Chapter 201
"I don't know. I don't know this powerful player who suddenly appeared." The man shrugged, exuding confidence. "But a true gambler dares to bet, and a good gambler, once he bets, holds nothing back."
I understand, the wisdom of all-in betting, right? Betting your entire fortune on a single gamble.
Li Mo'an's teeth ached just thinking about it. They had no choice, but they also held nothing back. They bet everything in one fell swoop. Luckily, Kevin was capable and acted without hesitation.
"He's not simple; he timed this perfectly. Xiao Li, did you notice anything?"
"Uh, using someone else to do the dirty work? Using Adam to weaken the Cult's fighting strength?"
"So you still need to learn. Using someone else to do your dirty work is just a facade; he's completely mobilized the Cult." The man looked at the eight deathmatch arenas, eight black buildings, and took a deep drag on his cigarette.
"He possessed almost all the secrets of this instance, and he had me, the Cult, and Adam all caught in his schemes. The two main quests were progressing simultaneously. He had doubts about this 'Champion' from the beginning, so he kept two safeguards in place."
Ah?
Li Mo'an blinked. The only thing he could think of was using Adam to weaken the Cult, and then using the Cult to weaken Adam, which meant...
"Did he never intend to avoid the most powerful apostle and seek to disrupt its ritual from the very beginning?"
Hayasaka Ai's voice rang in his ears, urging them to act immediately and cooperate with the upcoming battle plan.
He hesitated. As a subordinate, he knew that Two-Gun Zhang's intelligence far exceeded that of ordinary people, and his analysis must be correct.
"Say yes."
"But what about that apostle?" Li Mo'an hesitated. His special ability to assess threat level was what he had used to escape many pursuits.
He had seen the Apostles, and they gave him the feeling of a collapsing sky, with no possibility of victory. Therefore, their goal was to help Yuki kill Adam and return to the fold.
"What do you call someone who can't avoid the worst-case scenario, then scheme against everyone at the table, follow the plan step by step while adapting to changing circumstances, and finally wins all the chips?"
"I don't know." Li Mo'an shook his head blankly.
Zhang Jin threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, and drew his silver twin pistols from his waist.
"The God of Gamblers"
The second wave, the third wave.
Yuki continued forward, steadily rising and falling like an 'honest man'.
By utilizing the rules of deathmatch, the enemy will never escape and will not reveal the information about absorbing soul energy.
Then his pace slowed, as if he was becoming increasingly exhausted, constantly trying to see things from another's perspective:
The people in this instance are all insane. Only that apostle is capable of devising strategies. We've already invested so much; we should at least let him meet Adam.
"Logically, it's correct, but everyone here, including that apostle, is insane; we can't use common sense to deduce anything."
Yuki raised her head from the chaotic scene of corpses. Beneath her feet, the entire block had been reduced to ruins, and as she looked up, a shooting star was hurtling towards her from afar.
The high-ranking officials with gold masks are about to get serious.
This is self-contradictory. If they want to stop me, using mere grunts is enough. Aren't they afraid I'll be defeated by such a powerful opponent? Or are they afraid Adam will be too exhausted, so they're going to increase my strength as well?
Yuki didn't know what the Angel was thinking, but he didn't have the habit of acting according to someone else's script.
"Why should I fight you? Hayasaka, are you ready?"
"Li Mo'an has arrived; conditions are met." The girl's voice came, devoid of any emotion. "Is there anything else you wish to say?"
"One, survive."
The meteor streaked past at a speed of tens of meters per second, and Yuki raised his foot.
Combat Technique: Earth Collapse.
Boom!
All the force gathered beneath his feet caused the concrete ground to collapse, and as a huge cloud of dust rose, Elk landed on the ground.
Boom--
The plane landed at an extremely high speed, and the shockwave it generated leveled the surrounding ruins. The burly man wearing a golden mask roared in a low voice.
"You dare to avoid war?"
This was the first time Yuki had avoided combat since joining the instance, but Elk showed no sign of smugness.
He charged in with utmost seriousness and ferocity, determined to fight Yuki to the death. With such an epic atmosphere, how could the enemy possibly avoid battle?
Lacking in honor, excessively cowardly.
"You can't jump very far." Elk said, about to dig three feet into the ground to dig out the enemy. He had just taken a step when he quickly opened his hand and crushed an arrow that flew from a distance.
Ice shards flew everywhere; the deathmatch was about to begin. Elk grew even angrier, intending to use his companions as scapegoats to buy time.
