Chapter 398
But when he looked up and saw Yuki, who was also caught in the tide, he was stunned. The reason was simple.
The opponent's Soul Lamp was like a candle flickering in the wind, while the Night Watchers, though fluctuating within the tides, would never be this violent, meaning—
"You freaking player!?"
"Correct answer, but no reward." Yuki laughed. His attack method was very similar to that of the Night Watchers. Ignoring energy consumption, he managed to fool the group of players.
Huh? How could that be?
After becoming a player Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle's intelligence increased dramatically, and it instantly understood the cause and effect.
No wonder this person had so much soul energy, yet used it so clumsily; it turns out he wasn't Night Watchers at all, and had even exploited his own personality.
Facing an excellent punching bag, Asura was having a great time and didn't notice that he was being dragged towards the edge of the tide. By the time he came to his senses, he was already enveloped in the shrinking 'poison circle'.
The edge of the tide is only a kilometer away and is slowly moving inward. This distance is negligible, but it can still block the mental scan of one's companions.
A trap, a trap that was prepared long ago.
Without hesitation, he took a step into the void, instantly surpassing the speed of sound. His immediate priority was to escape the tide and leak the message.
Yuki watched the fleeting afterimage. The lamp was extremely fast, but precisely because it was a lamp, it couldn't be used for stealth or to conceal itself with items like clones.
Even after 'devouring' two lamps, the Soul Lamp wouldn't last more than a minute in the tide. But Yuki didn't need to waste any time; he simply locked onto the lamps and moved them to the side.
I'm sorry, but your struggle was within my expectations.
"Get out of my way!!" Asura raised his fist, refusing to believe that this person could stop him. No matter how strong or weak he was, he could not possibly fight Yuki in the tide.
A single punch was enough to shatter a mountain. Yuki merely stood in front of him, watching the fist, larger than his head, rapidly approach, and then—
The Night Furnace Domain.
The space within twenty meters was stripped away. At the very beginning of entering the instance, Yuki tested whether Spatial Severance abilities could work, and the answer was yes.
This is the only way for players to survive in the dark, since they will still reappear in the same place after their abilities collapse anyway. Normal players would use it to buy time and wait for dawn to arrive, but Yuki uses it as a battlefield for killing.
In an instant, both lights vanished into the darkness. Even when Deldore manipulated his puppets to investigate, it was no use. Only the deepest darkness remained, and Asura had unleashed his punch, found himself in a strange new world.
"Spatial Severance? You want to settle things with me here!?"
Asura looked around at the Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea, his forehead sweating. Each link in the chain was so intricate that even his brain, which had been given the 'elixir of wisdom,' couldn't keep up.
I was having a great time fighting when I was suddenly swept into the Dark Night Tide. Just as I was trying to break free, I was stripped away by a spatial artifact that I had prepared beforehand. I should have stayed in the tide and seen Soul Lamp lasted longer.
"Yes." Yuki slightly, tossing aside the badly damaged Hunter's Blunderbuss and throwing down the serrated military knife.
Demon Possession.
The black scales tore through the Night Watchers's uniform, Red Lotus Fire burned on the armor. Yuki had ripped off his disguise, giving Asura a sense of oppression.
Monster IV player, incredibly close to an epic Monster IV player, even stronger than that Slothful Bishop.
After all, only a handful of people could sense the terrifying nature of that bald, strange man. Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle's keen intuition was sounding the alarm, which made him tremble and excited at the same time, completely forgetting about any 'wisdom elixir'.
"All of this is because you want to kill me."
"War!"
Asura Mode.
The raging energy evaporated the sea of blood. Without shame or regret, Asura entered his peak state. Even epic-level players would have to temporarily retreat in the face of such a trapped beast.
"What a coincidence, I chose you as my opponent precisely because of this insane fighting spirit. If someone were smart, they would be more troublesome if they were just focused on stalling for time."
Yuki was well-prepared; the core of his calculations lay in knowing himself and his enemy. This Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle was smarter than he had imagined, but its essence had never changed.
Thump--
A wave of blood exploded from the ground, and a monster over five meters tall arrived right in front of him. Facing a monster with its physical attack maxed out, the Demonbreaker's Domain was useless; that fist cleanly and decisively blasted Yuki into a pool of blood.
Universe in the Sleeve. Blood Spirit Illusion.
The scattered blood quickly froze into ice, freezing half of Asura's body. This was the 'Freezing Jewel' that had just been obtained from Zabuza Momochi, which was then directly placed into the Furnace.
