Chapter 473
Many people floated up, just like the corpses and wreckage outside the warship. Some of them were as big as mountains, presumably the extinct Giant. Looking around, they realized that...
Golden behemoths, squid-shaped warships, azure whales, and six-winged dragons with scarlet scales—the races of the land gathered here, smashing through the wreckage and bringing a touch of life to this deathly silence.
"The Machine Race has sent word that once the last undead settlement is destroyed, the conditions will be met."
A boy whose appearance I couldn't make out stood to the side. This time, the humans were acting together with the Insect Race. The latter didn't have the abilities I Guess of and couldn't build flying warships in a short time.
This may not be necessary, but looking at the deep ravines below, not being able to fly would waste too much time.
"Now that you're on board, why are you hiding?" Yuki turned his head; the Machine Race's calculations wouldn't be wrong.
"I've already told you I'm socially awkward," the boy joked, explaining, "It's just that we have a common enemy. Once we eliminate the Divine Race, things might get complicated, so it's best to be careful."
"You also want the Divine Torch?"
"No, no, if you hadn't insisted on dragging me into this, I would have already quit while I was ahead." Sora shook his head repeatedly, and seeing Yuki's suspicious gaze, he spread his hands, "Don't doubt me. If you really want to know the reason, firstly, it's because I hate this lifeless world and want all the races to have a different game. Secondly, it's because of Miss Ikaros's gains. Even if I can't get the Divine Torch, I can at least have a taste of the spoils."
Ikaros destroyed the Divine Race who hadn't fully projected and gained a lot of reward points, but Yuki believed the first reason more.
"You believe me?"
"Well, I believe you're a pacifist, at least not interested in killing and war."
Kong slightly opened his mouth, his intuition telling him that this was the truth, and he couldn't help but touch his nose.
"I've always felt that you're a strange person. Sometimes you're too focused on logic, and other times you trust your intuition a lot."
Yuki smiled without saying a word. What this guy said was right. Right now, they were only united because they had a common enemy. After the Divine Race were dealt with, they would have to compete for the Divine Torch based on their own abilities.
Therefore, he never developed any romantic feelings for his senior classmates or others, and everything was handled strictly as a business. At least on the surface, the Machine Race was closer to humans, and no one would have guessed that three of the five participating races were their own people.
'Why do you think I insisted on bringing Ikaros along?'
To outsiders, Ikaros and the Machine Soul were the ones who could be considered friends. Sora, however, noticed some problems with the arrangements, but he couldn't and wouldn't say anything.
'Why do you think I would have the Insect Race act together?'
As a seasoned veteran, I only feel at ease when there are uncertainties around. The Angels have already increased their vigilance, for example, separating humans from the Machine Race during flight, and discussing the next steps.
Through two consecutive battles, Mai Sakurajima's team's strength and influence have greatly increased. As for Yuki, who is the biggest threat, he happens to be a player, so he naturally replicates the tactics he used against the Judge.
In that battle, Hiyori made many contributions, and even disregarding the infiltration plan, he was a recognized expert.
The research team would naturally involve her, even including Mona, but they wouldn't reveal a single word to Ikaros and Sora. Although the two were stronger, they had too much contact with Yuki.
"Did you think I had my senior lead the team to wipe out the Sirens just to increase my own strength?"
Improving strength is the result; accumulating merit and demonstrating power is the process. When the Wing Commander discovered that the combat power of these assistants was comparable to his own, he naturally invited them to participate in more confidential plans.
Then, I heard all your plans. I'm cheating, how are you going to play?
Kong instinctively moved away, a very bad feeling creeping over him. While he was focused on clearing the dungeon, this guy had already started plotting, even before the Judge was exposed.
It would be so much fun playing games with him from the start!
The boy felt a little regretful, but when his gaze swept over them, that regret vanished.
Whether it's interesting or not, I don't know, but it's definitely very dangerous. This guy is ruthless and shows no mercy to his enemies.
"Ahem, there are only ten minutes left. Hope nothing unexpected happens."
The remaining troops that wiped out the last undead settlement were all remnants of the defeated Divine Race. If the Protoss intervened again, the outcome would be uncertain.
"No, this last bit of progress can't be delayed. I don't know how many troops the Divine Race have left, but they certainly won't waste them here." Yuki shook his head without hesitation, ignoring the eerie atmosphere.
Looking up, the shattered Crimson Moon seemed almost within reach. The tens of thousands of life forms gathered there were tense, constantly fantasizing, yet they couldn't communicate with each other, all making plans for their next move.
Time ticked by, and ten minutes later, a heartless murmur echoed in the ears of every player.
[The Undead race has been eliminated, and its player has been wiped out.]
They've arrived.
