The Creators: From Night City

Page 408

"They belong to the Sumerians."

Jiang Bing glanced at it and continued speaking, picking up where Henrik left off.

"This is a graveyard, a place where the Mensis school buried the dead."

The tonsil stone obtained from the hunters of the Mensis School will naturally lead the group to the territory of the Mensis School.

The lantern's flame illuminated a space of tens of meters in radius, and the light dispelled the omnipresent fog, as well as some other creatures hidden within it.

They fear the light so much that wherever the light reaches, there are only faint rustling and crawling sounds.

"Who would bury a coffin in a place like this?" Henrik's gossipy nature kicked in again.

“These tombstones were moved here, and there are no coffins underneath,” the crow said, examining the broken tombstones and making its own judgment.

"It was done by the Mensis school."

"After all, to study resurrection, one must first have a full understanding of death." Jiang Bing looked around at the mountain of tombstones, and was even somewhat amazed by the madness of the Mensis school.

These lunatics are a bit crazy, but they're definitely got some skills. Putting aside everything else, their action-taking ability is absolutely top-notch.

The baby's cries continued faintly, leading everyone towards the mountaintop.

The higher up the tombstones go, the fewer they become, and the more luxurious they are.

Upon reaching the summit, all that remained before them was a massive, weathered stone monument, standing bare and towering atop the mountain.

It's more like a stone pillar than a tombstone. The exquisite stone pillar's surface has been eroded beyond recognition by the wind. Some kind of tiny red vines, like veins, have climbed all over the tombstone, while the other side extends deep into the ground.

The two ancient stone pillar lamps have long been extinguished, but traces of rituals can still be seen here.

The tombstone was covered with numerous reliefs and inscriptions, but it was too weathered and the inscriptions were too ancient. The three hunters looked at it for a long time but were still completely baffled.

"Stop looking, this is the tombstone of 'Mego,' the divine child of the Sumerian civilization before its birth," Jiang Bing explained, answering everyone's questions. Although he couldn't read the inscriptions on the stone tablet, he could 'understand' the information contained within it.

"These madmen from Mensis actually found the body of the dead 'God Child'!" Henrik stared at the stone tablet in shock.

“It’s also possible that we only found this tombstone; there’s no coffin or any body here,” Crow emphasized again.

"Where is this person in charge?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it might be in that village," the priest guessed, pointing to the side with a somewhat uncertain tone.

Following his gaze, everyone saw a village nestled in the distant darkness, shrouded in a thin mist, with faint lights flickering and the outlines of buildings appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The towering building spires resembled a forest of needles, while on the surface of a tall wall, a gigantic monster lay prostrate, appearing and disappearing amidst the mist.

"Yamigodara?" Henrik had just brushed past it, and the memory was still very clear.

A thin mist enveloped the village again, and under everyone's watchful eyes, the village gradually disappeared.

“Disappeared?!” Henrik was utterly astonished.

The faint sound of crying rang out again, and with it, the village that seemed to have vanished from the heavens reappeared in everyone's sight.

The sound, which was believed to be 'Mego's' crying, came from the village.

Jiang Bing had appeared behind 'Mei Gao's' tombstone at some point, gazing at the distant village.

"Mr. Sabur, is this village our next destination?" The raven, like a lantern bearer at the feet of a great god, stayed close to Jiang Bing.

"You can't get there by walking alone. That village is not in the same dream dimension as here. Besides, it's still a bit difficult for the three of you to challenge the entire power of the Mensis School."

His broadened horizons allowed him to see many things that the three of them could not see, such as the numerous twisted objects created by the Mensis school within the village, and the vast dreamscape that permeated the entire village.

This is a dream within a dream.

Chapter 833 The Priest's Family Picnic

“These madmen are very cunning. If we disturb them rashly, they might hide ‘Mego’s’ remains again.”

Sparks of light rose from the lantern held by the crow, clinging to the massive stone pillar like fluttering butterflies.

The stone tablet burst into flames, the flames engulfing the entire tablet, allowing Jiang Bing to accurately capture and extract the information buried within.

This stone tablet was once the tombstone of 'Mei Gao'. In this idealistic dream world that emphasizes the mind and cognition, the symbolic relationship between the tombstone and the deceased makes it inevitable that there is some kind of mystical connection between the two.

Although the connection was weak, it was enough for Jiang Bing to find the source and come looking for him.

But that's for later. Right now, everyone needs to return to 'Rumi' and gather their forces.

........................

'Like Honey'

Vivian ran around happily in the golden fields, while her younger sister Lillian was much more composed, sitting quietly on a camping mat under a golden weeping willow, watching her mother cut a cold meat pie.

After removing his hunter's attire, Father Gascoigne appeared quite refined, completely unlike a hunter who would readily behead and disembowel someone in battle.

"Vivian, don't run around!" The priest smiled as he took the meat pie from his wife, watching his daughter's frantic figure with affection as he gave her instructions.

