Chapter 521
Yuki stood in a valley filled with jagged rocks. In this kind of conflict between forces, players couldn't really get involved. No matter how strong you were, you were only an Epic Tier III, at most you could join one side as a dagger.
But he was different; this time it was a group operation, and before the instance even started, his two friends each joined one side.
"I'm being targeted. Without Mebius, I might not even know the movements of the Divine Race. Saving Abyss Fortress and disrupting the opening ceremony would be my Limit."
Yuki paced back and forth. Saving Abyss Fortress meant he was a mortal enemy of the demons, and the Sky God wanted to kill him. It was as if neither side in the war could influence him, so it was no wonder that the Sky God gave up after watching for a while.
"You know I've discovered some inside information, but it won't affect the overall situation?" Yuki shrugged, fully aware of what the other was thinking, then turned back to himself. "But you're wrong. A skilled player always makes their move before the game even begins."
A crack suddenly appeared among the gray rocks, and a masked man emerged, exuding a murderous aura—it was Kalpas.
The Sky God could never have imagined, nor could Morgas have imagined, that the strongest outsider among the demons, the infamous Fiery Demon General, was actually Yuki agent of Yuuki. It should be noted that the two had never crossed paths before, and given their mad and violent nature, any encounter between them would likely be a life-or-death battle.
"You've gotten stronger, Kalpas." Yuki glanced at him and nodded in satisfaction. Mebius and Kalpas were not only gaining reputation, but their strength was also improving in the war.
"I've slaughtered quite a few damn gods, and I'm very close to Epic Tier III." Kalpas nodded emphatically, then eagerly asked, "Want to fight me? I have a 30% chance of killing you right now!"
This person certainly doesn't seem like the material to be a spy. Kalpas didn't intend to be a spy either. He was just very unhappy because of the attack by the Divine Race. When he was unhappy, he killed. He has been killing ever since. There are rumors that the fox demon Froya is his lover.
This guy seems to be having a pretty good time in the fox clan. He probably thinks the Abyss Fortress is to his liking, just like me, which is why he stepped in to protect it and has been able to get here until now.
"Your eyes make me want to kill you!" A surge of embers erupted from Kalpas, causing Yuki to immediately avert his suggestive gaze.
Like a powder keg, Kalpas is absolutely not to be trifled with; when he goes crazy, he won't consider any plans or experiments.
"Conceal your presence. We've finally met, I don't want to get caught. You haven't been followed, have you?"
"Ha, all those who dared to test me are dead. If it weren't for the fact that I found those fox clan members pleasing to the eye, I would have killed them all too." Kalpas scoffed, leaning against a tree and tossing out a jade tablet. "I don't want to waste words. Everything you need to know is recorded here. Take a look for yourself."
The Kalpas Taiyi from what I remember, which is normal. It's impossible to reach the epic level just by being as fierce as fire. It's the result of the gradual transformation through dozens of dungeons and enduring countless beatings.
Yuki activated the jade tablet, and a flood of information flashed through his mind. Then he suddenly looked up and asked, "How did you get all this stuff?"
Many secrets, even those from ten thousand years ago, would require an immense amount of effort and numerous deals for Yuki to handle.
"Mebius gave me a list, and I asked questions directly based on the list. Some questions involved looking through files, while others involved betting with people and telling me what I won. I won them all."
"Wait, you haven't been suspected at all?"
"At first, they did, but I beat them into submission. I just told them it was a hobby, and later I didn't have to go looking for them myself. That fox would tell me the secret on his own. Hey, what's with that look? You want to die?!"
Yuki chuckled, somewhat doubting his own existence. Was this what they called "great wisdom appearing as foolishness"? As a master at navigating dungeons, he always had to go through considerable trouble to obtain any information.
Look at Kalpas, he doesn't need any schemes or tests, he just takes it with his fists and asks openly and honestly, and no one can be bothered to suspect him.
This is my opposite, the purest kind of person.
Shaking his head, Yuki prepared to delve deeper into the study, but then placed his hands on the jade tablet.