He was about to finish off the archer in an instant when he discovered that the enemy was right in front of him: a gray trench coat, long black hair, but holding a huge revolver in his hand, and a boy holding a rapier standing beside him.
So that's what they were doing... ambushing me?
Instead of being angry, he was pleased. What he disliked was the act of avoiding war; he didn't care at all if more people were sent to fight him.
As the Death Knell's projectile was slapped away, and the moon-like sword energy was skillfully dodged, the realm of night expanded before their eyes.
"You didn't use it before, but you're targeting me specifically!?"
Everyone in this city hates the Night Domain, yet it hasn't been used since the start of the war in Yuki, which is undoubtedly targeting them.
As darkness engulfed his vision, Elk furiously ripped off his mask, revealing a ferocious face like that of a hunting dog.
With its bared teeth and fangs like knives, and its reddish skin covered in tumors, it looked like a monster with a human body and a dog's head.
The deadly battle began, and through the binding process, three prey appeared in its hunting field of vision one after another.
His bulging muscles burst out of his red suit, and Elk was truly crawling on the ground like Hound.
I will tear you all to pieces!
Chapter Thirty-Two: Only Desire to Drink Blood Freely
"If the Cult sends high-ranking members to fight, you will be responsible for confronting them. Use the Fool's Mask and the Night Domain to create the illusion that I am fighting."
This was a strategy decided before the war even began. The apostle guessed correctly; Yuki intended to wait in comfort and be in top condition to face Adam.
Therefore, he wanted as many mid-level cadres and miscellaneous soldiers as possible, as they could replenish the energy consumed in the battle with Wu Raian, but he had no interest in the high-ranking officials at the Golden Mask level.
Aren't you supposed to be a kind and honest people? Even if you realize things aren't going well, just keep fighting Hayasaka and the others.
"When you first heard about the plan, your teeth were chattering, but now you're obediently going to the battlefield with your maid." Yuki turned to look at the middle-aged man standing next to him, seemingly mocking someone.
Aren't you worried about your own apprentice?
Amidst the ruins, Zhang Jin stood beside him. The moment Yuki saw him, he immediately explained many of his questions, such as why he dared to go all in on the bet.
Isn't this just like 'Little Ma'?
Black sunglasses, black trench coat, dual pistols—goodness, he's combining A Better Tomorrow with the God of Gamblers, isn't he? This Mr. Zhang is quite peculiar; for example, he clearly noticed something was off about his eyes, yet he hasn't asked a single question.
"If you're not worried about your girlfriend, why should I? Even an apprentice isn't as valuable as a girlfriend of Transcendental Grade caliber," Zhang Jin replied casually.
"Mr. Zhang, you certainly have a good eye." Yuki smiled. Li Mo'an was also at the Transcendental Grade level, and he had the characteristic of Killing Intent Perception, which made him very suitable for fighting in the Night Domain.
With him pulling them back, plus Hayasaka and Kaguya's extraordinary teamwork, three against one is no problem.
Yuki glanced into the distance; the rising mushroom cloud was getting closer, and Adam was attacking like a ferocious beast.
Five hours left.
Yuki did not engage in battle. Now, the more Adam kills, the better. Ideally, all seven remaining high-ranking members of the Golden Masks should be wiped out.
"How much longer?" Zhang Jin asked, offering him a cigarette.
Yuki took it, leaned forward to shield the flame, lit it, took a puff, and savored the dry tobacco flavor.
The Cult's forces have been dispersed to the extreme, making it difficult to search for the two of them. This city is comparable in size to Tokyo, so there are plenty of places to hide.
But they couldn't hide; the Night Domain was too conspicuous, and Adam was clearly heading for Hayasaka and the others.
"Once they take care of the Cult's higher-ups, Adam will have more than one player by his side. The two of us will be barely enough to deal with Adam."
"According to the usual practice, teams are usually formed in pairs. However, special cases like Adam's are typically handled in a 2+1 formation," Zhang Jin revealed another important piece of information.
"Then let's assume there are three players and split them into two groups to deal with them. Mr. Zhang, do you have any information on Adam?" Yuki's blood-red eyes gleamed with an eerie light, like a computer running at high speed.
"Yes, but not many. Almost no player can survive a fight against Adam." Zhang Jin was prepared and handed over a small booklet.
Yuki took it, glanced at it, and exclaimed with delight, "Great! Having information gives us confidence. We'll figure out a way to gang up on him later."
