Chapter 452
Cut!
With a single slash, he split the still-confused mountain of flesh in two, forcefully carving a path through the 'wall' without hesitation, passing right through it.
Did I scare you? Why aren't you showing up?
Her red eyes scanned the surroundings, her steps never faltering. Since the players assigned to the Undead dared not come out, there was no point in hesitating.
Void Conversion.
He absorbed a large chunk of the out-of-control white mist, Yuki saw the end of the valley. The crystallized soul was under his feet, ignoring the dense attacks behind him.
Piercing through the white mist and leaving the valley, a deep valley stretched before me, like a dried-up ocean. Looking behind me, the thick fog obscured all my vision.
The dead dare not leave their territory, for they would be intercepted by the angels on guard outside.
He stopped abruptly, leaned on his gun with one hand, pulled it back of his neck, and grasped the dazed Machine Soul in his palm, meeting its blank amber eyes.
"I told you, even the deepest dens and most dangerous lairs can't stop me, do you believe me now?!"
Confident, domineering, and beyond calculation.
Om was stunned for a long time, but the fact remained: even with himself in tow, the Death Aggregate couldn't stop the man.
In that instant, she learned what trust truly meant—a bold act that disregards probability and delivers on its promises.
I said I would never give up on you, and I would pull you out even in the face of a raging storm.
It's said that no one can stop it, and this terrifying Valley of Death truly cannot be stopped.
Om didn't speak, but saw the wounds all over Yuki's body, the corrosive effects of radiation, the impact of nuclear bombs, and several black, super-hard alloy bullets stuck in his wounds.
The scars made the man both ferocious and reliable. She recalled for a moment, searching her database for words of praise, but the phantom in the air was descending to check the situation; there was no time for flattery at this moment.
As a return gift, she expressed her feelings at that moment in the most efficient way possible:
A smile.
The Machine Soul is overjoyed!
Yuki laughed too. To be honest, Om's intelligence was quite useful. The Undead were really a bunch of cowards, showing no intention of giving chase.
With such a bunch of weirdos guarding the gate, the Machine Race is truly skilled in calculation.
Yuki looked out at the long-dried-up sea. The Angels warships overhead had already climbed back up, because several dark figures were approaching at several times the speed of sound not far away.
They have steel wings, and some kind of anti-gravity force field allows their bodies to fly in the air. They have human-shaped heads, some male and some female, handsome and beautiful, while their futuristic bodies reflect a cold light.
Particle Gatling guns, miniature missile launchers, high-energy beams—a wealth of weaponry was mounted on the machine. Yuki clenched his fist as he watched the machines rapidly decelerate.
Thump.
It landed in front of them, cracking the ground with its footsteps. Its emotionless electronic eyes swept over the two of them, all eyes focusing on Om.
Without hesitation or introductions, the five Machine Race warriors knelt on one knee.
"Vanguard number XG-181X, paying the highest tribute to the sacred Machine Soul. May I ask, Machine Soul, what is your purpose, and what is the identity of this extremely high-threat carbon-based life form?"
They performed the ceremonial procedures while maintaining a high level of vigilance.
Om fell into thought, but of course she had no intention of abandoning the cause after using it. She searched the database, just as before, to make the most accurate description:
"His name is Rod, and he's my friend."
Friend?
The Machine Race seemed not to understand the meaning of the word, remaining kneeling on one knee without moving. Yuki keenly sensed the change, and a new gaze was cast upon them.
The Netway Will.
This situation was beyond the capabilities of ordinary soldiers, so the highest-ranking being personally intervened. He wasn't in a hurry and simply stood there waiting, while Om beside him gently tugged at his sleeve.
"This is a matter of researching how to deal with it. Cases like mine are rare. Usually, the Machine Soul would hide somewhere to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop."
Wow, you've even learned to use metaphors! How come you seem to be growing up so fast?
"Can't you urge them a little?"
"Rejected. I have no command authority before becoming the Netway Will. I want to emphasize that I've said this before: the memory of carbon-based life forms is indeed a weakness."
"I haven't forgotten, I just lament how useless your Machine Soul is. It's just like the crown prince, who had no power whatsoever before the old emperor died."
Om blinked, instinctively searching the database for words like "crown prince" and "emperor" to find similarities, then puffed out his cheeks and gave up studying.
"If I'm useless, then wouldn't it be even more useless for the stupid Mr. Rod to need me to make contact with the Machine Race?"
