As blinding red light pillars pierced the sky from various locations across Blue Star, Fang You saw it.
But it was too late.
The cult sacrifices, mere pawns and cannon fodder, had leaped into the boiling blood pools with crazed laughter, their faces alight with honor and fervor.
The ritual was complete, irreversible.
Only the tinkling system prompts echoed in his ears.
At the same time,
Across Blue Star, in the remaining pockets of survival, survivors looked up, their expressions turning to shock.
"What... what is that?"
"A red moon?"
"But it's daytime now?"
A survivor murmured.
The next moment, they seemed to hear countless whispers, growing clearer, like tiny insects burrowing into their ear canals.
They collapsed, clutching their heads, struggling.
Some of their skin sprouted black bristles, which thickened rapidly, and with a roar, the black, unknown monsters lunged at the survivors beside them.
*Squelch—*
Blood splattered, limbs were gradually torn apart under the gnawing of the black monsters.
Such scenes unfolded one after another. Awakened individuals in survivor camps shouted, "Don't look at the red moon!"
But even without looking, the whispers still invaded their minds, though the symptoms were milder.
As the red moon's light bathed the earth, blood flowed upon the land.
Small survivor camps, struggling to survive, were annihilated one after another.
Even base cities bathed in the dawn's radiance saw their skies utterly darken at this moment. The eerie red moon appeared, hanging high in the 'night sky,' as if visible from any location, any angle.
The people of the East Huang base cities hadn't felt it acutely yet.
But residents of the Euro-American base cities, especially those from West Europe, the City of Waves, and the City of Fog, couldn't help but recall the day the Red Moon Calamity descended.
A chill shot up their spines, making them tremble.
The incessant whispers also seeped into their ears. Occasionally, someone would collapse, clawing at their own skin. However, in areas covered by the dawn's radiance, the eerie effects of the red moon were significantly weakened. People merely fell and curled up, without sprouting black fur yet.
"Don't look up! Don't look up! Don't look up!"
"Quickly bring everyone still on the roads into the shelters. If anyone sprouts black fur, take them to the quarantine zone!"
"Move faster!"
A Torch Warrior, clad in a black uniform with flames, roared, his voice echoing through the surrounding streets.
This jolted many night watchmen and super-soldier members back to their senses.
They too remembered the fear of being dominated by the red moon, recalling that day of dancing demons and widespread disaster. And today, that red moon hanging in the night sky seemed even more eerie, even more terrifying than that day.
But this time, they were prepared. They wouldn't drag their feet again.
"Faster, faster!"
"Get everyone remaining into the shelters!"
This time, the evacuation and sheltering were executed swiftly. Most citizens were already inside the shelters, with only a few hurrying to get there.
A night watchman's eyes gleamed. He used telekinesis to grab the fallen, curled-up residents, lifting and carrying them to the nearest shelter.
This one was underground, converted from a parking lot.
It appeared rather rudimentary.
The relatively spacious area was already crowded with men, women, old, and young, making it cramped. Strangely, though worry, tension, and fear showed on their faces, their overall emotions were quite stable.
When the night watchman delivered over a dozen curled-up residents here, the pain on their faces quickly subsided.
Those who could still walk stumbled in and collapsed onto the ground, exhaling in relief.
"That terrible whispering... it seems to have receded?"
Inside the underground shelter, illuminated by lamps.
But what truly dispelled the darkness in people's hearts was a treasure pearl, guarded by Torch Warriors, night watchmen, and super-soldier members, at the center of the underground parking lot.
—The Purification Pearl!
A common-grade strange artifact that emitted a purification aura, reducing and dispelling sanity effects in the vicinity.
Old Master Wang could craft such strange artifacts.
The core materials were obtained by exploration teams, and the crafting process was undertaken by Old Wang No. 1, Old Wang No. 2, Old Wang No. 3, and Old Wang No. 4, working at a pace several times more efficient than 007.
Finally, enough Purification Pearls were hastily manufactured.
They were installed in the shelters within the base cities. The foresight exercised at this moment paid off. Otherwise, this single global red moon ritual could have plunged the base cities into chaos instantaneously, utterly destroying the order that had been painstakingly maintained.
"This move is truly terrifying."
"Indeed, when someone of high status within the demon god's faction personally orchestrates it, the effect is far beyond that of a priest's a thousandfold."
"It's incredibly difficult to deal with."
...
...
The Water Marsh Base City also gradually descended into night. Only the tip of the pure white high tower still emitted golden light, a final act of defiance.
However, the Dawn Lighthouse's protection, which prevented the infiltration of the bizarre, remained in effect.
Where the tower stood, its protection was present.
Though the light was weak, it would not be extinguished.
Envoys from various oases and individuals from the strange realm hiding within the base city paid no heed to the faint glow of the high tower. They merely tilted their heads, gazing at the conspicuous, alluring red moon in the night sky, their eyes filled with terror.