"You... you wouldn't wipe out these demons and foxes, would you? Don't overthink it. Betrayal is never honorable, and I hate doing such things."
"Don't worry, I'm saving them. The greatest enemy is the God of the Sky."
Kalpas removed his hand, Yuki continued watching, his surprise growing more and more evident on his face.
Is this a case of fools having good luck? The information he obtained was far more detailed than that of Mebius.
Mebius also gained a lot of reputation, but the Divine Race had many rules, so she often had to use underhanded tactics to gather information indirectly. Kalpas was different; Isshin the battle, gained even more reputation, and then made his stance clear from the very beginning of the dungeon.
This first rule is very important; it's a list of all the great demons who obtained the rules, many of whom are sworn brothers with Kalpas, practically best friends who fought their way out of a sea of blood.
' Kalpas is even more powerful than I imagined; he must be quite a figure within the entire Demon Clan.'
Yuki nodded to himself, then looked at the second point; this was even more important.
"The Fox Demon and Morgas are just allies? The demon race doesn't have a true leader?" Yuki raised an eyebrow. He had previously corrupted a swamp demon, who told him that the demon race was led by Morgas.
"Yes, I warned that fox to be careful of Morgas. He's the kind of person who betrays once and will betray again. Of course, he still acts as Morgas's leader to outsiders, but he can't control the fox's people."
"Wow, that's impressive, they really planted the nail." Yuki almost applauded. One of the points in his plan for Mebius was to prevent Morgas from controlling the demon race, and he didn't expect it to actually work.
"It has nothing to do with you. I just don't like that sly guy."
Ha, so arrogant.
Yuki was too lazy to argue with him, and stroked his chin. This was a great thing.
It actually had little to do with Abyss Fortress. He felt that the Sky God and Morgas were cooperating too well. Even if they shared a common interest in starting a war, they would ultimately become mortal enemies. How could he trust the other party?
During the Battle of Abyss Fortress, Yuki found it strange that Morgas seemed like such a cunning old fox. Wasn't he afraid that the Divine Race would use Abyss Fortress as bait to wipe them all out?
There was still a lot of information to come, such as the fact that all the players assigned to the Demon race had been wiped out by the combined efforts of Kalpas and Mebius, and some secrets of the Great War. There were tens of thousands of pieces of information, but fortunately, the Jade Tablet had a search function. After thinking for a moment, he directly searched for Morgas.
Information about this demon god was incomplete, but Yuki noticed one detail.
"The first demon to become a god, he betrayed his lord during the Great War and played a crucial role in the Doomsday Dusk Battle, but he was once the Demon King's close attendant and the guardian of the 'Chaos Furnace Flame,' which is why he is despised and misunderstood?"
What is this Chaos Furnace Flame? I've never heard of it before.
Yuki also has his own sources of information, but he has never heard of this before. Even Isaac has never mentioned it. More importantly, there is not a single word about it in either the plot introduction or the hints.
This is clearly abnormal. Something this powerful couldn't possibly be completely unknown. It's like in the 'Race Game,' where 'Divine Torch' was directly named.
He searched for 'Chaos Furnace Flame' and found very little information, only a single, incomprehensible sentence:
[At the end of Chaos Grade lies order, but when order completely collapses, the fires of Chaos Grade will be ignited, scorching the world, and a new order will be born from the ashes of the flames.]
[This greatest dregs will be the god of the new world]
What's the meaning?
Yuki's expression was focused. He hated these meaningless myths the most. After carefully considering them, he felt they were very much like the theory of reincarnation.
Destruction represents new life, while new life is accompanied by aging, and aging leads to new destruction.
"Is your information reliable?"
"I don't know, I heard it from other people." Kalpas glanced at it and shook his head uncertainly. "The historical information about this instance is very vague, it was deliberately erased, and it can only be passed down by word of mouth."
Yuki knew this; in fact, in the fantasy world, a unit of 'ten thousand years' is not very long. For example, in the Race Game, even though the entire world was destroyed, clues could still be found by excavating ruins.