"But Xiao Li and the others just finished fighting... Oh, I see. No wonder you went to all this trouble. Besides deceiving the Cult, you also had to give them last-minute training." Zhang Jin suddenly realized that there must be a reward for killing a high-ranking Cult like the Golden Mask.
Hayasaka had already reserved two enhancement points, Kaguya Shinomiya received one as a reward while searching for clues with her seniors. Of course, expecting a qualitative change was a pipe dream, but at a time like this, even a slight increase in power would be helpful.
"Mr. Zhang, it seems we're kindred spirits."
"Haha, I get along well with most players," Zhang Jin laughed, patting Yuki on the shoulder with a loud thud. "But it's definitely more fun working with a gambler like you. It's a shame there's no alcohol in this godforsaken place..."
Yuki remained silent, only to see a group of Cult members appear in the distant ruins, clearly searching for Zhang Jin.
These people are single-minded; if they don't find it, they don't care about the dangers; they'll just keep searching.
"There's no wine." Yuki stubbed out his cigarette and slowly drew his sword. "But how about a hearty drink of blood?"
Zhang Jin also looked up. With the two of them working together, the death match could be over in an instant. He then drew his silver twin pistols from his waist, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Please."
Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger.
One side, extremely arrogant, destroyed entire blocks of streets and slaughtered all living things that stood in its way, advancing in a straight line eastward.
The area was completely silent, with the black night covering a large area. Occasionally, arrows would fly out or bullets would shatter buildings, but they would mostly remain stationary, as if waiting for a tiger to approach.
The outbreak of war plunged Bloodlight City into utter chaos, and due to the rules of the deadly duel, no one could intervene.
The apostle gazed into the distance, both eager and expectant of Elk's demise, his eyes fixed on the rising and approaching plumes of smoke, muttering to himself.
He was just a little short of starting the final, deadly battle.
Chun and Shiratori were filled with helplessness; no matter how high their intelligence or how rich their experience, it was completely useless at this moment.
Adam was completely out of control; anyone who dared to stop him was slaughtered.
In their eyes, this battle should never have been fought. Now that the existence of 'Taiyi' had been confirmed, killing Kevin would only bring endless trouble.
But who dared to stop them? Officer Shiratori, who possessed Transcendental Grade strength, was almost crushed like a chick after only offering a few words of advice.
Unable to stop him, we could only go along with Adam's idea, do things cleanly, and try to avoid future troubles.
"It's all your fault, how could you tell the truth?"
"Nonsense. Contacting him was ordered by Lord Yellow Light. Besides, why did you nod when Adam asked you?"
"I was scared, wasn't I? Who wouldn't be scared when he's staring at them?"
As Yuki began to make his move, the two men, hiding among the ruins, were passing the buck to each other. They glanced at each other and both hung their heads in frustration.
"Forget it, even if I concealed the contact, Adam would still kill him." Chun paused, then pointed to the black buildings in the distance. "That's what that Cult wanted too. Otherwise, if Adam had sold me out so easily, that apostle would have come looking for trouble long ago."
He made unauthorized contact with Yuki, causing Adam to lose control and indirectly ruining the Apostle's plans. Even for the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to go along with the mistake.
Officer Shiratori moved his lips, feeling that he was truly trapped in an 'ally's encirclement' this time. Even as a veteran player with six dungeon experience, he was quite passive. Seeing the city in chaos, he felt uneasy.
"Aren't you best at tackling dungeons? What do we do now?"
"I'm good at it, but how do you plan to win this time?" Chun spread his hands. He and Shiratori complemented each other's strengths. The latter would describe the characteristics, and Chun would verify them. They could quickly extract information from each other.
But this time Adam killed everyone he saw, so he had no chance to gather intelligence. He finally got a chance to act freely, but he was betrayed in the blink of an eye.
"I've only grasped the general meaning of clue 4 and determined the combat strategy, but I still have a feeling that this apostle is not simple."
"What's not simple about it?"
"The champion will be crowned and you can return, but the instructions don't specify what constitutes a champion. What's this about a warrior's duel? This is just part of the script set by the Cult." Chun opened her eyes, her usually squinted eyes now radiating a purple light.
"But I've had too little contact with the plot; all my 'Future Sight' can see is a sea of blood."
The player's first priority is survival, and Shiratori was also somewhat uneasy. He glanced at the distance.
Boom--
A five-story building crumbled like building blocks, dozens of utility poles around it were pulled up by gravity, like giant swords piercing forward, and then there was another loud 'thud,' and the dust and smoke in the sky were instantly swept away.