Chapter 493
This situation is very similar to the recently prominent 'Aether Particles'. In both cases, the Taiyi hides itself using some kind of skill, while the local forces and the Judge fight tooth and nail.
The Judge originally intended to target only 'Taiyi', but inexplicably the search expanded to include the entire camp.
"He shouldn't be that bad, right? After all, if he really went after Garou, at most he would have been interfered with by Taiyi?" Atomic Samurai gritted his teeth. This situation had far exceeded what City A could control.
"'Only killing and plundering are beyond question', someone like him who picks up inheritances will definitely pay the price." Tatsumaki bit her finger; this person's appearance has put both the good and evil sides in a difficult position.
"But in any case, the affairs of the Hero Kingdom will be handled by ourselves; the Judge must not interfere directly."
Several Monster IV heroes around nodded slightly. This was not easy, but the 'Aether Particles' served as a cautionary tale, showing countless factions what the consequences would be for those involved in the conflict between Taiyi and the Judge.
"I'm going to Gotham City. We can't let this mess happen to us!"
Squeak.
Yuki pushed open the door, returning from the ruins of the street to the simple living room, a mocking smile still etched on his resolute face.
This is undoubtedly the most advanced stealth skill. It allows you to return home directly from the Hero Kingdom without any medium, making it akin to dimensional stealth. It would be strange if anyone could find you.
However, this is not invincible. In the midst of battle, it is difficult to escape face-to-face. If someone throws a spatial beacon or something similar at you, it might just find your way back home.
"Those fools are infiltrated like sieves. Within two hours, every detail will reach the ears of the Grand Inquisitor, who will then calculate Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge possibilities."
Long-term illness makes one a good doctor, Yuki had long been accustomed to the trial process, especially after taking away a portion of the 'Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge,' he could still roughly sense the direction.
"Hmm, no one's entered the instance. They must be having a meeting to discuss how to deal with me and anticipate my moves."
Unfortunately, I don't know how to show off my skills; all I know how to do is use a cheat to its fullest extent.
It's the same old formula: Yuki only stirs up trouble, never offering any answers.
Now that the monster has left the stage, heroes are gathering, the Judge have heard the news, and various forces are about to clash fiercely.
If not now, when?
Yuki never intended to become the King of Heroes, to unify an entire faction, and to eradicate evil forces completely. That was unnecessary and impossible.
"Oh, Mr. Yuki, you're back?" Shiina Hiyori happened to come out from the inner room, her keen observation immediately catching the smile on his face. "Looks like the plan is going well?"
"Fortunately, my ability to travel regardless of medium is a bug. Unless they find my lair, they can only run for their lives." Yuki shrugged and gave a brief description of his two-day trip.
Extremely efficient, he immediately began to make his presence felt after a brief exploration. The character of 'Civilian Superman' Rod is well-developed and his goals are clear.
Hiyori listened quietly, showing some interest in the unique values of the Hero Kingdom. She even analyzed the faction talent called 'Resolve' and concluded that the weirdo actually saw things more clearly. In the end, she shook her head with a wry smile.
"Mr. Yuki, you're stirring up trouble everywhere; you're really not a positive person."
"I've never been exactly upright. As a pragmatist, I pursue efficiency and effectiveness. I don't care whether the process is Justice, or even the philosophical discussion of 'Justice' itself." Yuki and took the black tea from the girl. Everyone in the group was skilled at brewing tea, so he nodded.
"Because I cannot confront the Judge head-on, I need more resources to make more factions hate them. A great man once said that you should make as many friends as possible, because the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
It's a very simple and straightforward logic, and it doesn't need any explanation, because there are no saints in the Reincarnation Game. If there were, their graves would be overgrown with weeds by now.
Hiyori wouldn't offer any moral guidance; those are eleven Epic IV-rank Grand Inquisitors and several Epic-level Judge, and they won't let you off the hook because of your moral character.
"However, the Hero Kingdom is slightly luckier than the Aether Particles. I think the Judge won't fall into the same trap twice; he'll definitely take a more subtle approach."
