With a long, resonant whistle, a track manifested out of thin air in mid-air, and a burning train roared out of the void, driving violently with sparks flying.
Akabane found the right moment to slide into a carriage, then her mechanical arm fired a grappling hook to catch an iron railing, swinging her high into the air as she adjusted her position with the recoil of a blast to land steadily on the roof.
With a loud boom, the ten-armed Vajra on the ground leaped up as well, smashing through all the vehicles blocking its path in the air before landing in front of Akabane, its ten arms spread out like an evil deity.
Akabane tentatively raised her hand to attack, firing a dozen particle beams, most of which were crushed head-on by the ten-armed Vajra; only a few hit its body, failing to leave even a singed mark.
"Your Highness the Holy Maiden, catch this strike!"
As soon as the ten-armed Vajra landed, the train, like a runaway snake, crashed into the earth before the entity charged straight toward Akabane.
The girl reacted quickly, retreating at high speed as heavy punches landed where she had been, making the entire carriage vibrate like ripples as the iron plating exploded and sharp iron spikes shot out from beneath her skirt.
Regaining her balance, Akabane leaped into the air to block with her club, though a red bloodstain appeared on her cheek.
"Roar!"
Behind a flying iron plate, the ten-armed Vajra appeared with a battle cry, ten fists following in succession; Akabane's powerful swing with Alice was easily deflected, and she was sent flying by a hit, crashing into the ground.
As the ten-armed Vajra landed, Akabane had already stood up and retreated rapidly, her cross-shaped pupils locked onto the opponent's position, only to see the entity spread its ten arms and burst through the smoke, its open palms aimed directly at her face.
Before she could recover, Akabane took another hit to the chest, hurtling back like a kicked ball and tumbling across the ground several times before stabbing her baseball bat into the earth to stop her momentum.
"Phew..." Akabane panted heavily, her face covered in dust as crimson blood trickled down her forehead, a hot trail flowing into her vision that forced her to close one eye, the sharp pain in her shoulder bringing tears to her corners.
Before her, the ten-armed Vajra strode forward, its mountain-like body covered in purple patterns spitting lightning, while dragons seemed to swim beneath its bronze-colored muscles, a terrifying aura soaring into the sky.
Akabane refused to back down, raising her hand as the incineration cannon rapidly lit up.
The moment the crimson light points converged to their peak, a beam of light suddenly blasted out, energy pouring out recklessly as it crossed the hundred-meter distance in a flash, causing the ground it passed over to collapse entirely.
The ten-armed Vajra took the hit squarely and was sent flying backward by the light beam like a shell accelerated to the limit, stopping only when it hit the invisible wall at the intersection.
Amidst the smoke, Akabane did not dare to be careless, stepping lightly atop a car floating in mid-air while two shadow clones appeared behind her, the missile holes on their mechanical arms extending as a storm of missiles flew out like pear blossoms, bombarding the smoke relentlessly as dazzling particle beams flashed through.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dense explosions echoed under the sky.
"Wait, is this still a shadow striker?"
"A stealth class having this kind of firepower is just unreasonable!"
"Armed Little Raccoon."
The bullet screen was filled with messages flashing past.
The explosions lasted for nearly half a minute until the Apostle Armament overloaded, and Akabane lowered her hands, her body numbed by the vibrations.
Surely... surely that guy has been dealt with?
Hope rose in Akabane's heart.
But upon seeing the ten-armed Vajra emerge from the smoke with a majestic aura and only a few singed marks, the hope that had just risen in the girl turned into deep despair.
She knew that among these five, only the leader, One, had reached grade 3 while the others were only at grade 2, yet she still couldn't tell what their mimicry was or why they could coordinate to such an extent—it was as if a single person was controlling five bodies.
Could it be... An audacious thought occurred to Akabane.
"How is it, Your Highness the Holy Maiden? Have we proven ourselves?" One asked.
"Is that all? I've only just warmed up." Akabane straightened her back, her shoulder twitching. "It doesn't hurt... hiss, it doesn't hurt at all!"
"Is that so?"
The five lowered their stances, channeling power into their feet as they struck a horse stance, their steel-like fists held before their chests.
"In that case, we shall also give our all. Please guide us!"
"Wait!" Seeing the five look ready to charge at any moment, Akabane quickly raised her hand.
"This Holy Maiden intends to test you with a question."
The five looked confused, their expressions respectful. "Please speak, Your Highness."
"What is your mimicry?"
