When he lived in this city in his previous life, Higashinohara used to ride his bicycle through the winding alleys every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset.
But he didn't expect that after an unknown number of years, he would have the opportunity to return to this riverside city and relive those years of running in the alleys.
Suddenly, there was a very fast strange demon behind him, like a cannonball, that suddenly accelerated and flew towards the place where Higashinohara was. It let out an ear-piercing scream like a night owl thirsty for blood from its throat.
He hit it, but missed it, leaving only a shadow where Higashino was where he was a second ago.
The strange demon looked around blankly, seeming to notice something. He raised his head slightly, and a long black sword above his head drove straight into his nose and into his throat.
Tsk-!
Amidst the harsh friction between the sword blade and bones, Higashinohara descended from the sky with a slashing sword and instantly stabbed the alien demon's rotten face to pieces.
He drew his sword with his backhand and kicked it, causing the corpse-like body of the strange demon to stumble and fall to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey! Run!"
In front of the dark alley, Shinichi Nimura, the human ability user hired by the investigation team, suddenly noticed that there were no footsteps behind him, and shouted to Higashinohara in a panic.
This was not a "teammate friendship" between the two people who formed a temporary team after Gray Mane ordered everyone to evacuate. It was really too scary to be alone in the darkness where you couldn't even see your fingers.
In particular, Shinichi Nimura discovered that the young man named "Nishimiyai" who accidentally came together with him during the evacuation had an unparalleled "sense of direction" and "insight" even in the dark.
The virtue of "the ancient road warms the intestines".
When they were evacuating in the dark alley, several times they encountered sudden attacks from strange monsters like this. In the middle of his attack, the "old-hearted" guy next to him defeated his opponent.
He immediately came back to help him with his sword.
So much so that after this short journey, the gentle-looking guy next to Shinichi Nimura felt a sense of dependence deep in his heart that he was not even aware of, so he stopped where he was and shouted.
Evacuate together with Higashinohara.
But Higashinohara did not move.
Not only was he so anxious, he suddenly turned around and squinted his eyes at the strange demons following him in the alley - most of these strange demons were unconscious, in other words, they were pure manifestations of personal spiritual will.
A humanoid "carrier" that manifests into a certain special ability.
Higashinohara couldn't help but take a deep breath. The "Guilty Manual" in his mind was collecting the unknown particles released by the remains of the strange demon whose head had just been smashed by him. At the same time, he suddenly carried the Judgment Division's cutting sword and walked towards the person behind him.
Strange demon.
What's going on with this little brother?
Shinichi Shinmura couldn't help but froze on the spot.
He really wanted to say, brother, you don't need to go to the Queen. Let's go to the Pearl Tower to meet everyone. It's so dark and I'm a little scared if you don't leave alone.
But before he could say this "cowardly thing", Higashinohara in front of him had already disappeared.
To be precise, it turned into an afterimage that stretched out in the darkness, and it was completely impossible to tell what kind of ability was used.
If I have to say it, it's like a 100-meter sprint at extremely fast speed.
The next moment, under the dim moonlight above the head of the alley, the clear light of the sword splashed like spring water in the alley.
Ruins!
Ichitōryū. Onikiri!
There was a harsh friction sound, as if a blade was scraping against the skull, and the strange demons who crowded in from the other end of the alley to show off their abilities all had their heads removed in an instant, and the sound of heads hitting the ground was endless.
Higashinohara lowered his head and glanced at the judge's sword in his hand. It was still sharp after killing so many people at once. Although it was not as good as his two ancient swords, it was of better quality than the two Kodachi swords he bought in the second-hand market.
Too much.
"Let's go."
Higashinohara turns back
This time it was Shinichi Shinmura's turn to be dumbfounded.
It wasn't until Higashinohara came over and patted him on the shoulder that Shinichi Nimura reacted.
He stared straight at Higashinohara. If I remember correctly, this guy's ability is the enviable water ability of talent sequence 23 [Desolate Ruins].
"Nishimiya-kun, how did you do it?" Nimura Shinichi couldn't help but asked.
He is a fifth-level and second-level superpower. To be fair, if he can overcome his fear, he can also deal with these first-level gray ordinary monsters behind him.
But the difficulty is that he doesn't know whether there will be some second-level strange demons mixed in among these strange demons. If there are, then it is very likely that he will suffer unexplained consequences, so he does not dare and does not want to at all.
Go take this risk.
Nothing like the Higashinohara in front of me. Not only was he extremely decisive in turning around, but he also made the move neatly and without any sloppiness!
Shinichi Shinmura even had some suspicions that the strange demons he beheaded might be mixed with second-level strange demons, but before he could react, he was beheaded "without discrimination".
[Decomposition completed]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining 0.3 source power points]
Do these first-level gray ordinary monsters gain so little?
Dong Yeyuan vomited in his heart.
He conveniently exchanged all 0.3 source power points for 30 proficiency points, and added them all to the sword type of Mugo Ittō style (intermediate level 70/100) in one go.
