Chapter 144: First and Second Updates: Players Save the Elimination Group at the Critical Moment...
“——What the hell is this?!?”
“——What the hell is this?!?”
“—THIS TOY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
The echo spread like waves, layer upon layer. Zai Qianguang was so frightened that he screamed and tried to escape in panic.
But his legs went weak and he bowed deeply to the unknown creature that suddenly appeared in front of him.
The crowd behind them, who had only heard the sound but not seen the person, vaguely saw a figure that suddenly became shorter, and in the dead silence, an extremely clear "clang" sound.
Judging from the sound, it was quite heavy.
“…”
Everyone held torches and looked at each other, their hearts bewildered.
Hey, this guy, in order to survive... he even came up with this way of begging for mercy.
Ken Oshitani, who also belonged to Shitenhoji Temple, managed to squeeze out a voice with difficulty, "Um, Zaizen...are you okay now?"
Others also held their breath and looked at it nervously.
At the end of sight, in the depths of darkness,
Slowly—a pair of extremely revealing, almost reflective bare feet stepped out—
No, how can it be so explicit!?!
He stared blankly at the feet, leg bones, ribs, and skull that appeared within the range of the firelight...
Everyone was confused, and it took a while for them to realize what kind of creature it was.
After a while, he trembled and uttered, "T-This is... a s-skull?!"
“——How come a skeleton appeared?!?!!”
"Shouldn't the skeleton be lying underground? Why is it crawling and moving now?!?"
"...Hey, is there a possibility that we are underground now?"
“…”
"Is now the time to answer that?"
In short, the scene was in chaos, with people running around, screaming in fear, and trying to use magic attacks while shouting "Back off, back off!"
And like an ostrich, diving into the crowd, trembling and muttering "Can't see me, can't see me" to cover up one's ears and steal the bell,
It's simply become a mess.
Among them, there are very few who can remain calm and take charge of the situation.
“—That’s so unbecoming!!”
Sanada Genichirō shouted harshly, and many people who were in a state of panic were immediately stunned by him.
"...Sanada-kun," Oishi Shuichiro looked up hesitantly.
Under the flickering firelight, holding a torch in one hand and a racket in the other, Sanada Genichirō's features were resolute, and he looked majestic without even getting angry.
"What's all this noise about? Grab your rackets and attack these guys!"
Sanada issued a clear order, and influenced by his aura, many people gradually regained their courage and fighting spirit. The moment they grasped the racket, a power from nowhere filled their bodies.
Yes, they have nothing to fear.
After all, they now have the all-powerful tennis rackets and mineral balls!!
All fear comes from insufficient firepower!
The best way to face fear is to face it head on. At this time, you should just rush forward——
Sanada's roar not only brought back the sanity of most people, but also aroused the courage in their hearts that had been aroused when they fought against the slime.
Sanada did not retreat at all, and set an example by pushing the torch in his hand into the hand of Kirihara Akaya who was staring at the skeleton in a daze.
He picked up the heavy ore ball with a snap, aimed it at the skeleton that gradually revealed its shape in the firelight, and launched a Wind, Thunder, and Volcano Attack.
“Empty, empty, empty, empty—!!”
The high-speed friction sound and the powerful pressure brought by the heavy mass of the ball made this ball like a small cannonball, and its power was no less than that of an unexploded bomb.
The moment he attacked, he rushed straight towards the pale skeleton under the torch light, and in full view of everyone, he smashed the stiff and slow-reacting skeleton to pieces with his overwhelming force!
“——!!!”
Sanada made a great move and won a great victory.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but feel that they were indeed the team members (comrades) of Rikkai University (Head Coach)...
The skeleton was dealt with, and the tension was gone.
"That's great—Luckily, Sanada-kun is here, otherwise it would have been really bad."
"Yes, yes, thank goodness Sanada-kun reacted in time, otherwise it would have been really dangerous!"
