Bai Ye didn't know if Kurumit believed him, but it didn't matter anymore.
After giving Bai Ye a resentful glance, Kurumit fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.
The Pig-Headed Emperor, holding his cleaver, was stunned. He then unhesitatingly grabbed Kurumit's corpse and began to tear into it ferociously.
And then...
An incredibly terrifying aura erupted from the Pig-Headed Emperor's body.
This guy had evolved into the Pig-Headed Demon King.
Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to scan him with the biological scanning computer system. The attribute boost was visible to the naked eye. Bai Ye absolutely couldn't win, and to be precise, none of the Chosen Ones present could.
This was an opponent for Rimuru!
Over at Li Jiayi's side, he laughed heartily at Bai Ye, "It seems I've won this round. But don't be too upset. You beat me in the previous two rounds, so it's only natural for me to win one back now!"
Li Jiayi made no attempt to hide his smugness. Bai Ye had disrupted the Death Amusement Park, and then he ran into him during the Twelve Great Battles and didn't win...
Li Jiayi felt wronged!
Now, it was finally his turn to disrupt Bai Ye. He felt nothing but joy!
"You die for me!"
Bai Ye's teeth itched with anger, and he directly threw a punch towards Li Jiayi.
A large amount of venom condensed at Bai Ye's fist, transforming into a venomous dragon that soared, lunging at Li Jiayi with bared fangs and claws.
Li Jiayi decisively leaped backward, evading the venomous dragon's attack. He casually threw out a nearly transparent gossamer.
As the gossamer appeared, it transformed into gray smoke, swirling around Li Jiayi's body.
"Let's call it a day," Li Jiayi said with a smile. "I look forward to our next meeting."
The smoke swirling around Li Jiayi grew thicker and thicker until it completely enveloped his body. Then, Li Jiayi vanished into the smoke.
Bai Ye had no intention of pursuing relentlessly.
Although Li Jiayi was strong, he hadn't displayed the potential that Jin Xiangchuan had after obtaining the King's Scepter.
Of course, if he could eliminate a rival he had a grudge against, Bai Ye would choose to do so. However, Li Jiayi was incredibly cunning, and he seemed to have many means of self-preservation at his disposal.
There was the substitute puppet from before, and now he had disappeared without a trace using some unknown method. Killing him clearly wouldn't be easy.
As Bai Ye pondered, he retracted his gaze from where Li Jiayi had disappeared and looked at the battle between Rimuru and the Pig-Headed Emperor.
The surrounding pig-headed people and Rimuru's subordinates had all ceased their actions.
This was now a duel between kings!
Even the Chosen Ones had no room to participate; their task was to wait for the battle between Rimuru and the Pig-Headed Emperor to conclude, after which this hidden mission would officially draw to a close.
And Bai Ye's current mood...
It was: I just want to cry, just want to cry, just want to cry...
The mission was messed up again!
And it wasn't just the mission being messed up. Of the rewards for Hidden Mission Three, besides the God Stone Shards, the other two rewards were "Hunger" and "Demonic Qi"!
Bai Ye could see it all now!
"Hunger" was an ability belonging to the Pig-Headed Emperor. As long as he kept eating, he could strengthen his attributes, and any injuries could be instantly healed by eating. He could even reattach his severed head instantly.
"Demonic Qi" was Rimuru's ability, which could simultaneously enhance physical resistance, physical attack, magical resistance, and magical attack. It could even imbue attacks with Demonic Qi, giving physical attacks an additional magic attack bonus and magic attacks an additional magic attack bonus.
Both of these were divine skills!
Bai Ye felt like dying. The continuous improvement of strength from "Hunger" might not be inferior to the Five Spirit Disk, and although it lacked additional Daoist arts, it came with regenerative abilities.
"Demonic Qi" was both offensive and defensive, capable of greatly enhancing combat ability and additionally imbuing physical or magical attacks, making attacks unpredictable.
Most importantly...
He didn't even have to choose; both were rewards, and he would get them all!
Hidden missions were indeed rewarding, especially large-scale ones like this.
And now, it was gone...
However, the difficulty was indeed very high.
Although he only realized it now, and Bai Ye felt he was being wise after the event, Bai Ye truly understood it at this moment.
The last task should have been to kill Kurumit without letting the Pig-Headed Emperor devour Kurumit's corpse, thereby preventing the Pig-Headed Emperor from becoming the Pig-Headed Demon King.
The difficulty still lay in...
The time limit!
The time limit for Bai Ye to kill Kurumit was from the moment Kurumit appeared until Rimuru appeared.
Once Rimuru appeared, it meant the time limit had been reached. Kurumit, being no match for Rimuru, would seek help from the Pig-Headed Emperor, and then the Pig-Headed Emperor would kill Kurumit, devour him, and become the Pig-Headed Demon King.
Therefore, when Li Jiayi saw Rimuru appear, he was so happy that he directly abandoned the fight because Li Jiayi knew that Rimuru's appearance didn't mean Bai Ye had a helper, but rather that Bai Ye's mission was about to fail.
And from the appearance of Kurumit to the appearance of Rimuru, it was only about five minutes.
The time was extremely short!
Such a short time naturally indicated the difficulty. However, the existence of a mission implied the possibility of completion. Kurumit's weakness was too obvious; he could be killed just by getting close, and five minutes was enough time. But Li Jiayi's interference made it another matter entirely.
Although Bai Ye was regretful, he had to admit that he was a step behind.
Li Jiayi clearly had more information this time and understood the mission better, so he had the last laugh, and Bai Ye could only accept his defeat.
"But..." Bai Ye pouted, "Life has its ups and downs, and there will always be a day we meet again. Just you wait!"
At the same time...
While Bai Ye was thinking, the Pig-Headed Emperor and Rimuru had already decided the victor.
The Pig-Headed Emperor was strong, and the "Hunger" ability was powerful!
However, Rimuru's true form was a slime, which also possessed the ability to devour. And as the Lord of Monsters, Rimuru's devouring ability was even superior to the Pig-Headed Emperor's.
Ultimately, in the contest of devouring and absorption, Rimuru had the last laugh, completely devouring the Pig-Headed Emperor and absorbing his power.
After this battle, Rimuru would become even more powerful, no longer just the Lord of Monsters, but on the verge of evolving into a Demon King.
And upon Rimuru's victory, all the Chosen Ones received notifications of mission completion or failure.
"Huh?"
Bai Ye looked at the light screen that appeared before him, showing surprise.
"What is this? Failure? Or success?"
"You killed the mastermind, the demon Kurumit, but you failed to prevent the birth of the Pig-Headed Demon King. Mission progress: 35%."