Chương 51: War God — Chapter 51 - Wait — We Told You to Hold It Off for Thirty Seconds, Not to Kill It in

"If the Soldier Bone Beasts weren't just F-rank, I'd swear he's no first- or second-realm martial artist at all..." the veteran murmured.

"He feels like a battle master with decades of combat experience." Crew Cut and Twin Tails nodded in complete agreement. Long Yuan said nothing. Just watched. The battle lasted an entire day. Memory crystal fusion hit 15 percent directly. Far faster than expected. Wang Xian killed to his heart's content. Though not quite exhilarating. It had only been one day, after all. On the Alien Star Battlefield, battles sometimes dragged on for months.

But in the few months since his rebirth, this was at least one of the more satisfying fights he'd had.

"Killing beasts really is better." Sparring with people always meant holding back eventually. Only Martial Dao Infinity let him cut loose, since everything was virtual anyway. Real combat in the physical world? Impossible for a high school student.

"Seriously, little bro? You fought all day and only got a scratch?" That evening, Twin Tails examined Wang Feng's injuries with exasperation.

"You're making big sister look useless here. Could you at least get hurt a little?"

"Please?"

"I'm not asking for injuries in the lower abdominal triangle or anything. Arms, chest, thighs — big sister can work with those."

"..." Twin Tails was a half-experienced flirt who opened with teasing and closed with bedroom eyes. She practically wanted to tear his clothes off and massage him thoroughly. But she was genuinely good-hearted.

"First time I've felt this relaxed." Crew Cut clasped his hands behind his head.

"Previous runs had us wheezing and exhausted, barely scraping together a few beast bones for merit."

"This time we just cleaned up the battlefield and made enough for the whole trip."

"Though the White Bone Forest is almost cleared out now... cough..." Almost cleared. Normally there'd be enough Soldier Bone Beasts to keep an elite first-realm squad busy for two or three days. Wang Xian smiled, his mind elsewhere.

"Now that I think about it, the White Bone Forest should be a graveyard, right?" the veteran said suddenly.

"How come there aren't any tombstones? No idea what was actually buried here."

"I heard a story about that." Crew Cut stood. His innate talent involved his eyes, not great for combat, but excellent for processing information and memory.

"They say the Skeleton Blade Tomb was once a great burial site. Who's buried there, nobody knows. But every generation had a tomb keeper."

"The tomb keeper guarded this place with tremendous power."

"But they'd be cursed. Eventually they'd die here and become monsters that kept their living memories."

"The monsters you're talking about... those are the Blade Puppets in the blood pool, right?" The veteran seemed vaguely familiar with this.

"Exactly! Blade Puppets are humanoid beasts formed from mutated human martial artist corpses!" Crew Cut said.

"They're among the tougher beasts in the Skeleton Blade Tomb. Since they retain their human memories, they're harder to fight than typical F-rank beasts." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"But Blade Puppets have a fatal weakness: the mouth."

"Stab through the mouth and you can kill them instantly." That's why the Skeleton Blade Tomb was considered a relatively easy relic. Beasts with fatal weaknesses didn't pose serious life-threatening danger.

"Over the years, the Skeleton Blade Tomb only changed once, a few decades back..." Crew Cut continued.

"What changed?"

"A rare active Blade Puppet appeared in the blood pool!" Crew Cut's expression turned mysterious.

"What's an active Blade Puppet?"

"A Blade Puppet that keeps its living intelligence. The body's still rotting flesh, but it has wisdom!" Crew Cut recalled what he knew about the Skeleton Blade Tomb.

"Wisdom?" Everyone exclaimed together.

"They can use human martial arts." Crew Cut narrowed his eyes.

"Extremely powerful. Imagine nearly beast-level physical strength, but executing peak mastery human martial techniques. Even at just first-realm power..."

"That's terrifying."

"I heard several squads died."

"Before they barely managed to kill that active Blade Puppet." Everyone drew sharp breaths. Wang Xian thought silently: active Blade Puppet.

"A few decades ago? That's ancient history..." Twin Tails shook her head.

