Chapter 340
Don't forget, all players' mission is to defeat Him.
Boom--
The lightning struck the ground and exploded into a hideous Giant. The Witch God was driven to the brink of despair. He couldn't gamble, nor did he need to. The more players he eliminated, the higher his chances of survival would be. And the two Judge were the first to be affected.
The power was fully unleashed, and the booming sound to Ulquiorra's ears was more like the sound of a chess piece being placed.
General!
General.
Yuki stood atop the palace, gazing at the distant area shrouded in billowing black mist. He had long since dealt with the Crystal Mage, and it wasn't him who had entered the mausoleum.
I believe in Kento Nanami's abilities; he won't make a mistake even when wearing the Fool's Mask.
Yuki believed in the Demon Extermination Squad, and the Demon Extermination Squad believed in Yuki, but in his opinion, the Flame Pillar had no need to act as if he was about to die, and Yomi had no need to hand over his treasured photos to him.
Gambling can be predictable; with just a little bit of perspective, one can tell which side the Witch God will choose.
"We were beaten to a pulp before, but now His home-field advantage has expanded, so in the eyes of the Witch God, we are a 'known' opponent that he can deal with."
"But the players outside are different. Most of them have never faced them directly, especially the two Judge didn't use their full strength. They are the extremely dangerous 'unknowns'."
"The choice between the known and the unknown is not difficult for the Witch God."
Frieren held his breath, a chill running down his spine upon hearing this explanation. This was a psychological game, truly terrifying.
"Do you know Him?"
"I don't need to know them, but the one who understands the cunning one best is always the cunning one. Don't run away, I won't scheme against you." Yuki the disbelief in the round-faced girl's eyes, Yuuki shrugged. "The curtain has been raised, so don't even think about both sides fighting to the death. All I want is to weaken them to a reasonable level."
Yuki never intended to use someone else to do his dirty work; he only wanted to be the one who reaps the benefits.
"Rita, it's your turn. The Witch God will be using all his strength and won't have much power left to deal with you. Mr. Bradley and the others are also ready."
"Yes, Mr. Li, how wonderful it would have been if you had come to this world sooner." The girl smiled, a sweet and reluctant smile. She took a few steps back, then returned, lifted her skirt, and curtsied.
"Well then, goodbye."
Frieren's lips moved, but she ultimately remained silent. This was the mission of the Soulless Ones, and she had no right to interfere.
Looking at the man's back, she finally saw the whole picture of the chess game.
In this time, War Orphans and Soulless Ones will be responsible for cutting off the three covered bridges, and the Demon Extermination Squad will immediately withdraw from the mausoleum. The Witch God has ultimately made the wrong gamble.
Even if He defeats the Judge and others, He has no chance of winning. Yuki will use the 'ebb and flow' strategy to its Limit.
With the main force converging, the simultaneous cutting of the corridor bridge and ignition of the mausoleum was launched. This combined attack, along with the attrition of the two Judge, was enough to bring even the most lofty epic figures down.
"When will we launch the final assault?" Frieren felt a surge of anticipation, completely forgetting the disarray he had experienced when he first entered the mausoleum.
"What's the rush? They're having a great fight, just enjoy the show." Yuki forward with his lip, as the distant giant forest was constantly being torn apart by beams of light and explosions.
Players must fight back against the Witch God to survive.
The Witch God wanted to weaken the Slayer as quickly as possible. He hadn't forgotten that there were still players who hadn't joined the battle. The fiercer the resistance, the more ruthless He would be, in order to weaken the enemy's overall combat strength as soon as possible.
Yuki's crimson eyes reflected various energy particles, as beautiful as gemstones, and he slowly raised his hand.
Fight, struggle, anyway--
You will all die.
Chapter Thirty-One: Because I am Taiyi! (6K)
Yuki personally experienced just how difficult the Forest of the Spirits could be.
Within this domain, all living things mutate, and if one is not careful, their entire body will be covered in flesh-devouring mushrooms, which will eat them alive.
Nothing could be seen; the Devil's Vision could only perceive a mass of churning energy, so thick it resembled a large lump of solid, with only occasional glimpses of the player's energy leaking out.
The Witch God is getting serious, so He must get serious too.
Yuki, who should have been killed by both sides, stood at a distance, munching on the POCKY he had obtained from Yomi Isayama.
"Watching the drama unfold is so enjoyable!"
Yuki wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, glanced at his watch, and revealed a devilish smile.
