Chapter 377
Yuki's first conversation with Kokushibo revealed a cruel truth: no one is a fool. Kokushibo immediately understood why Misaki Shokuhou hadn't joined the battle, and why Kokushibo Mena Ryougi the fight.
The player specializing in mental manipulation had been operating behind the scenes, contacting Satoru Gojo, and finally establishing contact while the two epic players were locked in a fierce battle.
"You're the one who gave him the authority, no wonder you killed Muzan Kibutsuji so quickly!" Kokushibo now wants to go to the Borderlands and spend a lot of money to ask the Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge. The rules of the Reincarnation Game are supreme, and someone here is cheating.
But he couldn't do it; his face turned as black as the bottom of a bowl.
Yuki didn't answer, but turned and left gracefully. Within his six eyes, soul energy was rapidly replenishing and burning even more intensely.
Soul Crystal replenished.
Blood-Burning Heart, Wildfire.
It was only at this moment that Yuki revealed his true trump card: the Killer's Book was fully stacked, Blood-Burning Heart had become incredibly Incandescence thanks to Kokushibo's 'assistance,' with the consumed energy to be replenished by Soul Crystal.
Why didn't any members of the Demon Extermination Squad participate in this battle? Because the evil spirits would react in the same way, excluding the players from the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'.
Therefore, this battlefield only has players from each faction, and in a sense, Yuki's hand is much weaker.
However, once the privilege is activated, all players from all factions except him will be suppressed, and the gap will widen immediately. And don't forget, these people have been fighting for a long time, and suddenly being suppressed by privilege, no one can react in time.
Puff.
Yuki plunged the sword into the samurai's vest, saw the twisted human-shaped torch on the blade, felt the powerful soul energy returning to him, and revealed a gentle smile.
As one side waxes and wanes, the true nature of things is revealed; everything—
Everything is under control.
Chapter Eight: What exactly is a top-tier cunning old fox?
This was a trap, a trap that had been set up long ago.
From the deployment of combat personnel to the battlefield environment that isolates vision, and even the calculation of the consumption of the Blood-Burning Heart in the 'Wildfire' state, everything is under control.
The unique player structure is intentionally designed; if there are too many players in the 'Hyakki Yagyō' (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), the privileges won't be very meaningful.
The Soul Crystal were prepared long ago. Even when he was trapped by the Golden Chains, he deliberately had Kokushibo stack layers for him. Yuki had never used the Blood-Burning Heart in its Wildfire state before. Once activated, it caused the Demon Heart to be consumed rapidly.
But guess what? These players, whose privileges were suppressed, became the best source of sustenance, using kills to sustain their momentum.
With favorable timing and location, all that was lacking was the right people. With the help of Mena Ryougi, Misaki Shokuhou struggled to contact Satoru Gojo, who was completely unaware of the situation on the other battlefields, only hearing Yuki's commanding order:
"Immediately activate authorization and suppress the Outpost at full power."
If Satoru Gojo had hesitated even slightly, Yuki would have immediately fled the battlefield. Fortunately, he was also a gambler, willing to be slashed by Mundus rather than expend his authority.
"That's right, you only win if you listen."
The samurai was burned to nothingness, his soul filling the rapidly depleting Demon Heart. Yuki looked at Shishio Makoto, who was engulfed in flames like a flaming demon, his golden eyes filled with horror and confusion.
He was subject to authority suppression, as was Skadi, who was fighting him. This was not enough to determine the outcome of the war. However, when Yuki suddenly appeared, things changed.
"How is it stronger than before!?" Shishio couldn't understand it, and didn't even think about cheating. Dust mixed with blizzard, the chaotic battlefield had another function, an overlooked function.
With poor communication and one-on-one combat, when Yuki arrives faster and stronger, a normal person would only have one thought:
This is an epic-level player who has been hiding his true strength, which is why he was able to resist the suppression. Under normal circumstances, everyone could fight against him like they were fighting a boss, but now the whole team is fighting individually and is exhausted, and the gap has widened to an irreversible point.
"Retreat! We have no chance of winning!"
He made a quick decision: there was an epic-level player on the other side, what was the point of fighting? Wasn't this guy afraid of being wiped out by the combined forces of the Judge?
"Trying to run? Too late." Yuki rushed over and cleaved the two samurai blocking his way. Previously, it would have taken some effort to deal with these monster-level players, but now it was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.
Shishio ultimately failed to retreat. Because of the fierce fighting, and with a resentful orca woman by his side, only two or three Survivors remained in the Demi-Human World, their hatred running deep.
Shishio only lasted for sixty seconds. His exquisite swordsmanship was overwhelmed by the combined force, and he was finally cut in half by Skadi's greatsword.
"Take your men and retreat quickly to recover their strength." Yuki's words were concise and to the point. Every second was consuming a massive amount of soul energy, so there was no time for idle chatter. "Misaki Shokuhou, give me target assignments. You should have finished analyzing the battlefield environment by now."
Everything had been prepared in silence; the beacon had been erected, and this battlefield, filled with dust and blizzard, was the perfect hunting ground.
