Chapter 102 The Puppet Theater

In the sky, Suren's million-strong puppet legion appeared, instantly seizing the initiative in the battle.

Even with the Allied Fleet's reinforcements not yet arrived, Dawn and the others stood in the air without the slightest trace of fear on their faces.

Now that the enemy's battle formation had been broken, the most dangerous moment had passed.

Next was the decisive frontal battle between the legions.

Suren's puppet legion versus the magic legion.

The puppets didn't care about death. Each and every gargoyle with its fierce face stared at these magicians from the Celestial Plane as if they were devils from hell, cold and devoid of emotion. Where could one see even a trace of fear?

In contrast, although the magicians didn't say anything, they couldn't help but swallow as they looked at the puppets that filled their vision.

The unknown always inspires awe.

The million puppets before them were such an existence.

...

Across from them, Constantine Reynalds, the "Evil Archmage," had a gloomy look in his eyes. He already knew that there was only one choice left: a fight to the death.

"Great Dark Overlord above, please hear my prayer. I summon the power of dark elements..."

He was extremely decisive. He raised the staff in his hand, which shone with divine light. In an instant, black gas billowed like a tide for dozens of miles around.

As he chanted the magic incantation, dark elements rapidly converged into the nine-pointed star magic array, and in the blink of an eye, they condensed into countless pitch-black arrows.

Constantine raised his hand and used the magic staff to make a motion of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow.

In an instant, the entire sky seemed to lose its color and dimmed.

Suren watched coldly, and he recognized it as the ninth-tier forbidden spell [Annihilation Divine Arrow of the Fallen Veles].

This magic could attack targets over a wide area. Not only was the killing effect excellent, but more importantly, it could cause continuous super-corrosion to the area, melting metal and corroding magic patterns. It was usually used in sieges to destroy enemy city buildings, magic patterns, siege vehicles, and other large targets.

Seeing the opponent's response, Suren had to admit that Constantine was indeed a demigod-level powerhouse.

The guy's sharp battle instincts allowed him to see through one of the few shortcomings of the puppet legion at a glance.

Although the gargoyles forged from [Activated Silver] had super magic resistance and were not afraid of corrosion, only a very small number of gargoyles in the current million puppets were forged from high-purity activated silver. The rest of the golems had a lot of metal impurities. If they were covered by this forbidden spell, they would inevitably be corroded on a large scale.

Once the structure was destroyed, it would just be a pile of scrap metal.

In particular, the hundreds of thousands of mechanical octopuses had too many precision parts that could not withstand the corrosion of a ninth-tier forbidden spell.

The old man struck right at their weakness.

Unfortunately, although the puppets were inanimate objects, they were controlled by Suren's will.

At the same moment that Constantine made his move, a thought rose in Suren's mind, and the runes on the bodies of hundreds of thousands of puppets lit up.

His eyes narrowed, and he softly shouted, "Alchemy Arcana - Elemental Theft!"

This was a very common arcana-level alchemy technique, but when used on a legion of hundreds of thousands, it produced an unbelievable power.

In an instant, the clouds in the sky churned, as if two forces of control were tearing at each other.

But the victory was decided in the blink of an eye.

The dark elements that Constantine had gathered were drawn away by an inexplicable suction force and poured into the super-large nine-pointed star alchemy array under the puppet legion's feet like a levee breaking.

In the battle for elemental control, Suren's puppet legion achieved a complete victory!

Under normal circumstances, low-level professionals could hardly steal elements from opponents who were of a higher tier than themselves.

This was the difference in understanding of the law caused by tier suppression. The elemental control was not on the same level at all.

Suren, at the eighth tier, was one and a half tiers lower than a demigod.

Normally, an eighth-tier professional's understanding of elements was like sand, a ninth-tier was like a layer of rock, and a demigod was like metal.

This kind of strong forbidden spell, in theory, could not be interrupted at all.

But now, Suren's understanding of the laws of all things was not necessarily lower than that of Constantine.

And with the Omniscient Eye of Two Solutions, he had already seen through all the secrets of this magic.

What's more, no matter how strong a demigod was, he was only one person. How could he resist the super-large elemental theft alchemy array condensed by hundreds of thousands of puppets?

