Clash

This was the most "sci-fi" battle Duanmu Huai had encountered since crossing over. On the ground, towering Mechanical Soldiers charged forward, while strange flying objects hovering in the sky continuously fired beams of light resembling lasers at Duanmu Huai and the others.

Just how dangerous those beams were could be seen from the durability of his Power Armor, which was dropping by percentage points.

This stuff packed no less of a punch than a Bolter!

Fortunately, Duanmu Huai wasn't fighting alone. If quality wasn't enough, then quantity would make up for it. The puppets flooded the battlefield as if they were free, using their numbers to offset the opposing mechanical army's advantage in quality.

Luckily, puppets really were free.

The tall and burly Large Mechanical Soldier charged forward like an enraged bull. Several puppets swarmed it, pouncing directly onto its body.

The Mechanical Soldier swung its arms, smashing two puppets into pieces in an instant. The other puppets seized the opportunity to attack, breaking through its outer shell. But as the Mechanical Soldier swung its arms again and sent more puppets flying, one puppet pierced straight through the core inside its shattered armor.

The Large Mechanical Soldier's body shuddered, then abruptly collapsed and shut down.

"Whew... Fortunately, my puppets aren't scientific either."

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai breathed a sigh of relief. The enemy was using high technology, but fortunately, his Puppet Card Deck wasn't scientific either.

Strictly speaking, there was no way the daggers and scimitars held by the puppets could penetrate a Large Mechanical Soldier's defenses. It was like a medieval knight trying to hack apart a tank with a sword. It would be a miracle if he could even scratch it.

Although Civilization had seen cases of primitive men shooting down helicopters...

Fortunately, the puppets on his side didn't care about science either. After all, there weren't even any parts inside them. They had simply been carved from wood. If one tried to analyze them from a scientific perspective, there probably wouldn't be anything to analyze.

Thus, although the puppets' attack power was low, the damage they inflicted on the enemy was very real. The battlefield fell into a stalemate.

However, Duanmu Huai knew that dragging things out would be disadvantageous for him.

The enemy's mechanical army was endless, and he had no idea when it would stop. What if this turned out like that Haunted Mansion from before, with enemies endlessly respawning no matter how long he fought? That would be truly depressing.

There was only one way left.

Watching the deadlocked battlefield, Duanmu Huai thought for a moment and made his decision.

"Okegis, cover me! Take out those strange things in the sky!"

Duanmu Huai shouted his order, then charged straight ahead. At the same time, hearing his call, Okegis hurriedly raised both hands. Threads appeared between her ten fingers, shot outward, and crisscrossed to form a huge net, instantly slicing the attacking creations flying through the sky into pieces.

Of course, some creations attacked Okegis as well. Fortunately, Okegis moved her fingers slightly, and a group of puppets automatically rushed over to form a human shield in front of her, blocking the creations' aerial assault.

Taking advantage of the opening Okegis had created for him, Duanmu Huai sprinted forward at full speed. When the Mechanical Soldiers saw him appear, they immediately surged toward him. Without hesitation, Duanmu Huai summoned several hundred puppets to block their attacks while he continued running forward.

Duanmu Huai himself had only four points of Agility, so his reactions weren't particularly fast. Fortunately, the Power Armor made up for his shortcomings. Using the puppets as obstacles, Duanmu Huai crossed the battlefield and arrived beneath the palace balcony before leaping into the air.

The Jetpack blasted out a burst of thrust, carrying Duanmu Huai straight to the cloaked man!

Shoot the horse first when shooting at the riders; capture the leader first when capturing bandits!

"Die!!"

Duanmu Huai roared and brought his warhammer down on the cloaked man. The cloaked man stood there without moving and simply extended a hand.

With a resounding "clang," Duanmu Huai's warhammer struck the cloaked man's hand. Yet it didn't send him flying. Instead, Duanmu Huai felt as if he had smashed into solid granite. The man didn't budge an inch.

However, Duanmu Huai's attack hadn't been completely ineffective. Under the force of his full-powered strike, the cloak draped over the man was knocked away, revealing his true appearance to Duanmu Huai.

