Chapter 580
He exchanged a punch with the charging Kalpas, smashing the tens-of-meters-high city wall into dust, but the Flame of Constellation remained firmly locked onto the charging Yuki, maintaining the calmest mind of the king.
To survive, either the Judge must escape or Taiyi must be killed; the rest will naturally scatter like birds and beasts.
Epic Metamorphosis unfolded around Yuki, all the overflowing energy was converted and absorbed, the Death Aura was reshaped into a sword, and then expanded again because of this energy.
A massive, hundred-meter-long blade slashed down, and both the Demon Child and Kalpas Tribulations dodged ahead of it, while the Fatty merely flicked his whisk.
"Certainly."
Golden rings appeared at the feet of the Lord of Cinder, who used all his strength against the Greatsword of Death.
Click--
The immobilization spell was ripped apart by brute force, and the Spiral Sword expanded in his hand, as if he were holding a golden Tatsumaki.
Spiral Sword!
From bottom to top, the Deathly Greatsword was torn into large pieces as if it had been struck by a power drill. The power of death was incredibly abundant, yet the king stepped into it without hesitation.
The flames on his body were waning, yet they kept the aura of death at bay. He gazed at the approaching Yuki, a black sun shimmering in his palm.
The Night Furnace Domain.
Lightless World.
Two similar stripping-type domains unfolded simultaneously. Two black lines flashed by, and the space was like shattered glass, covered with cracks, layer upon layer, densely packed.
Demon Child, Kalpas, and others were isolated outside. These spatial rifts were like blades; anyone who hit them would shatter instantly.
There is only one chance.
Following his instincts, Lord Cinder took control of the battlefield. As a powerful being in terms of soul, he would not be easily fooled by a substitute and directly locked onto Taiyi, who was trying to bypass the spatial rift.
Transforming into fire, it was like a supersonic flame traversing the cracks, forcefully drilling through these spatial faults. In the blink of an eye, the winding flame had passed through layers upon layers of fissures.
Good, very decisive.
Yuki turned his head. This Lord of Cinder was going all out from the start. It turned out that collisions between domains of the same level could shatter space, creating countless spatial blades.
As darkness spread, the best way to deal with the spatial rift was to simply bypass it, but a moment later, a dazzling light appeared.
In less than a second, the flame pierced through the crack, ignoring the spatial distortion, and transformed into a blazing sun with a diameter exceeding several thousand meters. Under this light, the Eternal Night that had just spread vanished instantly.
[I am the flame, burning away everything in the world.]
Knowing he only had one chance, the King of Cinder naturally didn't hold back, skipping the probing process and unleashing his ultimate attack.
Epic Metamorphosis. Kindling Furnace.
Several defensive items enveloped the main body, forming layer upon layer of protective shields. It remained still, yet resembled a terrifying fortress.
Where the sun shines, life burns, burning from the depths of the soul.
In the distance, dozens of the weakest and most vulnerable players transformed into human torches from the inside out. This move ignored defense, distance, and resistance; their souls became the fuel, the only difference being that the fuel from the strongest players burned longer.
The attack was wide-ranging and devastating, but the Lord of Cinder understood that a player of 'Taiyi's' caliber would need to burn for a very long time, and his own soul might burn out before him. Therefore—
"What if I gather this light upon you?"
As the dazzling light faded, the world seemed to darken. Many players, their faces contorted in pain from the heat, quickly fled. Hayasaka Ai looked up and noticed the strange change in the sun.
It transformed into a one-sided panel of light, fanning out and enveloping the area in front of it. Players in that area instantly turned to ashes, finally understanding why the Lord of Cinder had wanted to close the distance.
The burning sensation she felt just now caused her to break out in a cold sweat from the pain. This kind of massive area of damage could be concentrated and explode at a single point, and no matter how fast Yuki, she couldn't escape the range of the irradiation.
Fortunately, he reacted extremely quickly. As the sunlight gathered, hundreds of players behind him, near and far, instantly turned into wisps of smoke, summoning the Chaos Furnace Flame to fight against the sunlight with white flames.
Bang!
The girl raised her gun and fired. She saw a ripple appear on the sun, which was half black and half bright. Normally, the King of Cinder would have changed his target long ago, but he seemed to be caught up in a struggle and was unwilling to divert his attention.
Where did Taiyi get so many reincarnation items?!
The Lord of Cinder was also helpless. The Chaos Furnace Flame was also something that could burn away everything in the world. It was also something that could not be resisted or extinguished. He could only withstand it with his energy. In his perception, what was in front of him was a gray 'waterfall', which in a sense could be considered an absolute defense.
