Chapter 441
'Slayer' 'Sweeper' 'City Destroyer'
Such a terrifying nickname seems completely inappropriate for a girl with such an innocent face, especially when she grins, as if drool is about to drip from her mouth.
Giles, if I hadn't witnessed her annihilate a sirens colony and slaughter hundreds of people with a blank expression, I wouldn't have believed she was a human.
Hiyori smiled and nodded, watching as Hayasaka walked away, then leaned against the window to observe closely.
A group of sentient combat weapons, whose curious nature was fully exposed when they encountered new and exciting things because the war was so intense.
I don't have to do anything; I just need to cater to their preferences and make friends.
The girl looked up and saw a male angel with long silver hair and a white uniform looking down at her from the sky, with a halo of up to nine layers above his head.
Klemisius, with his nine-ringed winged wings, could see through any of the players' actions, but the result was quite strange. These assistants hadn't made any unnecessary moves. As for their current strange behavior?
This neither violated the law nor affected the battle, and as a representative of the race, it seemed reasonable for him to relax during the lull in the fighting.
Let's leave it at that for now.
He vanished without a trace in an instant, allowing Hiyori to breathe a sigh of relief. Looking directly into the golden eyes, she could see the arrogance within them. Tianyi had never considered players to pose a threat, let alone that they had made any hostile moves.
Then I'll make some real friends. You bunch of weapons of war underestimate the power of emotions.
Hiyori and saw a blonde angel, even smaller than Mona, floating in the air, gazing at her expectantly. Judging from the halo above its head, this was also an archangel with eight rings.
"Nier, do you want to hear another story from me?"
"Mmm, mmm, Miss Hiyori's stories are the most interesting. I want to hear the story of the one where there is no land and only the sea." The blonde angel's chubby face was full of innocence, making one forget her title of 'Orcs killer'.
"Okay, go ask Mai Sakurajima for some potato chips, let's sit down and chat."
"Yay!"
The angel cheered and teleported to Mai Sakurajima's side in a millisecond, like a pigeon waiting to be fed, unaware that Hiyori's muscles had been tense Hiyori.
That's terrifying. She could kill me in an instant, so fast that the Sacrificial Chain wouldn't even have time to activate.
Hiyori suppressed her heartbeat, feeling far from relaxed as she was surrounded by a group of Humanoid Weapon.
Mona and Frieren should be alright, right? From what I've gathered, the Monster Race mainly relies on individual strength and rarely acts alone. Some of the Magical Beasts aren't exactly brutal either.
Their safety depends on luck; if they follow the right Magical Beasts, they should be fine.
Then there's Mr. Yuki...
She turned her head and looked at the ravaged land, not knowing where Yuki was with a group of rat-like humans, but one thing was certain.
He must have had a very tough time.
This godforsaken place is absolutely awful.
While Hiyori and the others were surrounded by beautiful angels and 'enjoying' a refined life, Yuki was trekking through a desolate mountain range.
He changed into a linen cloak and put on a mask, a high-tech product with built-in infrared, electromagnetic, and optical tracking capabilities, as well as a certain degree of dynamic vision compensation. The pig-snout-like filter canister could eliminate harmful substances.
But the strong, acrid smell persisted, and coupled with the mountain range where not a single weed could be seen, it felt like arriving in a dead zone.
The result of repeated battles involving multiple monsters of monster-level strength is similar to the battles in Nighttime Murder: high-intensity combat will leave nothing but physical desolation; in other words, the world is finished.
Yuki personally experienced what the apocalypse is like. It can be said that survival is suffering, and choosing to live is entirely based on the instinct for survival. Humans don't even have many of these masks; only expedition teams can be equipped with them.
He had already asked Snot, and he learned that long, long ago, there were tens of millions of humans with a thriving civilization. Masks like these were considered low-level items; there were much more powerful war machines.
But repeated defeats shattered civilization, cities vanished into thin air, and the survivors didn't even have time to reminisce about their glory; they were like a bunch of rats.
At least these elite rats are barely acceptable.
Yuki looked at the group ahead. They moved quickly through the mountains, skillfully dodging any movement. At each high vantage point, they would take out binoculars to observe their surroundings. Their combat strength was hard to say, but their scouting abilities were definitely maxed out.
The ten-person team stealthily made their way to a cave at the foot of a mountain, where supplies were laid out, indicating they had scouted the location beforehand.
They dared not light a campfire, nor waste the energy of their power armor, enduring temperatures tens of degrees below zero, occasionally moving their legs to warm them up.
Yuki's level 8 physique allows him to ignore harsh weather. Seeing them all taking off their helmets, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing now? If I'm not mistaken, particles in the air can also harm you."
The humans here don't seem to be Psychic Warrior; they don't have any special abilities, and their physical strength isn't strong enough.
"This saves on filters; it's hard to build one these days," replied a red-haired man with Scarface on his face. He was the leader of the scavenging team and was fairly respectful to Yuki.
