Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"It feels like if he just stands still, we could all suffocate on the spot."

"This is terrifying! What on earth is this?"

Kurosaki suppressed the instinctive trembling in his body, gripped the Sanqing Bell in his hand, controlled his swaying legs, and slowly walked towards the basalt rock that had been summoned.

He didn't know why the white-clad masked man was there, but at least the other party didn't seem to have any ill intentions; in fact, it could be said that he was helping them.

Although he felt that the other person was there more because they wanted to get something from him.

"It should be a good thing, right?" Kurosaki comforted himself, feeling the last trace of special energy remaining in the Three Pure Bells in his hand.

He didn't even dare to study that kind of existence; it was better to continue investigating this giant gate node.

Chapter 227: The Beast Tide Has Arrived

Two kilometers outside the sandbar.

The makeshift defensive line, which was not yet fully erected, began to exchange fire.

"To the southeast, there are more than fifty of them, a mixed force of wild beasts."

The pre-deployed warning devices immediately transmitted alarms.

Leon sat in the command vehicle at the scene, and on the night vision screens, he could see the green herds of animals rushing past the surveillance cameras in the forest, heading towards them.

"So he's finally not pretending anymore?"

Leon noticed that the wild boars and giant bears appeared even wilder than when they had first appeared, and were now more like monsters.

Thanks to the temporary construction of the defense line, sentry guns, drones, and attack helicopters were able to quickly get into position. Once the enemy was within optimal firing range, the sentry guns spewed out long tongues of fire.

Tracer bullets rained down on the charging horde of beasts.

Da da da!

The leading giant boars and muscular bears were torn to pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The monsters that followed were fearless and continued their charge over the corpses of their companions. They were thick-skinned and difficult to kill with ordinary bullets. Only bombardment from large-caliber weapons and explosives could effectively stop them.

"The sniper team is targeting a large target."

"The D group's sentry gun has been destroyed. Quickly fill in and avoid close combat."

"Position No. 1 has been breached. Request permission to detonate the pre-embedded explosives!"

"Approved for use."

The battlefield was filled with smoke, and in an instant, a series of deafening explosions drowned out all other sounds. Large chunks of flesh were blasted into the air by the impact, then fell back down, crushing an unfortunate armored vehicle.

Although the attacking monsters were ferocious, they seemed to lack real tactical command and were more like a torrent being driven around.

The momentum of the charge was quickly thwarted by the explosions and crossfire.

In just ten minutes, hundreds of mutilated monster corpses piled up on the defensive line, their blood staining the soil and forming a stream that trickled down the slope and flowed into the river not far away.

Just as the defense line seemed solid and the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, a burst of water erupted from the river not far away.

"Minister, a small group of fish-headed monsters attempted to infiltrate, but we intercepted them."

The personnel responsible for protecting the water surface reported.

"Stay alert."

Having learned of the existence of the fish-headed monster, how could Leon not take precautions against it?

Not only were explosives placed underwater, but there were also powerful searchlights and patrol troops on the shore. This was a precaution. Even the air force, which did not appear, was equipped with anti-aircraft guns!

It can also be laid flat for use when necessary, so it's definitely worth it.

"Roar—Awoo!"

A piercing howl echoed from the depths of the forest, reaching the battlefield.

The moment that howl rang out, the monsters, just as before, all stopped their attack, turned around without hesitation, and quickly disappeared into the dark forest, leaving behind a mess and bloodstains.

Leon watched the retreat of the monster army through the screen, his gaze filled with doubt.

He felt no joy at the victory. This attack was clearly just a probe. The strange, even more numerous fish-headed monsters didn't come much at all, and the serpent that Muramasa Taki had seen in Lake Motosu didn't show up at all.

so.

What's it up to?

Leon's open-mindedness.

"The Nine Star Formation has already destroyed eight stars, which means its purpose is probably in line with Kurosaki's speculation. Now, only the last giant gate node remains to break the seal, so there's no reason for it to be left untouched, especially when our defenses are at their weakest."

"But this attack was clearly not a full-scale attack because we saw through their plan and quickly deployed our defenses, catching them off guard?"

This inference is quite reasonable. If it holds true, it means that the capabilities of those behind the scenes are still quite limited, and they need a considerable amount of time to mobilize troops.

In its plan, it probably didn't even intend to deal with the stone burial mounds under the three lakes immediately, but it took action in advance because the troops it sent out made it know that the plan had been exposed.