“Coyne, let her run around for a while. After all, in Yharnam, she can only stay cooped up in her house all day.”

"Just spoil her," the priest said, taking the Madeira wine his wife had poured for him.

"Lillian, help Mom get the ham slices, they're in the basket."

Watching her other daughter happily bury her upper body in the huge wicker picnic basket, rummaging for ingredients, Vera tore off a picnic blanket and laid it on her husband's lap to prevent him from spilling minced meat all over the floor.

"Have you been having a good time here?" the priest asked casually as he ate a pie his wife had made.

"I'm so happy. Everything here is great. The weather is always so sunny. There's no lingering stench from Yanan. The scenery is beautiful, and there's plenty of all kinds of daily necessities."

Vera picked up the fruit cake she had just made and showed it off to Gascoigne, saying, "Look, doesn't it look delicious? I've never even heard of many of the fruits on it. To be honest, Gascoigne, we are much better off now than we were before you got sick."

“If it weren’t for that strange illness, we wouldn’t have come to Yharnam, and you and the others wouldn’t have followed me into that hell,” the priest lamented to himself.

Vera gently covered his mouth.

"The past is the past, things are fine as they are now."

Just as the couple was about to embrace, Lillian excitedly sat down in front of them with a plate of ham slices, eager to show off, which dampened the romantic atmosphere they had worked so hard to build.

Fortunately, the two were already used to this situation and exchanged a helpless smile.

Vivian, who had been running around like crazy, finally got tired and sat down obediently on the tablecloth to eat.

As the dream of a great being, and the first creation of a creator in the preparation of a normal-minded pre-creator, 'Rumi' is naturally rich in resources, has favorable weather, and pleasant scenery.

As family members of combatants, Vera and her two companions naturally received treatment in accordance with the regulations of [Anti-Entropy].

Although the supplies they purchase are currently converted by Jiang Bing using 'ether', and the cost of ensuring their supply of living materials is hundreds or thousands of times higher than in the real world, Jiang Bing still strictly enforces the relevant systems of [Anti-Entropy].

Even if it's a losing proposition, this place is not a 'lawless zone' either.

Whether it's 'Rumi' or 'Yanan', they both belong to the dream world, which is a different kind of spirit world.

Matter cannot directly intervene in or enter such a world, and humans in dreams cannot use the matter of the real world. After all, strictly speaking, they are a group of ghosts bound to the dream world, their spirits enduring while their bodies have long since decayed into mud with the passage of time.

They are long dead.

Therefore, all the supplies for 'Rumi' need to be processed by Jiang Bing using 'ether' first, and the conversion rate is naturally not as efficient as planting, growing and processing in an orderly manner.

If we consider the Victorian era before Father Gascoigne's dream, the supplies provided by Jiang Bing were indeed abundant and luxurious.

Aside from the common aristocratic foods of the Victorian era, such as beef pies, ham, roast beef, roast chicken, canned sardines, pickled salmon, trout, and honey bread, there was a dazzling array of fruits, hundreds of kinds of wines, seafood, eggs and dairy products, puffed foods, biscuits and candies, nuts and preserves, rice, flour and oil, daily necessities, clothing, shoes and bags, and home furnishings—it was practically a complete collection.

After all, even though 'Ru Mi' currently only has six permanent residents, an ancient woman who came here through the spirit body of 'Ancient Blood' and a group of unicorns who came here through 'labor dispatch' to stabilize the world, there are no other beings here. The 'Supply Support Center' here is a direct replica of the 'Hao You Quan' supermarket in Night City by Jiang Bing.

Having already spent the bulk of resources building 'Rumi', there's no need to worry about the remaining bits and pieces.

The two little ones were at the age where they were running and playing wildly. The gloomy Yanan had suppressed their nature, but in the few days of living in the comfortable and livable 'Rumi', the gentle nature had once again liberated their nature. They ate a lot of food for lunch that they had planned for a long time, and then happily rushed to the golden field to frolic again.

Vera could only follow along and look after them.

Fortunately, Father Gascoigne was not alone; he had the company of old friends during his favorite afternoon tea time.

The old hunter Henrik also took off his military uniform. Without the hat to cover him, his receding hairline and thinning hair were even more obvious.

The kettle on the mini induction cooker emitted wisps of steam, and the boiling water brewed the Darjeeling tea to a wonderfully fragrant perfection. Henrik lay comfortably in the rustic wicker chair, gazing at the endless golden fields.

"Try the almond cookies and milk cookies; Vera made them especially for this picnic yesterday."

"It's too tough. Vera always overcooks it. My old body can't handle it." Henrik held his teacup, smelled the fragrant black tea, and then, as if remembering something, picked up a bottle of red wine from his feet.

"East of the East, that's the best red wine at the 'Supermarket' supplies exchange point."

"Ha, then we'll drink that for our dinner." The priest shook his head and laughed.

"How wonderful!" The old hunter gazed at the boundless golden plains and the scattered sycamore trees in the distance, and exclaimed again, "How wonderful! It's as beautiful as a dream."

