Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 349, Section 96: The Moonlight Remains the Same

saved.

The army, which was on the verge of collapse, finally regained its footing thanks to Hirosue Eri's intervention.

"These are truly the worst soldiers I've ever led!" The commander, who had survived the ordeal, clutched his aching head.

Now that we've arrived at this battlefield, we should know that we're not facing a human army, but demons and monsters.

If things get out of control, it will only lead to self-destruction.

Demons and monsters don't need to be captured; once defeated, it's a 100% casualty rate. However, given the demons' consumption rate and the official's usual practices, they'll probably be classified as missing rather than killed.

It would be hilarious if everyone disappeared from the files.

But with this, who would be willing to continue working so hard? If it weren't for the large subsidies, many people probably wouldn't be willing to come here.

The Self-Defense Forces are at least there to protect the homeland, but American soldiers are not willing to protect Japan.

They would be willing to help protect the girl at the bar.

That's good enough. You can't expect an army that has to pay for some of its own equipment to have an iron will.

If it weren't for Japan being the starting point for the extraordinary, and Amei having deployed a considerable number of elite troops during this period, the several thousand troops that could be deployed immediately for combat would certainly not have been able to be assembled.

Moreover, even if one possesses an iron will, it might not be as effective as an iron anus, since the enemy is a demon, who is even more fearless of death.

They could only pray that this rain would be like the last one, and that they could wait until it stopped.

Hirosue Eri, who had fallen into the enemy's position, turned pale.

That last wave of Thorn Dance was just as costly as transforming into a Tree Giant.

Moreover, plant stimulation is influenced by certain objective conditions, such as soil quality and water availability.

Plants grown under the influence of black rain are inherently unpredictable and unlikely to survive for long.

At the main gate, after killing the last demon trapped inside the thorny wall, Muramasa Taki glanced at the three bone knives left behind him, then looked up at the sky, at the dark clouds that showed no sign of dissipating.

The black rain had lessened, but it was still quite limited, only slightly increasing the field of vision. The demons in the distance showed no signs of stopping.

It seems they really intend to maximize their numbers. She originally thought that, at a certain point, these demons would merge into one giant demon, and that once she dealt with that giant demon, she could basically end the battle.

She was being too optimistic.

Therefore, we have no choice but to activate the backup plan.

[Zheng: I've agreed to your deal]

[Hao: Half an hour]

Currently, there are only two ways to obtain extraordinary equipment.

Game rewards and Muramasa production.

Previously, Muramasa Takii's forging abilities had not been fully developed, and there was also a shortage of extraordinary materials.

With the increase in dropped materials and the opening of the Peach Blossom Village's Chaotic Stone Territory, it is foreseeable that extraordinary materials will appear more and more frequently.

At this point, the value of Muramasa Taki, one of only two people capable of producing extraordinary equipment, suddenly skyrocketed.

Coincidentally, Taki was also preparing to focus on honing his forging skills.
Therefore, before the battle began, Kosuke Iwasaki sent a message to Takii, saying that he could devour the black cloud and keep Kyoto safe for a period of time, so that she could focus on making bullets.

The reward is a set of extraordinary equipment.

However, Taki managed to bargain down the price and end up with an extraordinary weapon and an extraordinary piece of armor.

For his weapon, Iwasaki chose a sword that could be made large or small, with hardness as its main feature. For his armor, he opted for the tattered black robes of a Ringwraith, which were designed to defend against magical attacks. The Ghost Cloak was a suitable choice.

He's gotten used to wearing this outfit.

Even after negotiating the price, Taki didn't immediately agree, and Iwasaki didn't say anything about having to pay more if it was late. He just waited quietly for her reply.

He did not return to America immediately after the London incident to continue his sacrificial work.

Instead, we should return to Japan and see how far this unrest, instigated by Yui Hamasaki, can go.

As it turned out, he underestimated it.

They were also even more wary of how the white-clad mask had suppressed and sealed them back then.

Even with the combined strength of all players, they could only barely contend with it, and could not suppress it at all.

Because the source of demons is negative emotions, whether they are buried underground or constantly generated in reality, they can be used by them.

Negative emotions, however, cannot be completely eliminated unless everyone dies.

But Iwasaki wasn't without options.

At least in the last few days, he studied this dark cloud and it seemed he could devour it.

Although it cannot be digested, offers no benefit, and will cause discomfort for a period of time, it can eventually be eliminated.

He wouldn't do that if there was no profit to be made, but since Takii was guarding Kyoto, he could take advantage of that.

It has a bit of a "gentleman can be deceived by reason" feel to it.

To be honest, Iwasaki really admires people like that.

Not only do they uphold their own moral principles, but more importantly, they have a clear understanding of reality and speak little nonsense.

