CH 89

When Rode woke up again, the clock had already reached the eleventh hour.

There was one more hour left, the twilight hour when the sun sets.

The last invasion happened at this time.

After checking his own condition, Rode felt energetic and his spiritual power was sufficient.

The only thing was that he was a bit hungry.

Hmm, even if he died, he wanted to die full.

Rode left the room and walked downstairs. The crowded tavern suddenly erupted in cheers.

"Rode!"

"Rode!"

"Our Rode!"

"Black glutton Rode!"

The residents of the Iron Cross District were very hospitable and held great affection for every warrior who protected them. For those who did not possess the power of fire, every fire wielder was a legendary figure worth longing for.

They rhythmically tapped the table, and each person raised their glass to him.

As he passed by, they tried to touch his hand or any part of his body.

This was a custom here. Touching the warrior who protected them would bring them good luck and timely rescue when the monsters invaded.

And whenever a young girl approached, they would cheer even more.

Rode would take the initiative to hug them—

This was the experience he gained during this period of time. In the eyes of ordinary girls, fire wielders were superior, and they did not have the qualifications to be favored by them. If Rode avoided or kept his distance, it would be seen as contempt and disdain, which would hurt their feelings.

The best way was to give them a warm hug.

If he wanted to spend the night with them, there could be more intimate actions, and if they responded, it meant they agreed.

Generally speaking, it was not advisable to express love to multiple people, but if it was him, it was possible—when the landlady of the tavern said the last sentence, her peach-like eyes looked at him with a hint of tenderness, as if she wanted to say "me" in it.

Of course, Rode was not in the mood for that. Maybe later he could consider it, so he just shook her tender little hand and gave her a polite hug.

Just like now.

The landlady sighed softly and skillfully prepared his favorite creamed potato stewed beef.

A man at the table shouted, "Sasa! Why is there not even half of my beef in this plate?"

The landlady glared at him, placed the plate full of beef in front of Rode, and walked away with a charming sway of her waist.

The tavern was filled with whistles and chaotic cheers, which was a rare moment of relaxation for them—when the weather was bad, the Ministry of Affairs would strictly restrict the residents' outdoor activities.

Except for going to work at the Westman Factory, they could only stay at home most of the time, and it would be several days before they had a chance like this.

And Rode would take some time every day to come to the tavern and tell them some unheard-of jokes, bringing joy to their dull lives.

This was the time the residents here looked forward to the most, being able to get close to their legendary star.

But just as everyone was looking forward to it, the district officials of the Iron Cross District burst in and shouted, "Everyone, go home immediately! Curfew in fifteen minutes! Violators will be fined fifty silver coins and confined for ten days!"

Fifty silver coins were equivalent to a week's salary, and everyone was quite disappointed. They could only curse and finish their drinks, eat the food on their plates, and leave under the urging of the officials.

The crowded tavern was soon left with only Rode.

The curfew only applied to ordinary people. Fire wielders were handled by special institutions, and Rode was already equivalent to an official combatant. Unless there was a special ban, he could move freely in the lower city.

The officials politely greeted him, "Mr. Rode, take your time. It's foggy these days, so be careful when cleaning the sewers. We'll leave first, goodbye."

Rode nodded and quickly finished the beef stew without potatoes that he couldn't see, and drank the mushroom wine handed to him by the landlady in one gulp, saying:

"Thank you, Miss Sasa. You look really beautiful today, and your cooking is as good as always. I'm glad to be able to eat the food you made. I hope we'll have a chance again next time. I need to go back and rest now, as I have more important tasks tonight. I hope you won't let anyone disturb me."

He took a step forward and gently hugged the landlady, who was both delighted and hesitant, and quickly went upstairs.

——

After returning to the dream, Rode felt better than ever. He was fully prepared and quietly awaited the invasion.

When the thickest hand of the clock passed the twilight hour, the long-awaited invasion finally arrived.

In that instant, the whole dream changed color. The rolling gray mist in the distance gradually turned black, and a dark red sky appeared above.

The pervasive red light gradually enveloped the dream, flickering as if the world outside the dream was a heart, and blood flooded it. The flickering red light was the pulse of the heart. Rode felt as if an incomprehensible and strange existence was peering into the dream from outside.

Rode's heart tightened in an instant, and even his breathing froze. His spirit became highly tense.

With one hand, he tightly held the spirit gun "Raven" filled with sealed spirit bullets.

