# 956
Chapter 957: Respect for Life
The Corpse God's health pool was roughly eight times that of the Thunder Beast from back then.
The Thunder Beast was, after all, merely the artifact spirit of the Yata Mirror, belonging to the category of Divine Beasts, not真正意义上的神明 (true deities), and its own divine power was mostly sustained through the Yata Mirror itself. So although it was at the god tier, compared to genuine Amatsukami, there was still a considerable gap.
The Corpse God, however, was a wicked deity derived from the Amatsukami. Except for lacking the power of divine laws, it had almost completely inherited the strength of the mountain god Ōyamatsumi in all other aspects. Merely from looking at its health pool, one could tell that its combat power was on an entirely different level from the Thunder Beast.
Yuzuri Takishiro dispersed the spear in one hand and gestured through the void. A translucent item panel floated before him, scrolling until it locked onto a blood-red scythe.
"Item selection... SS-rank Ancient Martial Item, 【Health Bar Reaper】."
"SS-rank item: 【Health Bar Reaper】, each hit deals true damage equal to 1% of the target's maximum health. Ignores level, ignores magic immunity, ignores super armor."
A line of small text floated before Yuzuri Takishiro's eyes. He reached out and gripped the grotesque blood-colored great scythe from the panel. Its handle was wrapped with thick broken chains, and the blade's surface was covered in dark red bloodstains—blood from unknown victims.
This SS-rank item was Yuzuri Takishiro's greatest harvest over the past several months. To obtain this legendary weapon, he couldn't count how many nights he'd stayed up grinding dungeons. In the end, he'd finally added it to his item inventory.
All of this was for the day when he would face another divine-tier opponent—he wanted to have the possibility of victory.
Although compared to the SS-rank wooden chopsticks that Lin Qiye had pulled out before, this scythe's stats were still far inferior, those chopsticks were a one-time-use item, whereas this scythe could be used infinitely.
Standing atop the shattered mountain peak, the Corpse God seemed to sense Yuzuri Takishiro's threat. It shifted its attention away from the ants at the mountain's base. That faceless face lifted, silently gazing upward at the red-clad figure in the high skies.
"Scenario: 【Yama's Hell】 loading complete..."
As Yuzuri Takishiro's will activated, a line of text materialized in midair.
Boom—!
Yuzuri Takishiro gripped the blood-red scythe. An domain rapidly expanded from beneath his feet, and the surrounding environment transformed instantly—from the rising shattered mountains to a scorched earth realm filled with hellfire.
Since the Corpse God had inherited the power of a mountain god, he only needed to create a battlefield where no mountains existed to significantly weaken its combat capability!
Yuzuri Takishiro stamped his feet on the scorched earth where magma boiled, his body transforming into a streak of lightning as he instantly appeared at the Corpse God's flank.
He grabbed the broken chain at the scythe's end and whipped it outward. The broken chain extended with astonishing speed. The two-meter-long great scythe instantly flew over a hundred meters, its blade cleaving through several floating rock fragments surrounding the Corpse God before slashing into its chest.
Health —2,482,393!
This single strike had destroyed 1% of the Corpse God's health.
While the percentage didn't seem like much, if he could land a hundred consecutive strikes, even a true deity would be ground down by Yuzuri Takishiro to a state of severe, near-death injury.
Wounded by this strike, the hollow on the Corpse God's pitch-black face剧烈开合 (violently opened and closed), as if roaring. A terrifying tide of divine power swept outward from its center. An apocalyptic Mountain God's Fury was brewing.
On the scorched earth, a solitary figure in red garments clutched the blood scythe, like Death itself gripping fate, frantically reaping the Corpse God's health.
...
Human Enclosure.
Ocean waters.
The surging seas gradually took on a light tint of blood. Corpse after corpse of marine creatures floated to the surface, severed limbs and blood blending together until even the sea breeze carried a thick scent of blood.
A massive pixelated cruise ship sat anchored in a certain area of the sea like a mountain, unmoving despite the waves crashing against it.
In front of the cruise ship, a pixel platform with sides several hundred meters long had been constructed. At the platform's center was a small circular aperture. Several Oath Society members were standing nearby, braving the waves, seemingly taking measurements.
If one were to look beneath the sea's surface, they would discover over two hundred more such pixel platforms in the deep ocean.
These pixel platforms were distributed in a completely vertical formation, their central circular apertures precisely aligned to form an ultra-long acceleration track. Above the first platform on the sea's surface hung a silver longsword, its blade pointing directly toward the heart of the earth, emanating a chilling aura.
At the very front of the cruise ship, a girl draped in a ragged cloak was quietly gazing toward Japan. The distant sky had already begun to show a reddish hue. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"President, the 【Sword of Ultimate Evil】 is ready. It can be launched at any time." The knight approached her against the wind, speaking solemnly. "As long as you give the order, Ame-no-Murakumo will penetrate the Yata Mirror's surface in forty-two seconds. This 'Human Enclosure' will be completely destroyed."
"Mm, I understand."
Jinian gave a slight nod, her gaze fixed on the distance, not speaking further.
"There's one more matter." The knight seemed to recall something.
"Starting half an hour ago, some members have shown symptoms of red-eyed frenzy. It should be related to that strange contamination. Although I've sealed and isolated them immediately, the numbers are still growing rapidly... As of now, seventy-two people have been isolated."
"How many of us are left?"
"Less than forty."
"Is that enough to activate the 【Sword of Ultimate Evil】?"
"If the goal is just to activate the 【Sword of Ultimate Evil】, one person would suffice."
"...I understand. Then let's wait a while longer."
The knight hesitated for a moment before asking, "President, what are you waiting for? This 'Human Enclosure' won't hold out much longer. At most another ten or so minutes, the contamination will completely corrode the Yata Mirror. The people living here won't survive.
If we delay further, I'm afraid those wandering souls will also become contaminated, evolving into corpse beasts."
"Aren't there still more than ten minutes?" Jinian thrust her hands into her pockets, speaking calmly. "We want to destroy the 'Human Enclosure' and liberate the wandering souls. We just need to act before the Yata Mirror is completely contaminated.
We save the deceased, but equally... we must also give the people living within this 'Human Enclosure' a chance to survive.
After all, there are still people fighting to save this country. These tens of millions of people still have a chance to live... Until the very last moment, we cannot destroy their hope.
This is the most basic respect for life."