In Franklin District’s Winery Street, what once was a bustling arts district had now largely turned to ruins.
Through the hazy fog, dozens of figures were still engaged in fierce battle.
After just a few probing skirmishes, the fight had reached its climax.
[Earth Rock Dwarf], [Wind Howling Puppet], [Black Flame Demon], [Toxic Water Puppet], [Mechanical Assassin Shadow], [Divine Power Vajra], [Candy Witch]...
By now, all seven of the nearly seventh-tier dark gold puppets known as the [Seven Dwarfs], Master Aubrey’s signature collection, had been revealed.
Suddenly, the clattering noise of combat ceased for a moment.
Atop the rubble, Su Lun gasped for breath, his right hand holding a black scythe, surrounded by a dominating aura, yet unable to move.
Upon closer inspection, several black threads were wrapped around his arm and body. As sharp as blades, the threads had cut into his flesh, not severing his arm, but leaving trails of blood. The strength of the threads continued to intensify.
Su Lun glanced at his arm, a momentary gravity flickered in his eyes, and he thought to himself with a sense of irony, "The String Control Technique is several levels behind... that old man’s schemes are indeed cunning."
Master Aubrey was truly deserving of his title as a Great Grandmaster of puppetry; his String Control Technique was almost divine.
This [Checkerboard House] secret technique was not only for controlling puppets but also for dominating the battlefield, with deadly traps hidden at every turn.
Just on the level of technique, it was far more complex and refined than Su Lun’s own [Slaughterhouse].
Even though Su Lun was thoroughly informed about his opponent’s capabilities, the battle nonetheless had its moments of extreme peril.
Just like now.
Previously, the old man’s threads had not achieved much, limited at every turn when facing the Witch’s hair. This led Su Lun to fall into a pattern of inertial thinking, assuming that apart from their sharpness, the threads posed no other danger. However, the old man, using his superb String Control Technique, had stealthily hidden several threads inscribed with "Spatial Confinement" within the battle, finding an opening and successfully trapping Su Lun.
Had it not been for his robust physique, such a cut would have killed him or at least taken an arm.
In this exchange, Su Lun had indeed experienced the strength and tactics of one of the very best in the puppeteering world.
And he had to admit, the gap was significant!
Under normal circumstances, not to mention fifth- or sixth-tier professionals, even seventh-tier ones would have a hard time gaining the upper hand.
That was the advantage of being a Puppet Master.
Puppet Masters had almost no chance of being countered, and they could find a way to counter any professional they faced.
The old man’s Elemental Puppet lineage with their [Seven Dwarfs] puppet combination was polished to perfection, lacking nothing in defense, control, healing, or offensive capabilities.
Whether tactics, technique, cooperation, or the quality of the puppets, everything was nearly flawless.
Had Su Lun’s understanding of Puppetry Technique not been extensive, he would have had no right to face this seventh-tier Great Grandmaster in battle.
...
After all, Su Lun had gone with the intention of sparring with a senior peer.
Defeat was expected.
To suffer it without complete humiliation was already more than he had hoped for.
But the shock in Master Aubrey’s heart was indescribable.
He looked at Su Lun, who had been seemingly cut to pieces by his threads, his murky eyes filled with disbelief as he exclaimed, "Rune inscriptions in the lineage of Spell Technique for reinforcing the body? No wonder you have such a strong physique, on par with even a fifth-tier hand-to-hand combat professional."
He hesitated, then spoke with a complex tone, "Had I not witnessed it with my own eyes, I would have never believed one could integrate so many high-level implants and master so many diverse techniques. I must admit, you’re the foremost among all the prodigies I’ve seen!"
Master Aubrey indeed had lethal intentions.
Such an enemy, if allowed to grow, would undoubtedly become a thorn in his side.
In Lyndon, he would not tolerate any other puppeteering lineage surpassing his Elemental Puppets.