Many ants can kill an elephant.

As soon as this radical legion alchemy technique was used, the ninth-tier forbidden spell [Annihilation Divine Arrow of the Fallen Veles] was about to be released, but it was like a leaky ball, and the black gas dissipated in the blink of an eye.

The torrential black rain arrows did not appear, and only some painless black rain fell sporadically from the sky.

In the distance, Constantine, the "Evil Archmage," saw this and his face changed drastically.

In a duel between experts, they would know each other's strength with just one exchange.

The power of this puppet legion far exceeded his imagination!

Constantine could not help but realize that Suren's move not only interrupted his magic release, but also霸道*ly controlled most of the free elements in the natural world within dozens of miles around in the battle formation condensed by the puppet legion.

Even he, a demigod, found it difficult to compete for the right to use elements in that puppet legion. How could other magicians have a chance?

Magicians who could not control elements were like birds with broken wings.

In this way, any magician who wanted to release magic within this range had very limited external elements to condense, and they were at a disadvantage before the battle even began.

Seeing this, Constantine felt an ominous premonition in his heart, and the corner of his eye twitched violently.

He never expected that the opponent was only four people, yet they had forced the million elites of the Aisidin Empire into such a desperate situation?

But there was no use thinking about anything now. The only option was to fight to the death.

The Aisidin Empire was a powerful magical kingdom with tens of thousands of years of history, and its foundation should not be underestimated!

Seeing this, Constantine decisively roared, "Legion, concentrate fire! At all costs, kill that puppeteer first!"

With this order, the surrounding magicians also moved.

Earlier, due to the explosion of the golden main ship, the thousands of magic airships in the sky had fallen into temporary chaos.

After a moment, they gradually gathered again.

Even though the battle formation was broken and they were scattered, they still had at least eighty or ninety fully organized ten-thousand-man magic corps.

Not only was the number terrifying, but each ten-thousand-man corps also had its own large-scale legion magic conductor!

[The Suffering of the Prophet Vala], [The Light-Tracing Magic Lamp], [The Mirror of the Void], [The Entangling Web of the Norn Sisters], [The Holy Sword of Twilight]...

On those magic airships, magic conductors flashing with terrifying magic all lit up with various colors of light.

Each of these epic-level magic conductors possessed the power to destroy cities. With the order to "pay any price," dozens of magic conductors all unleashed their brilliance towards Suren and the others.

...

At this moment, the killing intent of millions of people was like a tangible substance, sweeping over them.

Suren and the others felt as if they were ants being targeted by dozens of cannons. Once hit, they feared that even the surrounding space would be annihilated.

Seeing this, Mr. Mirror, who had not had time to catch his breath, once again divided into nine, and the clones entered a defensive state with all their strength.

Senjo wiped the faint golden blood from the corner of her mouth, and her sword aura was once again accumulating.

Pandora's pupils were like a red moon, and the Tsukuyomi Shinto Law was cast again.

They all knew that as long as they could withstand this wave, the balance of victory would completely shift!

Only Suren looked very calm. He had already unlocked the [Blasphemer] armor and entered a state of absolute rational thinking.

He had already deduced all kinds of possibilities in his mind. There was no surprise in his eyes, and he only murmured in an inaudible voice, "In my puppet theater, everything must follow my script... I call this scene 'The Slaughterhouse.'"

The thought flashed and disappeared, and Suren’s eyes focused.

After the elemental theft, the cross in the sky swelled again, and in the blink of an eye, it covered the entire sky above the magic airships. Countless transparent threads had already quietly pierced into the magic airships.

Just like controlling the command room before, these threads that could penetrate the void easily penetrated the defensive restrictions of those magic airships. Before those magicians realized it, they pierced into their bodies.

The magicians on those magic airships were now like mosquitoes crashing into a spider web. Once entangled, they would no longer have any chance to escape.

Several surviving ninth-tier magicians had seen the horror of this move. It was this move that had instantly wiped out the command.

Their faces changed drastically, and they roared at the legions, "Not good! Scatter!"

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The threads were blessed by the void power of the [Ouroboros Time-Space Ring], and they could ignore distance and pierce any location. In an instant, Suren controlled the magicians on a dozen nearby battleships who were controlling the legion magic conductors.

