Chapter 135 The Grandmaster's Loss

The wine estate street in the Franklin District, once a bustling art district, was now mostly in ruins.

In the hazy mist, dozens of figures were still engaged in fierce fighting.

After only a few tentative probes, the battle reached its climax.

[Earth Rock Dwarf], [Wind Howl Puppet], [Black Flame Demon], [Poisonous Water Puppet], [Mechanical Killing Shadow Puppet], [Divine Power Vajra], [Candy Witch]...

Thus, Grandmaster Aubrey's signature seven near-seventh-order dark gold puppets, the [Seven Dwarfs], had all appeared.

Suddenly, the crackling sounds of battle ceased for a moment.

On the ruins, Su Lun panted heavily, the right arm gripping the Black Scythe wreathed in domineering energy, yet unable to move.

Upon closer inspection, several black threads were entangled around his arm and body. The threads, sharp as blades, cut into his flesh. Though they didn't sever anything, faint traces of blood appeared. The threads' force continued to intensify.

Su Lun glanced at his arm, a fleeting seriousness in his eyes, and thought to himself, "The old guy is cunning indeed."

Aubrey was indeed a grandmaster-level puppeteer, his thread-control skills bordering on the divine.

This [Grid Room] secret technique not only controlled puppets but also concealed murderous intent everywhere.

In terms of skill alone, it was far more complex and complete than Su Lun's self-developed [Slaughterhouse].

Even though Su Lun knew the opponent's information in great detail, he still faced several dangerous situations in the battle.

Like now.

The old man's threads hadn't achieved any results previously, their familiar advantage against the Witch's hair being severely limited. This led Su Lun to a habitual combat mindset, assuming the threads were only sharp and not otherwise dangerous. However, the old man, relying on his superb thread-control skills, had quietly hidden several threads engraved with "Spatial Imprisonment" in the battle, found a flaw, and directly trapped Su Lun.

If not for his powerful physical body, this severing would have cost him an arm, if not his life.

This exchange allowed Su Lun to witness the combat power and methods of a top-tier powerhouse in the puppet world.

He had to admit, the gap was very large!

Under normal circumstances, not to mention fifth or sixth-order professionals, even seventh-order professionals would find it difficult to gain the upper hand.

This was the advantage of the puppeteer profession.

Puppeteers had almost no possibility of being countered, and they could find corresponding counter-measures against any professional.

The old man's elemental puppet lineage's [Seven Dwarfs] puppet combination had been honed to perfection, lacking nothing in terms of elements, defense, control, healing, and offensive capabilities.

Whether in tactics, skills, coordination, or puppet quality, they were almost impeccable.

If Su Lun didn't have a deep understanding of puppetry, he wouldn't have the qualifications to fight this seventh-order grandmaster face to face.

...

After all, Su Lun had come with the intention of sparring with a senior colleague.

Defeat was expected.

Being defeated without being too miserable was already a pleasant surprise.

But the shock in Grandmaster Aubrey's heart was indescribable.

He looked at Su Lun, who had been cut into pieces by his threads, his turbid eyes filled with disbelief, exclaiming in astonishment, "A body engraving secret technique from the Rune Art school? No wonder you have such a strong physical body, no less than a fifth-order melee professional."

After a pause, he said with a complex tone, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a person could integrate so many high-level implants and be proficient in so many categories of techniques. I have to admit, you are the number one among the many geniuses I've seen!"

Aubrey truly had murderous intentions.

An enemy like this would inevitably become a great threat in the future.

In Lyndon, he wouldn't allow any other puppet lineage to shake the status of his elemental puppet lineage.

But after fighting for a while, Aubrey helplessly discovered that he couldn't kill this younger colleague, who was two major orders lower than him!

This feeling of helplessness was something that even professionals of the same order couldn't give him.

Aubrey looked back on his life, considering that he had seen countless puppet geniuses.

But he had never encountered such a stunning puppeteer.

Whether in skill, mindset, combat style, or understanding of puppetry, he was the best among the younger generation he had seen.

No!

Even among the older generation in the Puppeteer Guild, few could match him.

...

Su Lun listened to the old man, who clearly harbored murderous intentions, praising him, and grinned in response, "I have also witnessed the Grandmaster's methods. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely come to learn again."

Such a tense battle wasn't the time to waste words.

Because both sides knew that they couldn't kill each other.

Although Su Lun's smile revealed some blood seeping through his teeth, it didn't look miserable at all.