But after a bout of fighting, Master Aubrey helplessly discovered that he simply could not kill this colleague who was two major ranks below him!
It was a feeling of helplessness that not even his peers could impose upon him.
Master Aubrey looked back on the better part of his lifetime, acknowledging he had seen countless puppeteering prodigies.
Yet he had never met another Puppet Master that struck him as so remarkable.
In terms of technique, mentality, combat style, or understanding of puppeteering, this young man was the best of all his juniors.
No!
Even among the older generation in the Puppet Master’s Guild, few could compare.
...
Listening to the old man who obviously held murderous intent, praising him, Su Lun too cracked a smile and responded, "I’ve also experienced the prowess of the Master. If there’s an opportunity, I will certainly seek your guidance again."
Such a tense battle wasn’t the time to waste words.
But both knew that they couldn’t kill each other.
Although Su Lun’s smile was tinged with blood seeping through his teeth, he didn’t appear disheveled at all.
Because he had achieved his goal: to gain some combat insights in front of the Great Grandmaster while looking for a chance to turn the tables.
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At this moment, his arm was wrapped in threads, and had it been only for the body of the [Rune Vajra], he couldn’t have stopped the old man’s lethal weapon, the lifebound threads.
It was only because of his Divine Power that he had held on thus far.
Mr. Jing had once told him that the best way to temper Divine Power was to fight enemies above one’s own rank.
Only the threat of death from a surpassing enemy could impose the pressure of rank and baptize you with the Divine Power and realization of a stronger foe.
And Master Aubrey was such a rare adversary.
If Su Lun were to wait until he was on par with this Great Grandmaster, or even advanced to the sixth-tier, the old man would no longer be able to exert such pressure.
And only among Puppet Masters could one so readily spot the opponent’s weaknesses.
This battle.
Su Lun, using Master Aubrey as a mirror, had seen too many of his own deficiencies in detail.
But he didn’t waste any more time, because by then, he had already found a method to break the situation.
....
His arm was wrapped in threads, with the cuts growing deeper, looking as if it couldn’t last even a few seconds without being sliced into segments.
But just then, the black crow that had been perched on Su Lun’s shoulder, merely watching the scene unfold, suddenly flapped its wings and swooped down, then pecked with its beak.
The special threads that were not easy to cut, instantly turned into lines that looked as if they were drawn on Su Lun’s skin with a pencil.
In an instant, that sharp sensation of being cut disappeared without a trace.
Master Aubrey was shocked, and before he had a chance to retract his threads, he watched his own threads being downgraded.
He hurriedly cut off that section of thread to prevent the downgrade from spreading, while a flicker of gloom passed through his eyes, thinking to himself, "An omen crow with mutations? What a freak. Where did he obtain such great fortune..."
Even if he didn’t want to admit it, the Great Grandmaster who controlled all the resources of the Puppet Masters Guild in Lindon couldn’t help but feel an indescribable jealousy swelling inside him.
Su Lun escaped in an instant, without wasting any more time.
At that moment, he suddenly created some distance before having a gargoyle stand guard beside him and formed complex sorcerer’s seals with his hands.
The seven-pointed star of the alchemy formation beneath his feet gradually lit up as a strong wave of spatial disturbance grew stronger.
Master Aubrey, watching his actions from the other side, also suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes!
Having clashed for so long, he knew all too well how difficult it would be to kill his opponent even with all his tactics deployed.
And the reason the other party was still here was because he wanted to kill Miss Elsa!
Su Lun gave no chance for the old man to intervene, and as the gargoyle blocked a wave of interference spells, the complex sorcerer’s seals he had been forming for seconds solidified and a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly surged around him!
Master Aubrey had thought that hiding the person within the "Shadow Puppet" was foolproof, but now, seeing the space around him tremble, his complexion drastically changed: "Not good!"
He realized at a glance, his heart shouting in shock: This man had such profound mastery of the laws of void!
