Chapter 186 Orochi

Orochi, after returning his blade, transformed into a giant, eight-headed, eight-tailed monster.

This massive serpent bore the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi on its head, eyes like physalis fruit, a dragon-like behemoth, its demonic aura shocking the heavens.

Against a monster of this size, fists, blades, guns, and cannons were clearly meaningless.

The number of Transcendent Army soldiers present was already small, and upon seeing this scene, they all unanimously chose to retreat. In any case, their mission was complete, and even if they stayed, they would be of little use and might even be killed as collateral damage.

Only two people remained standing near the performance stage, unwavering.

These two were naturally Feng Bujue and Li Ruoyu.

"Aren't you running?" Amidst the demonic wind, Jue-ge looked at Ruoyu, standing five meters away from him, and asked.

"No." Ruoyu raised a hand, gently stroked the hair beside her cheek, and replied coldly.

"It's very dangerous to stay here, you know," Feng Bujue reminded.

"You too," Ruoyu said, her hand already on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

These two knew each other inside and out; they understood each other tacitly. They both knew that no matter how strong the Boss in this script was, the real threat to the players came from each other.

"I'm staying here out of curiosity, wanting to see what kind of result they'll produce," Feng Bujue added.

"Is that so?" Ruoyu looked at Jue-ge coldly, calmly exposing the latter's true intentions, "I thought you wanted to wait for Orochi to reveal the whereabouts of the Hogyoku."

"Heh..." Feng Bujue laughed, a silent laugh.

Ruoyu then continued, "Under these circumstances, I presume you won't leave, so I'll accompany you to watch this show."

At this moment, they were already ready to draw swords against each other. But… both of them chose to stand still.

They both understood in their hearts... that even just watching from the sidelines, near these three monsters, required considerable concentration, otherwise they might truly be killed by the stray energy. If the players fought here, they would have to risk being defeated by third-party factors; Ruoyu clearly did not want that.

Therefore, Feng Bujue had decided to stay here. This way... he could both observe the information revealed in the Boss battle and temporarily delay his battle with Ruoyu, achieving two goals with one action.

…………

On the other hand, south of Gucheng Castle, in a certain city alley.

After the chaotic battle began, many people in the Transcendent Army were separated from the main force. After all, the Demon Army was numerous, and compared to them, although the Transcendent Army had strong individual combat capabilities, they only numbered a few hundred, so it was inevitable that some would gradually become separated from the formation.

Hua Jian, unknowingly, became isolated...

"Hmph... I've finally caught a good opportunity..." At this moment, Qi Sha, who had been lurking in the darkness for a long time, finally felt that the time was ripe and prepared to attack.

His speed was very fast, and his attack was decisive. From approaching his opponent to launching his attack, it only took two seconds.

Two seconds later, a [Hyakushiki. Oboroguruma] hit its target squarely. In Qi Sha's estimation, this move was enough to determine the outcome against a medical specialization player.

"A game is a game; don't blame me," Qi Sha said, turning his head to the side after withdrawing his move.

However, the next second... the scene that entered his eyes caused his expression to change drastically.

"What!"

He saw that the "Hua Jian" who had just been attacked was dissolving like a wax statue, turning to dust on the ground.

"A substitute?" The moment Qi Sha realized this, his gaze shifted rapidly, and soon... he spotted a figure ten meters away.

As soon as he spoke, he stepped forward, chasing after the figure, and in the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to within two meters of Hua Jian.

Unexpectedly, at the same instant, another figure appeared behind Hua Jian.

That figure was none other than Wang Tanzhi.

It turned out that... Qi Sha was not the only one hiding in the dark, trying to assassinate Hua Jian. As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Xiao Tan had been staring at this kill for quite some time, and... he had already noticed Qi Sha's presence, so he had been waiting for Qi Sha to attack first, so that he could react accordingly.

If Qi Sha succeeded, then Xiao Tan's target would naturally shift to Qi Sha; and if Qi Sha's first attack failed, Xiao Tan could take advantage of the situation to come out and finish Hua Jian off while she was still unsteady.

"Hmph... this kid... is really ruthless," At this moment, Qi Sha thought to himself, "Never mind... I might as well let him have this kill, it's just some skill points, one less opponent is one less."

And Xiao Tan's thoughts at this moment were similar to Qi Sha's: "It was right not to rush out first; I knew Hua Jian would use [Wax Doll Substitute], but... this skill can't be used twice in a short period of time. This kill... I'll take it!"

One in front, one in back, blade edge, fist wind.

Swift as a gale, fierce as thunder.

Hua Jian was a medical specialization player, and her level was the lowest among the group, so it was inevitable that she would become the target of everyone's attacks. Previously, because there were too many people around, it was always inconvenient for players to attack "friendly forces," but at this moment... there was no one around, so they no longer needed to be polite.

Seeing that Hua Jian was under attack from both sides, and both were experts capable of killing her with a single blow, it seemed... that her fate in this script was sealed.