The other men and women were mostly curious, wondering why the entire group was so respectful to Yuki. If he were a strong person, there would be no need for him to wear a combat suit.
They all appear human, but their inferiority complex runs deep within them. Each of them carries a bomb around their neck, and when they encounter other races, they don't think about fighting to the death, but rather how to commit suicide to prevent their group from being exposed.
Yuki nodded. He hadn't even remembered these people's names, and he couldn't be bothered to mentally prepare himself.
"So, where is this scavenging trip headed?"
"Lucy, you explain this to Lord Rod."
"It's the captain." A girl with chestnut-brown, shoulder-length hair, an oval face, long, thin eyebrows, and a sweet appearance stepped forward. She lightly tapped her arm armor, projecting a screen of azure light.
This is a holographic image of the nearby mountains, with detailed depictions of various terrain features, and a red dot is visible within it.
"Lord Rod, our scout team has confirmed through several Reconnaissance that there is a crashed Machine Race warship in this ravine. It has not yet been discovered. The parts on it will be very useful for the next stage of the migration, and the clan's mechanics can modify it into various useful equipment."
Mechanics, comprising one percent of the population, have inherited human civilization. Their specialty is using discarded materials to create various items. Without this "I Guess" power, humanity would have gone extinct long ago.
Yuki has studied these people in detail. They are not only interesting, but also have great potential. After all, what humans pick up now is not even wreckage, but mostly just scraps and junk. With these materials, they can create power armor.
"Are you planning to have those mechanics craft equipment to enhance our combat capabilities? Since it's a warship, it must have weapons on board, right? With some modifications, perhaps its power can be greatly increased?"
Lucy turned to look at the Scarface man, raising her thin eyebrows with an expression that seemed to say, 'Is this guy out of his mind?' He gently shook his head, allowing her to hide her displeasure.
"Ahem, it's like this." The Scarface man stepped forward and explained in a low voice, "We want to use the parts inside to make more filters. If we're lucky, we might be able to restore the optical concealment device, which would make the team safer when we stop. If we're even luckier, we might find the Machine Race's energy replenishment device, and we can live a peaceful life for a long time."
Oh, still thinking only about prolonging life.
Yuki understood now; humans would practically eat engine oil to survive, and he became somewhat curious.
"An energy replenishment device for the Machine Race? Can people eat it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he received a strange and disapproving look, like a spoiled young master standing next to a farmer and asking him something like, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
"If stones were edible, we could accept them. This little bit of information came at the cost of more than a dozen lives. And didn't you hear the captain say 'lucky'? Usually, we can only find armor plates that we can't even move."
Lucy frowned and replied rather bluntly. Yuki's composure was too irritating to her, like a well-dressed fellow suddenly appearing in a ragged refugee group.
"Lucy, watch your attitude. Apologize to Lord Rod." The Scarface man quickly tried to smooth things over, but the girl walked away without looking back. He could only awkwardly bow to Yuki, "I'm sorry, young people are too hot-blooded. I will definitely teach her a lesson."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not used to being treated so respectfully anyway." Yuki his hand dismissively. As an epic-level player, he had that much composure. Besides, grinding reputation with humans was too easy.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. The young team members all had unfriendly expressions, Yuki didn't care what these ants were thinking. He leaned against the wall, pondering how to lure out the Judge.
After resting for more than ten minutes, the ground suddenly trembled slightly. Yuki looked up and saw that everyone in the cave had rushed to the cave entrance.
Very vigilant, even sleeps with one eye open.
Now Yuki knew what "a bird startled by the twang of a bow" meant. He slowly walked to the cave entrance and saw a group of people lying there, staring outside without daring to breathe.
With a thunderous roar, a massive fortress appeared on the crater-strewn plain. It was pitch black, covered with menacing cannon barrels, and its various structures were in disarray. Eight giant, spider-like mechanical legs supported its slow movement.
"It's Orcs land fortress! Lie down! If we're discovered, we're dead!" Lucy grabbed Yuki's hand and pulled him to the ground, her voice trembling and her words barely audible.
This one fortress alone is enough to wipe out humanity several times over, especially that biological spore cannon; one shot from it could blast a hole in a mountain.
Orcs, who rank second to last in the middle, really this strong?
Yuki watched with great interest; at least visually, Orcs and humans were on completely different levels.
Individual combat strength is average, technological level is below average, population is sizable, and personality is cruel and warlike, hence the name 'game gatekeeper'.
"Beyond the Orcs, one is qualified to participate in the Great Game," he squinted, noticing many strange vehicles around the land fortress, some resembling the dilapidated war machines from Mad Max.
Some nozzles spewed fireballs, while others emitted thick black smoke. Standing on the vehicle were figures over two meters tall, dressed in cobbled-together heavy armor, wielding strange firearms, and possessing fangs, sharp teeth, and thick fur.
It has absolutely nothing to do with animal-eared girls or anything like that; if you really want to make a comparison, it's closer to green-skinned creatures.
"These are the Orcs?"