Ken Oshitari also wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and was concerned about the safety of Zaizen Mitsuru who was very close to the skeleton. After seeing Sanada solve the problem with one ball, he decisively thanked him and rushed forward.
He knelt on one knee and shook the prone Zaizen Guang, "Hey, Zaizen, cheer up!"
Seeing that Zaizen Guang was so frightened that he couldn't say a word for a long time, Kenji Oshitani's expression became even uglier.
"It's okay, Zaizen—the skeleton has been dealt with by Rikkai University's Sanada-kun. We're safe now!"
His ears moved, catching the word "safe", and Zaizen Guang was able to raise his head with tears in his eyes, looking at Kenya Oshitani beside him.
"Are you serious...really..."
Kenya Oshitari was patient and wanted to wait for him to finish before confirming again.
As a result, the person who was barely able to speak in the previous second suddenly froze, opened and closed his mouth, his pupils were blank and then suddenly condensed, his breathing was intermittent and rapid, and he stared at the back of him...
Wait, behind him?
Kenya Oshizuka realized belatedly that something was wrong, and instinctively he didn't look back, but managed to squeeze out a voice.
"Cai, Caiqian... Is there something behind me...?"
Cai Qianguang stretched out his hand tremblingly, even his fingertips were shaking, and his eyes were full of fear.
"Skull, skull..."
Seeing that the two of them were standing there motionless, Hirakoba Rin from Higa was worried that something was wrong, so he approached to ask for help.
Hearing the tense voice of Caiqian Guang, he sneered.
"Where are the skeletons, Zaizen? They've all been blasted into smithereens by Rikkai University's Sanada—"
The next second, I looked up,
Everywhere you look, all over the mountains and plains, there are faint flames burning in the eye sockets of skulls.
One, two, three, four... one hundred, two hundred...
One second ago, Le,
A second later, unhappy,
"——Damn it, run away!!! There's a skeleton cheating here!!"
Hundreds and thousands of skeletons finally came into view, a dense mass of them, so explicit that they could almost be mosaiced.
The U17 elimination group members who were happy about Sanada Genichirō's goal that shattered the skull can no longer laugh.
No, any normal person, faced with such a life-threatening situation——who on earth could possibly laugh? !!!
“Hehe——haha, ahh!! Everyone’s here!!”
The laughter, very relaxed and happy, came from afar.
The people, panicking and at a loss as to what to do, looked in confusion at the sound.
Above the densely packed army of skeletons, almost like dumplings, a red-haired figure was spinning and leaping non-stop, performing a passionate parkour of a hot-blooded man! !
Kenya Oshitari/Hikari Zaizen, who was so frightened that his limbs went limp and he sat on the ground: "..."
The remaining members of the U17 elimination group who had been retreating to the point of no return: "..."
Toyama Kintaro, swinging from the vines above his head, was even more agile than the monkeys in the mountains and swung over with a whistle.
"Oh my god—you're already here when I woke up! I was just trying to figure out how to reunite with everyone, but I didn't expect everyone to come over so quickly! Great!!"
“…”
He slowly glanced at himself, who was cornered, and then silently looked at Toyama Kintaro, who was so agile that he seemed to be on full automatic navigation.
His lips moved with difficulty, and Ken Oshitari asked on behalf of everyone, "Xiao Jin... are you, aren't you afraid..."
Toyama Kintaro was stunned, "Hey, what are you afraid of..."
As he stopped, a skeleton suddenly appeared behind him, with fire flashing in its dark eye sockets. It aimed directly at the conspicuous red-haired monkey, raised its white arm and was about to strike him with a bone-thumping blow.
Zai Qianguang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stretched out his hand and shouted, "Xiao Jin - hide quickly -"
"Hey... why are my shoelaces loose?"
Toyama Kintaro glanced at him and muttered as he bent down to tie his shoelaces.
Behind him, the skeleton used its full body inertia to strike, and with a 'crash', it hit the face of the skeleton next to it, sending the skull flying.