However... her face did not show the slightest hint of panic or despair; on the contrary, the corners of her mouth... even revealed a hint of a cold smile.

Clang! Clang!

In the next instant, two metallic sounds rang out, and two fast shadows appeared.

Wang Tanzhi's military daggers and Qi Sha's gauntlets were both blocked.

Because... two peerless swordsmen had arrived like lightning, protecting Hua Jian's side.

"Cough... Hua Jian-sama was indeed right..." Tachibana Ukyo flicked his sword, forcing Qi Sha back several zhang.

"So... you two are really spies sent by Orochi," Kurogane Jin'e released his sword energy, forcing Xiao Tan to retreat ten meters in haste.

With the appearance of two swordsmen who had been healed and fully recovered, the battle situation suddenly changed.

At this moment, Hua Jian spoke solemnly, "That's right, of course I wouldn't lie to you..." She paused for a moment, looked at Qi Sha and Xiao Tan respectively, "I said long ago, as long as I act alone, they will reveal their true colors."

"Tch... I've been tricked," Qi Sha's expression darkened slightly, and he thought to himself, "I thought I was the hunter and she was the prey. In the end... I'm the prey, and she... is a clever hunter who dares to use herself as bait." Thinking of this, his eyes changed slightly, "Heh... these guys from the Underworld Frontline are all so troublesome..."

"Hmm..." On the other side, Xiao Tan narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, "I fell for it... I've been outsmarted..."

Xiao Tan and Qi Sha both understood that in this situation, they had been forced into a dead end. Explanations... would probably be superfluous; even if they were eloquent, they would seem pale and powerless in the face of the facts that had just occurred; if they abandoned the battle and fled... the news that the two of them were "Orochi Army spies" would soon be spread. At that time, the Transcendent Army would hunt them down, and the Orochi Army would not be polite to them either; in short, they would be "unwelcome on all sides."

Therefore, only one option remained for them—to kill Hua Jian, Tachibana Ukyo, and Kurogane Jin'e all three right here, silencing them and eliminating all evidence. But... how easy would that be? It would be fine if the two of them were in cahoots, but the problem was... they still had to be wary of each other; in terms of the situation, this was not two against three, but one against one against three... the side with three people also had healing support; which side was more advantageous was self-evident.

"There's no other way... I can only bite the bullet and go for it." After thinking for a few seconds, Xiao Tan, with no other options, decided to solve the problem with force.

"Hmph... let's just fight, wouldn't it be enough to kill everyone present?" Qi Sha's situation was similar; compared to using his brain... he undoubtedly preferred to solve problems with his fists.

…………

At the same time, Gucheng Castle, Tenshu.

Boom—

With a loud explosion, the gate of the Tenshu Pavilion was broken.

The Demon Army soldiers guarding outside the gate fell like wheat, completely defeated and unable to stop those who broke through the gate.

Feng Zhinhen, Gen Musashi, and Kuroko, the three experts in the Xuangang Sword Qi Formation, were unstoppable, and arrived at the location of the Tenshu at the fastest speed.

After breaking through the gate, they scouted the area and did not notice any mechanisms or formations; there were no soldiers or demon generals guarding inside the Tenshu Pavilion.

Seeing this situation, although the three of them were suspicious, they did not hesitate too much; they simply exchanged glances and went up side by side, heading straight for the top floor of the Tenshu.

In less than a minute, they arrived at the top floor pavilion.

They saw... that this empty pavilion was spacious and devoid of objects, with only a stone coffin covered in incantations standing in the very center. The coffin was bound by heavy iron chains, and the coffin door was tightly closed. Waves of purple-black, fierce demonic energy were constantly emanating from the coffin, sending chills down their spines.

"This object... is the seal used by Orochi to draw the space-time..." Gen Musashi observed and pondered.

"It's probably it..." Kuroko continued, "This kind of demonic energy is extraordinary. If there is anything in this city that can exert the effect of the seal, it would only be this stone coffin."

"Then... what should we do now?" Gen Musashi looked at the two beside him.

His question was also the question of Feng Zhinhen and Kuroko.

Even if they could confirm that this was the seal, what should they do with it? Now that Keiji was dead, the method of destroying the seal was also unknown; if the three of them mishandled it, not only would they fail to return the various space-times to their original states, but they would also drag other space-times into it, wouldn't that be a joke?

"Open the coffin..." Feng Zhinhen pondered for a moment and said coldly, "... then we'll talk."

"Hmm... that makes sense," Kuroko said, picking up his double flags, "It's never wrong to open it and take a look first."

Gen Musashi had no objections to this suggestion, so the three of them each took action and destroyed the chains on the stone coffin.

Suddenly, the demonic energy in the coffin gushed out, black winds raged, and the door of the stone coffin slowly opened.

After a few seconds, the contents of the coffin appeared before the three of them.

At that moment, Gen Musashi, Feng Zhinhen, and Kuroko, simultaneously revealed shocked expressions and spoke three words in unison: "Orochi?"