Chapter 581
The Lord of Cinder burned out, having exhausted all his skills and means, so his death wasn't entirely unjust.
Yuki glanced at the ashes scattered everywhere, the king's unwilling roar echoing in his ears. He paused for a moment, then shrugged slightly.
A tactical victory.
There's no such thing as honorable or dishonorable in a life-or-death battle. If you have help, why insist on a one-on-one fight? That's just stupid. In fact, he has a certain insight.
"Epic Tier IV is a threshold; no wonder the Judge are very cautious about factions at this level."
After experiencing it firsthand, the feeling was overwhelming. The King of Kindling and Isshin Ashina are not on the same level. The latter was defeated with a few tricks, but the former managed to withstand the onslaught of Justice for so long.
And then there's Uchiha Madara, the Gundam pilot; this shows just how outrageous the Grand Inquisitors are.
Slightly worried, he bent down and pulled a dark crown from the ashes. It was the last remnant of the King of Kindling, but unfortunately, all the defensive items were destroyed.
"Kill them all."
Yuki suddenly turned around and saw that there were still humanoid flames screaming in the distance, and the players around him were desperately trying to help. Fighting the Epic Metamorphosis of the Lord of Cinder is also very simple: your soul just needs to be strong enough to withstand a lot of burning.
They won, but this time there was no cheering or excitement. The lives of these invaders were worthless, and no one came to fight for the soul materials. Everyone just watched Yuki quietly, as if trying to find a glimmer of light in their dead end.
The Faction Judgment lasted longer than I expected.
Yuki ignored the stares, simply tossing the sword and heart to Hayasaka Ai to collect them, then staring blankly at the sky.
The resonance continued, the boundless sky was etched even deeper, and there was a faint feeling that something was about to break out of its shell. Without any obstacles, this was the first time he had seriously and meticulously studied and experimented.
It was a complex and massive plan, and even the King of Cinder's life was just a bonus. He was more concerned with the outcome, and every detail held infinite possibilities and clues worth speculating about. That's why he arranged for the expert, Mebius, to be there to take notes.
"It's been too long. If it weren't for the self-imposed confinement, the Judge could have come and gone many times, and the Reincarnation Game could have sent in countless players."
At this moment, Yuki became even more determined to speed up the pace. As a layered space, the Borderlands had no concept of distance, so the only way to reduce the number of enemies was to reduce their numbers at the source.
How long will it take?
With a strange emphasis, Yuki saw the fat man with the small mustache flying towards him, his crown blown off by the Lord of Cinder.
"Thank you, Daoist Taiyi." Yuki with his hands clasped in thanks, already used to the feeling of his art style being different from others.
"Oh, don't be so polite. I just wanted to get everything done and go home to rest." The fat man rubbed his hands together.
"Tsk, afraid the Judge might escape. I'm going to see it all the way through." The Demon Child walked over with his hands in his pockets, Yuki Yuuki with his lip. "We've finally seen a glimmer of hope, but it's not the crucial moment yet."
"You silly child, what will you do when the Judge come?"
"I'll stab them all to death."
Yuki lowered his clasped hands and watched the master and apprentice bicker with great interest, finally understanding why Elysia had brought these two over.
It seems similar to the Shiki Ryougi had reasons for having to return.
"Please hear me out. This experiment should be carried out to the very end, because there is one more condition: how and from where the players return."
"Right, that's what I've been waiting for." Demon Child snapped his fingers, looking like he knew me inside and out. "If we can't get back to Chentang Pass, I'd rather stay here. In this godforsaken place, you can kill whoever you want and eat whoever you want, and at least it suits my taste."
The surrounding players held their breath, realizing that even 'Taiyi' didn't know.
Leaving aside the paradoxes of spacetime and the errors of causality, countless vortexes lead to different worlds, and where should one go after leaving the Reincarnation Game? Players must be divided into several categories.
Some simply want to leave this cruel game and stop accepting quests; others are single-mindedly focused on returning to their hometowns to reunite with their Yearning Dream; still others are from other factions coming to provide support, and it remains to be seen whether they can hitch a ride.