It was a tall steel mech, even a head taller than Duanmu Huai. Its head was shaped like an Egyptian pharaoh's mask. Inside its hollow chest, Duanmu Huai could see a blond man fused into the machine.

In other words, this thing was the wizard!

Mobile Armor (Legendary)

LV43

I've got you now!

A cold glint flashed through Duanmu Huai's eyes.

Summon a puppet!

Activate Death Shortcut. Designate a puppet to use it. The puppet gains the Certain Kill trait!

Attack!

At the next moment, Duanmu Huai's cloak suddenly shook. A Puppet Assassin flew out from beneath it, then thrust the dagger in its hand forward, instantly stabbing the blond man in the chest inside the mech before him!

"Excellent!"

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai clenched his fist excitedly. Although this thing clearly looked powerful, an attack imbued with Certain Kill ignored health and defense and killed the target outright. Just obediently... huh?!

However, contrary to Duanmu Huai's expectations, the mech before him wasn't killed instantly. Instead, it suddenly swung an arm, sending Duanmu Huai and his puppet flying. They slammed heavily into the wall beside them.

"Bang!!"

The violent impact made Duanmu Huai grunt. He hurriedly got to his feet, gripped his warhammer again, and stared at the towering mech walking toward him.

How was this possible? That attack imbued with Certain Kill had clearly hit it directly. Could this thing be immune to curses?

However, when Duanmu Huai saw the mechanical wounds appearing on the man's body, he was completely speechless.

He had assumed the man was the pilot of the giant mech, but who would have thought that the bastard was a robot too?

All right, now Duanmu Huai understood why Certain Kill had failed. The thing in front of him wasn't a living organism at all. Certain Kill was completely useless against it!

"All systems confirmed. Durability synchronization confirmed—combat... commencing."

At the same time, the giant mech spoke in a cold voice and raised both hands. Seeing this, Duanmu Huai gritted his teeth, gripped his warhammer, and glanced at the cards in his hand.

Looks like I'll have to go all out!

With that thought, Duanmu Huai waved his hand again, summoning several puppets to pounce on the giant mech. He also used their cover to circle around and reach the giant mech's back, then swung his warhammer forcefully at its legs.

"Clang—!"

The Thunder Warhammer struck the giant mech's leg. The steel surface radiating purple light instantly twisted and shattered, and the giant mech's body tilted slightly.

Material Misalignment! Armor break successful!

However, just as Duanmu Huai was about to press his advantage, the mech suddenly opened its palm toward him. Several beams of light then shot out!

"Damn it!"

Duanmu Huai cursed inwardly and hurriedly raised both hands in front of himself. In the next moment, he felt his body shudder violently and fly backward as if he had been hit by the speeding Harmony Express. With a heavy "bang," he crashed to the ground.

At the same time, a piercing alarm rang out.

Warning: Power Armor durability has fallen below 20%.

Warning: Power Armor is about to be destroyed.

One hit and it was already broken? Just how high was this thing's attack power?!

Hearing the alarm, Duanmu Huai was shocked. At that moment, the giant mech had already turned around and was charging toward him again.

"No choice!"

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai clenched his teeth and steeled his heart.

Use Puppet Surgery! Randomly grant one puppet in my hand a +4/+0 effect! Then... summon the puppet onto the battlefield. Attack!

Just as the giant mech reached Duanmu Huai, a puppet suddenly flashed out from beneath his cloak again and charged straight at the giant mech. Its appearance seemed no different from the other puppets, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that it had no hands on either arm.

Instead, one arm had been modified into a blade, while the other had been modified into a gun barrel!

An ordinary puppet had 1/1 attack and defense. After the Puppet Surgery enhancement, this puppet should have 5/1! It should have no problem dealing with a level 43 monster!!

And as it turned out, things went exactly as Duanmu Huai had predicted.

"Splurt!!!"

The modified puppet leaped into the air and charged at the giant mech. Its left arm, transformed into a blade, pierced straight through the blond man's chest inside the mech. At the same time, the modified puppet raised its right hand, which had been turned into a gun barrel, and aimed it at the man's head.

Then...

"Bang!!!"

A gunshot rang out. The man's head shattered, and the giant mech froze for a moment before suddenly collapsing to the ground, completely motionless.

"Whew..."

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That finally took care of it.