"Come out! Fight me!!"
Asura shattered it instantly, the pale aura spreading out and returning to the earth from the sky in a flash, his two fists firing like machine guns.
Thump thump thump--
The entire Furnace trembled slightly from the impact, with thousands of heavy punches landing every second. Yuki crossed his arms and retreated continuously amidst the exploding blood, his insect armor sparking brightly as it was blasted into existence.
Ten times the force of gravity.
Everything froze.
The purple halo continued to spread, and the splashed blood froze into ice, but Asura defied gravity, tore the ice apart, and his half-meter-thick calf slashed horizontally, piercing through the hazy moonlight.
Moonlit Ghost Step.
Spatial teleportation made Yuki appear a hundred meters away. This distance was very close to Asura; he could reach her with a single step. But a moment later, he found that he had not moved an inch.
Layers upon layers of light covered his legs, surrounded by thick, blood-red ice, making the fight extremely difficult for him and driving him even more insane.
"Fight me! Don't try these petty tricks!"
The ice evaporated, the Hunter's Snare was torn apart, and neither of the two level-five control items could stop it in the slightest, demonstrating its formidable melee combat ability.
Tear it apart!
No one could withstand a single punch from the surging corpses. The Asura Witch Spirit was instantly turned into mincemeat, and the players of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons were also vaporized on the spot. He then frantically lunged at Yuki, only to see the latter throw a blood-red spear.
Duplication Cube.
It splits into two, then from two into four. Once the Bloodblade is copied, it becomes difficult to defend against. This is not some kind of illusion.
Puff puff puff.
Several bursts of blood erupted, and several 'arrows' pierced the massive body of the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle. Ignoring them, he raised his fist and slammed it into the hazy moonlight.
It was teleportation again.
The punch felt unreal, but every experienced player has an amazing learning ability. With a quick step, they leaped behind them at an even faster speed.
How many more times do you want to use the same trick?
Clang!
His fist slammed into a black longsword, the momentum causing the blade to sink in, almost touching his chest, but Asura was stunned before he could even feel joy.
What emerged from the moonlight was not Yuki, but a black-haired swordsman whose head had been cut in half, and whose two remaining golden eyes were staring at him.
Player? No, this is a corpse, and in this state...
"Kokushibo!?"
Asura was almost jolted awake from his berserk state. This was a player he had fought before; his head was buzzing. He was absolutely certain that he wouldn't mistake those golden eyes.
Didn't he die in the faction war? How come he's only at Monster II level?
With a question in mind, a huge palm slapped down, the crushing force nearly shattering Kokushibo's head.
Asura felt no joy at defeating his former formidable foe. He realized something was very wrong with this hellish place and he had to find a way out. Even returning to the Dark Night Tide was better than waiting to die here. Who knew how many functions this spatial artifact had?
The brain issues commands, but the body cannot execute Kokushibo. Kokushibo still possesses the power of Monster II and was not killed by a single slap. He stares wide-eyed at his remaining two golden eyes.
Mental Impact.
In a split second, Yuki emerged from the moonlight. It was the exact same Moonlit Ghost Step, and Asura, with his keen observation skills, could not tell who was using it.
He was shrouded in gray mist, and the spear he thrust out was firmly grasped in his hand. Asura had extremely high resistance to control skills. With a back kick, he smashed the corpse of Kokushibo, and was preparing to launch a counterattack against this despicable and shameless guy.
A blood-red glove was pressed against his shoulder, and gray mist seeped into his body, making it somewhat unresponsive.
Soul Infection.
Evil Blood Glove.
Bloodline skills are activated with the aid of special items. While Yuki could not turn Asura into a puppet, he could still corrupt its soul and achieve a control effect.
One second is far from enough for a player like Muzan Kibutsuji who specializes in control. Even if Asura stood still and let him hit him, he probably wouldn't be able to do any damage.
But for me, it's more than enough.
Asura released his enormous hand, Yuki gripped the spear, plunging it into his chest, creating a hole in the energy surrounding his body.
Freezing Jewel.
Another Chaos Item took effect, freezing the raging blood within him. Then, he drew his spear and nimbly retreated.
Thump!!
With a furious strike, Asura blasted a crater hundreds of meters deep into the sea of blood. He knelt on one knee, clutching his chest to shatter the ice within his body, then stared intently at Yuki with his bloodshot eyes.
