Infinity, The Arcade Age
Chapter 531: Drive Out the Wolf to Let In the Tiger

Chapter 531: Chapter 531: Drive Out the Wolf to Let In the Tiger

Orochi—the will of this plane—possessed eight powers: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Darkness, Beast, Frenzy, Death.

In other words, he was essentially a fusion of eight forces similar to the "Killing Intent Wave," able to draw strength from any of those eight sources.

And what about Qin Ming? He currently had five powers: Blood, Killing Intent, Control, Merit, and Spirit.

SSS-level skills, at their core, simply meant having reached the pinnacle, capable of absorbing surrounding forces of the same origin to enhance one’s core strength.

In the East, this was called Shénwèi (神位); in the West, it was known as Divinity.

Qin Ming had five powers—six if you counted his bloodline—and most importantly, he’d only obtained them recently.

Orochi, on the other hand, had eight, and this was his domain. Who knew how long he’d existed?

By all logic, Qin Ming should’ve been completely outmatched.

But the thing was... Orochi wasn’t in his complete form right now!

And even if he had fully revived, that wouldn’t have been his true body—just the maximum projection his power could reach!

One was the true self—the other, merely a shadow.

So, when it came down to a real fight, how could Orochi possibly be a match for Qin Ming?

As the vast blood mist surged toward Orochi and quickly engulfed him, his expression twisted in fury.

Because he could clearly feel it: this guy was ruthlessly leeching his energy!

Taking advantage of the fact that he couldn’t go all out, Qin Ming was plundering his reserves!

Some powers, Orochi didn’t mind losing.

But two of his eight—Frenzy and Death—shared the same origin as Qin Ming’s Blood Power and Asura Wave.

Which meant Qin Ming could directly absorb and convert them!

In just moments, he’d stolen a huge chunk of Orochi’s energy!

Seeing the energy he’d painstakingly built up being snatched away, Orochi let out a furious roar.

In the next second, a violent burst of energy erupted from within him, and the vessel he was using—Shermie—collapsed with her eyes rolled back, falling limply to the ground.

Qin Ming caught her one-handed, then casually stored her away.

That’s right—stored her. With a swipe, a rift opened in front of him, and he simply tossed her in.

Only after finishing that did he look up—only to find that the entire world was collapsing!

The earth cracked open, the sky shattered, and buildings floated into the air!

The KOF world had become like a piece of shattered glass, crisscrossed with fractures revealing an infinite abyss beneath!

And within that extreme darkness—countless radiant lights suddenly flared to life.

As the light approached, Qin Ming’s eyes widened in shock.

Above him—eight enormous heads appeared!

Eight gigantic serpent skulls!

Orochi’s true form—or more accurately, the actual ruler of this plane—the Yamata no Orochi, had descended!

An unfathomably colossal body coiled through the void, so massive that it stretched beyond sight.

Each of its eight heads hung in the sky like eight blazing suns, each one radiating terrifying energy, each pair of eyes glaring murderously at Qin Ming.

At the cost of tearing apart his own world, Yamata no Orochi had intervened personally!

"You filthy bug! You’ve gone too far!"

With a roar that echoed across existence, Yamata no Orochi opened his massive maw and unleashed eight streams of energy.

Eight torrential blasts—each vast enough to eclipse the heavens—came crashing down!

Normally, even if someone siphoned a bit of his energy, Orochi wouldn’t care much.

To Orochi, these invaders were just like cockroaches—disgusting, sure, but ultimately insignificant. The little energy they stole wasn’t even enough to get stuck in his teeth.

Killing them would cost more energy than they were worth. It simply wasn’t worth the trouble.

This exact principle was how the various space systems managed to get away with sneaking around, pilfering bits here and there—relying on high volume, low yield tactics. That’s also why they were often called "vermin."

But Qin Ming’s actions just now were something else entirely. That wasn’t just "stealing"—that was climbing onto the table, or even crawling into Orochi’s mouth to snatch food!

He might not have taken much... but damn was it revolting!

And Orochi had a temper too!

So this time, he didn’t tolerate it. He flipped the entire table.

Who cared who this guy was working for? Forget the cycle’s energy reward—he was going to kill this bastard right now.

In the endless darkness, violent energy erupted and swept down like a tsunami, aiming to obliterate Qin Ming.

But rather than panic, Qin Ming—who rolled and scrambled to evade the blast—grinned in delight. After all, he’d never expected to beat Orochi alone.

No, actually, that wasn’t quite right. If it were just the descended version of Orochi, and he only wanted to get some loot, Qin Ming could easily win with his current strength.

But what he wanted now wasn’t equipment—it was energy. Orochi’s vast stores of energy accumulated over countless years.

Killing a projection of Orochi wouldn’t make the real one flinch.

But messing with his energy? That was guaranteed to piss him off.

And pissed he was—Orochi smashed the board and came at Qin Ming personally, sword in hand, ready for PvP.

But with Qin Ming’s current energy reserves, even ten of him wouldn’t survive a single blow.

Still, that was exactly what Qin Ming wanted. If Orochi didn’t take the bait and strike back, he’d actually be in trouble.

Dodging the first wave of attacks, Qin Ming looked up as Yamata no Orochi charged another shot... and suddenly raised his hand.

In his palm was a glowing white orb—the core of his partner, Mother Lantern, the essence of the Fantasy Space.

He didn’t bring it out to intimidate Orochi. As a localized world will, Orochi probably didn’t even recognize what it was.

Qin Ming took it out to call someone. Or rather—call enemies.

DING! WARNING! SPACE CORE DETECTED!

DING! WARNING! SPACE CORE DETECTED!

DING! WARNING! SPACE CORE DETECTED!

The moment the orb was exposed, Qin Ming’s mind exploded with urgent alerts—even more intense than when he previously obtained the special item to escape the Nightmare Space.

Then suddenly—silence.

And the next moment, a beam of light shot down from above, locking precisely onto Qin Ming.

The Nightmare Space was trying to forcibly recall him!

But the white orb—the core of Fantasy Space—intercepted the recall and blocked the attempt.

Sensing the interference, the Nightmare Space went berserk. In the blink of an eye, countless beams of light rained down!

And within Orochi’s shocked expression, waves of powerful adventurers began emerging from those beams.

These weren’t ordinary recruits—they were all top-tier elites. Some were Peak Adventurers, others were Transcendents.

Each one was the product of Nightmare Space’s elite stockpile—its most trusted agents.

Clad in various armor sets, wielding an array of weapons, the adventurers who were forcefully summoned had just one order ringing in their ears:

"Seize the Space Core. Capture Qin Ming—by any means necessary."

They say rivals are the worst enemies—especially someone you’ve already defeated once, someone now holding a grudge.

Nightmare Space, sensing the Fantasy Space’s signature on Qin Ming, flipped the table in return.

Thousands of high-level adventurers suddenly surrounded the area—leaving Orochi completely stunned.

He had no idea these people were actually here to kill Qin Ming. From his perspective, they looked like Qin Ming’s reinforcements.

His eight heads all twisted into expressions of pure rage.

You steal a little? Fine.

You rob me blind? Unforgivable.

Now you’re bringing an entire army to kill me?

What the hell is this?!

These invaders were insanely arrogant!

Did they really think reviving his subordinates didn’t require energy?

Engaging him directly—how could the energy loss possibly compare to the damage this attack would cost?

Was Qin Ming out of his mind?

Orochi roared furiously, sending eight columns of light soaring into the sky.

Backed into a corner and assaulted at his own doorstep, Yamata no Orochi had finally snapped.

"You filthy cockroaches!

I, Orochi, will exterminate you all!!"