At that moment, a figure somewhat resembling the Crownless slowly emerged from the violet moon, though this one was far more slender.
Lucian couldn't help but quip, "Did the Crownless get gender-bent?"
Lucian checked his terminal and learned that this Tacet Discord was called the Dreamless.
Lucian: "Hmm… still a couple name."
Rover: "…So even Tacet Discords can fall in love?"
Meanwhile, Jiyan kept his eyes locked on the Dreamless' movements before suddenly shouting, "Watch out!"
In an instant, ripples surged around the Dreamless, and the next moment, it appeared right before the three of them, swinging its arm down in a crushing blow.
Lucian wrapped an arm around Rover's waist and used Bloodshadow Evasion to sink into the ground.
Jiyan, equally battle-hardened, dodged the attack as well.
Jiyan explained, "That 'moon' absorbed the Crownless's frequency and created another monster."
"It's from the 'Battle Beneath the Cresent' back then…"
Lucian, maneuvering mid-fight, asked in confusion, "Battle Beneath the Cresent? The one General Geshu Lin faced…?"
Jiyan's brow furrowed, his expression grim. He didn't answer, gripping his spear tightly as he focused entirely on the fight.
The Dreamless was even stronger than the Crownless, and it showed—Jiyan was struggling slightly.
Its combat techniques were varied and unpredictable, making it nearly impossible to defend against.
"Don't… come closer…"
The Dreamless muttered deliriously.
After another round of fighting, Jiyan scoffed, "This is… the Midnight Rangers' swordsmanship… Absurd!"
Lucian: "Did that moon absorb the frequencies of the fallen Midnight Rangers and learn it?"
Jiyan: "Most likely."
But this combat technique… Jiyan left the thought unfinished. Maybe it had absorbed…
He forcibly cut off his train of thought and threw himself back into the battle.
Though the Dreamless was indeed stronger than the Crownless, let's not forget—Rover and Jiyan were both incredibly powerful Resonators, and there was also Lucian, backed by his system.
The three of them fighting together quickly overwhelmed the Dreamless.
However, the battle was far from over.
The violet moon above seemed to empower the Dreamless once more.
Its body slowly rose into the air, and as it let out a furious roar, the very world seemed to tremble in response.
A rift resembling a Tacet Mark suddenly appeared around the violet moon, as though tearing open the sky itself.
The Dreamless swung its arms, instantly forming eight violet rings.
Then, lasers rained down from within the rings, bombarding the trio.
Jiyan shouted a warning, "Watch out for its ranged attacks! Fall back for now, focus on evasion!"
"Rover, did you notice? All its attacks deliberately avoid the 'moon' behind it… That 'moon' might be the enemy's core."
The Dreamless hovered above, pelting them with ranged attacks, leaving the three of them forced to dodge with no chance to counterattack.
But as time passed, just as the trio began to tire, the Dreamless' assault also gradually weakened.
Jiyan seized the moment and yelled, "Its attacks are slowing down. Leave breaking through to me!"
"Rover, Lucian—wait for your chance and strike its core!"
With that, Jiyan brandished his spear, deflecting the incoming attacks one after another.
Lucian glared up at the Dreamless hovering in the sky and snarled, "You coward! Come down here and fight!"
Suddenly, he remembered something—he had once obtained a "Windfield Generator" from the system.
Just as he was about to pull it out and use the wind currents to launch himself upward…
A glowing circle appeared beneath their feet, springing them toward the center of the battlefield like a trampoline.
After another round of bombardment, violet walls suddenly rose on either side of them.
Lucian: "Is this the legendary 'pincer attack'?"
He hurled the Windfield Generator, and a powerful updraft erupted from the device.
Looking up, he saw a cataclysmic beam hurtling toward them—there was no retreating now!
"Look out!"
At the critical moment, Lucian raised the Yamato horizontally, shielding Rover. The sheer force of the impact sent him skidding backward.
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion shook the world, the shockwave hammering against their eardrums.
Lucian, being the closest to the attack, bore the brunt of the damage.
A monstrous force crashed into him like a tidal wave, engulfing him in overwhelming agony.
Rover struggled to open her eyes, scanning her surroundings.
When she saw Lucian, her heart clenched.
He was kneeling on one knee, clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain. His breathing was ragged, each inhale seeming to take immense effort.
Lucian thought grimly, If not for the Shape-Shifting Garment absorbing some of the damage, I'd be severely wounded right now.
Plus, the Stronger with Age talent boosted my defense over the past few days—otherwise, that attack would've done even more damage.
A flicker of relief passed through him.
Behind him, Rover's pupils shrank as she saw his suffering. Her sword dissolved into motes of light.
Rage burned in her chest.
The monster had already begun another round of bombardment, but this time, Rover didn't dodge. Instead, she charged straight through the barrage, closing in on the enemy with terrifying speed.
Her sharp eyes locked onto the Dreamless above.
Then—she sprinted toward it, using Lucian's Windfield Generator to launch herself into the air.
With a shout, a golden light flared in her hand, and she drove her fist straight into the barrier the Dreamless had conjured.
In the blink of an eye, the shield shattered.
Rover reached out toward the Dreamless, the Tacet Mark on the back of her hand glowing brightly.
The Dreamless screamed in agony.
The next moment, Rover seemed to absorb its power—a pitch-black wing, resembling the Dreamless' own, sprouted from her back.
Meanwhile, as Jiyan helped Lucian to the side, a system notification chimed in Lucian's mind.
[Ding! Detected that Rover, with an intimacy level of 80 or higher, has acquired new power. Host automatically gains the new Resonance Attribute 'Havoc' and the new skill 'Eternal Night's Dawn'!]
[Umbra Eclipse Lv1: Continuously attacking enemies will accumulate 'Dark Surge.' When 'Dark Surge' is fully charged, your Havoc attribute attacks will increase for 15 seconds.]
Lucian looked up at Rover in the sky.
By now, the Dreamless had recovered. It roared furiously, manifesting a dark blade in its hand and slashing at Rover.
But Rover reacted just as swiftly, blocking the strike before landing back on the ground.
Lucian hadn't yet recovered from the Dreamless's "ultimate move," so Rover and Jiyan were left to fight the now-grounded enemy.
With her newfound Havoc attribute, Rover was clearly more than twice as strong, unleashing a relentless assault on the Dreamless.
All the while, the Dreamless continued muttering:
"We will… give you… the same end…"
"Mother… needs weapons…"
"More… stronger… weapons…"
"Blood… must repay… transgression…"
"The war… will not cease… we… will return…"
"Give back… Mother's… weapons…"
"You… must… repay…"