Chapter 1 The Vice Captain is Dead

"Captain, something bad has happened! The vice captain has been killed!"

"What! How many enemies were there?"

"T-two..."

"Those two who were scouting us earlier? Weren't they supposed to be third-tier professionals? How could Vice Captain Petra be killed!"

"It seems like... but I'm not sure. That person's methods are very strange, able to control threads to kill people, and there's also a suspected method of invisible killing. That's how Vice Captain Petra was killed."

"Did the person escape?"

"I don't know. That guy is tied up in the woods, I don't know what he's trying to do..."

"Damn it! First squad, second squad, follow me."

"Yes..."

...

The visibility in the jungle is not as good as in the stronghold, and it's nighttime, so it's almost pitch black.

The stronghold needs light, so there's not much vegetation, and flares can illuminate everything clearly. But in the forest, visibility is greatly affected. Even with alchemical night vision devices, there are too many obstacles, and the field of vision is extremely limited.

At this time, a thick fog began to drift in the air. Except for a very few night vision devices that could see through the fog, everyone's vision was greatly restricted.

The yellow fog was obviously not naturally formed, but the smoke from burning alchemical potions. It drifted out, limiting even strong spotlights to a very limited range.

The captain of the Solar Squad, "Scar Bear" Selt, was a stocky man with a black face and a thick beard, a veteran of many battles. Although he looked rough, he was very meticulous.

After being shocked for a moment upon hearing the news, he immediately regained his composure. He knew very well that to be able to kill the vice captain in such a short time, the opponent's strength was definitely not to be underestimated.

The profession of "Insect Controller" has very strange methods, and even he was unwilling to deal with it head-on. How could he be killed in such a short time?

Looking at the mist in front of him, he immediately had a bad feeling, and raised his hand to stop the hundreds of people behind him, "Everyone be careful, this is an alchemical mist. There may be an ambush!"

Although the crowd didn't understand, they all stopped.

The unease in Selt's heart grew stronger, and he didn't act rashly after all.

After thinking about it, he asked, "What about the perception team? Have they found anything?"

Someone responded, "Captain, no enemies have been found. But at the eleven o'clock direction, about eight hundred meters away, there is a thermal reaction suspended in the air. It should be young master Connie. He may still be alive!"

Still alive?

Selt's eyes darted frequently as he listened.

No matter how you look at it, this situation looks like a "bait" deliberately released to lure prey.

But he couldn't figure out where the opponent got the confidence to set up an ambush.

Or is it just a feint?

He didn't dare to be careless, "Squad Seven, Squad Nineteen, take anti-explosion equipment and go take a look. Be careful!"

"Yes, Captain."

As soon as he finished speaking, two squads wearing heavy mechanical equipment entered the forest.

After all, they were a slave-catching group that had been in the wild for many years and had extensive jungle warfare experience.

They moved in teams of ten, covering each other, slowly moving towards the target area. The people in front held mechanical shields, and the people in the back held guns, aiming at all directions. With such tactical cooperation, even if they encountered high-level enemies, they could form combat power in a short time.

But to their surprise, not only did they not see anyone along the way, but they didn't even see any animals.

They were wary of possible traps, but after walking for a while, they found that there were no traps at all.

Everyone also breathed a sigh of relief.

Inquiries kept coming from the communicator.

"Jax, what's the situation?"

"Captain, there's nothing to report. That guy should have run away."

"..."

Everyone thought that the person should have escaped.

After all, there were only two enemies, but there were two or three thousand people on their side. After killing someone, the other party would never stay and wait to die unless they had a problem with their brain.

These mists were obviously just to slow down their pursuit.

The two third-tier captains led their respective squads and entered the mist very smoothly.

Soon, they also saw the person tied up in the air.

At this time, inquiries came from the communicator again.

"Jax, what's the situation on your side?"

"Captain, there's nothing to report. We found young master Connie, he's still alive... Huh..."

The armored warrior who was reporting got closer and let out a soft sound of surprise, only to find that Connie, who was tied to the threads, was struggling violently.

A beam of light shone on him, and they could see clearly that the mouth of this young master of the regiment had actually been sewn shut with threads?

