novelraw Chapter 180: The man from her dreams
Chapter 180: The man from her dreams
Lex clutched the hem of his clothes, watching in silence.
That brat really was full of tricks.
He himself had also spent a long time making clothes for Nina—but to this day, he still hadn’t found the chance to give them to her.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.
"No need to measure," Kith said calmly before Nina could respond. "I know Nina’s measurements. I can tell you later."
Dian lightly tugged at Nina’s sleeve. "Sister Nina... I’m a bit slow. If someone else tells me, I might forget."
"If you forget, just ask me again," Kith replied evenly, blocking him once more.
"I don’t want to trouble this brother," Dian said softly.
"That’s easy," Sal said with a faint smile. "We’ll just give you one of Nina’s clothes to copy."
"Right," added Odian, already pulling out several of Nina’s outfits. "Pick whatever style you want."
Dian fell silent, frustration bubbling inside him—he couldn’t find a way around it this time.
"Sister Nina..." he looked at her pitifully.
Nina cleared her throat. "You can just follow the clothes. That should work."
She could practically feel the invisible tension in the air.
With his little scheme foiled, Dian could only nod obediently. "Alright."
Hmph. These older males are so annoying.
***
That evening, Aviel and the others sent their subordinates out once more to search for durians—and this time, they finally found another large batch.
So, under the cover of night, they launched yet another round of frantic harvesting.
Only after that did they feel they had gathered enough.
Since they had to travel during the day and most of the night was already gone, they decided to begin the next day—kneeling on durians during rest periods and each night, until they had used them all.
***
Meanwhile, after trailing Nina’s group for several days, Yosan had roughly deduced their destination—Sea-Blue City.
He moved ahead to set up an ambush, leaving Ino behind to continue watching them.
***
The next day, Nina and her group resumed their journey.
As they traveled, a loud commotion echoed from the distance.
Odian took to the air and quickly spotted them—a massive wave of mutated beasts was charging toward them once again.
"Go inform Sal and the others," Odian ordered Ridan. "We continue forward. If they catch up, we kill them all."
Nina watched the approaching horde, her brows knitting slightly.
These creatures... were relentless.
Why did they keep finding them no matter where they went?
"Don’t worry," Odian reassured her. "They may be numerous, but so are we."
Nina nodded. "Let’s keep moving. We’ll deal with them when they catch up."
And harvest another batch of beast crystals while they were at it.
Odian maintained their normal pace—there was no point rushing. The beasts would catch up regardless.
Before long, they did.
Flying mutated beasts surrounded Odian in the sky, while another group of black-winged beastmen surged forward.
Nina held the little ones tightly. This time, they weren’t afraid—they stayed quietly in her arms.
Rosen and the others positioned themselves around her.
"Protect Nina and the children," Rosen ordered one of her guardians.
He nodded and relayed the command.
War erupted instantly—both in the sky and across the ground.
"Mei, come with me—we’ll deal with that phoenix," Ino ordered coldly. "Gin, Gon—you take the dragon and that high-level eagle. Don’t forget the shaman’s orders."
Mei, Gin, and Gon nodded, launching their attacks toward Odian and the others.
Odian recognized Ino—the one who had nearly died by his hand last time.
His eyes narrowed.
This time... you won’t escape.
But now, two tenth-rank opponents attacked him at once. With Nina and the children on his back, he was forced to fight with restraint.
"Nina, I’ll set you down," he said quickly.
Fighting midair limited her abilities—she couldn’t fully assist him like this.
After a brief thought, he nodded to himself. "Alright."
In a swift motion, he brought her down beside Kith.
"Protect them."
Kith’s expression turned resolute. "I will."
Without another word, Odian turned and charged back into the fight.
"Go protect Nina," Taru instructed Finch.
The latter nodded, shifting into his beast form and positioning himself in front of her.
The moment Nina saw him, her heart jolted—
His tail...
A realization flickered through her mind.
But now was not the time to ask.
Sal and the others quickly gathered around her as well.
On the ground, mutated beasts surged forward, surrounding them.
Kith led Nina and the children, dodging attacks while countering.
Vines lashed out from Nina’s control, striking down beasts one after another.
But as the battle wore on, Nina began to sense something off.
These mutated beasts...
Their attacks felt less like chaos and more like they were deliberately driving them in a specific direction.
"Kith, something’s off about these mutated beasts. Let’s push forward—don’t fall back any further in that direction," Nina said sharply.
"Alright." Kith immediately adjusted, halting the retreat and shifting into an offensive stance as instructed.
Even though Nina had caught on quickly...
They had already stepped into the trap.
A hoarse, chilling voice echoed ahead.
"Ha... ha... ha... little female, you’re quite clever. But it’s too late now."
A cloaked figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
Yosan.
He had long since prepared this ambush. Their path had only been slightly off at first—that was why he had ordered Ino and the others to subtly steer them into position.
Nina’s head snapped up, her gaze locking onto him.
That voice... It was the same one from her dreams.
So it hadn’t been a dream at all.
A cold light flashed in her eyes, killing intent rising quietly within her.
"Seems you remember me," Yosan sneered. "Catching you cost me quite a bit—energy stones don’t come cheap."
Nina didn’t reply.
She raised her hand and vines lashed out, tearing through the air toward him.
At the same time, Sal and the others charged in, launching their own attacks. Ming and his group, startled by Yosan’s appearance, rushed over to join the fight.
But just as they moved, a surge of dark energy erupted outward.
The air itself seemed to thicken, pressing down like an invisible weight.
In an instant, Sal and the others froze.
Their abilities were suppressed, their bodies suddenly unbearably heavy, as if bound by unseen chains. Even lifting a hand became a struggle.
Above, Odian and the others were struck by the same force, dropping from the sky.
Even the black-winged beastmen and mutated creatures were affected.
Everything slowed.
Everything... except—
Nina.
She tested her movement, her eyes narrowing.
She wasn’t affected at all.
So right now...
Only she—and this monster—could move freely.
Yosan smiled, slow and triumphant, stepping toward her one deliberate step at a time.
A glint of cold steel flashed in Nina’s eyes.