71: Chapter 71 Black River

Captain Liu Ruyan realized what was happening and whipped out her long lash once more, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle as it lashed fiercely at the mass of black mist.

However, the whip passed straight through the mist as if striking empty air, dealing no damage whatsoever.

Physical attacks were ineffective!

Captain Liu Ruyan's expression changed, and she hastily took a few steps back.

She stood alongside Brother Kun and his four ragtag stragglers, pushing them to the very front.

Ten thousand grass mud horses stampeded through the hearts of Brother Kun and his men.

Damn it!

Is the Dawn Convoy really going to be this heartless?

When trouble hits, they're the first to hide and push us to the front as cannon fodder?

Despite the cursing in their hearts, their bodies were honest.

The four men huddled tightly together, clutching their weapons.

They stared at the mass of black mist, trembling all over, not even daring to breathe loudly.

"Fire a signal flare! Call for support quickly!" Zhou Che shouted from the back.

He didn't need to remind her; Captain Liu Ruyan had already fished out a signal flare.

"Whoosh!"

A red signal flare streaked across the sky and exploded mid-air.

Nearby squads saw the signal and immediately rushed toward their location.

Just then, the mass of black mist moved.

It fixed its gaze on a skinny, tall man among Brother Kun's group of four.

The black mist began to squirm and deform.

Slowly, it condensed into a twisted, withered tree.

The trunk and branches were densely covered in human heads.

Those heads opened their hollow eyes, their mouths opening and closing, emitting soundless wails.

It was exactly what the skinny man feared most deep in his heart.

Everyone who saw this scene couldn't help but be horrified.

It was too disgusting! Too terrifying!

Even Zhou Che felt his scalp tingle.

No wonder Li Yiming saw the Wraith Black Mist before he died.

It turned out that this Devourer of Calamity could truly transform into whatever a person feared most.

If it were him…

While everyone was shocked and distracted, the black mist lunged again.

The skinny man was so terrified that his legs went weak; he couldn't run at all.

With a sweep of the black mist, he vanished instantly, not even leaving behind a trace of bone.

Having devoured two Transcendents, the aura of the Devourer of Calamity was noticeably stronger.

It rotated the heads on its "trunk," its gaze sweeping over the remaining people.

Finally, it locked onto Zhou Che, who was hiding at the very back.

Zhou Che froze, a bone-chilling cold rushing from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.

He had been targeted!

His Perceiver Sequence was sounding frantic warnings, telling him that the anomaly before him was far stronger than he had imagined.

It was simply not something he could deal with!

Run! Run quickly!

Zhou Che turned to bolt.

But the Devourer of Calamity didn't give him a chance to escape.

The black mist dispersed, turning into a black shadow, and caught up to Zhou Che in an instant.

Everyone held their breath.

The Devourer of Calamity didn't strike immediately.

It began to squirm and deform once again.

This transformation was very slow, more than twice as slow as when it had turned into the tree of heads.

The black mist became murky and sallow, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

It was mixed with a complex aura of resentment, greed, and coldness.

Slowly, the black mist condensed into a murky, pitch-black river.

The river water churned, and within it, one could vaguely see countless things struggling.

This was what Zhou Che feared most deep in his heart.

But just as the river was about to take shape,

"Roar!"

The Devourer of Calamity let out a pained roar.

The half-formed river suddenly collapsed, turning back into a mass of black mist.

Its aura weakened visibly by a significant margin.

Clearly, it had failed during the transformation process, or perhaps it couldn't manifest the full extent of this river.

Zhou Che let out a sigh of relief, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

That was close!

He had almost met his end there.

Just then, rapid footsteps came from the distance.

Captain Ma Shangwu arrived with the Alliance's people and Transcendents from other squads.

"Get out of the way!"

Captain Ma Shangwu roared, hoisting a man-portable rocket launcher from behind his back.

He aimed at the mass of black mist and, without a moment's hesitation, pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

The rocket, trailing fire, slammed fiercely into the black mist.

A violent explosion rang out, and flames soared into the sky.

The black mist was torn apart by the shockwave of the explosion, scattering into countless fine black threads.

The aura of the Devourer of Calamity plummeted by another large margin.

Zhou Che looked at the scattered black mist, feeling a bit eager to try his luck.

Now that this thing's aura was even weaker, if he went up and gave it a few punches, maybe he could land the finishing blow?

But just as he took a step forward, he shrank back.

Forget it, forget it. There was no need to take that risk.

What if this thing was faking it and bit back?

Better to let Captain Ma Shangwu and the others handle it.

The scattered black mist slowly began to re-condense.

Only now, it was much thinner than before and looked precarious.

It didn't attack anyone else.

All the black threads turned toward Zhou Che's direction.

Although it had no eyes, everyone could feel it.

A gaze filled with resentment, hatred, and an undying grudge locked firmly onto Zhou Che.

It was holding a grudge.

It counted all the losses it had suffered today against Zhou Che.

Immediately after, without waiting for Captain Ma Shangwu to fire another rocket,

The black mist suddenly dispersed, turning into countless tiny black dots, and fled in all directions.

In the span of a few breaths, it disappeared into the weeds and ruins, leaving no trace behind.

It left only a scene of devastation and two missing corpses as proof that the fierce battle had actually occurred.

After the Devourer of Calamity dissipated into black mist, the scene was a mess.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, slumping to the ground and gasping for air, their backs soaked through with cold sweat.

Only Zhou Che stood in place, motionless, his eyes staring blankly in the direction where the Devourer of Calamity had vanished, his entire body stiff.

His mind was blank, replaying that scene over and over.

The murky, pitch-black river, churning with foul-smelling waves.

Countless things were struggling and wailing inside, the aura of resentment almost solidifying.

He had seen this river before.

Not in the apocalypse, not in Shancheng, but on the night before the apocalypse broke out.

That night, he was lying in bed, fast asleep.

For some reason, he suddenly floated up, and beneath his feet was this exact same black river.

The river water was bone-chillingly cold, as if countless hands were grabbing his ankles, pulling him down desperately.

He struggled with all his might, but sank deeper and deeper—the feeling of suffocating despair.

Even now, thinking about it made him tremble all over.

Just as he was about to be completely swallowed by the river water, he jolted awake.

Outside the window was the familiar night, and his phone displayed three in the morning.

He had thought it was just an ordinary nightmare and didn't take it to heart.

Then the next day, the blood moon rose, and the apocalypse descended.

Zhou Che had always thought it was just a coincidence.

But just now, the Devourer of Calamity had actually manifested this black river!

Although it had collapsed before it could fully take shape, the aura and appearance were identical to the black river in his dream.

This was definitely not a coincidence.

The Devourer of Calamity could read minds and manifest what a person feared most.

But that black river was the deepest secret hidden in his heart, one he had never told anyone.

Could it be... that the river wasn't a dream at all?