The skull slowly rolled to Sanada's feet.
With a click, it stopped moving.
“…”
Zaizen Hikaru and Oshitari Kenya, who had their mouths wide open and didn't even say a word, felt a slight pain in their foreheads.
Toyama Kintaro just finished tying his shoelaces and looked up. He caught a glimpse of the two people's expressions and scratched his face in confusion.
"Eh? Kenya and Zaizen—you look so weird!"
The two people, who were almost scared to death and gasping for breath, shook their heads stiffly with great difficulty, "No, nothing..."
They were more concerned about the main point, "Xiao Jin, how on earth did you survive among these skeletons by yourself..."
"——Hmm?" Toyama Kintaro blinked, looked back at the overwhelming army of skeletons that almost filled the entire mine, and scratched his cheek.
"——It's just like this, it's very simple!"
As he spoke, he personally demonstrated.
He rolled over and then did a backhand flip, grabbing the vines on the top of the cave. Kintaro Toyama performed the Monkey King Returning to the Mountain on the spot, swinging and saying happily,
"Don't worry, everyone—these guys can't even hold their heads up. As long as you're above them, you'll be super—safe—"
Everyone looked at Toyama Kintaro silently, all looking up at him. However, because the red-haired monkey swung too fast, the skeleton's reaction was too slow.
Swinging over, I noticed that the fire in my eyes was shining,
Swinging over, out of the warning range, the fire in his eyes dimmed,
"——No, isn't this just about not being able to choose?!"
Is this guy stuck in a bug?!
Looking at Kintaro Toyama, who was spreading his wings like a roc in the blind spot of the skeleton army, helplessness and fatigue swept over his heart.
Zaizen Hikaru and Oshitari Kenya were both speechless, "Ah... you, it's okay, it's okay... it's good to be alive, alas..."
Kintaro Toyama's heart was filled with passion. He reached forward to grab the vine and turned back to shout,
"Everyone——Don't worry, it's just a skeleton, there's no need to be afraid——"
'Hiss, hiss, hiss... snap!'
He was halfway through shouting when suddenly, "Swoosh!", the vine that Toyama Kintaro was holding on to couldn't support it anymore and broke in the middle.
Before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, everyone was shocked when they saw this exciting scene!
Especially since Sanada hadn't relaxed at all from the beginning to the end, he had already picked up his racket and ball, ready to launch a destructive move at the skeleton in Kintaro Toyama's direction.
"...Huh?" Sensing the vine snapped, the red-haired figure did a somersault in mid-air in the blink of an eye. He grabbed the still intact vine with one hand and swung the racket stuck in his collar with the other.
With all his agility, he stepped on the head of a skeleton that was about to fall into the group. He swung his racket and lowered his center of gravity on the spot, directly facing the skeletons swarming towards him - aim, locate, and swing!
“Empty, empty, empty, empty—!!!”
In an instant, a sonic boom suddenly occurred!
Once again in bewilderment, the crowd looked with great difficulty—
Standing on a skull, Toyama Kintaro unleashed his ultimate move, 'Super Invincible Absolutely Delicious Big Wheel Mountain Storm', with a high-speed rotation and precise aim.
“Hahahaha——Take my super invincible and absolutely delicious Big Wheel Mountain Storm!!!”
He is laughing, he is laughing loudly, he is laughing wildly!
Kintaro Toyama was like a raging tornado, staring at the heads of the skeleton army and harvesting them with his ruthless iron hands!
Suddenly, skulls flew everywhere, and the people who were frozen in place just watched as the skulls kept flying out and rolling to their feet, piling up higher and higher.
In the end, it turned into a mountain of skulls with eyes wide open...
"No, it seems like these guys have already died once, haha."
"Isn't it time to think about this now..."
Although I tried hard to pull my attention back, I couldn't help but turn my attention away when I saw the scene that was beyond the imagination of normal people.
"But why can Yuanshan do this... a skull or something, just being hit by a tennis racket and flying away? Is this a tennis ball?"
