This time I chose Paladin

This rain seemed to have fallen from the distant past, the water flowing to the end of life. People spilled blood in this river that stretched from heaven to earth. Fight, fight, fight, as if the endless battle had gradually become instinctive.

This is how it all began.

Chapter 58: Cherish Dream

More than ten hours later, after passing through seven waves, only less than 30,000 people were left in Langcheng.

People gradually turned from pain to anger and actively resisting stress, which is much better than the previous life.

The eighth wave began, and Nie Weiyang stood in front of the crowd with a sword.

His coat was a little tattered, his light armor was covered with scratches and chips, and the dense scratches on his shield almost gave the entire shield a layer of oldness or camouflage. He had given his raincoat to a non-combat professional who was shivering with cold when he returned to the camp to rest, and he didn't even look at who the other person was.

He simply took out a thermos that showed the expiration date of its contents and drank the last few mouthfuls of blood. Then, he carefully closed the thermos and put it in his backpack - this thing would be very expensive in the future.

"We've been fighting group battles and collective challenges all day. The final round will likely change format, from a group battle to a boss battle or a solo dungeon. As long as we can get through this, the rear will be safe." Nie Weiyang said to the people around him. He turned his back to the crowd, took off his sunglasses, and checked for a crack on one of the lenses. "Check your status, rest, and get ready."

There were about two thousand men on his battlefield, each one the elite of the elite. Over the past ten hours, most of them had reached Level 10. They were even more battered than he was, some even missing limbs. However, as long as they weren't completely incapacitated, no one retreated.

No matter what the future holds, at least at this moment, people are putting the word "working together" into practice.

Everyone present looked equally miserable, exhausted from the battle. It was hard to tell what their identities were before the battle, but they all uttered the same words one after another: "Understood!"

At this moment, the world seemed to expand with this sound, the sky and the earth changed, the wind and clouds were paying attention, and all things in the new world were looking at humans with malice and cruelty.

Nie Weiyang looked up at the sky. The blood moon was slowly expanding, and streams of bright blood light spread through the vein-like network. Soon, a scarlet halo spread out, covering the world and entering everyone's mind.

[The final stage of [Blood Moon Rising] [Cherish Dreams] has begun. The leader-level hostile target [Dream Eater] has appeared. Other hostile units in the current area have suspended their activities.

This target will devour the player's dreams, placing those addicted into an eternal slumber. The target possesses a shield equal to 300% of its health. This shield decreases by 10% for every 1 players awakened in the current area. Players must confirm their [Faith] before awakening. Players under 14 years old are not currently permitted to access the dream.

[Entering a dream…]

……

Xiang Feng felt like he had just had a long dream. He woke up from his hammock, the hot summer wind making him uncomfortable.

But today is my day off...

The man stretched lazily and looked at the nearby river. His wife and son were still playing on the river bank. He smiled, turned over and got out of the hammock, and walked towards his wife whom he had not seen for a long time.

...No, that's not right. We were together before going to bed, so how could it be 'long time no see'?

And my son...

"Dad!" The distant voice was clear and bright. Xiang Feng opened his arms habitually and let the child jump into his arms.

He remembered that he was about to leave the army, and his superiors had asked him if he wanted to stay and develop his career. He called his wife and children...

...It still doesn't make sense. Why are you calling? He's right beside me...

Xiang Feng held the child in his arms and looked at his wife coming towards him, suddenly feeling a little confused.

He found that he seemed to have trouble remembering her face.

……

Wei He felt like he had just had a long dream. He woke up from bed feeling a little cold.

Weird, it's summer, why is it so cold?

Wei He touched his arm and felt it was a little damp and had goose bumps.

That's odd, he thought. The humidity isn't high today.

Forget it. I'm going out to play with my friends today. My family said they'll move to a new house with a better location and environment. As long as we go there, grandma's health will get better.

Dad is back from the army, and life is getting better, which is great.

Wei He left the bedroom and strolled lazily. Passing by a plaque that read "Live in Peace and Tranquility", he was suddenly stunned by a scene in the living room.

—An old man lay on the sofa, his eyes closed and his lips purple...

It was like a nightmare hammer hitting the back of his head, making him dizzy. He couldn't remember how he screamed for help, or how he called an ambulance, but the result was...

Yes……

… Grandma is still alive! The family moved into a new house and everything is fine!

Wei He sat on the balcony with a peaceful smile.

……

Ximeng. As the name suggests, it means "a dream worth cherishing" or "a dream worth cherishing."

In this dream copy, players will dream about the past. The copy content will randomly select a fragment from the player's most impressive memory and adjust it to the development that best suits the player's needs, while also providing hints and hypnosis to the player.

If players can resist the temptation, they will receive rich rewards. If they cannot resist the temptation, they will be lost in the dream and become a vegetable. In the early days of the new world, humans did not have so many available resources and technology, so the vegetable people could only gradually weaken and die.

Nie Weiyang has entered this type of copy more than once and is very experienced in it.

Moreover, his mental value still shows as 'unreadable'...

This was clearly problematic. His mental stats were indeed high, very high, but they definitely didn't exceed the New World system's display range. Regardless, the hypnosis from a major early event couldn't do anything to him.

Amid the thunder, Nie Weiyang opened his eyes.

He did not wake up from the safest sleeping place in his memory as he would normally do when he entered "Xi Meng", as if he had just escaped from a long dream. Instead, he sat by a fire, holding a broken sword in his hand.

Judging from his movements, before he 'woke up', he was stirring the wood in the fire.

Nie Weiyang didn't act rashly. Instead, he calmly pushed aside the half-burned firewood and added two more pieces of dry wood. Then, he put the longsword he'd been using as a firewood stick into his backpack and turned to look around. As he moved, his pure white bangs gently fluttered in front of his eyes, obscuring his bloodshot eyes.

