Chapter 190
This made the apostle's eyes twitch slightly. He hadn't expected this person to be so composed. Upon closer inspection, he couldn't find the slightest sign of him putting on a brave face, which made things even more interesting.
Intrigue and cunning are useless; only strength is effective. But this seed is far too powerful, causing even Adam's faith in it to waver slightly.
"Send the demon to him immediately."
Demon?
Elk turned slightly and reminded him, "Sending out the Demon means we've lost our last line of defense. Given Adam's strength, the Demon is the only warrior capable of putting up a significant fight against him."
If Yuki's appearance was a shortcut, then the clash between Adam and the demon was a pre-arranged, conventional method.
I said immediately!
The apostle let out a low growl, which turned dozens of spectators around him into Blood Mist, as if they had been glared at and burst. Then Elk's eyes lost their light, and he nodded in agreement.
No explanation was needed. The apostle turned to meet Yuki's gaze and muttered to himself:
"I have a feeling that this time I will attract the attention of God and help me get rid of this Abandoned Land."
"But the prerequisite is that you must die at his hands."
Chapter Twenty: The Flower of Blood
A bottomless crater appeared in the ground, but no dust rose; the particles were instantly annihilated upon impact.
With a surge of maximum soul energy, two consecutive shots blasted the enemy to smithereens, leaving only a golden skull rolling on the ground.
Yuki glanced at it and then looked away, feeling the Heat sensation in his body gradually disappear.
They are very strong, and are opponents of the same level.
This Yuki lasted a full forty minutes, unlike his previous ones which were designed to annoy the audience.
'At least in close combat, they're on par with me. Their chainsaws are wreathed in blood flames; once you get a taste, it's impossible to extinguish. The only way is to shave off the flesh along with it.'
Yuki grimaced, still feeling the pain. At this level, the blinding effect of the domain was no longer effective. Fortunately, the Golden Skull was relatively slow, which was a clear weakness.
There's not much to say about the battle itself. Once Yuki realized his idea was too difficult, he immediately switched to shameless mode.
They used a circling firing technique, exploiting the fact that the power of Hunter's Blunderbuss is proportional to the amount of energy injected to deceive the enemy.
First, he used a full-power shot to make the Golden Skull wary, then added a trace of soul energy to lure it into a trap, followed by another full-power heavy shot, leaving the enemy bewildered.
Since close combat is too dangerous, the only option is to exchange blows from a distance. Yuki simply uses the Demon-Breaker Longsword as a shield, and if he can't block it, he uses the Regenerative Tail to repair it.
This was clearly cheating, exhausting the enemy's already dwindling patience. Finally, the Golden Skull ignited its own body, transforming into a fire demon and charging forward, its death-defying intent sending chills down one's spine.
This means to embrace the other person and burn the shameless person to ashes with the fire of anger.
Yuki remained expressionless, simply taking a large gulp of Quiet Dew and continuing to repeat the same tactics until he exhausted his opponent's strength before rushing forward to claim his life.
A victory is a victory; he rarely dwells on the enemy. Only after the flames have died down does he calculate his gains like a businessman.
'The consumption was enormous; even though these were all warrior-level powerhouses, the gain in soul energy was still minimal.'
It was a very strange phenomenon. What was even stranger was that he had intended to test the duration of a deathmatch by deliberately beating his opponent half to death, but the other person did...
Realizing victory was hopeless, he attempted suicide by self-destruction, nearly setting himself on fire.
"Fortunately, we have enhancement points to make up for it."
With two more enhancement points gained, the total has reached five, and there's no need to think about where to use them.
[Reinforcement Magecraft (Master Level)]
[Reinforce all concepts, maintain for five minutes.]
Since the Bloodthirsty Red Moon, this was the first time a master-level Transcendental Grade skill had been completed. Yuki's mind was suddenly filled with a lot of knowledge, and he had a feeling that he not only knew what it was, but also why it was.
To strengthen the concept, transcending the qualitative change of matter itself.
Yuki gently clenched his fist, imagining that by emphasizing the concept of 'hardness' in a piece of cloth, he could make it harder than steel; by clenching his fingers like a knife, he could emphasize the concept of 'sharpness', making it as fast as a blade—this was beyond the realm of physics.
There was one enhancement point left, and Yuki thought for a moment before adding it to the Hunter's Blunderbuss, completing its third forging.