The batch of monsters that just arrived was the limit of what it could currently muster.

With this in mind, Leon felt a little more at ease. In that case, getting through tonight was the key.

Regardless of everyday problems like subway leaks, unsuccessful rescues, or only ten kilometers of road repairs after ten years, when it really comes to a life-or-death situation, the Wall of Mary can be built for you in no time, especially in places like East Asia.

At that time, let alone wild boars and giant bears, even real dragons would have to test their strength to see who is tougher.

But he wouldn't let his guard down; the other party's intelligence was already on par with that of an ordinary person.

"Clean up the battlefield, tally the casualties, and treat the wounded. Replenish ammunition for logistics, and have the engineering team continue construction."

The battle was over, and Leon gave his orders.

His gaze shifted to Hirosue Eri, who was standing quietly to the side.

Her clear eyes were fixed on the screen, on the direction the monsters had retreated into. The forest appeared even more mysterious and unfathomable in the night.

Leon didn't disturb her. Her abilities had obvious side effects, and keeping her in peak condition was the best solution unless it was absolutely necessary.

At his command, the engineering vehicles that had been waiting roared into the battlefield.

Bulldozers, excavators, and cranes began to operate, crushing the monster corpses into a pile of pieces, beyond any salvage value.

Engineers used armored vehicle bodies and prefabricated sandbag modules to rapidly construct more robust fortifications.

Leon's plan was clear: to establish three lines of defense around the key basalt gate node on the sandbar island.

The final line of defense is Sandbar Island itself, where the last heavy weapons and elite squads will be deployed. Once it falls, the node will be completely exposed.

The second line of defense is located roughly a few hundred meters from the sandbar island. It is mostly farmland with a wide field of vision and can receive fire support from the final line of defense. It relies on existing buildings to construct fortifications and is the backbone of the defense.

The first line of defense will be pushed forward to the forest edge pass, mainly consisting of unmanned combat vehicles, automated sentry guns, and minefields, serving as an early warning and initial attrition zone.

He had one last option: if things became hopeless and the key point was about to fall, he would call in the air force while retreating to bomb the entire sandbar island into the sky.

It will at least consume a lot of monsters.

Japanese officials are hesitant right now. This involves the relocation of nearly a million people, and it's still uncertain whether they can hold the line. If they do hold the line, wouldn't the relocation have been for nothing?

This kind of responsibility is not something everyone can shoulder.

However, if nothing is done, it will be too late to take action once the defense line is breached. Hundreds of thousands of people will be killed or injured, and even kneeling in repentance will be useless. No matter how powerful you are, a large number of people will have to step down.

Finally, in the middle of the night, they came to a conclusion after much deliberation.

They planned to mandate relocation in the core areas, while issuing extraordinary disaster risk notices for the peripheral areas, simply issuing orders and preparing to arrange some people to assist.

Optimistically, the main migration work can be completed in five days.

Leon had no comment on this; he would definitely be the first to run when the time came.

The idea of ​​fighting to the death and refusing to retreat is nonexistent.

On the sandbar island.

Around the basalt gate node that was just awakened by the white-robed mask in unpredictable ways, a simple prefabricated house has been built.

The bright light illuminated the room as if it were daytime. A huge basalt rock occupied the center of the room; on the surface, it looked like just an ordinary stone with some writing on it.

If there's anything special about it, it's that the front of the engraved lettering is fairly flat.

A group of metaphysical consultants, occult experts, and historians, urgently summoned from all over the country, gathered around the stone and were fiercely debating, with various theories and hypotheses clashing constantly.

As the MVP who deduced the Nine Star Formation, Kurosaki Chimei unsurprisingly occupied the position closest to the basalt.

He sat down on the ground, ignoring the surrounding noise, his brows furrowed, his entire focus on the large, dark red "兵" (soldier) character directly beneath the basalt rock in the center.

There, four flowing and elegant characters are engraved.

This is Cloud Seal Script, also known as Phoenix Seal Script, a style of calligraphy in Taoism. It is characterized by its flowing and elegant style, and sometimes the characters can be combined to form a specific phrase or incantation.

When it's just a single character, it's fine; it's related to Chinese characters. But once four characters are put together, except for certain specific sentence structures, it's truly only the user and the gods who can understand it.

The most problematic thing is that everyone's writing might be different. Here are four seemingly complex cloud seal characters, each corresponding to four characters.

