Puppet Nest
The last traces of blood-red warmth slowly settled in the forest.
All the monsters that had wreaked havoc in the Mist Forest were vanquished. The bodies of Mist Badger, Mist Bat, and Ghost Tiger were scattered throughout the forest, and the remaining warm bloodstains soaked into the rotten black soil, leaving no trace of life.
Standing at the edge of the forest, Lu Heng's mind remained firmly connected to the blood network that stretched across the Global Region beneath the ground.
He did not allow the Blood Taisui's silk threads to dissolve these corpses.
The image of these demons colluding with external enemies to launch a coordinated attack was vividly etched in his mind. Now, these cold corpses were the most convenient tools for slaughter. With a slight thought, countless fine blood vessels buried deep in the ground broke through the soil, like a dense Insect Swarm, silently attaching themselves to each demon's body.
Blood streaks seeped wildly through the gaps in the fur, the wounds in the bones, and the texture of the flesh, precisely penetrating the stiff body's meridians and taking root in the lifeless flesh.
The originally lifeless corpse was forcibly connected and activated by the primordial power of the Blood Taisui.
There was no heartbeat to revive, no breath to warm up, and no wildness or consciousness that a living being should possess. All self-awareness, pain perception, and the instinctive desire to survive were completely erased by the blood vessels.
At this moment, the corpses of the Mist Badger, the Mist Bat, and the Ghost Tiger completely shed their living essence, transforming into Puppet obeyed only a single command, tireless and unafraid of death.
creak--
In the deathly silent forest, the dry, rattling sounds of bones being reset and bodies moving echoed.
The fallen Mist Badger slowly propped up its sturdy body on its limbs, its cloudy, empty eyes devoid of any spirit, its stiff head turning mechanically, retaining only the instinctive posture of pouncing; the Mist Bat with torn wing membranes took to the air, hovering in layers of mist, their wings trembling mechanically, silent and still, no longer possessing their former agile and sudden attacking power; the fallen Ghost Tiger slowly raised its body, its powerful physique still upright, but it had completely lost its ferocious wildness, resembling a series of cold, fleshy molds.
Countless Puppet Corpse Beast rose up one after another, spreading across the entire shallow woodland.
There were no shouts, no agitation, no chaotic movements.
The entire beast tide was eerily silent. Thousands upon thousands of bodies stood still, with only a faint glimmer of dark red blood vessels in their eyes, proving that they were completely under Lu Heng's single thought.
Lu Heng's gaze remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
Guided by their minds, the entire silent horde of Puppet beasts changed direction in unison.
Footsteps tread on damp, decaying leaves, wings slice through the thick fog, and countless bodies converge into a silent black torrent, moving in perfect unison towards the teleportation point at the very center of the Mist Forest.
The billowing white mist of the forest was forcibly torn open by this deathly silent tide of beasts, then quickly closed again after the procession passed. There was not a sound throughout the entire journey, only the dense, muffled sounds of limbs moving, echoing layer upon layer in the open forest, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
They ventured deep into the interior, unstoppable.
All the remaining tiny, Aberrant and scattered poisonous insects that stood in their way were easily crushed by the Puppet beast horde, unable to even slow them down in the slightest.
In just a few minutes, the massive horde of Puppet beasts traversed most of the forest area and steadily arrived at the core of the Mist Forest.
The terrain in this area is completely different from the surrounding area.
The terrain was complex and winding, with interlocking boulders and gnarled ancient trees, creating countless hidden corners and blind spots—the last refuge of the Goblin remnants. In the very center of the area, the Mutant Bloodthirsty Vine still clung to the ground, its thick, crimson tendrils crisscrossing and climbing over the boulders and tree trunks. Its fine, crimson suckers clung tightly to the ground, its roots deeply embedded in the earth, and its dark red veins subtly swirling, still retaining its vibrant, mutated aura.
It never disappeared from beginning to end.
With a thought, Lu Heng instantly connected the blood-red web that covered the entire forest with the Mutant Bloodthirsty Vine.
The dark red powers of the same origin merged instantly without any repulsion.
This highly aggressive mutated plant was completely taken over in an instant and brought under Lu Heng's absolute control.
Buzz--
A subtle tremor spread from underground.
