Chapter 18
Chapter 18: With This as a Candle, I Toast Your Remaining Years...
Staring at the silhouette standing in confrontation with the Scarecrow.
Guo Shuai's despair had reached its absolute limit.
‘Wolves in front, tigers behind...no, monsters in front, terrifying Imposter behind...’
Guo Shuai smiled bitterly. He was certain today was the day he would die here.
But...
Watching that man in the black shirt, a nameless flicker of anticipation suddenly surged in Guo Shuai's chest.
He had no idea how powerful this "Imposter" was, but if he could fight the Scarecrow to the death—
Even kill the Scarecrow—that would count as avenging Lao Yang in a roundabout way.
"Sound!!"
Guo Shuai squeezed out the last of his strength and shouted at that silhouette:
"Its weakness is sound! It has no vision! Don't make any noise!!"
However.
Neither the man in the black shirt nor the terrifying Scarecrow paid him any attention.
In the Scarecrow's eyes—burning with red light—there was only that man.
Or rather, only the small trinket hanging at that man's waist.
It was its own fragment, and the beacon of the curse.
In its field of vision, Jiang Nan looked like a colossal red lighthouse walking through the night—so blindingly bright it drove the Scarecrow into a frenzy.
"ROAR!!"
The Scarecrow let out a howl that was nothing like a human voice. Its 3 gnarled wooden arms slammed into the ground, launching it forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring!
"PREY!!"
Faced with the wave of putrid wind rushing toward him, not a single flicker of emotion crossed Jiang Nan's face.
He stood quietly in place, watching the monster hurtling toward him.
He had heard what the survivor said just now.
If it wasn't blind, there was only one explanation.
That "souvenir" he'd brought back from the forest, hanging at his waist.
Something called Gaze, if he remembered right...
‘So it was staring at me because of this?’
Jiang Nan reached out and pulled the battered little Scarecrow from his waist.
‘Since you love staring so much...’
He swung his arm sharply, hurling the small Scarecrow straight at the oncoming monster's face!
‘Then let me make you blind.’
The instant the small Scarecrow left his hand.
Jiang Nan's right hand had already blurred into motion—thumb raised, index finger pointing forward.
Mozambique Drill.
An extreme close-quarters gunfighting technique.
2 shots to the torso, 1 shot to the head.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
3 shots fired almost simultaneously!
The 1st and 2nd rounds struck the small Scarecrow mid-air and the monster's massive chest!
BOOM!
The Curse Beacon shattered instantly!
The 3rd round ignored the monster's defenses entirely and blasted straight through its straw-stuffed head!
"CRACK!!"
The Scarecrow hadn't even reached Jiang Nan before it was blown apart mid-air!
Countless withered yellow stalks of straw drifted through the air like a fall of yellow snow.
"Huh?"
Guo Shuai, flat on the ground, was completely stupefied.
It was...over just like that?
That terrifying boss that had slaughtered all of them like chickens—
That had chased them until they had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide—
In front of this man, it crumbled like it was made of paper?!
However.
The instant that thought crossed Guo Shuai's mind.
"Watch your back!!" His pupils contracted sharply.
In the wheat field behind Jiang Nan, countless wheat stalks writhed and intertwined frantically—for just 1 second—
And then reassembled once more into that towering, three-armed Scarecrow!
It wasn't dead! It was the embodiment of the Wheat Field!
Though the reassembled Scarecrow had lost the red glow in its eyes, the humiliated fury made it even more savage.
The lantern in its hand transformed into a massive death scythe, slamming down toward the back of Jiang Nan's neck!
Guo Shuai was about to cry out a warning.
But he watched as Jiang Nan gave a cold smile without turning around.
He simply raised his left hand slowly, pressing his index finger to his lips.
Performing an elegant and forbidden gesture.
"Shh."
Hum!
An invisible ripple swept outward from Jiang Nan as its center, instantly sweeping across a 30-meter radius!
【Word Spirit·Silence. 】
In that instant, the world was put on mute.
