Reincarnation Paradise: The Crucible.

Chapter 411: Nuo Mask for Offering Sacrifice to Gods
In a remote small town near San Francisco.

At this time, the sun was setting, the sky was covered with rolling clouds and a red glow.

Although the overall size of the town is not too large, the permanent population is still around five or six hundred people. Normally at this time of year, the town should be bustling with people and noisy.

But now it is eerily silent, with the streets and alleys empty, as if it had suddenly turned into an abandoned dead town with no life left.

The line of sight extends from the edge of the town all the way to the center. A wide garden square that is obviously of modern construction is standing quietly. A faint black mist is surrounding the square. In the garden square inside the black mist, the originally colorful flowers in the garden have disappeared, replaced by a terrifying white sea of ​​bones.

Countless human skeletons almost covered all the space around the square. Hollow skulls were scattered everywhere, looking up at the sky blankly. Under the illumination of the scarlet glow, the whole sea of ​​bones did not look hideous at all, but instead revealed a breathtaking and strange beauty.

"The taste of fear is really mouth-watering."

In the center of the sea of ​​bones, a thin figure in a black evening gown was sitting on a skeleton throne. His dark eyes were full of greed under the pale mask. Along with a sharp whistling sound of air like a whale sucking water, the entire white sea of ​​bones began to tremble violently, and then dense gray shadows emerged from every corner of the sea of ​​bones.

The phantoms were roughly human-shaped, but often distorted in appearance, with the mouth and lips wide open on the head and face, wailing incessantly. For a moment, the horrific wails and wails instantly spread throughout most of the silent town, but soon these sounds were torn apart by the whistling wind.

The overwhelming gray tide of phantoms did not last long. In an instant, it was completely swallowed up by the black figure in the center, leaving only a loud burp to indicate their final fate.

"The quality is a little worse than the batch in the forest, but the taste of fear is better. Haha, we are only one thousand souls short. Which town should we go to for the next batch?"

A hoarse murmur came from under the pale mask. After devouring the last remaining trace of death in the sea of ​​bones, the violator slowly stood up from the throne of bones. Compared with the reward after completing the main task, the benefits of killing in the derivative world would only be greater.

No matter it is flesh and blood or soul, they are all excellent supplements for him, but he has an insatiable desire!
The skeletal throne beneath him crumbled and disintegrated, and a pair of dark eyes under the pale mask looked out of the town. He was just about to get up and leave, but then his movements suddenly froze, as if he sensed something. He quickly looked up, and his originally relaxed body instantly tensed up.

He looked up, and although there was nothing there last time, he could clearly sense a vast pressure as if the sky was falling down pressing down on him.

The sharp howls pierced through rocks and split the clouds. The pale mask on the violator's head and face shattered on the spot, and countless black shadows suddenly rushed out from inside it. If you look closely, you can even see a large number of twisted souls wandering in the black smoke.

The moment he sensed the vast power in the sky, he quickly realized what was happening. The only person in this world who could use this level of mental attack could be Professor X.

In a trance, he seemed to see a vast spiritual force so majestic that it condensed into a huge mountain range pressing towards him.

Facing the mutant Bipolar who stood at the top of the current world, the violator had no chance of luck and immediately erupted with his most powerful strength.

However, the next second, the soul fog that had instantly killed hundreds of government troops collapsed in front of the professor. The air waves were surging above his head, as if an invisible giant hand was grabbing him from the top of his head.

In just a blink of an eye, the black fog that continuously gushed out from the violator's body was directly dispersed, and then the twisted soul wandering in it was forcibly annihilated by the professor's mental power after a rapid wail, revealing the thin figure inside that was as motionless as a statue.

"Click!..."

The crisp sound of bones breaking suddenly came from the edge of the sea of ​​bones. The motionless violator's body trembled slightly. He sensed a presence with a murderous aura slowly walking towards him from the outside of the square. The strange sounds made by the skeletons on the ground being crushed by combat boots were approaching like a death knell.

He wanted to struggle and resist desperately, but his soul, which was completely suppressed by the professor's vast mental power, had long lost the ability to control his body, and even his perception of the outside world began to become intermittent.

Until a teasing voice entered his mind, and then all his senses were completely engulfed by endless darkness.

"Hehe, this is the easiest hunting mission."

……

[Tip: The hunter has successfully hunted the violator, and the hunting mission is completed. 】

[This hunting performance was excellent, the violators did not cause corresponding damage to the rules of the derivative world, and the overall evaluation is excellent! ]

[This is the first time a hunter completes a second-level hunt, and it is completed within 15 days of the opening of the derivative world, and a triple reward will be given. ]

[You get Gold Medal of Honor x1]

【Gold Medal of Honor】

Category: Rare
Introduction: Items can be exchanged in the Honor Store. Specific information can be viewed in the Honor Store after returning to the Reincarnation Paradise. The Honor Store is located in the Hunter's Exclusive Room.