"Yeah, yeah, I wonder who was so scared they almost cried just now. Is this even considered mechanical?"
"No, machines have no feelings. It's Mr. Rod's hearing system that's malfunctioning. Correction: From now on, he'll be called the stupid and hard-of-hearing Mr. Rod."
"Don't use verbal tics to cover up your inability to win an argument!"
The mechanical soldier remained kneeling on one knee, head held high. He could understand every word the two men were saying, yet he couldn't comprehend any of them.
Besides the unified access Netway Will, each individual member of the Machine Race actually possesses self-awareness. Upon seeing the incredibly agile Om, only one thought came to mind:
Praise be to the omnipotent Machine Soul, which effortlessly reached the pinnacle of purification and possessed the 'heart' that every individual dreams of.
Yuki shut his mouth at this moment. He saw more machines flying in from a distance, and the one in front was completely different; it was clearly a player.
With long pink hair, pure white wings, and a blank expression similar to the surrounding Machine Race, Yuki a long sigh of relief the moment she appeared.
I've found the right one, it's her.
Chapter Ten: Ikaros
"Have you heard? Someone has crossed Death Canyon and is heading towards the territory of the Machine Race."
"Huh? That place must be pretty dangerous. Skywing has assessed it several times, but we haven't launched an attack yet."
"And then? They started fighting the Machine Race?"
"The lack of combat response suggests they're seeking cooperation, though I don't know how those emotionless machines could cooperate with outsiders."
"Yeah, yeah, just a bunch of heartless monsters. Their advantage is that they're hard to wipe out completely; they'll just grow stronger again in no time."
Amidst the fragrance of flowers, beautiful angels chatted in the garden, coffee cups in hand—a 'gossip skill' they learned from the gyaru form of Hayasaka Ai.
Of course, angels don't understand love, so they simply gossip about all sorts of rumors.
Not far away, Shiina Hiyori sat on a bench, eavesdropping and secretly revealing a smile.
Mr. Yuki succeeded.
He actually found the Machine Soul, forced Machine Soul to cooperate, and then led it across Death Canyon to the Machine Race's territory.
How did he do that? Has his deception reached the point where he can even influence machines?
The reason is unknown, but the plan is going very smoothly. This way, we can get in touch with the wanted criminal. Even if I'm wrong, having an ally of one race isn't bad.
And, as expected of Mr. Yuki.
Hiyori Xiaoxiao flattered him, a brilliant move that avoided direct conflict with the Angels and laid the groundwork for their next plan.
The Angels's main enemy right now is the Undead. The reason is simple: the latter are too 'ugly,' but the Angels are unwilling to fight to the death with these filthy undead.
On one hand, there is the cost; on the other hand, there is the Angels's unique reproductive system.
The angels of death return to the Sky City, where time gives birth to new angels. But if they are tainted by the aura of the dead, they are truly dead.
If any race is willing to help with this, they will gain the friendship of the Angels, who will then use this opportunity to push things along, giving them a lot of room to maneuver.
"You're really something. No wonder you had Hayasaka teach them gossip; you were secretly gathering information." Mai Sakurajima sat beside her, gently stretching her shoulders, quite impressed.
They didn't need to be spies, trying every means to steal secrets. Angels are talkative, and many things are revealed on their own. Then, Hiyori could read them herself and analyze a lot of information.
"Thank you for the compliment, senior. I just took advantage of their curiosity. I noticed it when I first arrived. These angels are like blank sheets of paper, but they are extremely closed off. Why don't we use our status as the only outsiders to paint colors on these blank sheets?"
The Angels arrogant and never interact with other races, but players are different; their identities are assigned by the Reincarnation Game, which comes with certain prerequisites.
Mai Sakurajima glanced around. The beautiful angels were either whispering to each other or sitting on the ground, learning how to brew black tea from Kaguya. Further away, several angels sat in front of a screen, holding a controller and staring intently at the screen.
The leader of them was Giles, the 'Slayer' who seemed to be completely useless, spending all his time playing video games except for fighting.
"But you've used this identity to its Limit." Mai Sakurajima shook her head with a sigh; the girl had easily caused the angel to fall.
"I didn't expect it to work this well. It seems that laziness is the same in every world." Hiyori smiled and lowered her voice, "Once Mr. Yuki meets up with the wanted players, we can probably start making moves against the Judge. Every seemingly isolated point will be linked together, forming an impenetrable net."