It was only an instant after the magician made his move, but the old man had already guessed what Su Lun was about to do.
But it was already too late to stop him, and there was no way to do so.
Master Aubrey had his own puppet, "The Killing Shadow," which could merge into the void, but that was an inheritance from his ancestors; he did not have a deep understanding of the secret void techniques.
Now, watching the spatial fluctuations emerge around him, all he could do was watch helplessly as his "Shadow Puppet" was forced out from the spatial rifts.
The old man tried to keep the puppet hidden, but to his surprise, found that an external force was expelling it!
This was the disparity in the understanding of the laws.
Although the "Shadow Puppet" was of a high grade, for someone who only knew how to activate fixed formations and manipulate them, there were inherent flaws.
Against practitioners of other professions, it might still work, but against an opponent who truly had a deep understanding of the spatial laws, a close observation would inevitably reveal opportunities to exploit.
Having fought for so long, Su Lun was actually calculating how to break the spatial seal secret technique on the puppet and pull Elsa, who was hidden inside, out!
Because the puppet was hidden in a subspace, there was no concept of real-world spatial distance.
To Su Lun, hundreds of meters was no different from being directly in front of him, within arm’s reach.
When Su Lun chose to make his move, it was bound to be swift and resolute.
As soon as the puppet was forced out of the subspace, the black crow cawed and soared over, and then the whole bird became two-dimensional, turning into a black cloth full of black lines that wrapped around the entire puppet, severing all contact between the puppet and the outside world.
"Void Alchemy · Remote Grasping!"
Su Lun’s hands formed sorcerer’s seals again, and a black hole appeared out of thin air.
He reached into the void with one hand and pulled out a woman with a terrified expression.
Looking at the man who appeared as a god of death before her, the noble lady’s pupils dilated immensely, her eyes filled with terror as if her gall had been ruptured by death.
Miss Elsa could never have imagined that even though her teacher had already made a move, how could this person still manage to capture her?
But reality didn’t give her a chance to ponder; with a "crack," Su Lun directly snapped her neck.
To prevent that old man from having any life-saving measures, Su Lun even activated a Spatial Technique, brutally grinding the woman’s head into dozens of pieces of bloody flesh.
Only when he saw the "grey mist" rising from the corpse did he finally relax.
...
Watching his disciple being killed in front of him, Master Aubrey’s old face turned dark with anger and flushed with a strange crimson, "You... you..."
Only then did he understand that from the beginning, this person wasn’t just bluffing but actually had the capability to kill!
The incident started because his disciple was kidnapped and killed by that old man’s disciple – it was a death feud. Su Lun didn’t have any intentions of holding back and said indifferently, "I said, the person I want to kill, you cannot protect."
He immediately collected the grey mist.
In a moment, Su Lun also confirmed that this matter had indeed nothing to do with Caroline, with whom he had a brief encounter before. Because although that woman guessed that he was the "Death," she did not know that he was "Fike Regadi."
This spared him the trouble of killing one more person.
Initially thinking it was almost over, but after pondering the details of the kidnapping, instead of feeling relief, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Things really aren’t that simple, huh."
Thoughts flashed through Su Lun’s mind in an instant. Not intending to entangle with the old man before him any longer, he added before leaving, "Though Your Excellence has a high rank, your understanding of the Space Law is far inferior to mine. I’ll gladly take this puppet..."
For an enemy who already harbored intentions to kill, he wouldn’t be polite.
At this moment, the crow had already wrapped up the [Mechanical Stealth Puppet], and all dozens of threads from Master Aubrey’s implicated puppet were degraded.
The lifeline threads that were tough to cut with a black sickle before, Su Lun now severed with a single stroke.
Then, without breaking stride, he collected his spoils of war into a small void realm.
Yes, it was an outright robbery.
Now the old man’s [Seven Dwarfs] became [Six Dwarfs].
Saying so, with a flash of spatial fluctuation, Su Lun disappeared from above the ruins.
