Chapter 160 - 127: Dice of Destiny

Chapter 160: Chapter 127: Dice of Destiny

But back then, Gutaf had no idea that Demons "had to die."

He didn’t even know that sacrificing a part of his Soul would turn one into a Demon. This was the wilderness of the Inner World, after all.

Back then, he wasn’t the master strategist players thought him to be. In reality, he did many things in a rush, leaving many loopholes. Otherwise, others wouldn’t have been able to seize the opportunity and reverse the game’s mode.

To design the King’s Game, Gutaf had indeed broken the balance between two forces that had already merged, choosing order to take the dominant role.

But this was clearly not what the "Empire" wanted to see, so they forced him to break the balance again, letting the Devouring Force take control.

The Nulis Federation was merely the muscle they put on the front lines.

Ever since Superpowers appeared in the game, actively pushed by the players, the dominant side of the merging forces has been continuously tilting toward the Devouring Force.

The wide variety of Superpowers all originated from that devouring power.

The essence of this current tremor was simply the "Empire" wanting to confirm the degree of fusion.

However, the resulting "game shutdown" was unacceptable to Gutaf, so he had to call upon the game’s accumulated power to stabilize the situation.

According to Gutaf’s calculations, once a certain critical point was reached, the "Empire" would no longer need the King’s Game and would instead take the fully merged power for itself.

But that merged power was the very essence of the King’s Game.

Unless the legendary Holy Sanctuary itself intervened, or every citizen of the Lanyu Kingdom was killed, the "Empire" had no way to sever the bond between the King, the Game, and the People.

And the Holy Sanctuary couldn’t appear in the Inner Ring World. As for killing every citizen of the Lanyu Kingdom?

The already weakened "Empire" no longer had the right to provoke the World Government.

This was why Gutaf was so fearless. It was also why, as a notorious Demon, it hadn’t been crushed yet.

In fact, when the *King’s Game* was first born, it was the "Empire" that held everyone else back, allowing the game’s power to grow.

The Empire needed the Devouring Force to be dominant to complete the fusion of the two powers.

The birth of the King’s Game made all of this possible.

...

"Is the game’s power that important to you?"

"Right. You’re a Demon now. The flaw in your Soul is being annihilated moment by moment."

"You need the game’s power to slow that process."

"Otherwise, you’ll die sooner or later. Who knows how long you have left!"

Yuwen Yong thought he saw the Demon’s weakness. ’With the game’s power drastically weakened, the Demon’s Soul must be even more unstable.’

’Damn it, has this Demon been stalling all this time just to stabilize its own Soul?’

’Quelling the game’s turmoil must not have been as easy as it made it look.’

’I was actually intimidated by the presence this Demon projected. No, I was subjected to its Enchantment.’

Sensing something was wrong, Yuwen Yong was about to strike, only to be interrupted by Gutaf once more.

...

"Young man, don’t be in such a hurry!"

"I truly do admire you and just want to chat a little longer."

"Have you considered the possibility that while my Soul may have a hole in it, it isn’t in a state of constant annihilation?"

"In other words, even though I performed a Sacrifice of my Soul, its structure remains complete and stable."

Gutaf remained seated on its Throne, its words leaving Yuwen Yong completely stunned.

After a moment of stupefaction, he forgot all about attacking.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

"Anyone who performs a Soul Sacrifice will inevitably suffer damage to the integrity of their Soul’s structure."

"Even if the object of your Sacrifice were one of the legendary Divine-like beings, even They couldn’t do it."

A baseless panic rose in Yuwen Yong’s heart. To his horror, he realized the Demon before him was telling the truth.

Or rather, that this Demon hadn’t told a single lie from the very beginning.

This judgment stemmed from a Demon Hunter’s Secret Technique that relied on sensing the shared origin between powers. It had never been wrong.

This was one of the Demon Hunters’ greatest advantages against Demons, as it meant they simply could not be deceived.

But now, Yuwen Yong wished it was lying, because if what Gutaf said was true...

...it would mean its opponent was not a Low Position Demon at all, but the most mysterious of beings from Demon Hunter lore: an Ancestor Demon.

"Heh, stop deceiving yourself."

"You know very well I haven’t lied once from the very beginning."

"So, in your Demon Hunter lore, I’m known as an Ancestor Demon. Interesting!"

Gutaf’s expression was playful, while Yuwen Yong’s face turned utterly livid.

’This Demon actually spied on my Consciousness Fluctuation! It was only because I was so shocked, but that’s still enough to prove how unbelievable this thing is.’

’I have the legacy of the Demon Hunters and had already used a protective Secret Technique, but it still broke through.’

’Damn it. Could this thing really be an Ancestor Demon?’

’I can’t delay any longer. I have to kill it now.’

Yuwen Yong drew upon his own power. The inability to use the power of Cards was, conversely, his greatest advantage.

It meant the King was under the same restriction. He only had to face the Demon.

However, just as he was about to launch his attack, his gaze was utterly captivated by the object in the Demon’s hand.

...

"Young man, don’t be in such a hurry!"

"I just accidentally pried into the secrets of you Demon Hunters. As compensation, I’ll tell you my own greatest secret."