Chapter 834 Operation Unseen Village Begins

The priest elegantly sipped his black tea, appearing quite 'dignified' compared to someone who seemed to be chewing on a peony like a cow. After all, before going to Yharnam for treatment, he was a minor nobleman.

"It does feel like a lifetime ago, but you're right, after all, isn't this the dream of the Lord of Eternal Flame?"

Henrik smiled, pinched a macaron cookie, and popped it into his mouth. Sure enough, it was as hard as ever, but thankfully the high-quality ingredients from the 'Hao You Quan' supermarket saved the cookie's texture.

He chewed the biscuit with difficulty, then lowered his head and whispered, "Old buddy, have you noticed those new 'tall guys'?"

"Those giants near the 'Sundial Workshop'?" the priest asked rhetorically.

"right"

"When I went to choose gifts just now, I saw that they were all equipped with full sets of armor. They were all armed like tin cans, so thick that they were practically a wall."

Hunters primarily employ a high-speed evasive attack style, a combat style honed through years of practical experience. It is deeply ingrained in their very being and cannot be easily changed.

Therefore, when creating armor for the three hunters, Jiang Bing did not directly adopt the design concept of the [Heat Death] series of kinetic armor. Instead, he redesigned a lighter and thinner style for them to suit their speed-oriented combat style.

However, the apostles who arrived at 'Rumi' through spiritification did not have this problem. They were already equipped with the [Heat Death] armor, so they could simply replicate it one-to-one when arming themselves.

As the two old hunters were leisurely discussing the novel objects, the raven Irene came over.

“Mr. Sabur is looking for us; we have a mission.”

To be honest, without armor, Eileen looked quite like a melancholy beauty from a Western Impressionist oil painting.

His pale face, narrow eyes, and serious expression exuded a sense of sophistication.

However, the lollipop in his mouth severely disrupts this style.

No one expected that a hunter who had killed countless people and slaughtered them like melons would have such a sweet tooth.

The three of them hurriedly headed to the 'Eternal Sundial Workshop'.

Thanks to the dreamlike properties of 'Honey', 'Eternal Sundial Workshop' doesn't look very big on the outside, but the interior space can be easily customized.

The three bypassed the frantically operating production workshop and, under the watchful eyes of the 'Apostles' guarding both sides of the corridor, entered the command room.

"The unseen village of Ahaj, the stronghold of the Mensis school, was also the place where they held their insane rituals."

Eagle held his helmet, his golden spirit shimmering, but that didn't stop him from methodically delivering the mission briefing.

"In accordance with the sacred will of the 'Black King,' we will now carry out a standard military cleanup operation on this identified heretical nest."

A massive, unsettling ritual has been confirmed to exist in the area. The target force is attempting to forcibly summon and bind an ancient deity to the dream world through a powerful and forbidden ritual, thereby gaining the ancient deity's knowledge and power.

Of course, the initial stage of the ritual does not involve directly summoning the Ancient God in the dream world. Instead, it requires opening a door to "Mego's Nightmare" to directly connect the consciousness of the school members with the Ancient God, first recalling the consciousness of Megao who has already died, and then acquiring knowledge from it.

However, the ritual failed. Halfway through, it triggered a fusion, and the erroneous ritual forcibly tore open the boundaries of the dream, causing a 'dream within a dream' to descend, and Ahag was plunged into 'disappearance'.

The objective is to capture Ahag, eliminate all threats, and control the Mensis school's ritual site in the main dream, providing preliminary security for the subsequent intervention and termination rituals, specifically the "Mego" stage.

Flying Eagle brought up a blurry image and continued, "The main enemies you're expected to encounter in the battle are various dream-distorted entities. The targets are members of the heretical cult 'Mensis School,' whose most distinctive feature is the wire cage-like devices they wear. Be careful to identify them."

"Our standing forces, apart from 24 'Black King's Guards' and 12 'Demon Hunter' comrades, only have two 'Heavenly Punishment' tanks as heavy firepower, and our air strike capability is temporarily lacking."

Because it is too difficult to directly transform the Edos-type human into a spirit, there is a vacancy for the pilot of the 'Tianwen' mech, and the assault team is temporarily lacking air power.

After giving a slight nod to the members of the 'Witcher' team led by Ryan, Eagle continued to give a briefing on the mission.

In addition, due to the unique nature of this world, we are unfamiliar with the terrain of Ahag. During combat, please prioritize deploying our reconnaissance equipment to gather terrain intelligence.

"Regarding the potential corruption of those in power, my fellow fighters, let us not forget to pray and keep the holy flame burning eternally in our hearts."

After completing the pre-battle briefing, Flying Eagle turned its attention to the three local hunters.

"Do the three of you have anything to add?"

“Most enemies don’t have any absolute weaknesses; only massive blood loss can stop their actions,” Raven calmly added.

“The Mensis school has no shortage of people who are proficient in arcane arts; they are the targets that need to be dealt with first,” the old hunter Henrik added.