But the 'No One Survives' is different; it is a miracle of the God of Civilization, and much of the content simply cannot be recorded. For example, the fact that Morgas was the first demon to become a god is something that has been passed down orally by the Snow Demon Chieftain.
According to Kalpas, this information came from a group of turtle Survivors. Their racial talent is to live a long life. If they cross the epic level, they can live for two or three thousand years, which is more than five times that of other demons. Moreover, they are always low-key and sleep in the large lake in the south of the continent.
The longer they live, the fewer the changes occur, and the more information is passed down. For example, the Snow Clan is low-key and avoids trouble, so they have relatively few non-accidental deaths. Although some things have been forgotten, some records from the past have been left behind.
More importantly, these turtles were among the first to be tested in the Great Hunt.
"Killing them to silence them, hmm, it seems there's some crucial information the Sky God doesn't want us to know." Yuki immediately became serious. He always believed that the more important something is, the less likely it is to be known by others.
Thinking of this, his eyes lit up, and he immediately contacted Mebius, asking her to investigate something. He received a reply shortly afterward.
Ten thousand years have passed, and almost all the veteran gods who came from the Great War, except for the six main gods, have died out. Most of them perished in the final battle of the Great War, and the gods who came after were replaced through trials.
Furthermore, he discovered back then in the Grand Library of the City of Gods that there was not a single word about the final battle, only a long list of fallen heroes.
It is clearly abnormal that historians preferred to write biographies for each individual rather than record a single word about the war.
"There's a problem with the outcome of the Great War. The six main gods don't want future generations to know certain secrets. Do you know what they are?"
Kalpas blinked, then turned his head, somewhat confused. "Nonsense."
Yuki was already deep in thought and didn't care that Kalpas was using tsundere to cover up his ignorance.
He carefully studied the messages in the jade tablet, his mind racing as he went through every punctuation mark in the background story and hints, extracting the keywords.
[Hint 2: Depending on their role, players must eliminate at least one race, or three other races' factions. Elimination is calculated as a 95% or higher destruction rate. The Destiny of the world differs depending on the faction.]
The Destiny of the world is changing—what is changing? How is it changing?
Literally speaking, slaughtering all the demons would usher in a pure age of gods. Helping the demons overthrow the Heavenly Order would bring back the demon era. In fact, a player's destruction of a tribe or a pantheon could change the Destiny of the world.
But what comes above that?
Yuki thought about it for a long time, and finally pointed to a certain spot.
"The Chaos Furnace Flame, it might, no, it must be this thing!"
Chapter Fifteen: The Fox Demon Froya
Each type of demon has its own talent, and somewhat unusually, the Fox Demon's talent lies in spatial manipulation.
They possess a subspace where the Great Demon of the Fox Clan can lead the demon race to hide, and then open a portal at any point in reality to emerge. This small world is called --
Peach Blossom Spring.
Kalpas picked up a pink rune that resembled a tail. This was the supreme authority of the Fox Demon, the only credential besides the Great Demon of the Fox Clan that could open the subspace, which showed just how much reputation this guy had accumulated.
Yuki saw all this and stepped into the space; the beautiful scenery before him made him relax.
The seven-colored mist cracked open, revealing a passage covered with vines and the ground carpeted with pink Petal. Following the passage, the view suddenly opened up.
The small world is not small at all. The sky is shimmering with pale red glow, and Jade green waves of grass roll around the rolling mountains. At the center of the waves of grass is a mirror-like lake, with exquisite little houses built around it.
The huts weren't crowded, and they came in all sorts of styles. You could see some demons with pointed ears and long tails moving around among them. That's right, they were called Fox Demon, but they were actually Taiyi from the usual ones. Apart from having a big, fluffy tail, they were more like elves.
What a peaceful rural scene! Only the presence of other demons, such as giant spiders and three-headed Giant, adds a touch of chaos to the picture.
The Fox Demon were the first to rebel. Unlike the Snow Demon, they had long interacted with humans and, being sweet-looking, were almost invisible in demonic form, thus maintaining a good reputation for thousands of years.
Because of their deep involvement in worldly affairs, the Fox Demon are very well-informed and able to prepare well in advance for the Great Hunt.
