Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Nine oil lamps should be placed to illuminate the direction of the Big Dipper. The handle of the Dipper must face south; the position must not be wrong!"

He handed Ping Shenglong a hastily drawn location map.

The blueprints were placed on the ground, and Heisei Ryu and Minamoto Himeko tacitly arranged and adjusted them according to each other's positions, starting from the beginning and end, and lit the lamp wicks.

Boom! Snap!

The sandbar beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently, causing the oil lamp flame to flicker.

Without turning around, the three of them could feel the overwhelming ferocity rapidly approaching. The main force of the monster horde had surged onto the sandbar and was roaring as they closed in, stepping on the fish-headed monster floating bridge that was constantly being blasted apart by cannon fire and filled in by the bodies of their companions behind them.

The remaining defensive fortifications were swiftly torn apart, and the dense footsteps, heavy breathing, and scraping sounds were already close at hand, as if they were already right next to them.

Heisei Ryu and Minamoto Himeko exchanged a glance, and without any further words, continued to carefully place and light the lamps one by one according to the diagram.

“Sheng Long.” Leon’s voice came through the communication headset, “I will arrange the bombing in five minutes. If the snake demon appears, in extreme cases, we will not rule out the use of nuclear weapons, unless you can give me some hope in these five minutes.”

On the helicopter, Leon had just learned that Ping Shenglong had fallen and had not retreated.

It's somewhat reasonable that Minamoto no Himeko was there.

But in his assessment, Ping Shenglong was not a selfless person at all. He felt that the reason Ping Shenglong stayed was probably because he had some certainty that made it worth the gamble.

And he was indeed a gambler.

“I understand.” Heisei Ryu lit the last oil lamp in the wicker position. He was silent for a moment, not looking at Minamoto Himeko’s probing gaze: “We only have five minutes.”

“That’s enough,” Kurosaki replied immediately.

He had already made a straw man, with a small yellow strip of cloth tied to its head.

With a slight tremor in his fingertips, he carefully placed the straw figure against a slightly protruding part of the basalt rock.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and solemnly took out the old Sanqing Bell from his canvas bag.

He could vaguely sense that there was a wisp of spiritual energy remaining inside, perhaps the legendary spiritual energy.

I wonder if the white-clad mask was deliberately left for him.

He had recently deciphered the meaning of those four cloud-shaped characters.

The Five Thunder Seals, the Steps of the Dipper. A strongman made of straw, burning both jade and stone.

For someone who had studied Taoism, this was essentially the obvious answer.

Using the Five Thunder Seal and following the Big Dipper Steps, he summoned the Yellow Turban Warrior to possess the basalt rock with the character "兵" (soldier) on it, unleashing the final power of the formation.

He concentrated intently, making hand gestures, holding the bell in a strange manner, chanting incantations, and stepping on the shimmering light.

"Lord Po Jun, vanquish evil and destroy traces."

Dangdang Dangdang!

As the bell rang, a faint wisp of spiritual energy was drawn out, transforming into a hazy wisp of smoke almost invisible to the naked eye, like a living serpent, slowly drifting towards the massive basalt character "兵" (bing).

Kurosaki continued to fight, completing the ritual while covered in sweat.

"The giant gate opens the earthen palace, and the mighty warrior reveals his true form!"

With a piercing roar, the prefab house was suddenly swept away and completely destroyed.

Amidst the flying sand and swirling stones, a thick, ferocious snake's head burst forth from the earth, spiraling upwards and tightly binding a layer of transparent golden light two meters away from the basalt.

The neck and part of the head protruding from the ground alone are already comparable to a small building with several floors.

Its head has two horn-like protrusions, and its huge vertical pupils are the color of conjunctivitis, firmly locking onto the three tiny figures beside the basalt.

"Another damned, stinking Taoist priest!"

boom!

The serpent spoke in human language, but it was not prepared to receive a reply.

With a clean and decisive motion, it used the snake's head as a battering ram, carrying a dark red shield, and slammed it into the golden shield!

Snap! Sizzle—!