In an instant, the proficiency level after Wuwo Yi Dao Style changed and became Advanced 0/500.
This is a bit difficult to achieve when it is close to the 500 proficiency points of [Grandmaster]. At least 5 source points are required, which means that Higashinohara has to kill five third-level blue high-risk strange monsters.
But those are all seventh- to eighth-level beings.
Or there is another way, which is to wait for the body of the third-level blue high-risk alien demon to break down and turn into a pure unconscious ability to escape to another world through the [Border] door, just like the convenience store clerk in Aragaki Apartment that night
.
After the alien demon descends through the gate of [Border], its strength will drop by one or two steps, but the unknown particles obtained after killing it are still of "blue quality" and can decompose the ability of 1 source power point.
Perhaps, now is the time to consider improving your proficiency in secret skills and secret mysteries. These two are the biggest killers in actual combat.
At this time, when he heard Shinichi Nimura's question next to him, Higashinohara didn't think too much, shrugged and said, "It's not a big deal, just hurry up and it'll be fine."
Shinichi Nimura's eyes suddenly twitched when he heard this.
He glanced sideways at Higashinohara,
Are you sure you are just going faster?
Speaking of which, Shinichi Nimura is twenty-two years old, with an ability level of Level 5 and Level 2. After passing the interview with the Judgment Division, he thought that he was the elite of the younger generation of New Tokyo and even Wano.
But compared with the performance of the young man in front of him who was a little too tender in the past two days, Nimura Shinichi suddenly realized that he should not have the idea of "comparison" at all.
"Uh, okay." Shinichi Nimura could only say.
But suddenly, he seemed to remember something again, and said anxiously, "By the way, when we evacuated just now, did the captain arrange for the evacuation of the wounded?"
All this happened suddenly tonight, and it was even more terrifying than last night in the residential building in Pujiang Community. No one expected that those strange monsters that disappeared during the day would actually move in groups at night and even
So a "hunt" was launched for them.
Yes, that’s right, hunting.
When they fled in a hurry tonight, the strange demons with different abilities chasing behind them were chasing them like primitive people hunting in ancient society.
However, the "prey" group of Higashinohara and Shinichi Nimura was a bit special. Halfway through the chase, the identity of the hunter and the prey changed.
Higashinohara and the others became hunters.
After hearing Shinichi Nimura's words, Higashinohara thought about it carefully and couldn't help but shook his head, "I didn't hear anything about this in the voice. Maybe the captain has his own plan."
Gu Jian
What is the captain's plan?
The two looked at each other, and Shinmura's face suddenly turned pale.
Of course Shinichi Nimura knew the meaning of Higashinohara's words. With the character of Captain Gray Man, he didn't care about the wounded. When he evacuated, he didn't casually label the people he was with as "wounded" to delay the attack of those strange monsters.
Time will be merciful.
Higashinohara looked at the pale Shinichi Nimura and estimated that two of the three wounded people with hired abilities might be his friends. This situation may make him feel that he has betrayed his friends.
But there is nothing that can be done about it.
Higashinohara looked up at the tower in front of him that was diagonally inserted into the moonlit clouds. According to the description in Ma Baoli's diary, there seemed to be something dangerous in the Pearl Tower.
But the time of the diary is 4597 AD. The weathering and corrosion of these buildings is unknown since he came to this world. It is difficult to say whether the Pearl Tower is still dangerous.
After thinking about it, Higashinohara said with relief, "Let's go to the Pearl Tower to gather with the investigation team first. The injured people in the camp may have attracted the attention of the strange demons when we evacuated. Those strange demons have come to surround us. They
On the contrary, it is not certain that one can survive from desperate situations.”
Survival from desperate situation?
After hearing Higashinohara's words, Nimura Shinichi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and nodded with a somewhat sad expression.
No one is stupid.
Of course he knew these were comforting words.
But now I really don’t have much time to think about it.
The sound of rustling footsteps came again from the other end of the alley, and the night breeze passing through the alley was mixed with the whispers of various "weird syllables" heard by Shinichi Shinichi.
Although Higashinohara was the only one who could understand the "complex and weird syllables" emitted by these strange demons, he just decided to turn around because the strange demons were chasing him too closely.
Now that he has not caught up with him, he rushes out by himself, which is no different from fireflies in the dark night, and he is easily attacked by those strange demons.
What worried Higashinohara the most was that behind this apparently organized night attack against them, the "Ling Wei" mentioned in Ma Baoli's diary was also among them.
According to the description in the diary and his analysis, Ling Wei, who is suspected to be the "leader" of the strange demons in Pujiang Community, is most likely the top of the second level of dangerous strange demons, that is, the peak strength of the sixth level.
But now under normal circumstances, Higashinohara's comprehensive strength is basically invincible against those with fifth-level abilities, and he is also capable of fighting against those in the early stages of sixth-level abilities.
But facing the six-point peak is a matter of life and death.
Shinichi Nimura did not have as many sources of information for analysis as Higashinohara, but he had an inexplicable trust in Higashinohara, who was a little too tender-faced.
