Chapter 400
The lazy bishop had no interest in dealing with the fly; he was biting his finger and muttering to himself in a sickly manner.
He was completely bewildered, feeling as if he had fallen into a carefully crafted script, but had no idea what was actually happening.
He deliberately lured me away from the battlefield.
The bishop looked at the heroic spirit who had been transformed into a longbow; this was the only thing he was certain of: during the time he was dragged into the bounded field, the battlefield had undergone a dramatic change.
Who's pulling the strings behind the scenes? Who's weaving this script?
Invisible Giant enveloped its body, causing arrows as powerful as nuclear bombs to explode a hundred meters away, but at the same time, gunfire erupted everywhere.
The Night Watchers's main force has entered the fray. This won't do; if we don't act now, we'll miss our chance. I need to figure out exactly what happened.
No player would engage in combat while in a daze, and the rapidly approaching, hazy lights only reinforced this notion.
"It's you!?"
The newcomer was none other than the Night Watchers, the very Night Watchers should have been beaten to death by Asura long ago. The second matter was confirmed with his arrival.
Although the reason is unknown, the presence of the Night Watchers here means that idiot Asura is surely doomed.
What's the point of even fighting then!
Call.
The air distorted with the wind and snow, as if the sky had fallen, and an invisible giant hand slammed down. Yuki, who had been pulled up from the ground like a sapling, could only stop and raise his hunting rifle.
Bang!!
Dr. William's soul material shot out, and the resulting torrent tore apart the invisible hand until it disappeared without a trace a hundred meters in front of the Sloth Bishop.
This power is definitely not that of an ordinary Monster IV. Is it a secret weapon hidden by the Night Watchers?
Having taken a bullet himself, and using the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle as a reference point, the bishop quickly assessed the opponent's strength.
He didn't have time to utter any threats, and turned to run. Emiya wasn't idle either; a Spiral Sword on the bowstring transformed into an arrow and shot off.
Boom--
The muffled explosion echoed through the night sky, melting the blizzard within a few kilometers, but the lights continued to recede into the distance, fleeing northward without looking back.
It was so close.
Emiya regretfully put down his longbow. He was still completely bewildered, and seeing that Yuki hadn't given chase, he didn't dare to pursue him either.
Why not pursue them?
He was slightly skeptical, since both the Sloth Bishop and the Hidden Sage Raymond were 'Aether Particles'.
"Because we're not entirely confident we can keep him here, if he still runs away, it will affect our subsequent plans." Yuki looked up at the famous red-clad Heroic Spirit; if he remembered correctly, this was their first conversation.
What are the next steps?
Emiya was even more confused. But when he got closer and saw the ice that had formed on Yuki's body, he suddenly realized what was happening.
The blizzard was created by him using a prop. If you get too close, the Slothful Bishop will be able to identify you. In other words, he deliberately let the Bishop go?
Emiya didn't understand the significance of this, and glanced at Mona, who was perched on his back, winking at him.
I told you to trust me, and you won't go wrong.
The spirit pursed its lips, its eyes filled with admiration.
A true master not only baffles their enemy, but can even leave their own people guessing. In fact, even now, Emiya still doesn't understand how he won this battle.
Like a dream, both sides were confused, and he could only guess one thing:
"You... intend to use this opportunity to impersonate Night Watchers?"
Just as suddenly as it appeared, the pervasive blizzard vanished instantly with the first rays of dawn.
The silence of night gradually gives way to the hustle and bustle of day, and people can finally observe the world with their naked eyes.
The lights dimmed during the day, and a clear dividing line formed between the inside and outside of the tides.
The mountain range beneath our feet was a scene of devastation. For hundreds of kilometers around, there were shattered peaks, carved-out valleys, and countless large pits.
However, the battle between just over twenty players had already turned the Southern Mountains into small basins, with not a single intact tree in sight, demonstrating just how terrifying the intensity of the war was.
Gone? That means players from at least eight factions are all gone?
The black veil obscuring his view dissipated, revealing the truth that made Emiya slightly open his mouth; even the adjective "unbelievable" seemed pale and powerless.
With no big shots involved, and only these cards in hand, dozens of players either died or fled, not even having the courage to cover the retreat.
Emiya saw the Night Watchers's Watch's formation: hundreds of men surrounding a steam Tank, heads held high, hunting rifles raised to their chests.
This is the highest form of courtesy of the Night Watchers, and this respect is offered to their mysterious and powerful leader.
The red-clad hero looked at Yuki with a horrified expression. He suddenly realized that this was just one link in a vast chain of plans, and at the same time, he received his answer.
