Looking at the nightmare slowly turning into a black stone, Yang Xiangdi and the others were all astonished.

Zhao Ziyue's small mouth was so wide open that she could have stuffed an egg in it.

Although Ma Fei was a swordsman, he had only completed the beginner's quest, and his level was only LV3.

A level 3 swordsman's attack power, no matter how heaven-defying, was only 20 points, right?

How did he deal 25 points of damage? Lifespan Swordplay?

"Ma Fei, how did you do that? The nightmare still had half its health left and you just instantly killed it?" Zhao Ziyue couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing much, just practice makes perfect." Ma Fei calmly sheathed his sword.

In reality, Ma Fei himself was also dumbfounded, and he still felt a little scared when he thought about it.

He had just rushed up there in the heat of the moment, his pride wounded.

He didn't expect to really kill the nightmare with one sword. How was he supposed to know how he did it?

Qiao Yu wasn't surprised. Even he, a mage, could have skills that added extra attack power, so wouldn't it make even more sense for Ma Fei, a swordsman, to have increased attack power?

"Don't worry, with me, Sword God Ma Fei, around, there's no need to worry about how many nightmares come."

Ma Fei sheathed his long sword behind his back. He tilted his head slightly, letting the breeze gently brush his bangs, making him look somewhat like a Sword Saint under the moonlight.

"Um, Ma Fei, do you want to take a look behind you first?" Qiao Yu asked.

"Hmph! What's there to see? If there are enemies, I'll just cut them down with one sword!"

Ma Fei said disdainfully, but his eyes obediently glanced behind him.

"Holy crap!"

Ma Fei was so frightened that he jumped up. Five or six nightmares were staring at them intently.

He almost couldn't beat one nightmare. If there were five or six, wouldn't they tear him apart on the spot?

"Let's go inside. There's no need to fight these nightmares. I think I know how to clear the level."

Qiao Yu picked up the black stone from the ground and revealed a confident smile.

"Okay! You guys go in first, I'll hold them off!"

Zuo You, who was only five feet tall, pulled out a two-meter-high shield and stood in front of everyone.

"Alright!"

The group retreated into the house in an orderly manner. As Yang Xiangdi cast a Sand Binding spell to control the nightmares, Zuo You also successfully returned to the house.

After closing the door, the nightmares outside seemed to be afraid of something and didn't dare to come in.

"Qiao Yu, what's the method you mentioned to clear the level?" Zuo You asked curiously.

"You'll know tomorrow."

Qiao Yu smiled mysteriously.

"Is there anything you need our help with?"

"Probably not... No! You guys come over."

Qiao Yu gathered Ma Fei and the others and began to discuss in a low voice.

......

The next morning, Village Chief Wo Gan once again rushed over with a large group of villagers.

They bared their fangs and brandished their claws, insisting on killing all the outsiders, Qiao Yu and the others.

The forty-four students of Class 4, Grade 4, and the fifty villagers of Nightmare Village were at each other's throats, and it seemed like they might start fighting at any moment.

Village Chief Wo Gan was the most furious.

"You despicable outsiders! I already gave you a chance to atone for your sins yesterday, but I didn't expect you to become even more reckless and kill another Guardian Spirit!"

"You should all go to hell, go to hell!"

When Yang Xiangdi heard the words "go to hell," his eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted loudly.

"Type 1 to go to hell and get ten dark-skinned, well-built succubi with fangs!!"

"1"

"1!"

"1111111111! I want a hundred!"

Everyone wasn't sleepy anymore when they talked about succubi. Going to hell was fine, but there had to be succubi!

"Tch! A bunch of perverts!"

Zhao Ziyue spat secretly.

"That's right, what's the use of having a good figure!" Zuo You nodded in agreement.

"Hmph! No matter what you say today, you're all going to die! Despicable outsiders! Protect our Nightmare Village!"

Wo Gan raised his wood-chopping knife and was about to rush over when Qiao Yu quickly stood in front of everyone.

"Hold on!"

"Village Chief Wo Gan, are you sure you're really villagers of Nightmare Village?" Qiao Yu said, staring into Wo Gan's eyes.

