Several figures wearing dark coats or hooded robes were walking deep in the forest.

A faint black smoke enveloped them, pitch-black symbiotic chains extended from their bodies, and hideous and terrifying dark demons accompanied them - Richard and his "compatriots" had been operating in this dream for some time, and according to what the Deathbird sensed, they were already very close to the "Wall of Silence".

But the team suddenly stopped.

The atmosphere in the forest changed subtly - from a certain moment, a thin layer of mist emerged from nowhere, flowing in wisps in the open spaces between the trees. With the appearance of the mist, the entire dense forest was becoming more... "quiet" than before.

Dumont frowned solemnly. He still remembered that when he first entered the dream of the nameless man, he could hear all kinds of sounds in this forest - those were the sounds of unknown birds flapping their wings and flying high, and unknown beasts roaring in the distance. Although he could never see the figures of those "birds and beasts", the various sounds representing vitality always existed.

But now, those sounds have disappeared, and the only sounds left in the forest are the occasional sound of wind and the slight sound of leaves swaying and rubbing against each other - which makes the place even quieter.

Any changes in the Nameless One's dream must be viewed with caution.

"There's something wrong with this fog," another Annihilation Cultist whispered. A cloud of jellyfish that looked like smoke and dust was floating in the air beside him. The tentacles extending from the bottom of the jellyfish were swaying slightly in the air, with some uneasy tension. "My demon sensed panic and tension... These are the emotions released by this 'forest' itself."

"The dream of the nameless person has emotional changes. It is equivalent to a huge mind," Dumont said in a deep voice. "Its emotions suddenly changed. Maybe someone has touched the core area of ​​this mind... Could someone have found the 'Wall of Silence'?"

"Could it be ours?" asked the Annihilation Cultist who lived in symbiosis with the smoke jellyfish.

"It's not certain yet. We can't contact our compatriots sent in from other assemblies," Dumont said. Then, he frowned and looked at a figure at the end of the team - the figure had been scratching himself since just now. "Richard, what are you doing?"

Richard suddenly woke up and realized that he had been scratching the skin around his neck and waist. He raised his hands in confusion and saw that there were many tiny white fibers between his nails for some reason. It looked like...

"Cotton," he whispered.

"Cotton? What cotton?" Dumont frowned, "You don't seem to be in a good condition."

"No, I'm fine." Richard immediately raised his head and patted his clothes that were messed up by his scratching. "I just feel a little itchy. The fog makes me uncomfortable."

Dumont nodded without any doubt, and turned his gaze to the others: "We should have entered the influence range of the Silence Wall. According to those 'preachers', this is the 'mind watching area' of Silantis. If you see or hear anything that has never appeared in the forest before, be sure to tell others."

Listening to the voice next to him, Richard felt a little annoyed.

Dumont has begun to lead the team as a "leader". His self-righteous and arrogant attitude has always been disliked... The team does need someone to give orders, but this role should originally be mine...

"It's so annoying..." a soft voice said in Richard's mind, "The Rabbi feels this is unfair, the Rabbi feels sorry for you..."

"It's really unfair," Richard said in a low voice that only he could hear, his mouth opening and closing slightly, "but this is the arrangement of the Saints... and Dumont does have the ability..."

“Isn’t the most important reason because there are many people watching here who are in the way?” The voice in my mind whispered, with caring concern and a trustworthy tone, “If no one is watching, then it won’t be a problem at all…”

Richard frowned and shook his head slowly, as if he instinctively felt that something was wrong. He was still hesitant: "But...what should I do..."

"Patience, patience, my lovely doll. The rabbi is only telling you some possibilities, but now is not the right time... There will be opportunities when someone is left alone..."

Richard covered his forehead and hesitated: "But I can't... they are all my compatriots..."

"Yes, they are all your compatriots, lovely dolls. You can't hurt them, and the rabbi doesn't want to see you hurt each other - so you have to help them."

"Help them? How to help them?"