"Hmm... maybe, the skull is round... so it can be used as a ball?"
“…”
“…”
“…That makes sense.”
Since going down into the mines, my cognition and logic have been gradually distorted to the point of being far away from people.
At this moment, no matter how absurd the matter was, everyone was able to convince themselves automatically.
After all - the Slime King, the Skeleton Army, and the Tennis Racket Mining are all established.
What else is impossible!?
I have to say that Kintaro Toyama's harvesting action was much more efficient. Although it was still a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of skeleton armies, it was better than doing nothing.
Looking at Xiao Jin who was fighting alone and still showing unwavering momentum,
Oshitari and Zaizen were greatly encouraged, and gradually gained courage and strength from the actions of their juniors. They looked at each other and shouted together,
"Xiao Jin—Hold on! We're here to help you!!"
The two men picked up the rackets and immediately took out the mineral balls they had dug out from their pockets, aimed directly at the skeleton army, and attacked fiercely!
The ore ball is heavy, and if you want to launch a destructive ball, you need to have a higher level of control over your strength.
However, during the long mining process, everyone's strength has made great progress.
Compared to the previous situation when I was playing against slime and it was difficult to even hit the ball out, not to mention successfully serving, I have taken a big step forward.
Once the ball is fired, the skeleton army, which is dull, slow to react, and difficult to dodge in time, is undoubtedly the best target for attack training.
Ball after ball, the attack worked perfectly, and countless skeletons were turned into collapsed skeletons under the powerful mineral balls!
Seeing their great victory, the members of the U17 elimination group, who were originally a little frightened, gradually plucked up the courage, picked up their rackets, took out their mining balls and started to join the battle!
For a moment, the entire mine layer was filled with the sound of pounding.
The player clicked on the screen and looked at the NPC status.
I unexpectedly discovered that this group of NPCs are quite intelligent. NPCs with insufficient strength and unable to equip [Mineral Balls] to attack are assigned to mine ore, to provide backup and to assist NPCs who are exhausted.
NPCs with sufficient strength will automatically split into two groups and take turns attacking.
One in front and one behind, quite efficient. From this point of view, the skeleton army on this level basically poses no threat to the NPCs.
Genichirō Sanada always stood at the forefront, grasping the situation and commanding the overall situation. His hawk-like eyes scanned everyone's status and quickly analyzed and memorized it in his mind.
But for some reason, he always felt that there were eyes watching them quietly in the darkness.
Could it be him...
The hand holding the racket tightened, and Sanada, distracted for a moment, turned his head again.
Suddenly, I realized that the current situation had changed. The skeleton army showed signs of being cleared out, but the pressure brought by this group of skeletons did not decrease at all, and even had a tendency to increase.
What is going to happen again...?
I can still vividly remember the Slime King that appeared after most of the slimes on the previous floor were eliminated.
If a Skeleton King appeared on this floor, it was also expected—
As expected, the fallen and scattered skeletons began to tremble slightly, rolling towards the center and even showing a tendency to gather together!
Seeing this scene, everyone who had experienced the Slime King's transformation immediately became alert and did not dare to relax.
The backup team's mining speed is even faster, and Guizhi's output is even more frequent. The two teams are taking turns to exchange and are now on the field simultaneously.
All the combatants held a racket in one hand and a ball in the other, not daring to breathe.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the skulls gathered together and clashed together, making a grinding sound that made your teeth ache.
Unparalleled powerful might suddenly swept over—
The skeleton shattered into pieces, and before everyone's eyes appeared—a bone dragon with wings spread wide, its head raised and tail swung, its body enormous, occupying almost half of the entire ore layer! !
“…It appeared…”
"...It actually appeared. A dragon, a bone dragon..."
"Is this still the real world? So now we're really entering the dungeon to become heroes..."
“——It’s actually a bone dragon!?! So cool!!!”
"Wow wow wow wow wow!! So cool!! Kakui!!! I want this!!!"
