Chapter 279
Yuki, now a high-ping warrior, has a clear mind. This Conceptual Craft Essence is an unsolvable illusion, leaving enemies within its domain defenseless. And the insect swarm trying to play the tortoise formation? Do they really think Chris and her team's heavy firepower is a joke?
In Yuki's eyes, the swarm's behavior had become quite bizarre. They fired into the air and defended against the air; all he needed to do was dash behind them and chop off their heads or sever their legs.
This was a massacre, but it was also quite limited, as the area only barely covered the bridge. It also took into account that the Zerg swarm wasn't very smart and only knew how to charge blindly.
Ten minutes left.
With the Hunter's Blunderbuss pressed against the back of his head, he blasted a Human Bug into pieces. Yuki began counting down the duration of his domain, before leaping backward.
Thump--
A giant spore flew in through the window, and a massive, jet-black Bat Dragon hovered outside, somewhat bewildered as to why its kind had been so easily ambushed.
The reaction was swift, which allowed them to probe the maximum extent of the area.
"Aslan, come back and shield the window." Yuki also had a plan. He was certain that the swarm was unaware of the duration of his special ability and would resort to any means necessary in a race against time.
Sure enough, when Gundam, wielding a beam saber, fought the black Bat Dragon and firmly guarded the window, the swarm of insects had no patience to slowly maneuver around Yuki.
The Fire Seed is self-destructing; every second is an irreparable loss. The queen's obsession with evolution means she doesn't care how many offspring die.
It must rush into Area A in the shortest possible time, no matter the cost.
Boom!!
A violent explosion rang out inside the bridge, and the shockwave swept everything away, causing Yuki to dangle upside down against the inner wall.
Here it comes; the best way to deal with a high-ping warrior is to self-destruct.
Those Human Bug shimmered with purple light, expanding like balloons, and at a glance, they looked like a series of human-shaped Lighthouse.
Unable to pass through the area? No problem, just blow up the entire bridge.
"Everyone retreat! Secure the elevator!"
Yuki roared and unleashed the full power of all the defensive items he had acquired, as a tsunami-like purple light engulfed him.
Boom--
From the sky, a mushroom cloud rose from the middle of the warship, showing that even the thickest part of the Hope's armor could not withstand the internal explosion.
The ship trembled, large amounts of armor plates were thrown off, and bright beams of light rose up, forcing the swarm of insects surrounding it to scatter.
Exchange cards?
Enveloped in several layers of force fields, Yuki landed on the deck. Seeing that the bridge, which was more than ten meters high, had vanished, leaving only a deep crater still emitting blue smoke, he clenched his fists.
They made a fortune.
Trading a single trait for the lives of dozens of advanced Zerg units—isn't that a huge win?
The insect was in such a hurry that it didn't care about the exchange ratio at all.
Yuki squinted, seeing hundreds of anti-aircraft guns still the Roar. Johnny Silverhand was now in control of the warship, and the bridge and such were just decorations.
How many cards do you have left?
The blast of the bridge revealed a deep crater that led to the Fire Seed. This drove the insect swarm, now seeing hope, almost mad. They surged towards that direction, both inside and outside the ship, while a thick blue fog filled the air – the soul energy emanating from the Fire Seed.
It's not the right time yet.
Yuki loosened his finger from the trigger and looked around at the muzzle flashes rising and falling in the air.
The chaotic battle was nearing its climax; the high concentration of soul energy could even shield the Demon Eye, and the two sides were locked in a frenzied fight within the mist.
Humanity retreated en masse, unleashing an astonishingly dense barrage of firepower. The insect swarm, fearless and relentless, used their corpses to tighten the noose.
"Silver Hand, how's the battle going?" Yuki wasn't involved in the chaos; he was waiting for the swarm to play their next move.
He had to monitor the battlefield, control the artillery, and even have the electronic ghosts personally lend a hand. The multi-threaded operation was almost making Johnny Silverhand's CPU smoke.
"The situation is critical but we can hold on. See for yourself what the situation is like, and don't you dare bother me!"
Yuki got a good scolding, but he couldn't care less about being upset. He quickly opened the information terminal and skimmed through the text messages.
The battle on the ground was still ongoing, and the assault team was mainly engaged in containment; they had neither the strength nor the need to risk their lives to meet the Queen.
Simply distract the player and one of the General Bug, preventing them from participating in the battle, and you're done.
The real protagonist is this smoke-filled warship. The Hope's main structure has begun to be damaged, and it is falling steadily. The inside and outside of the ship are in complete disarray, and the nanobots simply cannot repair it.
