Chapter 1201: Chapter 1201: Forest Giant and Evil Warlock
Miss Lathis probably thought that Shard’s power wouldn’t last too long, so she quickly climbed to the giant’s chest. She noticed a hidden junction on the puppet’s chest, so she pried open the wooden cover with her longsword, revealing the dazzling heart-shaped ruby inside the puppet’s chest.
The size of the ruby wasn’t exaggerated; for a puppet the size of a palm, it was roughly the size of a pendant.
She stretched out her hand, struggling to take out the ruby, only to find it stuck in the giant’s chest cavity and hard to move:
“Miss Lathis, please hurry!”
Shard shouted loudly from the ground, the giant’s body began to shake violently at this moment. Although Shard didn’t lose in strength to the opponent, the binding effect of the [Great Sin Chain] was about to wear off.
“It’s stuck too tight!”
Miss Lathis responded loudly as well, trying to pry the ruby out with the longsword, but found it wouldn’t work either. Upon closer inspection, she found the ruby was clearly glued in:
“Oh, this damned puppet!”
The female sorcerer said ungraciously, then extended a wooden palm:
“Fire!”
A weak light appeared in the puppet’s palm, the flame also burned the puppet’s body. Fortunately, the puppet’s body didn’t feel pain.
The appearance of the flame melted the solidified glue, the glue was melted away, and the ruby was extractable. The giant’s body crashed down, Shard quickly dodged to avoid being crushed:
“Lagre’s Leap!”
He appeared beside the corpse, caught the falling Miss Lathis in a hurry, and then took her out of the danger zone before the giant completely fell:
“I’m fine.”
The puppet Miss Lathis, difficult to stand because of injury, stood with Shard’s support. She showed Shard the heart-shaped ruby, the black button eyes seemingly glimmered:
“Look, I got it, let’s move forward.”
“Wait a moment.”
The puppet’s hand grasped the puppet’s wrist, as Shard summoned some water to drop onto Miss Lathis’s burned hand, the Arcane Technique [Satiety Food] took effect. The clear water turned into a potion with a peculiar healing effect, and in the puppet form, these silver waters healed the burned area.
“No need to treat this injury, spirits can’t be restored in puppet form, we have many enemies to deal with ahead!”
Miss Lathis said worriedly, but Shard’s spirit could recover.
The ruby heart acquired from defeating the giant wasn’t just a so-called “key”; whether Shard or Miss Lathis, as long as this gemstone was carried, the puppet’s power would greatly enhance.
Though it was still far from matching the power of the “Forest Giant,” this enhancement was very considerable.
Shard thus let Miss Lathis wear it temporarily, after all, he still had Arcane Techniques to use, even if the strength increased, he himself was still just one person. With Miss Lathis’s help, perhaps the upcoming battles would be easier.
After storing away the ruby, they returned along the original path, choosing to take the left path this time.
They still didn’t need to walk forward by themselves, as the gears below the model venue turned, the venue automatically took them forward, entering the Ruins of the Royal Capital surrounded by forest.
Although the city’s model seemed equally exquisite and complex, in fact, there were only two paths to choose from between the architectural models. One led to the towering castle at the end, another led to the residence of the Evil Warlock occupying the city’s bell tower.
This city’s model was closer to the city appearance decades ago before the steam industry flourished as it does now. On their way forward, just like encountering wolves in the forest, enemies called “city thugs” jumped out from the building models.
The puppet hiding behind the castle hummed like this:
“Act Two: The Warlock of the Tower
“`
The kingdom had fallen, a haven for sin where evil villains lurked. The righteous knights resolved to eradicate them, inquiring about the path to the evil warlock’s residence. The foreign knight brandished his sword and charged, while the beautiful maid bravely aided…
Currently, in the city model, the road leading to the “evil warlock’s” bell tower was blocked by building models. In other words, unless these enemies were defeated, the path wouldn’t change to one accessible.
Compared to opponents like the “forest giant,” those armed “city thugs” puppets were insignificant. Miss Lathis, wishing to test what power that Ruby could grant, willingly stepped forward.
It was evident she was quite skilled in combat with cold weapons, adeptly wielding her longsword for slashes, dodges, and sweeps. Among the thirteen puppets, only two were destroyed by Shard using Silvermoon Slash; Miss Lathis handled the rest. From this battle, it was clear Shard had gained a valuable assistant.
