Chapter 392: The Mediocre Army (Part 1)

The reason why he was able to mock Wang Quan so well before was because Guo Yutu was a similar person.

From a young age, he independently developed the self-evolving combat AI, the "Black Death Army." Using remote-controlled machines and hacking techniques, he became a faceless, unstoppable assassin. He could defeat physically powerful opponents by simply deploying a few more soldiers, while wealthy foes could simply appropriate the technology themselves. He lurked in the shadows, observing the changing landscape with a smile, unmatched.

Intelligent, arrogant, and overconfident, he believed his mind and skills alone could control everything. To him then, everything was a "game," the only difference being that Blood Alliance missions were games that had to be won, while private missions were challenging "challenges."

He maintained this mentality and grew into a cynical adult until his cognition was shattered by reality.

It happened during a vacation, a leisurely trip to Kyoto to see the cherry blossoms, when he happened to receive an order to kill the new leader of a certain clan. This was commonplace within the Blood Alliance. He airlifted a large force, analyzed intelligence on the enemy's ace in the trenches, and remotely controlled the operation from the distant Shinkansen. At speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour, even the most skilled enemy hackers would have been unable to determine his location.

A perfect strategy. No possibility of failure. Even if the Black Death Army is defeated, they can still escape unscathed.

However, the enemy hackers locked onto his location. The enemy killers caught up with Shinkansen.

The moment the sacrificial snake broke in through the window, Guo Yutu's worldview collapsed.

His confidence was shattered, common sense was easily broken, and his proud skills were defeated by pure violence. In that moment, he was powerless to fight back, and death was the inevitable outcome.

But Guo Yutu survived because, ironically, there happened to be another monster on the train.

In just a few seconds, the Shinkansen became a battlefield between two monsters. He fled in the hail of bullets, his head in his hands, not worth mentioning.

·

After narrowly surviving, he began to reassess everything around him: the aliens, the blood alliance, his peers, and even the ranking list he once disdained.

He was number 5. When Guo Yutu first saw the ranking, he laughed his ass off. How could he not be number one?

But now it seems that was an accurate assessment. Far from being gods like 0 and 1, not quite the monsters like 2 and 3, and not even as pure madness as 4.

His prized skill, his only specialty, was easily surpassed by those few. His strength wasn't as good as his talent, and even his ingenuity wasn't top-notch. This self-important child finally experienced adulthood, and he became acutely aware of his own mediocrity.

A middling 5th place. Very accurate, even relevant.

That's why I feel unwilling.

A strong sense of unwillingness that has nothing to do with interests or status.

·

"call……"

The brilliance of the Corpse Cannon raged. After switching attack modes, the bombardment disintegrated into self-propelled cluster bombs, creating one glittering chrysanthemum after another across the sky. A touch of black danced among the pure white petals, the sacrificial snakes that swiftly dodged with their Deathwings.

Thirty seconds had passed since the full artillery fire began, and the enemy remained unharmed, though they hadn't gotten any closer. The bug behind Guo Yutu remained unharmed.

Guo Yutu corrected the trajectory of his attack once more, dispelling distant memories. Single-handedly controlling the Great Lily had taken a considerable mental toll, hence his distraction.

The assassin who came to report the news saluted him and said, "Do you need any help, Commander?"

This tall man wielded a pristine katana. He was the number 10 "Rusty Sword," a skilled swordsman proud of his ancient swordsmanship. Guo Yutu had collaborated with him several times during his time on Earth and was highly impressed by his abilities. Both his agility and lethality in single combat were top-notch, and in past times, he might have vying for the title of world's best.

But in the monster-swarming 21st century, such a man could only be number ten. The 9th and 8th positions above him were implicit "gaps," representing the unbridgeable chasm between the top seven and the remaining killers. He wasn't a gatekeeper of genius, but rather the pinnacle of mediocrity. To put it bluntly, no matter how strong an ordinary person is, that's all they can get.

Being able to fight hard against the top few, and fight against the Sacrifice Snake or the King's Power for two full rounds before being killed, that's already a very remarkable achievement, isn't it?

"Just wait in the city," Guo Yutu told him. "Remember, this is work. Don't go too far, or he won't kill you."

"I think you should say this to yourself," Rusty Knife said with a smile. "You look terrifyingly evil, like an angry devil."

The Rusted Knife vanished in the light of divine power, and the remaining assassins took their positions in the "sand table" constructed by the information flow. No. 11, the Rusted Gardener, a killer who used mutated plants to fight. No. 17, the Muddy Diver, a killer who specialized in underground attacks. Then there was No. 15, who had survived the battle at the Thorn Flower Festival, and Nos. 18 and 19, who had followed...

Starting from the tenth place and below, the strongest killers currently alive gathered together. This was naturally an order from the king, but Guo Yutu felt much more comfortable.

The more people, the better. The more chaotic the battle, the better. We've put all our cards on the line, so you can just throw in your own troops. If he were to fight Chu Hengkong one-on-one with the Big Lily, he'd be better off hanging himself.

This was a city defense battle, and victory depended not on killing the target but on breaching the city's defenses. As an ascender on the Path of Submerged World and Floating Light, it was fitting that he would fight it out on such a battlefield.

"A chaotic battle is about to begin. All units, please prepare." Guo Yutu said, "The evil spirit sand table has been activated."

