[Exorcised a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. Gained 500 cursed soul points.] [Exorcised a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit. Gained 100 cursed soul points.] [Exorcised a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit. Gained 100 cursed soul points.] [Exorcised a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit. Gained 100 cursed soul points.]
With Flowing Red Scale active, Shinji immediately launched into a savage killing spree, sweeping away all the remaining Fuzzball Monsters with the Kubikiribōchō.
System notifications began flooding the screen.
One [Grade 1 Cursed Spirit] plus twenty-three [Grade 4 Cursed Spirits].
That one batch alone earned him 2,800 cursed soul points!
Adding the few cursed spirits he had killed earlier and the efforts of his hired hand, Hidan, his total cursed soul points instantly reached 5,200.
Compared to before, he had practically gotten rich overnight!
And clearly, the monsters here weren't limited to the ones in front of him.
"Looking at the numbers, slaughtering low-grade cursed spirits seems more profitable. Exorcising one Grade 4 Cursed Spirit easily nets me 100 cursed soul points, but going to all the trouble of killing a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit only pays 500..."
Resting the clean, gleaming Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder, Shinji began carefully crunching the numbers, quibbling over every last point.
After all, a [Grade 1 Cursed Spirit] was far stronger than a [Grade 4 Cursed Spirit], yet casually cutting down five [Grade 4 Cursed Spirits] earned the same reward as killing one [Grade 1 Cursed Spirit]. That seemed a little unreasonable.
More importantly, there were clearly far more Grade 2, 3, and 4 cursed spirits than [Grade 1 Cursed Spirits].
So was this dumbass system malfunctioning?
Or did the dumbass system think [Grade 1 Cursed Spirits] weren't all that impressive either, which was why the exorcism rewards weren't that different?
Shinji thought it over for a while but reached no conclusion. Since the system had already made its judgment and he had no right to haggle, he might as well play by its rules. He wasn't losing out anyway, and he might even get a chance to farm a massive haul!
He looked around, decided where to head next, and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, the Kusagakure Ninja hiding nearby couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief. Thank goodness-that terrifying bastard seemed to have forgotten about him.
"Just you wait. You really think these monsters are that easy to deal with?!"
"The ones that died just now were nothing but small fry and cannon fodder. When the time comes... you'll all die!"
The Kusagakure Ninja seemed to recall the horrifying sight of a certain monster tearing an Elite Ninja apart with its bare hands, making his body tremble involuntarily.
Just then, a cold flash of steel streaked through the night.
Clang!
The dilapidated house he was hiding in was sliced diagonally in two!
"Almost forgot about you."
Having doubled back, Shinji turned and left without even looking at him.
He didn't consider himself a good person, but he would kill traitors to humanity whenever he found them!
"Mer..."
The Kusagakure Ninja tried to beg for mercy in terror, but he had barely gotten a syllable out before half his body slid off along the cut through the house.
"Shit!"
Before he had gone far, Shinji suddenly slapped his forehead.
"That guy seemed to be wearing a Kusagakure Forehead Protector. I should've asked where the sacrifices were before killing him."
Despite saying that, he immediately brushed it off.
"Whatever. I never really planned to recover those sacrifices anyway. Once I get back, I'll just blame it all on these monsters."
So Shinji, who had never intended to uncover the truth in the first place, turned back again, removed the Kusagakure Ninja's bloodstained Forehead Protector, and put it away before nodding in satisfaction.
Now he had evidence, too. All he needed to do was kill the remaining monsters here, and he could return to report the job done.
Following the sounds, he walked down two streets.
Shinji was just about to continue killing monsters for points when he discovered two groups fighting each other up ahead, while several barely clothed women hid in a nearby house.
Judging by their expressions alone, they had probably given up all hope and wanted to unleash the ugliness in their hearts in the final moments of their lives.
Whether they were fighting over an unfair division of spoils or who got to go first, he had no idea.
Shinji wasn't in the mood to bother with them. He was about to leave and keep searching for monsters, but although he wasn't looking for trouble, trouble came looking for him.
"Fuck, another bastard who isn't afraid to die and wants a piece of the action!"
"Let's kill this newcomer first, then we can fight to the death."
"Fine, I'll trust you this once. We're all going to die anyway, and I've fucking had enough!"
Perhaps Shinji's current appearance was simply too conspicuous, because the two groups that had been fighting to the death suddenly reached an agreement. They wanted to join forces and kill this "newcomer who seemed to be looking for easy pickings" first.
Under normal circumstances, the Kubikiribōchō in Shinji's hand might have frightened these people.
But now that they had abandoned all hope and no longer cared about anything, even their own lives, they couldn't care less how formidable that blade was.
If the world were ending and everyone was about to die, would you still tremble in fear just because someone pointed a gun at you?
What difference would dying a second earlier or later make?
That was precisely the mindset of these crazed, broken thugs.
The more they had suppressed the things they normally wouldn't dare do, the more they wanted to go wild one last time before their lives ended!
Shinji couldn't help laughing. Since they were courting death, he certainly wouldn't show them mercy.
This was a perfect chance to recharge his Kubikiribōchō and light the Seven Kill Lamps again.
Perhaps because [cursed spirits] weren't human, killing monsters with the Kubikiribōchō earlier hadn't triggered the [Soul Imprisonment] skill effect.
The only one of the Seven Kill Lamps currently lit had come from the Kusagakure Ninja he had just cut down.
Looking at it that way, the [Cursed Kubikiribōchō] was actually better suited to fighting "humans," especially in group battles and chaotic melees.
Against [cursed spirits], its power dropped considerably, preventing it from unleashing its full strength.
"So if I get the chance, I still need to find a cursed tool specifically for killing cursed spirits."
Shinji muttered to himself, then shot forward without even needing to activate [Flowing Red Scale].
Screams and howls of agony rang out one after another!
Severed limbs and heads went flying!
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people were dead, leaving the ground littered with mangled corpses that would be difficult to piece back together.
Shinji was deeply grateful for their selfless contribution. With the last of their lives, they had lit the Seven Kill Lamps and given him a chance to use [Cloak-Breaking Strike].
If he later killed all the monsters and rescued the remaining people...
These people would damn well deserve a share of the credit!
Unfortunately, he didn't know the names of these contributors, which he found rather regrettable.
True men did good deeds without leaving their names!
Of course, they wouldn't even have a chance to write a diary now.
(PS: It's the New Year! Old Faceless wishes everyone the vigor of a tiger in the Year of the Tiger, good health, and great fortune!)
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