Chapter 453

Yuki shrugged. That was true. After all, he could be bait for the Judge to lure Ikaros out and kill him. Om's reputation didn't matter to the players.

"Then let's see who's the best."

"You want to fight me?" The girl tilted her head, making Yuki both amused and exasperated.

"What I mean is, let me offer a token of my loyalty. At least I didn't attract the Judge. With their strength, the Machine Race might not be able to stop them."

Ikaros thought for a moment and nodded slightly. The current situation was that she had no way to Yuki, or rather, Yuki used the Machine Soul as a breakthrough point, and she couldn't get the Machine Race to help surround and kill him.

Om, with his superior status and the Netway Will, clearly knew what 'gratitude' meant. At this dangerous juncture, Yuki escorted the Machine Soul to him.

Time reveals true character. Despite Ikaros's cold and taciturn nature, Yuki knew she had no choice; otherwise, she wouldn't have hidden herself among the Machine Race and never exposed herself.

She's the one who needs help, why am I in such a hurry? At worst, we'll lose an epic-level player to help, and we can still defeat the Judge.

At the end of the corridor was a giant door. The ultra-hard alloy looked incredibly safe. When the door opened a crack, Yuki peeked out and was filled with surprise.

Inside was a cluttered warehouse, filled with all sorts of parts and half-finished robots. I couldn't resist poking Om's butt with my knee.

"Is this the Netway Will?"

"No, or rather, every Machine Intelligence is the Netway Will. Clumsy and deaf Mr. Rod, you wouldn't be looking for the physical form of the Netway Will, would you?" The Machine Soul was wary, but its eyes were full of a playful glint.

The Machine Race is truly honest; even if there's a chance, they'll deliberately avoid it.

Yuki suddenly realized that it wasn't good to give machines too much emotion. They were too Incandescence, and once they stopped following probability, they became as naive as children, just like Om treated him as a friend, which was somewhat like digging out his heart.

You're lucky you met me.

Yuki might play pranks on small matters, but he was never one to back down when it came to important things. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to ask, but if we're going to cooperate, let's hurry. We still need to liaise with the Angels."

"Please don't worry, Mr. Rod, the Machine Race and the Angels have a basis for cooperation."

An electronic voice came from the side. Yuki turned his head and saw a mechanical dog. It wasn't exactly cute, and its electronic eyes were flashing red. But Yuki knew that if he kicked it, the Netway Will would be severely damaged.

It's like a virtual organism; computing power can be transferred to different bodies, and if you're fast enough, you can destroy the original body's computing power.

Yuki understood, sat down on a metal box next to him, and lit a cigarette.

"I'm afraid that the Death Aggregate escape; without it, the sincerity of our cooperation will be diminished."

"I must warn you, the friendship of angels is not easily gained. They may owe you a favor once, but they will repay it quickly. No race can maintain a long-term Alliance with them."

Should we focus on the issue, not the person?

Yuki had a cigarette in his mouth, which was in line with the arrogance of an angel. One thing at a time, how could an angel become friends with a heartless, broken machine? Speaking of which, this Netway Will is quite different.

He glanced at the robotic dog, feeling as if it were chatting with a human, without any awkwardness.

"I just want them to repay this favor by fighting a common enemy; they won't resist."

"Who?"

"My kind, or rather, a special group of my kind."

He turned his head to look at Ikaros, whose gaze had changed slightly. This was a great pledge of allegiance; the Angels were not to be controlled, and who would dare to use them as bait?

In the robotic dog's electronic eyes, a massive stream of data flashed by. It was certainly aware of the Judge's existence and had also observed the latter.

They are powerful, but more importantly, they are special.

The Judge don't participate in the main storyline; in other words, they're outsiders to the Great Game. If they were just a bunch of ants, that would be one thing, but they're excessively powerful. Who knows what they're up to?

This poses a threat to equality for all races.

Therefore, the Netway Will gave Yuki the opportunity to negotiate; Om's face was not enough, what mattered was that the interests of both parties were aligned.

"They don't participate in the Great Game, nor are they bound by it. The best way to deal with a group of powerful and unknown beings is to eliminate them." Yuki flicked off his cigarette ash and opened his palm.

"My power is insufficient; I need the cooperation of the Machine Race, the Angels, and even other races. As payment for escorting the Machine Soul back, I need your help to establish contact with the Angels using the blood of the Undead as a bridge. I think the arrogant angels share this idea."

With Hiyori's encouragement, the angels had already fought two battles with the Judge. Of course, they had to show no mercy when dealing with enemies. However, they were too proud to actively seek help from others.

"The Angels also have your kind. What are their thoughts?"

"No need to worry, I will persuade them."

