Chapter 198: The Roars Beneath The Skin

For Annan’s group, it was great news that Benjamin was involved in the resurrection of Master Michelangelo.

Benjamin wouldn’t come forward directly to maintain the facade that he was dead, but he was undoubtedly a reliable ally helping in the dark.

A valuable friendly unit, indeed.

In terms of the preparation for the battle tomorrow, Annan had arranged the players to go to bed early. With that, they would come back online after breakfast tomorrow.

At present, the players only knew that the ritual day was right on December 14, 1503. However, the players didn’t know the exact timing. If the main event occurred during the wee hours, they were just unlucky to miss it.

But as long as it wasn’t too early in the morning, players should get a night of good sleep so that they could log in as early as possible tomorrow.

After persuading the players to go offline, Annan also went to bed early.

For security measures, Salvatore stayed in Annan’s bedroom and read till 3 a.m. The reading was to help him doze off in sleep so that he could fall asleep immediately by 3 a.m.

“Final check.”

Annan closed his eyes and said softly, “Tomorrow, Master Bishop and I will try our best to wake up before the sun rises. We will be responsible for the defense preparation work at 44 Clear Water Street and 12 Rusty Water Street, respectively.”

“After You, Yiyi, and Old Goose woke up, immediately head to my place to assist in the defense. Her Highness Kafni and the other two shall head to Rusty Water Street to reinforce the defense there.”

According to previous experiments, Annan confirmed that the ritual involving two symmetric opposite mirrors was indeed interlocked. Once all the doors of one house were opened, all the doors of the other house would be closed immediately.

Though, there was a unique condition.

No matter if all the house doors at Clear Water Street were closed or opened, nothing would happen on the current Nottdamm.

But only when the “present” Nottdamm stayed at home could the door of the “past” Nottdamm be closed. With that, two of the “past” Nottdamm could appear in this world temporarily.

Otherwise, when the last door at the Nottdamm house on Rusty Water Street was closed, several doors on Clear Water Street would open up at the same time. Two of the “past” Nottdamm would immediately disappear.

It was as if the network cable was unplugged, and the two of them were disconnected altogether.

This should be a security measure to prevent two Nottdamm from accidentally meeting each other.

But this also caused Annan’s group to scatter their defenses on two sides.

Not only they had to protect the “past” Nottdamm and his wife Maemis Nottdamm, who was about to give birth and died a few years ago.

At the same time, the current Nottdamm must be prevented from leaving his house.

Otherwise, once the current Nottdamm went out, the two “past” Nottdamm would suddenly disappear.

Hence, Annan’s arrangement went as follows.

He and Salvatore had Sage’s Stone in their hands. They had the most potent immediate explosive power. They would be assisted by Yiyi, who had the strongest protection capability and the well-rounded Old Goose. The four of them would be in charge of protecting the pregnant woman.

On the other hand, Kafni had the most robust non-lethal control ability. The Child could control and alter the terrain. Jiu Er would launch suicide attacks indefinitely with the help of infinite respawn. This composition offered strong viability to offense.

At the same time, Bishop Daryl and Kafni had a higher status, while Jiu Er and Child God were confident in chatting. That would allow the group to persuade the current Nottdamm to stay inside the house, keeping him from leaving the house for that day. Of course, their main task was still to keep the intruders out.

Both Annan and Bishop Daryl could attack the spirits, which helped safeguard against the Rotten Man Church’s spirits summoning techniques. In addition, there were players on both sides, allowing smooth communication across distances on the forum.

This arrangement was the best lineup Annan could think of.

No matter which side had encountered a monster at the peak Silver Rank level, they could still retaliate.

The Transcended players had infinite respawns. They had enough combat strength to fight against the basic enemy units.

As long as the players managed to buy time, the other side could send support over in time.

No matter how I look at it, everything is in place.

“But what have I missed…” Annan frowned slightly.

The feeling that he had missed something still lingered.

“If you can’t think of anything, forget it. We shall respond according to the situation. We have the Sage’s Stone. Like you said, Teacher Benjamin may help us at any time. He wouldn’t want to see the ritual fail.”

Salvatore turned another page in the dim light, glanced at Annan with a frown, and said disapprovingly, “You have to go to bed because you have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Alright, good night.” Annan agreed and retreated inside the quilt.

With Annan’s strong self-discipline, he emptied his mind and fell asleep in a very short time.

When Annan woke up in a daze, he glanced out the window.

He soon realized something was wrong.

With his precise biological clock, he could roughly guess that it should have been 5 a.m. even without looking at the watch.

But, what is the “that” outside the window?

A crimson red sun hung in the sky.

It wasn’t the golden sun entwined with the triple hollow as it should have been. Annan already knew that the golden sun was Mr. Ray’s symbol.

But the “sun” outside the window now was like the sunset on Earth.

Not only was there no rune and no hollows around it, but a thin layer of golden light was shrouded in it.

The golden light was being shrouded, and beyond it was a circle of thick black.

Further out, it was overwhelming and rich blood.

Not only the sky but the entire street was also shrouded in an abnormal blood hue.

The next moment, Annan heard a low and looming drum beat.

The drum beats rumbled like thunder, echoing in all directions.

After another nine seconds, the strange low humming sounded again.

Annan focused his mind on locating the source.

He was a little surprised to find out that the sound came from the heart.

Or rather.

These thunderous drum beats seemed to be coming from the people’s chests of the whole city…or at least the entire street!

“What is this?”

Is this the Rotten Man Church’s ritual?

Or Michelangelo’s ritual?

Annan’s face was solemn.

He disregarded the cold air outside the quilt, immediately jumped up from the bed, and got dressed swiftly.

When he rushed to Salvatore’s room, Annan hesitated for a moment and stopped.

Should it wake Salvatore up?

If the ritual has started—no matter where it started, it may be too late to wake Salvatore up.

But what if this is just a prelude?

As Annan was thinking, Salvatore opened the door with a tired expression. He hurriedly put on his coat while yawning.

He saw Annan standing at the door, frowning slightly, “Why don’t you call me?”

“…Ugh.” Annan cast aside all the random thoughts and nodded to Salvatore, “It’s fine since you wake up already.

“What ritual is this?”

“Let’s talk as we move.” Salvatore took out the suitcase and replied briefly, “Bring all your things!

“Let’s go to Clear Water Street first!”