Because he had achieved his purpose: to seize the opportunity to gain some combat insights in front of this grandmaster while finding a way to break the situation.

At this moment, his arm was entangled by threads, and the old man's life-bound threads, which he used as a trump card, couldn't be blocked by the [Rune Vajra] body alone.

It was because of domineering energy that he had been able to stalemate for a moment.

Mr. Mirror had once told him that the best way to temper domineering energy was to fight enemies who surpassed one's own order.

Only the death crisis from a higher-order enemy could give you the pressure of order, as well as the baptism and understanding of that powerhouse's domineering energy.

And Aubrey was a rare and suitable opponent.

If Su Lun were to reach the same order as this grandmaster, or even advance to the sixth order, this old man wouldn't be able to give him such great pressure anymore.

Moreover, only puppet master colleagues could easily see each other's flaws at a glance.

In this battle.

Su Lun also used Aubrey as a mirror, seeing too many of his own shortcomings in detail.

But he didn't waste any more time, because at this time, he had already found a way to break the situation.

.......

His arm was entangled by threads, the bloodstains getting deeper and deeper. It looked like he wouldn't be able to hold on for long, and his arm would be cut into pieces.

But Su Lun wasn't flustered at all, because at this time, the black raven that had been watching the show on his shoulder suddenly flapped its wings and flew down.

With a light peck of its beak, these special threads, which even the Black Scythe had difficulty cutting, immediately turned into pencil lines drawn on Su Lun's skin.

In an instant, the sharp cutting sensation disappeared without a trace.

Aubrey was shocked. Before he could even retract the threads, he watched his threads being reduced to a lower dimension.

He quickly cut off that section of thread to prevent the dimensional reduction from spreading, and a fleeting shadow flashed in his eyes, thinking, "A harbinger of death? What a freak. How can so many great opportunities be gathered in one person..."

Even if he didn't want to admit it, after experiencing that ultra-luxurious foundation, the grandmaster, who possessed all the resources of the Lyndon Puppeteer Guild, felt an unspeakable jealousy in his heart.

Su Lun instantly broke free and didn't waste any more time.

At this moment, he suddenly pulled away, then had the gargoyle guard him, and formed a complex warlock seal with his hands.

A seven-pointed star alchemical array gradually lit up under his feet, and a spatial fluctuation grew stronger and stronger.

Grandmaster Aubrey's eyes narrowed sharply as he watched his movements!

After fighting for so long, he knew that even if he used all his means, it would be difficult to kill the other party.

And the reason why the other party had been staying here was because he still wanted to kill Elsa!

Su Lun didn't give the old man any chance to intervene. The gargoyle blocked a wave of interfering spells. As the complex warlock seal that had lasted for several seconds condensed, violent spatial fluctuations suddenly surged from his body!

Aubrey originally thought that hiding the person in the [Shadow Puppet] was foolproof, but now, looking at the vibrating space around him, his expression changed drastically, "Not good!"

He understood at a glance, exclaiming in shock in his heart: This guy actually has such profound void law abilities hidden!

The old man had already guessed what Su Lun was going to do the moment the warlock made his move.

But it was too late to stop it, and there was no way to stop it.

Aubrey himself had a [Mechanical Killing Hidden Puppet] that could merge into the void, but that was inherited from his ancestors, and he wasn't proficient in void secret techniques.

Now, watching the surrounding space surge, he could only watch helplessly as his [Shadow Puppet] was forced to manifest from the spatial rift.

The old man wanted the puppet to continue to hide, but found that an external force was actually repelling the puppet, and he was powerless to reverse it!

This was the gap in the understanding of the law.

Although this [Hidden Puppet] was of high quality, it had an inherent flaw for an operator who only knew how to activate solidified arrays.

It would be fine if he encountered other professionals, but if he encountered an opponent who was truly proficient in spatial laws, careful observation would inevitably reveal an opportunity.

The reason why Su Lun had fought for so long was actually to calculate how to break the spatial sealing restriction on the puppet and pull out Elsa, who was hidden inside!

Because the puppet was hidden in a secondary space, there was no concept of spatial distance in reality.

For Su Lun, a distance of several hundred meters was no different from being right in front of him, within reach.

Su Lun's actions were bound to be swift and decisive.

As soon as the puppet was forced out of the secondary space, the Black Raven cawed and flew over, then the entire bird became two-dimensional, turning into a black cloth full of black lines, directly wrapping the entire puppet and cutting off all connection between the puppet and the outside world.

"Void Alchemy - Telekinesis!"

