Chapter 86 "Shadow" and "Death's Leader," the Battle Between Monsters
A player named "Shadow"...
Death's Leader's eyes remained squinted, but his smile gradually disappeared. He raised his assault rifle in a very standard manner, held his breath, and locked onto Alister.
"Be careful! Death's Leader's weaponry ignores all defenses of players below B-rank!" Ji Yi warned, enduring her injuries.
Even if the level of abilities is high, an E-rank player's stamina will never exceed a thousand, making them vulnerable to Death's Leader's attack, which could instantly kill them.
"Thanks for the reminder." Alister activated his "Ultimate Senses," gaining complete awareness of every detail in the world.
Ignoring defenses with his attacks, it's quite interesting. Alister wanted to experience it firsthand.
Click, click, click... In his heightened perception, Death's Leader's rapid fire was visibly slow, and the trajectory of the bullets was crystal clear to Alister.
The overlapping bullets caused an eerie rhythmic pattern, penetrating through the shadows' defensive barriers at an incredibly fast speed.
Alister keenly sensed the incongruity of the shadows being easily pierced and the inviolable nature of the rules.
Ji Yi barely reacted, shifting her gaze from the bullets breaking through the shadows to "Shadow," seemingly scolding him for not heeding advice.
"Dodge—"
At the moment of the stern warning, Ji Yi's voice choked in her throat. Incredibly, the rapid-fire bullets were being effortlessly split by the shadows!
Blocked... How is this possible? How can the rules be violated?!
Between Death's Leader and Alister, at a distant distance, it was as if space itself had torn apart, generating countless intertwining shadow threads, evading Death's Leader's entire magazine of bullets!
The sounds of gunfire and bullets tearing through the air were relentless, producing an unbearable ringing in the listeners' ears.
"Shadow" even had the leisure to look at Ji Yi and casually say, "Ignoring defenses below B-rank doesn't mean ignoring attacks below B-rank."
That's right; it's not about Alister defending against Death's Leader's firepower, but rather Death's Leader resisting Alister's shadow strangulation!
Attack and defense were determined by who acted first. "Shadow" used his ability to alter the system's rules before Alister could launch an attack.
In the moment of realization...
"A peculiar perception ability..."
Death's Leader frowned and immediately chose a retreat strategy.
Swiftly retreating while suppressing with firepower, he deployed enhanced smoke bombs and flashbangs, creating a smoke domain comparable to daylight!
"Cough... Cough..." The large-scale interference caused by B-grade items damaged Ji Yi's perception.
However, that didn't matter. With multiple advanced abilities, Alister was practically invincible against players below A-rank.
His extraordinary dynamic vision allowed him to predict Death's Leader's movements, and his strong sense of hearing detected changes in his surroundings. He immediately locked onto Death's Leader's escape route.
Hmm, trying to escape?
Entering the shadow dimension, Alister pursued Death's Leader like a predator, with shadows surging and suddenly tracing back to where the monarch disappeared!
This night would be concluded by "Shadow."
...
...
The flaw in the rules was deciphered.
Stepping over the edges of the buildings with his gun in hand, leaping to the next spacious rooftop, swiftly traversing the dark night, Death's Leader's beret had been blown away long ago.
The neon lights of the bustling city and its vibrancy extended to the end of the night, but they couldn't penetrate Death's Leader's squinted eyes.
As the holder of the "Single Soldier Armament" item, Death's Leader understood better than anyone the difficulty of exploiting loopholes in the execution rules.
That meant the opponent had to activate their ability before every bullet was fired, forcing the system to judge them as the attacker.
—Without extremely high perception, this was impossible.
E-rank player? In Z Country, a terrifying monster had finally emerged!
"Hahahaha—"
Falling from hundreds of meters high in the night sky, Death's Leader laughed wildly, recalling the excitement of participating in the world war, his blood boiling!
Rapidly descending, he suddenly tumbled on the rooftop, changing his game plan.
