At some unknown point, the sky had already turned pitch-dark, so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face; only the gale's sharp howl reverberated in his ears.
"Woo..."
The wind grew louder and louder, resembling the shrill wails of a thousand spirits, shrill and piercing, causing chills to run down one's spine.
This kind of strong wind,
For the helicopter, it was undoubtedly a deadly threat.
The helicopter at the rear swayed unsteadily, the pilot shouting frantically through the window, his face full of panic.
Outside,
The wind grew stronger and stronger.
Even white wind pillars visible to the naked eye began to appear, the wind waves surged like a tide, and the helicopter struggled within.
"Creak..."
The rotors emitted a strained and eerie sound, the aircraft's body already having parts unable to hold on, a few screws popped out.
It's over!
Despair filled the pilot's eyes.
In the next instant.
Time and space stagnated, frozen.
Carl moved slowly, as though walking on level ground, with each step he took, time and space refracted like glass.
A myriad of bizarre scenes floated behind him, like shattered mirrors reflecting all sorts of eerie landscapes.
Scenes of wings breaking and crashing, the despair of storms approaching, and the terror falling from the sky...
All of them were the pilot's deepest fears.
"Found it!"
Carl's gaze shifted slightly, the countless mirrors around him shattered with a roar, a colorful butterfly appeared in mid-air.
"Vortex Spirit Butterfly."
This creature called 'Vortex Spirit Butterfly', he had seen it in the Wizard's Book, it was a dream-world entity.
Born in the dreams of beings with souls, it possesses the ability to manipulate others' dreams, and can kill invisibly.
Its true form is very weak.
So weak that even a baby could easily kill it.
But it is extremely terrifying; if not dealt with properly, even a Third Tier Expert might fall for it.
Around the 'Vortex Spirit Butterfly', the colorful halo was like special mirrors, reflecting the pilot's dreams, with nightmares playing out repeatedly, dragging the pilot into the abyss.
The greater the fear,
The stronger its powers.
Conversely.
And as Carl was a Fifth Tier God, an Ancient Knight, every thought of his was extremely pure, naturally impossible for the Vortex Spirit Butterfly to exploit.
Moreover.
Carl was also a Bloodline Wizard, possessing the ability to walk dreams, quickly locating the target upon sensing things amiss.
"Snap!"
With a flick of his finger.
The Vortex Spirit Butterfly shattered on the spot.
"Screech!"
A sharp scream followed, and the shattered Vortex Spirit Butterfly transformed into a vortex, immediately after, eight sharp blades pierced through it, appearing before Carl.
The blades propped open the vortex, vaguely revealing an extremely terrifying, massive spider behind it.
The spider coiled amidst the sky full of stars, its abdomen's breathing could cause the entire galaxy to tremble, the eerie eyes on its body slightly shifted, directly gazing at Carl across the time and space.
"Newborn Ancient Knight, you are defying the Gods!"
"Master of Dreams?"
Naturally, Carl knew the identity of the opponent, a Seventh Tier Main God ruling 'Dreams'.
"The path of the Ancient Knight, battling heavens, fighting the beings, tempering oneself, is inherently at odds with the Gods."
"You are strong, but this place isn't where you belong."
"Boom!"
A furious power bloomed within Carl, pure battle aura carrying the will to battle the heavens and earth surged forward.
The Master of Dreams attempting to peer into this world let out a low growl, retreating helplessly.
The sealing by the Gods wasn't something it, as another Seventh Tier entity, could break, at least not in the short term.
"Dream!"
Rubbing his temples, Carl shook his head slightly:
"Troublesome."
According to the Wizard's Book records, the real world only included the material world and its corresponding Star Realm.
But in the eyes of certain beings, there were others.
Such as the Abyss World, Dream World...
Especially the Dream World, bizarre and colorful, every sentient life has its own Dream World.
And the Master of Dreams, can use any dreaming life as its portal, entering and exiting at will.
Just like just now.
Even with the gods' sealing, the Master of Dreams could still transmit a thread of energy across space.
Not strong,
yet still unsolvable for ordinary people.
*
*
*
Base.
Impeccably dressed Austin frowned looking around, clearly the environment hadn't changed, yet he felt something amiss.
An inexplicable chill accumulated in his heart.
A butterfly shadow flashed in his eyes, his vision seemed to blur, and the scene before him changed as a result.
"You bunch!"
He turned, looking at several soldiers pushing snow vehicles, frowning and yelling:
"Where are you going?"
"Mr. Austin." One of them turned back, saying:
"The base is short on equipment, we need to go out and bring it back, that's the task assigned by the general."
"Hm." Austin nodded slowly, and in the instant of retracting his gaze, the longsword by his waist suddenly unsheathed.
"Zing..."
The sharp, dazzling sword light sliced through the pitch-black night, cleaving a crack dozens of meters long across the polar ice field.
"Puff!"
The crack swept through several soldiers, their bodies instantly stiffened, followed by splitting apart.
The shattered bodies lost the protection of their armors, freezing visibly in the extreme cold.
At this moment.
Several black lines shot out from the corpses, rushing toward the crowd in the distance.
"Black bugs!"
Austin's eyes contracted, shouting with alarm:
"Someone is parasitized by black bugs, freeze this base, no one is to leave..."
"Boom!"
No sooner had he spoken, a shell came shooting out from the wall, heading directly for his location.
Hm?
How could this be?
Austin's expression shifted dramatically, the slender sword in his hand shook violently, instantly slicing the incoming shell in two.
"What are you doing?"
Black bug parasitization?
Impossible!
Everyone in the base had undergone detailed checks, even if something was missed, it couldn't invade the outer perimeter personnel so quickly.
But...
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Shells kept raining in, the cooler spewing frost, wanting to freeze Austin completely.
Seemingly...
The soldiers guarding the base regarded him as the enemy.
"You've got the wrong target, it's not me, it's them!"
Austin roared, charging forward with the longsword, his speed fast as lightning, flashing dozens of meters in an instant, far surpassing even the swiftest leopard.
"Open!"
As he rushed, he swung the sharp arrow in hand, the sturdy alloy wall ahead was suddenly torn open.
Austin the Swordsman!
This was his name in the Night Watcher Organization's records.
The longsword in his hand named Slicer Tooth, was the weapon of a certain Great Angel, Tier Four in rank.
Wielding the sharp sword, Austin charged ahead, crashing headlong into the camp, where chaos had already erupted.
Soldiers fought each other, the gates long opened, various vehicles roaring as they drove into the distance.
"You can't leave!"
If these people had black bugs parasitizing them and left the base, then...
The whole world would be finished!
As thoughts churned, a surge of furious killing intent rose within him.
"Die!"
The sword light blazed.
Like fireworks expanding, the sword light swiftly enveloped the entire base, engulfing everyone.
Including Austin himself.
He didn't notice; the others looked at him like they were seeing a madman out of control.
No one knew why he was killing.
Nightmare.
Had quietly taken control of Austin.
......
By the time Carl arrived, the base had been thoroughly frozen.
With a face full of despair, Austin grasped the sharp sword piercing his own heart, dying at the base's entrance.
"Even a Third Tier Transcendent couldn't withstand it?"
Carl frowned:
"No."
"Austin had the power of a Third Tier, but lacked the mindset of one, relying too much on external aids, ultimately bringing only mutual destruction with the dream-world entity invading him."
"Yet..."
"The Master of Dreams' methods are indeed terrifying, able to silently convert a Third Tier Transcendent into a killing machine."
"I wonder if any Vortex Spirit Butterflies managed to escape?"
