Chapter 14 Puppet Slaughterhouse

The members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) were constantly capturing slaves in the forest and possessed a great deal of wilderness combat experience. Even on the periphery, they couldn't possibly be completely unprepared.

Suren and Yuta concealed their presence and hid in the treetops, well hidden.

However, they overlooked the various insects that were everywhere in the forest.

And they couldn't defend against them.

After the sniper fired, the two leaped down from the tree.

They landed in the forest, and before they could run far, they were surrounded by a slave hunting tuan on outer guard duty.

Seeing that Suren was human, the men weren't in a hurry to attack. The captain, who was leading the group, shouted sharply, "Stop! We'll shoot if you run again!"

A fierce glint flashed in Suren's eyes, and he stopped.

Since the other side hadn't attacked, he didn't plan to make the first move.

Besides, he had already discovered that a fourth-tier professional was hiding in the soil beneath their feet.

"A talent for earth-based abilities?"

Suren pondered for a moment.

He sensed again that not many people were chasing from the寨子 (zhai zi, village), so it wasn't a big problem.

He patted Yuta beside him, signaling her not to rush into action.

The men caught up. There were thirty-four in total, led by several third-tiers.

These people surrounded Suren and Yuta.

...

Among the third-tiers, there was a middle-aged axe-wielder with a large beard wearing silver lion armor, who appeared to be the captain.

He looked at Suren and asked, "Who are you? Why were you spying on our Sun团 (tuan, group) Wasteland Hunting团 (tuan, group)?"

"I am an adventurer, attracted by the sounds of fighting."

Suren didn't say much.

If it wasn't necessary, he didn't plan to kill anyone.

The slave trade was more of a deformed industry caused by this era, and it didn't apply to many universal values.

Most of these slave hunting团 (tuan, groups) couldn't be said to be absolutely right or wrong.

However, while speaking, Suren's gaze only lingered on the bearded man for a moment before looking at the gaunt man beside him.

This guy was very strange. He looked like a living person, but he didn't have a soul fire.

In his soul perception, there were some thread-like creatures in "his" body.

Living parasite technique?

Suren thought of the guy underground and muttered to himself.

The body was alive, but what controlled his movements was not the body's soul, but parasitic worms.

...

Hearing Suren's explanation, the bearded man looked at Suren with a solemn expression.

Anyone who dared to walk alone in the forest was not weak. The sniper's probing attack just now had already confirmed that this was a master.

What's more, being surrounded and still being so calm clearly meant he had other means of support.

He didn't dare to act rashly.

Seeing that the other side didn't seem to want to attack, Suren asked, "Can we leave?"

But at this moment, the bearded man was still thinking about how to deal with the situation, when a blond young man beside him saw Yuta and frowned, asking, "Is that white wolf a beast-like demihuman?"

Suren suddenly felt malice in the youth's eyes and said lightly, "She is my friend."

"Friend? Heh..."

The blond young man snorted, as if he found the word very ironic.

A slave dared to be called a friend?

He said to the bearded man beside him, "Uncle Wolf, I think this guy's motives are suspicious. We absolutely can't let him go before we figure things out!"

This guy seemed to have a special status in the hunting团 (tuan, group). When he spoke, no one else said anything.

Probably thinking that they had the advantage in numbers, the members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) stared at Suren and Yuta with playful expressions.

The bearded man looked at Suren, thought for a moment, and asked again, "Are you a noble,阁下 (ge xia, term of respect)? Or do you have a connection with our Sun 商会 (shang hui, merchant guild)?"

"I am just an ordinary adventurer."

Suren shook his head.

He knew the other side wanted to probe his background, but he wasn't interested in continuing to entangle with these people. "I think, if there's nothing else, could your团 (tuan, group) please make way?"

"..."

Hearing this, the bearded man was a little unsure.

If the other side had revealed some great background, he might not have hesitated so much.

It was this calm attitude that made it impossible to figure out his background.

Just as he was hesitating, the blond youth heard a message from the communicator and smiled to himself: Only a third-tier?

In that case, there was no need to be afraid.

The blond youth immediately made a decision for the bearded man, and said to Suren, "Take off your mask and hand over your weapons and storage ring for us to check. Once we've figured things out, we'll naturally let you go."

