Infinite Gods Reign Supreme

Chapter 120 - Heading to World Five

The King of Fighters 98
The King of Fighters (KOF) is a very popular and vast world. Originally a derivative title, it was a term from the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting game series. It refers to the name of a no-holds-barred fighting tournament held in a city by the villainous boss, Geese Howard. However, with the growing popularity of the concept and the developers' involvement, what began as a small-scale conflict and rivalry gradually evolved into a detailed and complex vast world.

它主要分为四个篇章，分别是94年-97年的大蛇篇。99年-01年的音巢篇。03年以后的遥远彼方篇。以及再往后没有年表的新篇。而很不巧的是……

"Why King of Fighters '98?" Luo Yinglong stroked his chin. "I played a lot of King of Fighters games in arcades when I was a kid. But as far as I know, it seems like the '98 arc... didn't have a storyline."

“It’s a free-for-all.” Valentina nodded as well. “The King of Fighters ’98 and The King of Fighters ’02 are all-star versions without any storyline. The developers simply created all the characters, including those who have died or left the stage, as well as the special and hidden forms of the protagonists, and then had them fight in a fictional arena. However… well, in The King of Fighters ’98, there isn’t really no storyline at all.”

She reached out and pulled down a screen of light. A blond, muscular man in a red suit appeared on the screen along with some explanatory text.

"Rugal Bernstein, a perennial boss in the King of Fighters series, is also the storyteller of KOF98. He was originally supposed to have died in the Orochi Saga, but here he is resurrected through Orochi's blood. He will be defeated as the final boss of this game, and when he dies, the 'Black Noah,' the large aircraft carrier used as the arena in this game, will be detonated before his death."

“Orochi’s blood.” Si Ming pondered for a moment. “Then, if this really is a world without an original storyline, then the probability of the major events we are about to encounter being related to it is very high… Hmm, perhaps we are about to arrive in a King of Fighters world where none of the events from '94 to '97 have occurred, and we will arrive in '98. We will welcome the first KOF fighting tournament in that world and participate in the compressed process of the Orochi saga.”

This possibility is very high.

A large amount of information was quickly exchanged, and the members of the Celestial Team each selected the essential content and the parts that interested them, and quickly flipped through them—among them, the content about the Hong Kong comic version of The King of Fighters '98 also came into view. But after just one glance at those materials, they lost all interest.

There are too many self-contradictory elements, with both the setting and the presentation falling apart. There's absolutely no need to use them. Perhaps some key moments could be recorded for future reference. But the main focus should still be on the main King of Fighters games.

Si Ming quickly skimmed over the essential points...

In the world of King of Fighters, there exists a primordial deity called "Nature's Will," who descended to earth in ancient times as "Yamata no Orochi." Undoubtedly, this environmental god, representing nature, always sought to cleanse humanity from its rampant infestations. Among humanity, powerful beings emerged who, with the aid of extraordinary powers and treasures born of heaven and earth, successfully sealed "Yamata no Orochi" a thousand years ago, plunging it into a deep slumber.

These wondrous treasures are known as the Three Sacred Treasures. Three families inherited them, protecting the world's order as the families of the Three Sacred Treasures. Naturally, the sealed Yamata no Orochi is not content to remain idle; even within its sealed slumber, power still emanates from within. This power chooses and strengthens its recipients, and the strongest members of the Orochi clan are known as the 'Eight Heroes of the Orochi Clan,' constantly fighting to release the sealed Orochi.

Naturally, the open and covert struggles between these two forces shaped the history of the King of Fighters world. On average, every hundred years, the Orochi clan would try to find a suitable sacrifice to break the seal and release Orochi. But each time, they were repelled by the combined forces of the Three Sacred Treasures families and various extraordinary individuals. As time passed, in '94, the first game of KOF, an unprecedentedly opportune moment appeared in the eyes of the Orochi clan.

That was Rugal Bernstein. He was originally just an arms dealer. Driven by his thirst for battle, he organized the first KOF tournament, attracting fighters from all over the world to battle him. Ultimately, he was defeated in a match against Kusanagi Shizuru, one of the members of the Three Sacred Treasures family. However, the Orochi clan discovered his secret: the bloodlust emanating from fighters during battle could be used as a sacrifice to awaken Orochi. And after that, Orochi repeatedly tried and put it into practice.

In 95, Rugal underwent the transformation of "Storm Goenitz" during the Eight Orochi Grandmasters competition, sacrificing one eye in the process to be resurrected. After hosting the new KOF tournament, his body collapsed due to its inability to withstand Orochi's power. This led the Orochi clan to determine the feasibility of releasing Orochi and the necessity of a powerful vessel.

In 96, Goenitz stormed the Three Sacred Treasures clan, killing a key member named Kagura Maki. He then manipulated her sister, Kagura Chizuru, into gathering extraordinary individuals to fight against the Orochi clan by hosting KOF '96. Goenitz arrived at the arena as promised, was defeated by Chizuru, and committed suicide. However, before his death, he had already awakened more members of the Eight Orochi Generals to advance the next step of the plan to release Orochi.

