76:

"Dang~ Dang dang dang~"

The melodious classical piano melody, carrying a faint warmth and melancholy, echoed throughout the underground villa as the paws of several ravens leaped across the keys amidst the flickering fireplace light.

Mo Mio swirled the goblet in his hand, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment while his other hand occasionally swayed gently to the melody like a conductor.

He took an appreciative sip of the perfectly aged fine wine.

Opening his mouth, a rich, elegant, melodious, yet distinctly desolate singing voice came from him.

"Am Brunnen vor dem Tore (At the fountain before the gate)"

"Da steht ein Lindenbaum (There stands a linden tree)"

"Ich träumt' in seinem Schatten (How many sweet dreams)"

"So manchen süßen Traum (I spent under its shade)..."

Played by several ravens, Winterreise: Der Lindenbaum sounded absurd, yet within that absurdity lay an indescribable elegance and nobility.

Mo Mio sang.

Not far away, in the fireplace directly opposite the long table, the fire flickered, and from time to time, several men in black appeared out of thin air from the firelight, each carrying a bloody parcel.

First, they walked not far from Mo Mio and bowed respectfully.

Then, carrying those bags, they silently sat back down in their respective seats.

They opened the bags and placed the heads inside—eyes wide with lingering resentment, bearing expressions of bewilderment, shock, and fear—onto the empty dinner plates on the long dining table in front of each of them.

The candlelight flickered.

Not far away, the ravens leaping across the piano keys seemed to be infected by some sort of emotion.

The notes began to grow passionate.

Beside the piano, in front of the placed cellos, harps, and other instruments, individual ravens acted like true musicians, plucking with their wings, claws, or beaks.

The tune of Winterreise: Der Lindenbaum, without the slightest hesitation or stumble,

suddenly transitioned into Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, First Movement.

After a few heavy piano notes, the thick, low chords seemed to make everyone present instantly feel the oppression of destiny.

Mo Mio slowly opened his eyes.

Through the transparent wall of the goblet, which reflected the luster of the red wine as it gently swirled, his gaze fell upon the long row of heads placed on the long table. There was not a trace of sympathy in his eyes, only the pain and unwillingness immersed in the past.

Suddenly.

Amidst the melodious concerto, a harsh and huge cracking sound of something rang out.

It fiercely made the hearts of everyone present tremble violently.

The white-haired, butler-like elder walked quickly to where the sound came from.

In front of five vacant seats, on the meticulously arranged dinner plates where the knives and forks were still placed in parallel, the plates underneath had all shattered uniformly.

The elder's expression changed slightly.

Present, the men in black on both sides of the long table also changed their expressions uniformly upon seeing the five shattered plates.

Shock, panic, bewilderment...

The elder carefully walked to Mo Mio's side, and although his voice was restrained to the utmost, the obvious tremor was still hard to hide.

"Master... Black Bug Team has all perished, the mission failed!"

Mo Mio's hand swirling the goblet stopped.

Then, Rachmaninoff's concerto behind him suddenly changed again.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Third Movement.

Fierce, angry, hurried, restless...

The elder lowered his head, but a layer of nervous cold sweat seeped from his forehead after seeing Mo Mio's mouth corners slowly fade from their arc out of the corner of his eye.

"..."

A clear deep breath came from Mo Mio's nasal cavity.

Yet it made everyone present hold their breath instantly.

"Which Mystic Realm did they enter?"

The butler tried his best to keep his voice calm: "Master, it is the Normal-grade [Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe]."

"Normal-grade... Heh! Hahaha! Normal-grade..."

Mo Mio murmured softly, a pair of tyrannical eyes sweeping across the several squads present.

"If I remember correctly, among you newcomers, Black Bug Team had the second-best performance, right?" Mo Mio's icy eyes seemed capable of freezing everything.

Raven after raven began to circle above the dining room.

Several even landed directly on the heads of some of the men in black.

Their sharp beaks flashed with cold light, vaguely carrying faint bloodstains.

"An operation in a mere Normal-grade Mystic Realm was enough to completely wipe out Black Bug Team, who ranked second... You all disappoint me!"

It was a calm tone, but that gaze, resembling that of looking at discarded trash, immediately made all the men in black present stand up with a rustling sound of tension.

"President! Please allow me to lead the Vulture Squad to the [Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe], and we will surely wash away the humiliation brought to you by Black Bug Team!"

"President! Snow Wolf Squad requests to enter battle! I am willing to guarantee that within three days, the [Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe] Mystic Realm will definitely be shattered!"

"..."

Mo Mio raised his hand, and everyone immediately fell silent.

Looking at him without daring to breathe loudly, waiting for his final verdict.

As reserve squads of the Night Crow Society, although they might look much stronger than the outside Pioneer Squads, in reality, in front of this Night Crow Society president before them, they were nothing.

In fact, there was once a cohort of newcomers where several consecutive squads failed to satisfy him.

In that cohort, not a single living person was left...

Mo Mio's voice sounded faintly.

"Tonight, I am going to attend a ball. Before I return from the ball, I hope there will be a lively party in the wilderness outside Huangshan Base City. If not..."

He didn't continue. In front of the instruments behind him that were originally played by ravens,

they had turned into several curvaceous, sexy, elegant, and exquisitely beautiful women.

Beneath their black form-fitting evening gowns, their bodies were so perfect they resembled goddesses.

A faint red light lingered on them as if it were there and yet not.

Everyone who saw this scene was instantly startled. The squad leaders hurriedly saluted, and then immediately picked up their respective equipment again and walked towards the raging fireplace.

Mo Mio stood up, walked in front of the woman who was gracefully playing the piano, tenderness in his eyes.

One hand gently rested on her shoulder.

"My dear, it's time for us to leave, too. We can't let our guests wait too anxiously..."

The woman raised her head with an exquisite smile, but the next second, the red light surged violently, turning into a stream of light that shot directly into Mo Mio's chest.

The light vanished, and a goddess-shaped pendant swayed gently.

...

Forty miles west of Huangshan Base City.

Clearly it was still morning, just when the scorching sun was bright and lovely.

At this moment, the [Cliffside Epidemic Hospital] Mystic Realm camp was gloomy and dim.

Clearly protected by the misty Mystic Realm barrier as isolation, the people inside the Mystic Realm camp could still clearly smell the stench of corruption in the air.

Jiang Xingdong, the lord of Huangshan Base City, held an exaggerated Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand.

He glanced behind him.

Lan Yujing of the Rose Squad, President Song Ming of the Rubiks Chamber of Commerce, plus two senior military officers from Huangshan Base City.

Then came Falcon Squad, as well as the reorganized Crossing River Dragon Team.

Behind the three full squads, there were also backup replacements.

Jiang Xingdong lacked his usual amiability like an ordinary old man; replaced by it was the stern, murderous aura of a veteran from the battlefield.

"Everyone has seen it too. The Mystic Realm's barrier hasn't even been half a month, and it has already weakened to this extent. For the hundreds of thousands of people in Huangshan Base City, today, even if this old bone of mine has to fill it in with my life, I must thoroughly figure out and control this Mystic Realm!"

Although everyone's hearts were filled with gravity, they nodded one after another at this moment.

"Set out!"

In front of the Mystic Realm entrance, the guards saluted neatly.

Watching solemnly as the three squads entered the Mystic Realm.

However.

Just the instant the three squads entered the Mystic Realm,

the entrance, which originally glowed with a misty white light, suddenly trembled violently, and immediately afterwards, the white light instantly turned crimson and terrifying.

A huge invisible force instantly blew the guards standing in front of the entrance flying away.

"Not good!"