"Satoru Gojo, where do you want to go back to?" Yuki suddenly asked.
The handsome white-haired man thought for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, "It's best to go home. We can't stay here. There's no place for us in the Reincarnation Game anymore."
The players in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons could no longer stay; remaining in the Reincarnation Game meant certain death, and all hope was now focused on Yuki alone.
"Then let's pray."
Yuki raised his head, watching as the sky was completely torn apart, revealing a pitch-black crack deeper than the Abyss Grade. If an Outpost or instance were likened to a vase floating in the ocean, then the appearance of the crack meant that seawater was about to seep in.
The link point is about to appear.
Everyone held their breath. Yuki Mebius, who had been taking notes, remained calm.
Something has changed.
"What changes?"
"The transmission medium has lost its activity, and access has been locked." Mebius hid somewhere, the secret laboratory like the dust where the Judge had previously hidden, a large amount of data flashing before his eyes.
"You can think of it as a child about to be born, connected to the mother only by the umbilical cord. Apart from this umbilical cord, no 'nutrients' can enter. But in contrast, the aura of the Reincarnation Game has completely permeated the Outpost, allowing the child to return to the mother without restriction, and without even needing a teleportation medium."
That's a very vivid analogy; isn't that connection point the umbilical cord, with breath seeping in?
Yuki turned his head. The war was not completely over. There were still some survivors hiding in the distance. Without a teleportation medium, these players could not escape. But at this moment, these auras were rapidly disappearing.
That was close! We almost let Lord Cinder and his gang get away.
The rule of allowing exit but not entry is easy to understand.
The Reincarnation Game is essentially a selection process. Even at the very end, a choice must be made for the high-quality Gu worms who are willing to stay. If anyone has been forcibly bound to the chariot, now is their chance to 'repent and reform'.
The lock-in function is even simpler.
If someone digs a tunnel leading out of the Jail, the first priority is to block it up so that prisoners from other cells can't escape along the way.
"That umbilical cord is completely under the control of the Reincarnation Game." Yuki looked at the dark crack. He didn't need to think about what it was used for; it would definitely be used to unilaterally mobilize troops. And so far, the experiment had already proven very valuable.
The resonance begins, and there is a process until the transmission medium completely loses its activity. During this process, entry and exit are unrestricted, regardless of whether one is friend or foe. Then, when the link point appears, the Outpost will become a mode where exit is allowed but entry is not, or rather, only the blade of the Reincarnation Game can enter.
A very ingenious setup; the game is calculated with absolute rationality down to the smallest detail.
This stage already represents a reduction in losses from a failed Reincarnation Game, because under normal circumstances, it wouldn't even reach this stage. If the Judge weren't forced to confine themselves to their own areas, they would have already initiated a 'Faction Judgment,' isolating this place and beginning surgical intervention.
In other words, negotiating with certain high-ranking judges and using 'Faction Judgment' to lock down Outpost is useless; the Reincarnation Game still has higher-level trump cards up its sleeve.
"But for the experiment, this is a good thing."
Yuki dared not gamble on cutting off contact, lest he be sent straight back to 'Thorny Rose'. If he were thrown into Satoru Gojo's world, he'd be completely lost. He might be fine, but what about Shiki Ryougi, Elysia, and the others?
"The Judge are about to break free, the teleportation medium has lost its effectiveness, and they can only enter through this point." In the dead silence, Yuki finally spoke, raising his sword and pointing it to the sky, "Everyone, follow me up. This matter is not over yet."
It's not over yet; this is the most dangerous moment. The phrase "the Judge is about to be freed" has made countless hearts stop beating.
Demon Child, Kalpas, and others could retreat with a single thought, even if their stance was exposed and they would inevitably be purged. But the players of 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' didn't even have the right to settle scores later.
Thousands of players flew toward the rift, the only passage connecting the inside and outside. Once the Judge was freed, he would crawl directly through this rift.
What else is there to say? Even after just experiencing a great battle, they must use all their abilities until Taiyi delivers them from this misery.
