Chapter 509
It was just a petty trick of escaping unscathed. Yuki arrived at the City of Gods, and then turned the tables on this twisted desire for godhood.
If we're really talking about a gamble, it's about choosing between the benefits of becoming gods and the Righteous Execution. The result is simple: they chose the latter.
This provides ample room for manipulation. By Stand User with the Fool's Mask and donning the golden armor gifted by Abyss Fortress, and splitting off a portion of the skills, it becomes convincingly fake.
But for the Snow Demon, it was completely confused.
A murderous ascendant not only spared its life but also hid it away. Whether this was out of pity or a larger conspiracy was completely unclear from its perspective.
But this great demon was very tough. Upon hearing Yuki's words, it didn't rush to express its gratitude with tears in its eyes. Instead, it straightened its chest.
"I don't know why you did this, but don't try to get anything out of Shan Jing, because I don't know either. She's just stayed obediently in the Northern Territory."
The more I talked about it, the angrier I got. They were law-abiding citizens, living honestly and following the rules, yet they suffered utter destruction. Is there any justice in this?
"I know that even if the demons wanted to rebel, they didn't inform you, otherwise they wouldn't have been caught off guard."
"Well, actually I was prepared; for example, I dug a lot of holes in the frozen ground."
"So you didn't die." Yuki wasn't a saint; he saved it because it was useful and could be saved, and even so, he had made two preparations.
If Mithius hadn't followed the plan and instead searched for it himself, do you think the snowman would have had a chance to speak?
After a severe beating, its body had melted to the size of a normal human, Yuki could kill it with a single thought by disappearing into the night.
The Snow Demon fell silent. It still couldn't understand its own value. Extracting information? It knew nothing about it.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Escape, keep escaping."
"Where can we escape to?"
"Southeast."
The Snow Demon was even more confused. Even if this person was a pervert who liked playing cat and mouse, there was no need for him to lie to the Demon-Hunting Army. Didn't those who had ascended to godhood want to complete their trials in a second and rush back to queue up?
That's right, you have to queue for the second trial unless the Sky God gives you special treatment.
Yuki smiled. The Snow Demon should be confused, because this was the second stage of the Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell.
"Uh, why should I run away?"
"If you don't escape, you'll die now, but if you do escape, all the pursuers will catch up with you, and the rest of your tribe will be safe."
Yuki gave an irresistible reason, which made Snow Demon's eyes light up.
Yes, whatever this person's intentions, once it runs away, the tribe will be safe.
"But how can I run? This beacon will keep following me. The gods can catch it. Running thousands of kilometers and crossing the northern mountains, do you think they're fools?"
Even a game of cat and mouse has its limits; you can't chase someone from the snowfield all the way to the seaside.
"What do you think I was doing just now?"
"Beat me up, wait, are you analyzing Hunting Beacon?"
The Snow Demon guessed correctly; Yuki could have taken it down in one fell swoop if he went all out. There must be a reason why he didn't.
Yuki was researching the Hunting Beacon, a rune of the Sky God that could follow a target like a shadow for three days. It could only be isolated using spatial skills, since they were not in the same space, and the Overseer could not sense it.
The Night Domain is essentially a moving spatial fog, but there's a problem.
The Transcendental Grade skill has a limited duration; the Eternal Night dissipates every few hours. This is more than enough in combat, but it cannot cover a person's long-distance movement.
Where does this underground tunnel end?
"The northern mountains, haha, ever since I discovered something was wrong, I've secretly dug hundreds of kilometers of them. If word gets out, I can quietly move my entire clan..." The Snow Demon started to gloat, then shut his mouth. How could he have fallen for it so easily? This person is truly cunning.
He certainly received the message, but he didn't send a letter, and he wasn't even considered part of the inner circle.
Luckily, I was able to adjust my plans immediately.
Yuki smiled too. It was an unexpected bonus, saving him a lot of effort and reducing uncertainty by 10%.
"Follow me through the Eternal Night. If the Eternal Night disappears, then we will fight. Don't be afraid, I will fight 'me'."
The Snow Demon was in a state where it couldn't withstand any more torment. It gradually realized that this person seemed to have no regard for its own life, but was using it to escape the trial and flee the watchful eyes of the gods.