Thus, in 97, the Orochi clan secretly orchestrated the KOF '97 event. Several members of the Yamata no Orochi clan appeared and lured members of the Three Sacred Treasures family and fighters from around the world to participate in the battle. At the event, the anger and resentment of countless defeated warriors, along with the power they exuded, finally fulfilled the requirements for sacrifice. Yamata no Orochi awakened using 'Flame Chris' as its vessel. It was then defeated by the Three Sacred Treasures team. Even so, Orochi forcibly possessed 'Iori Yagami,' one of the members of the Three Sacred Treasures family, and was forcibly revived. However, ultimately, under the protagonist's plot armor, it was forced to end its reign once again.

The Orochi arc thus came to an end.

So……

Well……

“Hmm…” Si Ming considered and pondered carefully.

He then read through other chapters, such as those from NESTS, Haruka, and some crossover spin-offs. Many possibilities collided and intertwined intensely in his mind, filtering out the valuable content. Finally, a general outline emerged in his mind.

“We’ll probably be facing off against the ‘god’ forces in the King of Fighters world.” He tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “And the world we arrive in might not contain other ‘gods’ that appeared after '98.”

"Because we're the Celestial Team?" Yu Zhiwei tilted her head and put down the documents in her hand. "Gods don't see gods?"

“Because we only have eight people,” Si Ming waved his hand. “The difficulty of our Celestial Team's worlds is fixed, and we easily annihilated all the evil spirits on the Great Black Buddha Mother's path in the Cursed World. We also achieved a great victory in the Dragon War World. The Main God's evaluation of our team must have increased significantly, so this time, after our arrival, we'll probably be facing at least a B-rank main quest.” The last main quest was C. Taking the Dragon Balls means we'll definitely have to take down a dragon.

If the main storyline of this game is B, then in a world with only eight players, it is unlikely that you will be able to find a simple task such as 'surviving for XX days'.

“The Supreme God will most likely ask us to stop Orochi’s resurrection,” Jacob added. “The odds are that we will directly defeat Rugal, the organizer of KOF, or defeat the Eight Orochi Generals. The even smaller probability is that we will defeat the fully resurrected, prime Orochi.”

“Very likely,” Si Ming agreed. “But once the fierce battle begins, the arrival of Orochi will be inevitable… I see, I think I understand now. Our main objective is most likely to be to defeat Orochi, who is destined to successfully descend through KOF after a certain period of time, and this ‘certain period of time’ is the time we need to weaken it.”

It's highly likely, but it's also possible it isn't.

However, as a decision-maker, Si Ming's job is to make judgments and then make decisions.

“It seems we need to prepare some sealing-related methods.” Jacob smiled. “Perfect, I have quite a bit of knowledge in this area.”

"And me too." Luo Yinglong chuckled as well—although he had wasted a lot of Song Tian's medicinal herbs, considering that he hadn't been cut in two yet, he could probably say he had achieved something—he raised his hand, and the mini Bagua furnace swirled and danced in his palm, quite ethereal and agile, with eight-colored energy gathering in the furnace body, but not much of it leaking out.

"There are many intricacies to the formation techniques of Mount Shu. Although the Yamata no Orochi may not be able to be sealed, the blood of the Orochi extracted from the ordinary members of the Eight Heroes after their deaths might just be suitable materials for alchemy."

“Hmm…” Yu Zhiwei raised her finger and gently tapped her lower lip. “But what if we’re on the same side as the Eight Orochi? And, although the possibility is very low, what if NESTS, Haruka, or even a collaboration with Akuma actually appeared, and we still can’t beat them… what should we do then?”

“I don’t think the God of War would do that.” Valentina raised her hand. “Whether it was with the Mori team or the Celestial team, the God of War usually put us on the side of justice, or at least neutral. But the villains in the King of Fighters series seem to really want to create a new world.”

To create a new world, you must first destroy the old one.

“I think we are definitely on the side of justice,” she emphasized.

"But what if something happens?"

“Then we can be too.” Si Ming interrupted their conversation. “A mission is a mission, and execution is execution. The purpose of power is to enable us to do what we want. And as things stand, I think we have enough power for now.”

He and Yu Zhiwei exchanged a glance—the latter then smiled and lowered her head. Throughout the entire exchange, no one mentioned the existence of other villainous factions, or the possibility that they were difficult to provoke.

Because they are different.

They are the Celestial Team, the strongest team, the exemplary team. From the moment they were the first to unlock their genetic locks and complete the trial certification for captain authority, they were already completely different from those weaklings still struggling in the vast cycle of reincarnation.

Before the gods, there is no equal.

If evil comes like a tidal wave, then the ocean itself will be annihilated and wiped out.

The pre-war meeting thus concluded.

Over the next three days, the members of the Celestial Team exchanged ideas, sparred, and exchanged some time from the Dragon War to hone their skills and teamwork. And ultimately…

The beam of light descends.

— [Transporting to the 'King of Fighters '98' universe...]

(End of this chapter)