If a trolley problem were placed before Muramasa Takii, she would have tried to save both sides. Only when she realized that she couldn't save both would she sacrifice the side with the fewest people, without offering any explanation, even if it earned her hatred.

It's somewhat like an individualized authoritarian officialdom.

Iwasaki cleared his mind of thought, descended from the clouds into the dark clouds, and began to use his own dark clouds to devour the demon's dark clouds.

"It tastes even worse now."

The black clouds here are thicker and denser than the ones Iwasaki swallowed in his previous experiments, and they even have a lingering aftertaste.

However, he was not one to be swayed by smells. He quickly suppressed his emotions and focused on devouring the food.

Half an hour was the time he estimated would produce noticeable results. With Taki and Eri below, they wouldn't be unable to hold on for even such a short time.

On the ground, huge vines slid down one after another, and more and more demons climbed over the thorns and stepped back into the abandoned first line of defense.

Although these demons were quickly dealt with, it was not a good sign.

Eri's desperate attempt to turn the tide through this thorny forest ultimately failed to last.

As she had predicted, forcibly growing such a large number of plants in the black rain environment would not only consume a huge amount of resources, but more fatally, the plants would inevitably be affected by the black rain.

At first, only the roots of a few vines began to show black threads.

But soon, this erosion spread rapidly, rapidly advancing along the veins of the vines. Wherever it passed, the once vibrant emerald green quickly faded, turning gray and withered. The tough outer layer began to wrinkle, emitting a faint crackling sound.

In just a few minutes, the massive thicket of thorns that had been wildly swirling and blocking the outer perimeter began to decay and collapse on a large scale.

The enormous vines drooped limply, crashing into the mud and quickly turning into charred, withered branches, as if all their life force had been drained away.

"The plants... can't hold on any longer!" The soldier, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the scene from before.

Without the thorns to hinder them, the horde of demons surged once more over the dilapidated fortifications of the first line of defense, rushing toward the barely sturdy central defense.

Moreover, this time, the demons' offensive appeared even more frenzied and organized.

Perhaps sensing some unfavorable change occurring in the dark clouds in the sky, the crimson light in the eyes of the demon officer holding the command sword suddenly surged from deep within the position.

He suddenly swung his command sword forward with a fierce roar:
"Jade shattered—!"

Having said that, he plunged the knife heavily into the ground.

Murmur
In front of the position, the black water, which was up to half a calf deep, suddenly began to violently churn and bubble with huge bubbles.

Then, under the gazes of many who thought they were kidding me, tanks, pieced together from pale white skeletons and with grotesque and bizarre shapes, slowly emerged from the thick black rain.

They had no roaring engines, only a creaking sound as they moved. Their tracks were made of countless tiny bones linked together, which, upon closer inspection, looked like countless tiny hands moving. Trenches posed no obstacle to them. "Monsters! Infantry-tank coordination! They... they can actually do infantry-tank coordination!"

A U.S. military officer was horrified and could hardly believe his eyes.

The bone tanks provided cover for the densely packed demon infantry, forming moving walls of sighs as they steadily advanced.

A huge, scarlet eye will open on the tank's frame, scanning the battlefield and radiating a chilling killing intent.

The only saving grace is that this tank doesn't seem to fire.
Perhaps having overheard their thoughts, the demon thoughtfully added a supplement.

Behind the demon's stronghold, in a relatively open area of ​​black water, the ground churned like boiling water.

Dozens of demonic soldiers dressed in tattered military uniforms crawled out of the ground with sinister smiles.

They quickly formed a circle and pulled out a mortar made of human bones and rusty iron from the center.

These demons behaved strangely; instead of loading cannonballs directly, they rushed to lie on the ground like thirsty desert travelers, frantically swallowing the black rainwater that had accumulated on the ground.

"Gudong. Gudong"

Their abdomens swelled rapidly, their skin stretched until it became transparent, as if it were about to burst at any moment.

When it expanded to its limit, one of the demons let out a strange cry of satisfaction mixed with pain, and its entire body exploded with a loud bang.

There was no bloodshed or carnage, only a highly concentrated, black, irregularly shaped column that kept writhing in place.

This is a live cannonball.

The demon beside him couldn't wait to pick up the shell and put it into the mortar chamber.

boom!
The black shell traced a twisted parabola as it fell toward the human positions.

However, his aim was terrible, and he accidentally blew up his own men.

Each explosion produced a detonation similar to the suicide crash of a Zero fighter. They were completely unconcerned about friendly fire, mechanically repeating the process of drinking water and firing, then constantly adjusting their trajectories to become increasingly accurate.

Muramasa Takii remained firmly stationed in the direction of the main gate.

She used her three bone knives alternately, and the blades were constantly worn down and shortened, but her speed and accuracy in swinging the knives did not decrease in the slightest.