Hearing this, the bearded man felt that something was wrong and wanted to say something, "Young Master Koni..."

He felt that there was no need to provoke lone adventurers.

The other side couldn't pose any threat to their team.

Even if they were killing for money, their large团 (tuan, group) wouldn't be interested in the small amount of wealth ordinary adventurers had.

The blond youth waved his hand and said, "That white wolf can transform so perfectly. Her status in the demihuman tribe is definitely not low. This guy's background is really suspicious."

This did have some basis.

But Suren would naturally not comply with handing over his weapons and letting them do as they pleased.

Hearing this, his tone was no longer so peaceful. "I have no intention of being an enemy of your团 (tuan, group), at least not at the moment. So I think,閣下 (ge xia, term of respect) had better not make things difficult for me."

Hearing this, the blond youth sneered: A third-tier professional, acting high and mighty?

He felt that he had seen through everything and immediately pointed the flintlock in his hand at Suren's head with a sneer, saying, "I also think you'd better do as I say."

With the muzzle pointed at his head, a red light flashed in Suren's eyes, and he suddenly fell silent.

After watching a massacre before, a ball of manic evil fire had long accumulated in his heart.

Now, hearing these aggressive words, the "洪水猛兽 (hong shui meng shou, raging beasts)" in his heart surged out uncontrollably. His eyes became a little ferocious, and his tone suddenly became very sharp. "Are you threatening me?"

The blond youth sneered and said arrogantly, "If you think so, then so be it."

A third-tier was not qualified to negotiate.

Hearing this blatant threat, the violence in Suren's eyes burst out like a dam breaking, and a fierce light flashed. His reason could no longer control the beast that had broken free.

"I don't want to kill people. You'd better not provoke me."

He suppressed the manic emotions and squeezed out a few words from his throat.

Saying this, Suren ignored the youth and said to Yuta beside him, "Let's go."

Yuta felt that the atmosphere was a little off, and without asking any questions, she silently followed Suren.

The two walked towards the members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) who were holding guns in front of them without looking back.

Those people watched as the man and wolf walked straight towards them, and were also suppressed by the fierce aura on his body.

In their eyes, they seemed to see not a human, but a god of death slowly walking towards them.

If they dared to attack, they seemed like they would immediately... die!

For a moment, no one spoke. The forest was silent, and the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard clearly.

The crowd surrounding them was torn open by the invisible aura, and Suren walked out of the encirclement steadily, ignoring the muzzles and crossbows that were close at hand.

...

Yuta knew about Suren's mental aberration, and looking at his current state, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Although she didn't understand why these slave hunting团 (tuan, group) members didn't attack, she didn't relax her vigilance.

She didn't think that these despicable slave hunting团 (tuan, group) would easily let them go.

From their eyes, Yuta saw the light of sin.

As expected!

Seeing that they were about to leave.

At this moment, there was a sudden gunshot behind them.

"Bang!"

The alchemy bullet was aimed at Suren's head, but it hit Yuta, who was blocking the bullet for him.

Yuta felt that Mr. Suren's body was not as good as her beast-like body, and that he didn't have the Mechanical Alchemist (机械炼金术士) battle armor, so he would be in danger. She blocked in front of him without hesitation.

Now that the other side had already attacked, Yuta would naturally not sit still and wait to be captured.

Her transformed white wolf pounced into the crowd ferociously, spitting out a "Wind Blade術 (shu, technique)" with each bite. People were blown over, and flesh and blood splattered everywhere.

In the midst of the fierce battle, she didn't forget to shout urgently, "Mr. Suren, you go first!"

...

The gunshot was like a bugle call for the start of the battle. The slave hunting团 (tuan, group) members were not surprised at all. Instead, they had gloating smiles on their faces.

They immediately reacted and opened fire.

For a moment, there was a burst of gunfire.

However, Suren didn't move in the hail of bullets. Instead, a relieved sneer appeared on his face.

A strange sound of "jie jie jie" came from his throat, and he muttered to himself, "You have to give me a reason to kill..."

In fact, Suren had long sensed the murderous intent behind him. He didn't dodge because the "beasts" in the cage in his heart needed a "just reason" to break through the cage.

The bullets were very dense. Some hit Yuta, and some hit him, making crisp sounds of metal clashing.