"Nonsense! Our ancestors have lived in Nightmare Village for generations! Don't try to stall for time, you're doomed!" Wo Gan said.

"I'm not stalling for time. Now that things have come to this, it's time to reveal the truth of Nightmare Village!"

"What do you mean by that?" Wo Gan asked sternly.

Qiao Yu pushed up his non-existent glasses, stretched out his hand, and said.

"The scheming frog is always touching your belly!"

"The truth is only one! You! You! You! And you!"

Qiao Yu pointed at several villagers of Nightmare Village.

"All of you in this village are not the original residents of Nightmare Village at all! The fifty of you are the class that was annihilated in the Nightmare Village dungeon before!"

"All of this here is fake! Everything we see and experience now is fake!"

"This also explains why we can't exit the Otherworld! Because we are now in a huge illusion!"

Qiao Yu was very confident in his speculation! Whether it was the inability to exit the Otherworld or the fact that killing nightmares didn't give him free attribute points, all of this indicated that he was right!

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a long silence.

Whether it was Wo Gan and the villagers or all the students of Class 4, Grade 4, they were all a little unable to accept this truth for a moment.

"Hahahaha, hahahahaha!"

Wo Gan suddenly burst into wild laughter.

"I have to say, your ability to make up stories is very superb. I almost believed it!"

"To put it bluntly, you're just afraid of death! That's why you want to deceive us with lies! Everything you said is just your story! There's no evidence at all!"

"Hehe, of course I have evidence."

After Qiao Yu finished speaking, he took out a black stone from his pocket.

As soon as Village Chief Wo Gan saw the black stone, his expression changed drastically, and he said tremblingly.

"Guardian Stone! You actually took down the Guardian Stone, you deserve to die!"

"It's not just him!"

Ma Fei, Zuo You, Yang Xiangdi, and Zhao Ziyue each took out a dark black Guardian Stone.

Wo Gan was already so frightened that he didn't dare to speak. In his memory, the Guardian Stone was the supreme sacred object that protected them from being attacked at night.

If anyone messed with the Guardian Stone, that lord would definitely bring down divine punishment!

"This is not a Guardian Stone at all. The entire illusion is made up of these black stones and the mysterious symbols on them! As long as we shatter the black stones, there will be flaws in this illusion! Brothers, let's do it!"

After Qiao Yu finished speaking, he punched the black stone. Ma Fei and the others followed suit, punching the black stones in their hands together.

The five black stones were instantly smashed into powder. Qiao Yu looked at Wo Gan and the others with confidence. He believed that his speculation would not be wrong.

Sure enough, as the black stones were shattered, the entire space of Nightmare Village began to tremble violently.

The village, which was originally a beautiful and picturesque place like a paradise, slowly disappeared and turned into a dilapidated old mountain village with broken walls and ruins everywhere.

A familiar yet unfamiliar memory flooded into the minds of Wo Gan and the others.

They remembered! They all remembered! They were not villagers of Nightmare Village at all. They were students! They were students entering the Nightmare Village dungeon for the first time!

[Ding! A player has discovered the core secret of Nightmare Village and successfully awakened the villagers of Nightmare Village. The quest is successful, and the rewards will be calculated based on each person's quest rating.]

After the quest was completed, a flash of light passed, and Wo Gan and the other fifty villagers, along with the thirty-nine students of Class 4, Grade 4, were all teleported away.

Listening to the Otherworld's notification sound, Qiao Yu smiled with satisfaction.

As expected, relying on brute force alone wouldn't work to clear this kind of high-difficulty dungeon. You still had to rely on your endless wisdom!

However, after a while, Qiao Yu realized that he hadn't been teleported away. The four of them, Ma Fei, who had shattered the black stones, hadn't been teleported away either.

"Otherworld, I missed the bus! I haven't gotten on the bus yet!" Yang Xiangdi shouted anxiously.

At this time, the Otherworld's notification sound rang again.

[Congratulations to the five players for destroying the Nightmare Black Stone, triggering the hidden quest: Steal the Heart of the Nightmare! Quest difficulty: E-rank.]

Qiao Yu: ?????