These magic conductors had just gathered their magic power and were originally aimed at Suren and the others, but suddenly the muzzles turned and fired at their "companions" around them.

Moreover, Suren's control was more precise.

In an instant, dozens of forbidden-level spells exploded in the sky, like dazzling fireworks, a colorful sight.

Rumble...

Rumble...

Rumble...

One by one, magic airships were hit and exploded into flames.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen airships fell from the sky.

Suren didn't make any big moves at all. He just hooked his fingers and destroyed more than a dozen ten-thousand-man magic corps.

And this was just the beginning.

In the sky, countless void mechanical octopuses made a metallic friction sound as they rushed towards the thousands of magic airships. Blessed with void runes, they were as agile as if they were in the sea. Hundreds of thousands of mechanical octopuses swam freely across the sky like locusts.

The mechanical octopuses were originally designed as super weapons for breaking ships. The eight mechanical arms had runes and mechanical devices with [Magic Drain], [Armor Break], and [Penetration], etc.

Even if those magic airships had defensive shields, whether it was energy-level or physical-level defense, they would be eaten clean in minutes in front of tens of thousands of mechanical octopuses.

One by one, magic airships were broken open, and the magicians on the ships either died tragically or fell like rain from the sky.

Although the magicians also organized a counterattack, various magics exploded in the sky, and mechanical octopuses were also destroyed and fell into the sea in a mess.

Suren wasn't worried at all. Let them kill.

As they fought, the magicians finally realized in despair that the number of puppets hadn't decreased at all.

No matter how many were destroyed, there were new ones to replenish them.

Now, the war workshops on the Little Void Plane had a very mature production line. As long as there were enough materials, they could continuously produce mechanical octopuses.

Over the past few years, the warehouses had been piled high with mechanical octopuses of various batches. This battle was a good opportunity to consume some of the outdated technology inventory.

Even if it was a one-to-one exchange, Suren wouldn't feel bad at all about exchanging a million mechanical octopuses for a million magicians.

He would just clean up the battlefield after the war.

Fighting against a puppet legion that was not afraid of death, the more you fought to the end, the more you would realize that most of what you did was useless.

Magic airships were constantly being destroyed, and they also had to be on guard against the companions around them who might be controlled at any time... but they couldn't do anything to their opponents.

Gradually, the pessimistic emotions in the hearts of the magicians from the Celestial Plane grew stronger and stronger.

Once morale began to decline, defeat was inevitable.

...

"Boom!"

Another forbidden-level spell hit the direction where Suren and the others were.

However, it didn't cause any damage.

The energy shield formed by the hundreds of thousands of puppet battle formations blocked the eighth forbidden spell.

Despair

Not only the ordinary magicians, but Constantine and several eighth-and-ninth-tier backbone magicians also looked at the scene before them, their faces turning ashen.

They could be considered the most knowledgeable small group of people on the Celestial Plane.

But today, they were really taught a lesson by this puppet tactic.

This was a scene that had never been seen before.

Originally, they thought that the million-strong magic legion would go straight to the capital of the Alchemy Empire, and there might be a tragic decisive battle involving tens of millions of people. In the end, they would destroy this alchemic civilization and its technology... 1

However, they had never thought that a million elite legions would be blocked here by a puppeteer.

They would be forced into such a desperate situation by one person!

One person blocking a million legions, what an unbelievable combat power was that?

If they hadn't encountered it personally, no one would dare to imagine it.

They also wanted to solve the situation, but they had no way at all.

The puppet legion was not just mechanical octopuses. There were also hundreds of thousands of gargoyles and other offensive puppets, which were a real threat to even top magicians!

Just now, Constantine had tried all kinds of methods to kill Suren and the others in order to break the situation.

But after trying, he realized that it was impossible.

No matter what type of spell or forbidden spell it was, it was blocked by the puppet battle formation.

With the same number of puppets, the puppet legion was not at all inferior to the magician legion in terms of combat power. Even he, a demigod, could not do anything about the legion defense shield formed by hundreds of thousands of gargoyles.

What's more, there was also the mirror ability user, the swordsman in the sword god realm, and the false god... all of whom were very tricky opponents.