Suren still didn't dodge, but the smile under his mask became more and more ferocious, "Hahahaha..."

The laughter, which was full of penetrating power in the dense forest, seemed to suppress the dense gunfire.

...

The third-tier bearded man's expression changed slightly when he saw that Suren was not dead. He took a closer look and saw that a layer of dark golden light was overflowing from his skin, and he immediately recognized it: "It's the 【金刚 (Jin Gang, Vajra)】 secret technique!"

Hearing the creepy laughter, his intuition told him that something terrible was about to happen, and he shouted, "Young Master Koni, be careful!"

However, the warning was too late!

Just as he said this, Suren's figure in the distance suddenly dissipated.

Looking again, an extra figure suddenly appeared beside the blond youth.

Suren's current 【闪现 (Shan Xian, Flash)】 movement distance was ten times farther than before. This speed was impossible for a low-tier professional to react to.

The blond youth only felt a cold wind blowing on his neck, and then a great terror of death instantly struck his heart, and goosebumps immediately rose all over his body.

But he was also puzzled.

He was clearly a master who was about to break through to the third tier. How could he not have reacted at all?

What... what means did this guy use!

The communicator said that the Mang Hou (盲候) sensed that this was just a third-tier professional?!

At this moment, he realized that he seemed to have provoked a big trouble...

However, before he could finish his thoughts, something even more terrifying happened.

Just as the dark grid reflection in Koni's eyes collapsed, he suddenly found that his body couldn't move. Looking again, he didn't know when a series of sharp threads had quietly appeared and tied him up.

That's right!

Sharp!

As soon as he touched them, he felt a bone-chilling sting. He knew very well that as long as he moved slightly, he would immediately be cut into pieces!

Young Master Koni was terrified: What is this thread technique?!

...

Suren's eyes were full of red light, and the clown mask on his face became a bloody scarlet color because it had absorbed too much mental power.

"Silk Control Secret Technique·Slaughterhouse!"

He sneered and shouted softly, and grabbed and pulled with his ten fingers in the void.

The countless blue threads floating in the air suddenly condensed and tightened.

There was a sound of blood spurting everywhere, and a cloud of snowflakes suddenly exploded in the air. Before the minions around the blond youth could react to what had happened, their bodies were cut into pieces by the sharp threads...

Except for a few third-tier professionals who reacted quickly and distanced themselves, the seven or eight second-tier professionals around the youth were all turned into a pile of rotten meat.

Moreover, it wasn't over yet!

Once he attacked, Suren wouldn't give the enemy any chance.

He clapped his hands together, made a術士 (shu shi, mage) seal, and the hideous eight-armed spider spear behind him appeared.

As soon as the mark landed, he condensed it again, and a cross suddenly appeared in the sky, and countless invisible threads fell down.

However, he didn't kill the blond young master, but hung him in the air. Countless blue threads intertwined into a net, like sharp blades. Anyone who wanted to save him would be cut into pieces if they moved slightly!

Hijack a hostage to escape?

No!

Suren couldn't suppress the manic thoughts in his heart at all. He wanted to kill all these guys!

The "beasts" in his heart wouldn't be happy if he didn't kill them to his heart's content!

Chasing these guys in the forest wasn't very efficient. It was better to surround the area and fight the reinforcements.

...

Suren killed seven or eight people in an instant and tied up the young master. This immediately stunned the members of the "Sun Slave Hunting 团 (tuan, group)".

Even the fourth-tier guy hiding underground was greatly shocked.

He had actually succeeded in a sneak attack in front of a fourth-tier professional?

"Spatial teleportation?"

At this time, the gaunt man beside the bearded man suddenly said, "Everyone, stop!"

With this shout, the members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) stopped one after another.

Suren looked at the gaunt man, pretending not to see that this was a "parasitic living body".

Since the other side didn't rush up to die, he stopped too.

At this moment, he sensed something, and a mocking smile flashed in his eyes.

He knew that there was a fourth-tier 【控虫师 (Kong Chong Shi, Insect Controller)】 among the opponents. How could he have no defense at all?

Listening to the faint sound of mosquitoes flapping their wings beside his ears, Suren formed a seal with both hands, and a layer of faint purple light suddenly appeared on his body. Those tiny poisonous insects, as small as sesame seeds, were burned to ashes before they could get close.

