Chapter 454: night king (3.5K+)
Roar!
Strange roars echoed continuously through the empty city, accompanied by screams that no longer sounded human.
It was the most primal roar of a creature.
Soldiers guarding various traffic arteries, who had completely sealed off almost the entire Tokyo metropolitan area, gripped their steel rifles tightly, their nerves taut.
Although they were strictly ordered to block information, being on the front lines, they had more or less learned that the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Chiyoda, Shibuya, Chuo, and Minato Wards, had been completely occupied by monsters.
The casualties among civilians were countless, and the economic losses were immeasurable.
They had even suffered a nuclear attack and the rampage of unknown giant beasts. It could be said that the area they were now defending was the most dangerous place the human army had ever encountered.
And their Self-Defense Force was simply unable to bear such intensity of combat.
Damn it, why aren't those American troops showing up now!
This negative emotion was continuously accumulating, and with sporadic encounters with ghouls in various places, the Mental state of a large number of soldiers was nearing its limit.
Bai Cangshu stood atop the tilted Tokyo Tower, with four Otherworld Gods and over tens of thousands of ghouls standing majestically behind him.
These Otherworld Gods were clearly modified by Reincarnators using Dragon Crystal and the magic of the Children of the Forest. They possessed certain dark magic, capable of raising the dead as ghouls, and their bodies were also transformed by dark magic, making them only killable by specific items and specific types of energy.
Ordinary gunfire could not kill the Otherworld Gods.
Of course, Bai Cangshu estimated that the immortality of the Otherworld Gods was not of a high level; they could still be killed by humans if subjected to powerful explosives or super high temperatures.
Relying solely on Otherworld Gods and ghouls would not be enough to destroy human civilization in the Gantz world.
That Ancient Otherworld God, as the god of darkness, death, and cold, the binary opposite of the Old Gods, the Lord of Light, and the Red God (R'hllor) in "A Song of Ice and Fire," also possessed powerful divine power.
The Otherworld Gods and ghouls left behind by Him, even if created by Reincarnators, would not solely serve the Reincarnators. Once created, these creatures possessed the mission to bring the world into eternal ice and cold.
"Winter Is Coming" is the signal that the Ancient Otherworld God is about to arrive.
Now, as a divine favored of the Ancient Otherworld God, Bai Cangshu could, to some extent, communicate with this evil god through Divine Will. Although he could not freely borrow divine power like in the B711 Sub-World, the ability to create Otherworld Gods and perform sacrifices was already sufficient.
Among the milestones Bai Cangshu had achieved, there was indeed one related to this.
[Outer God's Favored (Extremely Rare): Activated more than three Outer God Factions (1/3)]
Moreover, in the reputation store of the Hidden Faction, Outer God Domicile, there were many powerful items. At the very least, the few items that formed a set with the outer god's crown all possessed powerful divine might.
Bai Cangshu naturally began to command the Otherworld Gods and ghouls of this world through his identity as an Outer God Patriarch.
The next moment, Bai Cangshu waved his hand.
The four Otherworld Gods behind him simultaneously raised their ice swords, their blades pointing directly towards Shinjuku.
Ghouls roared, and tens of thousands of bodies, devoid of pain and filled only with icy stillness, furiously charged towards Shinjuku.
Bai Cangshu and the Otherworld Gods walked at the very end, the massive procession resembling an ice-blue tide of corpses, directly traversing the heart of Tokyo.
Survivors sporadically hiding in various places covered their mouths and noses, not even daring to breathe. This terrifying scene was something previously only seen in horror movies.
Helicopters circled overhead, recording this scene and transmitting it to various locations behind the lines.
In a high-rise building somewhere in Shinjuku, several men in Gantz suits sat in front of computers, watching this scene, their expressions somewhat tense.
They reported into a phone beside them,
"Yes, the tide of corpses is heading towards Shinjuku. It seems the government has allied with that monster and is preparing to seize your Gantz…"
A mocking laugh came from the phone.