"Mimicry... what is that?" The five looked at each other.
Realizing they weren't repeating her question back to her, Akabane slapped her forehead; it was hard to imagine how these five had survived until today—had their village not been connected to the internet, or had no one taught them in school? How could they not even know what mimicry was?
She began to wonder exactly how these five had entered Oasis.
"Are you referring to 'Sanskrit Sound', right?" The smartest among the five, Four, realized belatedly.
"Sanskrit Sound?"
"The greatest sound is silence, and the greatest form is formless. The Sanskrit Sound is the voice of people's hearts, and the Sanskrit Image is the image in people's minds. Being unable to hear the voice of one's own heart or see the image in one's own mind means one's cultivation is insufficient; to introspect and achieve the unity of knowledge and action is to be a great saint..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Akabane roughly understood. Different regions had different names for things.
Within the sphere of influence of Kowloon Information Enterprise, some hive cities were still in an uncivilized state, mostly in mountainous terrain; for various reasons, the monks and practitioners there still lived a life of cultivation, rising with the bell and sleeping with the drum.
"My Sanskrit Sound is Two," One said.
"My Sanskrit Sound is Three," Two said.
"My Sanskrit Sound is Four," Three said.
"My Sanskrit Sound is Five," Four said.
Akabane's brow twitched as she looked at Five; there were too many things to nitpick, and she didn't know where to start.
Five said with a solemn expression, "My Sanskrit Sound is One."
"You mean you are each other's 'mimicry'?" Akabane's worldview was shaken. "Then who is the mimicry user, or rather, the person who manifested the mimicry first?"
Mimicry was a manifestation of one's heart, closely related to their behavior and character; if the heart was pure, the manifested mimicry would be noble, but if the heart was foul, the mimicry would appear filthy and distorted.
"Movement of the Dao consists in reversal, and use of the Dao consists in weakness. All things in the world are born of being, and being is born of non-being. Everything in the world proceeds in a cycle, starting from and ending in a cycle; by following the laws of the cycle without resistance, one can be free within it. All things have form and formlessness, so why care about the physical body? To transform form through the heart is the mind-image."
"We are each other's mind-images, the Sanskrit Sound, and also each other's forms. I went from form to formlessness, and they merely went from formlessness to form, which does not violate the laws of all things; it starts with the cycle and ends with the cycle," One said.
What on earth is all this?
Akabane's mind was a mess.
Could it be that these five were all born from the same womb?
As if guessing her thoughts, One chuckled and spread his fingers.
"When my mother gave birth to me, there were a total of five umbilical cords on my belly. I stood alone in the world, and Two, Three, Four, and Five slowly appeared by my side during my subsequent cultivation."
Akabane felt powerless.
She opened her mouth but eventually gave up on trying to communicate further.
The incineration cannon finished cooling down, and Akabane raised the muzzle, aiming it at the five once more.
"Come, the Holy Maiden's second round of testing begins."
The battle raged on; from atop a high building, the four took in everything that had just happened.
"She seems to be in trouble," Angelina asked. "Can she really deal with this guy?"
"Have a little faith in Xiao Li," Tang Xin said.
"If she really loses, what should we do? Just watch as those five strange guys kidnap her to be some Holy Maiden?" Bai Youyou frowned.
"No way. If she's really about to lose, we'll step in. We obviously can't just stand by and watch," Xu Xiaoyou said without hesitation.
"At this rate, there's no way she can beat that guy. I remember her constitution attribute is only 93; she won't be able to sustain a long battle," Angelina said. "In ten minutes at most, she'll run out of strength."
"Don't be fooled by that guy's thick skin and heavy flesh; his weakness is actually quite obvious," Xu Xiaoyou said suddenly. "Nothing in the world is absolutely perfect. Even the most glamorous hive city has its rotten side, and even the seemingly indestructible city walls must have a weak point."
Xu Xiaoyou thought for a moment and added, "Of course, except for me."
Angelina and Bai Youyou rolled their eyes.
Arrogance, narcissism, obsession with money, lack of empathy, and a lack of responsibility—it would take all day to list this person's shortcomings.
"The mimicry form of the five ensures their comprehensiveness in both offense and defense; at least one side can defend from any angle. Any attack received will be distributed among the five, and even mental shocks will be absorbed by the 'mind-image.' The same goes for their offense."
"However."
