While Chen Gou was pondering this, the chief of the White Stone Village walked over to Chen Gou and Tony and said cautiously, "Sirs, why don't… you ask the Covenant to send over more knights who specialize in dealing with spiritual demons?"
Despite knowing that the two Abyssal Knights wouldn't love to hear this, he had no choice but to say it for the sake of the villagers.
The past night had just proven that the demon was too powerful for the two knights to deal with.
"What do you mean by that?" Tony's face sank before he said, "The Covenant gave us a week for this mission. Why are you in a hurry?"
"That's not what I meant. It's just… just…"
The village chief stammered but couldn't provide a reason as helplessness filled his heart.
This was just a mission for the knights, but for the White Stone Village, each passing day meant that at least two villagers would die.
Seven days was just too long!
He was afraid that the villagers wouldn't be able to wait seven days before they had a mental breakdown and abandoned their families and work to flee.
After a series of ordeals, the night receded and morning light appeared in the sky.
Chen Gou took the initiative to help the village chief out and said, "Chief, wait one more day. If we still don't deal with this demon tonight, we will go to Panshi City and request reinforcements."
Tony, who had grown up in a large family, was educated in a way that allowed him to spare small gains in order to reach his goal, so he didn't care too much about the life and death of a few ordinary citizens.
Although he was an Abyssal Knight and had sworn to protect this land, he believed that it was inevitable to make some sacrifices in order to win.
On the other hand, Chen Gou came from 21st-century Earth. It would eventually be unbearable if a dozen more villagers died because of their mission and dignity. Therefore, he suggested waiting another day, which was a mutually acceptable suggestion.
"I would like to thank you for your magnanimity on behalf of the villagers, Sir." The old village chief thanked him profusely. Chen Gou was just so considerate compared to Tony.
When the villagers all returned home, Tony told Chen Gou in a deep voice, "Are you confident about waiting just another night? Let me tell you something. The first mission isn't something you can just give up on. Once we're branded as 'incompetent' by the lords of the headquarters, our treatment will only get worse."
"I'm about 60% confident." Chen Gou then muttered, "If a not-so-powerful demon appeared before you, could you kill it within three seconds?"
"I'm sure I could instantly kill it if it was below Level 10 and not particularly perverted. However, it would cost me a certain price. I'd enter a very long state of weakness after killing it," Tony said confidently.
"That's good. I'm 80% confident now."
Chen Gou turned around to the recuperating Angeline. "Can your Soul Link be used on other people?"
"Sir, you're going to have Angeline risk her life to help you gather information when she's already in this state?"
The strong man from the Wildfire Team summoned up the courage to snarl in a low voice, "Even if you want to get merit, you'll have to let her recuperate from her injuries first!"
His tone and expression added up to one word—dissatisfaction!
As soon as Angeline heard that, she coughed right away and reprimanded him. "Aman, how can you speak like that? Hurry up and apologize!"
"It's okay." Chen Gou waved his hand and said calmly, "I'm not letting you go by yourself again. I want you to link me and the other person in a nightmare."
"Sir, this… Please reconsider it! You and Sir Tony are still young and will become experts after maturing through the standard procedures. Why risk your life for a trivial mission?"
Angeline was anxious. She had managed to defect to the Long Song Team, so she didn't wish Chen Gou to encounter any misfortune in the hands of this evil, terrifying demon.
In her opinion, newcomers Chen Gou and Tony could not deal with this demon. At least a full team of Abyssal Knights with people who had strengthened the mind was needed.
"You just have to tell me whether you can do it!"
Upon sensing the inviolable will in Chen Gou's words, Angeline lowered her head and answered with clenched teeth, "I can!"
"That's good. Everyone, get ready to fight at any time. We might not need to wait until nightfall."
Chen Gou could sense that Freddy had become rather strong after torturing villagers to death for a month straight and absorbing their fears.
Many villagers had suffered the previous night, so many of them would probably catch up on their sleep during the day.
