Chapter 307
Yuki found himself standing in an endless wilderness, the crimson ground soft as a carpet. As far as the eye could see, the earth and sky were crimson, with a beam of light connecting heaven and earth in the middle, and countless corpses piled up like mountains, stretching into the distance.
There were humans, Witch Beasts, and unknown monsters; sword fragments were scattered all around, resembling lifelike sculptures.
Whether it was a spear piercing the chest of Witch Beasts, or a sharp claw smashing its head and sinking into its chest cavity, the splattered blood and bits of flesh still congealed in the air, like a killing field that had been paused.
Footsteps sounded one after another, as if someone were drawing with a pencil, and mercenaries appeared one by one, followed by gasps of breath.
Considering the lifespan of the Red Earth Continent, no one has ever been inside the tower. The scene before them is too terrifying, too terrifying to comprehend. Everything is like a dead land, yet everything is also lifelike.
It was a battlefield, no, more like a chaotic slaughterhouse. It was unbelievably large; you couldn't see the boundaries of the Yuki. From the outside, the tower's diameter was only about 500 meters, making them incomparable.
"It really is spatial teleportation. No matter how huge the tower is, it couldn't possibly contain such a scene."
With a gasp, Yuki the first to react, then carefully looked around.
He first glanced behind him, where a large gate made of crimson light stood; with a gentle push, he could see into the outside world.
The exit can only be opened by the tower explorers, meaning that each team has one exit.
Having determined his escape route, he bent down, grabbed a handful of soil, and squeezed it hard. To his astonishment, he found that blood seeped out of the soil. He then approached the two intertwined corpses in front of him and grasped the congealed flesh and blood in his hand.
You won't know until you touch it; once you do, the flesh and blood rot rapidly in your palm, eventually turning into ashes and scattering away.
"Time-based magic, once freed from its constraints, will be eroded by time," Frieren leaned forward; she was an expert in magic.
Yuki nodded, still not understanding the significance of this, and then shouted, "See if you've found anything!"
The stunned mercenaries snapped out of their daze and crept away one by one.
"Your Excellency, the armor of these warriors is very old-fashioned, at least a hundred years old."
"Witch Beasts don't have Soul Crystal; they are dead."
"We've lost contact with the outside world, and this door can't be opened."
"Why haven't we seen any enemies? None of the other tower explorers have appeared either."
Various sounds came from the pile of corpses. Yuki pondered to himself that not only the mercenaries, but he too had lost contact with his seniors.
Spatial movement is accompanied by barriers, so it's normal that the Spirit Particle Communicator was cut off. He was just a little puzzled; after going through all that trouble to enter the tower, was he perhaps there to see performance art?
It was deathly silent, bloody, and terrifying, but these things couldn't frighten anyone. Staying inside the tower for seven days was no problem at all, so what was the point of climbing upwards?
Yuki raised his head and looked at the pillar of light in the center of the wasteland. If he wasn't mistaken, that should be the steps.
"You don't have any records of what's inside the tower?"
"Yes, but the notes from our predecessors clearly state that the situation is different each time we explore the tower." Peggy's eyes were tense yet eager as she added, "This scene, at least, wasn't like the last time we entered the Tower of Asura."
"How many towers did you enter? Which towers were you in?"
"The notes are incomplete; at least, they're beyond my level of knowledge," the mercenary said, head bowed.
Yuki didn't make things difficult for him. He waved his hand, telling them to continue checking the surroundings. Coming to an unfamiliar and dangerous place, guarding the door was the best option.
Frieren had already taken to mid-air, looking down over the wasteland and seeing the glitter on the horizon. He quickly made a gesture to Jiecheng.
The other side? That's the noble alliance.
Yuki's heart tightened; the tower was indeed more than just a sculpture exhibition. He raised his arms and shouted:
"Everyone back! Defensive formation!"
Clang--
Before he could finish speaking, the longsword was already drawn. He saw a blur as something resembling a tail emerged from the soil and pierced the mercenary's heart.
"Enemy attack! Circular defensive formation!"
The mercenaries reacted quickly, but more and more tentacles Piercer the soil, like bullets penetrating the protective shield, and Yuki finally saw what they were.
Dark red, somewhat like Petal, with spear-like spikes at the top, emitting a faint red glow.
Call out.
Yuki to the side, and the thing brushed past his chest, instantly penetrating the electromagnetic shielding field.