Yuki tucked his hunting rifle back into his belt, straightened his tricorn hat, and said decisively:
"At this moment, I am the Night Watchers."
Chapter Twelve: An Irresistible Reason!
The Southern Battle has ended; the elite Night Watchers have intervened, and the Night's Minions have suffered heavy losses!
The Night Watchers has sounded the charge and fulfilled its promise.
The Night Watchers headquarters stated that this was a pre-planned operation.
The Night Watchers are confident and capable of maintaining order on the mainland.
The information swept across the Dark Night Continent like a storm, dominating the front pages of major newspapers.
With constant retreats and retreats, the nations of the continent desperately needed a victory to boost morale. On the surface, the existence of Valhalla was erased, but even in confidential reports, it was noted that a powerful Night Watchers had swayed the outcome of the battle.
This was also true for the players, including the Slothful Bishop; some players still fled during that battle, and no matter how you summarize it, the result is the same:
The main participants were five players: Valhalla, Magical Girl, and Battle Maniac, as well as a powerful Night Watchers. There were no other factions involved.
As for those doubts, players can always find reasonable explanations. For example, as the main force in the dungeon, the Night Watchers cannot be without trump cards, and it is reasonable to assume that they are hiding a powerful boss close to epic level.
Numerous factions began urgently modifying their plans, since the original plan only included the 'King of the Night' as a dungeon boss, but now there's an additional one, adding even more variables.
"Yes, this is the ' The Charms of Journalism: taking things out of context to get everyone to focus on the truth they want to believe—a strategic weapon of causality."
On the airship, Yuki closed the newspaper; this was the next link in the chain, something he had planned when strategizing the 'Battle of the Southern Mountains'.
For players, this will make them more cautious, since the circle is shrinking and more and more players are gathering in the center, and the explosive barrel is nearing its Limit.
The Night Watchers are simply not strong enough to delay the outbreak of war; players will fight each other recklessly to secure the best positions for victory.
"I didn't expect you to be so kind-hearted." Mona read the newspaper with great interest, which was full of praise for the mysterious Night Watchers.
"It has nothing to do with mercy. Once the war reaches its climax, no one can hide. I don't want to fight them to the death yet."
The players sitting around Yuki nodded slightly. As the number of people increased, the target also became larger, and they would definitely be targeted by other players.
Yuki's move was brilliant, binding Valhalla to the Night Watchers and subtly leveraging the power of the instance. Anyone who wants to target them will have to factor in the thousands of Night Watchers soldiers, and there are other benefits as well.
For example, they skipped hint 1 and used the Night Watchers' intelligence network to find Akiha Tohno Waka. After asking Mona about Akiha Tohno's abilities, Yuki did not ask them to come and join them, but instead told them to stay among the jungle players.
So how did he do it?
Every player had the same question: the Night Watchers' higher-ups knew perfectly well that this was just a player, yet they readily admitted his identity, displaying an arrogant air of "Yes, I do have a secret weapon."
"The Night Watchers have no choice. They need a victory, and more importantly, they need to make the players misjudge the game; otherwise, they can't maintain order." Emiya glanced at Yuki, who was quietly sipping his coffee, and said admiringly.
"When self-interest trumps logic, it's called using power to oppress others."
"That's true. There are only 65 players left now, so maintaining the status quo is advantageous for the Night Watchers."
"Yes, we should have eliminated the weakest side, but we misjudged the Night Watchers' strength and didn't dare to wipe them out in large numbers. Meanwhile, the small-scale skirmishes between players can reduce their numbers without dragging us into the mess."
"Will the players team up against us?"
"That's where Mr. Raymond's brilliance lies. Even with an extra trump card, the Night Watchers are only strong enough to protect themselves. Besides, most of the sinful players have already been eliminated; who among the remaining would be willing to sacrifice themselves for others?"
"Yes, yes, everyone wants someone else to do it, but in the end, nobody does it."
Mona listened quietly, her small chest puffing out higher and higher, as if she had orchestrated it all.
Actually, she had only just come to her senses. This plan had been brewing since the two of them first entered the instance and encountered the Night Watchers for the first time. No wonder they stopped immediately after killing only one Night Watchers and didn't covet the reward.
And this is only targeting players; he must have other motives. Hmph, he really is a seasoned schemer.
Mona was right after all. Yuki tapped the armrest lightly, his brain racing as he thought.
The core objective of this plan is to kill three birds with one stone. The first layer of meaning lies with the players, namely, how to escape from the level playing field and become the predator.
Now the battle begins. All players outside the poison circle are mantises; the more intense the fighting, the easier it is for the orioles hiding behind the scenes. As for how to escape the stage, the game provides a clear answer with Hint Four.