Guo Shuai opened his mouth wide to shout, only to find that his throat couldn't produce a single sound.
He stared at Jiang Nan in shock—it was obviously that man's doing!
And at this moment, the Scarecrow behind Jiang Nan was equally lost.
It swung its scythe furiously, trying to slice through the air, trying to hear the sound of wind, trying to hear the prey's screams.
But...
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
It began frantically waving its arms, trying to summon the dark wind.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A fierce wind howled—whipping Jiang Nan's shirt into a sharp crack, sending the waves of wheat rolling.
But within the Silence Field, even a storm was mute!
Guo Shuai was so anxious he broke into a cold sweat, waving his hands in a frenzy of gestures.
In his eyes, Jiang Nan might be a terrifying Imposter—but as long as he could kill this monster, Guo Shuai would willingly sacrifice his own life!
‘Dodge! Move away! It's right behind you!’
But Jiang Nan didn't turn around at all. He didn't even shift his feet.
The Scarecrow stood frozen mid-air, scythe raised.
It didn't know where to swing!
No feedback from the wind, no heartbeat, no footsteps.
In this realm of absolute silence, stripped of its sight—it was utterly, completely useless!
The Scarecrow was lost.
Why was there no sound?
Where was the wind? Where was its hearing?
And Jiang Nan simply watched the shadow on the ground with cold, indifferent eyes.
That moonlit shadow—stretched long, scythe raised—was projected right at his feet.
‘Sorry.’
Jiang Nan laughed inwardly with contempt.
‘Whether it's the wind, the wheat stalks, or the entire world itself—'
‘As long as it falls within my domain, it loses the right to make a sound.’
‘Except...me.’
Jiang Nan slowly raised his right hand—without even glancing back—pointed his finger-gun directly behind him, aimed at the position of the shadow's head.
"Bang."
BOOM!
The air bullet pierced straight through the Scarecrow's head.
Thud.
The massive body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, dissolving into a heap of rotting straw.
Jiang Nan withdrew his hand and looked down at the remains at his feet with an indifferent gaze.
‘Sorry—couldn't hear a thing, but I'm not blind.’
Guo Shuai was shocked speechless once again.
‘Too powerful...’
This "Imposter" was truly too powerful!
That absolute command over the battle, that ease with which he toyed with a boss in the palm of his hand...
If he were the boss here, Yang Wei and the others wouldn't last even 5 seconds against him!
One look and it would be instant death!
However.
The battle was not over.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The entire boundless Wheat Field suddenly began to shudder violently.
The Scarecrow Overlord was completely enraged.
It had intelligence.
It recognized that the human before it was the most terrifying enemy it had ever encountered!
His abilities were too unpredictable!
But this was its territory!
Its world!
It would never allow another to trespass!
‘If sound can't reach you—then I'll bury you in sheer numbers!’
‘If I can't see you—then I'll grab you!’
RUMBLE!
Countless wheat stalks tore themselves from the earth—1, 2, 10, 100...
A dense, suffocating army of Scarecrows, each clutching a scythe, surged out from all directions, sealing every path of retreat to the forest!
As long as anyone touched a single Scarecrow, the Gaze would activate—and it would regain its sight!
Guo Shuai felt the red warnings from the Danger Perception in his mind explode off the charts in an instant. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
‘So...this was its true power.’
From beginning to end, it had been playing with them.
"Heh...hahaha..."
Guo Shuai broke down laughing—no sound came out, but tears and snot smeared across his face.
"Lao Yang...so all our efforts really were just a joke!"
"A joke!!"
He tilted his head back in a silent roar, his heart filled with hatred for this world.
Why give them hope?
Why let them glimpse the dawn only to shove them back into the abyss?
Faced with this hopeless dead end, Guo Shuai finally cracked.
He crawled on his knees to Jiang Nan, making stiff and frantic gestures, pointing at his own throat.
"Kill me...I'm begging you...give me a clean end..."
"I don't want to turn into that kind of monster...I don't want to become a Scarecrow..."
However.
Jiang Nan completely ignored him.
For one, he couldn't understand the chaotic hand signals. And for another...