Its strength is second only to the Sea Demon, and coupled with its early start and shrewdness, it has gathered a large force very early on, even prompting the reclusive Snow Demon to receive warnings.
No, Yuki actually saw the Snow Demon. This must be one of the survivors who slipped through the net back then, and they've been caught.
"They are following the path of the king, uniting the demons with benevolence." Yuki approvingly, but in an instant, a terrifying thought crossed his mind again.
So here's the question: Given this troublesome talent and ability to unite its own kind among the demon race, even a fool would know it poses a significant threat. Why wasn't it eliminated sooner?
The Demon-Hunting Army had actually been pursuing them the whole time, but to be honest, they hadn't gone all out.
As he descended the mountain along the path, he saw many demon warriors, but when he saw Kalpas bowing respectfully to them, he couldn't help but marvel at his good fortune.
There must have been countless trials and tests, but Kalpas is a pure person, and his all-out battle is enough to dispel all doubts.
"You like this?"
The man walking in front didn't answer, but his head held high spoke volumes.
Yuki already had the answer. He had met many familiar faces in the Reincarnation Game. Although there were changes, some core personalities were difficult to change.
Kalpas sought a place to live, using arrogance to mask his longing for companions; such a person is actually quite simple.
If you treat someone with sincerity, they will repay you with their life. No matter who the enemy is, they will even dare to make a hole in the sky.
Ultimately, they're the same kind of person as me, except I'm more rational and care more about gains and losses.
Yuki smiled and moved slightly closer.
No one questioned why Kalpas brought back a stranger; clearly, trust had run deep, just as Zhan Shuai wouldn't suspect anything when Yuki brought Kalpas into the Abyss Fortress.
The grass swayed in the wind, brushing against his body and bringing a pleasant tickle. Yuki's mind wandered, simulating a wondrous journey through Kalpas tribulations.
The Reincarnation Game is like a movie, where everyone has their own story. He has made immortal achievements and completed many epics, but that doesn't mean that other people's journeys are boring. Every epic player has witnessed a wonderful journey that is hard for ordinary people to imagine.
"Mr. Kalpas, you're back!"
Hearing the sweet and clear voice, Yuki looked up and saw a very cute girl running along the dirt path.
Her long, purple hair reached her hips and was slightly curled, resembling a dancing wave. She had a round face and large, amber eyes, looking like an extremely cute fourteen or fifteen-year-old junior high school student, except that she had a large, fluffy tail that required both hands to hold.
She was barefoot, her snow-white soles spotless, and at her ankles were a pair of delicate rings, the Bell on them jingling as she ran.
"Fox Clan Leader, Great Demon Froya." Kalpas looked troubled and turned slightly to the side.
Before Yuki could react, the Fox Demon paused a hundred meters away, vanished instantly, and then reappeared in front of him with a 'thud,' being thrown into the grass beside him by inertia.
That's an amazing spatial ability, even faster than the Moonlit Ghost Step.
Yuki's expression immediately changed; he didn't care whether Froya was introverted or outgoing, he cared more about her abilities.
Of course, that wasn't important. He glanced at the Fox Demon who was rolling around in the grass with a "ouch," and swallowed back the teasing thought, "So this is the type you like."
It was hard to say, because Kalpas had already anticipated his words and was staring at him with murderous eyes.
"Ahem, this great demon is not what I imagined."
"What's the difference? Does being in a high position mean you have to be calm and cunning? Does advancing to an epic level mean you have to be a master strategist? Everyone has many masks; it's just a matter of whether they take them off when facing different people."
Yuki was taken aback, not expecting Kalpas to say something so philosophical. After thinking for a moment, he nodded, indicating that Senjaku's advice was correct.
Because she herself has many masks, she can be ruthless in calculating the Judge's fate, or she can chatter flirtatiously with her senior. It's just that Yuki is better at hiding them and finds it difficult to reveal them to outsiders.
He turned around and saw Fox Demon of at least Epic Rank II or higher sitting on the grass, pouting and patting the grass clippings off its head.