It's Been a Thousand Years

Platinum Calendar, 1886…

The moment he heard the year, Zhou Mu couldn't help but gasp.

He clearly remembered that the ending of Doomsday Watchers was in the 878th year of the Platinum Calendar.

In other words, he had transmigrated 1,008 years into the future!

A thousand years was enough for humans to evolve from cold arms to strategic arms for the practice of deterrence in the real world.

How much can a world change in a thousand years?

How many of my companions are still alive? Do the traces I left behind still exist? What has this world become?

And my strength…

Even if he was invincible across the continent a thousand years ago… what level was he at now?

When Zhou Mu thought of this, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Withering Cold in his hand.

At the very least, he won his first battle after transmigrating very easily. It was so easy that it exceeded his best expectations.

As the first battle he encountered after transmigrating, Zhou Mu made ample preparations.

He first used two support spells—Feather Fall and Echo. While hiding his footsteps, he created fake footsteps in another direction to draw the enemy's attention.

Then, he used the air and restraint combo—Float and Glacier Spike. This set of Crowd Control techniques nailed the two Subdemons as though they were practice targets. He even planned on carrying out the finishing touches with three single-target damage spells with different stats—Wind Impact, Spear Flame Purification, and Void Thunderstorm.

In the end, just the damage from Glacier Spike killed the other party. In-game, the two Subdemons were at most level 30.

In the end, it seemed like he was a little too cautious.

But the problem was, could two Subdemons really represent the entire level of this world a thousand years later?

He had to find more qualified experimental subjects to make the determination.

"Where are we going?"

Just as Zhou Mu was in thought, the girl named Liliana behind him suddenly asked.

They had already walked out of Twilight Fortress. It was almost noon, and the dazzling sunlight coated the ancient fortress with a layer of gold.

The corrosion of a thousand years had left this once indestructible fortress in ruins. Nearly a third of the building had collapsed into ruins, and lush vines had crawled up the building walls. From afar, it was impossible to tell the difference between the surrounding forest and the fortress.

He never expected the fortress that once commanded the allied forces across the continent to launch an expedition to the Moon Realm to be in such an abandoned state…

"Go deep into the Grief Mountains. There's a place called the Scar of Sorrow. The two Subdemons from before probably escaped from there. I have to eliminate the source," Zhou Mu looked back at Twilight Fortress with regret as he replied.

"What's the source?" Liliana asked.

"Lunar Monster," Zhou Mu replied succinctly.

"What's a Lunar Monster?"

Zhou Mu—who was originally a little distracted—looked at Liliana in surprise.

In an era 1,000 years later, does she not even know what a Lunar Monster was?

As the largest antagonist faction in Doomsday Watchers, an existence that had almost destroyed the world, Zhou Mu wasn't sure if this was good news or bad news.

"Then, you should at least know what the Moon Realm is, right?"

Liliana nodded.

"I've learned from Introduction to Theology that the Moon Realm is an illusory reflection created by the Void Sovereigns because they are jealous of the beauty of the Holy Spirits' creation and want to imitate it. They block most of the light at night, turning it into a void that fills the stars and a demon realm that hangs high in the sky… But these should just be myths and legends."

Zhou Mu sighed.

"No, that's too general. In fact, that's not the case at all. The Moon Realm is essentially an upper plane that reflects thoughts. It's filled with all kinds of monsters born from extreme emotions and thoughts, and the so-called Void Sovereigns are the strongest existences among those monsters."

Zhou Mu ignored Liliana's blank expression and continued.

"As for Subdemons, they are fragments peeled off from the main bodies of powerful Lunar Monsters. It's precisely because of this that they definitely won't appear alone. Lunar Monsters are void existences to begin with, and they need to be anchored by obsession in Currere to obtain a form from the void. It's even more so for Subdemons that are fragments of Lunar Monsters."

Zhou Mu recalled the game's lore.

"Therefore, powerful Lunar Monsters are definitely present wherever Subdemons appear. Moreover, the more Subdemons there are, the stronger the Lunar Monster will be, being their main body."

Zhou Mu stopped and waited for the other party to digest the information.

After a while, Liliana asked,

"Then, why are you so sure that it will be in that place called the Scar of Sorrow?"

"This is because it's very difficult for Lunar Monsters to reach Currere. They have to find a weak spot between Currere and the Moon Realm. The Scar of Sorrow is one of the weakest spots between Currere and the Moon Realm on the Vic Continent. Therefore, as long as they are summoned on the right day and through the right ritual, they can be successfully summoned. A few days ago was the perfect date."

"A few days ago?" Liliana asked curiously.

"Didn't you say that today is the 24th or 25th of Twilight Moon?"

Liliana nodded.

"22nd of the Twilight Moon is one of the Moon Realm Void Sovereigns. It's the summoning day for the Lady of Starvation, Camilla. This is the only day in a year when She can project her strength into Currere."

Zhou Mu looked at Liliana and continued in a meaningful tone, "Lady of Starvation is a generous Void Sovereign. On her summoning day, as long as someone offers enough sacrifices, they will basically receive a response."

Liliana quickly understood what the other party meant.

"You're saying… Someone wanted to kill my archeological team by summoning a Lunar Monster? Why?"

Zhou Mu waved his hand.

"I can only say that it's a possibility, or perhaps it just happened. Of course, it's also possible that they weren't summoned from the Scar of Sorrow but came from somewhere else for other reasons."

"No, that won't happen…"

Zhou Mu's words reminded Liliana of the many times she had heard Subdemons mention the name of the Lady of Starvation.

But why? She only came here to finish her semester project. Who could she have provoked?

"We're here."

Along the way, Liliana pondered over this question until Zhou Mu suddenly stopped.

"This is…"

"Shh…"

Zhou Mu turned around and gestured for Liliana to keep quiet.

"It looks like we aren't the first here."