Su Lun formed another warlock seal with both hands, and a black hole appeared out of thin air in front of him.

He grabbed towards the void with one hand, and a woman with a terrified expression was pulled out.

Looking at the man in front of her, who was like a god of death, the noble lady's pupils dilated infinitely, her eyes filled only with terror that had broken her courage.

Elsa never expected that even though her teacher had already made a move, why could this person still catch her?

But reality didn't give her a chance to think. With a "crack" sound of bone breaking, Su Lun directly snapped her neck.

To prevent the old man opposite from having any life-saving means, Su Lun even urged the spatial術式, brutally twisting the woman's head into dozens of pieces of bloody flesh.

Only when he saw "gray mist" rising from the corpse did he feel relieved.

...

Watching his closed-door disciple being killed in front of him, Aubrey's old face turned black with anger, and a strange flush surged up, "You... you..."

He now understood that from the beginning, this guy wasn't bluffing, but really had the ability to kill!

The incident started because his disciple was kidnapped and killed by this old man's disciple. This was a mortal feud. Su Lun didn't hesitate to take action, saying calmly, "I said, the person I want to kill, you can't protect."

He immediately harvested that ball of gray mist.

In an instant, Su Lun also confirmed that this matter had nothing to do with Caroline, whom he had met once. Because although that woman guessed that he was "Death," she didn't know that he was "Fick Regarde."

This also reduced the trouble of killing one more person.

He originally thought that it was almost over, but when he pondered the details of the kidnapping, he not only didn't feel relieved, but his brows furrowed.

"Things are not that simple after all."

Thoughts flashed through Su Lun's mind in an instant. He didn't plan to entangle with the old man in front of him any longer. Before leaving, he didn't forget to say, "Although Your Excellency's order is high, your understanding of void laws is far inferior to mine. I'll accept this puppet with a smile..."

He wouldn't be polite to an enemy who had already harbored murderous intentions.

At this moment, the Black Raven had wrapped the [Mechanical Killing Hidden Puppet], and Aubrey's dozens of threads connecting to the puppet had all been reduced to a lower dimension.

The life-bound threads that Su Lun had struggled to cut with the Black Scythe before were now cut off with a single strike.

Then, he decisively took his spoils into the Little Void Realm.

Yes, it was blatant robbery.

Now, the old man's [Seven Dwarfs] had become [Six Dwarfs].

As he spoke, a spatial fluctuation flashed, and Su Lun's entire body disappeared from the ruins.

...

Almost at the same time, hundreds of meters away.

Su Lun didn't leave Wine Estate Street. Instead, he teleported into a group of people.

This was the bodyguard team of the Bach family. They couldn't participate in that level of combat, but they hadn't left either.

Su Lun instantly found a woman in a black suit who was watching the battle.

This fourth-order professional was Elsa's personal bodyguard captain.

Su Lun looked at Elsa's memories from an outsider's point of view, so he also discovered the abnormality.

It was clear that this woman did resent Kama because of the previous puppetry competition. But she was incited to murder by someone using the mystical extraordinary power of "spiritual inducement."

The person who instigated her was this bodyguard captain.

Su Lun had seen her in the exhibition hall before, so he remembered that soul fluctuation and found her in the crowd at once.

Kama's severed hands were handed over to Elsa by her.

The group of bodyguards was shocked by Su Lun's sudden appearance.

But before they could react, a burly figure teleported behind the captain.

The gargoyle stretched out a claw, and the sharp claws wrapped in spatial storms directly tore through the close-fitting bulletproof vest, creating a large bloody hole in her chest, killing her on the spot.

Su Lun ignored the bodyguards who were taking action and harvested the "gray mist" from the woman's corpse.

The moment he digested that information, a hopeful light instantly appeared in his eyes, and he exclaimed in shock, "Kama is not dead yet!"

.....

This woman in the suit didn't know much information, but it was very important.

The kidnappers kidnapped Kama and gave the severed hands to the "middleman."

And when the middleman gave the hands to this woman in the suit, he also explained an important thing.

That is, Kama is not dead yet!

There was a dialogue in the memory as follows:

"Where's the body?"

"Sent to Parrot Street. Razor Party boss 'Bear' Lawrence and I have some friendship, hoping I can help him in an emergency and get a few virgin professionals over. Anyway, Miss Elsa only wants these hands, so the body is used as waste. Don't worry, Lawrence never makes mistakes. I'll take care of it."

"..."