At the same time, Kirihara Akaya and Toyama Kintaro spoke at the same time.
His eyebrows suddenly jumped. Not only was there Sanada Genichirō, but also Oshitari Kenya and Zaizen Mitsuru, who had just been relieved for a short time.
Everyone from Rikkai University and Shitenhoji watched helplessly as their two unreliable juniors, their eyes gleaming with pikapika light, were bewitched by the majestic and domineering Bone Dragon. Without even turning back, they rushed forward, rackets in hand.
"Come back! Akaya!!"
"Don't go—Xiao Jin!!!"
The bone dragon flapped its wings and roared—it didn't give Toyama Kintaro and Kirihara Akaya any chance at all.
The dragon's mouth opened and closed, and what was faintly accumulating was—shockingly, fire!!
Countless sparks gathered, the high temperature and heat almost tore the surrounding space apart.
"N-No... How come this even has magical attacks!?!"
"How can I fight this? This is simply a supermodel!!!"
"Come back soon—Akaye! Toyama!!!"
It's too late.
Toyama Kintaro and Kirihara Akaya rushed forward, one from below and one from above, and both of them were right in the attack range of the bone dragon's hot breath.
Even if everyone wanted to rescue them now, they would not be able to catch up. If they rushed forward, they would just be killed.
Gritting his teeth and steeling his heart, Sanada Genichirō, who had to consider the safety of everyone, closed his eyes tightly and waved his hand, "Prepare the juice, and go to the rescue immediately!"
At this time, we can only be thankful that no one here will truly die, otherwise -
There was a sudden exclamation.
"Wait, that...that's——"
“Oh my god…oh my god…oh my god!!!”
Sanada Genichirō sensed something from the repeated gasps, and suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head—
A black figure emerged from the darkness, as calm and indifferent as ever.
Dark and hollow eyes and sight swept across the entire scene like flowing water, stopping at two figures with tense expressions who finally realized something was wrong and entered the attack range of the bone dragon.
Ah, I almost forgot that this level might spawn monsters that are beyond the NPC's challenge range.
——It’s not your turn to appear yet, go back to your hometown!
Kirihara Akaya was instantly marked by the radar, and suddenly turned his head in the scorching firelight.
A black figure flashed and appeared directly above the open mouth of the bone dragon, seemingly there and not there, as if being looked at.
Kirihara Akaya couldn't help but feel a slight movement in his heart.
The next second, “BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM — BOOM!!!”
One punch.
Everyone witnessed with their own eyes that with just one punch, the black-haired figure pierced through the dragon's mouth of the bone dragon cleanly and neatly, directly interrupting the hot roar that had almost been fully accumulated without a trace of sparks!
A stronger sense of oppression and pressure appeared.
Kintaro Toyama blinked twice in surprise before he realized that the person who suddenly appeared above the bone dragon's head and broke it with one punch was none other than Kei Yagi!
"Y-Yagi-Yagi...?"
He wasn't sure what to say.
"——Kyu!!"
But what followed was Kirihara Akaya's extremely excited and thrilled voice.
The black-haired figure noticed the gaze and tilted his head slightly.
His dark eyes paused for a moment, then fell on Kelphead, who was sprinting towards him, Redhead, who was almost moved to tears, and all the members of the U17 elimination group who had slowly come to their senses and were running towards him with big strides.
The black-haired boy thought for a moment, then retracted his hand that was hammering the bone dragon, and raised it in a very self-styled manner.
"Yo."
“…”
Everyone was almost at a loss as to what to do with him, and could only helplessly say:
"What... you're still trying to act cool at a time like this, you really are—"
Before he finished speaking, a dense "clicking" sound started to grow louder and louder.
“……?”
Xiangri Yueren's ears caught it and hesitated, "Did you... hear anything?"
“—What what?”
Immersed in the savior-like punch, Hou Chotaro's eyes were full of stars, but he didn't forget to respond, "What's that sound, Mukai-senpai?"
