Chapter 135
"The things you mentioned earlier are increasingly likely to succeed." His face was full of anticipation as he took out a black crystal and tossed it into Yuki's hand. "I'm very interested in getting the answer, so I'll lend you this first."
This is the core of the barrier; without Yuki's request, he voluntarily lent it out after discovering that the church priests could move freely.
Yuki held it in his hand and gently stroked it. The fact that he was being lent such a precious Chaos Item showed how much he was looking forward to it.
Destroying the church could, in turn, allow them to achieve their mission evaluation, which is certainly something to look forward to.
"There's something that can accurately distinguish between fanatics and ordinary people." Yuki pulled out a pistol, Glock he had borrowed from Rick.
He held the gun, met the boy's questioning gaze, and gently tapped his temple.
"Survival instinct"
Chapter Thirty: Eliminating the Three Evils in Yuki (Second Update)
When the bell rang for the second time, the Yadu Town was deserted.
Oreki Houtarou has already joined up with Moon Bow and Rick. Their job is to lure the players away and hold them back when they realize something is wrong.
The ceremony began, the sermon ended, and the town was now deathly silent. Yuki into the alley, walking at a leisurely pace.
Even without using the Demon Eye, Yuki could sense a terrifying energy source ahead, a power that all the players in this dungeon combined could not withstand.
"The so-called gathering is a summoning ritual. The reason why the townspeople are kept behind after the sermon is to let them call upon the evil god."
The information was brought by Oreki Houtarou, and it should have been unsubstantiated, but Yuki had seen that strange sight at the beginning of the dungeon.
Every resident of the town had black maggots on their bodies, seemingly absorbing something. He was puzzled at the time, but after comparing it with the intelligence, he understood.
This is the key point, and there are at least two clues to confirm it.
[Hint 2: Evil gods receive a boost from faith; the more fanatical followers they have, the more powerful they become.]
[Tip 3: Do not accidentally kill or harm ordinary people or potential followers (excluding players), otherwise you will be punished; too many accidental kills will result in immediate elimination.]
These two clues told Yuki what to do, and just as Oreki Houtarou had wondered, killing wasn't the problem; discernment was the key.
One must not look directly at the gods, so one cannot use the Demon Eye to discern them; doing so would only attract the gods' attention, causing them to abruptly halt the ritual and come to deal with one.
The rule against indiscriminate killing of innocent people is a restriction imposed by the Reincarnation Game. If this rule weren't in place, Yuki could have simply thrown a bomb into the plaza and wiped everyone out.
Do not be cowardly and hide. After this ceremony is completed, other players may be able to buy time, but the Yadu Town will do everything in its power to kill me. I cannot resist them at their current strength.
As Yuki walked, he pondered, and the outline of the entire instance gradually became clearer.
The warning specifically states. "The evil god sees you as a thorn in his side; please do not harbor any illusions."
The answer was clearly written on their faces; any retreat would be suicide, and even the most meticulously planned strategy could not escape the rules.
"They quickly figured out who I was, and then provided a complete service: reinforcement, location tracking, and attack."
With a wry smile, Yuki already knew what the outcome would be. From the very beginning, he had no intention of merely surviving. He deliberately concealed this clue, giving Oreki Houtarou and the others the illusion that he was 'very brave'.
There's no other way but to drag you all down with me.
The church spire came into view, and the square was within reach when a muffled 'boom' came from behind. Yuki quickly turned around to look.
The players began to fight, and the smell of the Clown's blood indeed attracted them.
Yuki pulled another little trick, his forceful resistance and inaction in the face of the ritual confused Black Sword. Confusion requires information, but Pan Zi couldn't find Yuki himself, so he could only follow the scent on the Chainsaw Sword to find Rick.
Rick alone would certainly die if exposed to the light, but with Moon Bow and Oreki Houtarou added, it's a different story. At least they have to be careful not to harm him, or waste time in verbal sparring.
This hour is a period of free time for players, and it also has another clever use in the current situation.
Yuki suddenly stopped and hid in the bushes nearby. Not long after, several priests in grey robes leaped over the rooftops and rushed toward the direction from which the sound came.
In the past, the church turned a blind eye to what outsiders did, but now, in the final stage, they have placed all outsiders in the hostile camp.
Even if they were happy to see outsiders killing each other, they would still send people to monitor them. But now that believers cannot move, the only option is to send priests.