Seeing this flame, the gaunt man's expression remained unchanged. He was not surprised that his sneak attack was seen through.

What surprised him was something else, and he asked, "Are you from the Lu Ying royal family?"

"..."

Suren ignored his meaning and sensed the location of the guy's body hiding underground.

Seeing that he didn't respond, the gaunt man's eyes turned, and he said again, "Since阁下 (ge xia, term of respect) is a member of the royal family, I think there may be a misunderstanding here. You haven't suffered any losses yet, so how about we just call it quits?"

"Oh?"

Suren sneered repeatedly. While this guy was saying he wanted to call it quits, the actions of his body underground hadn't stopped.

He pretended not to know and replied with interest, "I've killed so many of your people. Are you willing to let me go just like that?"

The gaunt man said expressionlessly, "Since it was a misunderstanding, it is naturally our fault."

"Heh. You're so easy to talk to now?"

The red light in Suren's eyes didn't weaken at all. Instead, he asked, "If I didn't have any means of self-preservation, wouldn't I have been killed several times by you? Don't you think it's too late to say this now?"

Saying this, he hooked his finger, and the blond youth who was bound in the air by the silk net suddenly screamed in pain, "Ah...!"

Looking again, a severed hand fell down, and blood spurted out like a spring.

The gaunt man didn't seem to be able to make such complex expressions as a living person. Looking at this scene, he still asked woodenly, "What do you want阁下 (ge xia, term of respect) to do?"

"I don't want to do anything."

Red-eyed Suren already knew what that guy was planning to do and smiled strangely.

His tone was playful and sarcastic, and he no longer concealed his killing intent. He said, word by word, "I only want to be killed by you... or kill you all!"

Hearing this, the members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) all changed their expressions.

Only then did they realize that they seemed to have provoked a madman!

...

The gaunt man didn't hide anything anymore. At this moment, a huge centipede tail suddenly broke out of the ground not far away.

After all, it was a fourth-tier professional hiding underground, and it was still a sneak attack. Before Yuta could react, her transformed silver wolf body was tightly bound by the centipede. To prevent her from escaping, the centipede's thousands of feet, which looked like scythes, also pierced into the wolf's flesh. In this way, it was both a shield and a hostage.

The guy hiding underground knew that if he attacked Suren, even if he could kill him, the团长 (tuan zhang, leader)'s son would be cut to death by the silk threads. He had no chance of saving him, so he could only grab a hostage, and perhaps there would be an opportunity.

"So it's an 【铁背蜈蚣 (Tie Bei Wu Gong, Ironback Centipede)】 implantation..."

Only then did Suren see clearly what the 【控虫师 (Kong Chong Shi, Insect Controller)】's body hiding underground was.

It looked like a big bug, but the soul fire was that of a human.

The human manipulator on the ground, on the other hand, was a parasitic living body to deceive people.

Seeing this, Suren was not surprised at all. "Hehe... I knew you would do this. I really wouldn't have been sure to kill you in one go if you were hiding underground. You're asking for death..."

This guy had restrained Yuta, but he was also trapped on the spot and couldn't escape.

If Suren couldn't tell the real body from the fake body, he might have focused his attention on the "parasite" on the ground.

But now, he hooked his finger without hesitation, and the invisible living corpse slashed towards the big centipede not far away.

The 【铁背蜈蚣 (Tie Bei Wu Gong, Ironback Centipede)】 had amazing defensive power. Even if its body was discovered, it would be difficult for same-tier professionals to break through it.

Unfortunately, under the Black Scythe, it was cut without any obstruction.

Although that guy also noticed Suren's movements and sensed the deadly danger, he couldn't avoid it because the centipede body was holding Yuta.

Just as he realized the danger, his head, which was covered by a thick centipede armor, was chopped off.

A fourth-tier Insect Controller (控虫师) died on the spot without being able to use even 30% of his abilities.

As soon as the centipede's head was cut off, the gaunt man who had been speaking suddenly turned into a puddle of mud and collapsed on the ground. Looking again, black threadworms like hair were crazily emerging from the corpse and drilling into the ground.

Seeing this, the members of the Sun Slave Hunting 团 (tuan, group) were stunned!

Suren killed the fourth-tier professional, and the smile in his eyes deepened.