At this moment, this young master's face was covered in blood, and his eyes were full of horror, as if he had seen something that made his face distort in fright. He was still trying to say something "woo woo woo" in his mouth, but he couldn't say it.

He just kept shaking his head.

He seemed to be trying to persuade these people to leave.

After all, what others didn't know was that only this young master Connie had personally seen the terrifying scene of those hundreds of puppets appearing!

...

The rescuers didn't know what they were about to face, and asked, "Young master Connie, what's wrong?"

The blond youth looked intently at the threads, trying to hint something, trying to tell them not to come over.

Violent struggles to speak made the wounds on his lips filled with blood.

However, the rescuers didn't understand.

"Do you want us to be careful of the threads? Okay, we'll be careful to get you down, young master..."

Some of the two squads were on guard, while others were trying to figure out how to untie the threads and rescue the person.

At this time, one of them seemed to have noticed something, touched his neck, and found that it was the abnormal sensation of the wet mist wetting his hair, so he didn't pay attention.

But suddenly...

The threads in the mist suddenly condensed into shape, as if someone was heard whispering, "Silk Control Secret Technique: Slaughterhouse!"

Immediately afterwards, the subtle sound of sharp blades cutting flesh and bones was heard all around.

Looking again, a dozen or twenty heads fell to the ground, and the sound of "poof" spraying water sounded in unison, and human fountains were everywhere.

"Not good!"

The two third-tier captains reacted extremely quickly, discovering the threads in advance and avoiding the strangulation around their necks.

Several armored professionals also managed to block the fatal blow with their heavy external mechanical skeletons.

But looking at the human fountains around them, the expressions of the few survivors changed drastically. After dodging the first wave, they wanted to retreat, only to find that the surrounding area was densely covered with threads.

Those threads, dozens of them condensed into one, like a tide of snakes, clinging and wrapping around their bodies, instantly immobilizing them...

How could anyone escape within the control range of the Puppet Theater?

The fourth-tier water element law-condensed threads were extremely flexible, and there were so many of them. They couldn't be cut or torn apart...

Even a fourth-tier professional would struggle to escape in a short time, let alone these low-tier professionals?

At the same time, several eerie puppet dolls fell from the treetops, making strange laughter that made people feel dazed, and their sharp blades stabbed into the bodies of the few survivors mercilessly.

In the chaos, gunshots rang out in a flurry.

But as soon as it sounded, it stopped abruptly.

...

As expected, there was an ambush!

Outside the dense forest, "Scar Bear" Selt's face was extremely gloomy when he heard the gunshots.

There was no response in the communicator, which meant that the two elite squads had been killed.

He also immediately understood that the enemy didn't leave at all, but really wanted to use his son to encircle and strike at reinforcements!

At this time, another squad leader volunteered, "Captain, that person should still be hiding in the dense forest, why don't I take a few more teams to go again?"

"No."

Selt shook his head with a gloomy expression, "The other party may be aiming at this tactic of breaking them down one by one. He can easily kill Jax and the others, so it's useless to send a few more squads. Since the other party dares to stay, he must have some tricks."

Hearing this, the captains also fell silent.

"Could the enemy be a fifth-tier professional?"

"Even if he's not, he's probably close. Otherwise, how could Captain Jax and the others be killed without even sending out a signal..."

"..."

Listening to the whispers of his subordinates, Selt's face became more and more gloomy.

This situation was even more difficult for him than the previous siege of this Geya tribe.

Being able to kill the fourth-tier vice captain, he could naturally kill him as well, so Selt didn't dare to act rashly.

"What about the scouts who were sent out?"

"They haven't moved since entering the mist. They should have been killed."

"Can't the mist be dispelled?"

"Not in a short time. The person who set it up arranged a very clever air circulation device in the forest. When the wind blows, the mist will circulate in the same area, and the dispersion effect is extremely poor. Unless we go into the jungle and find the fog-generating device to remove it..."

"..."

The action was temporarily deadlocked.

The only thing they could be sure of was that the "enemy" hadn't left yet.

At this moment, the soil on the ground suddenly slowly bubbled up, condensing into a black-skinned woman wearing a wizard's hat and covered in tattoos.