Yuki perked up, suddenly realizing that he hadn't encountered a player who was paired with Undead yet. He didn't have time to dwell on it, as more prompts came in quick succession.
[The Orcs has been eliminated, and its players have been wiped out.]
[The Elf race has been eliminated, and its player has been killed.]
[The dwarf Dwarves has been eliminated, and its associated player has been killed.]
[The Siren race has been eliminated, and its player has been wiped out.]
Every word was filled with a bloody flavor, and most of the players, including Yuki, had never even seen it.
[Hint 7 complete, main storyline finished, remaining players can choose to return.]
"Continue."
Yuki uttered two words, turning his head to see the boy still standing beside him. It seemed this guy had chosen to abide by the contract. For epic-level players, contracts were not safe; there were always ways to circumvent them.
'That would be fun if I brought my senior classmates back now.'
Yuki was lost in malicious fantasies when he suddenly felt a lightness in his body. Exclamations of surprise came from inside the bridge, and a dazzling red light pierced through the glass, turning the entire bridge crimson.
His heart raced. He had seen far more spectacular sights Yuki, so he wasn't particularly amazed. However, the word 'Crimson Moon' was forbidden to him.
"Doesn't it remind you of the grand hall of Ancient Castle when I first met you?"
"Don't mention this again!"
"I was already nervous, Yuki, are you deliberately messing with me?"
As expected, Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai reacted strongly, leaving the others puzzled. Yuki promptly shut his mouth and stopped being so annoying.
[With only five survivors from all races, and through the favor of the gods, the Grand Line begins.]
[The Divine Torch is just ahead.]
This voice reached the ears of tens of thousands of living beings, extinguishing all distractions and causing them to stare straight ahead without blinking.
Apart from the dazzling red light, nothing else could be seen; only the detection system detected the anomaly.
"These are spatial coordinates; the Divine Torch is calling us."
Lucy stared, her face devoid of its usual respectful expression, as if her entire attention was drawn to some treasure.
Ah, so it wasn't about flying through the atmosphere to reach the moon in a physical sense.
Yuki took a deep breath, feeling that his prediction was too scientific, but who could guarantee that the coordinates were accurate, or if there was a conspiracy behind them?
It's true, it must be true.
The feeling was very strong, as if something was giving a hint from the heavens, and at that moment, communications from other races finally came through.
Let's enter the coordinates together.
"Okay, I agree."
Nobody wanted to be the first to stick their neck out, but nobody wanted to fall behind, so they all decided to head to the coordinates together.
Engines ignited, defensive force fields deployed, and dozens of warships approached the coordinates amidst a red glow. A deathly silence reigned, so profound that one could almost hear their own heartbeat.
The Divine Race are no longer a mystery; Kong has even written a detailed report. Yet, the road ahead remains full of unknowns, and no one knows what awaits them.
Is it a grand welcome, or a sinister conspiracy?
Yuki grinned. He never liked to indulge in meaningless fantasies, but this time was completely different from 'Nighttime Murder'. He didn't have enough information to write a script, so he could only take it one step at a time.
Are you testing my ability to respond to any challenge? Fine, I'm an expert in that area too.
My brain, working at full speed, felt a moment of disorientation—the familiar sensation of spatial teleportation.
The red moonlight vanished in an instant, and everyone who looked ahead was stunned.
There were no Divine Race fleets, no terrifying legions; the warships seemed to soar into the sky like sharp swords, with the shattered moon above them.
Yes, the fragmented moon can be observed from the ground, and it's even clearer when you're very close.
Larger than Earth, riddled with deep craters, at least one-fifth of the lunar surface is shattered, with various debris floating in orbit.
Without an atmosphere, but not as desolate as a satellite in astronomy, Yuki a place where you can see the ruins of palaces, which are all different and huge and exquisite. Each column is a masterpiece of artistry, reflecting the different aesthetics of various races.
"Angels, Machine Race, and Monster Race are all here." Yuki didn't just admire the moon; he quickly looked around and saw dozens of warships and two Magical Beasts floating beside him, while behind him was a hazy red sea of clouds. Except for a hole in the middle, he couldn't see the planet he had been on before.
Space fault? Directly transported to lunar orbit?
The events are connected, and this time it's somewhat similar to exploring the Eternal Night, except the destination is clearly laid out before us.
"That's the Divine Torch?"
Above the moon, there was a bright blue halo, radiating countless bands of light that connected to the sea of clouds behind it, like a giant net covering the world.
"That's right, that's the Divine Torch. These bands of light seem to be some kind of rule, binding the world." Kong gazed into the distance. It was impossible not to feel greed. As a veteran player, he could tell at a glance that this thing was no ordinary object.
Binding the world with rules, forcing everything to operate according to a set program—isn't that what the 'Holy Grail' is all about?