"This is exactly the effect I wanted." Yuki grinned, as if he could see the great judges scratching their heads in frustration.
"The most efficient way to break through an open conspiracy is to be simple and brutal: use decisive force to force the hero to submit. Once you decide to fight with wits, no player is a fool; they'll have a lot to do."
Like a game of chess, Yuki can roughly predict ten possible moves by his opponent. In this Reincarnation Game, you don't lose because you didn't put a piece in the box; your opponent needs to try carefully and make constant adjustments.
This requires a lot of time and effort. Yuki's Yuki only took two days, but the opponent would have to make up for it with ten or a hundred times the effort. No matter how powerful a force is, it can't afford to waste time.
"There's more than one way to wage a war of attrition. There are so many factions in the Reincarnation Game, we don't need to personally engage in attrition warfare." Yuuki Yuki the door Hiyori nodded to Hiyori, who was humbly seeking his advice.
"Come with me, we've made some interesting discoveries this time. Let them scheme against each other, let's move on to the next step."
In the desolate hall, the gray-white dome emitted a faint light. Aizen sat on the icy throne, tilting his head and gently stroking his cheek.
Even if he was willing to cooperate, he felt that this 'Taiyi' was really a bit outrageous, lacking the sharp and unparalleled sharpness he remembered, more like...
My kind?
Judge are not afraid of passionate, charismatic, and wise heroes; they are afraid of those like them who are unrestrained by morality, ruthless in their methods, and clear in their goals.
In particular, these creatures possess a skill that transcends common sense.
"He grasped the key point: we had to find him and interrogate him within a specified time, and then he kept giving us clues, forcing us to step into the trap even though we knew it was a trap."
Aizen rubbed his furrowed brow. No matter how dazzling the conspiracy, it was child's play in his eyes. Only a straightforward, open scheme was hard for him to handle.
The Aether Particles was indeed a mistake, but why did all twelve Grand Inquisitors agree?
Because they were in a hurry, they spent countless resources to finally determine the whereabouts of 'Taiyi'. How could they stand idly by? The cost of triggering subsequent reactions was negligible compared to capturing 'Taiyi'.
"But he was certain we couldn't catch him, and that's exactly what happened. The war over the 'Aether Particles' not only got out of control, but he also used the difficulty in assessing their strength to turn the tables on us."
The gain was confirming that 'Taiyi' didn't have a trump card to instantly defeat them; the cost was that Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge was severely injured. The gains and costs could actually offset each other, but 'Taiyi's' peculiarity still exceeded my imagination.
The fingers resting on the armrest moved down slightly, as if jumping to another link in the chain.
"He actually managed to steal the power of the 'Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge,' a reincarnation-level item, using his trump card to gain more room to maneuver."
Then came the downfall of Dio Brando, a turning point indeed.
This proves that the roles of hunter and prey can be switched at any time, and even the high and mighty Grand Judge is no longer safe. What's more frightening is that it exposes the Judge's weakness.
Seeing that the Judge were helpless against 'Taiyi', ordinary players also began to have their own ideas, and now incidents of violent resistance to the law are rising exponentially.
To this end, they dug a lot of traps, but 'Taiyi' simply wouldn't take the bait.
This person is too cautious; no, to be precise, they've chosen a different, more efficient path.
You do your thing, I'll do mine. Taiyi won't waste time; he'll just keep throwing new challenges at us.
Just like this time, the complete battle footage was transmitted back, and 'Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge' analyzed every frame and every detail, confirming that this was 'Taiyi,' the Taiyi who slaughtered Dio Brando.
But so what? All the bigwigs argued back and forth, and only one conclusion was reached:
The legacy of Taiyi will allow Him to possess another's body and be reborn.
This conclusion is reasonable. An existence that has been completely erased by the Reincarnation Game will not appear out of nowhere. The previous 'Hidden Sage' Raymond probably followed the same path. No wonder each 'Taiyi' has completely different skills, tactics, and characteristics.
However, this kind of answer solves nothing and only leaves endless trouble.