Xiangri Yueren pricked up his ears again, and the tiny, dense sound continued to grow and grow...
Eventually it expanded to a noisy, dull atmosphere that was hard to ignore.
Now everyone heard it and sensed the source of the sound... It was the remains of the bone dragon that Yagi Kei was stepping on at the moment!
With a warning in their hearts, everyone who was running towards Yagi Kei on the bone dragon just a second ago suddenly stopped.
He immediately realized something, his eyes twitched, and without hesitation he turned around and ran like crazy, desperate for his life.
“Run away!!!!”
"Don't look back—run as far as you can!!!"
After all, behind them now was an overwhelming force that was dispersed by Yagi Kei's punch.
An avalanche of white, like spider web cracks, the remains of the bone dragon spread endlessly around! !
Toyama Kintaro and Kirihara Akaya, who were the closest, were still immersed in the feeling of "How cool!" and "I was saved by Kei/Yagi Yagi."
The next second, bone collapse occurred.
There was no resistance, no defense,
The two were separated on the spot and buried alive with a "bang" on their heads.
Toyama Kintaro/Kirhara Akaya: “…?”
Hey...why did it suddenly get dark?
I just wanted to say hello, but the cat that caused the bone collapse walked away with his hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened.
The U17 elimination group survivors, who had just been left in a panic and had struggled to dig themselves out of the collapsed bones, had to jump into the rescue again without even taking a breath to pull their teammates out.
Even while digging, I gained a deep understanding.
When there is danger, the cat is the biggest support.
When there is no danger, the biggest danger is the cat that breaks the chicken!
They dug out the deeply buried players one by one like digging potatoes. Now everyone in the elimination group was in a life-and-death relationship.
Under the same life crisis (brought by the players), the relationship between them has made great progress.
The hostility and separation between the high school and junior high school groups gradually thawed, and they were able to help each other and cooperate with each other.
Congratulations, congratulations,
"Gurgle..."
After a pause, sensing everyone's gaze, Toyama Kintaro scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Sorry, sorry—although this may be inappropriate, but now...it should be evening, right?"
"So...shouldn't we eat?"
Toyama Kintaro hopes to speak,
Slowly, Kenya Oshitani and Hikaru Zaizen said with difficulty, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, everyone... Xiao Jin has a very regular schedule and usually eats on time..."
"I understand...but..."
Mukaito was silent for a moment, "Is there really anything to eat here?!?"
All of a sudden, everyone's attention turned to Tian Renzhihui.
Tian Renzhihui, who was suddenly sniped: "?"
“——Don’t look at me!! Even if I had food, I couldn’t share it with so many people!!!”
What he said made sense, and everyone fell silent.
Coming to U17, I’ve been blown up by bombs, attacked by slimes, and beaten by skeletons, but I never gave up.
Are they going to be defeated by mere hunger now?!
"Clang, clang, clang!"
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
There was a sound of utensils rubbing against each other, and the crackling of wood as the flames burned.
After Xiao Jin said he wanted to eat, everyone who felt hungry at the same time looked over.
The black-haired mushroom-headed man carried a large pot in both hands and lowered it, and a fire suddenly appeared in the air.
All of a sudden, everyone was captured.
The next second, something more exciting happened.
Under his eyes, the black-haired boy picked up the bones on the ground and looked at them for a while.
“…”
"...I have a bad feeling."
"That shouldn't be possible, right..."
The player thinks, the player nods, the player throws it away,
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the bone that had just been picked up from the ground,
It fell into the pot licked by the flames, and bubbles began to bubble up one after another.
A faint aroma of bone soup slowly spread...
I can't control myself, I swallow my saliva, I sniff my nose,
But when thinking about the raw materials, everyone fell into an unspeakable psychological struggle.
“…”
"——Don't look at me! Don't look at me!!!"
"Even if I starve to death, die outside, or jump off here... I will never eat a single bite of this brat!!"
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