You're all big shots, I don't have time to play around with you guys, it's time to add fuel to the fire.
"Hiyori, are you all in position?"
"Yes, a new fog has risen, enough to cover Miss Yomi and the others; Mr. Bradley, Miss Violet, and Father Andrew are also ready. Under their cover, the 217 Soulless Ones will simultaneously cut through the three covered bridges."
Aside from the Soulless Ones are carrying out cover missions in the city, everyone else will break the bridge under Rita's leadership, since neither Yuki nor Hiyori are supercomputers and can only make some guesses.
Seventy Soulless Ones should be enough for each bridge, and the time should be no less than ten minutes.
"Go to the designated meeting point, enter the mausoleum, and proceed according to plan."
"Yes, please be careful. Once the Broken Bridge is started, the Witch God will sense it."
The Broken Bridge was essentially a massive purification ritual, Witch God could certainly sense, but Yuki wanted to stir up trouble and alert the enemy.
The purification of the Soulless Ones is colorless and imperceptible to players, yet they continue their attacks methodically. However, the Witch God will become enraged and unleash a devastating attack, sparing no expense to inflict maximum damage.
This is the kind of outburst I've been waiting for.
Yuki sat cross-legged, turning his head to look at the outer edge of the city. He couldn't see any strange phenomena with the naked eye, but if he switched to the Devil's Vision, he could see three huge Tatsumaki emerging at the horizon.
The black 'dust' was swept away, and more than two hundred Soulless Ones split their own souls together, crushing all the collected Soul Crystal. This will once again lead to a drama about War Orphans.
Instead of participating in the search, they went to clean up the battlefield, and as professionals, they selected the Soul Crystal obtained by the wizards to make up for the quality with quantity.
This is the lament of death.
Yuki had already seen the consequences of forcibly splitting a soul in a short period of time on Jis. Pure souls were annihilated one by one, spreading that power like dandelions.
This is a war cry that has lasted for seven thousand years.
Yuki's fingers twitched slightly. He had heard many backstories from Hiyori: the heroes and their descendants of the Red Earth Continent fought side by side, unleashing seven thousand years of struggle, blood, tears, and will.
The natives are weak and lack the power of the Witch God; any Transcendental Grade player could easily slaughter Rita and her companions.
They are also very strong, capable of sustaining a mission for thousands of years, enduring countless collapses and total annihilation.
"Like moths drawn to a flame, the smallest and most powerless being sounds the war horn, and you, do you hear it?"
Boom!!
Yuki turned his head, he saw a giant pillar of light rise from the ground, piercing through the forest, shooting straight into the sky, tearing through the firmament, and disappearing into the deep space.
The city trembled, magnificent palaces collapsed before our eyes, the earth cracked open, forming countless giant fissures hundreds of meters long, and clouds poured in through the cracks, forming ethereal walls of mist.
No one knows how thick the giant island is, but as the main body of the Witch God's Tower, the lower six levels were directly blasted open, instantly tearing apart the forest created by the authority.
Such terrifying power! A single strike could shatter a continent.
Yuki raised his hand to shield his face. This was a collision of forces he had never seen before, a clash of the two sides' full power. At the center of the explosion, any player below the monster level would be annihilated.
The second sun rose, releasing intense light and heat, as if a dozen Tsar Bomba nuclear bombs had been detonated simultaneously, their flames lingering for a long time.
This power sent shivers down his spine. The Witch God was undoubtedly panicking. Putting himself in their shoes, it was like sending some players to harass him while others raided his base. Without the advantage of playing on his home turf, even if he wiped out the players in front of him, how would he deal with the rest?
"It's good that you're in a hurry." Yuki took a breath, savoring the taste of 'destruction'. Even if you Vitality Shift to the maximum level, you'll still die. The Regenerative Tail doesn't even have a chance to repair itself.
What a pity, such a powerful blow didn't hit me.
With a smile, he pondered the price each side would have to pay, and then drew his sword.
"Okay, let's eliminate one side first."
Huge crater, countless cracks.
Within ten kilometers of the explosion's epicenter, no living thing could exist; those massive and sturdy palaces didn't even qualify to become ruins.
In a physical sense, it would be reduced to ashes—no, even the ashes would be swept away by energy particles into nothingness.
Cracks covered Ulquiorra's body, and his bat wings on his back looked like tattered rags. Looking to the left and right, there was not a single living creature in sight.
Two Monster IV Judge players, using their strongest items and skills, clashed with the Witch God at full power; any player below Monster IV didn't even have the right to exist.