"This reduces the number of troops guarding the square even further."
Yuki curled the corners of his mouth, tiptoed, and crept stealthily through the broad daylight. Before long, he arrived at the end of the alley.
The view ahead suddenly opened up, filled with people. Even though he had killed many, he still had a force of over a thousand. The distant rumble of battle sounds drew strange reactions from the crowd.
Some were devout, seemingly oblivious to everything, continuing to silently recite scriptures; others looked around, their faces clearly showing unease; still others forced themselves to remain calm, secretly opening their eyes to survey their surroundings.
No matter what he was thinking, he remained seated in place, refusing to move an inch.
The church was in the distance, exuding an unsettling atmosphere, while two heavily armored guards, wielding halberds, stood watch at the edge of the square, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
The third step is to address the root cause of the problem.
Yuki took a deep breath. Arriving alone at the church's headquarters, he surprisingly felt little nervous, like a machine following a pre-programmed sequence.
He took out the black crystal and placed it aside, put the Hunter's Blunderbuss back into his belt, hung the longsword on his back, thought for a moment, and then put the Ram's-Horn Hammer and Glock pistol into his pocket.
I glanced at my watch one last time. There were still 25 minutes left until the ceremony ended, and 2.5 hours left until the dungeon ended.
That's about it.
Holding his breath, Yuki locked his gaze on the heavily armored soldiers at the edge of the plaza. The latter, too, were looking north, Abomination the blasphemy of the outsiders.
The Hidden Domain is activated, setting its maximum range to encompass the eastern plaza, excluding the church.
Yuki activated the barrier, held his breath, and then let out a long sigh after a moment.
"The analysis is correct."
There was no unusual occurrence; God's gaze was indeed focused on the church, and He didn't notice the player's little trick. Originally, this Chaos Item could only conceal internal movements.
It was silent and colorless, but it did not isolate the outside sounds. Even the guards did not sense anything unusual. Just then, a loud 'boom' came from the north, accompanied by the sound of buildings collapsing.
Will they realize this? This is serious.
Yuki's gaze sharpened as he saw that the loud noise had drawn two heavily armored guards to stand on their tiptoes. There was no way around it; the commotion was simply too great, and any intelligent being would be drawn to it.
"Now!"
Yuki seized that moment, unleashing all his violent energy and layering it with Reinforcement Magecraft, instantly transforming himself into a top-tier predator.
Bang--
With a stomp of his foot, he propelled his entire body forward, covering a mere fifty meters in the blink of an eye. The guard on the left heard the sound, and before he could even turn his head, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure rushing towards him.
The despicable outsider used a shameless sneak attack. It was too fast for him to react. He saw the other man holding a Ram's-Horn Hammer, which slammed into his chest before the halberd could sweep across.
Thump!!
The hammer blow struck from bottom to top, denting his breastplate and sending him flying. Yuki tapped his toes, channeling even more ferocious power into his feet.
Second-stage acceleration.
He crushed the white flagstones under his feet, charged forward to meet the thrusting halberd, first throwing out his Ram's-Horn Hammer, then gripping the hilt of his sword behind his back with his right hand, and drawing his sword as the guard withdrew his halberd and assumed a defensive stance.
Clang--
With a dragon's roar, the gleaming blade was drawn, but as it was swung, the crimson energy on the blade grew increasingly powerful, eventually forming a blood-red arc.
Blood Moon Slash.
The sword energy flew swiftly, and the extremely compressed energy split the halberd in two, embedding it into the breastplate and sending the guard flying backward.
"I know your defenses are very strong."
Yuki was not surprised. He reached for his waist with his left hand and drew his Hunter's Blunderbuss. This Transcendental Grade, twice-forged Chaos Item was already fully loaded with its maximum load of soul bullets.
Bang!
With a single shot, blood and flesh flew everywhere, leaving a hole the size of a washbasin in the guard's chest, big enough to see the scenery behind him.
Yuki glanced at it, then raised his gun again. The guard who had just been blasted into the air landed just then. Even though he was ambushed, he didn't panic and was preparing to unleash a halberd technique that descended from the sky.
Before the gun could even hit the stranger's head, the latter raised his hand, pointing the Black Hole muzzle of his gun.
Despicable outsider...
Boom!
The second shot was a shotgun shell, fired from two meters away, and a torrential downpour of blood immediately fell from the sky, soaking Yuki completely in crimson.
