This assassin is upright

Chapter 344 Be a Spoiler

Almost the instant that unusually bright white light appeared, the entire dark world stirred.

Countless demons hidden in the shadows revealed themselves, moving like wild beasts entering the forest at the first sign of trouble, all heading towards the [Jade of Divinity].

Among the countless demons, one could vaguely see the figures of other players, who, like Yu Zhun and the others, had entered this battle and were now also vying for power!
“One [Divine Jade] can purify 100% of the demonization progress,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “This purification effect can be used by one person or shared among multiple teammates.”

"If one person uses it, no matter how high their demonization progress is, it can be cleared instantly. If five people share it equally, one person can also reduce the demonization progress by 20%."

"However, the [Jade of Divinity] can only be used on players who are 100% corrupted, and cannot restore players who have completely lost their minds."

"Because players who are 100% corrupted are already considered demons, and demons who obtain the [Jade of Divinity] will [advance in rank]."

"A demon who obtains the [Jade of Divinity] can quickly devour other demons, ensuring his strength is constantly maintained in a very short time, eventually surpassing the limits of an elite demon and transforming into a demon lord."

“The Demon Lord, which is the boss of the dungeon.” Helmod paused for a moment, “There are no naturally existing Demon Lords in [Nightmare of the Underworld]. The boss comes from the [Jade of Divinity].

"The Divine Jade appears every 5 minutes. If we calculate based on the normal rate of demonization, we only need to obtain one Divine Jade for every six to ensure that our demonization progress remains unchanged."

"However, considering that fighting is inevitable in the process of competing for the [Jade of Divinity], and that fighting will accelerate the demonization, we need to obtain at least one out of every three to maintain the balance of the demonization process."

“Besides that, [Nightmare of the Underworld] is a very rare dungeon that allows multiple teams to clear it simultaneously,” Helmod said calmly. “As long as you can obtain 100 [Jade of Divinity], you can clear it.”

In a normal dungeon, if one team meets the completion requirements, the others that do not will be considered as having failed.

The fact that [Nightmare of the Underworld] allows multiple teams to complete the level means that players do not need to kill each other in a frenzy to be the first to get 100 [Divine Jade]s; they can cooperate under certain conditions.

"So, make a decision." Helmod looked at the striking white figure in the distance. "Should we fight for this one?"

While Helmod was speaking, the player had already approached the [Divine Jewel], seemingly within easy reach.

However, other players and demons kept trying to stop them, plunging the scene into deep chaos.

The [Divine Jade], hanging high like white jade, shimmered with a pure and sacred light, but beneath it lay a bloody and frenzied killing field.

This scene, like an epic painting, evokes a sense of awe and wonder in those who behold it.

“We definitely have to compete.” Yu Zhun took a deep breath and slowly said, “There has never been a precedent for a perfect clear of [Netherworld Nightmare], so no one has ever known the conditions for a perfect clear.”

"If... I mean if..."

Yu Zhun paused for a moment, then asked, "What if the condition for a perfect clear is to obtain all the [Divine Jade]?"

Helmod fell silent upon hearing this. "Then this condition is indeed a bit too harsh."

As Hermod just analyzed, if you do nothing, you can stay in the [Nightmare of the Underworld] for less than three hours before you become completely unable to leave due to being 100% demonized.

To stay here for an extended period, the most important thing is to control the demonization status of your teammates as much as possible, while also competing for the [Divine Jade] that appears every 5 minutes to reduce your own demonization progress.

To maintain the demonic balance of a five-person team, you need to obtain a [Divine Jade] at least once every 15 minutes.

In other words, of the 20 teams that enter, only three may survive to the end and clear the level.

This is already the optimal solution. If the three parties can maintain a tacit understanding and take turns obtaining the [Divine Jade], the fighting between them will be greatly reduced, the speed of demonization will also be reduced, and they will eventually pass the level smoothly.

But now, judging from Yu Zhun's words, he seems to intend to try to obtain every single [Divine Jade].

Once the balance is broken, other players will inevitably rise up and attack, and the increased intensity of the battle will also accelerate the process of demonization.

At least in the early stages, this approach is extremely risky.

"Give it a try." After accepting Yu Zhu's resurrection, Yu Zhun took a deep breath and vanished from the spot like a wisp of smoke.