She was another vice captain of the Solar Squad, the fourth-tier professional "Elemental Witch" Frida McCarthy.

Everyone greeted her one after another, "Vice Captain!"

Selt also nodded to her, "Frida, why are you here."

"Captain, there may be some problems with this matter..."

The black-skinned woman said directly, "Petra's 'Insect Sense Secret Technique' has never been wrong, and I also think that those two are only third-tier. If they were really fifth-tier professionals, they wouldn't need so many conspiracies and tricks. And the reason he can kill Petra is likely because he has some high-level cursed item, or a [Sealed Item]. But the greater the power of that kind of thing, the greater the cost of using it. I don't believe he can use it all the time..."

Selt frowned, and felt that it made sense, "Vice Captain Frida, what do you mean..."

"Charge together, we must kill those two!"

The black woman said, "No matter how strong they are, there are only two of them. We'll gather the high-level professionals in the regiment and kill them in one fell swoop, otherwise, there will be endless troubles!"

After a pause, she analyzed again, "One of those two is a demi-human, maybe he's a survivor from this tribe. Even if we don't go looking for them now, they may continue to harass us. It will be even more troublesome if we don't kill them now, and wait until we escort the slaves into the forest! The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us!"

Hearing this, a look of ruthlessness flashed in Selt's eyes, "Alright!"

The side with more people always has blind confidence in battle, thinking that they can crush the other side with numbers.

Usually, that's how it is.

Their Solar Slave Hunting Regiment brought more than two thousand people to encircle and suppress this demi-human tribe this time.

There were four fourth-tier professionals, dozens of third-tier elite captains, and even the low-tier professionals had obtained a lot of retired military equipment due to their relationship with the business owner and the nobles of the imperial capital. The combat power of the regiment was extraordinary.

This is why other slave-hunting groups don't dare to touch medium-sized demi-human tribes, but their Solar Regiment dares to.

Strength is confidence.

Even if they face a fifth-tier professional, they can use numbers to crush them to death!

Before long, except for the necessary manpower left in the stronghold to guard the slaves, the outside of the dense forest was densely packed with people.

...

Suren was sitting on a treetop, feeling a little bored.

He originally thought he could trick a few more waves of people, but listening to the movement outside the forest, the other party was probably preparing for a cluster charge.

However, this was exactly what he wanted.

It was just right to have a good time killing.

The Puppet Theater needed more "actors" to be lively.

The thick fog restricted everyone's vision, but it didn't have much impact on Suren. Now that he had [Soul Perception], coupled with his ability to [Identify Position by Sound], he could see almost every enemy within his perception range.

On the contrary, it was difficult for the other party to perceive him.

Even some methods like [Thermal Perception] and [Life Perception], not to mention that not many people knew that kind of technique, even if they did, Suren had a shroud, and wouldn't be discovered before he made a move.

Besides, his main body was not the protagonist of this massacre.

It was those eerie puppets hidden everywhere.

"Two fourth-tiers are here? Tsk tsk... they're really cautious enough."

Suren's eyes were full of crazy smiles.

Not afraid, but excited.

Within his perception range, several hundred clusters of soul fire suddenly appeared, and there were more and more.

He wasn't in a hurry to make a move, just waiting for those guys to enter the "theater".

As the number of people increased, the carpet search found several "alchemical fog generators" hidden in the forest one after another. Once the devices were destroyed, the thick fog gradually thinned.

Suren didn't stop them from destroying them.

Those two fourth-tiers were still watching, waiting for him to make a move, and they would immediately focus fire on him.

Just as the prey hadn't fully entered the trap, Suren suddenly discovered something, "Huh..."

He sensed that a cluster of fourth-tier soul fire suddenly emerged from a large tree, and it was extremely fast.

"Elemental Fusion?"

Suren happened to have some memories of this person among the corpses he had peeled off before, "It should be the vice captain of the slave-hunting group, the 'Elemental Witch' Frida, who awakened the [B-003-Elemental Absorber]..."

Professionals who can advance to the fourth-tier more or less have some skills.

This woman was very strong, and her talent allowed her to quickly absorb elemental power from various objects and cast various elemental techniques.

For example, absorbing the power of earth elements and merging into the ground.