But he concealed his greed well. The rules of this world are war and killing, unlike the world he had transmigrated to before. Wisdom can only ever be a supplement; the rules should be written by the strong.
"By the way, the hint didn't say how to get the Divine Torch."
"That's true, but it certainly wasn't easy to obtain, otherwise the nearest Divine Race would have done it already." Yuki first sneered, then his expression turned strange. "Although the Divine Race suffered heavy losses as I expected, where did they go?"
In the pitch-black universe, there were only three objects: at the bottom was the fleet of the Angel Alliance, in the middle was the shattered moon, and above was the Divine Torch. Nothing else could be seen.
Playing the empty city ploy? Are you trying to incite us to fight each other?
When Yuki had this thought, he found it both laughable and absurd. How could someone at their level possibly fall for a trap, especially since they already knew about this mysterious race?
"The Divine Race didn't participate in the war, so naturally they wouldn't build war machines. I'm certain they're not very good at direct combat." Kong spoke eloquently; this was the subject he had worked on, and it was also the reason for his existence.
Yuki nodded; he had anticipated this as well. The strength of the Divine Race lay in their individual power; they neither needed nor had the opportunity to build steel fleets. After all, the Machine Race's octopus warships had already undergone dozens of iterations.
"But as a special life form, it can digitally teleport its body and then hide in a special subspace."
"Well, luckily I've investigated their life information spectrum. If we have a direction, we can find them."
"Then let's get started." Yuki. He wasn't omnipotent, but he was very good at using other people's abilities.
This is the third layer of meaning in Dimitri's life. If he only relies on historical documents, Yuki will be completely lost. Only through physical close contact can he obtain more information.
The situation ahead was treacherous, Yuki immediately advised everyone to remain on guard while scanning the void and sending out Reconnaissance troops to investigate the lunar surface.
All races would certainly agree; at this final stage, how incredibly stupid would one have to be to succumb to greed and be the first to rush in as cannon fodder?
They weren't in a hurry; they could use this time to study the Divine Torch. Anyone with common sense could tell that this wasn't a race; the first one to get close would get it.
With the data provided, humanity's I Guess immediately came into play, and specialized probes were developed and then carried by elite soldiers from various races to the lunar ruins.
Yuki, of course, didn't need to do something so troublesome and dangerous. He had Lucy send back images of the scouts ahead and observed the details over and over again. His calm demeanor left Sora full of doubt.
"Aren't you going to investigate the Divine Torch? Both the Angels and the Monster Race have started contacting the light belt; I bet there's information on it."
"Slott and his team tried it. This information is very vague, somewhat like genetic DNA. It would take humans a long time to unlock it on their own," Yuki replied casually, showing no sign of urgency.
The boy said "Oh," which must be related to the hint; in terms of the ease of navigating dungeons, humans are far inferior to Insect Race.
[Hint 4: Each race has a different understanding of the Divine Torch, and the degree of proximity varies, but all are highly classified.]
Regardless of historical completeness or the strength of power, humanity is far too far from the Divine Torch.
So why aren't you in a hurry?
Kong sensed something was amiss, but lacking information, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. They were currently in a phase of both cooperation and competition, and every player wanted the Divine Torch, including himself.
But Yuki kept him by his side, and since the latter didn't mention it, he didn't dare to either.
'What a cunning old fox! He must have figured out that spatial teleportation would sever all control lines, and guessed that my true form was hidden among the Insect Race. And yet, I have absolutely no chance of winning against him.'
Kong Shao's performance was somewhat powerless, and it must be admitted that in terms of strategic planning ability, the two are on the same level.
He's a smart person indeed; he didn't even bother to test the waters.
Yuki sensed the boy's dejection and contentedly sank deeper into the chair. That was good; he wouldn't have to waste time on warnings anymore. The answer was actually quite simple.
This is a gang operation, so there's no need to rush.
Yuki, through the images transmitted back by the scouts, admired the past glory of the Divine Race and even had time to summarize and predict their Divine Race movements.
This is all because Hiyori volunteered, and the entire team went to investigate the ruins under the protection of several octagonal angels. The information obtained from on-site investigation is definitely more abundant, and coincidentally, Shiina Hiyori is a player who is very good at tackling dungeons by focusing on the details.
The information within the light band is unreadable, but has the Angels already made some initial plans?
The first message has been sent back, and it has been deduced that the Divine Race possess something that prevents the earthly races from approaching the Divine Torch. Therefore, the Angels have ordered that they be found and more information be investigated.
Hiyori excels at this. If she uncovers a clue, shouldn't it be included in the core circle for discussion? Then, wouldn't the information they obtain be the same as Yuki obtained?
"This gang is getting more and more skilled at committing crimes. The problem is that I can't show that I'm too familiar with them or have too much contact with them."