"We... we're really not retreating!" Master Taiyi was very nervous; these remnants of the army couldn't possibly hold them off.
"Don't panic, Daoist Master. The teleportation medium is both ineffective and incredibly active right now; you can return with just a thought."
"What if they launch a 'Faction Judgment' with that thing? Are you sure those two things can't be combined?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure they wouldn't dare." Yuki flew into the crevice and vaguely saw a sculpture that looked like it was made of bronze being pulled down from the 'Abyss Grade' by the Divine Torch. "Now they're too late. If they couldn't stop me from severing the connection with one strike and are trapped in the Outpost, are they planning to escape the Reincarnation Game?"
The Daoist priest blinked, finding some truth in it. Becoming Judge meant pursuing greater power and higher authority; wouldn't escaping the Reincarnation Game be a waste of time?
He had just breathed a sigh of relief when Yuki, who was examining the strange sculpture, made his heart leap into his throat again.
There are only props, no connection points. Will it take some more time?
Yuki didn't have time to examine the reincarnation artifact; he only glanced at the atomic clock.
"The Judge is free."
Faction Judgment, lifted.
Aizen also glanced at the atomic clock. This was his first time actually performing Faction Judgment. The locked door opened, and the Judgment Domain returned to the embrace of the Reincarnation Game. Right before their eyes, a huge, dark vortex was slowly rotating.
This is a shortcut personally opened by the Reincarnation Game, granting direct access to the battlefield with the highest authority. Before the vortex, seven Grand Inquisitors stood silently, and behind them were more than 1,500 Judge, the weakest of whom possessed the strength of Monster III.
The blade of reincarnation, the Judgment Sword that no faction can resist—and this is not even their full force. Keep in mind that three Grand Inquisitors are still conducting search missions within the instance.
"Sōsuke Aizen, what are you waiting for?" Boros turned his head, his killing intent burning as he was thoroughly outmaneuvered this time.
Step into the vortex, initiate Faction Judgment, and tear Taiyi to pieces.
"This is just an appetizer. I need to collect data for the main course. I've never heard of escaping the Reincarnation Game." He seemed very hesitant.
"Now is not the time for you to do research!"
"No, haven't you noticed? The state of this Outpost is strange. It's completely impossible to enter except through this vortex, but returning has become extremely easy." Aizen remained calm, and it was this calmness that allowed him and Yuki to each get what they wanted.
"The Faction Judgment can completely seal off any escape route, even if the intensity is somewhat reduced this time." Solomon spoke up. Of course, the Judge cannot use their authority without restraint, but Uchiha Madara hasn't used it yet.
You've blocked it all; how am I supposed to test my own path?
Aizen maintained his gentle smile, remaining calm and unhurried. "I don't want to expose the weaknesses of Faction Judgment and the number of Grand Inquisitors. Besides, even if the exit is truly blocked, would you dare to go?"
Why wouldn't I dare...? Wait, if Taiyi forcibly severs the connection, wouldn't that be tantamount to mutual destruction?
The Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge kept sending in data. Although they hadn't summarized it yet, they knew that during the time they were trapped, the experiment had entered its final stage.
With the Reincarnation Game's own endorsement, they knew that 'Taiyi' possessed the ability to remove instances from the game. Being sent back to the Judgment Domain after this blow was one thing, but if they escaped with the Outpost, wouldn't all their years of hard work have been for nothing?
How insidious! One scheme leads to another, leaving them in a difficult position in the end.
"But we can't just stand by and watch. This isn't the final plan. You know what's following behind," Uchiha Madara interjected. The Night Parade of One Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was hasty, complex, and had endless consequences. It would sweep across the entire Borderlands like a hurricane, affecting countless players.
"Beyond becoming a player and the eternal struggle, there is still the hope of regaining freedom." Aizen nodded; he knew this was the most powerful thing, even more powerful than Judge.
The Judge can be continuously selected, and no matter how chaotic the Borderlands becomes, the player's identity remains unchanged; only by making a new choice does it become truly meaningful.