"Yes, they are all incredibly strong, with keen senses, and their physical abilities are more than five times that of us. Their leader is called a War General. There are three of these land fortresses, and there must be a War General stationed inside." The Scarface man explained quickly, seemingly not in the mood to say much more to Yuki, and immediately looked at everyone.
"Once the land fortress arrives, the Orcs will search the surrounding area. I suggest abandoning the mission immediately, returning to base camp, and migrating westward to avoid the 500-kilometer search zone."
The ship was about to be salvaged, but the team members were reluctant to part with it. A warship that hadn't been dismantled was incredibly precious, and they couldn't easily give it up. However, compared to the survival of the entire race, it was insignificant.
"Okay, let's find a chance to retreat..."
"No, the exploration continues." Yuki suddenly interjected. He hadn't come here to play desert survival with these people. Seeing the skeptical faces, he didn't bother to explain and simply gave the order:
"Someone go back and inform them to be prepared to evacuate at any time. The rest of you will continue the exploration with me. Even if we fail, it's only nine lives."
"You don't understand. If we're discovered, the Orcs will immediately realize the group is nearby, and then we won't be able to escape." Lucy was the first to object, quickly lowering her voice, her whole body trembling. "You also don't understand what the consequences will be if the Orcs catch us. They'll tie us to containers and parasitize us with spores. One person can feed a hundred Orcs for three days. Can you imagine that kind of horror?"
Spores are a special kind of biological weapon that can only parasitize creatures other than Orcs and Machine Race. They multiply infinitely before draining their host. Orcs eat the mushrooms mentioned above.
Seeing her emotional state, Yuki didn't say anything; this outcome was indeed quite tragic.
"Continue." Yuki shook his head without any emotion, as if he didn't care about the consequences at all.
"This is an order."
What a load of rubbish! You think you can send all of humanity into danger with just this little guarantee? Do you even know how much we've struggled to survive until now?
Lucy glared, and the others also looked hostile, some even quietly raising their guns. Suddenly, the Scarface man raised his hand.
"Stop arguing! You idiots, we've been spotted! These Orcs are after us!"
Call out.
With a low, sharp whistle, he suddenly fired his gun, and a burst of pus erupted above the cave entrance.
"A cryptospore, it's a cryptospore!"
"They've been looking for us for a while now."
"It's all his fault, we made too much noise."
The team was immediately thrown into chaos. They saw the tanks patrolling around the fortress accelerating, and quickly put on their masks, only to see a fleeting afterimage in the air.
"The lurking ones, they're coming after us!"
Lucy gripped the bomb around her neck tightly in her hand. The first rule for scavengers: if discovered, commit suicide immediately; do not bring disaster upon the entire race.
This is the difference between the death of one person and the death of the entire clan. At this moment, Yuki pressed down on her trembling hand.
"Don't rush to die, escape first."
"How can we escape? We're no match for the Orcs in terms of speed or stamina." The girl panted heavily, her expression disdainful.
Wasn't this person supposed to be quite calm and confident? Why is he still trying to run away?
"Just keep up with me." Yuki's expression remained unchanged as he watched the rapidly approaching chariot.
He saw hundreds and thousands of Orcs rushing out of the fortress, like a hundred boats racing, with all sorts of strange war chariots surging in. He looked around and made sure there were no players among them.
"Don't worry, if we really die, I won't let you leave a speck of dust. Now come with me."
Yuki jumped out of the cave and headed north. After his eyes locked onto several black dots, the Orcs became even more excited, like Garou spotting a flock of sheep.
Is he intellectually disabled, has a violent temper, and is he also stubborn?
Yuki and his men crossed the mountain, they saw the air distort, and a pitch-black chariot appeared out of thin air, blocking their path.
"Space vehicles and advanced combatants are blocking our way!"
"Brothers, don't bring harm to our families, be brave!"
This was a simple and brutal trap. Everyone was in despair. Scavenging had to be done without being discovered, otherwise any race could easily kill them.
In an instant, someone raised their gun, someone prepared to detonate a bomb.
Boom!
The tank exploded hundreds of meters away, sending thick armor plates flying everywhere. The Orcs who had just jumped off the tank fled in disarray.
They were extremely strong; they were ignited by embers and seemed unaffected, raising their strange weapons.
There were no gunshots, no swarms of spores with their own tracking ability, because the glint in their vicious eyes vanished before they pulled the trigger.
What are they doing?
Lucy and the others remained rooted to the spot. The Orcs seemed to have been hit by its own hunting spores and lost the ability to move. She turned her head slightly and found that Yuki was gone. No, he had been next to the chariot in 0.01 seconds.
With an 8-level physique and the Blood-Burning Heart stacked on top of it, without needing any flashy special effects, in an instant, his fist pierced through the chest of a soldier, pulled out his serrated blade, and then reaped the surrounding Orcs.
The speed was so fast that it was almost like teleportation to humans. Only bloodstains appeared before the person and armor were reduced to a pile of minced meat.