The Mutant Bloodthirsty Vine had been quietly entrenched, suddenly became agitated. Countless blood-red vines of varying thickness stretched out and extended, frantically pulling and spreading in all directions. The main vine firmly locked the core open space, while the branch vines weaved along the cracks in the rocks and the roots of the trees, layer upon layer, forming an impenetrable vine net.
In a short time, the core area of the entire forest was completely sealed off by the Bloodthirsty Vine.
All escape routes and hidden blind spots were sealed off, like a blood-red cage, trapping all the remaining Goblin soldiers who had huddled here in the very center of the encirclement.
Inside the cage, the remaining Goblin soldiers, who had been cowering in fear, instantly felt an extreme sense of oppression.
With all escape routes cut off and surrounded on all sides, they were completely trapped.
Lu Heng stood outside the vine net, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the tangled vines, coldly locking onto the small, panicked figure inside the cage.
He had no intention of personally going forward.
As soon as the thought formed in his mind, a cold, ruthless command to kill instantly spread throughout all the Puppet Corpse Beast.
Charge, crush, fight to the death.
There is no need to feel pain, no need to worry about death or injury, and no need to preserve life.
The Mist Badger Puppet scattered all around accelerated first, their sturdy bodies charging wildly, frantically advancing through gaps in the vine nets, their sharp fangs bared, mechanically and madly lunging forward; in mid-air, countless Mist Bat Puppet swooped down, like vast, deathly dark clouds, shrouding the entire core open space; closely following behind, the Ghost Tiger Puppet strode heavily, their powerful bodies charging and smashing through everything in their path, crushing everything in their way forward.
Countless Puppet Corpse Beast charged forward relentlessly, one after another.
Driven to the brink of desperation, the Goblin troops went completely mad.
The surviving Goblin Assassin, taking advantage of their small size, charged in close, slashing wildly with their short blades, the sharp blades tearing through the Puppet ' flesh and bones time and again; the remaining low-ranking Goblin Mage huddled together, releasing weak spells, fire and light constantly exploding, bombarding the charging beast horde.
In an instant, a large number of Puppet Corpse Beast fell to the ground.
His body was cleaved in two by a sharp blade, his flesh and bones were burned by magic, and his mutilated limbs were scattered all over the ground.
The fighting was fierce, and the losses were enormous.
Lu Heng remained indifferent throughout, his emotions completely unaffected.
These Puppet were made from the corpses of dead monsters, and were essentially worthless consumables. Deaths and injuries were irrelevant, damage was irrelevant; as long as the enemy could be wiped out, all sacrifices were meaningless and not worth his attention.
The Puppet felt no pain, no fear; its fallen body could not rise again, yet this did not hinder the charge of its comrades.
Behind them, an endless stream of undead beasts trampled over the remains of their companions, relentlessly crushing and advancing, densely packed and seemingly endless, completely overwhelming any space for the Goblin to retaliate.
The vine netting blocked off all sides, leaving no chance of survival.
No matter how sharp the Goblin's blade or how powerful its magic, it could not stop the endless tide of Puppet beasts.
Their numbers were rapidly decreasing, their frenzied counterattacks were gradually weakening, their sharp short blades were slashing at a slower and slower speed, and their faint magical light was becoming increasingly dim.
In the end, Lu Heng didn't even need to take action himself, let alone draw his Star Blade.
The last few Goblin were completely surrounded and killed by layers upon layers of Puppet.
The tiny body, rendered powerless to resist, was torn apart by the fangs of the Mist Badger, ripped apart by the claws of the Ghost Tiger, and crushed by the bodies of countless bats.
There were no precise kills, no swift decapitations, only the most primal and brutal tearing and crushing of bodies.
The piercing screams were swallowed by the thick fog. After a brief struggle, all the Goblin soldiers were brutally grabbed, torn apart, and crushed.
Blood soaked the soil in the core area, and fragmented remains were scattered all over the ground.
Until the last trace of the enemy completely dissipated, the core of the entire forest finally fell into utter silence.
The ground was littered with shattered Puppet Corpse Beast, strewn with blood and flesh, and tangled with crimson vines, creating a desolate and tragic post-war scene.
Lu Heng stood still, his gaze sweeping across the entire blood-red prison.
The Mist Forest —all rebellions, all external enemies, and all sources of chaos—have been completely eradicated.
All that's left is the Portal!