In the Central Plains Region, within the territory of Korea, one hundred miles north of Qingchuan County.
A stronghold of the Nightmare Legion was burning. The flas soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed, dyeing half the sky a dark red.
Tattered flags lay in pools of blood, scattered weapons were stuck in the mud, and the ground was littered with the dissipating corpses of Nightmare Legion soldiers.
Inside the stronghold, three n stood side by side.
Park Jung-hoon stood at the front, his iron armor still stained with wet blood. He leaned on his longsword, panting heavily.
He was the lord of Jeolla County, a level 29 second promotion warrior, and one of the strongest county-level lords in Korea.
To his left and right were Kim Min-soo and Lee Jae-hyuk; the forr was a sword master from Gyeongju County, and the latter was a beast tar from Jeju County. Both were top-tier experts at level 29.
Three n, three armies, three days and three nights—only then did they manage to take down this stronghold.
"Brother Jung-hoon," Kim Min-soo said, sheathing his sword and pointing toward the burning Council Hall in the center of the stronghold. "The core should be inside."
Park Jung-hoon nodded and strode toward the Council Hall. Kim Min-soo and Lee Jae-hyuk exchanged a glance and followed.
The hall had been burned beyond recognition; half of the rafters had collapsed, and the floor was covered in ash and rubble.
But right in the center, a golden ball of light floated silently, completely unscathed.
The three of them stopped simultaneously, their pupils contracting.
It was a stronghold core, but not the ordinary yellow—it was gold.
A pure gold, so dazzling that one dared not look directly at it. They had never seen such a radiance before.
"This is..." Lee Jae-hyuk swallowed hard.
Park Jung-hoon did not answer; he stepped forward and reached out to touch it.
The golden ball of light suddenly erupted with a blinding radiance, and the entire hall trembled!
The light grew brighter and brighter, casting a golden hue over their faces!
The ball of light condensed and compressed in his palm, finally transforming into an ancient-looking dark gold scroll.
Special Village Establishnt Order.
Park Jung-hoon lowered his head, his pupils suddenly contracting.
The edges of the scroll were inlaid with dark red patterns, and the ends were capped with black tal, carved with patterns of cities and spears.
The golden light was restrained, but a heart-palpitating energy flowed within it, like a sleeping dragon.
Kim Min-soo gasped: "Gold..."
Lee Jae-hyuk's hand was already gripping his sword hilt.
Park Jung-hoon's hand also pressed onto his sword hilt. Three n, three weapons, three pairs of eyes. The air seed to solidify.
A golden Village Establishnt Order; since the beginning of recorded history on Blue Star, it had only appeared three tis.
Once in Great Xia, once in the USA, and once in Europa. Each one had created a top-tier faction.
And now, the fourth one was right before them.
As long as they killed the two people beside them, they could keep it all for themselves.
Park Jung-hoon's knuckles turned white, Kim Min-soo's hand was trembling, and Lee Jae-hyuk's breathing beca heavy.
Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds.
Park Jung-hoon suddenly released his sword hilt and let out a long sigh. "Hand it over to the state."
Kim Min-soo was stunned for a mont, then also released his sword hilt and nodded.
Lee Jae-hyuk remained silent for a mont before moving his hand away from his sword hilt.
The three exchanged glances, each seeing a sense of relief in the other's eyes.
A golden Village Establishnt Order was not sothing they could swallow.
Park Jung-hoon tucked the token into his robes and turned to walk out of the Council Hall. Just as he stepped out of the doorway, his footsteps suddenly faltered.
The moon above was turning red. It was not a faint reddish hue, but a color as thick as blood, as if soone had splashed a basin of fresh blood across the sky.
The moonlight spilled down, dyeing the entire earth dark red, and everything was shrouded in an eerie blood-colored veil.
"This is..." Kim Min-soo's voice was trembling.
Park Jung-hoon did not speak, only staring fixedly at the blood moon.
An aura of unease spread through the Nightmare World, like a tide sweeping through every corner.
Great Xia, North Pole Region.
Great Xia Main City, top floor of the City Lord's Mansion.
Zhou Guosheng stood before the window, watching the blood moon, his face livid.
Behind him, two level 40 Gold Seat Lords stood side by side, equally silent.
One of the white-haired elders spoke in a low voice: "Guosheng, the last ti this thing appeared was eighty years ago."
"I know." Zhou Guosheng's voice was hoarse. "That was when the golden Village Establishnt Order first appeared in the world."
He paused, taking a deep breath. "Eighty years ago, the USA obtained the first golden Village Establishnt Order, and then the blood moon appeared in the sky, directly leading to the Nightmare Tide, causing thirty percent of the nations on Blue Star to collapse."
The white-haired elder was silent for a mont: "This ti, what will it be?"
Zhou Guosheng did not answer, only watching the blood moon. The moonlight cast his face in a deathly pallor.
USA, West Pole Region.
Freedom City.
A massive Statue of Liberty stood in the center of the city, hundreds of ters tall, cast entirely from an unknown tal, its surface emitting a faint glow.
It was the USA's advanced wonder, and their greatest reliance for establishing a foothold in the West Pole Region.
At the foot of the statue, a middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes looked up at the blood moon, an unlit cigar in his mouth.
Behind him stood a dozen fully ard Awakened, each with a grave expression.
"Sir," a Black woman stepped forward, "the intel hasn't been confird yet."
The middle-aged man was silent for a mont, then took the cigar from his mouth and twirled it between his fingertips.
"If it hasn't been confird, then keep watching." His voice was calm, but his fingers gripping the cigar tightened slightly.
"Yes."
He turned around and walked into the city, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ but stopped after two steps.
"Withdraw the patrol teams from the East Coast and concentrate the defense around Freedom City."
Behind him, the dozen Awakened exchanged glances, all seeing uneasiness in each other's eyes.
Europa, East Pole Region.
An ancient castle sat atop the mountain peaks.
On the high tower in the center of the castle, a white-haired old man leaned on a staff, gazing at the eastern sky.
There, a blood moon was slowly rising.
Behind him stood a row of armored knights, all silent.
The old man suddenly spoke: "Eighty years."
The knight at the front raised his head: "Teacher, are you saying..."
"The Great Catastrophe," the old man said slowly. "It ca once eighty years ago, and now it is coming again."
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the knights: "Prepare yourselves; we are going to see the City Lord."
The knights responded in unison.
The old man turned back and continued to watch the blood moon. The moonlight dyed his white hair dark red, like burning snow.
Central Plains Region, a certain Nightmare stronghold.
Park Jung-hoon stood under the blood moon, clutching the golden Village Establishnt Order, his knuckles white.
He looked at the blood moon and suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold.
Kim Min-soo walked up to his side and whispered: "Brother Jung-hoon, did we... stir up big trouble?"
Park Jung-hoon shook his head: "I don't know."
He paused, his voice hoarse: "But I know that from today on, the Nightmare World is going to change."
The blood moon hung in the sky, casting long shadows of everyone.
In the distance, it seed that wolf howls could be heard.
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