"Wait a minute..." Skadi raised her hand, but before she could speak, Yuki had already disappeared from her sight, so she had no choice but to put it back on her chest.
She couldn't understand why Yuki wasn't suppressed, but she was filled with gratitude, not only for being saved but also because Yuki hadn't made her risk her life to continue fighting.
When the final weight fell, the scales finally tipped. Kokushibo, the only one unaffected Kokushibo, killed his old friend with his own hands. He chased after the friend even before his injuries had healed, but all he could do was give up.
He originally intended to follow the same pattern, using his authority to eliminate players from other factions. If Yuki against him, he could cover his teammates and then abandon them to start a killing contest.
Yuki anticipated his thoughts, and after rescuing Skadi, Taihou, and the others, he ordered them to retreat immediately, giving them no chance for a mutually destructive outcome.
Dust swept across their faces, and the chaotic battlefield had no idea that a beast without shackles had been unleashed. By the time they reacted, Yuki had already killed more than a dozen people and routed three camps head-on.
"Retreat."
"Is this an epic-level player?"
"Those who participate in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons are not affected by authority!"
The defeat was unstoppable. Yuki even used the 'Heart of the Ice Goddess'. The enemy didn't have Misaki Shokuhou. The result of fighting alone was that they were defeated one by one.
On this chaotic battlefield, no one except Kokushibo could stop Yuki, and the speed of the killing was measured in seconds.
"What's going on? Isn't an epic-level player afraid of being purged by the Judge for participating in faction wars? Besides, if he has that ability, why has he waited until now?"
Shalltear rushed out of the battlefield and turned to look at the 'dark clouds' hanging over Dreadfort. Because they were all monster-level players, the battlefield was expanding rapidly, with each squad more than ten kilometers apart.
In the fast-paced battle, no one had the energy to coordinate with each other. Anyway, she wiped out Saito Hiraga's entire squad and was preparing to kill him, take the Sword of Nothingness, and then get some rest.
As a result, the access control was suppressed, causing her to pause her attack.
This is nothing, the suppression is equal, there are no Demon Extermination Squad on the battlefield either. Once he gets used to it, Saito Hiraga will only die faster. But at this moment, Li Dan suddenly appeared.
Stronger and faster than before, showing no signs of being suppressed, Shalltear exchanged blows with it and immediately abandoned everyone to retreat.
"It's not an illusion. He's not only not suppressed, but he's become even stronger. Only epic-level players can contend with authority, so why was he holding back before?"
Shalltear didn't understand. She raised her spear and extinguished the remaining fire on her armor. At that moment, she saw swirling thunderclouds and a warrior also leaving the battlefield.
A black-armored demon followed behind him, who actually forced his way through the thunderclouds and slashed him in the back with a single blow.
"Help... me..."
Genichiro Ashina was blasted to the ground by the demon. Shalltear instinctively wanted to help, but when a gaze fell upon her, she shuddered and ran away without looking back.
That's enough, let's all accept our fate.
Crush them, kill them all.
A huge crater appeared in the square, Yuki stood at the bottom of the crater, his body billowing with thick white smoke, while Ashina Kuzuichiro beneath his feet was trampled into a pulp.
The true intentions were revealed, followed by a fierce storm. Yuki exerted his full strength, crushing and annihilating everyone without hesitation. A huge dark cloud loomed in the sky, and a few afterimages were fleeing in disarray.
Players are human too, and they feel fear. Especially in faction battles, unlike dungeons, there's no inherent escape route, and the instinct for survival easily fills their hearts.
For example, even when Kenichiro was suppressed, he was capable of fighting him, but he rejected that qualification, thinking that as long as he could run faster than his teammates, he could survive.
This is a deliberate combination of carefully selected players, a suitable battlefield, and the resulting synergy.
"Phew, just in time the clouds dispersed and the snow stopped."
After both players retreated, the dark clouds that had filled the sky finally dispersed, revealing Eternal Night filled with swirling vortexes, where an artificial sun stood—the result of the collision between the Demon King and the 'Unlimited Void'.
The blizzard stopped simultaneously, the communication terminals were captured, and the two clouds of war fog dissipated at the same time.
Yuki glanced at the terminal. Dense friendly forces were scattered throughout the entire Dreadfort, with the largest cluster concentrated in the middle of the Tenshukaku — the Demon God Palace, the central hub of the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'.
They finally succeeded. He had dealt with two of the twelve demons, and Kokushibo was tied up here. The Demon Extermination Squad had also strengthened its 'Ghost Hunter' and 'fighters', so the balance of power had already shifted.
"And Satoru Gojo's side will be here soon too." Yuki stretched his neck and looked at the lone six-eyed samurai in the air. "Tell me, how long until Sukuna returns?"
Kokushibo remained silent. After the Heart of the Ice Goddess was suppressed, the demon's communications were restored, and it immediately received a barrage of bad news.
No wonder two factions disappeared; they went to support the Demon God Palace. This man had a plan from the beginning. Even if he couldn't crush this battlefield, the Pantheon would still determine the victor.
Apart from Vergil escaping, almost all of the twelve demons perished, the Heart of Ice was lost, the Demon God Palace fell, and the other imps fled in disarray to the public teleportation points provided by the game.