When he reappeared, he had already fought his way to the area beneath the [Divine Jade] and entered that killing field.

The moment he appeared, countless grotesque demons with purplish-black skin all turned their gazes toward him, and then charged forward with roars.

"Pfft-"

As the blade flashed, Yu Zhun moved like a ghost among the charging demons, each strike taking the life of a demon.

His demonic power level continued to soar during this process.

0.1%...1%...10%...

Wisps of black energy surged across Yu Zhun's body, making him appear like a demon god descending to earth, inspiring awe and fear.

Other players also noticed Yu Zhun as he fought his way through the demonic realm. Seeing Yu Zhun's fearless attitude in the face of demonic transformation, everyone's expression changed.

Even when they attacked each other, they were cautious and tentative, trying to restrain each other. After all, this was only the first [Divine Jade], and everyone's demonization value was still low. It wasn't a critical moment yet.

But this guy is really hard to figure out now.

The fact that they disregarded the demonization meant that they were determined to obtain this [Divine Jade]!
Where did this ruthless person come from?

"Yu Zhun?! It's him!"

One of them stared at Yu Zhun's name for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "The one mentioned in the First God Zone's announcement!"

Upon hearing this, the others were taken aback, and then many of them showed eagerness in their eyes.

"It's this guy." Another player chuckled. "I'll have to see how good he is!"

With that, he stomped his foot heavily and instantly appeared in front of Yu Zhun. "Kid, trade your head for some benefits!"

Yu Zhun suddenly looked up, his gaze as indifferent as if he were looking at a corpse.

This was the first time he had faced a player since entering the [Nightmare of the Underworld], and the other players seemed unwilling to make a move, wanting to see just how capable Yu Zhun really was by observing who made the move.

The long sword in his hand slashed down heavily. Looking at Yu Zhun, who hadn't moved an inch and seemed to have been scared out of his wits, the attacker's eyes flashed with smugness.

Sure enough!

A mere kid from the godless region probably only managed to revive server 93 by sheer luck, which is why he was targeted by the number one god region.

With my level advantage, killing him is as easy as slaughtering a chicken!

The moment the thought crossed the mind, the person who made the move felt the world go dark, followed by a tickling sensation on their neck and their vision swirling.

Then, he saw his own headless corpse.

"pat-"

With a soft thud, the attacker's head fell to the ground, and the body collapsed heavily to the ground.

The white light of the [Life-Saving Stone] did not appear; only the remaining body dissipated into countless specks of light, leaving behind everything in the backpack. The chaotic killing field seemed to quiet down at this moment.

After an unknown amount of time, one of the players exclaimed "Holy crap!" which snapped the others out of their daze.

The Substitute Stone is not responding!

Players killed by Yu Zhun cannot be resurrected!
Realizing this, almost all the players in the arena retreated at the same time.

A ruthless character like Yu Zhun is already enough to make people wary, but his abilities inspire even more fear.

This is only the first [Divine Jade], why are you risking your life like this!
If all else fails, we can just try to grab the ones behind us.

Yu Zhun can't possibly take every single one, can he?

With one move, he scared away all the players, leaving Yu Zhun only facing the demon in the dungeon.

After breaking through the outer circle of demons, Yu Zhun spotted even stronger elite demons in the inner circle.

However, as the killing power brought by the [Power of Greed] continued to increase, even the encirclement and killing by elite demons was nothing more than that to Yu Zhun.

After reducing the demonization value to 42.1%, Yu Zhun grabbed the [Divine Jade] in his hand and disappeared from the spot in an instant.

With the [Jade of Divinity] taken away, darkness returned to this world, and the countless demons who had gathered scattered like birds and beasts.

Leaving aside the numerous players who were secretly watching Yu Zhun, Yu Zhun, holding the [Divine Jade], returned to the group and put it away.

“My demonic power can hold for now.” Yu Zhun paused for a moment. “We’ll use it again when our total demonic power exceeds 100%.”

In the [Netherworld Nightmare], the [Divine Jade] is related to the length of time they stay here, and it represents almost everything, so naturally they cannot easily waste its purifying power.

“That attack just now should have intimidated quite a few people,” Helmod said slowly. “But their retreat now doesn’t mean they’ve completely given up on the [Divine Jade].

