Chapter 332
"It really doesn't make sense. There are Witch Beasts in the tower, yet such a large city is completely empty." Yomi Isayama touched her cheek, but was immediately interrupted by Frieren.
"Who said it's empty? There are still quite a few players hunting outside, all planning to time their entry into the tomb perfectly."
Yes, the seven towers are enemies of each other. Why should the Witch God waste his power? He can just let the tower explorers kill each other. Whether it's Soul Crystal or items, humans will never lack reasons to kill.
Even pacifists are useless; the city outside is clearly hiding a lot of clues and deliberately avoiding combat. You'll have to spend time and effort to decipher it.
'Seven towers, seven powers, seven days of restriction... this feels so familiar.'
Ever since the Calamity of Blood, Yuki has become extremely sensitive to numbers, glancing around at everyone.
Now you know why I'm in such a hurry.
"There's some truth to that, but such haste comes at a price." Kento Nanami's intelligence was clearly a notch above his, and he shook his head. "We haven't properly explored the city at all, we don't even have a route plan, are we just going to climb up the stairs like this?"
"Yes, go straight up. I need clues to confirm my guess." Yuki nodded decisively, his face turning a deep purplish-red from holding his breath. He was a seasoned veteran, and he had never seen anyone enter a dungeon and go straight for the final boss.
"This... this doesn't make sense."
"You think I'm just recklessly taking risks?"
Kento Nanami's lips moved, but he couldn't speak. It was now almost certain that the Witch Spirit had divided the power, and that this man held two towers in his hands before entering the second stage.
If he guesses correctly, he will have disrupted the Witch God's plan; even if he is wrong, as long as he retreats, he will not lose his initial advantage.
"Don't rush to make a decision. Once we get closer to the Witch God, we'll know His state."
Yuki walked up the steps, he had practically handed over the reins of power, making his first guess easily verifiable. As for whether the Witch God was asleep or feigning slumber, wouldn't it be enough to simply go and take a look?
If you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep, then you haven't slapped them hard enough. Besides, there's something Yuki keeps hidden in her heart.
Whether asleep or feigning sleep, the Witch God must awaken and stir up huge waves in this murky water.
Should we fight the Witch God first, only to be exhausted and have the other two steal our kills? Or should we take down the Judge first, only to be exhausted and then crushed by the dungeon boss?
How could that be!
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Witch God Has Awakened (5K)
The situation is both complex and simple.
The Witch God's attitude is clear: just read the hint backwards. Once awakened, all players will be His prey.
The Judge wanted to kill me, and judging from Tiger Vanguard's willingness to take the risk, he offered plenty of carrots and sticks.
Do not linger in one place. If you encounter the Judge, a fight will break out immediately. The latter is simply unsure how many players are in the Tower of Asura and is hesitant to act rashly.
After preliminary preparations, in their eyes, there were two Aether Particles, several members of the Demon Extermination Squad, and 'Taiyi' was a lone wolf, a strength that made them very wary.
So they approached War Orphans and the Thorny Rose, which gave them an intelligence advantage, but Yuki knew perfectly well that the Judge wouldn't completely trust them.
"They will definitely go find more players. According to Hiyori, there are at least four factions of players still remaining."
Yuki muttered incantations as he climbed the stairs, now feeling as if his enemies were sandwiching him between two cheese-like formations.
This is an open and unsolvable scheme, but Yuki has found a glimmer of hope: the Judge is also a player, so why can't he be the prey of the Witch God?
My steps are becoming Lightness, but there's just one more variable; a new plan is gradually unfolding.
Yuki looked around and felt as if he were climbing among the clouds.
The hall we came from was now shrouded in clouds. The endless staircase stretched upwards without any support. Even if the Witch God were to emerge from his coffin, Newton would probably have to lie down inside it.
The structure completely defies the common sense of physics, but fortunately, the steps are over ten meters long and wide, enough for dozens of people to walk side by side, and since the players all have the ability to fly or have items, they are not afraid of falling to their deaths.
But they didn't.
Yuki glanced at Rita and the others, who looked tense. It seemed that none of their ancestors had ever entered the mausoleum, and he felt that even the air was filled with malice.
"Wow."
Yomi Isayama quietly hugged the girl from behind. A scream rang out, Yuki saw Rita's black hair stand on end, so frightened that he burst into tears on the spot.
"Is this Yomi a child?" Frieren looked speechless as Yomi stroked the girl's head, but Rita didn't appreciate it and was attacking him with her little fists.
"This is called livening up the team atmosphere. Everyone's too tense. Didn't you notice that Yomi has been guarding us the whole time?"