"All of this is based on that delicate balance. As long as that delicate balance is broken—even if only one person loses their combat capability—the five will instantly collapse like loose sand," Xu Xiaoyou changed the subject.
"But the guerrilla position is already the one with the highest single-target output," Tang Xin nodded thoughtfully, clearly having done a lot of cramming on Oasis knowledge recently.
"If even Xiao Li can't break through from the front and mental attacks are hard to make effective, how can this balance be broken?"
"This requires the appropriate use of some 'cheating' methods."
With that, Xu Xiaoyou clicked on the league shop in the upper right corner. The four of them wouldn't step in unless necessary, but that didn't mean they couldn't provide off-field assistance. Hadn't they earned five thousand league points as the first-place reward for the 'Terminal Illness Patient' sequence? Now it was time to use them.
Many items with different functions were dazzling to behold as the shop pages flashed past Xu Xiaoyou's eyes.
【Hermes' Flying Boots: Grants the user 'Godspeed' effect, lasts 2s】
【Price: 50 league points】
【Great Strength Potion: Grants the user 'Great Strength' effect, lasts 2s】
【Price: 50 league points】
【I Am the Rules!: Forcefully commands the dungeon rules to launch an attack against a certain unit (Obliteration forbidden)】
【Price: 3,000 league points】
【Sword of Damocles: Launches heavenly punishment on a designated unit】
【Price: 4,000 league points】
【Well Rope: Choke his neck!】
【Nylon Rope, Climbing Axe: Perhaps you can use these】
【Mojito Molotov...】
【Spiked Trap...】
Xu Xiaoyou had already browsed the shop beforehand and quickly found the item she wanted among the wide variety of goods.
【Super Little Megaphone: After selecting a designated target, it applies a 'Thought Confusion' effect to the target; any sounds they hear will be amplified a hundredfold, making it harder for them to concentrate.】
【Price: 300 league points】
【Confirm purchase?】
Clicking confirm, a little megaphone appeared in her hand.
Xu Xiaoyou held the little megaphone up as if it were a priceless treasure, a dead-fish look in her eyes.
"Ta-da!"
"Super Little Megaphone~"
Facing the complicated gazes of the three, the neglected Xu Xiaoyou shrugged helplessly. "You really don't know how to play along. Watch carefully what this little megaphone can do."
With that, she selected Akabane's avatar in the team and 'gifted' her the little megaphone.
Down below, Akabane was fleeing in a disheveled state; heat waves washed over her as a tanker roared past less than a centimeter from her, crashing in the distance with a deafening roar that shook the whole world.
She began to be thankful for her own plainness.
Just as she sat behind the cover of a wrecked vehicle, still in shock, a little megaphone appeared out of thin air in her hand.
"Hmm?"
She looked closely and saw the effect of the item.
"Your Highness the Holy Maiden, please do not hold back any longer; use your full strength!"
The roar of the ten-armed Vajra came from nearby as its mountain-like shadow slowly pressed over.
They had already seen the girl shivering behind the car, the single cowlick on her head giving her away; in the hearts of the five, there was no such thing as being gentle with a pure, beautiful girl. Since this was a test for the Holy Maiden, they naturally had to go all out.
"Hey, look over here!"
Just as they walked to the front of the car, exhaling deeply and raising five pairs of fists the size of sandbags, a girl's shout suddenly came from behind them.
The ten-armed Vajra turned its head in confusion, only to find that Akabane had somehow circled around behind them, holding a little megaphone; meanwhile, the red-haired girl behind the car was melting into the shadows like play-dough.
"Stand still and don't move," Akabane adjusted the megaphone with confidence. "This is also part of the assessment!"
Hearing this, the five actually closed their eyes, held their breath, assumed a horse stance, and pulled their ten arms back to their waists.
They also wanted to see what kind of spectacle that little toy in her hand could create.
Could it possibly damage their golden bodies?
Akabane bared her successful little tiger teeth, instantly turned the power of the megaphone to the maximum, selected Five as the designated target, and slowly brought her mouth to the mouthpiece.
At this moment, Five, who had been focusing his breath, suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of danger and snapped his eyes open. "Oh no!"
He wanted to control the golden body to retreat, but the other four had not noticed anything wrong and remained stationary; by the time he wanted to dodge, it was already too late.
"Who wants to be your Holy Maiden?" Akabane took a deep breath as if to suck all the air in the world into her lungs and bent over to shout. "Never! See! You! Again!"
The effect of the sonic boom swept across the field!
Rate on N.U.
