Chapter 1051: 0648 Consequences and Planning

Did I forget someone?

Upon hearing the Water Bearer Director's words, the Thrush Crow masked man's expression momentarily froze, then his eyes widened sharply:

"That Li Ang is still at the Virgin District? Didn't you say you could definitely hold him back, keep him trapped in the Dream Realm for at least half a year?"

"You misremember. I never said 'definitely' hold him back—I said we could try to see if we could hold him back."

After correcting the Thrush Crow masked man's phrasing, the Water Bearer Director sighed faintly, then explained with a hint of resignation:

"I've done everything in my power on this matter. According to my plan, even if he survives the onslaught of a million nightmares, he won't be able to resist the Nightmare King, who holds the advantage of terrain—he'll barely manage to hold on."

"In the end, he'll either be fully corrupted by the Nightmare King, or be forced to merge with the newborn Nightmare King; even the worst outcome is that he's tainted in his battle with the Nightmare King and becomes half a Dream Realm entity, unable to return for a long time."

"But he pulled out a strange card I'd never seen before, chased after the newborn Nightmare King, completely drained the Fallen Soul Black Abyss, wrecked the entire twenty-first layer of the Dream Realm, and nearly trapped me too—I barely escaped, and that was already beyond my limits."

"…"

…This isn't… insane?

"In any case, we'll still have to face him. With such an unpredictable opponent, no amount of caution is excessive."

Looking at the silent Thrush Crow masked man, the Water Bearer Director smiled and concluded:

"Though you are the God of Misfortune and Chaos, in creating disorder and disaster, you might not even match him—in every sense, he's your antithesis."

"And his mind isn't bad either. If your momentary impulse leaves even a single opening, and he discovers it, our entire plan will collapse."

"So from now until the Taurus begins his ascension in half a month, I hope you'll restrain yourself—don't create chaos casually, understood?"

"I can agree to that… but are you just going to brush this off like this?"

After holding back for a moment, the Thrush Crow masked man asked sharply, irritated:

"Even if he defeats the Nightmare King, he's no match for you! If you seize the chance to ambush him…"

"Lord God of Misfortune, don't speak such meaningless words again."

The Water Bearer Director cut him off, his voice growing slightly colder.

"Though your Slaughter King Society's inside agents contributed significantly in this promotion exam, helping me lock down the Archer's true location, the only one who took the risk to act was me."

"Though I didn't kill him, I temporarily disabled two Directors—Pisces and Archer—forcing the Cleanup Bureau to retreat, giving you ample room to maneuver. No matter how you calculate it, you owe me."

"Besides, if I abandoned my original target to ambush that Li Ang, are you prepared to face Pisces Director's 【Phantom Pond】, or are you willing to throw your lives away filling the Archer Director's enhanced secret art?"

"I'm not asking you to abandon the original plan…"

Facing the Water Bearer Director's reasonable rebuttal, the Thrush Crow masked man's momentum instantly deflated, then he struggled to argue:

"I'm saying that Li Ang still isn't a true god—you could do something, like leave a trace on him, or find common human weaknesses—we could target his family…"

"You'd better drop that idea right now!"

Hearing this, the Water Bearer Director's expression turned icy, and he narrowed his eyes in warning:

"Listen—if you want to act against that Li Ang, I won't stop you. I can even give you all support except direct action."

"But if you do this, I'll terminate my cooperation with the Slaughter King Society—and even contact the Cleanup Bureau to have them come and kill you."

"?!!!"

…Are you seriously insane? I'm your ally, aren't I?

At the Water Bearer Director's bizarre declaration of "vowing to protect Li Ang's family," the Thrush Crow masked man's composure shattered completely, veins bulging on his temple as he roared:

"Water Bearer! Which side are you on? You…"

"I've already tried this. More than once."

"Huh?!!!"

Amid the Thrush Crow masked man's stunned expression, the Water Bearer Director frowned tightly:

"I can't tell you the details, but simply put—I have a way to glimpse fragments of the future. Before making any decision, I look ahead and see part of the consequence. That's how I managed to take down Pisces and Archer in one stroke—by testing it repeatedly."

"Before I acted against Li Ang's family, I used this method to glimpse the future several times—but no matter what I did, the outcome was always extremely, extremely bad."

"When you say 'extremely bad,' what exactly do you mean?"

"Total annihilation."

"Huh?"

"The specifics involve fragments of the future—I can't tell you exactly what happened, only give you a general idea."

Recalling the shattered, desolate world he'd seen in the middle-aged Joshua's memories, and the terrifying figure sitting alone in the empty Death Realm, gazing at him, the Water Bearer Director's cheek twitched twice, then his face turned slightly green:

"In short, I succeeded—I killed him outright using this method. But the problem was, his death was only the beginning. The final outcome was one no one could accept… Enough. We must move now!"

Stopping the Thrush Crow masked man from pressing further, the Water Bearer Director glanced at the sky and urged:

"It's already midnight. The target should be fast asleep. We have less than four hours until dawn—we must sneak the Nightmare King into her dream before daylight comes!"

"Fine…"

Faced with such an abrupt explanation, the Thrush Crow masked man naturally wasn't satisfied—but the raw, unmasked killing intent in the Water Bearer Director's warning was unmistakable, so he reluctantly accepted it.

Seeing he no longer objected, the Water Bearer Director flipped his wrist and pulled out an exquisitely crafted glass lantern, gently shaking it toward the night sky enveloping the capital.

"Shhh…"

As the 【Dream-Traveling Lantern】 swayed, the star-strewn night sky above the capital gradually faded, replaced by a dense, gloomy mass of dark rain clouds, from which countless drops of rain, tinged with sorrow, drizzled down.

So the thing trapped inside this lantern is the Nightmare King the Water Bearer captured from the Dream Realm?

Glancing through the lantern's glass shade at the "Li Ang" impaled on the wick, roaring furiously outward, the Thrush Crow masked man asked skeptically:

"This thing? Will it even work?"