Razor Party, human traffickers, virgin professionals, urgent need...

These keywords may still be confusing to others.

But for the information Su Lun had, it was enough for him to judge everything.

When he saw this information, he immediately smelled a strong conspiracy.

He originally thought that someone was using bait to fish,

Unexpectedly,

Someone spread a big net!

With a little thought, Su Lun guessed why Kama was sent to "Parrot Street."

Because there, there was probably an old monster who needed to suck the blood of virgins!

He now realized that Kama's kidnapping was directly related to the assassination of the old monster Augustus last night.

The purpose of the person behind the scenes was not only to kill Elsa,

But ultimately to lead him there!

...

Su Lun knew that the [Lilith's Vampire Ring] could maintain youth, but the prerequisite was that it needed enough young girls' blood to nourish it.

Although that Augustus didn't know which generation of old monsters from the Rodriguez family he was,

That guy had maintained his youth because of the ring, and that ring also gave him abilities similar to the undead body of the Blood Clan.

He encountered a severely injured assassination last night and managed to escape with his life.

But to survive and recover, he would inevitably need to absorb a large amount of young girls' essence and blood.

Now that he thought about it, it was probably not because Augustus was strong that he managed to escape with his life, but the assassin deliberately left him alive.

Just to wait for now!

Wait for Su Lun to come to him, and then transfer the crime of assassinating the top nobles to him.

He immediately guessed the whole story, sighing in his heart, "What a good calculation! Those guys probably also know that Augustus is an important figure in the Rodriguez family. As long as I kill that guy and get caught, even if I expose the identity of 'Fick', the Lance family and the Regarde family won't be able to protect me. In this way, the marriage will be destroyed, and several great议员 will fall into civil war, and the Ruyen political situation will completely fall into turmoil. Killing many birds with one stone, no wonder they painstakingly planned this out."

Su Lun knew that his current identity was very special.

He was "Fick" and also a member of the Dawn Organization.

One person involved several powerful forces.

And it was at the critical juncture of the Lance family and the Regarde family's marriage.

So, moving him could immediately achieve the effect of muddling the Ruyen political situation.

Moreover, the cost was small.

Even if things were exposed, this matter would still be a kidnapping and murder case caused by jealousy from beginning to end, and then accidentally involved a Rodriguez family "vampire scandal."

The key was that Su Lun also very cooperatively helped them kill all the relevant personnel.

The old monster Augustus probably didn't know that he was being used.

However, since he guessed the motive, it was not difficult for Su Lun to infer the person behind the scenes.

The one who benefited the most from the chaos in the Ruyen political situation was the current Ruyen military industry leader, Grand Duke Raphael.

William undoubtedly participated in the plan to destroy the marriage.

...

Knowing that Kama was not dead yet, Su Lun was overjoyed.

But after figuring out the whole story,

He couldn't be happy anymore.

Kama may not be dead now, to give him a glimmer of hope.

But from the moment he knew the news, Kama may have already died in Augustus' hands.

Because only such a mortal feud could give Su Lun enough reason to kill Augustus.

From the moment he dared to kill Elsa, he was calculated step by step.

Su Lun figured out the whole story, his eyes gleaming coldly, "After this is over, I really have to dig out these rats in the sewers one by one and see the light."

But it wasn't completely without a chance.

The kidnapping happened an hour ago.

Su Lun hadn't wasted much time because he was decisive and had investigated all the way to now.

The road conditions in Lyndon in the morning were very congested, and the motorcycle was much slower than his teleportation.

Going now, there might still be a chance to save the person.

Moreover, those behind the scenes probably didn't expect that Su Lun was already at odds with these邪神 believers of the "Giant Hermit Society."

He wouldn't hesitate just because he was a member of the Rodriguez family.

Those guys didn't know that it wouldn't have been so troublesome in the first place.

Even if there was no kidnapping, he would have gone if he had really heard about Augustus' hiding place.

Su Lun had been coveting that [Lilith's Vampire Ring]. It was just that he hadn't been in a hurry to take action because he was still troubled by not having a way to get it.

He also knew that this Augustus was an important leader of the "Giant Hermit Society," and killing him could also get more information about this cult.

He wasn't sure about killing him one-on-one before.

Now, those behind the scenes were afraid that he wouldn't be able to kill him, and the assassination last night had also severely injured him.

Moreover, various environments suitable for assassination were created. It was likely that no higher-order professionals would intervene until he killed Elsa, just like when he killed Elsa.

