Chapter 168: What's the Difference Between a Puppet and a Wizard Apprentice?

Chapter 168: What’s the Difference Between a Puppet and a Wizard Apprentice?

As Su Nan's words faded, the secret puppet suddenly radiated a dazzling, multicolored light.

All present were third-level wizard apprentices with keen eyesight, and they immediately recognized the unique glow of spells.

Levitation, Agility, Brute Force, Toughness, Shield, Elemental Protection... In a mere instant, eight spells were cast upon the secret puppet.

Night Owl and the others were left speechless, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Puppets capable of casting spells weren’t unheard of; the wizard’s codex did mention techniques for imbuing puppets with permanent spells. However, their puppet-crafting skills hadn’t reached that level yet.

Even though they couldn’t craft such puppets, they knew that puppets with three or four permanent spells were already considered exceptional.

But this puppet before them had cast eight spells in quick succession, meaning it had at least eight permanent spells! They had never seen anything like it in their centuries of life!

What kind of puppet, no, what kind of marion was this?

Saulo was also taken aback.

He had never seen such a puppet before either.

In that moment, his initial disdain vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

Plop plop!

The body connecting the seven snake heads suddenly broke off from Saulo’s body, landing on the ground and transforming into seven massive pythons that lunged at Su Nan, their foul breath wafting through the air.

Meanwhile, Saulo raised his hand and released a greenish arrow composed of liquid.

Mafouf’s Acid Arrow!

"Silent Casting!"

Night Owl muttered in surprise, not expecting Saulo to have mastered silent casting.

But as he spoke, he noticed the Hunter, the Traveler, and the Scepter all wore peculiar expressions.

"What’s wrong?" Night Owl asked, puzzled.

The Traveler smirked and pointed at Su Nan. "Just take a look yourself."

Night Owl glanced over, and his eyes widened in shock.

He saw Su Nan casting spells with each movement, the spell glows flickering one after another without a pause.

Magic Missiles, Scorching Rays, Crushing Sound Waves, Blazing Fireballs... The spells were released so quickly that the glow of the next spell would appear almost immediately after the previous one.

What shocked him even more was that Su Nan’s spells were clearly different from ordinary ones.

The trajectory of the Magic Missiles was unpredictable, the Scorching Rays could even turn corners, and the Shield Spell formed a protective aura around his entire body.

Wait a minute!

Night Owl suddenly realized that while Su Nan was casting offensive spells, he was also casting a Shield Spell on himself!

Composite Casting!

Hiss!

Night Owl sucked in a breath, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Instant Casting, Composite Casting, Spell Construction!

Su Nan had mastered so many advanced magical techniques!

And these were among the most difficult to master!

In comparison, Saulo’s Silent Casting seemed insignificant.

Across from them, Saulo’s expression was one of utter shock.

He had thought that mastering Silent Casting made him a talented individual, but Su Nan had at least four advanced magical techniques!

"Is this guy a monster?!"

Saulo, who was often seen as a monster by others, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

But he quickly had no time for that, as his gaze was drawn to the secret puppet nearby.

As he and Su Nan engaged in combat, the puppet maiden and the seven giant pythons were locked in a fierce battle.

The puppet maiden wielded a sword in one hand and cast spells with the other, displaying formidable melee combat skills and exceptional spellcasting.

Her casting speed was even faster than Saulo’s.

In the span of a few breaths, she had cast at least twenty different spells.

How many permanent spells did she have?

Even if Su Nan had the skill, what materials could support so many permanent spells?

What shocked Saulo even more was the layer of intertwining pale green and earthy yellow light that enveloped the puppet maiden.

These were particles of wind and earth energy.

The crimson and azure lights covering the blade were particles of fire and lightning energy.

Occasionally, the puppet maiden would raise her hand and unleash waves of frost and shadow rays, clearly particles of ice and shadow energy.

This puppet could control energy particles!

A tidal wave of shock washed over Saulo.

The capabilities of this puppet were beyond his comprehension!

With such abilities, what was the difference between a puppet and a wizard apprentice?

When did puppets start controlling energy particles and casting spells like wizard apprentices?

No, this puppet is even more powerful than many third-tier wizard apprentices!

At least from the power it has displayed so far, no one in the Immortal Society, except for Su Nan, would be a match for this puppet!

Sa Ulo was inwardly horrified.

Nightowl and the others were also stunned, their eyes wide and vacant.

"Can it even manipulate energy particles?"

"Is this really a puppet?"

"Those snake heads haven’t solidified, so it must be a puppet."

"Unbelievable."