"One last question: they'll definitely come down to investigate such a strange situation."
"You've dug this tunnel very well, it's hundreds of meters deep. Do you know what its purpose is?" Yuki with a kind smile, holding a golden pen and diary, his tone gentle.
"If I wanted to silence them, I could do so without a sound."
"Huh, we really did misunderstand him."
Aside from leaving some men to slaughter the survivors, Jade is leading a hundred-man squad through the air.
The Hunting Beacon appears and disappears intermittently, like a spatial jump, moving swiftly deep underground, reappearing every now and then, only to be tens of kilometers away again.
This was clearly prepared in advance. No wonder the Snow Demon scattered in all directions, and they didn't manage to catch many old, weak, sick, or disabled people. It turns out they had already prepared an escape route, disappearing into the northern mountain range that runs across the continent, making it difficult to find them again.
"They also have outsiders as cover. Is this the evidence Lord Mithius wants? A group of demons have colluded with outsiders, secretly carrying out some conspiracy. This long tunnel is the evidence."
One officer looked excited, as if he had discovered some earth-shattering conspiracy and was waiting for a reward, but he was quickly silenced by a glare from Jade.
"Evidence? We need evidence. I've already reported the situation to Mithius, and it should reach His Majesty's ears soon. Besides, this isn't something we should be dealing with." The woman smiled. If it were true, this would be considered a meritorious deed; many earth-shattering conspiracies are triggered by chance events.
They are only responsible for supervising the trials. If the demons dare to resist, there will be a special force to deal with them. Perhaps by following the clues, they can catch the outsiders who use fire and the rebel groups.
"Lord Mithius has given orders," a soldier rode in on a winged horse.
"Explain."
"He wants us to intervene in the trial and provide some evidence so we can report back to His Majesty."
The god of the sky is too busy with countless affairs to deal with such trivial matters, and besides, this would have to halt a sacred trial.
"This is a matter of great importance, and we certainly cannot rely on mere speculation." Jade nodded and gently beckoned, and a soldier handed her a detailed map.
This record shows the movement of the light spot, and there's a pattern to it; it moves almost in a straight line southward.
She glanced at the vast land; the soil was no longer several meters thick as before. Further south, there was a mountain range like a giant wall, its southern slope still lush with greenery.
These Snow Demon wouldn't go so far as to dig through the entire mountain range, would they?
A blue light enveloped him, and the accompanying soldiers bowed to the 'miracle'.
Ripples appeared in the blizzard, and a green scythe made of Jade emerged. It swung up like a pendulum, reaching its highest point, before crashing down again.
Swish--
The wind and snow were cut off, the forest was cut off, the earth was cut off, and everything that stood in the way of the scythe was cleaved apart, the wounds sparkling like jewels.
The Jade sickle cuts through everything, turning everything into gemstones. A gemstone canyon appears before everyone's eyes, deepening with each swing, reaching several hundred meters before stopping.
For an epic being, spending time altering the landscape is a basic operation. She opened her hand, and the giant scythe shrank hundreds of times and fell into her palm.
"Sure enough, those filthy demons love to dig holes, just like rats."
The earth was severed, revealing a huge hole. It was obvious that the other end was connected to the lair. Even for the Snow Demon, it would take several months to dig such a long hole.
That's normal; the Great Hunt has been going on for almost ten years, so this method of escaping is already quite rudimentary.
"Let's go, let's find the mouse."
What if we encounter a powerful enemy?
Jade paused slightly, then chuckled foolishly, "Of course we should retreat! This is Mr. Crown's trial, after all."
The hundred-man team fell into the canyon, where a tunnel several meters wide lay amidst the glittering gems. Peering inside, it was pitch black, and no sounds of battle could be heard.
The detection spell released a small gem bird, but after it flew in, it disappeared without a trace, as if it had vanished into thin air.
A kind of spatial fog?
Jade frowned slightly. Now she had no choice but to go in and take the risk. But since the trial participants were still alive and there were scouts ahead, there was no need to be nervous.
"Let's go, make some contributions, and maybe you'll have a chance to become trial participants too."