[Hunter's Double-Barreled Blunderbuss (Transcendental Grade)] Forged Three Times
Forging cannot cause a qualitative change; it simply adds a new type of projectile to the existing shot and buckshot, called incendiary shells, which are described very simply.
"Igniting soul energy... well, that depends on the specific opponent. It's best against those who use soul energy for defense, or spirits like Pan Zi; the effect should be outstanding."
Yuki couldn't think of many uses for it at the moment, so he just looked at the last part of the panel.
Overall rating: Transcendental Grade Three
The best thing about Reincarnation Game is that you can get stronger while exploring dungeons.
Yuki nodded in satisfaction, snapped his fingers, and caused the Dark Realm to collapse on the spot.
As darkness dissipated, a dense crowd of spectators reappeared, the familiar atmosphere still palpable, hostility mingling with the deathly silence.
The battle was intense from an auditory perspective, with gunshots ringing out every few seconds, which at least maintained some anticipation. However, after twenty minutes of silence, the frenzied atmosphere cooled down completely.
Yuki didn't care what the audience thought at all. He immediately looked at the red figure, who was also looking at him, making no attempt to hide his thoughts.
There was no anger, no sadness, not even much disgust in that gaze; only a burning desire, the kind of desire that comes after countless years and is about to be fulfilled.
"Looks like I'm more useful than I thought?" Yuki paused, a chill instantly creeping down his back.
This proves that the other party is trying to create a big news story, and my strategy has indeed provided a new approach.
"It wants to create this atmosphere, and then do something, but the key is what it's going to do."
I can't figure it out at all, so I can only comfort myself by looking at things positively:
The stronger its desire, the safer I feel.
But conversely, I was a bit too strong.
Yuki nodded slightly to it, waited a while to make sure the other side wouldn't send a second enemy to fight, then slowly retreated, turned to face Hayasaka, and winked.
First victory.
The maid breathed a sigh of relief, completely relaxing. She couldn't see through that Night Domain either, so she couldn't help but worry.
Yuki walked towards the rest room, Hayasaka naturally followed, half a step behind. "While you were fighting, other warriors were also engaged in a deathmatch."
How many groups?
"Two groups, one of whom is Adam, whose opponent is the Doomsday Iron Cavalier from Arena III."
How long will it take?
"Five minutes and thirteen seconds."
Yuki paused slightly. This was too fast. If he wasn't mistaken, the combat strength of these warriors wasn't that different. Five minutes was enough to explain a lot.
He was terrifyingly strong, but not outrageously so. According to Li Mo'an's description, someone like Adam would never hold back; in other words, he would go all out in every battle.
If Adam can defeat the plot character within a minute, Yuki immediately go full speed ahead; hesitating for even a second would be irresponsible towards his own life.
"Not bad. It seems these deathmatches don't follow the cup competition rules." Yuki slightly. He had originally thought it would be a one-on-one battle, with the semifinals following the quarterfinals.
"It must be related to the Cult's arrangements. By the way, Two-Gun Zhang is about to become a warrior in Arena II and asked me when the plan can continue."
"As soon as possible, before the Cult arranges an opponent for him." Yuki handed this matter over to Hayasaka advance.
The maid nodded slightly, knowing that Yuki had attracted all the attention and couldn't appear in person, so she lowered her voice and said, "There's news from Senpai. She and Hiyori have investigated five black buildings and have a lot of clues to compare."
Five? Are those two going to cause problems?
Yuki suddenly raised his hand to shut her up, chatted for a few words with Abate who was walking towards him, accepted his reluctant congratulations, and then heard that a second opponent would be arranged soon.
It didn't matter anymore. After dismissing Abate, he quickly entered the lounge and closed the door.
"Tell me, try to be as detailed as possible."
Without him even needing to remind her, Hiyori realized the opportunity was once in a lifetime and risked her life to gather clues with great effort.
Mai Sakurajima- senpai also took action personally. While using the Light-Covering Prayer Rite to give the Void Puppet a cooldown, she activated her special ability and split up to act. Kaguya Shinomiya was in charge of driving, her foot always on the accelerator, not wanting to waste even a second.
"That red figure is called an Apostle?" Yuki frowned; that title alone spoke volumes.
"Yes, my senior heard it herself, and those people in red suits even noticed."
"Is she alright?"
Seeing Yuki turn his head to look at him somewhat nervously, Hayasaka calmly replying, "It's alright. Characters in the story have strong intuition, but finding Mai Sakurajima won't be easy. Besides, Kaguya- san is right outside the building; she could just step on the gas and disappear."
