Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 52
Infinite City.

Snapped!
A chess piece fell on the chessboard.

In the room, the executioner looked at the chess game in front of him, with a contemplative look on his cold expression.

On the other side of the chessboard is an empty futon, but the player's expression is still extremely serious, as if he is playing against a highly skilled enemy.

"This is the first step."

The executioner moves the opposite piece and moves one of the pawns forward one square.

——This was her first step. Based on the tips provided by the paradise and her own deduction, she judged that the person on the side of the Demon Slayer camp should be just an ordinary contractor who was affected.

"Then, that's step two."

The sound of chess pieces falling sounded, and the pawn from the previous move was directly moved to the table.

——The second step is to crush without any suspense. Under the alternating siege of the four subordinates and the failure of the main mission, the contractor's main mission failed as expected.

"third step."

The executioner continues to attack and defend himself, playing both sides of the chessboard at the same time.

I saw the king generals representing her and the evil ghost camp all attacking fiercely, while the jade generals were retreating steadily and had to put all their chess pieces back on defense to deal with the fierce offensive from the king generals.

In just a few rounds, the jade general's side showed its decline. Although it didn't make many losses, it was constrained everywhere. On the other hand, the king general's side completely took control of the situation at the expense of a few pawns.

——This is the third step of her plan. While using the Demon Slayer Squad to eliminate some insignificant forces in the evil demon camp, to pave the way for the final stage, she will also use the power in her hands to defeat the demon slayer. The team pressed forward step by step, forcing Tanjiro Kamado, the protagonist, to awaken early under the pressure of a desperate situation.

This step also went very smoothly, and even according to her original expectations, she should be able to hear news about Kamado Tanjiro's growth when the prostitute Taro came back.

but--

Snapped!
On the chessboard, a silver general on the king's side, which had always maintained absolute suppression, suddenly left the chessboard and fell into the chessboard.

The chess game is settled here.

The executioner stared at the situation in front of him, looking at the move that captured his silver king, and remained silent for a long time.

——This is where the incident happened.

The prostitute Taro is indeed a sacrificial pawn in her plan, and it can even be said that he is the sacrifice she specially prepared for Kamado Tanjiro.

But Taro the prostitute should never be at this point. In other words, Taro the prostitute's sudden death immediately made the executioner realize one thing:

She fell for it.

The contractor she thought had died in Tengxi Mountain was actually not dead. In other words, considering the current situation, she could only think of one outcome:
——The scene where Teng attacked the mountain was a good show deliberately put on by the other party from the beginning.

She was too careless. After thinking carefully, the executioner realized what a fatal mistake he had made at that time:
——She actually dared to conclude that the other party was just an ordinary contractor who was affected by the few hints provided by the paradise.

You must know that the abnormal speed of time and space in this world existed before she entered, and according to the information she got from Wu Mei, the other party was already in this world two years ago.

In other words, if it hadn't been for her unexpected arrival, this world with abnormal flow speed would have been a paradise opened just for the contractor!

How could a contractor who could receive such treatment be an ordinary person?

"It's as if something has blocked your cognition?"

The executioner muttered to himself, his blue pupils staring at the branding interface in front of him.

——Based on her understanding of herself, she was very sure that normally, she would never make such a fatal omission.

After thinking for a while, I wrote down a piece of text in the recording function:
[It is suspected of having some kind of ability to ignore distance (presumably causal). The specific activation conditions and effects are temporarily unknown. It is speculated that people who are hostile to themselves will have a certain degree of cognitive impairment. Judging from the known situation, the effect Can be lifted (it is speculated that the reason for lifting is because the duration has a limit. Based on the current valid information, it is guessed that the duration is 10 days)]

In addition to this text, there are several similar texts on the record board. Judging from the recording time, they were all recorded within one day:
[It is suspected that there is a means to exempt the punishment of the main mission. It is speculated that it should be the effect of props. 】

[Possessing extremely terrifying forbearance ability, individual combat power is not yet clear, but is speculated to be between three and one of the upper strings. 】

[Based on the performance of other contractors at the same birth point, it is speculated that this world should be its first derivative world (the paradise will put contractors with similar brand levels into the same birth point)]

Pieces of information formed a network in the mind of the executioner. Gradually, an image was formed and continuously improved in her mind:
The potential is astonishing. He is suspected of having the causal ability to interfere with cognition. His mind is very sharp, and he will never be bound by emotions and ethics. He can easily turn a blind eye to the life and death of local characters...

The executioner knew very well that these were just images she had deduced based on existing information. The other party's real situation might be very different from what she had inferred, but this did not prevent her from thinking about the other party's every move with the highest standards.

"Is it really difficult?"

The executioner whispered, but a glint of excitement flashed in his cold pupils.

——That is the gaze of a hunter who has been traveling alone in the wilderness for a long time and finally meets his kind.

At this moment, she had completely regarded the contractor who was on the Demon Slayer side as her equal opponent.

"In this case, your real purpose cannot be as simple as killing a prostitute Taro."

The executioner stared at the chessboard and muttered to himself.

She was certain that the prostitute Taro's death was definitely just a cover.

If the opponent really wanted to undermine her side's combat power, and she had already fallen into the trap once and mistakenly thought that the opponent was dead, she could wait until a more critical moment before striking out.

But the other party exposed his existence at this time, and the result in exchange was only the death of Taro, a prostitute...

The executioner frowned, his long eyelashes half-covering his pupils, and everything that had happened in the past ten days flashed through his mind.

The tenth day, the ninth day, the eighth day...

Except for the death of the prostitute Taro, no valuable information came. Finally, the memory of the executioner came to the first day, the moment when her plan started to be implemented.

'Lord Wuxian asked me to tell you that two of the four wastes that entered Tengxi Mountain are dead, one has disappeared from his perception, and although the remaining one is not dead yet, he will soon. '

Suddenly, the sentence conveyed by Tong Mo suddenly flashed through the mind of the executioner, and he woke up instantly like thunder falling to the ground.

——Of the four lower strings sent to Fujirai Mountain at that time, one did not die directly, but disappeared from Kibutsuji Mumei's perception after suffering heavy damage.

Normally, there is no problem with this. The executioner also personally asked about it afterwards. This situation is usually caused by ghosts dying directly in the sun.

The key is——

What if this so-called death is not actually death, but a phenomenon caused by the other party trying to obtain a piece of ghost blood that is not under the control of Muzu Muzan?

——The opponent has a complete blue Higan flower in his hand.

——The blue Higan flower is the key material for the perfect ghost blood potion.

——The formula of the perfect ghost blood potion is a top secret that only Wuhan knows in this world, but for the contractors from Paradise, it is definitely not the case.

"That's it, that's it...!"

A flash of light flashed in the eyes of the executioner, and he looked at the chess game in front of him. With a wave of his hand, a death aura passed by, and he saw that the chess pieces on the side of the general were turned over. 【Note 1】

She finally understood why the other party would reveal that she was not dead at this time!

This is a plan and a warning.

——If she doesn’t want the evil ghost camp to lose control, she must cooperate with the other party to complete this drama!

"What a hypocritical idiot, what a trick to use to control the emperor and control the princes!"

The executioner's eyes sparkled and he cheered.

She already knew what the other party was doing, but she was unable to take effective action at all, and even had to cooperate with the other party's actions.

At this step, she lost.

but……

Snapped!
A chess piece landed heavily on the chessboard.

The executioner stared forward, with an imperceptible smile on his cold face.

"It's more interesting this way."

This game that no longer adheres to normal rules has just begun!
……

Demon Slayer Temporary Headquarters.

"If nothing else, you should have realized it, right?"

Xin Lailai stood on the top of the mountain, staring at the distant scene and whispering.

From the beginning, he did not expect his actions to be hidden from the eyes of the executioner.

Even the matter of perfect ghost blood, Xin Lailai never thought that the executioner would not think of it. "When people like you encounter an unknown enemy, they will never look down upon them. Instead, they will think of them as equal opponents."

The executioner was a genius, and his genius was completely superior to him in both strength and strategy. Xin Lailai knew this very well.

Therefore, for him, the perfect ghost blood that is impossible to obtain under normal circumstances is by no means something out of reach when viewed from the perspective of the executioner and her own point of view.

Maybe the other party couldn't guess what process he went through to get the perfect ghost blood.

But this does not prevent the opponent from concluding that he has obtained perfect ghost blood the moment he regards him as an opponent of the same level.

Because of this, Xin Lailai had no intention of hiding it.

On the contrary, he should tell the other party openly and directly use seemingly doubtful behavior to arouse the other party's suspicion, so that the other party can guess the answer more easily!
because……

"Your mission must be related to Tanjiro, right?"

If we simply destroy the Demon Slayer camp, with the advantage in the hands of the Demon Slayer, the Demon Slayer Corps will be torn apart by the Demon Slayer camp in half a day at most, not to mention ten days.

But the actual situation is that not only did the Demon Slayers persevere, not even a single pillar was killed, and according to the information he received from the lord, Tsui, who was lurking in the human city, was not attacked at all.

In this situation, the tone says that the opponent is attacking the Demon Slayer Team, but it is more like helping the Demon Slayer Team to train. Combined with the fact that all the ghosts Tanjiro encounters have received orders to ensure Tanjiro's survival, Xin Lailai instantly understood the other party’s true purpose:

——The executioner is deliberately forcing Tanjiro to grow up.

In other words, the executioner is likely to need a fully grown Tanjiro!
Combined with some content in the original work, and the fact that the task assigned to the examiner by the executioner was unlikely to be something that could be accomplished easily, Xin Lailai realized one thing:

——The ultimate goal of the executioner is probably not to defeat the Demon Slayer camp, but to eliminate both the Demon Slayer camp and the evil ghost camp.

If this is true, based on this, combined with the behavioral tendencies shown by the other party, Xin Lailai finally came to a surprising conclusion:

The final big boss that the Executioner needs to face in this world is probably not the King of Ghosts, Muzan Onimutsuji, but someone who has mastered the transparent world and patterns, completely understood the Breath of the Sun, and is even more powerful than Muzan at his peak. The ultimate BOSS that only existed for a short time in the original work-King of Ghosts, Kamado Tanjiro.

"Now it seems that I made the right bet?"

Xin Lailai looked at the distant sky. According to the intelligence from the Demon Slayer Scouts, just yesterday, the evil spirits in various cities seemed to have suddenly evaporated, and there was no news of any evil ghosts causing trouble.

"Now, I'm afraid you can only be trapped in the Nine Palaces."

It is impossible for the executioner not to realize what he would do with this thing after getting the perfect ghost blood, but it is even less likely that the other party will stop him.

The executioner will even use the power in his hands to forcibly restrain all the evil spirits under his command to prevent them from becoming a tool for Xin Lailai to deliver messages.

because……

"Who said the big boss behind you is Muzan Kibutsuji?"

Moreover, Kamado Tanjiro, the protagonist, happened to be in his hands.

The executioner needs a fully grown Kamado Tanjiro, but once the news of the perfect ghost blood is learned by Demon Dance Tsuji Muzai, the other party will inevitably launch a crazy offensive against the Demon Slayer Squad at all costs.

At that time, if something goes wrong and the complete ghost king Kamado Tanjiro cannot appear, then everything will be lost.

The executioner dare not gamble and cannot gamble.

Not only that, with the Blue Flower of the Other Side in Xinlai's hands, Xinlai was sure that the other party would even take the initiative to assist him in completing this step of his plan.

After all, instead of following the original plot, forcing Kamado Tanjiro to awaken step by step, and betting on whether the opponent can defeat Sunshine at the last moment and become the real ghost king, Kamado Tanjiro, let Xin Lailai complete it directly This step is obviously a safer choice.

But at the same time, this also means that the executioner can only watch helplessly as Xin Lailai completes a major upgrade for the entire Demon Slayer Team, instantly bringing the huge disparity in combat power between the two camps to the same level.

Objectively speaking, this is a multiple-choice question, but the probabilities on both sides are not the same.

If you choose to attack, the result is more likely that both parties will perish together.

Choosing to wait means facing a more powerful enemy, but it can eliminate a large number of uncontrollable factors. All victory or defeat will be determined by pure strength and strategy.

More importantly, even if the Demon Slayer team undergoes a complete upgrade, in terms of overall strength, it is still weaker than the Demon Slayer camp.

After all, just one Infinite City can create a huge gap between the two camps.

Therefore, in this case, it is self-evident how the executioner will choose based on his character.

"Then...it's time to start the second step."

Taking the initiative to expose the perfect ghost blood was not only to buy more time for the Demon Slayer Team, but also to give him time to operate on his own.

Even if the frontal combat power is evened, the Demon Slayer's chances of winning are still slim if they can't find a way to deal with the other cards in the opponent's hand.

"Next, let's see who is crazier between us, right?"

Xin Lailai looked at the light blue words flashing across his eyes and touched his somewhat feminine-looking face. A trembling sense of madness flashed through his dark pupils.

……

[The contractor has voluntarily given up the main mission·Sixth Ring: Ghost Moon Falls]

[Team Skill 3: Lailai's Blessing has been activated, the mission penalty has been waived, the accumulated difficulty value of the main mission has been cleared, and the next main mission has returned to normal difficulty]

[Main mission started·Final ring: Death of the Ghost King]

……

[Main mission·Final ring: Death of the Ghost King]

Task Difficulty: LV.10
Mission introduction: All monsters must be destroyed!

Mission introduction: Defeat the Ghost King, Onibutsuji Muzan, and the contribution must be no less than 20%

Mission period: 29 days, 19 hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds

Mission rewards: attribute points*15, paradise points*60000, basic passive scroll treasure chest*1, derivative world return qualification*1
Mission Punishment: Forced Execution

……

[Contractor number: 83112
Name: Xin Lailai
Code: none
Cult: Lailai Cult

Paradise level: LV.2
Occupation: Evil Ghost (Perfect Body)
rank: first rank

Health: 100.000%

Mana: 200
Cell Energy: 500
Power: 10
Agility: 11
Stamina: 11
Intelligence: 11
Charisma: 8
Lucky: 1
】

……

【Career template】

Current occupation: Evil ghost (perfect body)
Type: bloodline profession
Professional skills: 5

……

Skill 1: Perfect Ghost Bloodline (not upgradeable/passive)
Skill effects: Strength +3, physical strength +3, intelligence +3, agility +3, body defense +3, health +100, cellular energy +400.

……

Skill 2: Flesh Devouring (not upgradeable/active)
Skill effect: It can restore a large amount of health points and slightly enhance the ghost bloodline by devouring the flesh and blood of the same race.

……

Skill 3: Immortality (not upgradeable/passive)
Skill effect: When injured, a large amount of health can be restored by devouring the flesh and blood of beings of the same species and the ghost bloodline can be slightly enhanced, or the stored cellular energy can be consumed to restore a large amount of health.

……

Skill 4: Vampire Art·Shadow (not upgradeable/active)

Skill effect: Can consume mana and cell energy to control the power of shadow.

*Tip: Evil ghost career holders can master the blood ghost technique after any one of their basic physical attributes exceeds 10 points.

……

Skill 5: Initial Blood (not upgradeable/passive)

Skill effect: Ability to transform beings of the same race into evil spirits (perfect bodies) by sharing the ghost blood in the body.

*Tip: Sharing ghost blood will cause the [Perfect Ghost Bloodline] bonus to decrease, so please use it with caution.

……

　Note: In the rules of Japanese shogi, some chess pieces can be upgraded when they move to the furthest three rows. For example, the silver general can be upgraded to silver, and the flying car can be upgraded to dragon horse. In practice, the upgrade operation is to flip the chess piece to its back. Yes (the name engraved on the back is the upgraded name)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)