Was she probably trying to hide in the tree and ambush a wave of people?

Heh...

Suren sneered in his heart, and didn't bother with her for now.

At this time, most of the people who came in finally stepped into the coverage area of the technique.

Those guys were obviously wary of invisible targets, and threw flare powder bombs with grenade launchers as they walked.

Suren knew he couldn't hide anymore.

However, it was about time.

Before those people could completely form an encirclement, a teasing smile appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly jumped down.

This action naturally didn't escape the detection of the perception-type professionals among the enemies.

A roar rang out in the forest, "Captain, there's movement at the nine o'clock direction!"

Before the sound faded, a brown humanoid giant bear had already rushed over.

"Oh? The captain is here..."

Suren immediately recognized that this was the captain of the slave-hunting group, "Scar Bear" Selt.

He was able to fight and take hits, and it would be difficult to kill him in a short time.

He didn't intend to confront this troublesome guy head-on in the first place.

Seeing the burly figure rushing over, the corners of Suren's mouth raised into a smile, he made a grabbing motion in the air, and with a fierce tug, a tall mechanical armor mechanical warrior holding a ship-slaying sword, accompanied by the roar of a steam boiler, fell from the sky and crashed straight into it.

"Boom!"

With a loud, cannon-like bang, the mecha and the giant bear collided.

Selt's face changed drastically when he saw what he was colliding with, "Mahfa's mechanical armor!"

Suren didn't give him a chance to be shocked, and at the same time as they exchanged blows, he pinched his hand seal, narrowed his eyes, and shouted coldly, "Silk Control Secret Technique: Cocoon World!"

In an instant, threads like a tide... overwhelming the sky and covering the earth!

...

During the time he waited for the enemy to come, Suren wasn't unprepared.

Using the giant trees in the forest as supports, Suren consumed a large amount of cursed crystals and had already woven a large net.

The benefits of the Infinite Witch Hair were demonstrated, as it could grow infinitely as long as there was enough energy.

Woven into a wall, its toughness was astonishing, and ordinary artillery might not be able to penetrate it.

Looking again, the threads materialized, and actually wrapped this large area of forest into a thick cocoon.

This range just happened to trap everyone within the Puppet Theater.

...

"Damn it, what the hell are these threads... how can there be so many!"

"Be careful, something is falling from the trees!"

"..."

As soon as the threads materialized, the dense forest was immediately in chaos, and gunshots rang out loudly.

Suren unfolded his eight-armed spider spear behind him, and hundreds of eerie puppets suddenly fell from the sky!

Those puppets were laughing strangely in the sky, flying around, fearlessly rushing into the crowd and starting a massacre...

Suren, who used to be able to multitask, could only achieve 80% control when controlling twenty or thirty puppets at the same time; now that he was able to multitask even more, his mental strength had soared again, and he could easily and perfectly control more than a hundred eerie puppets!

This was a true [Hundred Demons' Night Parade]!

Moreover, all kinds of eerie puppets had also undergone a qualitative improvement.

Especially the [Nightmare Dolls], which were now engraved with fourth-tier runes, the mental control field had taken a big step forward.

Before, Suren used mist to restrict vision, but it wasn't to block the enemy's vision at all, but for now.

To make the enemy use their hearing to the extreme!

Now that hundreds of eerie puppets were wailing together, the sound echoed in the confined space, as loud as a torrent of mountains, with echoes from all directions.

"Gagagaga..."

The strange laughter instantly made people feel dazed.

Caught off guard, low-tier professionals instantly fell into a state of mental confusion.

Moreover, the threads didn't just create a "cocoon".

In the Puppet Theater, the threads would bind everything.

Thread control, sound wave mental control, all kinds of puppets cooperated to kill people, the efficiency was extremely high. For a time, in the large theater, wails were everywhere, severed limbs and broken arms flew around, like a livestock slaughterhouse, blood flowing into rivers...

In just one encounter, the slave-catching team was harvested in patches like cutting wheat...

Suren's puppet army showed the terrifying combat power of cluster warfare for the first time.

Various puppets interspersed in the crowd, and were bound to bring up a bloody light.

As long as the controller was not dead, the puppet army was invincible in the theater!