With the other hand, he tightly held the urn of soul ashes and the whistle, the bag filled with thunderstones, and the "Guardian of Darkness" hanging from his waist.

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The eye of the soul had already been activated, but there were no changes detected, and the dream looked no different from what his eyes saw, until a pure red shadow seeped in from the edge of the dream.

Yes, the dream now had an edge, a red film like the inner wall of blood vessels.

That red shadow was like blood seeping in from the inner wall of blood vessels.

The shadow quickly solidified, filled with a dim red glow, and it was a tall humanoid figure. The pervasive red light made it impossible to see its face and details, but it could be seen that it had a huge long hook on its back.

Its spiritual power was of a rare dark red color, completely concealing the color and waveform of the soul.

In the eye of the soul, several lines of text appeared.

Hunting Red Spirit Tuge

Type: Nightmare

Threat: Certain death

Soul characteristic: Hunter

Danger: True vision, able to see through all disguises and illusions.

——

The moment it appeared, Rode threw the urn of soul ashes.

The clump emitting a faint glow exploded in mid-air, and fine dust filled the sky. A huge distorted spider-like monster made of black threads appeared.

The black threads rolled inside the distorted spider's body, and its compound eyes emitted terrifying red light. As soon as it landed, it pounced on the nearest Red Spirit.

At the same time, Rode raised his gun. In just one second, it was fully charged, and the sealed spirit bullet shot out, hitting the Red Spirit.

Bang!

The bullet turned into powder, but the Red Spirit remained unharmed, and its spiritual power continued without pause.

This shot seemed to awaken it.

The Red Spirit swiftly took off the long hook on its back, and the hook pierced the distorted spider that was pouncing at it. With a flash of red light on the hook, the distorted spider immediately shattered.

At this time, Rode hadn't even fully charged his gun for the second time.

The Red Spirit raised its head and swiftly rushed towards him, leaving behind a long red shadow in the air.

Rode knew it was not good and only had time to crush the "Guardian of Darkness" before it pierced through his chest.

His last sight was the Red Spirit retracting its long hook, and his body shattered.

Everything turned black, intense pain pierced his soul, and Rode screamed in agony, sitting up from the bed, his head throbbing as if it was about to split.

But fortunately, he remembered his previous experience and had the painkiller poison in his mouth. He bit down hard, and the bitter and sour taste quickly spread in his mouth.

The intense pain subsided in the sour taste, and his soul recovered from the sour taste. Rode pressed his hands on the table and took deep breaths.

It took a while before he regained his thoughts.

How could this happen?

Rode could hardly believe it. He was so well-prepared this time, yet he was killed instantly upon meeting the Red Spirit, just like last time.

The only difference was that he crushed the "Guardian of Darkness" before he died. It could protect the Monument of Fangtian from harm.

Otherwise, the Monument of Fangtian, which still had cracks until now, might have been destroyed.

What should he do?

Rode calmed down a bit. He turned his head and felt a slight pain in his mind.

It had a regular pattern, obviously the Red Spirit's attack.

The "Guardian of Darkness" should be able to hold on for a while.

Perhaps he could take the opportunity to summon all his summons and launch a surprise attack from behind, just like last time.

Rode made the gesture again and instantly returned to the dream.

He stood in place, and in the distance, the Red Spirit was fiercely attacking the group of monsters.

A dark shell protected the Monument of Fangtian, but he didn't know how long it could last.

The bag filled with soul ashes fell to the ground, and Rode picked it up, infused it with spiritual power, and threw all the ashes towards the Red Spirit at once.

Nineteen clumps of ashes exploded in mid-air, and four distorted spiders and one undead hunting dog, along with fourteen face-hugging venomous insects, appeared in the air.

In that instant, they did not attack the Red Spirit, but fought each other.

The hundreds of legs of the distorted spiders fought each other madly, the claws of the undead hunting dog scratched wildly in the swarm of venomous insects, and the face-hugging venomous insects jumped around and sprayed venom everywhere.

Damn it!

Can't you have some intelligence?

Rode immediately gave up on summoning phantoms and quickly bypassed the group of monsters, shooting the Red Spirit with his gun.

The sealed spirit bullet still had no effect, but it attracted its attention.

Rode quickly moved back, wanting to hide behind the group of monsters and use this to lure the Red Spirit over.

But in the next moment, he felt a pain in his chest.

The long hook had already pierced through his chest, and the Red Spirit pulled it back, tearing him apart once again.

Damn it!

Rode only had time to shout this word before being thrown back to the material world.