.........

In the center of the pale sea of ​​bones, with the help of the professor, Xu Yue easily approached the contractor who was wanted by the government military without any hindrance.

As expected, this person was the violator he had not had time to deal with since he entered the world.

In just a short while, he was able to wipe out a fully armed force of hundreds of people, leaving no one alive. Judging from this record alone, the strength of this second-level violator should not be underestimated.

Unfortunately, facing Professor X, whose amplified mental power can completely cover the entire world, as long as his strength level is still in the second level, he will still be powerless to resist.

After finding the exact target that Hank mentioned, the professor originally planned to capture him alive and hand him over to the military. However, the human skeletons that almost filled the entire square at the scene successfully changed his mind. The meaning of killing enemies on the battlefield and killing civilians indiscriminately are worlds apart.

If a person eats humans, then there is no need to treat him as a human being.

As for the evil beasts that eat people at will, the most appropriate way to deal with them is to eradicate them completely without leaving any chance for them.

So he died!

Staring at the other party's dark face that seemed like a bottomless abyss, Xu Yue's expression did not fluctuate at all. He just drove the magic knife in his hand to suddenly tear open the airflow. A purple light flashed in the void, and then the violator in front of him was completely cut in half, and his body turned into two pieces of debris that flew to the left and right.

At the same time, a series of paradise prompt sounds rang in his ears, but were soon covered by countless screams in front of him. He saw that there was no blood flowing out of the two neatly cut pieces of the violator's body, but instead there were countless twisted souls.

They either laughed wildly or wailed as they flew out from the dark chest and abdomen of the violator. It seemed that what Xu Yue was dissecting was not a human body, but a human-shaped cage that imprisoned countless dead souls.

But in an instant, Xu Yue's eyes were filled with darkness, and a strange and chilly feeling that made him feel cold all over swept over his body, and began to wriggle madly towards the depths of his flesh and blood.

Looking from above, a group of dark and expanding clouds and mists were surging out from the center of the sea of ​​bones. The dark clouds and mists contrasted with the pale bones, giving people an extremely shocking feeling that the clouds and mists were about to swallow everything. In addition to the visual impact, the sharp and piercing screams of terror were heard one after another without stopping for a moment.

The main source of these roars came from the huge cloud in the center of the bone sea, which had expanded to a range of more than ten meters. Dense ghosts could be seen wandering around, and among them, hideous ghost faces constructed by the deep fog appeared on the edge of the cloud, struggling to escape as soon as possible.

"Roar!!!"

The next moment, just as the cloud of ghosts was still spreading, a beam of faint light suddenly emerged from the cloud and transformed directly into a nearly ten-meter-tall giant horned beast at the top.

The giant beast stepped into the air with all four legs and drooped its tiger eyes. As its sharp teeth opened and closed, a ferocious roar that shook the entire square shook. Even the clouds that were spreading below suddenly stagnated under the impact of the roar.

The surface of the cloud suddenly began to produce layers of boiling ripples, and amid the terrified roars of many dead souls in the cloud, a surge of suction erupted from the mouth and nose of the giant beast above. Under the sweeping suction, the cloud of dead souls in the sky gathered into a funnel shape and began to flow into the black mouth of the giant beast continuously.

Soon, in just a few minutes, the dark clouds above the pale sea of ​​bones were completely devoured by Taotie. Its gluttonous nature was a natural counter to weak souls that relied on quantity to win.

Only after swallowing the last mouthful of mist did Taotie narrow his eyes in contentment. Then he jumped down and directly into the body of the tall figure below and disappeared.

[Hunter Intelligence +1]

The number of souls is as high as four digits. Even though they are weak in nature, the exaggerated scale still benefits Taotie a lot. And just the small amount of feedback from them can directly increase Xu Yue's intelligence attribute by 1 point.

Feeling the cool energy flowing through his brain, Xu Yue raised his eyebrows slightly. This was an unexpected gain. In addition to the improvement of his intelligence attribute, the "surprise" left by the offender was more than that.

【Nuo Mask for Worshiping Gods】

Origin: Void, Great Nuo Cult
Quality: unknown

Category: Special accessories (up to four accessories can be worn)

Equipment Effect 1: Communication with God (Passive). The Nuo mask made of special materials has the special ability to carry a weak divinity. The Nuo mask can be connected and bound to a certain god. After the binding is completed, the god can achieve a spiritual connection with the life form wearing the Nuo mask, and even grant divine power.

