Chapter 324
"I really didn't realize you were so brave, daring to be among the first to enter the tower." Yuki genuinely hadn't expected this, unsure whether to call it ignorance or fearlessness.
"This is my mission." Rita paused, then smiled confidently. "I'm glad that this mission has powerful allies to help me."
Now that things have truly become open and honest, both sides are in the same boat, and neither has a way out.
So what are your plans?
"Well, no one can leave the Witch God's Tower, so there are no records of it."
Yuki's expression froze, his eyes turning dangerous. "You should know what a Soulless Ones is supposed to do, right?"
"According to legend, when the Witch God attempts to awaken from his dream, a pure soul can melt away His hand reaching out to the earth, plunging Him into an even longer eternal slumber. In that case, the world will be purified, the curses He spread will gradually disappear, and the true sun will rise high..."
The girl's voice was beautiful, with a melodious rhythm, like a choir, but Yuki's eyes twitched as he listened.
According to legend?
If it weren't for the hints, if it weren't for the starkly contrasting myths of Hiyori and Japan, and if Yuki hadn't thoroughly researched the mainland, he would have already lost patience.
He knew that the natives of the Red Earth Continent had short lifespans, primarily due to the omnipresent aura of the Witch God, and that this 'pollution' was intensifying with the widespread use of Soul Crystal.
The Soulless Ones in this dungeon are the purest souls, capable of being purified even by witchcraft, so the legend has some credibility.
"Wait a minute, tell me how to melt His hand. What if the Witch God has already awakened?" Yuki interrupted.
"I don't know, there's no record of it." The girl looked blank.
All the players covered their faces in pain; conquering the dungeon was indeed not that simple.
"Let's take our time searching. At least the Soulless Ones are very useful. I brought a large group this time, definitely more than the number needed in the mythology." Yuki didn't hesitate. He knew what to do now; the only question was how to do it.
First, he needed to know where he was, where the coffin of the Witch God was, and what the attitudes of the various factions were.
[Welcome to the Witch God's Tower, player Yuki]
[When the Tower Seekers overcome numerous difficulties and truly arrive at the God's Country, follow your instincts and seek the mission you are meant to fulfill.]
[Hint 1: The Witch God will fully awaken in seven days. Players can choose to terminate the revival ritual or defeat the Witch God.]
[Tip 2: Each tower will have a unique soul imprint. Players or dungeon characters who defeat other towers will receive rewards and imprints.]
[Hint 3: Units will be able to pass through the mausoleum gate when their marks reach a certain level, organized by faction.]
[Hint Four: Players will inherit their progress from the first stage. The Witch God's Tower has seven floors, and players will be assigned to floors based on their original tower exploration progress.]
[Tip 5: Please enter the mausoleum within seven days, or you will be eliminated. You can only return after completing Tip 1 or staying in the mausoleum for more than seven days.]
The silence was so deep you could hear a pin drop. Every player listened intently to the hints, their expressions varied, and it took them half a minute to slowly come to their senses.
The Soulless Ones have no ulterior motives; they are telling the truth. And indeed, the first phase is a setup, closely related to every clue.
"We're emitting red light."
"This should be the trace of clue two. According to clue three, the explorers who ascend from different towers are in a hostile state."
"What's going on with prompt one? Why isn't there an option to revive the Witch God?"
"Hint five is also incorrect. How could ending the ritual and defeating the Witch God be of the same difficulty?"
A cacophony of voices arose; everyone present was a seasoned player, and they immediately recognized the problem upon hearing the warning.
The biggest problem is with the first hint; it feels familiar, very much like 'Global Insect Calamity', where both the Lurkers and the Guardians can choose to eliminate the Queen.
Yuki, with his relevant experience, sensed something was amiss.
Slap slap
He clapped his hands to quiet everyone down. Since entering the new phase, the hints were no longer as abstract as before; there was no need to guess, the hints already told the players what to do.
First, determine your current location, specifically which floor of the Witch God's Tower you are on.
Second, find other tower explorers and obtain enough marks from them to enter the mausoleum within seven days.
Extending from these two ideas, Yuki had countless thoughts in his mind, such as how to use the fact that his seniors were not intuitively hostile to the Tower, but were extremely close, to lure out those two.
"In a state of emergency, everyone should first explore outwards to find an exit."
Yuki walked at the front, and everyone looked around, feeling their own insignificance when they saw the huge statues on both sides.
According to Frieren, it was like they had arrived in a land of Giant, with a dome over a hundred meters high and chandeliers like stars.
The palace was not dark. The statues had two horns on their heads and narrow wings, clearly made in the image of Asura Witch Spirit. The walls were covered with murals depicting this monster standing on corpses, the Roar ferociously at the sky.
Rita pulled out a book from somewhere and started flipping through it. She then whispered to Frieren, who was monitoring her. Philon's worldview was similar to that of the game, so they were able to have a conversation.
Yuki, too lazy to learn about the backstory, focused on clearing the way ahead, his expression growing increasingly strange.
