This was not difficult to discern.
From afar, black smoke could be seen rising from the village, and some houses were clearly damaged. However, perhaps due to the distance, no sounds of battle could be heard.
Bomb Cat sat on Dun Shan's shoulder and patted his head. "Let's speed things up."
"Gua gua gua, gu gu gu gu gu..."
Dun Shan made a sound, then continued to move forward with effort. Although...
His speed was still slow, but Dun Shan was doing his best.
Soon, the three arrived at the entrance of the bandit village. As expected, there were traces of battle within the village, but the combatants surprised Bai Ye and his companions.
Bai Ye picked up a giant arm from the ground. "This is a mechanical puppet's arm, isn't it? And it looks a little familiar!"
Bai Ye pondered for a moment, then a look of realization dawned on his face.
The appearance of this arm was the same as the mechanical puppet they encountered during the bandit attack last time. It should be the same standard model.
"But..." Bai Ye said, "something's not right!"
Bomb Cat asked, "What is it?"
Bai Ye pointed to the corpses nearby. "These people should be bandits, right?"
Bomb Cat nodded. "Judging by their attire, it seems so. They're all dressed as bandits."
Bai Ye approached a bandit's corpse and examined it. "Look closely at the bodies. There are no obvious sword or blade wounds. The cause of death was shattered bones. See, this area of the chest has completely caved in, clearly from bones being pulverized."
Bomb Cat scoffed. "They were definitely smashed to death by these mechanical puppets around here. What's so strange about that?"
Bai Ye blinked, then slapped his forehead. "Right, you guys were still at the border city of Yun Zhong Mo Di then, so you wouldn't know."
Bomb Cat asked curiously, "What is it?"
Bai Ye explained, "A week ago, a bandit group raided a supply convoy from Chang An. At that time, the bandits had a mechanical puppet with them. Judging by its appearance, it's the same batch as these damaged mechanical puppets around here."
Bomb Cat pondered. "So, these mechanical puppets belonged to those bandits?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Yes."
Bomb Cat was perplexed. "If these mechanical puppets belonged to those bandits, why are they fighting the bandits?"
Bai Ye replied, "That's what's strange to me."
Just then...
"Your hidden quest has changed."
"Investigate the secret of the mechanical puppets for the Great Wall Guard. Quest Reward: Shadow War Axe x1"
Bai Ye was stunned, then a light screen appeared before his eyes. He then noticed that his hidden quest had changed.
The original quest was to help Mulan investigate the appearance of the 'ghost.' Now it had become to uncover the secret of the mechanical puppets.
Had something happened mid-way that caused the quest to change?
However, although the quest had changed, the reward remained the same: the Shadow War Axe.
While Bai Ye was deep in thought, Bomb Cat suddenly noticed something and quickly threw a bomb towards a mud house to the side.
"Be careful, move back a bit!"
Bomb Cat yelled at Dun Shan and Bai Ye, followed by...
Boom!
The sound of an explosion.
The house was instantly engulfed in flames. The thatch roof burned fiercely, the beams were blasted apart, and it collapsed to the side.
Countless cracks appeared on the outer walls of the mud house, and with a creak, a section of it crumbled down.
Black smoke billowed outwards.
Simultaneously...
Two red lights appeared in the black smoke, and the next moment, a giant fist shot out.
Dun Shan immediately charged forward, raising a square shield with both hands.
Bang!
A violent collision!
Judging by the sound, the force of this punch was terrifying.
However...
Dun Shan remained unmoved!
Setting aside other matters, Dun Shan's defensive capabilities had truly opened Bai Ye's eyes. He was incredibly sturdy.
Immediately after, Bai Ye looked up ahead. The owner of that giant arm...
It was a mechanical puppet!
Bai Ye recognized that mechanical puppet. It was exactly the same one that the bandits had brought when they attacked the supply convoy.
However, it was definitely not the same one.
The one that Bai Ye, Mulan, and Kai had jointly destroyed was still piled up at the Great Wall Guard's camp, awaiting a letter from Chang An to confirm whether that mechanical puppet originated from Wan Xiang Tian Gong.
Looking at it now, mechanical puppets didn't seem to be rare items after all. They were standard mass-produced models, and there should be many identical ones.
At the same time...
The mechanical puppet continuously raised its fist and repeatedly slammed it down towards Dun Shan.
Bang, bang, bang!
Dun Shan held his shield, as steadfast as a mountain, not moving at all. Only the ground beneath his feet was cracking under the impact.
Bomb Cat rapidly moved to the side and took out a new bomb.
"One sulfur, two saltpeter, three wood, reconstruct your glorious life!"
Bomb Cat shouted as he forcefully hurled the bomb.
Boom!
The bomb exploded in mid-air, creating a massive fireball.
The impact of the explosion caused the mechanical puppet's huge body to wobble and tilt to the side.
Bai Ye seized the opportunity and instantly appeared beneath the mechanical puppet, unleashing a punch.
Bai Ye did not use the poisonous abilities of the Poison-Poison Fruit. They had fought before, and this mechanical puppet's poison resistance was quite high; it wasn't easily corroded by venom.
Besides, using poison could easily injure Bomb Cat.
Therefore...
Since Bomb Cat was playing with explosions, he might as well join in!
Let's see how many explosions this behemoth could withstand!
Thus, scorching flames surged from Bai Ye's fist. A large expanse of fire shot upwards towards the mechanical puppet, and the instant the flames engulfed it...
"Flame Burst!"
Boom!
A second violent explosion occurred.
This time, the explosion came from Bai Ye's attack!
Like a ping pong ball being hit, the mechanical puppet, in its tilted state, was immediately blasted back by Bai Ye's explosion.
"I love it!" Bomb Cat exclaimed excitedly. "The art of explosion can destroy everything."
As Bomb Cat spoke, he threw another bomb.
Boom!
The deafening roar of another explosion erupted. The mechanical puppet was so bombarded that it had no chance to retaliate, constantly shaking under the impact of the explosions. Countless fine cracks appeared on its body, and then it toppled backward.
Before the mechanical puppet could get up, the Steel Slime rapidly wriggled its body and transformed into the Fire God Gatling in Bai Ye's hand.
Without hesitation, Bai Ye aimed the Fire God Gatling at the mechanical puppet and pulled the trigger.
...