...
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Almost at the same time, hundreds of meters away.
Su Lun hadn’t left Red Wine Street but teleported into a group of people.
This was the Bach family’s personal bodyguard team; they couldn’t participate in a battle of that level, but they hadn’t left either.
Su Lun instantly spotted a woman in a black suit who was observing the battle.
This fourth-level professional was Miss Elsa’s personal bodyguard leader.
Su Lun looked at Elsa’s memories as an outsider, and thus he also noticed something amiss.
Clearly, the woman did indeed harbor resentment toward Kama due to the previous Puppet Master contest. But her murderous intent was incited by someone using a mysterious supernatural power of "spiritual manipulation."
The instigator was none other than this bodyguard leader.
Su Lun had seen her in the exhibition hall, so he remembered her soul’s vibrations and quickly found her in the crowd.
The pair of severed hands that belonged to Kama had been given to Elsa by her.
Upon Su Lun’s sudden appearance, the group of bodyguards showed a flash of shock on their faces.
But before they could react, a towering figure teleported behind this leader.
A gargoyle’s claws, wrapped in a space storm, tore through the high-grade bulletproof vest and gouged a big bloody hole in her chest, killing her instantly.
Su Lun didn’t bother with the other bodyguards who were making their moves; instead, he harvested the "gray mist" from the body of this suited woman.
The moment he digested that information, hope sparked in his eyes, and he was shocked to realize, "Kama isn’t dead yet!"
While the suited woman didn’t know much, the information she had was crucial.
The kidnappers had taken Kama, and given the chopped-off hands to the "middleman."
And when the middleman handed the hands to the suited woman, he also conveyed an important piece of information.
That was that Kama was still alive!
A part of the memory went as follows:
"Where is the body?"
"It’s been sent to 17 Parrot Street in the Queen’s district. Lawrence ’Raging Bear’ of the Razor Gang owes me some favors, hoping I can bail him out by getting him a few virgin professionals. Anyway, Miss Elsa will rest assured once she sees these hands. Lawrence doesn’t mess up. I’ll take care of it."
"..."
Razor Gang, human trafficker, virgin professionals, urgent need...
To others, these keywords might still be shrouded in mystery.
But for Su Lun, they were enough to allow him to figure everything out.
He sensed a grand conspiracy approaching as he saw these messages.
Initially, he thought somebody was using bait to fish again,
but unexpectedly,
it turned out someone had cast a net!
Upon a moment’s thought, Su Lun guessed why Kama was sent to "17 Parrot Street."
Because there resided an old monster that needed to feed on virgin blood.
Only then did he realize that Kama’s kidnapping was directly related to last night’s assassination attempt on the old creature Augustus.
The person planning from behind the scenes aimed not only to kill Elsa, but ultimately to lure him there!
...
Su Lun knew that the "Vampire Ring of Lilith" could sustain eternal youth, but the precondition was it needed enough young girls’ fresh blood for nourishment.
Although he did not know which generation of the Rodriguez family that creep Augustus belonged to,
that guy had kept his youth due to the ring, which also granted him an immortal-like ability similar to that of a vampire.
He had narrowly survived the assassination last night but would need to absorb a considerable amount of virgins’ essence to recover and stay alive.
Now, he suspected it wasn’t because of Augustus’s strength that he had a narrow escape, but rather the assassin deliberately left him alive.
All for this moment!
To await Su Lun’s arrival, then transfer the crime of assassinating a top noble onto him.
He quickly pieced together the entire sequence of events, remarking with a sigh, "Such meticulous planning... Those guys probably also knew that Augustus is an important figure in the Rodriguez family. Should I kill him, even if I’m caught, not even revealing ’Fike’s’ identity, both the Lance and Regadi families wouldn’t be able to protect me. Thus, the planned marriage would fall apart, and several Senior Councilors would be embroiled in civil strife, plunging the ruling faction of Ruying into complete chaos. Tsk tsk, killing many birds with one stone, no wonder they’ve been so eager to stage this play."
