Chapter 273: Why Can't I Dislike a Goddess's Saliva?
Because Cheng Tian's template source was Onimusha Jack Brown, all Onimusha armaments inevitably gravitated towards 'whip-like' weapon forms.
The Gale Blade was a chain-scythe with a lock-chain, the Lightning Halberd could disassemble into a nine-section whip with multi-hit combo judgments, and the Blazing Dragon Sword was an artifact form that combined both a whip and a sword array.
Additionally, due to his extensive experience in controlling the Judgment Feathers, Cheng Tian was exceptionally adept at manipulating the small fragments that split off from the Blazing Dragon Sword.
Although its inherent fire attribute might have some damage negated by the fire-attributed monsters in the Cursed Fire Domain, it was still more efficient than the Judgment Feathers. If he wasn't stingy with his MP, he could even combine it with the Crystal Eye for three consecutive Blazing Array attacks to clear enemies.
With the positive feedback loop from his equipment, Cheng Tian quickly returned to being a key damage dealer for the team, reclaiming his main DPS position, as large quantities of soul fragments were absorbed by the high-powered Oni Gauntlet.
Cheng Tian also directly used the large amount of stored Red Souls to upgrade his Oni Gauntlet.
Unlike conventional equipment, each upgrade of the Oni Gauntlet was a qualitative enhancement with a slightly lower magnitude, similar to Elena's Elf Bow.
At +2, the soul absorption range reached 20 meters, and it gained a new ability: an increased drop rate for Purple Soul fragments from boss units, with a base probability of 10%.
At +3, the soul absorption range extended to a full 40 meters, the Purple Soul drop rate from boss units increased to 20%, and the duration of his Oni Transformation doubled.
This led to the soul fragments of monsters killed by the Silver Guards, which were originally destined to be recycled by the Black Tower itself, being directly pulled back by the Oni Gauntlet from a great distance.
Want to escape?
Prioritizing the enhancement of soul absorption range and efficiency was a habit of Cheng Tian's; resource hoarding was ingrained in him.
However, the number of Red Souls required from +3 to +4 skyrocketed, making it no longer cost-effective to simply accumulate them. At this point, Cheng Tian would once again choose to enhance other armaments.
With Cheng Tian providing continuous monster-slaying to sustain him, Saul, in an objective sense, became our side's BOSS unit. As long as there were still enemies on this layer of the Cursed Fire Domain, and Cheng Tian's travel and monster-slaying efficiency were fast enough, then Saul would not disappear.
While the Demon Transformation indeed significantly narrowed the attribute gap between the Axe Man and the Captain, even surpassing it in many ways, it did not grant the Axe Man combat power superior to the Captain's.
As long as monsters were endless and Cheng Tian kept fighting, the Captain would not fall.
And the Axe Man, in a sense, also became immortal; his body had been deeply bound to the Evils of the World through Dares' interference. Theoretically, as long as the Black Pearl and the Evils of the World still existed, he could constantly make a comeback.
The dual collision of immense brute force and magic power reverberated throughout the entire Cursed Fire Domain. The previously calm magma churned continuously, as if a volcano was about to erupt.
Their fight even, to some extent, broke through the Black Tower's restrictions on layer domains. Even others on different floors at this time heard and felt this clash between powerful individuals.
No one knew what Dares, the actual controller of the Black Tower, was feeling. In any case, the Axe Man was happy to have a chance to "redeem himself" and once again prove that he was truly the strongest.
Cheng Tian, who was clearing enemies and constantly increasing his equipment's enhancement level, was also happy.
And the Spear Woman Epona, who realized her brother was happily fighting and she couldn't intervene, nor dared to, was happy for her brother.
Saba was looking for clothes, the search party was looking for the Goddess, and suddenly, Cheng Tian's side was left unattended again.
However, soon, Cheng Tian, who had slaughtered all the monsters on the first sub-layer of the Cursed Fire Domain, had to stop because a very peculiar special scene appeared ahead—
the Demon Corridor.
This area was filled with scorching, evil winds that made one dizzy. Upon entering this scene, one would suffer 5% of their maximum HP in defense-ignoring sonic damage every second.
And simply plugging one's ears was useless; this thing would directly cause magical resonance, leading to damage.
As long as one was in this area, they would take damage every moment, and along the way, they would encounter a large number of ordinary mixed boss monster units blocking their path. Not to mention, Cheng Tian also had companions who couldn't withstand the damage, so forcing their way through was definitely not an option.
Therefore, Cheng Tian turned his gaze to Fina, who for some reason was suddenly a bit unwilling to talk to him. As soon as he opened his mouth, the Goddess would more or less evade the topic.
"Hey~ Is there a way?"
Cheng Tian tugged at the cloth strip tied around Bazett's waist, and the Goddess in the sky responded directly with her body, like a kite.
Knowing her state wasn't quite right, the Goddess also took a deep breath, forcing herself back to normal. After a moment of thought, she pulled out a small object from her waist.
This was a pure silver harmonica made entirely of Claria ore, her sister Rhea's favorite instrument. In the original story's village girl route, this item was used to forcefully counter and neutralize the evil winds of the Demon Corridor's magic wind.
"Theoretically, the sound of this harmonica can neutralize the magic wind, but..."
The Goddess, who had taken out the harmonica, paused, then an embarrassed expression appeared on her face.
"I don't know how to play it."
Yes, Fina did not know how to play the harmonica.
Although the two sisters' appearances were almost identical, their thought processes, personalities, and even waist sizes were not the same. Rhea and Fina also had very different hobbies; the older sister liked playing the harmonica, while the younger sister had no interest in it.
But just as Fina's face was flushed, Cheng Tian decisively reached out his hand.
"Let me try."
Fina was very surprised, but she didn't hesitate much to place the harmonica, an item with obvious special significance, into Cheng Tian's hand. However, what Cheng Tian did next first astonished Fina, then made her roll her eyes repeatedly.
Cheng Tian vigorously shook the harmonica, then wiped it several times with his sleeve, as if he was disgusted by the possible saliva residue of the original owner of the harmonica... Yes, Cheng Tian was genuinely disgusted. Goddess or not, just using someone else's harmonica was already close to his tolerance threshold. This smooth sequence of shaking and wiping was entirely instinctive.
However, when the harmonica was brought to his lips, Cheng Tian paused.
You could ask him for strategies from the Hall of Thought, and he wouldn't miss a single detail. But a harmonica tune that only briefly existed in a game, he really hadn't put that into the Hall of Thought... Yet, he had indeed actively learned a harmonica tune back then, a song he learned on a whim when he was deeply moved while playing a game.
The classic track from "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky" — "Where the Stars Are."
As a melodious and soothing harmonica tune, originating from another world yet strangely fitting with Ys Origin, began to clash with the evil magic wind of the entire Demon Corridor.
You used the "Silver Harmonica" of the Moon Goddess Lena to play "Where the Stars Are," a famous song from "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky," successfully neutralizing the evil magic wind of the "Demon Corridor." The Demon Corridor's scene mechanism will be disabled for 10 minutes.
You have obtained a clue to unlock the special hidden dungeon "Ys VS Trails in the Sky."
...Huh?