He raised his hand and drew out his dual guns like lightning, and killed several minions with a series of shots. In that instant, most of the twenty or thirty people who came to surround him were dead.

The surviving members of the slave hunting团 (tuan, group) were scared out of their wits by his bizarre methods of killing people from afar.

The powerful and bizarre deputy团长 (fù tuán zhǎng, leader) was killed in one move?

Seeing this scene, even the third-tiers felt a chill down their backs and scrambled to hide in the forest.

In the communicator, they were all screaming at the top of their lungs, "团长 (tuán zhǎng, leader), it's bad! Deputy 团长 (fù tuán zhǎng, leader) Petra has been killed! We need support!"

...

Yuta was greatly shocked not far away. She had been trapped by the centipede just now and had fallen into despair.

Such a powerful enemy was clearly a fourth-tier professional. She had just wanted to tell Suren not to worry about her and leave first, but she didn't expect that the centipede's head would be cut off in an instant?

The situation changed so dramatically that she didn't know what to say for a moment.

Looking at Suren in the distance, she realized that he had such powerful means besides the Mechanical Alchemist (机械炼金术士) battle armor.

But looking at the very unfamiliar feeling, Yuta was also a little worried. She knew that it was an abnormal state of mental aberration.

She ran over and asked, "Mr. Suren, are you okay?"

Suren glanced at her, smelling the blood, and said with an expression of enjoyment, "No, I'm fine."

Saying this, he walked over unhurriedly, devoured the gray mist on the centipede's corpse, and casually threw the spoils on the corpse into his storage space without looking at them.

Seeing that the enemy had temporarily retreated, Yuta also breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr. Suren, let's leave here first."

"Leave?"

Suren shook his head. "This is just the beginning..."

Dense movements could already be heard in the forest. It was the sound of the main force rushing over.

Hearing this, Yuta was full of worry and said sharply, "But... there are too many enemies! Even if we have a hostage, it will be very dangerous for us if we are surrounded."

"Many people?"

The corners of Suren's mouth under the mask rose in an arc.

He took out three scrolls from the storage space, spread them out in the air, made a seal, and shouted softly, "Seal·Release!"

In an instant, the spatial array inscriptions drawn on the scrolls lit up and exploded with a bang.

Looking again, two or three hundred various puppets appeared densely on the open space around the two of them.

【噩梦娃娃 (È Mèng Wá Wá, Nightmare Doll)】, 【防爆娃娃 (Fáng Bào Wá Wá, Explosion-Proof Doll)】, 【寒霜娃娃 (Hán Shuāng Wá Wá, Frost Doll)】...

Threads of silk fell from the sky, pulling up puppets all over the ground.

They instantly seemed to come alive, either floating, running, or jumping... extremely cheerfully.

The wooden joints rubbed against each other during movement, making "kacha", "kacha", "kacha"... sounds.

In this silent forest, it sounded particularly creepy.

The grotesque dolls showed grotesque and exaggerated smiles on their faces, as if they were looking forward to the bloody feast that was about to come.

Now that he had awakened the ability to multitask, Suren had truly mastered 【百诡夜行 (Bǎi Guǐ Yè Xíng, Hundred Ghosts Night Parade)】!

...

Seeing the overwhelming variety of dolls, Yuta widened her eyes and was shocked. "This..."

Were these the puppets that Mr. Suren had been carving?

Only then did she remember that Mr. Suren had told her that his profession seemed to be... a puppeteer?

But...

Even a puppeteer couldn't possibly control hundreds of puppets?

She was worried and said, "Mr. Suren, are you going to fight them?"

"Hehe... yes."

The sound of Suren's laughter at this moment made people feel a terrifying sensation like a knife scraping their throats. Even before he had attacked, she could already feel his killing intent that was about to burst.

He hadn't lost his mind, but he just couldn't suppress the instinctive killing intent.

He wouldn't let go of those who had malicious intentions towards him.

He looked at Yuta and said, "Yuta, stay away from me when the battle starts... I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

Yuta didn't know what to do for a moment. At this time, the threads had already pulled her body and dragged her to the treetops high above.

Suren stood alone on the grass, looking at the dense figures approaching in the forest, and sneered, "Welcome to my puppet slaughterhouse..."