Under the bright afternoon sunlight, his clothes stained with dust, Klein quickly adjusted the revolver's hammer, flicked the safety, and put himself in a state ready to shoot the enemy at any moment, the brass barrel metal reflecting flowing gleams.
He held the gun with one hand, extended forward, alert to possible changes around.
At the same time, he was quite worried about Captain Dunn and Mr. Al Hassan, who was wearing a gray double-breasted trench coat, because they were both "Nightmares", more adept at influencing enemies covertly, and he didn't know if they could handle a direct confrontation.
Just as the thought passed through Klein's mind, Al Hassan deliberately slowed his forward charge, his expression becoming calm and melancholy.
He opened his mouth and recited a poem that brought peace and made one feel as if in the night:
"When the sun sinks in the west, Dew adorns the evening's breast, Her face pale as the moon's light, Or a star that accompanies the night." "The evening primrose, moist with night dew, Blooms delicate and graceful, true, Like a hermit shunning the sun's view..." ...... (Note 1)
The recitation echoed, and Klein almost lost his tension, completely relaxing.
Fortunately, he had similar experience before and was not in the direction Al Hassan was facing, so he quickly composed his mind, using a semi-meditative state to resist the influence of the "poem".
He sighed in relief and no longer doubted the direct combat abilities of Dunn and Al.
Because he had only recently advanced and wasn't particularly familiar with the Sequence potions, he had forgotten that Sequence 7 "Nightmare" is an advancement from Sequence 8 "Midnight Poet", which fully retains the previous abilities with a slight improvement.
And Klein's impression of the "Midnight Poet" all came from Leonard Mitchell, knowing that this class also inherited the peculiarities of the "Sleepless", excelling in combat, shooting, climbing, and sensing, as well as using poems of different styles to affect surrounding beings. In simple terms, they were violent poets.
Amidst Al Hassan's recitation, the area by the piled-up large wooden crates suddenly shimmered like water ripples, and a man wearing a black tailcoat and a half-silk top hat appeared.
However, the man's face was painted with red, yellow, and white greasepaint, rendering a "clown" smile with the corners of the mouth turned high up, forming a absurd and comical contrast with his formal attire suitable for a banquet.
Thump thump thump! The black-haired Lolota, introduced as a sharpshooter, sprinted quickly, holding a gun in one hand and a fist in the other, closing in on the tailcoat clown in a few steps.
The tailcoat clown seemed affected by Al Hassan's poem, his body slightly swaying, his expression calm and peaceful, with no desire to resist.
Slap! The black-haired lady Lolota, with a boxer's sideways step, swung her arm and punched the tailcoat clown's face.
Bang!
The air exploded, and the tailcoat clown suddenly shattered like a mirror, fragments evaporating and disappearing.
At that moment, in the shadow of the crates a few steps away, the tailcoat clown's figure quickly outlined and reappeared.
The one who had been affected was just an illusion! Just a performance!
The tailcoat clown grinned as usual, his smile ridiculous. He pressed his top hat with one hand and raised the other, snapping his fingers sharply.
Bang!
His finger snap produced the sound of a gunshot. Lolota lunged left, rolling continuously to dodge.
But nothing happened except the imaginary gunshot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dunn and Al raised their guns and fired steadily. The tailcoat clown dodged left and right, retreating and rolling, his movements agile as if performing acrobatics.
Suddenly, the black-haired lady Lolota rushed forward from somewhere again. Though called a sharpshooter, she still twisted her waist and swung her arm, punching the enemy.
Bam!
The tailcoat clown couldn't dodge in time, raised his left arm to block the punch.
Seeing him stop, Dunn and Al didn't hesitate, aimed and pulled the triggers.
At that moment, the tailcoat clown's arm that was blocking Lolota's fist suddenly burst into orange flames.
In a flash, the flames engulfed the tailcoat clown and spread towards Lolota.
Bang! Bang! The revolvers of Dunn and Al fired, hitting the flames.
The flames burned rapidly, soon leaving only black ash flying, but the tailcoat clown's figure appeared again not far away, half-hidden behind several stacked crates.
He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers again.
Bang!
At the imaginary gunshot, Lolota suddenly stopped, did not pounce. In front of her, dirt splashed and a bullet hole appeared.
This attack of the tailcoat clown was no longer an illusion!
Half true, half false, real and fake, truly hard to distinguish.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The tailcoat clown snapped his fingers continuously, sometimes hiding, sometimes appearing, exchanging fire with Dunn and Al.
Seeing this scene, Lolota narrowed her eyes and raised the dark golden long-barreled revolver in her left hand.