Throughout this entire Borderlands, countless players impersonate Taiyi to deceive others, and treasure maps are discovered daily. How many Taiyi are currently possessing and reborn? How can the Judge possibly monitor them all?
"A conspiracy? Could it be that Taiyi only one person, and He is constantly diverting our attention? So that He can use this time to advance the real plan?"
Aizen had an interesting conjecture, a conjecture shared by many Grand Inquisitors, but it couldn't be proven, and things came full circle.
Time is limited, and it's obvious that there's a Taiyi in the 'Hero Kingdom' right now. How should we deal with this?
The answer is no. The Aether Particles incident only happened once, and besides, the Hero Kingdom Taiyi from other factions. There are really stubborn epic players in it, and a fight could break out if you're not careful.
Eight epic-level players are no joke. Even if they join forces with villains to eliminate them, if they still can't find Taiyi, wouldn't it be a waste of time? Moreover, the Hero Kingdom has friends all over the various factions, which could easily lead to an even larger faction war.
This is really... incredibly annoying.
Aizen was also frustrated. He wasn't afraid of Taiyi's intelligence, but the man was too cunning. Trying to find any clues about him was as difficult as trying to defuse a bomb.
Cutting one cable presents even more choices; a bomb is about to explode, and you have no choice but to cut it.
Da da da.
The sound of iron boots hitting the ground interrupted Aizen's thoughts. He looked up and saw a golden figure appear in the almost boundless palace.
His back was ramrod straight, he had a single eye, and the aura he exuded when he walked made the air seem liquid; an overwhelmingly domineering and destructive presence emanated from the shadows.
"Lord Boros, I haven't come up with a solution yet, but this Rod is most likely an avatar of 'Taiyi,' who still retains the original consciousness for some reason, which is why he wants revenge." Aizen stood up and bowed.
There is no leader among the Judge; the Grand Judges are all of equal status, but Aizen has always been the most polite person.
Boros stopped at the bottom of the steps, arms crossed, coldly staring at Aizen: "That's nonsense. The answers and conjectures given by 'Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge' are a hundred times more detailed than yours. Since you're in charge of the mission to capture 'Taiyi,' you should produce convincing results."
"Are you going to hold 'Aether Particles' responsible?" The man asked with a gentle smile, looking ready to apologize at any moment.
"That's irrelevant. At that stage, a confirmed 'Taiyi' appeared, so of course we had to capture him as quickly as possible. There was no time to slowly negotiate with ants. But through this matter, I want to ask you—"
Boros took a deep breath, his tone no longer firm. "If Taiyi doesn't want to be found, does that mean He definitely won't be found? If so, then we're helpless against Him?"
That's the scariest part. The trial time is limited, and they still need to find an 'invisible man'—isn't that just ridiculous?
"You don't need to worry about that. I don't know the nature of 'Taiyi's' ability, but it can only work in Borderlands. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to find a single clue."
Boros thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. Every cheat has its Limit. If Taiyi really comes and goes without a trace, He might as well slit His own throat as soon Taiyi possible.
"But what if He doesn't carry out the mission? None of the previous 27 traps have been triggered."
"No, that won't happen."
"Why?"
"Because 'Taiyi' is not strong enough, He needs copies to increase His strength." Aizen said decisively, even though this speculation was shocking.
Yuki's growth trajectory couldn't be hidden from him; every now and then, a new 'Taiyi' would appear, growing ever stronger.
Boros remained silent. He also felt something was amiss, but whether it was related to the strength of the vessel he was trying to possess or some other ability was unknown. Instead, he was quite curious.
"Was what He discussed with Dio Brando last time true or false? Is such a person really going to leave the Reincarnation Game?"
The first contact in the Aether Particles has been analyzed thousands of times, with every punctuation mark and every micro-expression carefully studied.
Boros couldn't understand why this strongest person wanted to leave. Shouldn't he have destroyed everything and transcended the Reincarnation Game?
Aizen remained expressionless and said in the most neutral tone, "It's only possible, because we can't find the 'Race Game' instance anymore; it's as if it was deleted from the Reincarnation Game."