This is a cave that is not very wide. The entrance is mostly covered by a huge rock. A strong wind blows through the gap, and a damp smell pours into the cave, spreading in all directions as the air flows.

Nie Weiyang saw five tents. He knew that one of them belonged to him, while the owners of the other four tents were doing their own things...

A warrior was polishing his door-panel-like sword, an arcanist was pondering something in a book, a doctor was organizing his toolbox, and a shooter was disassembling his gun for maintenance.

They seemed so close, yet so far away.

"Old Nie." A voice came from behind him.

Nie Weiyang did not respond. He heard a melodious flute sound coming from the distance outside the cave, penetrating the wind and rain and falling into his ears.

"Old Nie!" The voice sounded again.

Nie Weiyang remained silent, merely stirring the fire. Four of his teammates passed him by. First came the curious Arcanist, then the Warrior, who couldn't let go of him. Then came the Archer, accustomed to coordinating with them, and finally the Healer, who couldn't let go of anyone. One after another, they left the cave, leaving the safest place.

A new group of people had appeared where they'd been. This time, two summoners, a mage, and a martial artist. Then, another group, this time three assassins and a healer... and the last, four seemingly ordinary, almost unmemorable individuals.

It changed again and again, appeared and disappeared again and again, and Nie Weiyang kept guarding the fire. Outside the cave, the wind and rain were raging, breaking the huge rocks, and blood flowed in and gathered into a lake, gradually submerging the fire.

"Old Nie," the distant, disembodied voice said, "You've always been at the forefront, never looking back at us."

Nie Weiyang stared at the pool of blood in silence.

"Every time you come back here via Ximeng, you're like this..." the people standing behind him asked, "Look at us. Take a look. Is it really that difficult?"

"It's not difficult." Nie Weiyang said, "I just don't want to."

A child's voice asked, "Why, Brother Nie?"

"You were here too... You died on the battlefield at the age of eight. We feel so sorry for you." Nie Weiyang sighed softly, "As for why I didn't want to..."

He stood up and turned around to look at those people, those former comrades and friends who died in different ways.

"Because I will move on," he said calmly. "I said before that I didn't want to see you one last time, but none of us can decide fate—but this is indeed the last time. Old and new, real and fake, forgive me for making this choice. Although I never come here to ask for your opinion."

Facing the phantom, Nie Weiyang had no attachment. He touched the 'faith' mark and his figure faded away silently.

The dream lost its support and shattered.

Nie Weiyang opened his eyes again.

Holding a sword and shield, he walked quickly towards a certain place following the spiritual mark left behind.

Now, except for the children who are still unable to clearly understand their own beliefs, everyone is immersed in dreams. Before the battle, those children have been placed in the relatively safest place by adults.

No one near the battlefield would wake up faster than him.

Of course... no one will see what he is about to do!

Chapter 59 T6

Blood Moon Rising is a huge system with its own set of procedures and seven alternative plans. The plan to be used each time is randomly selected, which can be seen from the content of the previous few rings.

But no matter which plan is adopted, its final link always belongs to the spiritual realm.

And Nie Weiyang was very sure that, at least at this stage, in the final stage, he would have enough time to do what he wanted to do.

So he came to deal with the small problems.

Nie Weiyang swiftly and silently crossed the bloody soil. Under the watchful eye of the blood moon, he quickly found his target, the girl disguised as a delicate young woman. She was now closing her eyes, lost in a dream.

He carried the lantern in one hand and dragged the 'girl' with the other, and walked quickly into the forest.

Why deal with it now?

Each region's Dream Eaters have their own unique health bar and shield value, and the shield value is usually reduced by a certain percentage of the total population participating in the battle in the current region. The New World doesn't specify when the Dream Eaters will awaken, because if the number of awakened people is too low to completely reduce all shields, no one will awaken.

According to Nie Weiyang's judgment, under the best circumstances, it would take at least half an hour for the others to wake up.

Half an hour. If he didn't take advantage of such a good opportunity, would he wait for his enemy, who possessed the ability to deceive and disguise, to wake up and play a game of chase and escape? Nie Weiyang didn't have that kind of bad taste.

He strikes when the time is right. Making the other party reveal all their intelligence and information as soon as possible and then completely wipe them out is more in line with his style.

Nie Weiyang threw the target onto a pile of monster corpses. He had no intention of using some means to help the other party leave the dream to facilitate interrogation. Instead, he pressed three fingers on the other party's forehead, closed his eyes, and invaded his brain with his mental power.

This time he needed more information, so his methods couldn't be too rough... Of course, given his own expertise, his gentleness was limited. It was probably like changing from shattering a steel plate with one punch to bending it with one punch. It was indeed a light move, but it also lacked any humanistic care.

At first, Nie Weiyang cautiously explored his shallow memories, but soon, he spotted something resembling wild poppies. While the flora and fauna of the New World differed greatly from Earth's, having seen the Return Sect in his previous life, he recognized it immediately: it was the raw material for their "medicine."

He frowned, still trying to control his mental strength steadily.

After penetrating the deeper layers of memory, his mental power began to wreak havoc on the other person's brain. Those not specialized in mental skills couldn't avoid this, lacking the necessary resources. But this didn't stop him from gradually searching, slowly extracting bits and pieces of information.

Not much, but enough.

After all, he knew a lot of information himself; now he just needed to fill in some of the puzzle pieces. Even the man before him, Shen Yue, had died at his hands in a previous life. It was a joint operation by various factions, and Nie Weiyang, the strongest of the covert combat units, had followed the target all the way, leaving them unaware of anything amiss. Finally, just as he was about to escape, Nie Weiyang had him trapped in the earth forever.

——I have killed someone.

Don’t ask, the answer is that I have killed someone.