They were just afraid that the created opportunity wasn't perfect enough, and Su Lun wouldn't enter the game.

This was really the best time.

But now that these guys dragged his disciple into it, even if the chance of survival was slim, Su Lun wanted to do his best.

The risk was indeed not small, but he would definitely not fulfill the wishes of those conspirators!

"Parrot Street in Queens..."

With a little thought, Su Lun instantly had a response in his mind.

Now that he knew Kama's location, he didn't hesitate at all, using spatial teleportation to cross the streets one after another.

A thousand meters in an instant.

Going directly now might have a chance to save Kama.

Moreover, when contacting Shabina, he also received good news. The mysterious Lyndon underworld king "Shadow Earl" responded that he would intervene in this matter.

...

Su Lun killed Elsa and didn't stay at the scene.

And Grandmaster Aubrey watched his disciple being killed in front of him, and didn't stay to wait for the mounted police to inquire.

Moreover, because his disciple was not justified in this kidnapping and murder, he didn't have the face to tell outsiders.

On the ruins of Wine Estate Street, the smoke gradually dissipated, and more and more people gathered around to watch.

The Lyndon General Police Department, a security department, was just right in coming late. It happened to arrive when the fight was over.

On another street, an inconspicuous steam car from the Lance family drove over.

In the carriage, Grand Duke Bartolo looked at the ruins where there was no more excitement to see, and pouted with little interest, muttering, "Oh, it was a fierce fight. What a pity, I couldn't see the scene."

He himself was a top powerhouse. After looking at the traces of the battle, he also recreated some battle scenes in his mind, and added, "Looking at the traces of this battle, the [Seven Dwarfs] set of dark gold elemental puppets probably all showed their faces. Tsk tsk, to be able to force that old man Aubrey to have murderous intentions, but still not be able to kill him. That kid's methods are really more and more incomprehensible."

Yekaterina, who was next to him, listened to her old father babbling and scrutinized the surrounding environment with a blank expression.

Suddenly, she shifted her gaze to a few hundred meters away.

It was a high ground that could see the movements of the side street of Wine Estate Street.

She thought of something and muttered, "That schemer and Young Master William should have been watching the battle there."

Bartolo listened and asked curiously, "Oh? Katyusha, did you deduce that with astrology?"

Yekaterina shook her head and said, "William is too conceited. He will definitely come."

Bartolo understood and chuckled, "Criminal psychology? Will the perpetrator come to the scene to take a look?"

Yekaterina responded, "No, it's just Young Master William's personality defect. That kind of person has good talent, so he always thinks that the world revolves around him. He grew up indeed after being born in the Regarde family. It's a pity that he can't stand setbacks. Once it's not a smooth road, his mentality will easily become extreme. He won't achieve great things."

Bartolo listened with some boredom and shrugged, "I also think that Young Master William is not pleasing to the eye. As for that other kid, he's much more pleasing to the eye. But..."

Speaking of this, he seemed to think of something unpleasant, "Forget it. If I continue to talk about it, I'll want to beat that guy up again."

Yekaterina listened with a blank expression.

Bartolo glanced at his daughter and asked, "There's no more excitement to see here. Where should we go now?"

Yekaterina said, "Keep an eye on the other great议员, especially the two families who have grudges with Grand Duke Raphael. Also their legions and private soldiers. Once there is a large-scale personnel transfer, it will be a fight."

Bartolo suddenly realized and said, "But, by the time we go, people will probably have been killed. What excitement is there to see?"

"The time after people are killed is when the excitement begins. Astrology predicts that there will be blood rain today, an ominous sign. This time, a terrible 'big shot' should die."

Yekaterina played with the pair of purple meteorites in her hand.

As she spoke, she pondered for a moment, and then muttered to herself, "Is it one of the old guys from which family? Tsk tsk, it's getting more and more interesting."

...

After several teleports, Su Lun had appeared in a lively and noisy street.

Parrot Street in Queens, the famous arms trading market in Nancheng.

The whole street was full of gun retail and modification shops.

The arms business was hugely profitable, and it was bound to involve gangs.

Several gangs mixed in this area, Razor Party, Motorcycle Party, Fire Thief Society, Ghost Head Gang... were all the many small gangs left after the three major Lyndon gangs, Black Stone, laundered themselves.

The illegal population trade in Lyndon was almost all in the hands of these people.

Although there were not many higher-order professionals in the gangs, no one was more professional than them in population kidnapping and knowing which young lady was a professional.

ps. Still unwell today, will make up for tomorrow.