Chapter 236: Chapter 163: Fate Disturbance

The corpse remained motionless.

A dead person naturally wouldn’t speak. The recent laughter seemed like just an illusion brought by the wind and snow.

This illusion is a seduction, madness, a fleeting dream, and also the destiny of ’Osguta’.

The ’Osguta’ before me had gray temples, a figure smaller than my current self, and its entire body was replaced with mechanical parts similar to those of Count Elio, with even a connector for machinery installed at the back of the head.

My cause of death was the same as always, mysterious. The chest and right leg of the corpse had glaring holes, exposing the old, neglected, and gnawed inner mechanical parts.

As if something had crawled out from within...

Osguta turned his head and glanced at the Empire’s calendar lying on the table.

Year 281 of the New Calendar.

The nightmare’s time node was still five years later.

Osguta was brought back by the dream to his hometown: Watchtower Town in the Northern Border of the Empire.

The Mental Stability Liquid began to take effect, and Osguta eased his breathing, searching the corpse’s pockets for a few expired potent pain relief injections, before inserting one into his own neck.

A hallucinatory feeling gradually rose within him.

Soon after, Osguta hobbled over to lean against the wall, numbly waiting for the dream to end.

At the moment of falling into the dream, his right leg lost sensation, and his chest felt heavy, the Nightmare was using the distant future to reverse erode the soul from the past.

The Celestial Calamity would tightly bind the fate and future of the Imperial Envoy.

"Why do you have to be so degenerate, Osguta?"

The corpse began speaking again, its facial features melting into a twisted vortex: "Only by maintaining a clear mind can we fully dedicate our computing power to the greatest Dr. Tianli (Great Worm Monarch)..."

Osguta’s eyes were lifeless; he couldn’t discern whether it was the whispers of the Nightmare or hallucinations brought by the pain relief.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

He ignored the corpse’s chatter and turned his head to gaze at the world outside the window.

The scale of the wind and snow was increasingly exaggerated, the streets were scarred, and the blurred tall buildings were hidden in the wind and snow, not easily visible.

Osguta’s hometown, Watchtower Town, was just a small town, far removed from the Empire’s mechanical giant cities, thus the town’s development fell behind the times.

His parents were merely ordinary people maintaining their livelihood through physical labor; Osguta relied entirely on his own effort to pass the Empire’s civil service exam, becoming an envoy under the Frost Falcon Duke.

Osguta vaguely remembered that he was the only young person from the entire town to have entered the Duke’s academy, and on that day his usually unsmiling father gathered all their possessions to buy him a set of clothes that only city dwellers could afford.

Yet he still couldn’t change his fate, for the nightmare of Celestial Calamity would ultimately destroy it all.

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

A rhythmic weird sound suddenly came from the wind, like countless sharp iron rods tapping alternately on the icy snow, a shock ran through Osguta, his consciousness slightly cleared.

Why did it come so quickly this time?

The weird sound was getting closer... and closer...

Bang!

The next second, countless human faces pressed against the window, one elderly face turned its cloudy eyes to look into the dimly lit room.

"Osguta, are you in there? The weather has been getting colder and colder lately, your mother and I have been very worried about you..."

His tone was concerned and carried a touch of expectation: "We know you’ve been very busy since returning, so we thought we’d take a chance to visit you while you were resting."

"Old Bert, I see our son, look! He’s just there, seems like he’s sleeping from exhaustion..."

Another elderly face stared fixedly at the corpse in the room.

She emitted a voice that was both joyful and pained: "I told you this child never takes care of his health, quickly bring him back!"

The wall collapsed with a thud!

The weakened Osguta rolled on the ground, seeing dense, massive sharp limbs suddenly probe in, pierce through the corpse’s skull, and drag it out of the room.

What followed was a horrifying chewing sound.

Osguta numbly watched the monster before him, countless heads were embedded on the surface of the Mechanical Centipede’s body, the expressions on people’s faces showing joyful smiles, as if they were lost in the most beautiful dream.

The massive worm body that made the skin crawl ignored the ghost of the past, starting to seek the next target, sharp limbs and the satisfied smiles of the parents gradually disappeared into the wind and snow.

This is the immortality spoken of by the mechanical Nightmare...

Osguta watched the body of the mechanical giant worm vanish into the wind and snow, painfully closing his eyes.

Since childhood, he’s been endlessly repeating such nightmares.

No matter what efforts he made, it wouldn’t change the tragic ending of his parents.

Even passing the academy, becoming an envoy under the Duke, it would merely make the furniture in the future room more expensive.

That’s all.

No matter what, he couldn’t change fate!

In the New Empire, only a few people could clearly glimpse their fate regarding the ’future’.

Except for the ’Prophet’, any citizen of the Empire who revealed their dream experiences would be convicted of the highest level of felony by the Imperial Court of Justice, then imprisoned forever.

