Bai Ye didn't know if Kermit believed him, and more importantly, it no longer mattered.
After casting a resentful glance at Bai Ye, Kermit fell to the ground, his life extinguished.
Pig-Head Emperor stood there, holding his cleaver, momentarily stunned. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed Kermit's corpse and began to tear into it ravenously.
And then...
An immensely terrifying aura erupted from Pig-Head Emperor.
This guy had evolved into Pig-Head Demon King.
Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to scan him with the bio-scan computer system. The attribute boost was visibly apparent. Bai Ye was absolutely no match for him, and in fact, none of the chosen ones present could defeat him.
This was a foe for Rimuru!
Over at Li Jia Yi's side, he laughed heartily at Bai Ye, "Looks like I've won this round. But don't be too discouraged. You let me win two rounds before, so it's only natural for me to win one back now!"
Li Jia Yi made no attempt to hide his triumph. Bai Ye had disrupted the Death Playground, and then he'd run into him during the Twelve Great Battles and lost...
Li Jia Yi had been brimming with frustration!
Now, finally, it was his turn to disrupt Bai Ye. Two words: happy!
"You die for me!"
Bai Ye's teeth itched with anger, and he directly punched out towards Li Jia Yi.
Large swathes of venom coalesced around Bai Ye's fist, transforming into a venomous dragon that soared, lunging at Li Jia Yi with bared fangs and outstretched claws.
Li Jia Yi swiftly leaped backward, dodging the venom dragon's attack. He casually tossed out a nearly transparent gossamer veil.
As the veil appeared, it transformed into gray smoke, swirling around Li Jia Yi's body.
"Let's end it here for today," Li Jia Yi said with a smile. "I look forward to our next meeting."
The smoke swirling around Li Jia Yi grew denser until it completely enveloped him. Then, Li Jia Yi vanished within the smoke.
Bai Ye had no intention of pursuing.
While Li Jia Yi was strong, he hadn't yet shown the potential of Jin Xiang Chuan after obtaining the King's Scepter.
Of course, facing an enemy he held a grudge against, Bai Ye would choose to eliminate him if possible. However, this Li Jia Yi was incredibly shrewd, and seemed to possess many means of self-preservation.
There was the substitute puppet from before, and now this unknown method of disappearing without a trace. Killing him was clearly not easy.
Bai Ye mused as he withdrew his gaze from the spot where Li Jia Yi had vanished, turning his attention to the battle between Rimuru and Pig-Head Emperor.
The surrounding pig-headed people and Rimuru's subordinates had all ceased their actions.
This was a duel of kings!
Even the chosen ones had no room to intervene at this point. All they had to do was wait for the battle between Rimuru and Pig-Head Emperor to conclude, and then this hidden quest 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 quest had gone awry again!
And it wasn't just that the quest had failed; of the two rewards for Hidden Quest Three, besides the God Stone Shard, the other two were 'Hungerer' and 'Demonic Qi'!
Bai Ye could already see them!
'Hungerer' was Pig-Head Emperor's ability. By constantly consuming, one could strengthen their attributes, and any injuries could be instantly healed through consumption. They could even reattach a severed head instantly.
'Demonic Qi' was Rimuru's ability, capable of simultaneously enhancing physical resistance, physical attack, magical resistance, and magical attack. It could even imbue attacks with Demonic Qi, giving physical attacks an additional magical attack bonus and magical attacks an additional magical attack bonus.
Both of these were divine skills!
Bai Ye felt like dying. The continuous strengthening of power from 'Hungerer' might rival the Five Spirit Plate, and although it lacked extra Daoist techniques, it possessed regenerative abilities.
'Demonic Qi' was comprehensive, capable of greatly enhancing combat prowess and providing additional physical or magical attack effects, making attacks unpredictable.
Most importantly…
He didn't even have to choose; both were rewards, and they would all be given!
Hidden quests were indeed powerful, especially these large-scale ones.
As a result, it was gone…
However, the difficulty was indeed high.
Although he was only understanding things now, and felt like he was speaking with hindsight, Bai Ye truly grasped it at this moment.
The final task should have been to kill Kermit and prevent Pig-Head Emperor from consuming Kermit's corpse, thereby stopping Pig-Head Demon King's birth.
The difficulty still lay in…
The time limit!
The timeframe Bai Ye had to kill Kermit was from the moment Kermit appeared until Rimuru's arrival.
Once Rimuru appeared, it signified the deadline. Kermit, being no match for Rimuru, would seek help from Pig-Head Emperor. Pig-Head Emperor would then kill Kermit, consume him, and become Pig-Head Demon King.
Therefore, when Li Jia Yi saw Rimuru appear, he instead happily abandoned the fight, because Li Jia Yi knew Rimuru's appearance didn't mean Bai Ye had gained an ally, but rather, Bai Ye's mission was going to fail.
And from Kermit's appearance to Rimuru's appearance, the entire duration was about five minutes.
An extremely short period!
Such a short timeframe naturally represented difficulty. However, the existence of a quest implied the possibility of completion. Kermit's weakness was too obvious; he could be killed with a single close-range attack, and five minutes was sufficient. But with Li Jia Yi's interference, it was another matter entirely.
Though Bai Ye was regretful, he had to admit he was outmaneuvered.
Li Jia Yi clearly had obtained more information this time and understood the quest better, which was why he laughed in the end, and Bai Ye could only accept defeat.
"But..." Bai Ye pouted. "Life has its ups and downs. There's always a first day for us to meet again. Just you wait!"
At the same time…
While Bai Ye was lost in thought, Pig-Head Emperor and Rimuru had already decided the outcome.
Pig-Head Emperor was strong, and the 'Hungerer' ability was powerful!
However, Rimuru's true form was a slime, also possessing devouring abilities. And as the Lord of Monsters, Rimuru's devouring ability surpassed Pig-Head Emperor's.
Ultimately, in the contest of consumption and devouring, Rimuru emerged victorious, completely devouring Pig-Head Emperor and absorbing his strength.
After this battle, Rimuru would become even stronger, no longer just the Lord of Monsters, but with the potential to evolve into a Demon Lord within reach.
And upon Rimuru's victory, all the chosen ones received notifications of quest completion or failure.
"Huh?"
Bai Ye looked at the screen that appeared before him, a look of surprise on his face.
"What is this? Failure? Or success?"
"You killed the mastermind demon Kermit, but you failed to prevent the birth of Pig-Head Demon King. Mission progress: 35%."