Astonished by its sudden appearance.
Terrified by the instinct etched deep within their souls.
"That... that is... the 'Crimson Moon'!"
An envoy trembled.
Although it was his first time seeing the 'red moon,' residing in the deepest reaches of the strange realm, wielding supreme authority, the characteristics of the unspeakable great terror, the demon god, were deeply ingrained in people's minds.
The red moon was a characteristic, an outward manifestation, of the 'Crimson Moon'!
Of course, the demon god itself had not descended at this moment, nor had it even cast a glance. It was merely the claws and teeth borrowing a sliver of the demon god's power through the ritual.
It was already terrifying enough.
"Legend has it that when the red moon appears, terror descends upon the world."
...
"This is because the red moon contains terrifying power. Gazing upon it will cause one to lose their way. Under the red moon's glow, the earth and its inhabitants will undergo bizarre transformations... You shouldn't stare at the red moon continuously either."
Dean Rose looked at the moon in the night sky and said to Medisa.
She had naturally seen red moons before.
They were relatively rare in the strange realm, but in these new worlds outside, the minions often borrowed power from the demon gods through rituals to tear apart and devour worlds.
However, she had never witnessed such a widespread 'Red Moon Calamity' before.
"This red moon likely... envelops the entire Blue Star world!"
"And even if you keep your head down and don't look at the red moon, you will still be affected by its invisible power. You heard those whispers, didn't you?"
"Mmm..."
Dean War Song also watched, his expression grim.
"The red moon's coverage is vast. Conversely, the whispers that enter our ears are not strong... they can even be considered weak, but..."
"This weakness is relative to us, to the awakened. For ordinary awakened individuals, facing these whispers might cause slight discomfort, and they can easily resist. But for ordinary people, those with very weak resistance to sanity effects..."
Dean War Song stared and listened. After a while, he made a judgment.
"Some ordinary people with strong willpower and physique can still resist, but at least a significant portion will not be able to hold on. As time passes, more and more people will transform due to the red moon's influence."
"I recall that Blue Star evacuated all citizens to shelters, didn't they?"
"Yes."
Dean Rose nodded.
"Blue Star's citizens are crowded together. If a survivor transforms into a monster, it will result in mass casualties, leading to even more tragic events."
And at this moment, this erosion and mutation had likely already begun.
Dean Rose and Dean War Song looked towards the nearest shelter.
Their gazes could not penetrate the walls, but they imagined that it wouldn't be long before someone fled from inside in terror.
They also did not wish to see such tragedies.
However, these were unchangeable. Through repeated personal experiences, both deans had learned to observe coldly. This was a quality that an oasis powerhouse should possess.
They watched.
One minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
Several minutes passed.
The shelter, whose doors were not fully closed, seemed to remain silent. No strange roars were heard, nor did anyone flee in terror.
Medisa, whose heart had been clenched, blinked.
She looked at her dean with confusion.
Dean Rose brushed back a strand of her hair, appearing slightly embarrassed.
"Perhaps Blue Star was prepared in advance, but..."
...
"But the red moon's radiance affects not only humans but also the earth, plants, and everything bathed in the crimson moonlight."
In the silent hotel, Oram, the Master of the Tower of Wealth, spoke.
Following his gaze, the ornamental trees planted along the roadside underwent bizarre changes.
Leaves shed like rain.
The bark cracked with a *snap*, revealing tender red buds from within the fissures. It was like flesh exposed without skin, growing bit by bit as the bark peeled away. In moments, an eerie 'flesh tree' transformed, shaking and struggling, as if trying to break free from the soil.
Not far away,
The streetlamp was also changing. Beneath the flaking rust, there was crimson flesh. Hands sprouted *plop plop* from the lamp post. Inside the lampshade, the light suddenly dimmed, and the next moment, an eerie eye lit up.
In a short while, this street underwent all sorts of horrifying transformations.
"These are also bizarre entities."
"They are products of the Red Moon Calamity."
The Master of the Tower of Wealth shook his head. "The base city is truly going to be in chaos now, leading to rivers of blood. However, that pure white high tower can still be defended. If I were the leader of Blue Star, I would concentrate our forces to defend around the high tower."
He looked at the distant high tower. As he spoke, brilliant golden light erupted from the tip of the tower.
It was so dazzling that it momentarily repelled the darkness.
The eerie monsters on the street also emitted smoke, appearing weakened and dispirited. Several awakened individuals of Blue Star rushed from the end of the street, their blades leaving streaks of red light as they slashed.
*Squelch—*
The flesh trees and lamp post monsters were cut in half with a *swish*, dissipating into wisps of smoke. Their forms vanished at the other end of the street, continuing to another location.
In the blink of an eye,
The wind stopped, the roars ceased, and the long street returned to silence.
The Master of the Tower of Wealth's eyes widened, as if to say...
"The Red Moon Calamity, that's it?"