Su Lun knew his identity was unique.
He was "Fike," yet also a member of the Dawn organization.
A single person tied to several massive forces.
And he was pivotal during the critical moment of the marriage alliance between the Lance and Regadi families.
Therefore, targeting him would immediately achieve the effect of throwing the Ruying political scene into turmoil.
And the cost was small.
Even if exposed, outsiders wouldn’t see much involvement in this affair.
Even with an investigation, it would look like nothing more than a kidnap-murder case motivated by jealousy, which accidentally dragged in a "vampire scandal."
At this very moment, that old creature Augustus probably didn’t even realize he was being used.
And since he had guessed the motive, it wasn’t hard for Su Lun to conjecture about the person behind the curtain, thinking, "In this light, with Ruying’s political landscape thrown into disorder, the one to gain the most would be Duke Raphael, currently the first military industrialist of Ruying. It seems the young master William may also be involved in sabotaging the marriage..."
...
Knowing that Kama was still alive brought initial joy to Su Lun’s heart.
But after understanding the whole backstory,
he no longer felt happy.
Kama might still be alive now, just to give him a glimmer of hope.
But from the moment he learned the news, Kama was most likely already dead at Augustus’s hands.
Because only such a mortal grudge was sufficient to give Su Lun a reason to kill Augustus.
The moment Su Lun dared to kill Elsa, his humanity had been coldly calculated.
Being manipulated at every turn was a deeply uncomfortable feeling.
Su Lun realized the ins and outs of the whole affair, his eyes flickering with a cold light: "Now that this matter is concluded, it’s really time to drag these sewer rats out into the sunlight one by one..."
However, it wasn’t entirely without opportunity.
As long as he went early, there might still be a chance to save people.
Moreover, another positive aspect was that the person behind the scenes most likely didn’t know that Su Lun had guessed that August was hiding and recovering at "17 Parrot Street in the Queen’s District."
He feared that if he knew in advance, he might not dare to make a move because of the other party’s identity.
However, the person behind the scenes probably didn’t expect that Su Lun would not be merciful towards the followers of the "Giant’s Hermit Society," the cultists of the Evil God.
They didn’t realize that even if there were no kidnapping involved, if he truly found out where August was hiding, he would go anyway.
Especially since he had been coveting that "Lilith’s Vampire Ring."
He had previously been vexed by the lack of a way to get his hands on it, so he wasn’t in a rush to take action.
It was also known that August was an important leader within the "Giant’s Hermit Society," and killing him could yield even more information about this evil cult.
He was not confident before about killing him one-on-one.
Now that person behind the scenes was afraid he wouldn’t be able to kill him—after all, last night’s assassination had severely injured him.
Furthermore, the life-prolonging method of that vampire ring can’t withstand the light of day and must be concealed and used surreptitiously.
Being hidden means fewer people know, and there are fewer guards.
Now Su Lun felt that this was the best opportunity.
But now that these guys had dragged his disciple into this, even if the chances of survival were slim, Su Lun still wanted to do his utmost to help.
The risk was indeed not small, but he would definitely not submit to the will of those schemers!
"17 Parrot Street in the Queen’s District, this address was probably deliberately made known to me. It seems that the person behind the scenes might have guessed that I have the ability to extract information from the souls of the deceased. They gave this clue with the intention that I would seek out the ’middleman’ in the kidnapping to confirm the situation..."
With a brief thought, Su Lun immediately had a response in mind.
Now that he knew Kama’s location, he did not hesitate at all and used Spatial Teleportation in succession to traverse the streets.
A thousand meters in the blink of an eye.
Heading straight over now, there might still be a slim chance to save Kama.
Moreover, when contacting Sabina, he received more good news—that the underground king of Lington, "Shadow Duke," had responded and would get involved in this matter.