It went too smoothly. No powerful Witch Beasts jumped out to stop them. As they approached the giant gate, the gate automatically opened a crack. He kept contacting Hayasaka Ai and found that the War Tower was in a similar situation.
Apart from the different architectural decorations, there were no obstacles, and after about ten minutes, Yuki saw an empty well.
With a diameter exceeding two hundred meters, the well wall is lined with countless spiral staircases. Looking down, one sees eerie red lights, and if you listen closely, you can hear ghostly howls.
Yuki reached out his hand from the well, his fingertips rubbing against it, tasting a sticky, blood-like scent. He withdrew his arm, and the sensation vanished.
"If we're stuck on the first floor of the Tower of Asura, shouldn't we climb out of here?" Kento Nanami licked his lips, sending chills down everyone's spine.
This cave is definitely not a good place; it looks creepy.
It's not difficult for the Demon Extermination Squad to survive seven days, but as veteran players know, the game's nature is such that wanting to slack off and comfortably get through the dungeon is risky.
Sorry, that was digging my own grave; the better days are yet to come.
"Let's go, we don't need to climb the tower in the opposite direction, we're almost at the exit." Yuki didn't want to crawl into the well either, so he hugged the wall and went around from both sides. He could already faintly hear the wind, and the cold air flowed in along the corridor.
A white light appeared ahead—an open door. The temperature plummeted, causing Rita to wrap her robe tighter. As a magic circle appeared beneath her feet, she warmed up again.
Frieren said nothing; she possessed many strange spells she had learned from some elf.
"Thank you, I knew Frieren was the best." The girl immediately hugged her.
"Let go, or I'll still have to keep an eye on you."
"It's easier to keep an eye on you when I'm holding you, Jis. Come here quickly, it's so warm to hold Frieren."
He's still just a kid, and once he realized it wasn't so dangerous here, he became lively again, unlike Lieutenant Chris was rather dull.
Yuki listened to the sounds coming from behind him, seemingly unbothered by the relaxed atmosphere of the team. He simply gripped his sword and walked through the door, his eyes slightly narrowed by the light, before his pupils contracted.
Is this the Witch God's Tower?
He found himself standing above the clouds, with seven towers of red, black, and blue standing as far as the eye could see, and finally he could see the tops of the towers.
The spires are spiraled and evenly distributed along the edge of a giant island, just like pillars supporting the sky and connecting the earth, and then connected to the giant island by a covered bridge.
The covered bridge stretches for thousands of meters, flanked by colossal statues resembling Asura Witch Spirit, with a sea of clouds below, shimmering with the same dark red light as the tower.
Switching to the Devil's Vision, Yuki can see a massive energy flow converging into the giant island, and at the other end of the covered bridge lies a colossal city that Yuki cannot describe in words.
The temples, large and small, are architecturally similar to the Mayan civilization on Earth. They are arranged at varying heights, with plazas, sculptures, and countless staircases in between.
At the center of the temple stands a rectangular tower, entirely black, carved with countless incomprehensible golden patterns.
Splash--
Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the shocked faces.
The sky was vast, the temple magnificent, and the city unimaginably larger. All eyes, including those of the weakest mercenaries, were fixed on that black tower.
That was a tombstone, the mausoleum where the Witch God slumbered.
Chapter Nineteen: Tiger Vanguard (6K)
Wow, I have to say, entering this new phase has truly been an eye-opening experience.
In terms of area, the entire Crimson Moon City is only one-tenth the size of this place, and the Demon Hospital is not even comparable to a temple.
In just two short instances, Yuki witnessed a million-ton aerial behemoth, a mountain-sized giant insect, an endless swarm of insects, and an indescribable mausoleum before his eyes.
Supported by seven giant pillars, it stands like a drilling platform tens of thousands of meters above the Red Earth Continent, with its feet firmly planted on the ground and its connection to the sun and moon.
It has an eerie artistic feel; countless statues and murals tell an epic story, and every symbol is a work of art.
Humans cannot imagine how such a spectacle could have been created, or why the beings capable of doing so would have invaded the Red Earth Continent. Those wizards were neither weak nor strong, and all civilizations were gifts from the Witch God.
If you remove the Witch God, this is just a medieval-level, ordinary world with little fantasy element.
The team had dispersed, diligently searching for clues from all around, and then reporting back to Yuki one by one. Yuki acted more like a relay station, using 'Shared Reading' to pass clues to Hiyori, and finally summarizing the findings.
The four factions include analytical talents like Shiina Hiyori, Western fantasy experts like Frieren, and the intelligence of the Demon Extermination Squad and War Orphans, with Rita serving as a reference.
"The first hint is the biggest problem. It directly defines the players' stance, and it's unclear what will happen to players who cooperate with the Alliance. But on the other hand, does that Witch God have no intention of letting any player go?"
"The towers are in different states. The light of the Tower of Asura and the War Tower is dim, especially the War Tower. This is probably because the Alliance didn't have time to send the wizards as sacrifices."
"The covered bridge is more like an energy transport pipeline. Because the energy density is too high, Yuki couldn't sever it despite his best efforts. We need to investigate whether this energy flows directly into the mausoleum."
