“So, he left…”

Somewhere in the west of the city, the Seer, whose feet were fused with the earth, suddenly spoke.

“Who are you talking about leaving?” asked the Blood Demon beside him. “A Derivative?”

“No…” the Penitent’s voice, which reached directly into the mind, sounded. “He is talking about the Head of all Demons.”

“Oh? What’s going on?” A look of doubt appeared on the Blood Demon's hideous face as he continued, "As far as I know… whenever the Head of all Demons personally leads an expedition, he has never returned empty-handed." He paused for a moment, his expression changing slightly. “Not long ago, I saw him up close… I don’t think he would lose to anyone…”

“Watch your wording, Blood Demon,” the Soul Snatcher's massive skull (or body?) turned, its hollow eyes staring straight at the other. “Don’t forget the task that our King entrusted to us… and… your position.”

The Penitent added, "As one of the Nine Dead Souls, you shouldn't feel fear toward anyone other than our King." She glanced sideways at the Blood Demon. “In that regard… you should learn from your brother…”

The Blood Demon's brother was the Exile Demon, who resembled a twisted mass of muscle with compound eyes and a blood-filled maw. In terms of personality, the older brother, the Blood Demon, was a greedy, insidious, bullying, and outwardly strong but inwardly weak fellow. The younger brother, the Exile Demon, was much simpler than his older brother. Like most script Bosses in Thriller Paradise, he was of average intelligence, ferocious and brutal, fearless, and would not stop until one of the two was dead.

“Hmph… I don’t need you to lecture me.” The Blood Demon replied unhappily, raising his third right arm and baring his claws. “You’re not qualified to preach to me…”

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept past the Blood Demon, interrupting him.

“Everyone, say less.” The War Spirit spread the dragon wings on his left back, stopping the argument between his two comrades. “It will distract the Seer.”

“Tch…” Hearing this, the Blood Demon shrugged his three pairs of shoulders sullenly and slithered away.

At this moment, five of the Nine Dead Souls—the Soul Snatcher, the War Spirit, the Blood Demon, the Penitent, and the Seer—were reunited. Their plan to cleanse the city had been forcibly canceled, because there was nothing left to cleanse…

After the Head of all Demons descended, he forcibly gathered the dark energy in the entire space. In his battle with Lute, he exhausted ninety percent of this power. This led to the mutant monsters in the city withering and dying.

Now, the only living things left in the city, besides the players and the Derivatives, were the powerhouses of various parties on the same level as the Nine Dead Souls. In this situation, acting alone would obviously be disadvantageous, so the Seer was currently using his ability to explore the situation in the city, trying to find and recall the remaining four Dead Souls.

Of course, the Time Arbiters and Jurors, as AIs of the same level, had also formulated similar strategies. However, their losses had been very heavy, especially the Time Arbiters, at least four of whom had been killed…

…………

On the other hand, after the initial melee and the subsequent sniping by origin's hundred-odd Derivatives… the number of players had also been reduced by more than half. Among the remaining survivors, there were still many who were injured, had used up their big moves, and were half-dead. There were very few who were close to full health.

Fortunately… the survivors had gradually learned about the changes taking place in the city.

Through the efforts of the Devouring Ghost, Shiva, Corpse Blade Asura, and Uncle Worthless, the survivors were reorganized and regrouped. In addition, a few players who had not been found by them had also escaped their predicament with the help of z organization Derivatives and learned about the script's situation.

The counterattack against origin… had quietly begun.

However… analyzing the current situation from a God's-eye view, the disparity in strength between the players and the Derivatives was still quite large…

It could be seen from [I'm Not Scared]'s battle that even a powerhouse like her could only handle two Level Three Derivatives at the same time. If it were a player of Honghu's level, it was estimated that he could only deal with one. He would definitely be quickly defeated in a two-on-one situation.

At this time, the significance of the "Combat Power Ranking" was reflected. When dealing with Derivatives, there was no such thing as specialization, restraint, or equipment suppression. In the end… people with higher rankings were simply better than those with lower rankings.

But… there were also exceptions, such as Shiva, Uncle Worthless, and Hard to Name, who could even instantly kill Level Three Derivatives if conditions allowed.

Overall, if Lute and J1-Kuaiduo, the two highest combat forces, were excluded, then… the two sides could indeed put up a fight.

…………

“I never thought there would be such a day…” Zui Wo Changran muttered, “I actually ended up with Corpse Blade’s people…” He walked with a rather leisurely gait.

Leading the way in front of him were Sashimi and Corpse Blade Asura.

Corpse Blade Asura turned his head and glanced at the other man. "If it weren't for the circumstances, I wouldn't want to cooperate with you Order people either."

“Heh… well.” Zui Wo Changran’s tone was undoubtedly tinged with a hint of contempt.

Corpse Blade Asura didn't say much, because he was used to this kind of treatment. Apart from some third-rate, or equally unscrupulous small studios, most players from first- and second-tier game studios held a hostile and contemptuous attitude towards Corpse Blade Studio's people.

The world was actually very fair. Perhaps some people or organizations could use improper means to achieve success. But in the end, when they gained something, they also lost something.

“We’re getting close.” After walking for a while, Corpse Blade Asura stopped and lowered his voice. “Find a place to hide nearby and wait for other players to arrive before joining them.”

“That spatial rift is still quite far away… isn’t it too early to stop here?” Sashimi asked, looking at the roaring tunnel in the distant sky.

“It’s best not to take risks…” Corpse Blade Asura said, “When I found you two, the four Derivatives you were dealing with were just some cannon fodder. The really powerful ones…”

Ding—

A cold glint flashed, and a crisp sound rang out.

Corpse Blade Asura didn't finish speaking, because he had sensed the sudden attack, so he hurriedly spun to dodge.

A triangular metal blade flew through the air, directly attacking Corpse Blade Asura's heart.

In the nick of time! Just as Corpse Blade Asura was twisting his body to move, Zui Wo Changran had flashed to his side and caught the flying metal blade with two fingers. That "ding" sound was the sound of the blade contacting his fingers.

Upon closer inspection, Zui Wo Changran's hands had actually turned into a pair of iron hands, the surface of his skin radiating a dark, shiny luster.

“You don’t need to thank me.” Zui Wo Changran flicked his hand in a carefree manner and threw the metal blade to the ground.

“Tch… I didn’t need your help anyway.” Corpse Blade Asura, who had already flashed to the side, replied.

As they spoke, seven or eight Derivatives had walked out from the surrounding dark alleys and street corners, entering the line of sight of the three.

“It seems that my reconnaissance ability is ineffective against them.” Sashimi continued, “These guys don’t even have heartbeats or pulses. As long as they stand still behind some kind of cover, I can’t ‘hear’ them…”

“That doesn’t matter.” Corpse Blade Asura said, “In this situation… we don’t need any reconnaissance ability, right…”