Given the special nature of the Dream Eater’s abilities, the team sent to hunt them was naturally composed of a few strong-willed Takins.
After some discussion, Lance and Astrid chose to form a four-person squad with two Takins.
It just so happened that those two were Maji and Zaen, whom Lance already knew.
Lance stared at Zaen, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Zaen looked away guiltily, refusing to meet Lance’s gaze.
Astrid’s gaze shifted between Lance and Zaen, wondering what had happened between them.
Left with no choice, Maji, who was acting as the temporary team leader, explained.
“Ahem — “
“Lord Lance, don’t let Zaen’s appearance fool you. In truth, he has always been the one to break free from the Dream Eater’s influence the fastest.”
Hearing his leader’s words, Zaen seemed to regain some confidence. He turned his head and stared back at Lance with a tense expression.
What else could Lance say?
Nodding, Lance turned around and adjusted his helmet.
After regaining his physical body, Lance’s Soul Fire could no longer move around at will, and the disadvantages of this full-cover knight helmet became apparent.
Lance’s vision was restricted to two small slits, making his field of view extremely limited.
The only time he didn’t have to worry about his vision was when he was charging straight ahead.
Just as Lance was considering whether to change his helmet, a white figure ran over quickly.
It was an attendant from the Takin Village who had come to deliver the talismans.
The five talismans they brought emitted a faint glow, appearing as though they had just been blessed.
Lance could vaguely recognize the runes on them; they were indeed Purification Talismans.
“These talismans will last for 3 days. Make sure to return once within those 3 days to replenish the blessing.”
“However, do not waste them lightly. Please use the talismans only after breaking free from the dream, while the Dream Eater is still in a state of paralysis.”
This was the experience the Takins had gathered from dealing with Dream Eaters for over 100 years.
After all, the craftsmanship of these talismans was very basic, and their accuracy was always a concern.
But the Takins truly had no other way.
It was only thanks to Lance repairing the Holy Lantern that the Takins could maximize the use of the Holy Power stored within the Holy Power Stones.
Otherwise, they would have had to endure massive losses by directly shattering the Holy Power Stones to create these Purification Talismans.
After a few more instructions, Maji led the team toward the west side of the village.
……
Caw — caw —
Crows cried out in the forest, adding a sense of unease to the space under the night sky.
Zaen followed cautiously behind his leader, his head shrinking back as he looked around for the source of the crow’s cries.
Lance and Astrid maintained a distance from the Takins, trailing behind the two of them.
This wasn’t because Lance’s group didn’t trust the Takins; in fact, this arrangement had been set by Maji himself.
“To avoid everyone falling into the dream at once if a Dream Eater attacks, I must ask the Saint Envoy and Lord Lance to follow a short distance behind us!”
Walking along the forest path, Lance was also looking around.
To the west of the Takin Village was a vast forest with extremely tall trees.
Others might find it ordinary, but it felt strange to Lance.
As a person from the modern world, even if he couldn’t explain the exact science, he knew that trees and other plants grew through photosynthesis.
But… this layer only had endless night and a fake starry sky!
He wondered what was so special about these trees…
As he was thinking, a thin mist suddenly appeared around the forest and rapidly approached the squad.
The experienced Maji immediately shouted a warning.
“Watch out!”
However, as soon as the warning reached Lance’s ears, an illusory figure rushed toward Maji and Zaen as fast as the wind.
The attacker was indeed a Dream Eater!
With two soft thuds, the phantom passed through Maji and Zaen.
Their eyes closed, and they instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Lance quickly asked in his mind, “Master! Is it the main body?”
“No, it’s a Soul Fragment.”
After sensing it for a moment, Falia gave a concise reply.
Without hesitation, Lance and Astrid retreated immediately, putting a distance of exactly 50 paces between them and the others.
This was the limit that the Dream Eater’s Law power could reach.
If it wanted to attack Lance and the Elf, it would have to pause the dream projection on the two Takins.
But if it did that, the two Takins wouldn’t fall into a deep enough sleep to provide it with energy!
Faced with this dilemma, the Dream Eater Soul Fragment followed its instincts.
It continued to increase its speed, occasionally darting into the forest to fake its departure.
Meanwhile, Astrid was already clutching two talismans, ready to deal with the attacking Soul Fragment at any moment.
Sensing the Elf’s intention, the Dream Eater didn’t slow down.
Instead, its speed rose higher and higher.
Even though it was just a Soul Fragment, it moved so fast that it left Lance feeling dazed.
Seeing this, Lance lunged forward a short distance, pretending he was going to ‘save’ his companions.
The Dream Eater, acting only on instinct, immediately took the bait and rushed toward Lance.
Lance had been waiting for this exact opportunity.
The Holy Power within his body surged, gathering on his longsword in an instant.
With a heavy vertical swing, the resulting Radiant Sword Qi struck the Dream Eater directly.
“Aargh — !”
A shrill, agonizing scream echoed through the quiet mountain forest.
The Dream Eater Soul Fragment immediately pulled back and retreated.
No matter how Lance tried to bait it after that, it refused to come near again.
Fortunately, Lance’s attack, imbued with Holy Power, had clearly weakened the Dream Eater’s strength.
Not long after, the fallen Zaen’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper until he suddenly snapped his eyes open!
The rapidly moving figure of the Dream Eater instantly stiffened. Its eyes turned dull as it hung frozen in mid-air.
Astrid’s eyes turned cold, and she immediately threw two Purification Talismans at the Soul Fragment.
The moment they hit, the Dream Eater didn’t even have time to scream.
Its form faded instantly and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
With its destruction, the Dream Law abruptly failed.
Maji also woke up immediately, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.
Seeing this, Lance felt a bit curious.
‘What kind of things do they actually see after being pulled into a dream by a Dream Eater?’
The Takins called this dream the ‘Tender Land.’ Did they dream of the people and things they found hardest to part with?
“Is it destroyed?”
Maji stood up and patted the dust off his body.
He then pulled up Zaen, who was still dazed on the ground, and turned to ask about the battle.
“It should be fine. Both Purification Talismans hit, and Lance also struck it with a wave of Holy Power.”
“Then let’s swap. The two of us will hold the talismans now.”
“Alright.”
Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, the silent Witch suddenly warned him.
“Lance! Run south, quickly! An Ice Element Lord is approaching this location!”
An Ice Element Lord?!
Lance was shocked. He quickly grabbed the Elf’s hand and shouted to the two Takins a short distance away.
“Follow me, now!”
Everyone froze for a moment, not understanding what was happening.
However, seeing that Lance’s panicked expression didn’t seem faked, they hurried to keep up.
“Master! What happened?”
“That Ice Element Lord was just wrestling with a Fire Element Lord. It seems it lost and is flying this way.”
“It’s moving very fast. It will be here in less than 10 minutes.”
“What about the Fire Element Lord? Is it chasing?”
This was a life-or-death question!
“Let me see… Hmm — it seems to be heavily injured. It didn’t follow. It’s currently hiding in a mountain stream north of the Takin Village to recover its strength…”
As she spoke, the Witch’s voice suddenly trailed off, sounding puzzled.
“Wait? This Ice Element Lord isn’t really injured… why was it the one who ran away?”
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