"It's just because they don't yet realize that what we need is all the [Divine Jewels]."

"I understand." Yu Zhun took a deep breath, his expression solemn.

The [Nightmare of the Underworld] dungeon has a very special exit mechanism: players must obtain at least one [Divine Jade] before they can actively exit the dungeon.

Yu Zhun's decision to target all the [Divine Jade] not only cuts off all players' hopes of successfully completing the dungeon, but also eliminates the possibility of all players voluntarily leaving the dungeon.

This success is just the beginning.

When the other players truly realize Yu Zhun and his group's intentions, they will surely launch a fierce counterattack.

That would be the real test for Yu Zhun and his team.

“Actually, I don’t quite agree with your approach.” Helmod sighed. “The idea that obtaining all the [Divine Jewels] is the only way to achieve a perfect clear is currently just a baseless guess.”

"Are we really going to needlessly increase the difficulty of our strategy just because of this speculation?" Helmod glanced at Yu Zhun. "The information I gave you contains the Fourth Divine District's speculation on the perfect way to clear the game."

"Perhaps we can try those guesses."

“No.” Yu Zhun smiled and patted Helmod on the shoulder. “My guess is not without basis.”

"It's based on my understanding of the Netherworld."

According to the conventional strategy mentioned by Helmod, it means that they need to cooperate with other teams to a certain extent to achieve a win-win situation.

This approach does indeed have the lowest risk.

But the underworld shouldn't be like this.

Upon entering the [Netherworld Trial], the dungeon description tells Yu Zhun: "Kill everything that stands in your way until the end of your life."

Upon entering the [Abyss of the Underworld], the description still displays this sentence.

In the walkthroughs for both hidden dungeons, there is absolutely no cooperation involved; it's all pure competition and slaughter.

Therefore, the [Netherworld Nightmare], which shares the same origin as the two hidden dungeons, must inherit the same core concept.

Competition and killing are necessary.

In the netherworld, there is no win-win situation, only a cruel solo dance.

"I agree with Yu Zhun!" After listening to Yu Zhun's analysis, Lu Wen was the first to speak up, "Why worry about so much? Just kill them."

“Of course I agree with Yu Zhun.” Yu Zhu chuckled. “And from another perspective, by obtaining as many [Divine Jade] as possible, we can stay here longer.”

"The longer you stay, the more confident you will be in finding the perfect way to complete the game."

The [Divine Jade] does not need to be used immediately after acquisition; it can be kept temporarily. This means that even if the [Divine Jade] obtained at this stage exceeds the rate of demonization value accumulation, it can still be used as a reserve and emergency measure for later use.

“Rather than giving it to others, we should keep it all in our own hands,” Udyr said calmly. “Kill them all.”

“You guys…” Helmod shook his head helplessly, “It seems I was being too cautious.”

Although she said that the announcement from the First God Zone was nothing to worry about, Hermod did indeed experience some changes in her mindset because of this incident.

“In that case, let’s kill them all.” Helmod took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “The next refresh of the [Divine Jade] will be a crucial moment.”

"If we try to rob again next time, others will surely see through our plan and attack us en masse."

"So, the next time the [Jade of Divinity] refreshes, the five of us will attack together." As he said this, a sharp glint appeared in Helmod's eyes. "We'll wipe them out completely!"

Ending the other players' stories early reduces the uncertainty of obtaining the [Divine Jade] later.

While having all five people attack at the same time would cause them to undergo accelerated demonic transformation simultaneously, it would also significantly reduce the time spent killing and lower Yu Zhun's personal risk.

In addition, they had just acquired the [Jade of Divinity]...

If we can control the situation well, we may be able to achieve our goal in one fell swoop and wipe out the vast majority of players in [Nightmare]!
“It should have been like this a long time ago.” Lu Wen chuckled. “The next [Jade of Divinity] should spawn around us.”

"That way we don't have to move, and we can go on a killing spree."

“You bastard…” Yu Zhun shook his head helplessly. Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked up at the sky.

A white light was rapidly gathering above the five people's heads, and in just a moment it formed a new [Divine Jade].

A rustling sound arose all around, the sound of countless demons and players moving against the wind.

"Little Lu, you'd better not talk next time." Yu Zhu covered his face helplessly. "Isn't that too much of a jinx?"

(End of this chapter)