Frieren paused for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Stop, everyone. We can't climb all these stairs." Yuki called out to everyone, and they all realized the problem.
They weren't slow, but they couldn't even see the backs of the group of players ahead of them, which was clearly abnormal.
"Mr. Li, I haven't sensed any spatial warp or directional misdirection abilities, meaning this is not a maze."
The little girl named Bell slowly shook her head. She had a low profile, and with three captains around, she hardly had the right to speak.
Yuki looked directly at Kento Nanami, who adjusted his glasses. "The Bell Squad members were once zombie hunters, specializing in scouts, so there's no doubt about it."
What exactly is a corpse hunter?
Yuki had no idea which world this person came from, but chose to believe them. This person was clearly a support-type player like Hiyori.
"So, we haven't stood still; we're still moving forward?"
"Judging from the feedback from the props, our spatial coordinates are indeed constantly expanding." The black-haired girl possessed a kind of wild innocence as she shook a Bell filled with numbers in her hand. "Mr. Li, if we don't encounter any strange obstacles, we can go back the way we came."
"That would be a complete waste of time." Yuki didn't even consider turning back. Looking up, he could see the endless staircase through the clouds.
This is neither scientific nor magical. Who would build an infinite staircase in their own home for no reason?
He initially thought it was a maze-like spatial illusion, but as a professional, Bell was sure she wouldn't make a mistake. He lowered his head and recalled all the clues he had gathered since entering the instance.
Leading us is the 'Valhalla'; they've entered the Empty Realm Tower. Wait, the Empty Realm Tower?
Yuki's gaze sharpened. In the midst of his busy schedule, he had obtained information about various towers from the most inconspicuous mortal intelligence brokers. Judging from what happened later, these brokers had extremely high professional ethics and their intelligence was very accurate.
"What are you all thinking?" Yuki suddenly turned around and looked at Frieren.
"Climbing, what else could it be?" Frieren was puzzled. This was supposed to be a monotonous and boring journey, but they were venturing deep into the lion's den, and everyone was on edge.
The Empty Realm Tower will turn your thoughts into reality; if you wish to climb it, then climb it endlessly.
"I understand. Everyone, focus on getting out of here, ignore these stairs."
Leaving? There has to be an exit.
The group exchanged glances. It was easier said than done, because all they could see were endless steps, just like a pervert getting an erection when he sees a beautiful woman—it was instinctive.
But this doesn't stump the players. Self-Hypnosis is a basic skill, and Rita and others can close their eyes and pull others forward.
'Get out, leave this place. I don't want to climb; I only want to face the Witch God.'
Yuki didn't need to close his eyes. He let the thought spread in his mind, eventually occupying every inch of his heart, and then he walked forward firmly.
Level 1, Level 2, Level 3.
The long staircase leading to the sky began to blur, and in the blink of an eye, it was as if a mischievous child had covered my eyes, and I couldn't see anything at all.
The sudden switching off of the lights was quite frightening, like stepping into Abyss Grade.
"Is there really an anomaly?"
"Huh, why can't I see anything? I definitely turned on the flashlight."
"Calm down, everyone report your numbers."
Yuki could only hear a jumble of sounds; his heart was pounding, and his emotions shifted from joy to anxiety.
Beyond the long staircase lay endless darkness, with the clattering of gears echoing in their ears. No one knew whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, or perhaps this strange turn of events was worse than climbing those long staircases.
One of the mercenaries instinctively tried to retreat back down the long steps, but then a scream rang out, followed by the sound of flesh and bone being torn apart.
"Don't move! I know what's going on!"
Within two seconds, Yuki had snapped out of his daze. This trap was truly disgusting; it was inevitable that a human would panic when suddenly plunged from the clouds into the Abyss Grade.
"That was the power of the Empty Realm Tower. Now we've stepped into the Lightless Tower. Don't move. This tower is primarily constructed of mechanisms."
Each time you explore a tower, the contents of each tower will be different, but the information from Yuki is fresh and compiled by those who escaped from exploring the towers in the past few days, so it is absolutely accurate.
No light could be produced, yet the names 'Empty Realm Tower' and 'Lightless Tower' were familiar. This leap would inevitably advance the main storyline.
The atmosphere was a bit strange. Yuki felt several eyes fixed on his vest. "We agreed to all be idiots together, but you secretly explored the dungeon?"
Yuki ignored such lamentations and said directly, "Rita, light the way ahead."
"Huh? I don't know any light magic."
"Fool, the power of the Witch God created Lightless World, and your purification is the brightest lamp."
Yuki cursed, and then they heard a rustling sound. The girl took out Soul Crystal, crushed it, and purified the surrounding aura. It was a faint soul torch, but it allowed everyone to see each other's faces and the terrifying scene around them.