Even if he wanted to rush up for a desperate fight, they wouldn't give him any chance at all.

If he couldn't kill them in the command room before, it was even more impossible now.

The more he fought, the more Constantine saw the strength of his opponents, and he gradually fell into despair.

How meticulous must the mind be to control a million puppets?

He also discovered that the puppeteer had an almost numb thinking ability. His eyes seemed to see through everything on the battlefield and would not reveal any flaws at all.

This was no longer something that could be overcome by any tactical tricks.

Constantine knew that he could not break the puppet battle formation, and his million-strong magic legion was now being devoured by hundreds of thousands of mechanical puppets.

The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be.

And in the distance, on the sea and in the sky, countless steel battleships and airships emitting billowing steam were closing in.

Suddenly, Constantine realized that the situation was over.

As a demigod-level powerhouse, even in such a desperate situation, he still had a chance to escape.

But once he left, the million-strong legion would inevitably be buried here.

Without the legion, his survival would be especially shameful.

Although he didn't want to admit it.

But he had to accept reality.

The Empire's conquest had completely failed.

Suddenly, a touch of determination appeared in Constantine's turbid eyes. In the next second, the magic power all over his body burned like rolling flames, and he roared at his subordinates, "Find a chance to break through! Save as many as you can!"

.....

In the sky, dozens of black crows split from Crow-Lord flew around, providing Suren with ample vision.

Everything within sight was an actor in the puppet theater.

[Using Ten Thousand Hearts for a Billion Tasks] allowed Suren to calmly divide his attention to handle everything in his vision. He also controlled more and more magicians.

People were dying in large numbers every moment, and the battle became more and more tragic.

But in fact, from the moment they broke through the giant bird battle formation, this ending was doomed.

As long as they continued to consume like this, Suren might lose hundreds of thousands of puppets, but those magicians from the Celestial Plane would inevitably be killed or injured!

However, at this moment, listening to the old archmage's roar in the distance, a trace of strangeness appeared on Suren's numb face: "Magic power burning?"

The three of Mr. Mirror next to him also frowned slightly.

They all knew that this demigod was about to risk his life.

However, this was also an expected situation.

The stronger they were, the more arrogant they were.

In the current situation, the royal princess of the Aisidin Empire had already died in battle, and the million-strong army was about to be buried here. Constantine, the deputy commander of the fleet, would definitely not have the face to escape and live in shame.

Fighting to the death was the only option.

Suren and the others also thought it was a good thing.

In this battle, everyone else could escape, but this demigod must not leave alive!

.....

At the moment when the old magician roared, his entire aura suddenly rose several times, and he raised his hand and sent a ninth-tier magic towards Suren and the others.

The power was so great that even the puppet battle formation trembled and collapsed, destroying thousands of gargoyles.

A demigod-level powerhouse risking his life was not to be underestimated.

Suren and the others didn't dare to be distracted and did their best to resist.

They also saw that Constantine knew that the defeat was inevitable and wanted to hold them back so as to create an opportunity for others to break through.

Although the chance of breaking through was not high, he probably wanted to seek inner peace before his death.

After all, he had to take responsibility for the failure of this battle.

Suren and the others didn't choose to confront him head-on. Mr. Mirror, Senjo, and Pandora's injuries still needed time to heal. It was good to just maintain the stalemate like this.

As for those magicians who were trying to break through, they would leave them to the Allied Fleet.

.....

The two sides fought fiercely in this unnamed sea area of the Empire Strait for most of the day before the curtain finally fell.

The final result was that Constantine Reynalds, the "Evil Archmage," died in battle, and the million-strong legion of the Celestial Plane was almost completely annihilated, with only a very few escaping.

Although the United Imperial Fleet also paid a heavy price, compared to this, it was already a brilliant victory.

The news spread back to the capital, Lyndon, and the whole country was boiling.

Originally, everyone was prepared for a decisive battle on land, but they didn't expect that the battle situation would be reversed in such a bizarre way.

The golden-patterned cloak group photo of the Dawn Troupe members once again appeared on the headlines of major newspapers.

The next day, the headline of the front page of The Lyndon Daily was: A Legendary Battle, The Puppet Emperor, 1 vs. 1 Million!