Thank goodness.
Yuki breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Mai Sakurajima and the others had taken a great risk; if a death match had been triggered, it would have been troublesome.
The apostles were indeed connected to God.
Yuki thought for a few seconds and felt that he wouldn't gain much. He knew from the beginning that this dungeon was definitely related to gods, demons, and monsters.
Seeing that he had calmed down, Hayasaka Ai continued her story. Mai Sakurajima and the others had also figured out the structure of the Cult. The lowest-ranking members wore black suits and were mainly responsible for collecting corpses and guiding players. Those of higher rank wore blood-red suits and were the ones who received the heads and performed the rituals.
"Each building houses approximately 4-6 people, distinguished by skull masks, with one person wearing a gold skull mask."
"That makes eight, golden skulls? Similar to that Elk." Yuki rubbed his chin. No wonder the Cult made these rules.
Elk's ability to pose a threat to himself clearly indicates that he is no less capable than a warrior. The Cult essentially holds eight Transcendental Grade powerhouses in its hands, with an unfathomable apostle behind them.
Even if the instance begins and the eight player teams start to coordinate and prepare to overthrow the Heavenly Gang, they still have the strength to suppress it.
Where's the blood-red skull?
"It would be terrible if it wasn't found, or if it was."
"Looks like that apostle wasn't bragging." Yuki narrowed his eyes, not surprised at all.
That was one apostle, eight high-ranking members with golden skulls, several dozen slightly weaker officers in red suits, and a whole bunch of ordinary members.
"Overwhelming strength, should I give it a try?" Hayasaka Ai asked urgently, and what she wanted to try was quite simple.
Whether Tip 4 applies to members of the Cult is a matter that cannot be gambled on 'theoretically'.
"There's no rush now. If anyone's going to try, it'll be me." Yuki decisively refused, calmly asking, "Have you found the database or anything?"
"There are no computers or servers inside the building; Hiyori compared four skull mountains."
The risk was too great, and Hayasaka Ai didn't insist. With more reference points, Hiyori actually discovered some problems.
At the top of a mountain of skulls lies the head of Pure White Warrior. It is inconspicuous because below it are withered bones, and the higher you go, the 'fresher' it becomes. To read the details from a pile of bloody, grotesque heads is undoubtedly torture.
But Hiyori did it. With a bit of luck, she saw a head wearing a white helmet at the top of the skull mountain, a remnant of some Chaos Item.
Yuki felt sorry for Hiyori after hearing this, guessing she would be traumatized for a long time, but this message was also incredibly important.
He finally understood what role the 'players' would play in this instance, and why the Cult, with its overwhelming military power, had little presence.
Eight cylinders, eight deathmatch arenas, eight player teams—all these correspond one-to-one.
That's soil; eight seeds will sprout on it.
A dazzling, blood-red flower.
Chapter Twenty-One: Copy Logic Analysis
The absurd plot is slowly being connected by logic.
The cylinders, the deathmatch arena, and the players began to correspond, and the population problem that had always puzzled the Yuki was also solved.
According to observations by Hiyori, the head was severed, but the body dissolved in blood and was directly absorbed by the black building.
Although the underlying principle is unknown, it proves that those 'people' did not appear out of thin air, but rather it is more like a cycle.
"They don't care if our search for the truth is hiding some kind of conspiracy," Hayasaka Ai reported, her expression strange.
"It's not that exaggerated. It's just that these NPCs aren't good at plotting." Yuki patted her hand and comforted her with a smile, "If you really didn't care, that apostle wouldn't have needed to hide his identity. Didn't you notice that he never introduced himself from beginning to end?"
Hayasaka thought about it and realized it made some sense, which improved her mood a little.
The players in Two-Gun Zhang's group are definitely looking for it too, but they won't find much. The people here don't listen to empty talk or get deceived; it's really a matter of head-on confrontation.
"It's not that the Cult is relaxed, it's just that the senior students are exceptionally talented. By the way, have they gone back to rest?"
"They've already gone back. Hiyori will probably need a while to recover," Hayasaka replied quietly. Hiyori lost two Void Puppet, which was equivalent to experiencing being killed twice.
In addition, Shiina Hiyori and Mai Sakurajima each received two enhancement points as a reward, and even Kaguya Shinomiya, who was driving, received one. With the system's endorsement, it proved that they could not have been deceived.
The secrets are being revealed further. Yuki, resting his cheek on his hand, roughly understands how this absurd instance works: