Chapter 1277: Cyber Space Battle Royale!
The competitors gathered here were initially quite calm. Most of them were heroes and legends from history, well aware that haste makes waste, and they maintained a wait-and-see attitude toward the UO finals.
But "defeating an opponent allows you to obtain their blank Spirit Origin"!
Once this information was revealed, hundreds of thousands of people could no longer sit still!
UO—the ultimate form of all life, the ideal of every intelligent being!
However, the vast majority of them were just ordinary white-tier competitors. There were only a few hundred in the top three tiers combined, and they had originally assumed they were just here to make up the numbers.
But with this rule in place, the desires in everyone's hearts were completely ignited!
As long as they defeated enough enemies and seized sufficiently powerful Spirit Origins, it might just be possible to overthrow even the top-tier competitors and rise to the top themselves!
There was hope!
Some began to take action.
Others frantically shook their wrists.
While hurling all sorts of curses at BB, they tried to remove their wrist devices.
But no matter how hard they shook or what methods they used, the wrist devices refused to come off, as if they had taken root in their arms!
Everyone wearing a wrist device was essentially standing out in the open, waiting to be hunted down. No matter how they ran or hid, it was useless!
To reveal such a rule only at the very end—that wretched woman definitely did it on purpose!
Then there were others.
"Achilles!!"
A roar filled with hatred echoed.
Achilles, who had been brimming with fighting spirit and ready to take the initiative, shuddered violently at the sound.
He stared blankly at the Amazon Queen who had appeared before him, feeling utterly defeated.
"And then there are those who only seek revenge…"
Achilles sighed deeply to the heavens.
He stepped forward to meet her, deliberately leaving an obvious opening. The Amazon Queen smashed his head with a meteor hammer, splattering red and white across the ground.
Snow-white particles rose from Achilles' corpse, slowly flowing into her body.
The Amazon Queen stared blankly at the scene, speechless for a long time.
"Schlick!"
The next moment, a hidden arrow pierced through her heart.
The snow-white Spirit Origin particles, not even warmed by her possession, merged with her own and flowed toward the one who had ambushed her.
"Achilles' Spirit Origin! Don't let him get away!"
The surrounding people's eyes turned red with greed.
The peerless hero of Greek mythology, undefeated on the battlefield of Troy!
Such a powerful Spirit Origin must be obtained!
A blank Spirit Origin refers to an ownerless Spirit Origin that has lost its original owner's abilities, retaining only pure power.
Obtaining that Spirit Origin wouldn't grant them Achilles' Noble Phantasm or skills, but it would significantly enhance their foundational strength!
Soon, everyone on the street descended into a chaotic battle!
The streets ran red with blood!
...
"Damn it!"
Eiji's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
The number of remaining competitors on the electronic screen was plummeting by hundreds every second!
He knew it!
Releasing news about absorbing the Spirit Origins of the defeated was clearly meant to force everyone into a slaughter!
As long as you keep winning and winning until the very end, the final victor will rightfully possess everyone's Spirit Origin!
Just how terrifying would that power be? Even Eiji trembled at the thought!
Not to mention battle maniacs like Scáthach who joined the competition purely for the thrill of combat—once this information got out, even the most rational participants would likely lose their composure. Out of the 365,000 contestants, at least 360,000 would be dragged into this grand slaughter, whether willingly or not!
"Hurry, find them, find them!"
Eiji was so anxious he felt like his eyebrows were on fire.
He typed name after name into the search bar, sending Caster Artoria, Baobhan Sith, Habetrot, Woodwose, Gareth, and others back home one by one.
"That's right, Gudao and Mash! They're pretty weak too!"
Eiji quickly entered their names as well.
Fortunately, both were still alive—perhaps under the protection of the Counter Force—so Eiji immediately dispatched two more dream clones.
Then there was Artoria's family: Irisviel, Mysterious Heroine X, Lily—
"Damn, Mordred's dead!"
Seeing no response from the search bar, Eiji's eyebrow twitched violently.
Well, dead is dead.
Mordred had a fiery temper and might have gotten dragged into the fight right from the start.
It's not like we were particularly close anyway.
At most, I can just summon her again later.
He glanced at the upper right corner.
Holy crap!
In less than half a minute, the 360,000 participants had already dwindled to 320,000!
"With the current population density in Kinojo City, it's super easy to run into someone, and once you do, there's basically no escape!"
Eiji knew all too well that in battle royale games, the early phase always has the highest casualty rate!
As the numbers drop, the frequency of battles would inevitably decrease.
But those who survived the first wave of slaughter were likely no pushovers!
They were either cunning schemers or expert survivors!
"That's right, Mrs. Pendragon! I almost forgot!"
Eiji smacked his head hard.
Mrs. Pendragon had been sleeping upstairs earlier, and Eiji had nearly forgotten about her!
"Is she at the church?"
Eiji pondered for a moment.
The only one left who hadn't regrouped was Arcueid.
He didn't need to worry about Arcueid. Before entering the digital space, she had absorbed several hours of Earth's energy and was now in a state of peak combat prowess. Anyone foolish enough to provoke her would undoubtedly get taught a harsh lesson. Eiji should be more concerned for her opponents instead.
After some thought, Eiji decided to go fetch Mrs. Pendragon himself.
This was a perfect opportunity to raise her affection!
With a single step, Eiji instantly appeared at the entrance of Kinojo City's church.
"Huh?"
The moment he arrived, Eiji frowned deeply.
"There's not a single trace of life energy?"
How could that be?
Given the current population density in Kinojo City, with hundreds of thousands of people fighting here, how could such a large church be completely empty?
Besides, weren't Martha and Saint George working here?
Eiji opened his wrist device and searched for Martha and Saint George separately.
Both were saints without inverted aspects or alternate versions, so there should be no confusion.
Yet.
The search bar showed no response.
"...Dead?"
Eiji's gaze sharpened.
The battle had only been going on for a few minutes!
Those two saints were quite powerful, yet they died so easily?
"No, the question probably isn't why they died, but rather, what exactly is inside this church!"
Eiji's gaze sharpened instantly.
The entire church was empty—Martha and Saint George got eliminated right from the start!
There was only one possibility: inside the church was a monstrously powerful being who had killed all intruders!
"Scared? Hell no! As a first-class candidate, how could I possibly chicken out?"
Eiji puffed out his chest and strode proudly into the church.
The moment he stepped inside,
the surroundings transformed abruptly.
The grand hall and sculptures vanished completely, replaced by a meditation cushion and a surrounding lotus pond, bathed in brilliant spring light everywhere.
A figure sat cross-legged there.
"Vowing to save all sentient beings without limit—it seems another lost lamb has arrived, ahohohoho~"
"Hmph, so it's you."
Eiji sneered, not a trace of fear on his face.
"Return my wife to me, or I'll make sure you don't live to see tomorrow, Kishinami!"