With all his might, he used a combination of swords, spears, and hammers, taking down two heavily armored guards in five seconds.
Yuki wiped the bits of flesh from his face and looked up ahead.
The entire square was silent, with people in various poses. Some were oblivious and focused on Isshin, while others were dumbfounded, never imagining that someone would commit such a massacre in such a sacred place.
Very good, the church is outside the barrier's coverage area and did not cause any disturbances.
Yuki was looking at the church, and he knew, of course, that these townspeople, aside from being overly enthusiastic and able to locate players, were no different in intelligence from normal people.
As expected, they were unable to leave the square or move until the ceremony ended.
During the gathering yesterday at noon, Yuki had Moon Bow Reconnaissance ahead. The latter risked hitting her head with pebbles to confirm that these people would glare at her angrily, but couldn't rush over to attack her.
After so much preparation, including gathering information from Moon Bow and Oreki Houtarou, it's my turn to step in.
The blood-soaked man stood up, sheathed his sword, and hung his musket and Ram's-Horn Hammer back on his waist, only to be met with a chorus of bewildered stares.
Many townspeople were watching him, some openly, some stealthily glancing over, but no one spoke. They were just wondering why this menacing outsider had put away his weapon.
Could he have come to repent? Then why did he kill someone? Why isn't the church reacting? Even if the saint is focused on the ceremony, shouldn't the other priests have come out to check on things?
Too many questions flooded my mind, only to be brought back to reality by a 'bang' of a gunshot.
The spent cartridge case fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and disappeared. Yuki held the Glock pistol above his head with one hand, the muzzle emitting wisps of smoke.
"Those who want to live, lie down now. You have ten seconds."
Yuki shouted loudly, confirming from their expressions that they could hear him, but none of them paid any attention to him.
As long as they can hear and think, they're not all crazy.
Yuki nodded slightly, lowered his gun, and pulled the trigger on those smiling people who had ignored him from the beginning. These people were too fond of chanting scriptures; he definitely hadn't killed the wrong person.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
Each bullet hit the head precisely, and bodies fell, red and white mingling together.
These believers are usually quite strong, but during the ritual, they become like targets; without the blessing of the evil god, their physical strength cannot withstand a 9mm bullet.
Ding ding ding.
The spent cartridge case fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Yuki pressed the magazine release button, loaded a new magazine, and with a 'click,' pulled the bolt, aiming at the dumbfounded townspeople beside him.
He gave a friendly smile and tightened his grip on the trigger slightly.
"Time is running out."
Chapter Thirty-One: Do Not Look Directly at the Gods! (First Update)
How can one distinguish between baptized fanatics and ordinary townspeople?
This is the core of the 'Judge', and even someone as intelligent as Oreki Houtarou has no clue about it, because in a sense, all the townspeople are believers, just as they can accurately locate outsiders.
But the two are different after all; for example, patrolling at night, becoming a henchman of the church, or gaining Transcendental Grade powers.
Yuki couldn't see with his Demon Eye, and the plaza couldn't provoke them to attack; he could only grasp at another core:
Faith makes people fearless of life and death; conversely, those without firm faith will have a survival instinct.
Before her stood a blonde girl, indistinguishable in appearance, but under Yuki's cold gaze and the Black Hole muzzle of a gun pointed at her, she swallowed hard, her pupils contracting.
Death is the most feared thing for every intelligent being, but after staying in Yadu Town for so long and being exposed to it every day, she didn't know what to do.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, grazing her cheek. The burning pain felt like a sudden surge of energy, causing the girl to scream and instantly collapse to the ground.
"That's more like it." Yuki smiled. With someone taking the lead and pointing the gun at them, the people around him all dropped to the ground, covering their heads and cowering on the ground.
The church is gone, God is far away, but the guns of outsiders are very close.
Each instance is a world with its own rules. Since the residents of Yadu Town are ordinary people, they should be afraid of dying.
The sound of weeping could be heard; some people lay down, others knelt and chanted scriptures, and then the target himself stepped forward.
Bang, bang, bang.
Yuki all down with a single shot, headshots everywhere. He walked slowly through the crowd, the gunfire never ceasing. After emptying a magazine, he skillfully changed it again.
Wherever he went, fear spread. He killed dozens of people and had passed about a fifth of the crowd when he suddenly heard someone shout.