Tip: This Nuo mask has been bound to a deity, and the bound deity is ＊＊＊＊ (This information has been hidden, and can be unlocked by wearing the Nuo mask.)
Equipment Effect 2: Sacrifice to God (Active). Through the Nuo mask as a connection channel, the host can perform sacrificial rituals to the bound gods, provide them with offerings such as faith, flesh, blood, and soul, and obtain corresponding blessing feedback from the gods.

Tip: The connection between Nuo Mask and the gods will not be cut off by world barriers.

Rating: (Nuo Mask is a special item, and its specific rating will be affected by the bound deity.)
Introduction: Wear it, lost lambs, and I will grant you immortal life and unimaginable power!

Price: After wearing, it will be bound to the host's soul. It cannot be sold or discarded, and will automatically drop after death.

…………

"Put me on!...Put me on!...Put me on!..."

Looking at the pale and strange mask in his hand, Xu Yue's eyes showed not only a trace of fear, but also the extreme greed unique to the Taotie soul.

You know, the title of [God-killing Commander] he obtained in the previous world, in addition to the power of the sea god, can also accommodate a force of gods. Now this Nuo mask can be said to be just right.

Last time it was the magic mirror, this time it was the Nuo mask. This group of violators is truly full of talented people.

With a light chuckle, Xu Yue tossed the pale mask in his hand, and decisively ignored the increasingly intense roar in his mind, and put it into the storage space. With his willpower, this level of mental induction had no effect at all.

He could use the mask as bait, but he would rather not wear it. He was also quite interested in the equipment effect of the mask itself. This kind of equipment that could cross the barriers of the world was the second time he encountered it.

After dealing with all the spoils from hunting down violators, Xu Yue glanced at the pale sea of ​​bones around him. A pair of flaming wings suddenly spread out behind him, and as the wings flapped, he turned into a beam of fire and soared into the sky.

In the sea of ​​bones below, a few remaining flames first dissipated, and then these scattered flames began to automatically devour all the surrounding matter and used it as fuel to expand rapidly. Soon the flames expanded into a blazing, boiling fireball.

Afterwards, the scattered fireballs connected together and eventually formed a ferocious sea of ​​fire that scorched the sky, turning all the tragic conditions in the town, along with the town itself, into billowing black smoke that drifted everywhere.

…………

After dealing with the violators, Xu Yue gradually had more free time. Usually after each surging wave subsided, there would be a relatively calm period. The ocean needed enough time to accumulate strength so that it could create more turbulent waves next time.

This is true in nature, and it is also true in human society.

After the devastating Battle of Devil's Island, the human government needed a lot of time to lick its wounds and accumulate strength.

Therefore, at the social level, various policy measures that are conducive to easing racial conflicts between humans and mutants have begun to be implemented one by one. The originally sharp conflicts have gradually calmed down under the government's tough dispatch, and the overall situation seems to be very good.

At least on the surface, the relationship between the two races is steadily moving from independence and hatred to the ultimate goal of peaceful coexistence and prosperity.

But in hidden corners that are invisible to others, massive amounts of federal resources are being madly input into the laboratories of Trask Industries. At the same time, the strategic command post below the White House is bustling with lights on all night long and people bustling about.

Apart from the federal areas where the atmosphere appears calm on the surface but undercurrents are surging in private, other areas involving conflicts between humans and mutants are becoming increasingly tense.

More and more Sentinel robots began to appear around the isolated Brotherhood headquarters, and their models were changing rapidly. The actual combat lethality of their body strength was also rising at a terrifying rate. However, due to the quiet slowdown in the intensity of their attacks, this change did not attract much attention from the Brotherhood members.

In Cairo, the capital of Egypt, following the outbreak of the Cairo Campaign in which more than 100,000 people were killed or injured, the entire ancient city of Cairo fell into a state of tense and alert martial law. Even though half a month has passed, the number of soldiers patrolling the streets has not decreased at all, but has continued to increase.

Cairo, which should have been a world-famous ancient cultural and tourist city, now seems to be quietly transforming into a military stronghold.

It seems to have become the heart of Egypt, and is swallowing up the country's economy, military, armed forces, and even high-end talents at all levels in an imperceptible and hidden trend...

This process of absorption and devouring was silent, and the outside world could only feel that the entire Cairo was becoming more and more closed and alert. As a result, a large number of detection methods from contractors or the federal government began to be reasonably expelled from Cairo.

Therefore, no one noticed the increasingly weird atmosphere in Cairo, and the huge hole that was being dug and widened on the surface of a certain slum.

(End of this chapter)