Her words boosted morale: to participate in the trial, one had to queue, but most people didn't even have the right to queue.
The hundred-person team filed in, unleashing a barrage of detection spells and magic, and soon made a discovery.
"Look at this mark!" the officer shouted. Under the light of the jewel lamp, several deep marks could be seen on the wall, with traces of azure energy particles remaining.
Jade brought it closer, flicked the particles between its fingertips, and after a few seconds, its face was filled with shock.
"Sea Demon! It's the aura of the Sea Demon!"
"What?"
Everyone was completely bewildered. This was the northern mountain range, thousands of miles from the coastline. How could the Sea Demon have gotten here? Wait, weren't they supposed to be suppressed in the Eye of the Abyss?
Besides outsiders, there are also Sea Demon; things are getting serious.
She glanced back, and soldiers immediately summoned their steeds to gallop away. The woman's heart pounded in her chest.
Do you really want to achieve great merit?
Discovering a conspiracy would be a great achievement, and she wasn't afraid of uncovering something truly shocking if she went deeper.
It's difficult to keep a god here. At worst, we can let this Demon-Hunting Army buy us time. Besides, she already has the strength to become a titled god. Lord Mithius's second trial site isn't far from here, so he might come as soon as he receives the news.
"Let's go, unparalleled achievements are right before our eyes."
With a wave of her hand, she led the hundred-man team deeper into the territory, and before long, they finally heard some movement.
Thump, thump, thump.
A dull thud echoed through the tunnel. Jade raised her right palm to halt the entire army. After a few seconds of thought, she did two things.
The crystal scythe transformed into a spear, piercing through hundreds of meters of frozen soil as easily as stabbing tofu, leaving an escape route. The azure headdress on its forehead disintegrated, projecting a scene.
This is a live broadcast; whatever happens later, the City of Gods will receive a reply.
Only when she was absolutely certain that everything was in order did she continue forward. Before long, the illumination magic caught sight of a figure from behind.
Golden armor and a long spear, a blue sky horse – this was none other than Crown. Jade breathed a sigh of relief, her previous animosity lessening considerably.
This was not just a simple trial, and thanks to him, I had the opportunity to make a name for myself. Looking ahead, the end of the tunnel was shrouded in thick black fog, obscuring all detection.
"It really is a spatial mist." She finally understood the truth, gripped her scythe, and shouted, "Form ranks! We're going to support Crown!"
"Lord Jade, look at that..."
Before the words were even finished, the thick black fog suddenly expanded, spreading like the bursting seawater. Crown, who was at the forefront, was swallowed up without any defense.
It was too fast, so fast that no one could react. Jade was still thinking about whether to provide support or retreat, and was even more puzzled as to why the trial participants did not put up the slightest resistance.
The Eternal Night enveloped her, and her instinct made her take a half step back, while a chilling voice played in her ear.
"Since we're here, why leave?"
???
Why did you come directly to me when there's a target ahead of you?
Confusion arose, but what followed was even more terrifying, a feeling of being caught in a trap.
This felt like space was being stripped away. The Night Furnace had a limited coverage area, but the narrow tunnel allowed the target to be focused. In just a moment, the scene before Jade's eyes had changed.
Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea unfolded before him, layer upon layer of bodies, upon which sat a lone man.
With black hair and red eyes, holding a golden pen, his movements suggest he's putting a period to his notes.
"Who are you!? How dare you attack the Demon-Hunting Army? Don't you have a death wish!?" Jade hissed, glancing around for an escape route.
Shhh.
The man made a shushing gesture, and dozens of flying swords unfolded behind him, burning with Red Lotus Fire, while an hourglass released countless bands of light.
There was no explanation, no answer. Head bowed, the Living Corpse clutched its legs, a terrifying shiver running through its body.
"On command, form ranks..."
Swish--
Golden lightning appeared, and the Demon-Hunting Army's proud shield array was split in two. After the Bloodline skill was activated, Yuki became inhuman.
The whirling blade annihilated the broken body. Yuki leaned forward, looking at Jade, who had activated the Gem God Body. The immense power crushed her into a sea of blood.
"Isn't it only natural for demons to Godslaying?"