The intense pain couldn't be covered by the painkiller poison anymore. The world in front of Rode seemed to crack, and his vision unconsciously shook, unable to find a focus.

Apparently, two deaths had dealt a heavy blow to his spirit.

Fortunately, Rode was prepared. He immediately drank a bottle of Tree of Spirits' Dew, which could calm his mind and restore an abnormal mental state.

The cool sensation spread in his soul, gradually stabilizing his spirit, and Rode felt a little better. He pressed his hands on the table and took deep breaths.

After a while, he regained his thinking.

What should he do?

Rode calmed down a bit. He turned his head, feeling a slight pain in his mind.

It had a regular pattern, obviously the Red Spirit's attack.

"Guardian of Darkness" should be able to hold on for a while.

Perhaps he could take the opportunity to summon all his summons and launch a surprise attack from behind, just like last time.

Rode made the gesture again and instantly returned to the dream.

As soon as he returned to the dream, he saw the Red Spirit fighting fiercely in the group of monsters. It was extremely fast and could kill these powerful monsters in an instant.

The monsters he had summoned with great effort were no match for it, and almost half of them had already died in this short period of time.

No other choice.

Rode quickly blew the whistle, and a tall phantom appeared before his eyes.

He was wearing a robe, had a long white beard, a gentle and kind face, and held a staff in his hand.

The phantom glanced at Rode, then looked around, seemingly confused.

"Quick, attack that red shadow!" Rode gave the order.

The shadow of the headmaster nodded slightly, raised his staff, made a big jump, raised both hands high, and struck down heavily. It hit the Red Spirit's head, knocking it down to the ground.

This strike was extremely powerful, and the Red Spirit's spiritual power clearly showed signs of stagnation. This was the first time Rode had seen it being damaged!

The headmaster is amazing!

Rode shouted, "Don't mind the other monsters, just attack the Red Spirit!"

The shadow of the headmaster nodded slightly and dodged a face-hugging attack from a venomous insect.

The venomous insect missed and could only turn around to attack the Red Spirit.

The Red Spirit seemed to have no intelligence. Whoever attacked it, it would turn to attack them.

It tore the venomous insect apart with one hook and once again joined the melee with the monsters.

Meanwhile, the phantom headmaster walked around slowly outside the circle, not attacking in a hurry, but waiting for the opportunity. Once it appeared, he would jump up and fiercely strike the Red Spirit, always able to jump away before its counterattack.

So powerful!

This phantom is simply a savior!

Rode felt ecstatic in his heart and quickly picked up his bag of thunderstones, consumed the Crimson Powder, and rushed his spiritual power to all the thunderstones.

He had to fully charge all the thunderstones at once and then blast the invader to death!

However, Rode, although much stronger than before, obviously exceeded his limit. The bag contained thirty thunderstones, but in the blink of an eye, his spiritual power was drained.

And because his spiritual power intensity was not high, the charging effect was very poor.

At this time, Rode indeed used "Awakening."

With a thought in his mind, the blue star in his soul instantly emitted infinite blue light, illuminating the dark night of his soul.

An infinite power seemed to rise in his chest, and powerful spiritual power surged out, pouring into the thirty thunderstones. The lightning-like patterns on the thunderstones lit up one by one, and the destructive aura couldn't even be concealed by the restraining bag.

Time passed bit by bit, and the monsters were all dead. The shadow of the headmaster had no choice but to confront the Red Spirit.

Although the shadow of the headmaster had much higher intelligence than the Red Spirit, the huge gap in strength still put it at a disadvantage.

The Red Spirit was extremely fast and could teleport, attacking like lightning.

The shadow of the headmaster was inferior in all aspects, but with its powerful strikes, it could always fight for one or two moves, forcing the Red Spirit to dodge and block.

Rode knew that he couldn't drag on for too long. He desperately activated his spiritual power and finally lit up all thirty thunderstones.

He had to throw them out as soon as possible, otherwise the energy of the thunderstones would fade away.

"Can you entangle it?" Rode shouted.

The shadow of the headmaster didn't respond, and Rode thought it couldn't understand such a complicated command.

Unexpectedly, when the Red Spirit attacked again, the shadow of the headmaster suddenly pounced on it, and the long hook pierced through its body.

But the shadow of the headmaster also firmly held onto it.

"Great!"

Rode threw the bag of ashes with all his strength.

The bullet tore the bag apart, and the restraints on the thunderstones were released. Thirty thunderstones emitted a huge lightning, illuminating the surroundings.

(=)