"That's a matter for you two foxes, I'll just cooperate. So, what should we do now?"
"Wait, wait until Mr. Yuki deals with the Machine Race and hands the opportunity to us, then we can pave the way for the real second phase of the dungeon raid." Hiyori held up a few fingers and whispered:
"First, find out the movements of other races and their assistance to the players."
"Second, continue the search for the whereabouts of the Divine Torch."
"Third, to answer a question that has troubled me for a long time."
"What's the problem?"
"The Angels asked us for their clues, so they should be able to guess the conditions for the appearance of the Divine Torch. Why are they still only engaging in small-scale skirmishes?" Hiyori found it hard to understand. Eliminating more than five races wouldn't be difficult for the Angels, but they hadn't put any effort into wiping out the remaining Orcs.
"There's definitely something wrong here. Could there be some hidden secret?" Mai Sakurajima frowned slightly; she had also noticed something amiss.
"Yes, but this isn't a secret that can be uncovered through gossip. I suspect the Angels are holding something back, but it's alright--"
Hiyori hands clapped lightly, her eyes like crescent moons.
"If one door closes, another opens; perhaps Mr. Yuki can find the answer."
The plan is progressing smoothly. Just as Hiyori said, the team is divided into four directions. They may seem like four separate points, but each is working hard and will eventually connect.
Nothingness is existence, solitude is unity, including Frieren and Mona, everyone is advancing the dungeon in different ways.
These players' progress isn't actually that different from other players, but once they join forces, the difference becomes fourfold. Just like Yuki received the Message Capsule and immediately found a way out, if he were alone, he probably still wouldn't understand what the Machine Race is or what the cooperative goal is.
The only way is to capture someone and force a confession. Once you understand what 'Netway Will' means, you'll have become an enemy of the Machine Race, and Om will probably blow you up on the spot.
It's good that there's Hiyori. If I were traveling alone, I could forget about farming with humans. I could only use Soul Infection to capture prisoners everywhere. Maybe I could find out her whereabouts, but it would be impossible to make contact. Such treatment is something that only happens in dreams.
Yuki around, but there wasn't much to see. He had already arrived at the core territory of the Machine Race. Here, apart from cold steel, there were only a large number of cables and energy storage devices.
Beautiful mechanical girls are everywhere, and huge mechs can be seen from time to time. As the welding of engineering machines flashes, war machines are coming off the assembly line.
Even ten Orcs couldn't defeat the Machine Race.
This was Yuki's initial assessment: this race was too numerous and had powerful firepower. The Shock Titan was as tall as a mountain, and its particle cannons were several meters thick, causing Yuuki's gaze towards Om to change slightly.
Praise the great Machine Soul.
The Doomsday Legion, born for war, has one major flaw: it lacks flashy skills. The Machine Race are a bunch of honest people who only have basic metrics like destructive power, defense, and speed in their minds.
They are mainly divided into two categories. Those with independent consciousness are called mechanical vanguards, which are steel angels with human appearances. These are relatively few in number, about one percent.
The other type is simply war machines, generally called mass-produced warriors, who make up more than 90% of the population. They are cannon fodder who are not worth dying for, but these cannon fodder are equivalent to ordinary Orcs warriors and possess strength above the extraordinary level.
No matter how prolific Orcs are, they can't compete with an assembly line.
Out of respect for Om, Yuki was granted 'observer' privileges. The cold particle turrets wouldn't target him; only passing mecha girls would cast scrutinizing glances at him.
The biggest achievement of facilitating the connection was getting in touch with the wanted female criminal.
He looked ahead and saw a girl with pink braids and pure white wings. Her figure was ridiculously good, but her green eyes were filled with coldness and indifference, making her no different from the Machine Race around her.
In some ways, her matchup with the Machine Race was flawless.
"Miss Ikaros, why was your strength assigned to the Machine Race?" Yuki asked, as the information clearly stated that she was an epic-level player.
[Tip 2: Players will join different races based on their faction strength. Attacking cooperative races is prohibited, and players cannot communicate with each other. Violators will be punished.]
Relying on the Machine Soul, Yuki has already established direct contact with the Machine Race and will naturally not be punished.
Clatter.
The girl stopped and turned her head expressionlessly. Yuki then noticed that there was no chain around her neck.
His azure eyes revealed little emotion. Using Om as a bridge, Yuki had already tested the waters and made his intentions clear.
I don't trust you.
The girl's voice was clear and concise, yet full of rationality, like a block of ice.