He couldn't possibly contend with him. The gunshots were still echoing when the others rushed up, hiding outside the beam of light and attacking his body with madness. Even several level 6 defensive items couldn't hold out for long.
Then let's concentrate again.
The sun's bright spot was shrinking, its light becoming even more dazzling, and there was no one left in that direction. Unless you were hiding behind the waterfall, even standing at the end of the Outpost would turn you into firewood on the spot.
The balance was instantly shattered. The flow of the Chaos Furnace Flame was constant, but this side increased its power, and the melting speed also increased. It was like drawing a knife to cut water, making this layer of defense thinner and thinner. It would be able to cut through it completely in just a few seconds, and then ignite the Yuki hiding behind it.
But Taiyi's response made Him grit His teeth.
Several spatial phantoms emerged from behind the waterfall. "Aren't you trying to trade firepower for coverage? Fine, I'll just jump out of your firing range."
'You figured out so quickly that my Epic Metamorphosis doesn't burn soulless items?'
The Moonlight Clone is merely a spatial coordinate and cannot be used as fuel, but every player, whether Machine Intelligence or Gundam, possesses a soul.
Once the King of Cinder understood, the choice was simple.
"I will only kill you!"
The Kindling Sunlight Sword.
Countless bursts of energy exploded around him, and the sun transformed into a black sphere like Abyss Grade. The remaining crack was less than half a meter wide, yet it shone with a brilliance a billion times greater than that of an ordinary Sunlight Spear.
This sword was invisible, yet it cleaved through the pale fire curtain that even the gods could not undo, but there was no one behind the curtain.
You can't escape.
The Moonlight Clone was difficult to distinguish from the real one, but in the eyes of the Lord of Cinder, it was as pointless as taking off his pants to fart. The golden sword light instantly deflected, slicing past one of the clones, and then flashed continuously, following it like a shadow.
Yuki dared not stop. The sword light was too fast and too sharp for players. Anyone exposed to such intensity would have their soul instantly burned, and would be severely crippled even if they didn't die. However, it also had a fatal flaw.
Soulless phantoms and mechanical entities do not spontaneously combust, and to deal with these things, you need to use Chaos Item to compensate.
"But this is a gang fight."
The Lord of Cinder was indeed doing so, releasing black spheres—these were 'Void Explosion Bullet,' capable of physically erasing an area. However, these projectiles couldn't hit the clones at all, because Hayasaka Ai and the others weren't fools; they all intercepted them, and the few that slipped through were hit by the unerring arrows.
A series of dark force fields exploded in front of them. Taiyi didn't attack, but instead Back-and-Forth Dodge between these coordinates. Meanwhile, the others were not idle.
The spell exploded around the black sun, and the Demon Child wielding the spear Piercer layer after layer of protective shields. The man's fist formed a storm of Frenzied Flame, containing countless mad souls that obscured His vision of seeing through all illusions.
"Taiyi, how utterly despicable and shameless!"
The Lord of Cinder the Roar, launching a 360° all-around attack with no blind spots. Firepower suppression, vision obstruction, and interception were all included, leaving it no time to defend itself. In particular, the Frenzied Flame had already caused it to lose sight of itself.
In the ideal battle, Taiyi and the Lord of Cinder engage in a glorious and epic war of kings, each unleashing their full power.
In real-life combat, Taiyi would Back-and-Forth Dodge, causing other players to attack him relentlessly.
This is a war of attrition. He doesn't seem afraid of the Judge escaping and returning. Considering that this situation was set up by Taiyi, the Lord of Cinder is unlikely to follow the script.
"Then let the King's Soul be ignited!"
"He's going to fight desperately, everyone be careful."
The Lord of Cinder never lacked the courage to burn himself out. In an instant, the black sun shone and spun, looking like a giant 'disco ball', casting fine rays of light in all directions.
We'll counter your moves. If you resort to shameless gang attacks, I'll cover you up completely. I don't believe you can stay here forever. Once the Judge is free, nobody will escape.
"What a talent! Even risking your life requires skill."
Yuki no longer needed to Back-and-Forth Dodge; he simply dodged and weaved through the flashing lights, like dancing amidst a barrage of bullets. The others also lost their energy to attack him and all began to dodge; they were supporting characters, why should they risk their lives?
Epic-level players won't be instantly killed by the light, but nobody wants to turn into firewood. As for ordinary players, they are thrown into chaos. Hiding in the ruins is useless, as the light will shine directly through and ignite anyone below epic level on the spot.
Minion Slayer, how long can your King's Soul last?
Yuki, unaware of and unwilling to appear composed, gripped his sword tightly as he gazed at the dense beams of light and the swirling black sun before him.
