This assassin is upright

Chapter 363 Make a Choice

"Hey, Dragon King."

Lu Wen sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at Paka, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and exuding a terrifying aura, with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.

"Tell me... why is this guy going through all this trouble?"

"This guy cleared out the entire market just to trap us here, and incidentally, trap himself here too?"

As he spoke, a strange look appeared in his eyes when he looked at Paka.

"Is this guy an idiot?"

Lu Wen's voice, which he hadn't deliberately lowered, echoed in the deathly silent space, causing Paka, whose eyes were closed, to open them slightly.

A chilling killing intent flashed in Paka's eyes.

Keep jumping around, you ant-like thing.

Soon, you will no longer be able to cry out, and you will be unable to live or die under my power.

Thinking of this, Paka closed his eyes again.

Yu Zhu looked at Paka not far away, his expression solemn.

She was also pondering the significance of Paka's move.

Although they were trapped here and unable to leave, they were also unable to fight each other due to the restrictions of the market rules.

In order to trap them, Paka himself needs to stay here and keep watch.

This doesn't seem like a reasonable approach at all.

Moreover, in their previous encounters, Paka was clearly an extremely arrogant guy, yet he completely ignored Lu Wen's provocations.

All these anomalies seem to suggest only one possibility.

That means Paka will soon have follow-up steps, and what he's going to do could very well be fatal for the two of them.

Thinking of this, Yu Zhu suddenly recalled the demons who frantically fled when Paka opened his black energy shield to cover the blood-red light shield.

Because they knew that Paka could attack them directly after they left the market, Yu Zhu and his companion chose to stay without hesitation.

But now, looking back, Yu Zhu vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

The other demons fled too decisively.

Outside the market, there were even more dangerous places for them, but they chose to leave without hesitation, as if being trapped in the black energy shield by Paka was an extremely terrifying thing.

So, where exactly is the danger?
Yu Zhu looked around, his gaze finally settling on the dome.

The black energy shield had completely covered the blood-red light shield, plunging the space inside the light shield into darkness and abyss.

Cover up…

Could it be? !
Yu Zhu's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at Paka with disbelief in his eyes, "You can bypass the market rules?!"

"So you finally realized it?" Paka slowly opened his eyes, a hint of mockery in them. "You're right."

"The rules of the market originated from that one, but in the end they are just power left behind by that one. With my special abilities and the assistance of the Lord's Tower, I can temporarily cover and replace them."

“By then, I will be in charge of the rules within this market space.” Seeing the serious expressions on Yu Zhu and Lu Wen’s faces, Paka’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Although this process will be lengthy, I have enough patience to play along with you slowly.”

"You have half an hour left to live."

"In this time, you can think about your last words."

"Don't try to interrupt; that will only hasten your death."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhu's expression quickly darkened.

Miscalculation!
She never expected that the power of the rules left behind by the Netherworld could be temporarily overridden by a mere third-level lord!
If what the other party says is true, then they are indeed in a dead end. Interrupting would be seen as killing and would result in being eliminated by the rules.

But when Paka overrides the rules and makes this place a place for killing, the accompanying rules will be greatly disadvantageous to them.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Lu Wen grinned. “Looking at it this way, it seems like we’re all going to die anyway, Dragon King.”

"Shut up." Yu Zhu couldn't help but kick Lu Wen. "Even if this guy can cover it up, it will definitely be temporary."

"If we can just hold out for that period, we should be able to turn the tide."

“Is that so?” Paka, who had also heard Yu Zhu’s words, grinned and slowly raised a hand. “In that case, you guys give it a try.”

He clenched his fist tightly, and almost at the same moment, Yu Zhu and Lu Wen simultaneously felt a terrifying pressure descend from all around them.

The rules that originally governed this space have been completely obscured, replaced by an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.

Under such terrifying pressure, Yu Zhu and Lu Wen were completely unable to move an inch, and they couldn't even use their abilities.

Paka's methods have worked completely!
At this moment, he seemed to be the master of this space!

Seeing the dramatic change in their expressions, Paka's eyes gleamed with extreme pleasure. "Yes~ that's it~"

"You foolish ant who dares to provoke me!"

"Wail! Cry out!"

He stretched out his two hands and pinched Yu Zhu and Lu Wen's faces respectively, a cruel and bloodthirsty light appearing in his eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't end your lives anytime soon."