"Even if things go smoothly, how do we find these powerful enemies?" the Netway Will asked again. There were only about ten Judge in total, and the various races wouldn't spend a lot of time searching for them.

Their primary target for defense is always other races.

"Don't worry about that." Yuki took out the iron box from his pocket, and Lucy's voice came from inside, accompanied by a rustling sound.

"Lord Rod, your kind has come to visit, saying they want to see you."

A strange gaze fell upon them, including from Ikaros. If they weren't skilled in calculation, they would have already suspected that Yuki had used bait to bluff.

The advantage of Machine Intelligence lies in their rigorous logic and super-strong computing power, enabling them to quickly calculate various assumptions and causes.

"They want to collaborate with their own kind, and you are the most suitable collaboration target?"

"Yes, the stronger the partner, the better. You should understand the basic logic of the allocation. Generally speaking, the weaker the race, the stronger the assistant." Yuki spread his hands, a pleasant smile on his face.

"The Insect Race are very good at hiding, and I was the first epic-level player to jump out. With the release of the Gathering Order, humans are not hard to find either."

"So if they don't come to me, who will they come to?"

The process continued steadily. Just as the Judge, who had been secretly observing humanity for a long time and had captured many prisoners to search their memories, finally came to visit, Yuki had already woven a large net.

This can be considered a case of having a premeditated plan against an unintentional one. After all, it has always been the Judge who hunt down others, not the other way around. And someone would follow Judge in and plot from the very beginning how to get rid of them.

Given this premise, if I don't manage to kill you all, wouldn't I have wasted my life?

In the huge factory, the noisy cutting sounds filled the air. Yuki found a box to sit on and gently swung his legs.

His answer was simple: Lucy should keep a close watch on these people's movements, while he would observe from a safe distance.

This is human nature; players are always cautious when they meet, in case they encounter a double-cross. For a cunning old fox, simply eliminating a few targets is too simplistic; he needs to find a way to squeeze every last drop of value out of the Judge before they die.

'I can't help with what my senior did, so I can only look after Frieren and Mona. They've come to the inner ring, which isn't far from those coordinates.'

Yuki started making plans again when he suddenly looked up and saw the pink-haired girl silently walk to his side.

"Miss Ikaros, is there something you need?"

"Hmm, I don't understand. You've spent so much time and effort, and taken such great risks, why are you going to fight the Judge?" Ikaros genuinely didn't understand; generally speaking, players would keep their distance from such a figure.

"Then why are you being tracked by the Judge? You can explain that, can't you?"

"During a mission, they were in the way and threatened my friends, so I killed their people." The girl had a blank expression, looking dazed, but she was ruthless.

Yuki was surprised and subconsciously asked, "Aren't you going back?"

"Why go back? My memories have long been restored, there's no need to continue the annihilation operation, and the shackles have long been broken, there's no reason to return to 'Synapse'."

Wait, didn't Ikaros encounter the Daedalus?

"Aren't you an entertainment angel?"

"Correction, I am a strategic Exusiai." Ikaros frowned, clearly possessing the emotion of 'anger,' and also somewhat strangely, unable to fathom why Yuki would utter such a rude term as 'entertainment angel.'

"I'm sorry, I had a preconceived notion."

Yuki quickly apologized. He had thought Ikaros was desperately trying to get back because of love, which was why she was being targeted by the Judge. It seemed she hadn't actually met the Daedalus at all.

But that's not right. She seems emotionless, yet she possesses obvious emotions. Ikaros, a blank slate, only softened because of the Daedalus's silliness. If she were to enter the Reincarnation Game, wouldn't she be completely corrupted and turned into a highly efficient killing machine?

Unlike a weapon of mass destruction, she possesses a rich inner world beneath her calm exterior. Wait, she said it was for her friends?

Yuki immediately understood. Ikaros must have had some good teammates during his rookie years, which is why he seemed so humane. Of course, he didn't want to pry into such a private matter.

"Mr. Rod, I'm still waiting for your answer." Ikaros stared blankly.

Yuki had already planned ahead, so of course he couldn't say that he was 'Taiyi' and that he came specifically to kill them.

"Similar to you, I have a grudge against them too. Ever heard of the Unlicensed Rider?"

Ikaros nodded. This was a very experienced player who had climbed up the ranks step by step and was known for never doing evil. Coincidentally, Yuki's current alias was 'Hero Kingdom'.

"You want to help him?"

"Yes, he is my friend, an ordinary yet great person." Yuki directly adopted the original template, genuinely holding Unlicensed Rider in high esteem.

"So after discovering traces of the Judge, I decided to take action. To avoid trouble, it would be best to kill someone using a dungeon as a cover. Of course, if that doesn't work, I don't mind sharing the firepower with the Unlicensed Rider."