At this moment, he finally understood why his first initiative had triggered Taiyi strong reaction from Taiyi. Taiyi's calculations were not about confronting the Judge, but about using this stage to reveal another path.
"Only we parasites in the Reincarnation Game, despising so-called freedom, shall we have a fight? But please note, this is just an appetizer. I need to collect enough parameters for the final battle; I cannot afford to lose combat power in vain."
"Alright, Taiyi has exceeded the limits of what's set in the game. Nobody knows if he will leave with the Outpost." Solomon nodded emphatically, which was exactly what everyone was worried about.
This time, everyone got what they wanted and managed to obtain some intelligence. However, no one understands the true nature of Taiyi. If the connection is severed with a single strike, and the Judge falls with the Outpost while he himself remains in the Reincarnation Game, that would be quite a mess.
"Everyone, stay calm and focus on gathering data. Don't get bogged down in it."
Aizen was the first to step into the vortex, followed by a dense stream of Judge entered one after another, stepping into the crossroads of Destiny.
They've arrived.
The Truth's Eye, derived from the Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge, is like a cheat code for seeing through things. As soon as the Judge makes a move, Yuki reacts immediately. Without this cheat code, he wouldn't dare to perform such a complicated operation.
The atomic clock continued to tick, even if the timing was precise to the millisecond, but it didn't care about the formidable enemy that was about to arrive.
Is it three stages: resonance, preparation, and detachment?
Before even seeing the details recorded by Mebius, Yuki had already roughly divided the entire experiment into three stages. The first stage was to activate the Divine Torch and trigger resonance, which would directly trigger the defense mechanism of the Reincarnation Game.
No matter where you hide or how many layers of disguise you use, you will find out.
The second stage involves the reincarnation artifact being pulled down, a process that lasts for several hours, enough time for a world-destroying battle to unfold.
Sure enough, this was the second path.
He gazed into the deep sky, where he could vaguely discern a vortex. Through the information Shiki Ryougi, Yuki had already figured out the Judge's operational procedures:
With the help of the Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge, almost every Outpost was foreshadowed, just like the causal regression that was planted on the senior students before. This foreshadowing is not subject to the will of the parties involved.
It will send forth the Judge, open the passage, and be followed by a vast army of judges.
'I originally thought the' Thorny Rose's' special ability would allow it to evade judgment, but I truly underestimated the Reincarnation Game.'
The reflexes in the Reincarnation Game are getting faster and faster. This time, the connection point hasn't even appeared yet, but the channel has already been formed. Unlike in 'No One Survives,' where Yuki had already taken away the Chaos Furnace Flame, and Yuuki's eyes hadn't even focused yet.
He's optimizing the defense mechanism, so next time, will he be able to create a passage more quickly and send the Judge in sooner?
Yuki didn't know, because this Reincarnation Game was without any troops to deploy, making it difficult to refer to. Even if the reincarnation items needed to fall to a certain level to start, it wasn't good news for him.
"The Torch of the Gods can no longer be retrieved, and the Reincarnation Items are beneath the vortex. Even if the experiment is halted, the Divine Torch must be preserved."
Yuki could afford the price, but in Thorny Rose, he would never abandon his stronghold and run away.
Even if the experiment is done correctly, without these crucial parameters, how can you make a plan? Are you just blindly gambling?
"They're here!"
With a gasp, Yuki saw a group of figures rush out of the vortex, and the one leading Sōsuke Aizen.
Aizen, the Herrscher of Finality, Sephiroth, Boros, Solomon, Hades, and Uchiha Madara, whom they had fought before—these seven Grand Inquisitors brought a terrifying sense of oppression. Behind them followed thousands of Judge; though not numerous, their numbers were enough to suppress all factions.
Fortunately, just as Yuki had expected, these people did not launch an attack directly. Instead, they stood high in the sky, looking down at the players who had already set up a defensive formation.
This was the first real confrontation, and escaping the Reincarnation Game was also unknown to them. Yuki narrowed his eyes; this was not a good thing.