This road is still blocked!
Despite her weakness and discomfort, Hirosue Eri tirelessly moved about the defense line.

Instead of trying to cultivate large defensive plants, she manipulated smaller but more agile plants to suddenly emerge from the ground, entangle the tracks of the bone tanks, or violently overturn the demons charging in front, slowing down the enemy's advance as much as possible.

The battle reached its climax, everyone was bloodthirsty, and everyone was on edge.

Even the demons seemed to have taken on a hint of anger, no longer displaying the complete madness and hatred they had before.

As the anti-aircraft guns fell silent, the Zero fighters in the sky became increasingly reckless, repeatedly crashing into the ground and causing explosions and flames.

In the pitch black, the night light shone like a flash of light illuminating the heavens and the earth.

Each dazzling flame represents countless Self-Defense Force members burned to ashes, their desperate cries of death reaching the ears of the living, seemingly more terrifying than the demons before them.

But they had no other choice but to grit their teeth, their eyes bloodshot and almost demonic, and fire and reload.

Ironically, he was protecting the raw materials that could be made into anti-magic bullets, but they were still using ordinary bullets.

After all, two days was too short. Eri needed to prioritize making the weather bottle and bone knife, so she didn't manage to produce many bullets.

Moreover, even if it were refined, it would seem a bit wasteful to use it to deal with these demons.

This was certainly not Takii's idea, but rather the idea of ​​high-ranking officials like McCullough and Leon.

Unseen by others, in the dark clouds of the sky, some newly formed fighter jets, before they could even leave the clouds, were grasped by an invisible hand and crushed into dust, returning to their state of black rain.

The once pure black clouds finally began to turn gray.

Hey.

On the ground, Hayato carried Nobi to the battlefield and, without stopping for a moment, plunged directly into the demons, especially the mortar camps, relieving pressure on the battle inside from the outside.

"The central defense line can't hold! We have no choice but to retreat to the high ground!"

"How can I get a refund? Tell me now how I can get a refund?!"

The staff officers' argument sounded like they were about to cry.

boom!
He slammed his hand on the table in command.

"Withdraw our people."

One of the Japanese staff officers had his mouth slightly open, and his pupils seemed to be trembling.

The commander was an Amis, and the "one of our own" he was referring to couldn't possibly be the Self-Defense Forces.

The central defense line now has 10,000 Self-Defense Force personnel. No wonder the US military and Self-Defense Force personnel are mostly separated when the defense is deployed.

Perhaps they agreed on some kind of retreat signal before the battle even began.
"Sir, that's ten thousand lives! Please, please consider this carefully!" The staff officer bowed ninety degrees, his body trembling.

The commander ignored him and focused only on one of his subordinates.

The subordinate nodded stiffly and walked out of the underground camp.

“Someone has to sacrifice themselves, otherwise, none of us, including you and me,” the commander said slowly, “will survive.”

The Japanese staff officer's back finally gave way, and he collapsed helplessly to the ground, his eyes vacant and sweat pouring down his face.

The commander walked out of the camp. Now it was time for the final battle, and everyone had to do their best, including him.

The Japanese staff officer slowly recovered, gritted his teeth, and struggled to get up before following him out.

On the battlefield, as the US military withdrew, large sections of the defensive line were riddled with holes.

When the demons surrounded them from the flanks, the remaining demons realized that their defenses had been breached.

Why wasn't there an order to retreat to the final defensive line beforehand? Was there a problem with the loudspeaker?

Before they had much time to think, chaos spread.

Everyone scrambled to retreat, but many were left behind by the explosions and demons along the way.

The skeletal tank revealed its terrifying side, suddenly accelerating and crushing demons and humans, tearing a large trail of blood in its wake.

When the survivors finally reached the final line of defense, they were met with gun barrels and bunkers that had been prepared in advance.

"This road is blocked! You may detour to the side! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"

The sound emanating from the loudspeaker was colder and darker than the black rain.

Ahead were friendly forces, behind were demons, and the detour they were given was winding and extremely narrow; probably very few of them would make it to the end alive.

Only then did they belatedly realize that they had been betrayed.

Some people cursed loudly, while others gritted their teeth and continued running around the detour.

The curses were either drowned out by demons or the rain, and no one could hear them.

Just as the first person, his legs trembling, finally ran into the defensive line after an unknown amount of time, lay on the ground, panting heavily with his head tilted back, completely disregarding the black rain he had drunk as a result.

Only then did I realize that the dark clouds in the sky were dissipating.

The sounds of gunfire gradually subsided.

He looked around in a daze.

There were only a few dozen people who ran in with him.

Even if this is just one node in the defense line, all the nodes combined probably only number a few hundred people.

"Look, it's moonlight," he murmured, looking up at the moon.

(End of this chapter)