Gantz, while feeling very novel and technologically terrifying when first acquired, became just another thing once they had mastered it for a while.
Technology is ultimately just technology; only those who master such things can be superior.
Whether it was the aliens or the Black Ball Squad, they were all just part of their game.
This was the truly interesting seasoning in the otherwise dull lives of the zaibatsu.
"Heh, since Hidehito Suga, that fool, can't recognize himself, let's play a big game…"
"Recall the Tokyo Team, Osaka Team, and Kyoto Team, and deploy them all to Shinjuku. Let those people see that the so-called yokai and corpse tides are completely meaningless in the face of this technology that can continuously replicate warriors and weapons with just a little resource expenditure…"
"Ha, as long as we want to, the situation in this world can change at any time."
The three Black Ball Squad members responsible for operating Gantz exchanged glances, their expressions incredibly pained, but they all had Gantz-implanted bombs in their brains, ready to be killed by the zaibatsu behind the scenes at any moment.
They had no choice but to continuously alter the Black Ball Squad's orders, forcing those unfortunate people like themselves to lose control even over their own lives and deaths.
They entered the commands and quickly discovered that all Osaka Team members had been extinguished.
"All Osaka Team members have been annihilated. Should we recruit new ones, or…?"
"Does that even need saying? Where do we have the time for new recruits to grow now? Just replicate the previous batch. What a bunch of useless trash…"
The next moment, as the three issued new commands through the computer-controlled Gantz, the Black Ball Squad members found themselves being teleported to a new location again.
This repeated modification of missions and redeployment had made Xuan Yeji and the others feel extremely abnormal. Moreover, knowing the truth about Gantz, they also realized that at this moment, Gantz's purpose had changed.
They were no longer fighting real aliens, but were being used to… protect those zaibatsu.
Daizemon Kazama sat silently, cross-legged. This battle had made him lose his reason to throw a punch. He was a martial artist, a martial arts practitioner. He fought to pursue strength, and he fought to protect the weak.
But now, all reasons were gone.
"Sorry, everyone, my journey ends here."
He had come to a realization; even if killed by Gantz, he would no longer fight for such things.
Kato Masaru and the others also looked confused. Okahachiro and the others, who had been revived and teleported over at the same time, merely glanced sideways at the Tokyo Team members, not caring.
The Osaka Team members, whose equipment and strength were superior to the Tokyo Team, had also lost their memories of being killed previously and were just joking among themselves.
The Kyoto Team's Black Ball Squad was similar in strength to the Tokyo Team. Over twenty Black Ball Squad members gathered on a Shinjuku street, listening to the tidal sound of footsteps, their long and short firearms aimed forward.
Xuan Yeji clenched his fists, he did not want to die, but he also felt angry about all of this. The various clear and intense conflicts made his head ache as if it would split.
In a trance, he suddenly saw a demonic tree. Under the tree, groups of people continuously worshipped, and a vast, ethereal figure leaned down from above the tree. That cold, deathly stillness instantly drowned out his anger, hatred, and pain.
In this coldness, he felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
Thump-thump-thump… Swish-swish-swish…
Faint footsteps appeared from behind the Black Ball Squad. Kyo Hanaki quickly noticed, turned around, and used the X-ray scan of her monowheel motorcycle to see many figures approaching from behind the street block.
However, after a quick scan, she saw they were all ordinary people, so she didn't pay them any mind.
"It's nothing, they're all human."
Kyo Hanaki turned back and continued to aim at the front area. The tide of corpses had appeared in sight, but had not yet entered the range of Gantz's weapons.
Click, click.
Shitahira Reika was very uneasy. She leaned against Bonnie, who was looking up at the darkening sky, the moon perhaps about to rise.