"Hehe, do you need my help?" a lazy female voice came.
"No need. Your task is to record every detail of the entire experiment. Focus on your work."
"Pah, they deserved to die!"
Yuki didn't bother with Mebius's petty tantrums, because there was no need for her to do anything unnecessary.
"It's time to settle this. Hayasaka, come with me. It's okay if we run out of steam."
No reply was needed; the girl had already received the message. All the details were filtered through Yuki's mind as he opened his right hand and summoned the Chaos Grade Furnace, which was still spewing pale flames in the distance.
You're all flashy and fancy like a disco ball, have you forgotten that I have something to counter you?
Yuki rushed into the furnace with his head on his shoulder. Although the sunlight could penetrate all inorganic matter, it was useless if it couldn't penetrate the Chaos Furnace Flame. As soon as he moved, the Lord of Cinder reacted immediately.
The sun stopped turning, and countless tiny rays of light suddenly focused on us. Everyone here was a seasoned veteran, and after testing the waters, they were naturally prepared.
To extinguish this Chaos Furnace Flame, simply increase the force.
The closer she got, the more concentrated the beam became, and the pale flames were rapidly diminished. Taking advantage of the enemy's distraction, Hayasaka Ai sprinted across the ground.
Epic Metamorphosis. Bullet Curtain Dancer.
The beams of light were not as dense as before, and the maid danced in the light like in a movie blockbuster, holding the Death Knell high and pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Bang bang bang bang.
All the projectiles were blasted toward the sun. No amount of defense could withstand such onslaught, and the Lord of Cinder faced another choice.
Should we burn that damned woman on the ground to death? Or should we concentrate?
Every choice makes sense, but when Taiyi, with the furnace burning beneath his head, gets close, there's no need to choose at all.
Even if you kill all the other players, it won't help unless you burn Taiyi death.
The Kindling Sunlight Sword.
All the beams of light converged in one place, slashing down like a longsword, and then something went wrong.
Taiyi did not dodge; He charged out of the thick fog filled with Frenzied Flame. The Sunlight Sword sliced through the furnace fire, but in the Lord of Cinder's vision, it was still a grayish-white expanse.
The light pierced through Yuki, but it did not ignite, for a very simple reason.
A soulless thing?!
"I forgot to mention, it's not the Chaos Furnace Flame that restrains you."
Yuki smiled slightly amidst the raging Frenzied Flame. Who says a Stand can only be used to lure enemies, deceive, or play tactics? As long as I have enough split skills, it can get infinitely close to my original body.
Stand User can inherit all the skills and items of the original user, but when the opponent is strong, the user is weak, and the opponent can kill the weakened original user.
But King of Kindling, do you still have a chance to find me?
"Hayasaka, do it."
On the ground, the girl knelt with both hands, gripping her gun, the red dot aimed at the point of convergence of the aerial charges, draining all the energy from her body.
Absolute Lethality Mode.
Killing Shot.
Bang!!
Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, this shot shattered the diamond-shaped light shield, leaving no barrier between them. Then, the sun grew a giant hand, wielding a blazing giant sword.
He is not only an expert on the soul, otherwise he would be completely helpless when facing camps like Mechanical Believers. This soulless thing must be dealt with using physical methods.
But on a physical level...
"You think I'm afraid of you?!"
The Light of Divine Punishment flashed and disappeared, cleaving the giant sword in two. Although there was a slight delay in personally controlling it, the substitute was agile enough.
With his feet planted on the cold sun, and before him stood the Lord of Cinder wielding the Spiral Sword, there was no way around it; his Stand was immune to His Epic Metamorphosis, and the battle returned to square one.
They fought each other in pairs.
"An almost flawless Epic Metamorphosis, even considering puppeteer-type players." Yuki looked at that dark face, then suddenly changed the subject. "I've already cut off the path to advancement. Epic-level players can't be good at everything. Can you really Isshin?"
As countless Sunlight Spear and Death Spear appeared, and the Spiral Sword and the Total Annihilation were raised simultaneously, the Lord of Cinder's eye twitched, because Taiyi issued an order while charging forward.
"What are you all standing there for? The defenses have been breached! Charge!"
At his command, Kalpas and the others rushed through the breach. The beam of light slowed down, and had no choice but to slow down. If the King of Cinder could really fight fiercely against opponents of the same level while simultaneously controlling a qualitative change to suppress the encirclement, he would have already ascended to the 'Legendary' level.
In a daze, He heard the voice of Taiyi, which sounded like the laughter of Tzeentch.
"Despicable and shameless, well said!"
Chapter Twenty-Three: You may have a thousand troops, I have Total Annihilation blade.