The bridge was blown off, and forty percent of the missile silos and turrets were lost. The Psychic Warrior and marines also suffered heavy losses, but they took away tens of thousands of insects.
But that's not enough, far from enough.
Teresa was unable to defeat the Mahito; the relentless swarm of insects continued to surround her, and most terrifyingly, the main force of the insect swarm split up as expected.
One part resisted the fortress's counterattack, while the other part, led by the General Bug, rushed back to reinforce, but the queen had not yet appeared.
'Isn't that urgent enough? Should we deliberately reveal a weakness and show the Fire Seed? No, that's too risky. If the Queen comes into direct contact with the Fire Seed, the main quest will fail completely. No one can stop the Queen's deep evolution.'
Yuki clutched his trump card like a miser, not allowing the slightest mistake. After a moment's thought, he roughly understood that the swarm still had one more card to break through the defenses, allowing the Queen to come into contact with the Fire Seed without any risk.
Thump--
The deck trembled, and the Gundam crashed heavily several meters away, its imposing head caved in, with fragments of its armor flying off and landing at Yuki's feet.
His pupils slowly contracted as he turned around and saw a person sitting on the chest of the giant robot.
Dressed in black and wearing cloth shoes, with red hair tied in a braid, he crossed his legs, propped his head up, and squinted his eyes, looking very relaxed. The giant robot under him slowly sat up and casually raised his left hand.
You should get some rest.
Bang!
A pale hand slammed down, and the robot, weighing tens of tons, was slammed back onto the deck, its thick armor dented in a large section.
"Wow, you've managed to force the Zerg's specially prepared special forces team to self-destruct."
Disassembling a Gundam with bare hands?
Yuki's eyes twitched slightly. The Justice Gundam's various subsystems had not yet evolved into their complete forms, but the boy's nonchalant demeanor was still terrifying.
"Aren't you really going to consider a collaboration?" Yuki turned around, ignoring the chaotic battle all around him, his eyes fixed only on the red-haired boy.
"So you really are an infiltrator. Why didn't you tell me about this interesting way of playing sooner?" The boy turned around and looked at him, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Yeah, the 'Fire Seed' has now entered its self-destruct sequence. We'll use it as bait to lure out the Queen, then kill her, and the swarm will collapse. This way, we can help humanity and complete the main quest at the same time."
"Once the Fire Seed is completely extinguished, we'll all go home, and everyone will be happy. It will truly be a happy ending for everyone."
As Lightness applause rang out, Yuki narrowed his eyes, as if there was no need for further verbal sparring; the other party already knew everything.
"You know it all, yet you just won't do it?" The boy stood up, answering his own question, "Firstly, because this mission was rather boring, and we didn't encounter many experts. Secondly, I also want that Fire Seed. If I kill you, and then wait for the Queen and the Commander-in-Chief to perish together, wouldn't that allow me and that cursed spirit to monopolize a powerful item?"
This flawless logic is clearly an attempt to profit from the situation.
Yuki took a deep breath. The swarm and the humans had already used up their forces to the Limit. The players and the General Bug on the ground were essentially excluded from the battlefield. The situation he had managed to turn around with all his might was actually extremely advantageous to the two of them.
Then there's no need to waste any more words.
Clang--
The battle plan was instantly devised. Yuki drew his Demon-Breaker Longsword, crossed the two blades, and crouched down. "We'll see if you have the ability."
A terrifying energy emanated from the ground, entering the ship's hull like light. After seeing all the players mobilize, the Queen decisively launched her attack. Now, only the Commander-in-Chief stands in the way of evolution.
"Hey, this scene is finally entering its final stage." The boy whistled, jumped to the ground, and stretched his joints.
He has more freedom; he can accept the queen's death or her evolution—it's just a matter of the magnitude of the gains. As for the real gains—
It's you.
Bang!
The sturdy deck sank, and the boy vanished from Yuki's retina, his speed so fast that even his monstrous physical abilities couldn't detect him.
Without any special energy effects or fancy moves, Yuki simply leaned back instinctively and felt a storm sweep across his face, instantly Piercer through the two layers of electromagnetic field.
Absolute speed and power, this person possesses all the physical attributes?
Yuki could even stand up straight, another loud bang came from behind him. A fist was faster than the sound, and he quickly lunged forward, only to find a large crater already formed on the deck behind him.
Kamui landed on his toes, launching himself forward and delivering a simple straight punch to Yuki's back. He then lightly jumped up, watching the silver light flash beneath his feet. Facing the second sword light that was about to strike, he remained calm and opened his clenched fist.
Hierro.
