Chapter 571

Chapter 417: Reality and Illusion

“It’s coming towards us, possibly attracted by something. Everyone, fulfill your duties, prepare for battle! Protect the fleet, protect the citizens, protect all the believers of the Lord!”

Looking at the approaching pseudo-moth, Jorde commanded, while the three people behind him entered a state of full alertness. Jorde and another captain drew their swords, Santos clenched the Holy Mother’s radiance in his chest, and the old monk held the Sacred Text in front of him.

“This evil entity’s hypnotic ability is extremely powerful, and it keeps coming in waves without stopping. Now that it has come closer, its hypnotic power has become even stronger, far exceeding the usual influence of a White Chalk Tier Extraordinary Being.”

“At this level of influence, I can only maintain our four-person vigilance against sleep for so long; there may not be enough energy left to assist with combat matters. Therefore, please remember to fight cautiously. Moreover, we must act quickly. If my spirituality runs out before the battle is over, without the protection of the vigilance, we will fall into a sleep where we can be easily slaughtered.”

The old monk Weir solemnly warned the three people in front of him. The most powerful ability of this monster was its city-wide, continuous hypnotic fluctuations. In the entire fleet, only the old monk’s vigilance could counteract this hypnotic fluctuation. At this moment, he had already done his utmost to summon the three strongest White Chalk Tier fighters besides himself. He no longer had the energy or spirituality to impose vigilance on more people.

“We understand…”

After hearing the old monk’s words, the three continued. Facing the approaching grotesque giant moth, they jumped from the deck to the shore and immediately launched an attack on the approaching pseudo-moth.

“Mother, please bestow your blessings…”

Santos held the Holy Mother’s radiance tightly and prayed devoutly. Soon after, a faint golden light appeared around Jorde and another captain. They both felt an unprecedented surge of strength, capable of easily smashing huge stones, nearing the abilities of a “Cup” Tier Extraordinary Being.

With the buff of immense strength, the captain and Jorde gripped their swords and applied a sigil to themselves, reducing the weight of their equipment. Together, they leaped ten meters high onto a tall building at the port, then continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop, heading toward the incoming pseudo-moth. Soon, they approached the combat range.

The captain struck first. On top of a warehouse, he leaped with immense force, soaring above the pseudo-moth, then descended and slashed straight at it, hitting its head. However, it missed.

The captain’s sword passed through the pseudo-moth’s semi-transparent virtual body without leaving any marks. After landing on another roof and creating a dent, he turned back and shouted to the airborne Jorde:

“It’s a virtual entity! Ordinary weapons like swords and bullets are useless!”

Hearing the captain’s words, Jorde gripped his sword tighter as intense flames ignited on the blade. When he transformed into a flaming meteor and crashed down, the pseudo-moth had to dodge. Jorde’s flaming sword cut through one of the tentacles, splitting it in two, and spiritual flames began to burn on the severed tentacle.

One tentacle was cut and set on fire, causing the pseudo-moth’s body to tremble. The burning part then became blurry, and the flames were extinguished. The severed tentacle floated back, seemingly unaffected. Then, the countless tentacles of the pseudo-moth began wildly swinging, sweeping towards the two on the roof. Seeing this, they immediately applied “Shadow” sigils to themselves and began dodging the semi-transparent tentacles.

Despite the aid of immense strength and sigils, Jorde and the captain found it difficult to avoid the numerous tentacles. The primary reason was the sheer number of tentacles, but more importantly, these tentacles were semi-transparent virtual entities that could largely ignore physical laws and move flexibly. They could also penetrate physical barriers, rendering cover ineffective.

If they hadn’t used the flaming sword to sever the tentacles and enveloped themselves in spiritual flames to burn the unavoidable ones, they would have been captured long ago. The tentacles that were injured would soon recover, and due to the size difference, the damage inflicted by the captain and Jorde was limited.

“Spiritual enchantment works! But it’s not enough! This large virtual enemy is too troublesome. Without pain or vital points, continuing like this will only result in a drain of spirituality! We need to pull it into a more material dimension to deal it more significant damage! Otherwise, it won’t take enough of our attacks!”

While dodging, Jorde judged and shouted. Hearing his words, the captain who had just reached a safe position turned and shouted to the Holy Mother believer Santos below:

“Santos! Transform it!”

“I understand…”

Listening to the captain’s words, Santos clenched the Holy Mother’s radiance again and devoutly prayed to the Holy Mother, his eyes fixed on the virtual giant moth and the tentacle about to strike Jorde. He released his ability.

“Holy Mother, give it flesh and bl**d from nothingness…”

As Santos prayed, the tentacle attacking Jorde suddenly changed. Within the originally semi-transparent body, numerous bl**d vessels and muscle fibers grew out of nowhere, turning the non-existent into existence.

Seizing the opportunity, Jorde swung his flaming sword and sliced the fleshified tentacle, instantly severing it. bl**d gushed out, and the air around Jorde was filled with the smell of roasted meat. For the first time, the newly grown nerves transmitted an intense pain to the pseudo-moth, making it truly feel injured and in pain. It let out a silent roar and struggled violently, something it had never done even after being hit by the flaming sword many times.

Seeing the effectiveness of the attack, Jorde and the others rejoiced. Just as they prepared to continue their assault, the pseudo-moth flapped its virtual wings and flew higher into the dark sky, beyond their reach. Then, its transparency increased until it completely vanished into the void, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

“This guy… did it escape?”

Looking at the vanishing giant moth, Jorde muttered. His words were heard by the small zombie puppet monitoring the battle nearby. From afar, Dorothy gave her guess.

“No… That guy… is probably completely hiding in the Dream Realm to disappear from the real dimension and avoid your follow-up attacks. It is now trying to find a way to counterattack…”

Standing in the cold night wind in front of the inn, Dorothy stared at the night sky where the grotesque giant moth had disappeared and muttered silently.

“It seems, now is not the time to sit back and watch…”