Eldritch Horror Theatre

Having friends come from afar is a joy in life, but unfortunately, these friends themselves didn’t look very happy.

Faced with Fu Qian’s greeting, their reaction was absolute silence. The newly arrived group raised their crossbows in perfect unison, aiming every last one directly at him.

Such uniform equipment and coordinated movements gave them the distinct feel of a regular army.

”So they really aren’t working together?”

Deeply shocked by this scene, the hiding awakened ones couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief upon realizing they were no longer the immediate targets.

Once people relaxed, their minds naturally became a bit more active.

Someone immediately looked toward Lady Raven in astonishment, seeking confirmation.

Just a moment ago, she had firmly declared that the Dark Moon Apostle standing over there was actually a minion of the Nightmare.

But by comparison, this circle of figures hiding in the surroundings and attacking without a word clearly looked far more hostile.

And the Dark Moon Apostle was actually their primary target....

Being stared at, Lady Raven’s position was undoubtedly a bit awkward.

She certainly knew that the Dark Moon Apostle was at odds with these attackers. After all, she had already witnessed it once before through Mariana and the others.

Ruling out the increasingly slim chance that this was a coordinated act, the credibility of his so-called enlightenment was skyrocketing.

But just as he had said, she had no choice.

The core of her earlier action had simply been to eliminate the heretic first to stabilize morale; it had little to do with whether he was innocent or not.

Who could have guessed that the power of the Nightmare would not only appear again, but even take the opportunity to silently surround everyone?

But regardless, this was not the time to speak such truths out loud.

Even if she didn’t say it, someone else might still figure it out, but at least it wouldn’t be explicitly exposed.

”Find a chance to retreat first. The situation is a bit hard to understand.”

Ultimately, Lady Raven chose to withhold comment.

”Even if this Mister Grimshaw is truly acting out of goodwill, it seems we can’t help him anyway.”

That statement wasn’t wrong...

Hearing this, the group looked around. During that wave of surprise attacks just now, a full four people had been hit.

At this moment, without exception, they were all wailing as their bodies dissolved into sludge.

Meanwhile, that Dark Moon Apostle had effortlessly blocked more attacks all by himself than the rest of them had faced combined.

To think their group had actually wanted to surround and kill him just a moment ago.

Looking at it now, he had clearly held back.

While agreeing with Lady Raven’s words, the awakened ones couldn’t help but begin to reflect. The more they thought about it, the more shocked they became, their gazes rapidly growing complex.

Even the teachings they had just learned couldn’t help but surface in their minds.

Was he truly an apostle ordered by a sublime existence to spread enlightenment within the Nightmare?

For a moment, the crowd’s retreating footsteps no longer felt so justified, though they remained just as resolute.

...

”Looking at you all, you must have been listening for a while. Is anyone going to summarize the main points?”

Fu Qian completely ignored the movements of the awakened ones, mildly sweeping his gaze across the circle of sharp arrowheads as he looked for a Class Representative.

”Ignore the others.”

Unfortunately, the response he got was a cold command from within the crowd.

Without any hesitation, another volley of black arrows rained down.

More than one figure even dropped their short crossbows after firing, arcs of chaotic Turbulence condensing into Spikes in their palms as they leaped down.

Very good!

Although the response was overly concise, Fu Qian was quite satisfied.

First, his speculation regarding their human-like intelligence was further confirmed—despite their uniform appearance, they were essentially still individuals with personalities. There wouldn’t be any dimensional barriers when communicating later.

Second, he had wanted to find a representative to talk to, and a commander had immediately stepped forward. They were quite cooperative.

Amid his musings, Fu Qian stood rooted in place. His hands turned into blurs as he grabbed the numerous incoming arrows one by one with peerless precision.

The accuracy of his catches and the effortless grace of his posture left the awakened ones, who had retreated into the passage, absolutely dumbfounded, making them once again realize the sheer fortune of escaping with their lives.

However, the crisis was clearly not over yet. The Nightmare Guard had already landed in the arena, launching a close-quarters assault.

The one rushing at the very front was none other than the commander who had just given the order.

By the time Fu Qian caught the final arrow, the Spikes in the attacker’s hands were already thrusting straight for his vitals.

Faced with this spirit to lead from the front, Fu Qian felt a sense of admiration. In a show of respect, he casually flung out two handfuls of arrows in return.

Yet, shockingly, facing a counterattack even fiercer than before, this Class Representative appeared utterly fearless.

Without making any attempt to dodge, the Spikes aimed at Fu Qian’s chest accelerated even further, fully embracing a stance of mutually assured destruction, a true bid for Longevity Equal to Heaven and Earth.

Ultimately, amid a chorus of gasps, it was his body that was struck first by the cluster of black arrows.

But the moment they hit, the attack—which had previously skewered the awakened ones clean through—vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, failing to stir even a single ripple on the black armor.

He wasn’t at all afraid of an attack that shared the same origin as his own power. The concept of mutual destruction simply didn’t apply!

As the awakened ones reeled from the shock, another layer of shadow cast itself over their hearts.

The Nightmare power that had only existed in their imaginations was not only real, but terrifyingly difficult to deal with.

Most crucially, that seemingly well-intentioned Dark Moon Apostle had not only been offended by their group, but would likely find it incredibly difficult to escape today—

Before the thought could finish, everyone discovered in horror that the Spikes, which had already reached the Dark Moon Apostle’s chest, suddenly lost all forward momentum and snapped back.

More accurately, the Spikes and the body flew backward together, as if struck by a Heavy Hammer.

Whoosh!

Blowing across his fingertips, Fu Qian smiled as he watched the Class Representative roll back to his feet.

”A very good summary.”

What he had done just now was very simple. Mixed within the casually thrown arrows, he had hidden two Air Bullets.

Without activating the Burning Frost Special Effect, and with the cover of the black arrows, the projectiles were obviously extremely difficult to detect.

...

Granted, Fu Qian wasn’t clairvoyant enough to know beforehand that the black arrows would be completely useless against the guards.

However, in his eyes, things of unknown properties were never highly reliable to begin with. Using them as a smokescreen was the most suitable choice.

And the development unfolding before him was undoubtedly even more satisfying.

Not only was the Class Representative remarkably human, but he also understood that all is fair in war and fully exploited the information gap. The upcoming exchange was becoming more and more highly anticipated.

”Retreat!”

It was just a pity that the Class Representative, having rolled to his feet, instantly discarded his stance of charging forward undaunted. He hurled the Spikes in his hands at Fu Qian and immediately leaped upward—deciding that the wind is tight, pull back.

Never expecting the situation to change this rapidly, the awakened ones hesitated in their pleasant surprise. Facing the numerous crossbows guarding the high ground, ultimately no one stepped forward to intercept him.

”Why in such a hurry to leave?”

However, the next moment, just as the figure was about to escape, a single sentence from the Dark Moon Apostle caused him to fly backward, as if yanked by an invisible string.

And what greeted him was a massive, spiked arm formed by a cluster of countless freezing crystals, erupting outward from the Dark Moon Apostle.