But Kurosaki had never seen this combination before, and having learned some of it before, he was now pondering what these contents meant.

“Since the formation is related to the Nine True Words, then this should be Phoenix Script.” The old professor pushed up his glasses. “It is used by Taoists to write talismans and secret scriptures. I remember there are reference books.”

The other advisors nodded in agreement, but then looked troubled, with some exchanging helpless glances.

“I recognize some Phoenix script, but this combination…” another chubby advisor shook his head bitterly, “This style is too peculiar. Four characters in one, it’s neither like common talisman heads nor standard talismanic script…it’s more like…”

“It’s more like a secret script created by an individual!” another scholar chimed in. “Some Taoist scripts have a unique charm, and when combined, they are ever-changing, something that can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words. It’s too difficult to know what these four characters on the stone specifically refer to.”

Even if it's difficult, we can always find some clues.

Kurosaki's attention was completely focused on those four characters. Unlike the others who were completely confused, he could at least vaguely sense that these four cloud-shaped characters were related to a ritual.

The first character contains part of the Thunder Technique, the second character is related to the Big Dipper, the third character is incomprehensible, and the fourth character means destruction.

The person who left this handwriting must have thought too highly of those who came after them!

Beep beep.

Kurosaki snapped out of his daze when Taira no Ryu patted him on the shoulder.

“We don’t necessarily have to decipher the meaning of the words immediately.” Ping Shenglong led him away from the stone to a relatively quiet corner of the prefab house. “Our primary task is still to hold this place and prevent the enemy from destroying this last point. However, time was tight before, and in order not to interrupt you, I had a question that I didn’t ask.”

"I don't understand formations, but eight of those nine nodes have already been broken. Why hasn't this sealing formation completely collapsed? Why is it still holding on?"

Kurosaki's mind was still on those few cloud-shaped characters, and he subconsciously replied, "This is the essential difference between truly superior arrays and barriers; it lies in variation and redundancy."

“An ordinary barrier is like a taut net. If a few key nodes are broken, the remaining structure becomes loose and unbalanced. With enough force to keep hitting it, even without attacking the nodes, it can be relatively easy to tear it apart as a whole. But an array is different.”

He rubbed his temples, gathering his thoughts: "Especially this kind of top-tier formation that connects with the earth's veins and integrates the energy of mountains and rivers, it inherently possesses extremely strong adaptability and structural resilience. Even if eight nodes are destroyed, as long as the last core node remains, the entire formation can still rely on the core to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to maintain itself, and will not immediately collapse. It's just that at this moment, the formation is like a dam under immense pressure, and maintaining its operation is rather difficult."

Ping Shenglong listened carefully and nodded to show that he understood the metaphor.

"So now, the thing trapped inside the formation certainly wants to get out, and it can try to use the idea of ​​breaking the barrier to directly 'crash' this relatively fragile formation with its own power. However, this method will take a very long time and require a much larger amount of energy, and its efficiency is far less direct than directly destroying the nodes."

To make it more vivid, he added, "It's like a huge iron gate locked with nine locks. Now it has eight keys, but because we have one, we still can't open the gate directly. Finding the key is always the optimal solution."

Kurosaki paused, about to add further explanation, that in this situation, the trapped being's movements were restricted but the pressure was reduced, making it easier for them to make some noise inside.

The moment he opened his mouth,

Rumble——

The earth began to tremble without warning.

The prefabricated house creaked and groaned, and things inside fell to the ground with a clatter.

The tremors weren't particularly severe, but they still felt like a level six tremor.

Several advisors arguing around the basalt were caught off guard and fell to the ground. Kurosaki himself also stumbled, but was steadied by Taira no Ryu in time.

The violent shaking lasted for a full half minute, and the source of the vibration seemed to be very close.

After the tremors subsided, the room was a mess, and the scholars and advisors, still shaken, helped each other to their feet.

Kurosaki felt the lingering tremors beneath his feet and the dust drifting in the air under the lights. He looked at Heisei Ryu, then at his own hands, and finally, with an absurd expression, slapped his mouth hard.

Has this mouth been blessed?!

He was just about to say that the thing inside, without its restraints, would easily cause trouble, when an earthquake struck!

The shock woke many people from their sleep, and it was probably the most peaceful sleep they had been able to get in a while.

Because the days ahead will only get worse.

Amidst the chaos and noise, the sky over Kofu City gradually changed from pitch black to a cool, clear blue, and a new day had begun.