They're all dead. Absolutely all dead.
The devilish-looking youth tilted his head, his ears still ringing. Recalling the previous battle, the scent of conspiracy remained strong.
Neither side used their full strength at the beginning. The Judge did not want to fight the Witch God to the death, so he deliberately used the lives of other players to buy time.
The Witch God had already noticed something was wrong. He had killed several players, and the two strongest players seemed indifferent. The possibility of dialogue was rapidly increasing, and the misunderstanding would eventually be cleared up.
But at that moment, the Witch God lost his patience.
"Something must have happened to His stronghold. Just like before, there was no time for careful consideration, and a hasty decision had to be made."
The target must be who is orchestrating everything behind the scenes.
"Ruthless and vicious, they actually want us to both suffer heavy losses," Ulquiorra muttered, glancing at himself and giving a wry smile.
He did it. Both sides paid a heavy price in their all-out attack. His level 6 defensive item was shattered, and he took a direct hit from the Witch God with his body. If the latter hadn't been busy leaving, he probably would have perished.
How exactly did they manage to do that? Why do the players in War Tower obey commands, especially that Thorny Rose? They seem to be part of a faction.
Ulquiorra couldn't understand it at all. This went against the player's instincts and the game's mechanics, especially since the two sides were cooperating so well. Even with his extreme caution, he had been fooled.
"They must be communicating in real time. What kind of communication device is this? I have no idea about it!"
He bent down and picked up a white embryo, which was Deidara's original essence after his self-destruction. Only by returning to it could he awaken.
Despite the heavy losses suffered by his companions, which wiped out their gains overnight, Ulquiorra didn't care. He reached directly into the embryo and pulled out something that looked like a fax machine.
The intelligence had to be sent back, and this 'Hyperspace Fax Machine' could transmit messages across copies, but the result left him in despair.
There's still half an hour left on the cooldown, and I'm out of time.
He turned his head stiffly, and on the lava-like ground, the blond youth suddenly appeared behind him. The hot wind, hundreds of degrees Celsius, ruffled his black trench coat, and his composed demeanor contrasted sharply with his disheveled appearance.
Using energy turbulence as cover, interfering with detection, and getting right next to me—you even factored that in?
Ulquiorra's lips twitched, labeling his target as decisive in addition to ruthless and vicious, then he sighed and slowly turned around.
This was the first formal meeting between the two sides, yet the air was thick with a strange irony. Ten days had passed since they entered the instance, and now they were finally facing their target.
The Judge was disheveled and covered in wounds, while the Judge was neatly dressed and composed. This—
Who is judging whom?
Overwhelmed by a thousand emotions, Ulquiorra, not one for words, managed to stammer after a few seconds, "Not bad."
"Thanks."
Yuki knew the Espada's personality, which was the highest praise he could give, and he marveled that Ulquiorra truly deserved to be the most popular Espada.
With a heart of steel, unwavering and unperturbed, he calmly accepted his Destiny and would do everything in his power to make a final struggle.
Then I'll see you off on your way.
Yuki drew his sword, and with the sound of the blade rubbing against the hilt, the black night unfolded, Spatial Severance in an instant.
Domain expansion. Night Furnace.
Ulquiorra didn't escape, or rather, once Yuki got close enough, he wouldn't have had a chance to get away.
He found himself standing amidst a Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea; looking up, he saw no boundary.
Above them rolled a crimson sky, like dusk, and countless corpses lay staggering toward the horizon, while blood at their feet reached past their ankles.
An invisible fear is spreading, and the grotesque corpses tell the Truth about death.
Bloodshed, horror, loneliness—this is a deliberately crafted scene.
"As expected of Taiyi, even fragments possess a powerful sense of oppression."
Fragments? That's a reasonable setup for Dihua; I accept it.
Yuki's eyes flickered, neither denying nor admitting, as he raised the blade. "Feeling aggrieved?"
"No, strength and wisdom are equal, and the weak overcoming the strong is even more commendable." Ulquiorra remained expressionless, raising his hand to gather two lightsabers in his palm. "Anything else you want to ask? I might not be able to answer."
"Is Sōsuke Aizen your boss?" Yuki suddenly asked, catching everyone off guard.
Even as Yuki quietly appeared behind him, Ulquiorra, who remained expressionless, narrowed his eyes, as if wondering how this person knew the Great Judge's real name. But after a while, he accepted it calmly.