Chapter 4: Darkness Overlords

The cold greatly slowed down the process of decay, but it meant little to Neo. The stench lingering in the slums was akin to the smell from old, clogged sewage channels—a truly unpleasant sight.
One could be miserable and down and out, but not dirty or numb. If the heart turned to ash, there was only decline left.
And this slum was precisely Solis’s land of decline—filled with ruined houses and emaciated people from the lower classes. Even covered by white snowflakes, it only added to the sense of sorrow and desolation. The cold, foul odor carrying a sense of pessimistic despair was what Neo disliked the most.
There were no figures on the rugged, muddy paths, but Neo could sense hostile gazes from the dilapidated shacks—likely due to his clothing. Identifying people by their attire was a common way to recognize them. Though Neo’s clothes were of fine quality, with some embroidery and weaving at the collar and cuffs, they still stood out too much here.
The slums were often described by nobles as places where crime thrived. But compared to the invasion of dark forces, Neo felt it was necessary to take the risk. After all, the crimes here were mostly committed out of survival, quite different from pure destruction and evil. Besides, he had no other choice now.
The pain of his torn body never ceased. After fading slightly as it subsided, it surged again, forming a rising curve. This was the effect of the “Dark Tides”—a curse of evil spirits representing a combination of various torments. If death didn’t occur immediately, the curse’s effects would change. The “Dark Tides” were one such effect: fluctuating in intensity, rising and falling, coming and going abruptly, with no predictable timing—extremely troublesome.
Though he didn’t fully understand the horrors of the Dark Tides, Neo still had some control over his physical strength and condition. He knew he didn’t have the energy to resist the second wave of the curse. Before long, his combat ability would drop to its lowest level—so low that even a child could easily kill him. Before that happened, he had to find a proper hiding place.
The pain intensified, and his vision blurred. Neo could hear his own ragged breathing and his heart’s abnormally rapid pounding. Before his extraordinary hearing and sense of smell reverted to normal, he finally found a shack hidden in a corner. He crawled in, curled up, covered himself with a thick woolen cloak, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly before falling into a faint.
Cough!
When he woke up again, Neo’s first reaction was to instinctively draw his sword, realizing his posture had changed.
Sleeping was like a deep slumber—no movement at all, breathing becoming slow and deep. This was a skill possessed by almost every Shadow Wolf, one Neo had mastered since childhood. Additionally, Neo had a vigilance unmatched even by ordinary beasts. However, in a state of unconsciousness or extreme weakness, this ability would weaken depending on the circumstances. This time, he had slept too deeply.
Under the light of the snow, a faint, icy glint appeared on the blade of his crosssword. After assessing his surroundings, Neo silently sheathed his sword.

Indeed, someone had visited while he was unconscious. The pack was opened, and the dried meat and the small bag of flour were taken away, along with the remaining money pouch. Yet,Neo wasn’t angry at all; instead, he felt somewhat relieved. In his view, the thief still had some conscience—otherwise, if he had taken away the velvet cloak,Neo would likely have died of cold in that icy shelter.

Hungry and with no food in his stomach, he couldn’t keep himself warm. But the pain from his torn body had eased significantly, and more importantly, his energy had been restored, clearing his mind. For a swordsman who valued skill above all, this was good news.

Standing up swiftly and silently,Neo glanced through the cracks in the shelter at the sky. It was overcast and dim, almost evening. Roughly calculating, he had been unconscious for at least four hours. Listening carefully, he heard faint sounds of fighting, not very frequent—half a dozen sounds every while.

Neo interpreted this as meaning that the dark forces had largely taken control of the situation, and the sporadic resistance likely indicated that a city-wide search had begun, with those hiding being dragged out of their shelters one after another.

As someone concerned about current affairs and knowledgeable about history,Neo believed that after suffering three defeats in the Thousand-Year Wars, by the time the fourth millennium war arrived, the demons of hell were no longer as arrogant as before but had become more cunning and sinister. At least that was the case among the ruling elite.

They no longer focused on capturing cities and seizing territory, concentrating their forces to engage head-on with the human-led Light Alliance. Instead, they preferred to exploit human desires—luring, bribing, dividing, and sowing discord—using these sinister tactics to gradually erode the Alliance’s war potential from within.

Looking at the events that had occurred in cities like Buganell, Spharint, and Desula over the past few years, the intentions of the dark forces became clear.

Sadly, the rulers of the three major nations were still preparing for their “Thousand-Year War,” concentrating their forces and stockpiling food…

The result was weak defenses and high taxes…

Neo shook his head, unwilling to think further about the stupidity and shortsightedness of those nobles who spent their days in palaces and villas, and the generals who drank red wine and hot tea around map tables. While understanding the broader situation wasn’t particularly useful for him, it might now be crucial for saving his own life.

“The dark forces will never hold Solis for long,”Neo thought silently, rubbing his frozen, numb limbs.

