novelraw Chapter 85 : Shadow’s First Cooperation
Chapter 85 : Shadow’s First Cooperation
Chapter 85: Shadow’s First Cooperation
The girl let out a shrill scream, her figure once again charging toward Chen Mo like a ghost.
This time, her speed was even faster, her strength even greater!
Chen Mo could only dodge in a sorry state.
He did not want to make a move.
After all, this was the first teammate he had found. If he killed her here, then in this unfamiliar country, he would truly become utterly alone.
But Tsuchimikado Rin’s attacks grew more and more ferocious, every move aimed to kill, giving him no chance to catch his breath at all.
“Damn it!”
Chen Mo was forced into a corner, with nowhere left to retreat.
Since you don’t want to talk properly, then don’t blame me for being rude!
“Judgment of Sin!”
Chen Mo shouted in a low voice, his eyes instantly turning into a deep, pitch-black void.
Buzz——
An invisible ripple spread outward with him at the center, instantly expanding and enveloping the entire rear hall.
The Judgment Domain, deployed!
At the instant the domain unfolded, Tsuchimikado Rin’s movements abruptly stalled.
She felt as if her body had sunk into a swamp, becoming incomparably heavy.
The once-smooth circulation of divine power also became sluggish and obstructed.
Even more terrifying was that a powerful sense of guilt and remorse surged into her heart without any warning.
Those clansmen she had killed, those lives she had regarded as ants, transformed at this moment into countless vengeful spirits, clinging to her body and letting out piercing wails.
“Th-this… what is this?!”
Tsuchimikado Rin stared wide-eyed in terror.
She felt her soul being judged, being interrogated.
That tremor from the depths of her soul made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
And in stark contrast—
Chen Mo’s momentum continued to rise steadily.
As long as one was within the Judgment Domain, the deeper the sins carried by the opponent, the stronger the suppression they suffered. And as the 【Judicator】, the power boost Chen Mo received became correspondingly greater!
This was practically an ability tailor-made to deal with these “evildoers”!
“Tsuchimikado Rin!”
Chen Mo stepped toward the girl one step at a time, his voice resounding like a great bell, carrying an inviolable authority.
“You bear the grievous crime of annihilating your own clan, your hands stained with the blood of your kin!”
“Upon my scales, your sins… weigh as heavy as Mount Tai!”
Boom!
As Chen Mo’s words fell, an even more powerful pressure descended upon Tsuchimikado Rin.
The red glow around her body began to tremble violently, as if it might extinguish at any moment.
“No… impossible…”
The girl clenched her teeth, struggling to resist that pressure.
“I have no sin!”
“They deserved to die! This world deserves to die!”
“Divine Lord… grant me power!!”
She let out a hoarse roar, trying to forcibly trigger divine descent.
But under the absolute suppression of the Judgment of Sin, her resistance appeared so pale and powerless.
This was crushing at the level of rules.
As long as you were human, as long as you had sinned, you could not escape judgment!
“Kneel.”
Chen Mo walked up to her, looking down at her from above, and coldly spat out those two words.
Thud!
Tsuchimikado Rin’s knees went weak, and she knelt heavily onto the ground.
The red glow around her body completely dissipated, and the blood-red color in her eyes faded away as well, returning to their original clarity.
She gulped for air, large mouthfuls at a time, her entire body drenched in cold sweat, as if she had just been hauled out of water.
She had lost.
Lost completely and utterly.
Before this man, the divine power she had taken such pride in was nothing more than a joke.
Chen Mo looked at the girl kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, as the black aura in his eyes slowly dissipated.
He had not dealt a killing blow.
The domain was still maintained, but the suppressive force had been greatly reduced.
“Now, can we talk properly?”
Chen Mo squatted down, meeting the girl’s eyes levelly, his tone calm.
Tsuchimikado Rin raised her head, looking at him with a complicated gaze.
Fear, unwillingness, confusion… and a trace of reverence hidden deep within.
“You… who exactly are you?”
“I’m your teammate. You can call me 【Judicator】.”
Chen Mo extended his hand. “And I’m also someone who came to help you.”
The girl stared at that hand, hesitating for a long time.
In the end, she still did not take it, instead bracing herself on the ground and standing up on her own.
“Why did you hold back?”
She asked coldly. “At that instant just now, you could have killed me completely.”
“I already said it—we’re teammates.”
Chen Mo sighed. “In this game, the 【Radiance】 faction has eight people, while we only have four.”
“If we keep killing each other, then we truly won’t have the slightest chance of winning.”
“And besides…”
He looked at the girl’s face, which was cold yet still unmistakably youthful. “I don’t think you’re an irredeemable villain.”
“You killed those people because they deserved to die, right?”
Tsuchimikado Rin froze for a moment.
She had not expected that this man, who had just suppressed her like a demon god, would say something like this.
“They… did deserve to die.”
A trace of hatred flashed through the girl’s eyes. “They treated the shrine as a tool for amassing wealth, treated me as a bargaining chip for marriage alliances…”
“They insulted the gods, and they insulted me.”
“So I sent them to meet the true gods.”
“Then that’s right.”
Chen Mo nodded. “That’s called revenge, not indiscriminate slaughter.”
“Although I don’t approve of your methods, I understand your motive.”
“Now, we have common enemies and a common goal.”
“We need to cooperate.”
“Cooperate?”
Tsuchimikado Rin looked at Chen Mo, the hostility in her eyes having faded considerably.
“How do you want to cooperate?”
“Very simply.”
Chen Mo said, “We not only need to survive, we need to win.”
“And if we want to win, killing alone isn’t enough.”
“We need intelligence, we need resources, we need power.”
“You can tell I’m not from Neon, right? I’ve already made contact back home. Support will arrive soon.”
“And you, as the heir of the Tsuchimikado family, should also control quite a few hidden resources, shouldn’t you?”
“We join forces—one in the open, one in the shadows.”
“I’ll draw fire in the open. You gather intelligence in the dark and wait for opportunities to strike.”
“First, we take out those players who are jumping around the most, like Asahara Shoko, and that Yamazaki Tetsu.”
“As long as we can break them one by one, victory will be ours.”
Chen Mo’s plan was practical and highly tempting.
Although Tsuchimikado Rin’s personality was extreme, she was not foolish.
She knew that relying on herself alone, it would be very difficult to contend with the numerous 【Radiance】 faction, not to mention the officials watching like hawks.
If she could gain a powerful ally, it would indeed greatly increase her chances of winning.
And moreover, this man was very strong.
Far stronger than she had imagined.
“Fine.”
Tsuchimikado Rin nodded, a trace of resolve flashing through her eyes.
“I agree to cooperate.”
“But…”
She looked at Chen Mo, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly into a sly smile.
“If you dare betray me, I’ll let you know what true divine punishment really is.”
“Rest assured.”
Chen Mo smiled. “I’m a man who values credibility the most.”
At last, the two of them clasped hands.
Under the moonlight, these two figures—one tall, one small—formed a partnership within this shrine filled with the stench of blood.
And just as they reached their agreement—
Above them, atop the torii gate.
A figure entirely wrapped in black skintight clothing, hanging upside down like a bat, was silently watching everything with a pair of icy eyes.
Seeing Chen Mo and Tsuchimikado Rin shake hands, the figure flickered, then vanished soundlessly into the night.