Energy defense ineffective?
He widened his eyes slightly and saw several bloody lines stabbing at him at the same time. One line grazed the other, then turned and stabbed at his back. Without thinking, he wielded his twin swords in a dense, impenetrable manner.
Ding ding ding.
The blade struck, producing a crisp, metallic sound, severing the arm-thick line of blood, and Yuki vanished from the spot in an instant.
He arrived at Frieren's side in a moment. Philon was wondering why the defensive magic couldn't stop the piercing when the man's back appeared in front of him, followed by the sound of air being torn apart.
Swish, swish, swish...
Without needing to defend, Yuuki Instant Slash the chaos with his Yuki, even having a moment to glance over the battlefield and scan each mercenary.
The transition from deathly silence to clamor was instantaneous; dozens of streaks of blood erupted from the ground, catching everyone off guard and killing several people on the spot.
Fortunately, the mercenaries were also seasoned veterans. They raised their tower shields to deflect the blood bar, but these things were as hard as steel. Yuki could cut them in half with a single strike, but others couldn't. They could only use various weapons to deflect them.
However, some people in the team, despite having slow reaction times, bypassed the incoming health bars and simply switched to the Devil's Vision.
As expected, they are Soulless Ones.
Seeing Yuki, Yuuki said urgently, "Be careful, this thing seems to be specifically designed for energy defense, and those spikes are strange."
This is very much like a sorcerer assassin: fast, stealthy, and capable of generating an energy that cancels out the shield before piercing.
"Understood, I'll help you find the original body." Frieren lowered his altitude and extended his staff as he did so.
Detecting magic.
A magic circle unfolded beneath their feet, its glow spreading outwards, drawing the dancing tentacles to converge in a certain direction.
"Right side, 300 meters, depth 10 meters."
"Receive."
Yuki didn't have time to think. He condensed his energy into a stepping stone, stomped his feet, and fell into the distance like a comet. Facing the gathering bloodline, he pulled out his hunting rifle.
Bang!!
Gunshots rang out, the blood-red lines surrounding them were blasted apart, revealing the path ahead, followed by the glint of blazing blades.
Red Lotus Blade.
With a single stroke, the earth was cleaved open, the crack extending into the distance, revealing the ball of yarn hidden in the soil.
Its body was covered in messy blood lines, swaying irregularly and rapidly gathering, weaving a dense and thick wall in the crack. Yuki rushed straight up, with more than a dozen beams of light grazing past its side.
Boom boom boom boom!
In Frieren's hands, the magic missiles were like machine guns, blasting holes into the blood lines.
Before the Witch Beasts could fill the hole, Yuki had already pierced through it, stabbing it with his backhand and then twisting his wrist.
Burning.
Boom--
A large ball of soul fire ignited, and the Witch Beasts squeaked and twisted, only to be burned to ashes by the flames.
Good teamwork.
Yuki appeared a dozen meters away. He hadn't expected that his first collaboration with Frieren would be so seamless, saving him a lot of trouble. His pupils dilated slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw clumps of earth rising up around him, with arms that were either thin, dark, or skeletal reaching out.
Then, a monster with dark red skin, distorted features, a hunched back, and looking like a dried corpse crawled out.
"What a grand welcoming ceremony!"
The Witch Beasts had no eyes, yet Yuki felt as if he were being watched by countless gazes. Turning his head, he saw a desiccated corpse raise its hands, and two beams of light shot out from its forearms, looking just like the lightsabers of a Jedi Knight.
Then, some of the heads split open, and red light gathered in their 'mouths'.
Bang bang bang bang...
The magical bullets that flew overhead shattered them, Yuki looked up and around.
Within a hundred meters of me—no, the entire wasteland—was undergoing a transformation. Countless arms were reaching out; who knew how many Witch Beasts were awakening? I finally understood what hint six meant.
[Tip 6: Once inside the tower, only by moving forward can you find a moment of peace.]
It's been clearly stated that players cannot stay in one place, as these monsters are sure to keep coming back. I estimate that the situation is similar for every tower. Players can't just stand by the door and easily survive for seven days.
"Come closer to me; we can't afford to be passively attacked."
"Sir, but what about our deal?" Peggy shouted. He was conflicted. The other party was still untrustworthy, but if he left, how could he bring his companion into the tower?