The war is over.
The results of all three battlefields are about to be determined. The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons suffered a crushing defeat. After losing the Demon God Palace, only remnants of the defeated army remained, fighting desperately like cornered beasts. The Demon Extermination Squad will soon be able to sweep them away like a whirlwind.
The strategy of defeating them one by one will ultimately result in us being defeated one by one.
Kokushibo took a deep breath and saw Misaki Shokuhou and the others regrouping in the distance. The authority suppression had just ended, and these monster-level players would soon be able to rejoin the battle.
Five minutes, just five minutes to go.
The hourglass is almost empty, and the strongest Sukuna is about to return, but it's pointless now. Even with three heads and six arms, it's impossible for it to defeat the siege of dozens of monster-level players, and most of its subordinates who were supposed to support it are dead.
Click.
The hourglass was crushed, and the sand scattered like flowing light, each grain shimmering like countless moving images.
"You could have sent Sukuna; this would be an insult to him." Yuki looked at the meteor-like sand and realized it was a cross-server communication item. Unlike a fax machine, it could both calculate the player's return time and transmit the information recorded at the Outpost.
He risked his life to prevent Sukuna from returning to find himself bewildered and surrounded by countless players.
In such situations, one can act impulsively and kill as many as possible; or one can cut off all losses and seek survival by abandoning the Outpost and fleeing to the Borderlands.
The demon chose the second option, or rather, the worst-case scenario was already planned before the battle even began. The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons must have had offices there, with a large number of points prepared.
Despite the seemingly endless troubles, Yuki smiled, "A wise choice. In fact, I didn't want to fight a furious epic-level player to the death. Thanks."
The man thanked him sincerely; his personality was nothing like that of a reckless man, and he had never intended to challenge Sukuna to a duel from the beginning.
I can take it on one-on-one, but not now. I should be 90% confident of victory before making my move.
This startled Kokushibo. His face turned from white to red, and then from red to green.
The intense rage and shame drove him almost mad; he was like Clown, being manipulated at will!
"Li Dan, 'The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' is your mortal enemy and will eliminate you above all that food!"
The war's odds of victory were originally as high as 90%, but because of him, everything was turned around. From the moment he stormed into the Dreadfort and began massacring players, everything went off track.
The overwhelming hatred, the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' still has many players left, including the epic-level Sukuna, which makes others nervous, after all, an individual cannot fight against the remnants of an entire faction.
Yuki, however, remained expressionless and tilted his head. "So, are you going to run, or stay behind to cover our retreat?"
Having been figured out again, Kokushibo's face turned ashen. Of course, he could leave, but if he did, this man would directly join the final battle, and the barely clinging Mundus probably wouldn't last even a minute.
If Satoru Gojo gains access to the spatial lock, how will Sukuna escape? Without Sukuna, how can he take revenge?
Black markings covered his entire body, and the light of the silver moon was so bright it was blinding. Kokushibo seemed to burst into flames, transforming into a bright moon to block the Eternal Night, and then fell towards Yuki.
They're risking their lives, determined to take me away no matter what. Do you think that's possible?
Yuki smiled, looked at the setting moon, and gently snapped his fingers.
Smack
The fighter jets launched from the armored aircraft carrier cut a diamond-shaped barrier in the air to support the bright moon. Then, the white-haired, red-eyed Deep Sea Hunters unleashed a towering wave that brought the moon to a complete stop.
Saito Hiraga, wielding the Sword of Nothingness, stood before the moon, frantically absorbing its light, while the violent mental piercing briefly rendered Kokushibo mentally impaired.
Yuki stood on the ground, as if watching a wonderful movie, glancing at the energy fluctuations of the Eternal Night gradually subsiding, and then looking at the shattered Tenshukaku.
A terrifying aura emanated from the ruins; the battle-obsessed demon had returned, but received a message from Kokushibo just one minute before his return.
Unbelievable, filled with murderous intent, yet utterly helpless.
As the leader of the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' and the strongest demon, Sukuna felt completely uninvolved. What happened to being the ultimate safety net to crush the enemy? What happened to the thrilling, brutally brutal deathmatch?
After years of planning, this bunch of good-for-nothings couldn't even hold out until I came back.
This wasn't a case of punching cotton; it was that before they even made a move, their own people were all dead, leaving only corpses strewn across the Demon God Palace. But outside the gate, the Demon Extermination Squad players were on high alert, with all sorts of powerful items laid out.
A terrifying red phantom appeared in the ruins, like a Giant, sweeping across the battlefield and staring intently at Yuki.
"Li Dan, the Head Hunters!!!"
The Roar created a sonic boom, casting a red glow over the corpses scattered everywhere, and Piercer Yuki's vision.
No one is my match, no, they can't last ten minutes in a decisive battle with me!
This is the most intuitive judgment, but the bright moon was already at its last gasp, and Mundus was on the verge of falling.
The most painful and cruel thing in the world befell Sukuna: you desperately wanted to tear someone apart, and you could tear them apart, but your damned rationality told you:
If I make a move, I'll be the one who dies.
"I'm going to kill you! I'll definitely kill you!!"