"In this space where there are only the three of us, I will torture you little by little, and let you experience the taste of hell."

"Hahaha…"

"Click——"

A crisp sound suddenly rang out, bringing Paka's smile to an abrupt halt.

A crack appeared on the dark energy shield at some point, and it was spreading wildly. At the same time, golden light rushed in from outside the crack, projecting its light into the interior.

The terrifying pressure that had enveloped the space vanished as quickly as a deflated balloon, and Yu Zhu and Lu Wen regained their strength.

"Feigned death!"

Yu Zhu let out a low shout and attacked without hesitation. Lu Wen, who was standing to the side, instantly drew his sword, and the soaring sword light engulfed Paka, who was almost within reach.

The next instant, sensing the return of the market rules, the two rushed toward the crack without hesitation.

The moment he rushed out of the market area, two familiar figures appeared before him, causing Yu Zhu's expression to quickly turn to surprise and delight.

"You two have finally arrived!"

"We were so close to being killed!"

Seeing the two of them appear before him, lively and energetic, Yu Zhun breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, "That serious?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the interior of the market.

It seems that some terrible force is brewing within it.

“That guy isn’t dead yet,” Lu Wen said in a muffled voice. “I think I hit his life-saving technique with that sword strike just now.”

"Don't worry," Yu Zhun said, arms crossed. "No one can save their life in front of me."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a figure with a surging aura and overwhelming demonic power burst out from the light screen. At this moment, Paka had completely changed his appearance. His terrifying and ferocious body was covered with countless claws, eyeballs and sharp blades formed by the convergence of demonic energy.

The moment they appeared, countless demonic eyes on Paka's body turned to Yu Zhun and Helmod, their gazes filled with undisguised killing intent. "So it was you who broke the barrier of rules?"

“If there’s no one else here, then this should be it.” Yu Zhun gripped the dagger tightly, sensing Paka’s demonic power at this moment, a strange look flashed in his eyes, “But then again.”

"How come you're ranked below Rachel?"

The demonic power that the opponent is displaying right now is several times that of Rachel!
Yu Zhun even suspected that Pema, whom he had never met, was probably not that powerful.

"Lakee?" Paka spoke in a low voice, countless mouths appearing from all parts of his body opening and closing simultaneously, making his voice as noisy and strange as a mixture of countless sounds, sending chills down one's spine.

"That bitch dares to be on par with me?"

"If I didn't usually seal my power, what would a mere Rachel be worth!"

"It is your honor to be worthy of witnessing my fully unlocked power." He smiled coldly, and countless eyes turned to Yu Zhun and the other three.

"Now, prepare to die..."

"Om-"

Walls of killing intent shot into the sky, instantly splitting Paka's enormous body into countless pieces. In a daze, Paka's body turned into a pile of minced meat, then turned into ashes and dissipated, leaving only a round bead.

Yu Zhun slowly withdrew his dagger and spoke calmly.

"No, it is your death."

Knowing that he was about to face a lord, how could Yu Zhun not make preparations in advance?
His preparations were now working perfectly, and that was the day of Paka's death.

“No wonder this guy can resurrect again and again, and his abilities are so bizarre.” Yu Zhu said thoughtfully, “If I’m not mistaken, he should have the special ability to fuse with other demons.”

"I guess so." Yu Zhun nodded calmly. "This guy didn't even notice the trap, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to kill him so easily."

"He must have merged with too many demons, so his consciousness isn't so clear anymore, and he's become somewhat insane."

"Forget it, it's not important."

Yu Zhun casually picked up the bead that was also covered with black patterns. "The four of us have reunited, and only Udir is left."

"Before we look for Udir, let's go talk to Pema first."

"Huh?" Yu Zhu and Lu Wen looked bewildered.

Who is Pema?

Yu Zhun and Helmod shook their heads, both amused and exasperated.

These two guys still haven't figured out what's going on.

“Pema is the head of the four lords, and at the same time he…” Yu Zhun briefly told Yu Zhu and Helmod their guesses.

After hearing this, Yu Zhu was dumbfounded. "So that's how the Four Lords came to be. I thought they were lackeys of the Netherworld!"