He raised his head, his face filled with a solemn determination that said, "Even if there are thousands of people, I will go." The reason why the "Hero Kingdom" is so famous is because there are too many fools in this camp who dare to do feats that ordinary people dare not accomplish.

Loyalty, passion, steadfastness, friendship.

Many players will readily obey commands when they encounter famous heroes from the Hero Kingdom in dungeons. Some things are deeply ingrained and difficult to change even in Reincarnation Game. This is one of the few factions that can provide a sense of security simply because of their name.

Ikaros had no doubt; this was indeed a player from the Hero Kingdom, and it also resembled the style of the Hero Kingdom. Besides, the "Civilian Superman" was quite famous, and a secretive identity was very common in the Hero Kingdom.

Heroes love to show off in secret. I heard there's an epic player there who always plays the role of a wage slave in every dungeon before suddenly jumping out to save the world.

"That motivation is in line with the style, but I still don't feel like you're a hero."

"There are many kinds of heroes, judged by their deeds, not their intentions," Yuki explained. He certainly didn't seem like one; how could a cunning old man be a hero? "But I never lie, and there's no need to lie about what I do."

This time, Ikaros. If Yuki had invited her to participate alone, believing even a single word would have been idiotic. But he brought in the Angels and Machine Race, which far exceeded the player's control.

Once the two races start fighting, the fake will become real.

When do we depart?

"Today, the Death Aggregate is my pledge of allegiance. I've brought the Angels into this, so you can rest assured."

"Okay, I'll wait for your message."

Ikaros turned and left without hesitation, just like a machine. Yuki's gaze held a hint of pity; Ikaros was probably one of the unluckiest players.

But it's alright, being a waiting-for-husband rock like Shiki Ryougi isn't exactly a pleasant experience either.

He watched the war machines roll off the production line, not thinking about the upcoming battle, but instead figuring out how to contact Mona and the Mona, and how to squeeze the last bit of value out of the Judge.

If you want to cooperate with me, how can you do it without first offering a pledge of allegiance?

With the march of steel, a large number of war machines formed an offensive formation. This time, the commander was Om, who was said to have been given partial command authority and had been trained in advance.

Machines also need to be learned, and war is the best way to learn.

Watching her skillfully deploy the troops, Yuki couldn't help but marvel at the convenience of machinery; the relevant knowledge was already stored in the database.

"Draw Conceptual Craft Essence, keywords: [Tactics], [Evasion]."

[Conceptual Craft Essence: Secret Technique - Back-and-Forth Dodge]

[Upon activation, the user will gain the 'Absolute Evasion' rule within a maximum of three seconds through high-speed movement. Note that you cannot move forward or backward.]

Isn't this... the ultimate skill of a show-off?

Yuki raised an eyebrow. He was already used to his own eccentricities, so he wasn't surprised. Functionally speaking, the time was too short to use evasion to get close to his opponent.

Well, I need to think about where to use it; rule-based abilities have always been very valuable.

"Reminder, prepare for deployment."

Before he could think further, with the reminder from the Machine Soul, Yuki raised his head and saw a crack appear in the middle of the mountain peak, through which a gray-red light shone in.

Thousands of Machine Race are taking off, and as their pulse engines ignite, massive steel warships soar into the sky.

Click click click.

Yuki stretched his shoulders. He wasn't part of the main force in this battle, but he made a request:

I want the life of the Death Aggregate.

Chapter Eleven: Keep Making Moves

The valley turned into a circular pit. The dead had no bodies, or rather, death was a kind of annihilation for them. Only broken ruins and lava-like earth remained.

The destruction of the undead settlement was a straightforward affair; the Machine Race launched a full-scale attack, and with the addition of Yuki and Ikaros, even three-headed, six-armed undead couldn't withstand it.

Of course, there's nothing to reminisce about. The Undead are the most difficult race to eradicate. As long as there is death, they will appear. Perhaps after a battle, a new undead settlement and a new Death Aggregate will be resurrected with full health.

"With the Witch God's Soul Crystal, the Undead isn't much of a problem."

Yuki stood in the largest circular pit, his feet treading on minced meat and debris. Red Lotus Fire spread, burning the fleeing remains to ashes.

He fears nothing more than curses or curses that kill. He had already tested the strength of the Death Aggregate when he crossed the canyon and prepared many battle plans. Now that he has brought enough men, he might as well find a wall and smash his head against it if he still loses.

"Why don't they run away?" The pink-haired girl stood to the side, as a large amount of equipment generated in the void was disintegrating.

"Because the Angels have been closely monitoring this area, it would have needed to plan its escape carefully, and I didn't give it that chance." Yuki waved his hand; when he arrived, these undead were packing their bags to escape, which indirectly helped him.