Above their heads, a ceiling covered in spikes descended, surrounded by Black Blade with two soft ribbons attached, and in the air, fist-sized 'bees' with long, thin steel needles on their tails.
Silent and lifeless, without any sign of life, these Demon Eye objects could not be seen even without any obstruction of breath.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Just as Frieren hurriedly raised his staff behind him, Yuki glanced at it and was overjoyed.
These creations number in the hundreds, the closest being less than ten meters away. However, a glance at their distribution reveals that most of them surround him and Rita, while Frieren, Bell, and Xiao Wu in the middle of the group are almost entirely empty.
Why not target the most vulnerable ones? Does that mean we look down on them? Of course not. The first step in a stealth assassination is the most unexpected, so naturally we have to choose the main target.
This is not an instinctive defense mechanism, but a conscious targeted action; He is targeting me in order to reclaim His authority.
Kento Nanami's face turned deathly pale. He wasn't blind; he had clearly seen the Witch God's troop deployment. This was a deliberate act of targeting; in other words—
It's entirely possible that the Witch God has already awakened.
Clang--
The Bloodblade was drawn, its crimson light clearing the Yuki that was different from his self during the 'Global Insect Calamity'.
As one of the strongest players, he is qualified to use brute force to eliminate all threats, even a second-tier boss like the Witch Spirit is no match for him.
"This is the clue you've been looking for. Now, come with me."
Strength can overcome skill; to some extent, strength can replace intelligence and speed up the process of conquering a territory.
As for the Tower of Asura and the War Tower, even if Yuki were a complete idiot who only knew how to blindly charge forward, no one except the Witch Spirit could stop him; the only difference would be the magnitude of the cost.
"Not to mention, there are no Witch Spirit inside the tomb."
Clatter.
One foot stepped onto the dark steps, splashing lava that emitted white smoke, yet left no trace.
They returned to the stairs, but this time the stairs were black and no longer endless.
Behind us were fiery red clouds, making us forget the enormous crater we had just seen. Ahead lay a staircase of about a hundred steps, its end plunging into the dark sky.
The sky was like a shattered mirror, covered with countless cracks, with only one piece broken off, revealing a pitch-black entrance.
The so-called mausoleum defense is simply a replication of the contents of several towers, but it doesn't include the Tower of Asura and the War Tower, which speaks volumes.
"I told you that unless He intervenes personally, He can't stop me." Yuki around. The journey had been difficult and long. He had given the material to Hiyori, enough to write a story of over 100,000 words.
The team was exhausted and wounded, with nearly half its members gone. All the mercenaries were dead except for Peggy, and only Rita and Jis remained of the Soulless Ones.
Everyone looked at Yuki with a mixture of bewilderment and excitement. He had led the team all the way here and was now cutting through the steps to conduct an ignition experiment.
They were used to this kind of inexplicable and impressive operation, and when they shifted their gaze to the end of the stairs, fear returned.
Empty Realm, Purgatory, Forest Spirits, Desire, and Lightlessness—several unfamiliar authorities appear in succession, each with a different appearance, but all at the same core:
These defensive mechanisms are slowing down the tower explorers, and are specifically designed to target those Soulless Ones and those Yuki.
One or two times could be a coincidence, but it's terrifying when it happens every time. Even if Yuki deliberately walks at the back of the group, he will still be enveloped by the volcano that rises from the ground.
"The Witch God's state is strange. He consciously chooses targets, but after repeated failures, he doesn't adjust." Kento Nanami took a breath, somewhat puzzled.
The defenses are strong, but too rigid. To defeat Yuki, you'd need at least one Witch Spirit to oversee things.
"This is what they call 'half-asleep,' right? What would you do if a mosquito buzzed in your ear when you were half-asleep?"
The metaphor is strange but accurate. Everyone immediately understood what state the Witch God was in. He would hear mosquitoes flying around him and consciously try to swat them with his hand, but ultimately he didn't wake up to find insecticide.
"But if a mosquito really bites Him, the Witch God will open His eyes. No wonder that 'Valhalla' hid after seeing us." Yomi Isayama felt immense pressure and finally understood why the two players who had caught up with her did not make contact.
In the boundless forest, they finally caught up with the players from 'Valhalla', but the two sides did not confront each other directly. At the time, they wondered if it wouldn't be more convenient to explore the tower together?
"The fifth tip requires you to stay in the mausoleum for seven days before you can return. Are they trying to accumulate time?"
"No, in that case they can just stay on the Infinite Staircase. Those two must have realized that the Witch God was in trouble and came in specifically to check the situation. Since someone is going ahead to scout the way, they're happy to make way."