Everyone can leave through the main gate, but to enter the tower, a Tower Explorer must lead the way.
There's no room for piecemeal tactics, nor is it possible to employ a war of attrition. More importantly, that one strike alone was enough to spur them to increase their bets.
This Mr. Li is far superior to Miss Frieren —no, there's absolutely no comparison.
"If I go out to bring people now, can you hold them off? Don't forget those noble armies have no good intentions." Yuki was too lazy to explain, watching as monsters crawled out of the earth like zombies. When they touched the piles of corpses, time was disrupted, and they all turned to ashes, forming thick fog.
"Tell me, will this place still be this lively after we go up to the next floor?"
Peggy hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No, each tower has a different number of floors, but the upper floors become slightly safer."
"What kind of security measures are in place?"
"Those who venture to the next level and then retrace their steps will not be targeted by concentrated fire for a certain period of time."
Yuki immediately understood; this must be because they had obtained access to this level to prevent situations where earlier players were fighting fiercely while later players were taking advantage of the situation.
New explorers will be targeted by the entire floor until they also move to the next floor. This privilege will then be reset when they go to a new tower or exceed the allotted time.
He didn't know how long the authority to retrace his steps would last, but it was certainly short, a respite for the 'at least seven days' goal.
So that's what the "moment of peace" in the prompt meant.
He made no promises to the Rebels, but received a series of important intelligence reports.
It's very meaningful; getting something for free is even more enjoyable.
"Then we can just come back and pick them up." Yuki had his own plan, extending his long sword. "Assault formation, follow me! Frieren, suppressive fire!"
A great deal of dust obscured the view, but the steps leading straight to the sky were still clearly visible.
Peggy was helpless. If it were real mercenaries, they would have been terrified by such a scene, but they couldn't retreat because once they left the tower, they could never get back in.
Anyway, the truly important people have already infiltrated, and I have no intention of going back. I'll give it my all!
He gritted his teeth and picked up the shield.
"Brothers, keep up!"
The plan was simple: they would first rush through the first level, and once the deal was confirmed, Yuki would use 'moment of peace' to bring the Rebels outside the tower in.
Peggy didn't dare to bet everything, Yuki also needed to see if these Rebels were of any use. Verifying clues and such was far from enough.
Then let's go to the next floor.
Yuki the lead, and none of the Witch Beasts that emerged from the ground could withstand a single blow, except that there were simply too many of them.
It felt somewhat like being back under the Crimson Moon, being chased by countless Living Corpse, but the Witch Beasts in this instance were completely different from the Living Corpse.
Powered entirely by Soul Crystal, it not only possesses astonishing physical strength but can also independently use various forms of magic.
Enhancement magic, attack magic, stealth magic—groups of dried corpses, flashing with various lights like neon signs, swarmed forward.
The ones in front leaped and bounded like melee wizards, their energy forming weapons of various shapes. The ones behind, indiscriminately throwing hundreds of orbs of light, each one exploding like a cannonball upon landing.
Level 4 Witch Beasts, extraordinary level, but there are hundreds or thousands of them.
The sword energy cleaved more than a dozen Witch Beasts in two, while those that came from both sides were pinned down by the light spears. The former mountain of corpses turned to dust, but in a short while, hundreds more Witch Beasts corpses were added.
The ground became uneven and pitted, and a continuous stream of Witch Beasts awakened. He realized that this was the rule, and it was impossible to kill them all.
Behind the formation of over thirty mercenaries, they skillfully harvested Soul Crystal from the corpses. This 'greedy' appearance puzzled Yuki; what kind of time was this to still be preoccupied with harvesting Soul Crystal?
Frieren floated above them, firing magical projectiles in all directions like a turret, sweeping down hordes of Witch Beasts, but the result made Yuki's eyes twitch slightly.
The earth had become a river of blood, and some Witch Beasts that had been blasted in two crawled in the blood. Except for taking out the Soul Crystal, they would never die. They even tore each other apart and absorbed the flesh and blood of their own kind into their own bodies.
Some sprouted wings on their backs, some grew three heads and six arms, and some swelled up like balloons, charging forward while enduring heavy fire.
What a magnificent Tower of Asura, evolving through slaughter.
Yuki completely abandoned the idea of holding on firmly. Seven days was a requirement of the game, not the Limit of the dungeon. If he quit after that, all his efforts would be wasted.