He was annoyed.
Jiang Nan crossed his arms and studied the overwhelming Scarecrow army surrounding them, brow furrowing slightly.
‘What a troublesome monster.’
‘No wonder nothing could enter during the day. Turns out it wasn't just one Scarecrow that gained sentience...’
‘It's the entire Wheat Field that gained sentience.’
As long as the Wheat Field still existed, the monster was unkillable—it could reassemble infinitely.
【Bullet attacks】: ineffective.
Silence could only delay.
‘In that case...’
Jiang Nan let out a quiet sigh and glanced at the system panel.
He'd wanted to show off some technique—but the enemy was shameless, insisting on a battle of foundations.
‘Well, can't blame me for fighting dirty then.’
【Ding! The time has reached midnight 00:00.】
【Daily settlement complete.】
【Word Spirit Reserve refreshed: +1 (Current Balance: 6338)】
【Current Location: Death Wheat Field】
【Check-in successful!】
【Congratulations, Host—you have received the S-Grade Word Spirit 'Tribulation Flame Ashen End'!】
Reading the description of the newly acquired Word Spirit, the corner of Jiang Nan's mouth curved upward.
【Word Spirit·Tribulation Flame Ashen End (S)】
Effect: Ignites the target's time itself, transforming it into crimson-black tribulation flames that coil around the target until its time withers or burns to nothing.
Property: Single-target only. Ignores physical/magical defenses. Unavoidable. Cannot be extinguished and cannot be destroyed.
Cost: 12 characters.
Activation Method: ......
‘Ignite time, is it...?’
Jiang Nan smiled.
This skill was practically tailor-made for the "undying" Wheat Field before him.
12 characters was expensive, yes.
But for a moment this magnificent at S-Grade—how could he afford to hold back?
Jiang Nan stepped slowly forward, disregarding the restless Scarecrow army surrounding him on all sides.
He extended his right index finger, brought it to his lips, and bit down hard.
Hiss.
It hurt a little.
A single drop of crimson blood seeped from his fingertip.
Jiang Nan's expression turned solemn.
He extended his blood-tipped finger and gently pressed it against the nearest stalk of wheat.
It was a part of this Wheat Field—and the true body of that monster.
Or perhaps every single part of it was its true body.
In that moment, the wind stopped.
Every Scarecrow seemed to sense something. They instinctively froze, trembling.
Jiang Nan looked at that wheat stalk, his voice low and deep.
"With this as a candle."
"I toast your remaining years."
"Burn..."
"To ash."
BOOM!!!
The instant the words fell.
That drop of blood did not drip down—it instantly bloomed into a crimson-black flame lotus!
The flames carried no heat.
They hadn't even set the physical wheat stalk alight.
But the next second.
That crimson-black flame, like a plague—no, like a fast-forward key on time itself—
With Jiang Nan's fingertip as its epicenter, a sea of crimson-black fire detonated outward!
WHOOSH!
The sea of fire spread like ink, instantly swallowing everything within a hundred li!
This was no ordinary fire.
This was the poison of time!
"ROAR!!"
"CRACK!!"
Countless Scarecrows let out the most harrowing shrieks imaginable!
But strangely, the flames passed straight through Guo Shuai's body, passed through Jiang Nan's clothes—without harming either of them in the slightest.
It burned only one thing: the "lifespan" of this Wheat Field!
Under Guo Shuai's gaze—so stunned he had lost the capacity for thought—
That wheat which had been golden and lush—within the crimson-black flames—
Withered and blackened at a speed visible to the naked eye, before finally dissolving into drifting ash that filled the sky!
What a breathtaking spectacle that was!
The entire heavens and earth turned into a crimson-black inferno!
That Scarecrow army which had been so utterly unstoppable moments ago—now thrashed wildly within the flames, their bodies rapidly aging and crumbling to ruin.
A thousand years in a single second!
This Death Wheat Field, which had survived for an unknowable number of ages, was being forcibly burned through all its remaining years by that man—
With a single drop of blood, a single fire.