When Yu Zhu saw that Paka could temporarily override the market rules, this idea actually popped into his head!
"In short, this level shouldn't pose much of a threat to us anymore, but we need to find Pema and get some answers so we can know what's going on on the next level and make plans accordingly." Yu Zhun paused, "If they refuse to talk, we'll fight them until they do."

Originally, there were only Yu Zhun and two others, so his chances of success weren't very high.

With Yu Zhu and Lu Wen joining the fray, Yu Zhun's chances of success have greatly increased, making this the perfect time to find Pema.

"Charge before the blood sacrifice is auctioned off!"
-
"The market where Pema lives is just ahead."

Yu Zhun stopped walking, his expression turning serious.

Before even entering the market, he could already sense the terrifying, abyss-like demonic power within the blood-red light barrier.

This guy named Pema is very strong!

It is much stronger than Raiki, and also stronger than Paka in her complete form.

After exchanging glances with the other three, Yu Zhun took a deep breath and stepped into the light membrane.

Everything suddenly became clear, and the next moment Yu Zhun's expression changed.

He saw the empty demon market, the towering figure atop the Lord's Tower, and the familiar figure imprisoned by the other.

"Udir?!" Yu Zhu exclaimed as he followed into the market, and the expressions of the other two also changed rapidly.

Upon hearing the sound, Udir quickly turned his head and his expression became complicated when he saw Yu Zhun and the other three.

“It seems the person I’ve been waiting for has arrived.” Pema observed the changes in the expressions of Udir and the other three, and chuckled softly.

"Pema, release them," Yu Zhun said in a deep voice, his eyes flashing with chilling killing intent. "Otherwise, you die!"

“Hehe~” Pema shook her head and chuckled, “Don’t worry, I just want to make a deal with you.”

"And one of the bargaining chips in this deal is your teammates."

"A deal?" Yu Zhun's eyes turned cold. "What kind of deal?"

“I will release your teammates and tell you what’s on the fourth floor,” Pema said slowly, her words causing Yu Zhun and the other three to change their expressions simultaneously.

How did this guy know their purpose?
However, that doesn't seem to be the main point right now.

"What are your demands?" Yu Zhun asked in a deep voice.

The fact that the other party so easily gave them everything they wanted clearly meant that their corresponding demands were anything but simple.

"As for the demands..." Pema smiled slightly, "You should already know the secret of the Four Lords, so now..."

"All I need is for one of you to voluntarily convert all the demonic insect corpses I've absorbed."

As soon as she finished speaking, Pema raised her demonic power to its limit. The pulsating demonic heart was faintly visible in her body. The demonic heart had completely turned black and was covered with black-dot-like demonic insect corpses.

That number is a staggering one billion!

Yu Zhun and the others' expressions changed slightly.

According to Yu Zhun's previous speculation, the corpses of the demonic insects were a means for the four lords to shield their teleportation power. As the lords' strength increased, the number of demonic insects they needed to absorb to remain on the third level also increased.

So now comes the problem.

What would happen if a demon whose strength did not exceed the upper limit of the third level absorbed these billion demonic insects?
He will never be able to leave until he surpasses Pema in strength!

“My strength has far exceeded the upper limit of the third level,” Pema said softly. “In order to have a greater chance of success on the fourth level, I have repeatedly restrained myself and absorbed the demonic insects.”

"But this approach ultimately backfired and trapped me."

As she spoke, a hint of helplessness flashed in Pema's eyes.

“I… have reached a bottleneck that I can never break through in the third level. Only by entering the fourth level can I have the possibility of further improvement.”

"But the billion demonic insects made it impossible for me to enter the next level."

"So the person who absorbs your demonic insect can only stay here forever?" Yu Zhun asked in a deep voice. "Can't the demonic insect be distributed among multiple people, or only carry a portion of it?"

“If I could, I would have done it already.” Pema shook her head helplessly. “It’s the only way I can leave.”

“Even the objects that can bear the demonic insects cannot be chosen arbitrarily, because ordinary demons will collapse instantly.” Pema looked at Yu Zhun and the others, a strange glint in her eyes. “Only special guests like you are confident that you can bear all my demonic insects.”

So make a choice.

"It's to ensure that your teammate, along with the secrets of the fourth floor, remains forever in this demon market..."

"Let's sacrifice a teammate to obtain the secret of the fourth level."

(End of this chapter)