The two of them left as soon as they could, and they were separated from the strange demon behind them.
But it is not unreasonable to say that "looking at the mountain and running to death".
Under the dim moonlight, the Pearl Tower, which stretched diagonally from the ground to the sky and inserted into the sea of clouds like a road to the sky, seemed to be right in front of them, but in fact it took them quite a while to arrive.
During this period, the strange demon behind him was hot on his heels.
Relying on the [Nine Eyes and Six Paths] to see the surroundings in the dark and his familiarity with the city of Jianghai in his previous life, Higashinohara tried several times to get rid of those "tails", but unfortunately there was no result.
This is obviously not normal.
Higashinohara secretly guessed that nine out of ten of the leaders or generals who organized and commanded these strange demons might have some strange demons that had the ability to track them.
Could it be Ling Wei?
However, they left no one behind along the way, and the strange demon was not able to catch up again.
When they arrived at the foot of the Pearl Tower, Shinmura Shinmoto thought that they would be the first to arrive here, led by Higashinohara who had an excellent "sense of direction".
Unexpectedly, not far from the main entrance of the Pearl Tower, a woman with light blue hair immediately attracted his attention. The person in front of him was obviously Hela from the investigation team.
Before Shinichi Nimura came up and asked, "Why are you so fast?" Hela, who was staring blankly at the Pearl Tower, heard the noise and turned around to find Higashinohara and Shinichi Nimura. She immediately walked over and looked around and said:
"You guys are here? Where are the others?"
Higashinohara glanced at Hela, without saying anything more or asking any more questions.
Shinichi Nimura swallowed down the doubts surging in his heart and replied, "We all dispersed when we evacuated, and the others should still be on the way."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard in the darkness not far away. The nerves of the three of them suddenly became tense. Only when they saw clearly did they realize that it was Gray Mane.
Gray Mane's right arm seemed to be injured. He ran over with a gloomy expression and hugged his right arm. Without even looking at the three people standing here, he found a bench on the street and sat down, then began to treat himself.
bandage.
In the darkness, Higashinohara glanced at Gray Mane, who was some distance away from them, and vaguely felt that his wounds did not appear to be caused by an attack by a strange demon.
Instead, it looked like it had been scratched by a sharp instrument such as a long sword.
Can aliens use swords?
Higashinohara's brows frowned slightly.
At this moment, in the darkness in all directions in front of the main entrance of the Pearl Tower, bursts of rapid footsteps sounded one after another.
After the members of the investigation team rushed out of the shadow of the dark tall building while being chased by strange demons, they saw Higashinohara and others waiting under the Pearl Tower. They all gathered together with happy expressions on their faces.
In less than three minutes.
Under the Pearl Tower, nine of the ten people evacuated by the investigation team tonight have appeared, leaving only the last hired human ability user who has not yet arrived.
At this time, Ji Yuanwen, who was still frightened, walked over and asked respectfully in a low voice next to Gray Mane, "There is someone who has not returned to the team. What should I do, captain? Should we wait for him here?"
Gray Mane pointed out a "clear path" to everyone tonight in the danger of a sudden attack. This suddenly made the frightened Jiyuanwen people seem to have found their backbone, and they became more determined to hold on tight.
This thigh is surprisingly able to ride on the huge ship of the Adjudication Department in the future.
Gray Mane was just bandaging the wound on his arm. Hearing Ji Yuanwen's words, he shook his head without thinking and said, "No need to wait. He can only blame himself for not being able to get here."
Shinichi Nimura, who was traveling with Higashinohara, may have just experienced abandoning his teammates, and now he is about to abandon his teammates again. Hearing this, he couldn't bear to say, "The one who didn't come is Tsukikawa-san, how about we wait a little longer?
He, by the way, isn’t he with you, captain?”
Hearing Shinichi Nimura's words, everyone was stunned. Immediately, the corner of their eyes drifted towards Gray Mane, who stared at Shinichi Nimura with a gloomy face and shook his head expressionlessly.
He shook his head and said, "I haven't seen him."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Gray Mane was unwilling to dwell on such "little things". His mind was racing at high speed, thinking about how to complete the task of the Judgment Division and how to further get rid of these strange monsters to save his life.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Higashinohara, who had been silent all this time, stared at the darkness in the shadows of the high-rise buildings, and said in an unhurried tone, "They stopped."
Did they stop?
Everyone couldn't help but be startled when they heard this.
Someone looked carefully into the thick ink-like darkness, and sure enough, there were the whispers and messy footsteps that were chasing after him, making the back of the head numb.
From the moment they arrived in front of the Pearl Tower, everything disappeared, leaving only the constant "sobbing" sound of wind whistling through the high-rise buildings in the city in the surrounding air.
What's happening here?
Everyone had some doubts in their minds for a while.
But gradually, some people came to their senses and suddenly turned their heads to look at the Pearl Tower diagonally inserted into the clouds behind them. Their pale faces were reflected in the dim moonlight.