According to the Duke’s words, people could choose to fight alone, but any prophecy of fate attempting to drag others into the fray would certainly cause more extreme disasters.

Just like the Mad Emperor who triggered the Empire’s civil unrest.

The drug’s effect was quickly wearing off. Osguta instinctively reached for his waist, only to find that the remaining painkiller injections had been shattered during his parents’ "visit."

The man let out a muffled groan, his expression twisted as he curled up on the ground. The pain coursing through his body felt like being minced, continually eroding his rationality.

Osguta’s eyes were bloodshot, yet a beast-like growl escaped from his throat. He forced himself to stand, like a lone wolf trapped in a desperate situation.

The Empire must control the Nightmare Celestial Calamity!!!

The only belief propped up Osguta’s will. He panted, looking along the torn wall towards the town shrouded in the blizzard.

In a few minutes, this town, completely infested by the Nightmare, would be utterly abandoned by the Duke. The celestial fire dropped by the War Giant Structure would level the entirety of Watchtower Town.

He, too, would find release in the Celestial Calamity dream he could not awaken from.

Osguta’s gaze became grave. He realized this time, the future had shown a slight shift. Although his parents’ fate remained unchanged, the appearance of the Mechanical Swarm unexpectedly came earlier...

Taller, larger, more mechanical insect bodies outlined a terrifying silhouette within the snowstorm, and they seemed somewhat restless.

’Sssss...’

At this moment, a strange sound suddenly appeared behind Osguta.

He turned sharply, only to notice that a strangely shaped golden object had fallen out of the crushed counter in the room.

It was a golden cube-shaped mechanical creation, its surface shimmering as if breathing, with a simplified outline of a grand city vaguely carved on the front.

Osguta’s heart skipped a beat. If he remembered correctly, that was clearly an emblem found on the Ark currency!

’Sssss... Listen... This is the Dawn Rescue Team from the Ark Kingdom...’

A lively voice pierced through the snowstorm: ’People of Watchtower Town... hold on... there’s still hope for you...’

Osguta’s eyes widened in astonishment.

He almost tumbled his way over to grab the golden cube, as if clutching at the only straw of salvation.

"Where are you now?!"

Osguta even forgot the excruciating pain throughout his body, shouting, "The Mechanical Swarm has already launched an attack!!"

"Calm down, our brigade is at the outskirts of Watchtower Town."

The cube actually responded: "The swarm will use intact human souls as tools for oviposition. As long as we seize this chance, we still have the possibility to save the Empire’s citizens from the shell of insects!"

In that instant, it felt like destiny was shaken.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Osguta looked up, no longer were the descending flames from the War Giant Structure falling upon Watchtower Town.

Instead, an overwhelming flood of sunlight pierced through the fierce snowstorm!

·

Osguta suddenly opened his eyes.

He instinctively wanted to sit up straight, only to find himself confined in a Mental Stability Pod, his hands and feet completely restrained.

He was still inside the Black Dream submarine.

On his way back to the Empire, negotiating cooperation terms for the Ark Leader.

The next moment, the hatch opened, and someone using mechanical arms untied Osguta’s restraints and pulled out the needle inserted in the envoy’s neck.

It was Count Elio.

Osguta gasped for air, his mind flashing with scenes from the dream, leaving him momentarily in chaos.

The restless Swarm, the strange golden cube, and the Dawn Rescue Team...

Will the Ark truly assist the Empire in the future?

"Another nightmare?"

The man, who looked like a youthful Old Bert, scrutinized Osguta’s expression, pursing his lips: "Kid, this nightmare of yours was really something, used up a tenth of the Mental Stability Liquid on this ship."

Behind this Imperial Count extended several long mechanical arms, each performing its duty, repairing the wounds on the mechanical soldiers within the chamber.

The personnel equipped on the Empire’s warship were actually not many. Most of the ship’s crew were cold and unfeeling mechanical soldiers.

"Still holding up?" Count Elio kept working while staring intently at Osguta’s eyes.

"Count, I saw..."

Osguta opened his mouth, then shut it tight. Describing the future to others was a serious crime; everyone harbored their own fate within.

Therefore, Imperial people usually matured and restrained more than those from Foreign Countries, all of them lonely and eccentric freaks.

After a moment, Osguta responded softly, "I’m fine, Count."

"That’s good." Count Elio’s reply was equally brief.

Osguta calmed down again, habitually suppressing all emotions to the bottom of his heart.

This Imperial Envoy clenched his fists. He was eager to meet the Duke and the "Prophet", the Ark Kingdom indeed appeared to be a highly reliable ally!

·

In the top office of the administrative building in Seagull City.

Lin Lan picked up the golden cube from the desk, looking astonished.

He looked at Yi Feng, the instructor in front of him who seemed a bit tense: "Is this the new communications device you crafted?"