"Why?!"
This person is clearly a very powerful warrior, so why doesn't he fight me to the death? I'm stuck here, unable to hit him when I want to fight, and unable to run away when I want to run.
"As a very powerful, pure melee fighter, I bet you must feel really frustrated. You can't use your explosive power, and you can't execute many exquisite martial arts moves."
The sound came from all directions. Asura only glanced at it, and his face, which was already glowing purple, turned ashen.
The Blood Spirit Illusion superimposed and Duplication Cube, creating dozens of identical Yuki. They wielded long spears, which burned with flames, and rubbed their blood-red gloves.
"But feeling stifled is just right."
Dozens of spears were raised in unison, and that's what they said.
Chapter Eleven: At This Moment, I Am the Night Watchers
The Furnace collapsed, and Yuki, now back in his Night Watchers uniform, returned to the Dark Night Tide.
Asura died in frustration. Players who specialize in a particular skill are not to be underestimated, even by epic-level players, when they are willing to fight to the death. Who knows what kind of hidden power they might unleash?
However, specialization means amplifying weaknesses, making one easily targeted.
A pleasant smile appeared on his face. The battle had already been planned. If it really came down to a head-on clash, even if Yuki destroyed Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle, he would have to pay a huge price.
"But why should I confront you head-on?"
On the Night Furnace, he poured in a massive amount of points. Some might say that he should have used them to strengthen himself, but as a smart man, Yuki knew that strength wasn't about blasting a planet apart with a single punch, but about having more trump cards and knowing how to achieve his goals with maximum efficiency.
Without the Night Furnace, this plan wouldn't exist. Even if you reach level 9 in Constitution and advance to Epic rank, what good will it do? Besides, the core of power isn't in Constitution at all. Would you just end up being treated like a boss by dozens of players?
No, a true master strategist should operate subtly and silently, killing someone without the victim even knowing who killed them; this is merely one link in the chain.
Yuki looked down at the Soul Lamp on his chest; it shone even brighter, stubbornly resisting the tides.
Yes, his soul, his light, his rewards, even his corpse should be used by me to make the next chain even stronger!
Asura's soul replenished his energy, his light allowed Yuki to stealthily navigate the tides, and then a Monster IV player provided 6 enhancement points and 2 specialization points—this was it.
They took everything and left nothing behind.
Call out.
Yuki rushed out, Asura killed many players. From the beginning Yuki wanted was his light, so that he could move inside the tide and leave the mental scanner helpless.
The 'poison circle' formed a dividing line, isolating the other battlefields, but don't forget, the northern battlefield is also on the edge of the night, where you can see those rapidly moving Soul Lamp.
The fighting is still going on, but the situation is definitely not good.
It took fifteen minutes to deal with Asura. Yuki flew close to the poison circle, using the mountains as cover to get closer, while a fierce battle raged in the distance.
Mental scanning couldn't penetrate the tides, and visual sight alone couldn't reveal the Yuki in the canyon. He locked onto three lights in the air, and if he wasn't mistaken, those were the mental ability user.
The first step is to gouge out your eyes.
Deldore already sensed something was wrong. She manipulated her puppet to get closer Reconnaissance, but she couldn't see the two people fighting at all.
She hadn't considered that this was Spatial Severance prop; she only felt that the two of them were being dragged into the tide. Of course, the Night Watchers could be dragged into the tide; all he needed to do was block out the light.
"That idiot fell for it. The Night Watchers couldn't defeat them on their own, so they tried to use the tides to hold them back? But that's impossible. The light of Asura won't go out instantly. Once it bursts out from the edge, no one can stop it."
"Even if it's been dragged into the tide, it should have broken free by now."
The blue-haired woman was muttering to herself. They had been dragged into the darkness several times, so they knew that brute force could break free. After thinking for a moment, only hint five could explain it.
Could it be that the 'King of the Night' has been attracted? Will that idiot Asura be dragged down with the Night Watchers and die together?
This was the only explanation, and Deldore didn't take it to heart. She was more than happy for Asura to die, since his life or death wouldn't affect the outcome of the battle anyway.
The Valhalla couldn't hold on any longer. A dozen players surrounded them, and all of them were monster-level. Even though the Valhalla players were more elite and had more items, they couldn't make up for the numerical disadvantage.
The Stand is chasing after Mona. Dr. William has separated her from Illya. The deadly G-Virus has corrupted the two of them, and soon they will become mindless monsters.