Freddy, however, wouldn't discriminate between day and night. As long as they were asleep, he could pull them into the nightmare.
"This is no joke. Are you sure you can do this?" Tony, who pulled Chen Gou aside, asked seriously.
"Have you ever heard of the saying 'no pain, no gain'? Since we can't expect anything from our captain, we can only rely on ourselves," Chen Gou said as he patted Tony's shoulders.
Although he cherished his life, he also knew that taking risks brought opportunities. The harvest of killing Freddy would certainly give Tony and him a considerable boost.
At the same time, the atmosphere among the Wildfire Team was charged.
Everyone, including Angeline, wasn't optimistic about Chen Gou's risky decision.
"These two Abyssal Knights are too young. To put it nicely, they have undaunted courage, but to be frank, they don't know their place. They clearly can't deal with a demon of this level, yet they still show off their abilities!"
The strong man, whose name was Aman, complained. "If they die here, we will have to be held accountable by the Covenant."
Another female member said, "It won't come to that, right? As long as we disconnect the Soul Link in time, he will be able to wake up safely."
"That is what I'm worried about!"
Angeline said in a low voice, "You helped me disconnect the Soul Link just now. At the last moment, when I woke up from the nightmare, I saw a wry smile on that demon's face. I'm worried he has even more terrifying power!"
At that moment, a thin male member of the team who had previously remained silent spoke up.
"I think you might all have forgotten how cruel and harsh the Abyssal Assessment is. How could they be fools who can't figure out this situation if they were able to pass such an assessment and be promoted to Abyssal Knights? I bet they have a trump card that we don't know about!"
"Let's hope so. I hope both of you are right." Angeline could only pray.
Freddy… Demonic power… Does hell really exist in that Abyssal World?
Chen Gou sent the other people to watch the villagers while he pondered this.
According to the movie's plot, Freddy had only obtained the nightmare power by making a deal with the demons in hell.
If hell really existed in that world, would there be heaven in the Abyssal World of The Strain?
"Signal has appeared in the North!"
All of a sudden, a colorful signal flare went off north of the village and exploded.
Chen Gou, who was instantly awakened, rushed in that direction with Angeline, who was by his side.
When they arrived, they saw a peasant woman's fingers bending backward one by one in a short stone house.
Normal people could only bend their fingers up to 90°. With a cracking sound, an invisible force broke the peasant woman's right index finger, revealing the white bone through the skin.
Then, the same happened to her middle finger, her ring finger…
Amidst her miserable screams, the peasant woman suddenly said incoherently, "How's that, lovely… Demon Hunter? It's a good show, isn't it?
"This woman is too weak… A mediocre soul can no longer satisfy my appetite. Demon Huntress… come in. I'm willing to let you chop my head off.
"If you don't come, this woman is going to die before your eyes…"
"B*stard!" Aman roared. "Has the demon possessed her?"
"No. The demon asked her to say that in her nightmare."
Angeline's face turned pale. Upon hearing this familiar and terrifying voice, she felt the courage of being a Demon Hunter draining out of her.
"Who does he think he is?" Tony said grimly. "I've never seen such a rampant demon."
"Get ready! Don't give me any recovery artifacts. Let's start!"
Chen Gou walked over, and Angeline's soul chain flew out, linking him and the peasant woman.
Buzz!
Chen Gou felt everything go black before him, and the scene around him changed instantly.
Demon Freddy appeared before him in the dark, damp, and bloody abandoned factory.
He was wearing a brown-and-black hat and a red-and-green striped sweater and had sharp metal claws in his right hand. He looked malnourished and emaciated, and his face and body also had burn scars.
"Why not her?" Freddy was surprised and displeased with Chen Gou's appearance.
"Freddy, I'm here to judge you under God's orders!"
Chen Gou still had his mask on in the dreamworld as he held onto the long-handled scepter and sounded stern.
Freddy broke into a peal of laughter. "God? There is no God here, only Freddy!"