"Have you not noticed? Your compatriots... their stomachs are empty, without even cotton, how pitiful. No cotton, no warmth, no cotton, no soul, no cotton, nothing... You already have cotton, my lovely doll, give them some cotton too. The rabbi can lend you the cotton, as long as... remember to return it..."

That tiny, lovely voice in my head faded away.

Richard blinked and suddenly felt a little confused. He felt like he heard someone talking to him just now, and even remembered that he had a conversation with the other person, but it was just a trance, and the voice disappeared. It seemed... it was all an illusion.

He raised his head and looked at Dumont in front of him and other compatriots around him.

How pitiful.

They didn't even have cotton.

"...We set up a marking point here," Dumont seemed not to notice Richard's gaze. He had already begun to assign the next tasks according to the plan. "This place can already affect Silantis's bottom-level mind. It is a suitable launch area."

The believers around nodded one after another, and then each took out a ritual prop from their body - a strange little black knife with a curved blade.

Richard was stunned for a moment, then he reached into his arms and touched his bone knife.

It was a small carving knife the size of a palm, made of pitch-black bone, with strange and complex patterns on the surface, exuding an ominous aura.

Richard remembered that the raw materials of this knife were the bones left behind by the deep demons that failed in the summoning ritual - not all summoning and symbiotic rituals can be successful, the failures will become nutrients on the altar, those Annihilation Cultists with less talent will use their blood to cleanse the altar, and those demons that died because the ritual got out of control will have some bone fragments left, which can be used to make props.

This should be "common sense" that every Annihilation cultist who has been promoted to the priest class knows, but for some reason, when Richard recalled this knowledge at this moment, he felt a strange... sense of novelty.

He shook his head, putting aside this strange feeling, and looked at Dumont: "We need to set up as many 'marks' as possible before this dream ends. It may be more efficient to act separately."

"...Dispersion means danger." Dumont considered the suggestion seriously and shook his head. "Don't forget the failure you suffered before. Our compatriots who acted alone were almost powerless against his followers."

Dumont seemed to be just giving a serious reminder, and there was no mockery or contempt in his words, but Richard felt that he saw a hint of sarcasm in the other's eyes, and suddenly he felt anger rising in his heart like a poisonous fire.

He felt greatly humiliated.

But the next second, the anger that was like a poisonous fire suddenly extinguished, and was replaced by cold rationality. Richard was surprised that he could be so calm.

He looked at Dumont with an extremely sincere and calm expression, and his words exuded the power of persuasion: "Of course we can't act alone. I mean two or three people in a group, so that we can take care of each other and complete the task as soon as possible. And to be honest, even if we really encounter those 'followers' and fall into a disadvantage, we can quickly evacuate this dream. According to my last observation, those 'followers' don't seem to be able to come and go freely in the dream like us..."

The sincerity on Richard's face and the calmness in his tone did the trick.

Dumont thought seriously again.

A fellow cult member who had many experiences in dream exploration—even though his condition had not been very good since the last exploration, his suggestions were obviously well thought out and trustworthy, and every reason was valid.

Continuing to ignore or dismiss the other party's suggestions in this situation can easily make you appear to be deliberately targeting those with experience - a mean and narrow-minded image is not good for leading a team.

Dumont felt that he should accept the advice - as a new, invisible leader, accepting advice was part of consolidating authority.

Anyway, if something really happens then, the responsibility will be Richard's.

"Okay, then we'll work in pairs and set up marking points along the border of the fog," Dumont nodded and made quick arrangements. He then looked at Richard and said, "Richard, you and I will work together."

"Of course." Richard smiled and seemed very satisfied with the arrangement.

Dumont was also very satisfied.

"Then let's get started."

The Annihilation Cultists sprang into action immediately.

They were in groups of two, carrying ritual daggers used to leave "marks", and walked in different directions towards the forest paths that were filled with thin mist, and soon disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

Richard also walked towards Dumont with the ritual dagger - but he was cautious, he knew he had to wait a while, until the other groups were far enough away, until Dumont focused on the "work" of setting the mark point.

Then, he can "help" the other person.

"Let's get started, cute doll." said the voice in my head.

"Let's get started, Dumont," said Richard.