"Completely different era. Back then, most human martial artists still practiced Old Martial Arts, right? Pure martial techniques, pure body tempering."

"Not like now. More and more martial artists have talent. With talent enhancement, old-era martial arts aren't what they used to be."

"These days, a single squad should be able to handle that kind of active Blade Puppet, right?"

"Not necessarily." Long Yuan, silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"You're forgetting one of the relic rules."

"Dynamic change."

"Right. Relics change dynamically."

"What if another one appeared among those Blade Puppets, an active Blade Puppet that also has martial talent?" Everyone sucked in breath. That would be serious. The group discussed animatedly. Day two, the White Bone Forest's Soldier Bone Beasts were nearly extinct. They finished off the stragglers anyway. Day three. The group reached the Weeping Blood Pool. As they neared the shore, thick blood stench hit them. ROAR! A violent bellow mixed with bloody wind assaulted their senses. Soon enough.

Wang Xian spotted Blade Puppets floating on the blood-red water. Their faces were rotted beyond recognition, bodies covered in festering decay. Each carried an identical giant blade on its back. Every blade crusted with rust.

"Same as before. I'll test them first."

"I'll swap out when I'm tired." Wang Xian said casually and charged forward. Fresh human scent acted like a drug, instantly drawing over a dozen Blade Puppets up. Wang Xian narrowed his eyes, gauging their strength. Had to admit. Considerably stronger. But still. Nothing compared to real human martial artists. Warriors fought with bodies and brains. Blade Puppets had bodies but no brains. The only trouble was their physical toughness.

But as Beast Butchery gradually improved, the Blade Puppets were still easily dismembered. Of course, this time Wang Xian couldn't stay completely uninjured. The life force gap was too large. He only had 6 life force points. These Blade Puppets had ten times that. Physical attributes ten times stronger. Without Beast Butchery for dismemberment, even Flowing Water Blade Technique might not guarantee instant kills. Just as he finished one batch. Suddenly.

"RUN!" A furious shout from the distance. The group looked over. The slipper-wearing captain from before and his partner were racing toward them, carrying the unconscious Xiao Rong. Behind them, a Blade Puppet with a twisted grin wielded dual blades, striding across phosphorescent blood waves. Behind that active Blade Puppet, over a dozen more Blade Puppets clustered like underlings.

"It's an active Blade Puppet!"

"You've got to be kidding!" The veteran and others exchanged stunned looks. No way. There really is one?

"I'll hold the big one." Wang Xian glanced at the others.

"Captain, you support them."

"You sure?"

"This is an active Blade Puppet."

"Give me 30 seconds." Wang Xian nodded. The others nodded back. 30 seconds of distraction was doable. Wang Xian charged out, swapping his short blade for a long one. The active Blade Puppet was clearly drawn in. It laughed strangely and rushed at Wang Xian. Wang Xian stood motionless, eyes closed.

"Flowing Water Blade Technique... should be at peak mastery now..." Wang Xian's palm brushed along the blade. In his mind, ten thousand techniques rehearsed simultaneously. All converged into his body.

"Then witness peak mastery... Waves Roar Through Heaven and Earth!" Wang Xian's eyes snapped open. He leaped. Withered leaves hung mid-air. The frost blade had already woven cold light and afterimages. Five blade arcs cascaded forth like Eastern Sea waves crashing against cliffs, one wave barely settled before the next rose. The blade momentum sank heavy as black iron plunging into the Nine Abysses.

"Waves Roar Through Heaven and Earth!" When the fifth blade struck, ice cracks appeared on the edge. The air burst like hundred-zhang cloth tearing across the sky. The active Blade Puppet hadn't even attacked before the blade waves transformed into a bronze cage collapsing inward with a roar. The foul wind from rotting flesh was shredded to dust by the blade waves! Under Beast Butchery-enhanced blade waves, the active Blade Puppet was dismembered into rotten meat instantly.

Only its eyeballs remained, still holding that living smile... The squad members had just reached the slipper captain's group. Seeing this. Complete disarray. Wait. We told you to hold it off for 30 seconds, not kill it in 30 seconds! ➤ Next: Active Blade Puppet? Am I Not One Myself!