If the Western Front plan went smoothly, the Life Strata should have already spread over the edge of the Spine of the Continent and infiltrated human territory.
This means that the Tower of Genesis in the Great Rift Valley is no longer a secret. Even if the opponent is slow to react, they should have realized it. But why is Hexode still unmoved? Could it be that humans are too weak and he can deal with them alone?
Valkyries doesn't think it's likely. If the opponent were that weak, Ursrook wouldn't have been defeated on the Fertile Plains.
It knows in its heart that prolonged isolation has caused it to lose its ability to judge the situation.
This experience makes the Nightmare feel extremely uneasy.
And that human...
It looks at the other side of the arena, where Roland is standing beside two females, watching the competition with interest.
Damn it! Doesn't he have anything important to do?
If he has a way to escape from here, then it might be his only chance – the knowledge and heritage of humans were undoubtedly brought out of this world by him, and he must have some channel to communicate with the outside world.
As long as the other party leaves the world of consciousness, it will have a chance to capture that glimmer of opportunity. After all, it has repeatedly sensed the connection between the king and the domain in the king's Dominator Seat. It is precisely because of this ability that it dared to follow the fluctuations of the inheritance fragments and search for Roland's traces in the depths of the world of consciousness.
However, the other party has been active in this world domain and hasn't given it any chance to take advantage of.
Could it be that the human king is so idle that he doesn't care about state affairs for months? He'd rather waste time on meaningless martial arts tournaments than read a few more books. The only explanation is that the pressure on the front lines is too low.
So it's still Hexode's fault!
While its mind was fluctuating, Valkyries suddenly noticed that Roland had left the two women and walked alone to a corner. There, a hooded female was standing, seemingly waiting for him deliberately.
It pretended to walk out of the crowd casually, but its eyes were always on Roland.
It saw them exchange a few simple words, and then the female pointed out the direction of the exit. Roland seemed hesitant, but eventually nodded.
Has the association discovered something?
Valkyries originally intended to stop there, but for some reason, it always felt a familiar aura on that female. It was this strange feeling that made it take a few more steps and take a glance from a closer position.
And that glance made all the hairs on Valkyries' body stand on end – in the dim light, it saw a face similar to Sistalis, or rather... "Lan" of the Martial Artists Association!
Could it be that Qianxing has been hiding in this world all along?
And Roland can enter and exit this place as a human male because of her?
This news was so shocking that Valkyries could no longer suppress the impulse in its heart and quickly followed.
Roland and the suspected Qianxing passed through the security passage and didn't walk out of the martial arts hall. Instead, they turned and entered the underground parking garage. The Nightmare tried to lighten its footsteps and followed the two from a distance until they entered a civil defense shelter passage.
When Valkyries followed, it found that the passage was only a dozen meters long, with no forks inside. At the end was a closed concrete wall with a warning sign hanging on it: "Under Construction, No Entry." It was clearly a dead end, but the two had disappeared.
Damn it, it's a trap!
Valkyries reacted instantly, but it was too late.
Before it could turn around and retreat, Roland had appeared leisurely behind it, blocking the only passage. And standing beside him were several females – seeing those ways of using abilities that were completely different from the martial artists, Valkyries had no remaining hope.
Without a doubt, standing beside him were all witches.
It finally understood where the familiar feeling from before came from. It was the subtle difference between magic power fluctuations and the power of nature. If witches could also come to this world of consciousness and possess their original powers, then its exposure was only a matter of time.
After all, the other party could hide so many people silently to set up an ambush, and infiltrating to monitor it would be easy – this principle could be understood with a little thought. All its disguises were aimed at overt contact, but facing the strangely capable witches, it was just a joke. It was likely that its actions had been thoroughly understood by the witches in these four months.
"We meet again, Miss Valkyries," Roland said calmly.
Valkyries didn't speak.
Saying anything at this time would only be self-inflicted humiliation.
Although it still couldn't understand why the other party could allow witches to come to this domain, that was no longer important.
The other party deliberately set up an ambush in this remote place, and its purpose was self-evident.
Now, the only thing it can do is die in battle.
The Nightmare Overlord stirred up the magic power in its whole body, and its body leaned forward slightly – as for how much chance of winning it had in front of a group of combat witches without magic stone abilities and demon-slaying techniques, it was completely out of its consideration. Under no circumstances would it surrender to the enemy!
"How about I treat you to coffee from the Kagard Peninsula?" Roland said again.
"..." Valkyries almost sprained its foot that it had already stepped out. It froze in place, its upper body still in a leaning posture, looking like it stopped rather stiffly. "You... what did you say?"
"Treat you to coffee," Roland repeated. "Although it can't be considered real coffee, but rather some kind of similar special drink."
Valkyries stared at him for a long time before saying the question in its heart, "...Why?"
It couldn't guess what this male was thinking at all – reality and this place were different, and the coexistence of the clan and humans was just an illusion. Since the other party had confirmed its true origin, it shouldn't let itself go. If death was not what awaited it, then there would only be a fate worse than death.
"Because some things are better said openly than kept hidden," Roland said slowly. "Especially when the War of Divine Will is not the Final War."
The War of Divine Will... is not the Final War...
Valkyries couldn't help but be stunned.
It didn't expect to hear this statement from a human.
After a long silence, it returned to a defensive posture, "Where do you want to talk?"
"Not far from here, just a few minutes away." Roland snapped his fingers, and the sound of a car engine sounded behind him. "Get in the car, I've already reserved a seat."
...
The other party didn't deceive it.
The selected location was an upscale restaurant in a large building. Sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, you could see the silver-clad city skyline. Soft music floated in the hall, and the atmosphere was elegant and peaceful.
Valkyries knew that choosing to talk here was also a sign of the other party's sincerity – if they wanted to kill it, a public place with people coming and going was definitely not a suitable place for execution.
Looking at the group of witches watching intently, it took a deep breath after sitting down, "Why didn't you just ask me to come here?"
"Doing that would be a waste of time. I don't think you would admit it immediately – before being forced to the end of the road, people are always prone to resistance and escapism. This is simpler." Roland shrugged. "Since we have already reached a preliminary consensus, let's get straight to the point quickly. It's beneficial for both of us to be frank. I am Roland Wimbledon, King of Graycastle, and one of the creators of the Dream World. What's your identity?"
One of the creators...? Although it had guessed that the other party was not a simple visitor, this identity still surprised Valkyries greatly. It was the first time it had heard that the world of consciousness could be created by multiple people. But perhaps this was also the reason why he couldn't completely control the domain like the king. Suppressing the urge to ask who the others were, the Nightmare slowly replied, "Valkyries, that's my name."
"Titles and levels? Like 'Lord of the Sky' ... You can be more specific."
It paused for a moment, "Nightmare Overlord, that's my title."
"Pfft—"
This time it was Roland's turn to be surprised.