"The other five towers can be entered, but you will encounter enemies and rules just like when you explored the towers before. In other words, those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos before will now have to go through the ordeal again."
"I'm currently collecting murals; they all depict war or killing, which fits the characteristics of the tower. But I always find it strange that if they all took place on the Red Earth Continent, then the wars seem far too frequent."
"Mr. Yuki has already asked Rita, Soulless Ones do indeed appear randomly. I've combined more than a dozen myths and legends, some saying it's due to the bloodline of heroes, others saying it's due to a demonic curse, and we can't rule out the influence left by previous players."
Hiyori's voice is gentle and clear, always able to turn dry and boring analysis into a wonderful story. With more experience, she becomes more and more confident in making judgments. For example, she can connect the origin of the Soulless Ones to previous players by mentioning the 'Global Insect Sea'.
Inside the insect hive, the relics left behind by a certain powerful figure caused everyone a terrible predicament, turning a surprise attack into a fierce battle.
"Some kind of gene-related item. If the Witch God was killed by players, then the players who dealt with Him must have been at least Epic level, which could very well have an impact on us now." Yuki stroked his chin, feeling that something was off about this.
"Could it be that the Soulless Ones are also items, and some player wants to revive them?" Mai Sakurajima looked at him with a 'don't scare me' expression, as they had experienced something similar during the Calamity of Blood.
"Even the Witch God could be a player." Hayasaka deliberately tried to scare her, ignoring her senior's eye roll, and looked at Yuki: "How long are we supposed to stay on standby?"
Yuki initially thought the plot couldn't be this melodramatic, since it turned out to be a battle between two powerful figures. However, judging from the first hint, it probably wouldn't be; it felt more like a punitive expedition order.
Whether the players can do it or not, just kill the Witch God in his coffin.
"I'll handle the players. You guys focus on clearing the dungeon and finding clues. Protect those Soulless Ones; they'll definitely be useful."
With a clear division of labor and sufficient manpower, it's time to adopt a two-pronged approach.
But I want to be with you.
Hayasaka's lips moved, but knowing the gravity of the situation, he said nothing.
The purpose of the squad is simply to relieve Yuki of some of the pressure, allowing him to handle the main conflicts, right?
"Thank you for your hard work. Be careful of those two people in the portrait, and then await orders." Yuki nodded slightly. If Shared Reading n't all spiritual beings, he wouldn't care about Kaguya-sama's feelings and would have already hugged them one by one.
"Don't flirt around, especially with Rita and Yomi."
"According to your senior, Frieren is fine?"
"Of course not!"
Yuki was kicked out of the group chat, but he couldn't help but smile. To the Flame Pillar and the others, however, the smile seemed unfathomable.
This Mr. Li is amazing. It's like he has a team of advisors with him. He can analyze clues from the smallest details. Does he have Transcendental Grade analytical skills, or is he Machine Intelligence in disguise?
"According to Hint 1, players should have a common enemy, but because of Hint 2, it will be difficult to find other players to cooperate with. I suggest keeping your distance and waiting until you have collected enough marks to enter the mausoleum from the story characters."
Yuki didn't mention any story characters, but at least players can sign contracts with each other, creating the possibility of cooperation. Story characters, except for the Soulless Ones, are all enemies.
The crowd nodded; they didn't trust anyone from the War Tower, and at most, they would keep to themselves.
Tip 2 encourages killing each other, because no one knows how many other tower explorers need to be killed to collect enough marks, but considering there are still seven days left, there should be enough time.
"So, everyone, should we wait for them to come to us, or should we actively hunt down the tower explorers?" Yuki posed another question, foreshadowing two different tactics.
"Actively hunting them is risky. I suggest we find a temple to hide in and observe the situation." Kento Nanami, pointed to Rita, who was constantly flipping through books. "Besides, there are also them. Soulless Ones are incredibly effective against the power of the Witch God, making them too vulnerable to players."
Whether it's 'invisibility' or 'purification', it's completely useless against players; any extraordinary-level player can easily wipe them all out.
Unfortunately, they can't hide inside the War Tower others, but don't forget, thousands of wizards are crawling out of that empty well.
"No, this is too passive. I want to gather the marks as soon as possible and start the next step."
"How do you mean by being passive? We're not simply hiding; we can use this time to slowly gather clues." Kento Nanami also a strategist, not so easily persuaded.
Since the task of gathering clues is handled by experts, I can focus on dealing with the players, especially Ulquiorra and Deidara.
Yuki has always been concerned about the duo, and so far, the lone wolf is the only one who is tracking him.
But the senior's identity had to be kept secret, so she put it another way. "Have you forgotten that wizards' strength can be enhanced in places like this? What if we get surrounded and attacked if this drags on?"
They had already conducted experiments; this giant island was like a high-radiation zone, the aura of the Witch God was more than ten times stronger, and the Soul Crystal had become extremely active. As the Witches acted as filters for the human body, their abilities originated from the Witch God, so naturally they would experience an improvement.