With this core understanding, he had a basis for judging the current situation.Neo believed that in their sudden attack on Solis, the dark forces were most likely to imitate the “Spharint Blood Night,” carrying out evil blood sacrifices and dark rituals. Essentially, this was like mixing toxic mold into the grain—turning that land into a borderland between light and darkness, making it easier for the dark forces to infiltrate and move freely.

This tactic is undoubtedly vicious. To save it, significant financial, material, and human resources must be invested—a cost no less than that of a full-scale battle. If left unattended, not only will Thors gradually turn into a true land of darkness and decay, but it will also cause unimaginable hidden damages, such as a blow to the morale of the Light Alliance and public opinion.

Moreover, aside from the corruption of the land, there is also the crucial aspect of corrupting lives—planting seeds of evil among Thors’ inhabitants, and even arranging for a large number of dark believers to continue pretending to be ordinary citizens and lurk in hiding before withdrawing to watch developments.

This is equivalent to handing a bloody butcher’s knife to the enemy. As long as the Light Alliance dares to use it, the dark forces will surely exploit their puppets in various kingdoms to expose the incident and create a crisis through public opinion.

It’s easy to detect evil in one’s aura, but difficult to detect it in one’s thoughts. Two years ago, in the city of Buganell of the Holy Ode Kingdom, a magic for “identifying evil” was misused, resulting in the accidental killing of over 200 people, and its consequences still linger to this day. With such an effective tactic, the dark forces have no reason to use it only once.

Besides the corruption of the land and lives, Neo believes the dark forces must have some other goals he doesn’t understand. Otherwise, considering value and the difficulty of conquest, Asia is clearly a better target than Thors. Choosing the harder path without sufficient rewards—only a fool would do that. The demons of the dark forces are definitely not fools!

In any case, since the dark forces intend to conduct evil blood sacrifices, they will need a large number of people. The search is likely already underway. Neo decides to set off immediately for his next hiding place.

Just then, Neo hears drum-like footsteps and smells the scorching scent of sulfur…

Whether it’s a coincidence or not no longer matters. An existence with such a scent, making such sounds as it moves, and giving him such a dangerous intuition can only be someone like the Black Butcher—or even more powerful. To Neo now, such an existence is like death itself. He has no interest in showing bravery or toughness in the face of such enemies.

His legs hadn’t fully recovered from stiffness, so Neo had to be even more careful, fearing any loud noise. Dusk is the darkest time of day, and Neo’s night vision wasn’t of much help at this moment. Worse still, as night fell and the bitter cold wind blew, the mud on the ground had frozen and been covered with a thin layer of snow, making the already rugged path even more difficult to navigate. Neo didn’t dare go too fast, fearing he might trip over an unseen obstacle and end up in trouble.

After walking dozens of meters and turning a corner, Neo glanced back and happened to see a Fiery Evil Puppet appearing at the other end of the alley. He gasped in shock, shrunk back, and hurried on. Although these advanced puppet servants were not as notorious as the Black Butcher, they ranked higher than him in the “Monster Dictionary.” Their relentless nature left a deep impression on Neo, so he remembered them clearly.

The Evil Flame Puppet is a pure killing machine—never tired, never stopping. What’s most terrifying is its ability to sense living souls, an even more sinister skill than the ordinary Dark Puppet’s ability to sense life. Once trapped by this creature, there’s only one outcome: one side must fall.
“It seems the third hiding spot needs adjustment…” Neo mused as he swiftly climbed up a low shed and then onto the roof of a building. He needed a better vantage point to decide where to place the second hiding spot.
With three hiding spots, each one must be connected in a way that’s neither too close nor too far, and adjustments should be made based on the actual situation.
In the original plan, the prison was supposed to be Neo’s third hiding spot. The prison in Solis City was located in the central part of the southern district, not too far from here. Neo remembered that several Dark Cultists were indeed imprisoned there. He believed that after the Dark Forces invaded Solis, the prison would be one of the first places they would target. At the same time, it was likely a place few people would want to return to. While this hiding spot was good, with a pursuer like the Evil Flame Puppet, hiding there made it easy to be caught off guard—this risk wasn’t worth taking.
As for the second hiding spot—The Land of Flames—there was no need to change it. After all, whether it was the ability to sense life or living souls, energy of sufficient intensity could provide effective isolation. Fire was a cheap and easily accessible form of energy. If one could get close to a burning building, preferably finding a hiding place inside, they would be relatively safe until the fire weakened to a certain extent.
Neo had originally planned to use the fire to warm himself and cook some food to get through the coldest part of the midnight. Now, he could only take things as they came.
Thud, thud, thud! The terrifying footsteps of the Evil Flame Puppet grew louder, with their usual rhythmic, unhurried pace.
Neo let out a soft sigh. He knew that the days when he could rest for four hours in a row were gone forever.