"Don't listen to what the enemy says, but watch what they do," Aizen, snapping his fingers.
"The latest intelligence, delivered by the Strategic Angel through an intelligence broker, confirms my suspicions: she has backed down."
Ikaros betrayed Yuki, sending his own account through an "honest" envelope, roughly describing what happened in the "Race Game".
How did she interact with Yuki, how did she cooperate with him to eliminate Dio Brando, and how did she complete the main storyline of the dungeon?
"She's downplaying the important points; she hasn't specified who the players associated with the Angels, Monster Race, and Insect Race are." Boros understood at a glance. Of course, it didn't matter. Ikaros was a wanted criminal anyway, and clarifying Taiyi's situation was enough to show his stance.
The 'Honest Envelope' is a Chaos Item that cannot lie, nor does she need to lie; Ikaros is merely a supporting character.
"She's very careful, changing hands at least ten times along the way. Tracking her down is difficult, and of course, there's no need to try." Aizen wouldn't waste his time. He took a deep breath. "But through her testimony, we can determine what Taiyi's goal is. Lord Boros, don't you find that interesting?"
With enough clues, the Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge scanned the entire cycle of reincarnation, but to no avail. This either meant that Ikaros had fabricated a story to deceive them, or that the 'Race Game' was no longer within the cycle of reincarnation.
The former is one thing, but the latter's significance is hard to estimate. If dungeons can be replicated, then can factions or players replicate them as well?
"Are you saying this was deliberately leaked to us by 'Taiyi'? If He escapes the Reincarnation Game, the mission will be automatically canceled?" Boros glanced at him with his one eye and said coldly, "Don't forget, the original text of the trial mission is: Within ten years, eliminate Taiyi. Are you willing to risk being annihilated to gamble on that?"
Aizen smiled gently, revealing no hint of his thoughts, but he could tell that Boros did not approve of a peace treaty.
I can't give up either; on the contrary, I need to do him some favors before he leaves.
"Of course we wouldn't dare gamble. What He wants to do is not our concern, but getting to know Taiyi better is putting me in a good mood. We can't give up on this second direct lead."
That's just empty talk.
Boros gradually lost patience; Sōsuke Aizen was too fond of going in circles.
"Should I go there myself? The Hero Kingdom is my homeland."
"No, once is enough with the Aether Particles incident. We can't fall into the same trap twice." Aizen shook his head without hesitation, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I always feel like He is constantly creating enemies for us. Lord Boros, you can put away your killing intent now."
The air seemed to have solidified at some point, with fine cracks appearing like on glass. The golden-armored king lowered his hands and narrowed his single eye.
"Sōsuke Aizen, you are indeed very clever. If you send me, it proves that you are deliberately weakening the Judge to cover for Taiyi. I will kill you."
"How could that be? We are all allies with aligned interests. Although there have been occasional mistakes, I have always done my utmost." Aizen bowed slightly, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Please rest assured, I already have a plan. 'Taiyi' is clearly looking for enemies for us, so we can take the initiative and intercept him by starting with the wanted list."
"Haha, our interests align. What I want is to defeat all the strong and crush all challenges. But what do you really want? Who can know?" Boros's laughter shook the enormous palace, and he vanished into golden particles.
"You arrange the specifics. Just find this 'Taiyi' for me and let me fight him with all my might. I don't care what you want."
The Grand Inquisitors are all top players in their respective factions; there's no such thing as just coasting along. Aizen, on the other hand, sat quietly, posing no threat or influence.
He opened his palm, and the card in his palm was a silhouette of Boros, as if he had long anticipated that this person would target him.
The eleven Grand Inquisitors each belonged to their own factions and had their own interests. Aizen never intended to repeat his old tricks and use the Kyoka Suigetsu to deceive others.
Do what you're supposed to do, investigate any leads you have, maintain a proper attitude, and carry out the trial.
"As for your wish, don't worry, he will come to you when the time is right." He crushed the playing card, leaned back slightly, and with a flick of his finger, a complex tree diagram appeared before his eyes.