The so-called “evil warlock” was a puppet depicting a male with greasy black hair, dressed in a black robe and black boots, with a large nose.
This enemy was the same size as Shard but even trickier than the “forest giant” to deal with. It lacked outstanding power but possessed spellcasting ability, capable of summoning fist-sized fireballs. While doing so, it required no materials, gestures, or spell words, seemingly without any consumption.
When Shard and Miss Lathis reached the base of the tower, the warlock jumped down without a word, conjuring a barrage of fireballs at them, giving them no chance to counterattack, forcing them to separate and evade.
“Fireball Technique” was a basic attack sorcery based on the spell “Firestarter,” an ancient yet common sorcery. Extending from it were sorceries like “Unholy Fireball,” “Great Fireball,” and “Firewall Spell,” as well as arcane techniques. Yet it was Shard’s first time realizing this basic sorcery could be so threatening.
During their evasion, just grazing the fireball ignited half of his puppet arm, though fortunately, the flames were quickly extinguished.
They couldn’t find any opportunity for close combat; Miss Lathis was unable even to bend her bow. Amid the child puppet’s comedic singing, it was clear the more menacing “evil warlock” nearly chased Shard before attacking. Ultimately, it was thanks to Shard’s unexpected ambush using “Lagre’s Leap,” enduring a fireball’s direct hit, that Miss Lathis gained the chance to slash the warlock’s ring with a sharp toy longsword.
After losing the ring, the puppet immediately seemed lifeless, incapable of movement. Shard, whose entire body was ablaze, rolled to extinguish the fire and summoned water to quench it, yet his puppet form remained terribly burned, with flammable clothing nearly reduced to shreds.
This time, Shard didn’t heal himself, as his burns were far more severe than Miss Lathis’s earlier wounds and not easily treated.
Although the female sorcerer’s puppet showed no expression, she was quite concerned when asking about Shard’s condition. However, Shard was more interested in the red copper ring, which, like the Ruby from the forest giant, endowed the puppet with supernatural power. Wearing it allowed the release of fireballs at the cost of one’s spiritual power. Of course, its effect was not as exceptional as when the warlock puppet used it.
Shard thus discussed with Miss Lathis, deciding she would keep the ring temporarily. After all, while the fireball’s power was considerable, it couldn’t surpass Shard’s puppetry spellcasting with Silvermoon Slash. By giving it to Miss Lathis, she wouldn’t need to frequently use her bow and the few remaining arrows.
“Though these battles were somewhat challenging, they hardly obstructed us. I believe it will certainly be more perilous ahead.”
Setting off again, heading toward the castle at the model’s end, Shard spoke to his companion with some concern. Miss Lathis’s button eyes regarded the puppet of John Watson, whose face remained handsome despite turning into a puppet, sensing that his companionship made the adventure far less daunting.
“Silvermoon Slash!”
The Silvermoon was drawn, splitting the “thugs” puppets jumping from both sides of the city road, leaving Shard feeling unaccustomed to the puppet’s form:
“But rest assured, I will surely rescue Miss Benanis.”
“You know her name… you know us?”
It was only at this moment that Miss Lathis finally asked this question. Shard nodded, his wooden head rotating three hundred sixty degrees to look behind, guarding against sneak attacks:
“I even know the Golden Dawn is an organization under the Witch Council.”
Sadly, puppets couldn’t display expressions, so Shard couldn’t see the surprise on her face:
“I am acquainted with other Grand Witches, such as Granny Cassandra. Actually, I have an introduction letter from another Witch to give to Miss Benanis today. I plan to stay locally for a while and still need Miss Benanis’s assistance.”
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you meet with Vanessa yesterday?”
Miss Lathis questioned, puzzled, moving forward with her body while turning her head ninety degrees to look at Shard.
This question, Shard needed to see Miss Benanis to answer. Otherwise, the explanation would be too troublesome, so he shook his head without confirming or denying, and Miss Lathis did not pursue it:
“Given you know other Grand Witches… don’t underestimate Vanessa just because she was trapped by the Sage-Level Relic. She’s been unwell lately… sick.”
“Would an Eleventh Rank Witch get sick?”
Shard asked, suddenly remembering he had asked this question a year ago. That time, Miss Galina used it as an excuse for her extended absence, occasionally consuming the annual “sick leave quota.” If someone never got sick yearly, it would seem too peculiar.