Bite--
With a spark of metal, the Phantom Longblade was gripped tightly, and just as he was about to fling Yuki away, his hand suddenly loosened.
Yuki immediately released the hilt of his sword, raised his left hand, and slashed towards his opponent's groin, but the blade could not penetrate any further. His gaze shifted downwards, and he saw that Kamui had crossed his legs and clamped his sword between his legs. He knew something was wrong.
Concept Enhancement. Steel Block.
Bang!!
Fist against fist, bones groaned, the deck was crushed, Yuki staggered back several steps, feeling his entire right arm go numb.
Immense strength, body of steel!?
In terms of both strength and speed, Kamui is not on the same level as Akaza. The storm struck again, Yuki grabbed with his palm and took out an alloy shield.
Hardening.
The light of the Reinforcement Magecraft had barely flashed when Kamui's Superman Kick arrived, a tremendous force passing through the shield, into his forearm, and then Piercer his chest.
Yuki a burning sensation in his throat as his legs plowed two black marks into the steel deck. Looking down, he saw that his shield, which was strong enough to withstand a large-caliber Blaster Rifle, had been kicked through.
It's very strong, but can't it fly?
Da da da da.
At this moment, several Psychic Warrior heard the commotion and ran over to provide support, firing wildly at the charging afterimage. Kamui seemed somewhat annoyed and leaped to his side in a few bounds.
Even the tracking system of the Judge Power Armor couldn't catch the afterimage. With a "Rising Dragon" attack, Kamui blasted a several-ton tin can into the sky, raised his hand to grab the Molecular Vibration Knife that was slashing down, and smashed the next one into a metal disc with a knee strike. Then, with a slight twitch of his ears, he instantly jumped back.
Swish--
The flaming blade cleaved the discus in two. Yuki the opportunity, Yuuki injected two doses of adrenaline, entering a 'Incandescence' state once again, which increased his speed by an order of magnitude.
"That's more like it, that's more like it." Kamui opened his azure eyes, constantly dodging the flashing swords and shadows before him.
Yuki Sorajima is a very powerful swordsman who doesn't mind using various items; he's roughly at the level of a 'Monster II'.
With twin swords in hand, imbued with intense energy, enough to pierce his Hierro, and with solid swordsmanship, it was as if they came from some unknown world, each move honed through countless trials.
He enjoyed the feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife, constantly retreating, parrying, and counterattacking, leaving the surrounding deck in a mess. Meanwhile, the Psychic Warrior rushed over with their guns aimed, but couldn't pull the trigger.
Whether they were Guardians or Judge, the two players, entangled together, were too fast. It was supersonic melee, and even the Psychic Warrior could only see blurry trajectories. If they were ordinary marines, the two would seem to teleport.
Bang!
Suddenly, a turret several meters high was cleaved in two.
Thump--
Before the turret wreckage even hit the ground, a muffled, bell-like sound came from a hundred meters away. A communications tower was uprooted, and the 'club' was cleaved into more than a dozen pieces in mid-air.
The warriors could only vaguely discern the trajectory, but for Yuki and Kamui, the speed was just right.
With his twin swords cleaving the communication tower in two, Yuki leaped left and right to dodge the metal discs that were slammed into him. Kamui's fists were like electromagnetic rails; with a casual strike, he could embed these Iron Body deep into his armor.
There is a chasm between monsters and the Transcendental Grade; even if you summon Hayasaka Ai, Yuki wouldn't know how to create an opportunity for the latter.
As expected of Kamui, after arriving at the Reincarnation Game, he immediately returned to his original, simple self.
This Yuki's third encounter with a familiar combat opponent, and it felt completely different from the previous Blood Demon and Oni. This Kamui had no visual effects whatsoever; it was straightforward and yet invincible.
Ugh--
The whip kick swept over his head, the air crackling sharply. Yuki down to slash at the leg, but only left two bloody marks on the calf. Kamui had already started spinning, his legs slamming down from above.
Click.
The armor, several meters thick, was smashed through. Yuki jumped back with the shockwave, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed repeatedly.
Secret Technique: Red Moon Flurry.
Swish swish swish swish...
Dozens of crescent-shaped sword energies covered his vision, but he saw that the opponent had his hands crossed above his head and was forcibly arching up.
Premium grade Hierro.
It was still a very simple skill: hardening his hands to the Limit, causing his forearms to burst into a series of sparks, and then directly charging in from the front, a sweeping leg kick forced Yuki to jump, and his right fist, hidden under his ribs, blasted out in a small space.
A single, powerful strike; Mountain-Breaker.