...
Su Lun killed Miss Elsa and did not linger at the scene.
And Master Aubrey, the Puppetry Technique Grandmaster, having watched his disciple be killed, didn’t stick around to wait for the Mounted Police to inquire.
Moreover, as his disciple was not in the right regarding the kidnapping and murder, he lacked the face to tell others.
Above the ruins of Winery Street, the smoke gradually dispersed, and the crowd of onlookers grew.
The always tardy Lington General Police Department arrived just in time to miss the action, perfectly coinciding with the end of the conflict.
In another district, a luxurious carriage from the Lance family rolled by.
Inside the carriage, Duke Batholomew looked at the ruins devoid of excitement and pursed his lips with disinterest, muttering, "Ah, the fight was indeed intense. It’s a pity I didn’t get to see it happen."
Being a top-tier fighter himself, he scrutinized the traces of battle and reconstructed some of the skirmish in his mind, "Judging by these marks, it looks like ’The Seven Dwarfs’ quiet elemental golems must have made an appearance. Tsk, to make old Aubrey actually want to kill, yet not managing to... That kid’s methods are becoming more and more formidable."
Ekaterina, standing beside him, listened to her father’s prattling while expressionlessly surveying the surroundings.
Suddenly, she shifted her gaze a few hundred meters away, to a high ground that conveniently overlooked the nearby movements of Winery Street.
Something occurred to her, and she lightly parted her lips, whispering, "That William, the one behind the scheme, must have been watching the battle from there earlier."
Batholomew, curious, inquired, "Oh? Did you figure that out with astrological divination, Katusha?"
"No."
Ekaterina shook her head, saying, "William is too arrogant. He would surely come."
Batholomew seemingly understood yet didn’t, "Criminal psychology? The perpetrator returns to the scene of the crime to take a look?"
Ekaterina replied, "It’s just that William’s character flaw. With a fair bit of talent, he always thinks the world revolves around him. Growing up smoothly in the Regadi family has certainly made him grow, but he can’t handle setbacks. Once things stop going smoothly, his mentality is prone to extremism. He won’t accomplish great things."
Batholomew, somewhat bored, shrugged and said, "I also find that William fellow quite distasteful. As for the other kid, he’s more to my liking. But..."
Here, he seemed to recall something unpleasant, "Forget it. Otherwise, I’ll feel like thrashing that guy again."
Ekaterina listened with an impassive face.
Batholomew glanced at his daughter and asked, "Nothing exciting to see here anymore? So, where to now?"
Ekaterina answered, "Keep an eye on the other Senior Councilors, especially the two families that bear a grudge against Duke Raphael. Also, their noble military units—if there is any large-scale troop movement, it means they have begun to fight."
Batholomew suddenly understood and continued, "But by the time we get there, the people might have all been killed. What excitement is there to see then?"
"The excitement begins after people are killed. Astrology predicts bloodshed today, an omen of great misfortune. A ’big shot’ of considerable standing is likely to die."
Ekaterina toyed with a pair of purple meteorites in her hand.
As she spoke, she pondered for a moment, then murmured to herself, "Could it be some old fellow from one of those families? Tsk, this is getting more interesting."
...
After multiple instances of teleportation, Su Lun had appeared in a bustling, noisy district.
Parrot Street in the Queen’s Quarter, a well-known arms trade market in the southern city.
The entire street was lined with gun retail and modification shops.
The arms business brought huge profits and inevitably involved gangs.
This area was a mix of several gangs—Razor Party, Motor Club, Fire Stealer Society, Ghost Gang... all remnants of smaller factions left after the whitewashing of the three big gangs of Lington.
The illegal human trafficking business in Lington was practically in their hands.
While the gangs might not have many high-level professionals, when it comes to kidnapping and knowing which family’s young lady is a professional, no one was more proficient than them.
PS. Still not feeling well today, will make up for the updates tomorrow.