From indulging in killing tonight to killing as much as possible, then using the witch's causal manipulation to retreat safely from A City's Observatory.
The streets and blocks of the city were densely packed, and the red and blue police neon lights flashed incessantly, but they couldn't sweep away the cruel battle for supremacy, and the world was roaring!
"The game is far from over; this is when the real excitement begins! Hahahaha!"
His gentle laughter echoed over the northern district of A City.
The "Single Soldier Armament," after prolonged use, had cooled down, and Death's Leader had access to a large number of military assets on his item panel!
"It's been a while since I've been this crazy. All of you can go to hell."
This night would be ruled by "Death's Leader."
...
...
Death's Leader's ability, like "Ultimate Senses," belongs to the same type, with no restrictions on player values for activation.
In other words...
While other players can create domains using energy, Death's Leader cannot. His definition is that of an almost invincible human.
—Without any means to suppress or counteract shadows, he relies solely on his incredible regenerative ability as an ordinary person.
In the vast and deep purple night, "Shadow" illuminated by the vertical pupils of the moon stood incredibly tiny on top of a building. He slowly raised his hand, activating the power of the "Shadow Monarch."
Wherever you go, shadows encompass you, including your mind.
"Die."
As the faint words commanded the world, far away, Death's Leader, with a contemptuous expression, suddenly lost all emotion and collapsed, as if his heart had been cast into an abyss without end.
The endlessly expanding psychological shadow brought back the fear he had long abandoned, causing every pore to tremble uncontrollably.
At the same time, the shadow giant opened its abyssal maw, climbing up from a tall building, blocking out the stars and moon, and overlooking the emotionally collapsing Death's Leader.
Alister, clenching his fingers, extinguished Death's Leader's life.
Roar!
An inexplicable abyssal roar descended upon the world, and boundless darkness swallowed Death's Leader, leaving no trace of flesh and blood.
No matter how fast his regenerative ability was, a mere mortal could not withstand such instantaneous consumption.
Next...
"Don't think I can't see."
Activating his "Ultimate Senses," Alister despised Death's Leader's predetermined respawn points throughout the northern district, controlling the shadows and enforcing his dominion!
Wherever he reached, Death's Leader's flesh was entirely devoured, falling into the depths of the shadow abyss!
...
...
On the neon screen broadcasting commercials for the Ji Corporation, blood rapidly spread from the bullet holes, regenerating complete organs.
Death's Leader could sense the continuously destroyed respawn points. He was not far from the point of no return.
But...
"In the end, shadows are just shadows. Hahaha..."
Death's Leader tore through the yellow-black police tape set by the Public Security Bureau, walking in the silent, sealed-off area with a benevolent smile.
After a brief confrontation, Death's Leader found the flaw in "Shadow" and countered Alister's method.
Every ability inevitably has its flaws and weaknesses.
He looked up at the night sky with a smile, beyond reach of the night colors, in the vast space where night birds soared.
The C4 plastic bomb in his hand was already stained with blood. The countdown to detonation was about to reach zero.
"I am the initiator of war, the spokesperson of death."
Lifting his arm, he threw the C4 high into the sky. It triggered an intensely enhanced explosion after the rules were reinforced, accompanied by a deafening sonic boom!
The high-temperature burned flesh and dust soared into the upper space with an exaggerated acceleration, far surpassing the limits of physical supersonic speed!
Land-based movement had become outdated; aerial dominance was the truth of war.
"Hahahaha—"
The Death's Leader lying on the ground had already died. The Death's Leader in the night sky gazed upon A City, leaving his benevolent laughter far behind!
Explosion after explosion, accelerating to the limit, bidding farewell to the shadows of the city and the sea forever.
It was a battle style as exaggerated and incredible as a multi-stage rocket suddenly ascending...
With the body of a mortal, he rivaled the heavens.
Death's Leader's aerial delivery service was in progress.
...