The protective shield groaned as if struck by a heavy blow.

Clear and glaring cracks instantly spread across the light barrier, the golden light flashing wildly and uncertainly, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.

The terrifying shockwave blew all the oil lamps off the ground. Gen Himeko and Hiramori Ryu were almost knocked to the ground by the sound of the shockwave. They barely managed to stay upright by clinging to the protruding rocks, their faces deathly pale.

Kurosaki lay on the basalt stone, staring intently at the straw man that was burning itself without fire, the smoke also merging into the character "兵" (soldier).

"Kurosaki, are you done yet?!" Heimori Ryu roared hoarsely, unusually losing his composure.

"It's... done!" Kurosaki's eyes were bloodshot as he squeezed out his voice.

The sound of the golden shield cracking became more and more frequent, but the snake's eyes showed no joy; instead, they became even more anxious.

"Where did you get your spiritual power from, you fake Taoist priest—?"

hum!

The red color on the soldier-shaped symbol that was constantly absorbing white smoke had completely faded, and it was now shining with dazzling golden light, like the blazing sun awakening from its slumber.

next second.

Boom!

A dazzling golden light, composed purely of energy and invisible to the naked eye, erupted from within the basalt.

It instantly shattered the collapsing protective barrier, golden light pierced the sky, and a powerful, ancient aura exploded outwards.

It was as if the sleeping earth had been startled awake and turned over; this was not a tremor, but rather the entire ground was violently rising and deforming.

The ground beneath my feet no longer felt like an island base made of sand and gravel, but rather a colossal body that undulated and writhed violently like a living creature.

As if sensing the call, the Fuji River on both sides of the sandbar suddenly accelerated, carrying a massive shockwave that instantly tore apart and destroyed the numerous fish-headed floating bridges on the river.

Countless unsuspecting monsters were swept into the swollen riverbed and disappeared amidst the violent earthquake and swirling currents.

Amidst the deafening roar of the rushing water and the terrifying sound of rocks scraping against each other, and under the horrified gazes of Heisei Ryu, Minamoto Himeko, and Kurosaki—

That massive basalt rock—no, the entire sandbar island!—began to bulge violently, and water gushed out from the enormous fissures! The covering soil and gravel peeled away like a giant beast shedding its skin.

The island-dominated mountains, rocks, and sandstone are reshaped and given life under the infusion of surging golden light.

A towering, silent rock giant, clad in golden stone armor, slowly rose from the quicksand and flood.

Kurosaki originally thought that the basalt was the node of the array, but he didn't expect that this was only a small part of the node that was exposed.

That is the sandbar itself.

The serpent dragon that had just seemed enormous now looked like a tiny worm peeking out of an apple, caught in a dilemma.

But it did not sit idly by and wait for its death. Using its exposed half of body, it frantically pounded on the basalt rock, trying to break through its core.

A red and a gold light shield rippled, and the stone giant reached out, grabbed the snake's head, pulled it out, and crushed it forcefully in its rocky hand.

The river continued to swell, the sky suddenly cleared and turned cloudy, and seven water dragons rose from the water, wrapping around the stone giant in various ways.

"Let's go! That's all we can do. The rest is none of our business!"

Kurosaki, his face ashen, ran toward the edge of the stone giant, shouting as he went.

The two quickly followed, walking with difficulty.

However, many demonic beasts on the stone giant's body were not shaken off and roared as they charged towards the three of them.

Ping Shenglong pulled out a hand cannon.

boom!

The powerful recoil almost sent him flying backwards.

The monster let out a painful cry; the thin membrane shield on its body had disappeared at some point.

Ping Shenglong immediately understood the key point.

It's likely that the power is currently being primarily channeled to that serpent, which is why the protection for the other demonic beasts has been withdrawn.

Genjiro saw it too, and threw out the rifle behind her for self-defense to provide cover.

Just as they were about to reach the edge, the eight water dragons that were wrapped around the stone giant slowly pried open the stone giant's hands, freeing the serpent inside.