"Be careful, Annie, Miss Reika, those movements behind us are unusual…"
Lotus's Mental fortitude was quite excellent. Although he was instantly killed by Lancer in the team battle, after being revived, he quickly accepted the reality of his death. At this moment, his mind was clearer than others. In this abnormal environment, the ordinary people still alive in Shinjuku should not be gathering so calmly.
These terrified humans, even if unable to flee due to the military blockade, should have been gathering in small groups, and humans would constantly engage in meaningless communication due to fear.
They wouldn't be as quiet and dead silent as they were now.
Lotus looked back at the corner behind him. Sure enough, the next moment, a group of people walked out from the street, every one of them with their heads bowed, covered in bloodstains.
And strangely, behind each person, there were intestine-like tentacles, connected to an unknown place.
Lotus gently patted Bonnie's shoulder. Bonnie turned her head, her pupils quickly transforming into cat eyes; she had entered combat mode.
"The corpse tide is here, time to start scoring, Baby!"
Itsuki Shimaki shouted excitedly. The ghouls in front were running wildly, many of them with broken limbs, but it didn't affect their frantic charge in the slightest.
Whiz~
A high-energy particle beam slammed into the foremost ghoul. Two or three seconds later, the ghoul exploded into shattered flesh with a bang.
The next moment, countless high-energy particle beams were continuously fired, and the ghouls continued to charge forward, oblivious.
Buzz buzz buzz~
Bang bang bang…
Flesh and blood instantly flew everywhere.
Kato Masaru clenched his fists, his expression tense. He would look at Daizemon Kazama, who was sitting on the ground seemingly oblivious to everything, then at Bonnie, who had entered combat stance.
Not knowing what to do, Kato Masaru unconsciously asked the hero in his mind,
"What do we do now, do we fight?!"
Xuan Yeji, who had been frozen in place, suddenly turned his head, the icy blue in his eyes startling Kato Masaru.
The next moment, Xuan Yeji's entire reinforced suit showed protruding veins. He suddenly leaped seven or eight meters high, landing on the top of a small building, then made several consecutive jumps, disappearing from everyone's sight.
What surprised the others was that Xuan Yeji's head did not explode despite leaving the mission area.
In the air, Bai Cangshu overlooked everything. He withdrew his gaze from the direction Xuan Yeji chose; there, a special Otherworld God had attracted his attention.
It was a woman, completely frozen in ice within a room.
The entire apartment was enveloped in cold, yet a continuous stream of living people walked in, their intestines then connecting to the room, while the people themselves walked towards the Black Ball Squad with their heads bowed.
He felt powerful dark magic from this Otherworld God; the divine power of the Ancient Otherworld God was extremely evident on her.
This might even be called… the night king?
Bai Cangshu entered the room and saw the woman pinned to the wall by a Dragon Crystal, as well as several Otherworld Gods completely frozen in ice around her.
[You have triggered the Faction Event: Winter Is Coming]
[Event Description: The Ancient Otherworld God wishes to claim this world, spread the Ancient Otherworld God's faith, guide the Ancient Otherworld God's descent, and let winter sweep over more than 50% of the world's area.]
[Reward: Greatly increased Outer God Domicile reputation, randomly obtain 1 Outer God Domicile reputation item.]
What surprised Bai Cangshu was that the voice from this Otherworld God, comparable to the night king, was not "Winter is Coming" or any divine oracle from the Ancient Otherworld God.
"Child… my child…"
This was a mother who had captured many humans in search of her child…
Buzz!
The gravity field descended, instantly crushing the controlled humans.
The woman seemed to feel the pain as well, and suddenly roared to the sky.
The next moment, several Otherworld Gods in the room simultaneously broke free from their ice and rushed out of the room.
The battle between the Black Ball Squad and the Otherworld Gods officially began.
At the same time, new Otherworld Gods were born near almost every altar, each Otherworld God accompanied by even more peculiar abilities.
The Ancient Otherworld God seemed capable of descending independently, without relying on Bai Cangshu.
Bai Cangshu also realized this, and the smile on his lips slowly turned cold.