·

Above Mansa Star Fort, Chu Hengkong, dodging the bombardment, felt a stir in his heart. The atmosphere had changed, suggesting Guo Yutu had come up with a new tactic. Without time to dwell on it, he simultaneously raised eight of the twelve cannons and fired high into the sky.

Eight 6-point artillery barrages were enough to cover the battlefield above. At this point, the only option was a forced landing. He retracted his Deathwing and landed on the ground, but the objective distance between him and Mansa Star Fortress remained unchanged. Guo Yutu's artillery fire was formidable, but it came at a price.

He didn't fire his cannon when Huaisu entered the city, probably because the operation of the corpse cannon would also cause him a lot of damage. So he deliberately let the invasion go, wanting to concentrate all his strength on the decisive battle with himself.

"It's rare that you're so motivated this time. Is Wang Quan giving you so much?"

Chu Hengkong threw a few trash words and landed on the ground. Suddenly, he raised his divine slash and swung it towards the block behind him. He just happened to block a rusty samurai sword. The samurai holding the sword was a puppet.

The warrior, wearing a black iron ghost mask and possessing a retro puppet body, was a transformed Black Death Army. However, his speed and martial arts far surpassed those of ordinary soldiers. In a flash, the two exchanged three rounds, and the Black Iron Warrior managed to completely block his attacks. Chu Hengkong frowned.

"Rusty knife?"

"I'm honored that you still remember me." The Black Iron Warrior, No. 10 Rusty Knife took the starting stance.

Chu Hengkong dodged the attack and asked, "Have you been cursed and turned into a puppet?"

"Well, why don't you guess it yourself?"

A thrust, a slash, a swiveling cassock slash. Rusted Dao's swordsmanship was near-perfect, yet the transitions between his movements were suddenly interrupted by a jarring flash of blood. Chu Hengkong saw through the sword's path and, with a single blow, severed his weapon and right arm. Crushed, Rusted Dao fell to his knees, his figure's body disintegrating as his will and energy infused his body.

But Chu Hengkong never let down his guard. He dodged the next round of bombardment and grabbed a new rusted knife. Another Black Iron Warrior stood in the dust, his puppet form identical to his own, yet possessing a far more powerful aura.

"So... the Black Death Army."

"We'd like to have a class every now and then," the Rusty Knife puppet said with a smile. "Black Death Army officer Rusty Knife, here I go!"

One puppet after another emerged from the dust: a puppet dressed as a gardener, a puppet dressed as an athlete, a puppet as burly as a mountain. The assassins he had defeated before also appeared, but this time, each one was a member of the Black Death Army, assembled into an undead army!

Devil's Sandbox: The Army of the Dead. Use the warrior's ghostly body as a "pilot" in a specially designed army of the Black Death, enabling long-range, precision combat without harming the main body.

This technique is meaningless to high-level stamina warriors, as no matter how good their puppet is, it cannot be stronger than their own body. However, for assassins with stamina 4 or below, the puppets carefully crafted by Guo Yutu are "machines" far more powerful than themselves.

With the Black Death Army's production base as support, damaged torsos can be replenished immediately. Thus, the killers can rise again after "death" and fight against the strongest again.

Yes, the killers other than the top ten can only fight the snake for two moves at most.

But if the killers could stand up again, if the killers possessed immortality, then even the army of mediocre people could stop the advance of geniuses!

Kill, fall, stand up. The monotonous process repeated itself endlessly, yet the Sacrificial Serpent gradually retreated. The bursts of fire from the Corpse Cannons continued. The Black Death Army wasn't afraid of losing a single puppet, but Chu Hengkong couldn't afford the risk of being hit.

He slashed with unbridled force, forcing back the assassins, and shouted to the city wall, "Use all your means? Is this how you want to win?"

"Who wants to fight you one-on-one? I'm the commander of a one-man army." Guo Yutu sneered, "Reinforcements, strategies, whatever means you have, use them freely. This is my battlefield, and I will not lose!"

Six cannons, pointed toward the battlefield, simultaneously activated, their concentrated fire shifting to a wide-area strike mode. They sought no casualties, only disruption, aiding the assassins in delaying Chu Hengkong. Numerous black dots flickered amidst the barrage. Guo Yutu waited patiently for the enemy's movements, his gaze flickering between the different pulse sequence monitors.

The Canxin and the female heretic have basically dealt with the demons of the fifth pulse sequence and are now moving towards the front line; Ji Huaisu is cooperating in the play in the procuratorate, and Benningtik has no reason to let her go for the time being; the other captains are on standby at their respective headquarters, and the three Sephiroth Fives in the bookstore are busy maintaining order.

As expected, only Velus was missing. She was probably busy deciphering the structure of the Great Lily, trying to pinpoint the location of the loophole. This time, the enemy employed the most cautious tactics, letting her locate the target and then launching the snakes for a blitzkrieg.

Once he determined the flaw, he would unleash his strongest force to quickly resolve the battle. Therefore, just by observing Chu Hengkong's actions, he could understand the enemy's progress.

He was still locked in a struggle with the Undead army, but his flashes were becoming increasingly faster. He was gradually adapting to the rhythm of the attack, or perhaps he was already preparing a feint.

Moving extremely quickly, he left most of the assassins behind and moved to the western part of the defensive circle. Rusty Knife gave chase. Guo Yutu initiated a communication before the fight.

"how?"

"He's serious!" Rusty Knife shouted.

(End of this chapter)