Kill, loot, grab airdrops, and hide in the poison circle.
Instead of taking this simple and brutal path, Yuki used the Night Watchers as a bulwark, borrowing their power to isolate the player.
Therefore, the Night Watchers had to be highly cohesive, could not suffer too many losses, and could not pose too much of a threat. These three points led Yuki be patient and take action against key targets at crucial moments.
There are still five level 1 Night Watchers. The massive legion is too inflexible and can only stick together for self-preservation in player wars. Now there is one more Night Watchers is close to epic but not epic. Combined with the several players in the Valhalla, their strength is neither high nor low.
While they are feared, they are not enough to cause players to unite and destroy Night Capital, thus eliminating the Night Watchers.
The second meaning refers to the instance itself.
The hunting mission also has a main storyline, which lies in the secrets of the night. Whether it's for the return plan or the legacy mentioned by Shiki Ryougi, he will complete the main storyline.
"Then why should I, like an animal, be forced to kill each other in this Reincarnation Game?" Yuki laughed sarcastically. He extricated himself from the hunt, both to delay the outbreak of the final battle and to use this opportunity to delve deeper into the dungeon.
The Night Watchers has studied the night for thousands of years. Should we not utilize their expertise to uncover its secrets, but instead start searching for them from scratch ourselves?
While you guys adjust your plans and engage in open and covert struggles, I'll go push through the main storyline first. If the epic-level player hidden in the Dark Night Tide proves too difficult to deal with, I'll concentrate the Night Watchers's power to take down the King of the Night, then pack my bags and leave.
In fact, the second layer is the core objective. Compared to the 'legacy,' killing a few more players is insignificant, just like in this war.
Yuki only took the soul material to use as bullets, leaving all the other items to Valhalla and the others, making everyone very happy.
This is the third level. Two Monster IV players provided 11 enhancement points and 4 specialization points, and now they have accumulated 10 specialization points. With the Void Eye in hand, they can upgrade [Soul Corruption] to LV2 at any time, stacking all items, traits, physical attributes, and Transcendental Grade skills.
Taking just half a step forward is epic; having achieved the goal set upon returning from the 'Wizard's Tower,' Yuki is now fully confident of achieving the qualitative leap he desires.
"Wait, is this the elite Night Watchers you were talking about?" Mona whispered in his ear.
"Hmm, a force to be reckoned with, yet not one that would force them to unite."
"What... what's the point of this?"
"Because a Night Watchers approaching epic rank is a story character, and as everyone knows, story characters can't level up as quickly as players, so..." Yuki shrugged.
So it's a huge surprise, because he can advance to Epic rank at any time!
Mona fell silent, sensing that Yuki's plan was far more ambitious than she had imagined, even calculating which step she should advance to.
The passionate young man's last-minute upgrade is a flashback, a roar of anger, while his upgrade is a pre-arranged, cruel truth that will only be revealed at the right time.
"Alright, they won't be able to figure out my true identity for a while, but the hunt will continue. We'll just sit back and watch as players fall one by one."
Yuki looked at the others, silencing the chaotic discussion. Strength was fundamental; only the strong could possess the power to dominate.
"So we'll hide behind the Night Watchers, wait until the players have settled their scores, and then jump out to plunder?" Illya asked softly, feeling that the relationship between Yuki and her best friend was rather peculiar.
"How could that be? No player is stupid; this kind of bargain isn't so easy to come by." Yuki shook his head, remaining calm under Mona's wary gaze. "While we have this time, let's go find the Night Watchers. I now have the authority to persuade them."
You need to be qualified to convince someone of your lies. Yuki had already discovered that the Night Watchers's goal was to end the catastrophe, so the solution was quite simple.
Either all players are wiped out, meeting the requirements for prompt six; or the main quest is completed, and the dungeon ends.
Ah?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that they were being blinded by a leaf; they had all been drawn to the 'hunting mission'.
It's not that I forgot to mention point six, but rather that the main questline lacked any clear direction, and there was no time to consider it amidst the chaos of battle.
But aren't the Night Watchers the very thread that leads us to this discovery?
"I see, so you've been focusing on the main storyline all along." Emiya held his breath and asked, "But will the Night Watchers cooperate obediently once they know you're a player?"
"Of course not. Our predecessors did too many bad things, and I only managed to seize this opportunity to use my power to intimidate others."
"How do we get clues out of them? Or are you planning to betray us?"
"There's no need for that. Persuasion depends on the circumstances. The situation on the Dark Night Continent will only get worse, and sooner or later it will exceed the subjective wishes of the Supreme Council. Until then—"