The serpent's body shone brightly with red light, and it seemed to have no injuries, as the shield had blocked them all.

"You cannot stop my lord's thousand-year plan from falling apart in the end!"

The serpent soared into the air, commanding the water. The rushing river seemed to reverse time, flowing upstream and gathering into a mighty water dragon, which, with its roar, fiercely crashed into the stone giant's chest.

A shockwave and a splash of water erupted.

The three people on the stone giant were shaken until they were completely disoriented.

Kurosaki screamed and was thrown off the giant's body, falling into the churning river along with the fallen giant and countless flying monsters and rocks.

"Kurosaki!"

Heimori Ryu grabbed Genjiko, but could do nothing as he watched Kurosaki fall not far away.

"Now's the time! This height is good!" Minamoto Himeko shouted.

The giant was so tall when it was standing, dozens of meters high, that jumping into the water would be tantamount to suicide.

But now that the giant has fallen, its height is less than ten meters, which is indeed true.

Heisei Ryu took a deep breath, released his grip, and the two of them fell one after the other into the reverse-flowing river, heading towards the Kofu Basin.

Chapter 230: The Collapse of the Giant Gate

The banks of the Fuji River resemble an ancient mythical battlefield.

The fallen giant crashed down with a thousand layers of waves, its body rising like a floating island.

The serpent looked down from its high perch, hovering in the air.

Several snake heads formed by turbid river water pulled their interlocking bodies like chains, extending from the rushing Fuji River, tightly coiling and binding its limbs and waist.

Each struggle of the stone giant caused a cracking sound and violent tremors on the water's surface.

The surrounding land had long been completely submerged, and the floodwaters swirled around the giant, carrying debris from houses and trees.

"A stone should just stay buried in the mud!"

It lowered its head, the massive head of the serpent hovering above the stone giant. Its snout opened, and a stream of black, viscous liquid, carrying an aura of destruction, hissed as it spewed out like the breath of a venomous dragon onto the basalt spittle-like characters that served as the giant's head.

Smoke billowed out, and the black viscous liquid reacted violently upon contact with the golden light.

The stone giant's entire body trembled slightly, and its limbs, bound by the water snake chains, were even more difficult to move, as if the core energy was being forcibly corrupted by this demonic energy.

In a scenic area nestled in the distant mountains, helicopters evacuating from Shazhou Island landed one after another, quickly activating the temporary preparatory command post set up there.

The battle footage was transmitted here in real time from multiple angles.

"Does that stone giant have a chance of winning?"

After confirming that he couldn't find the three figures in the image, Leon turned to Muramasa Takii, who was standing next to him, and asked her. As the most experienced superhuman in the Supernormal Countermeasures Department, Leon could only ask her.

Takii shook her head; she didn't know.

Her only feeling was that the cultivation systems of these ancient beings and the extraordinary beings of these players were completely different things and incompatible with each other. Therefore, she found it difficult to understand the current battle situation on a deeper level, but on the surface, it seemed not optimistic.

If Iwasaki were to appear, he might be able to offer some assistance.

However, the chances are slim, because this serpent is clearly just a lackey, and the real enemy has yet to appear.

If the other party is a legendary powerhouse capable of destroying a city with a single finger, their intervention would be completely pointless; it would be better to leave it all to the authorities to handle.

Above the battlefield, thick, leaden clouds gathered and churned in the blink of an eye, like a giant bowl of the sky turned upside down.

Deep within the clouds, lightning brewed and flowed.

The serpent's scales stood on end, sensing that it was being locked on and that there was an extremely dangerous aura emanating from it. It was about to dive into the water to escape.

Before it could make a move, suddenly, a thick, dazzling silver snake tore through the dark clouds, instantly piercing the distance between heaven and earth.

It struck the serpent's head with tremendous force!

"Ow—!"

The serpent was struck squarely on the head, and the immense force caused its massive body to stiffen on the stone giant, like a charred iron rod.

After a standoff lasting less than half a second, it crashed into the churning river water, accompanied by a wisp of smoke and a burnt smell.