rate.

Iron, wood, and stone staircases continuously emerge from within the walls, some extending out of windows onto the street, and others climbing up the walls.

More staircases intersect in mid-air, leading to balconies, rooftops, door frames, streetlights...

In just over ten seconds, the exterior wall of the office building was completely covered by a dense series of steps.

Immediately afterwards, a gleaming silver rat crawled out of the office building window in front of the two men.

One, two, ten, a hundred... More and more silver rats poured out of the windows on each floor, crawling back and forth between the staircases.

Edmund felt his trypophobia was about to kick in, and the rats suddenly began to gather and pile up.

They quickly coalesced into a mass larger than a car, with countless tails and claws constantly wriggling on its surface.

As Edmund's gaze lingered longer, the surrounding scenery began to lose its luster.

The streets, the sky, and Rick, who was right next to them, gradually turned gray, but the thing made of rats became brighter and brighter, its silver light so dazzling that it was hard to look away.

Darklight Rat King

What is to be revealed must first be hidden; thus the Rat King is silent, yet never truly silent. This is the retinue and servant of the Goddess of Luminous Light, hunting for souls and things that are delicious enough.

Rick pulled him away from the side: "Don't look anymore!"

He grabbed Edmund's shoulder, who noticed Rick's expression contorted in terror.

Rick spoke rapidly: "Back to reality right now. Find me at that union-run bowling alley in town. We'll explain then!"

The silver rat mass on the stairs began to move downwards, and each time it passed a window, the moonlight inside would quickly go out.

Edmund focused all his attention on the ticking of his pocket watch, which quickly amplified, drowning out the dense sound of a mouse's claws scraping the stairs.

He retreated, following the sounds of breathing, real names, and heartbeats, the surrounding streets stretching out until he finally disappeared behind a closed black line...

Edmund suddenly opened his eyes.

Inside the underground ritual chamber, the four white candles and incense sticks had burned down to almost nothing, while the second hand of the pocket watch lying next to the left ear was still ticking steadily.

He sat up and quickly found the silver-black glass and the Night Demon's severed claw in the salt bag.

After confirming that he had not been further affected, he quickly tidied up the scene and left the old relief center.

Edmund had a lot of questions and wanted to see if a comrade could answer them.