They had never imagined that a puppet could be so intricate and powerful! It was practically like creating a third-tier wizard apprentice, and perhaps even more powerful than they were!

Boom!

A massive fireball roared, shattering the snake heads. The puppet girl moved swiftly, dodging the bites from the snake heads on either side, and then ghosted behind another snake head. Her longsword stabbed forward, and flames and lightning erupted, instantly tearing the snake head and its body to shreds.

Although the two snake heads reformed quickly, the body became more ethereal, and the scales of the snake heads grew increasingly dull.

Without the nourishment from the Seed of Slaughter, the seven-headed giant snake was no match for the puppet girl.

With each death and rebirth, its energy rapidly diminished.

Sa Ulo watched this with a heavy heart.

He had thought that with the capabilities of the Karlos giant snake bloodline, he could easily handle the people in the forest cabin. He never expected Su Nan to have such a trump card up his sleeve.

"Can’t rely on the seven snake heads anymore. The only way now is to take out Su Nan first!"

A cold light flashed in Sa Ulo’s eyes. His hands shot out, transforming into two grotesque snake heads that lunged forward, hissing as they tried to bite Su Nan.

At the same time, a strange wave enveloped Su Nan’s entire body.

Mysterious mental forces drilled into Su Nan’s mind, trying to distort his thoughts.

"Really don’t learn from your mistakes."

Su Nan sneered, using the last Death Bell Mark without hesitation.

As the thunderous sound of the Death Bell erupted, Iro stumbled out of the shadows a hundred meters away. Before she could catch her breath, two Adamantine Golems descended from the sky, surrounding her and slamming their iron fists down.

Nightowl and the others, who were about to rush over to help, stopped in their tracks, their jaws dropping in amazement.

Not one, but two Adamantine Golems!

On the other side, Sa Ulo was also hit by the sound waves of the Death Bell, causing him to grunt in pain. The two grotesque snake heads exploded into clouds of blood mist.

He retracted his hands, both arms now covered in blood.

"Bloodline Mark!"

Sa Ulo’s temples throbbed.

He had lived for nearly two hundred years and had fought at least sixty to seventy third-tier wizard apprentices. But he had never encountered someone like Su Nan, who seemed to have an endless supply of hidden cards.

It was truly frustrating!

The only consolation was that Su Nan had expended a great deal of energy in the previous battle, and his mental power was likely running low. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stopped casting spells after the initial clash.

In other words, Su Nan was now relying solely on his magical artifacts for protection.

Once his magical artifacts were depleted, he would be easy to take out!

Sa Ulo made a quick decision, and with a swift motion, he sliced open his right palm. The skin split open, but instead of blood, a gray, viscous liquid flowed out.

With his excellent eyesight, Su Nan clearly saw tiny white dots, about the size of sesame seeds, in the liquid.

Upon contact with the air, these dots rapidly inflated into egg-like objects, which then burst open, revealing small, slender snakes immersed in the viscous liquid.

The liquid evaporated quickly in the air, and the snakes grew rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, the cave was filled with over a hundred giant snakes, each over ten meters long, hissing as they charged at Su Nan.

Su Nan’s expression remained unchanged. He flipped his wrist, and a High-Grade Runic Gem appeared in his palm.

The next moment, a deafening boom echoed through the cave, and countless thin, snake-like bolts of lightning burst forth, instantly annihilating dozens of the giant snakes.

Sa Ulo’s eyes twitched, and he released more snake eggs, his face dark.

Su Nan, now understanding Sa Ulo’s plan, smirked and retrieved another High-Grade Runic Gem.

For a time, the cave was filled with the hissing of snakes and the rumbling of thunder!

Giant snakes continuously spawned and were then annihilated by lightning.

The center of the cave had become a battlefield akin to a meat grinder!

Nightowl and the others, watching from the side, swallowed hard, their hearts filled with shock.

If any of them had to face either of those two, they would have been dead a long time ago!

The power of those two was on a completely different level!

A deafening boom echoed as lightning burst forth, obliterating the surrounding giant serpents once again!

Sauro’s face paled, but this time he made no move.

The snake eggs in his body were not infinite, and the intense battle had already depleted all of them.

Seeing this, Su Nan gave a cold laugh, flipped his hand, and revealed four high-grade rune gems nestled between his fingers, gleaming under the faint light from the cave ceiling.

For this mission, he had prepared over a hundred high-grade rune gems.

The previous battles, especially against the multi-winged monster, had used up quite a few, but he still had nearly a hundred left.

Sauro’s attempt to outlast him in a war of attrition was a death sentence.

Even if another Sauro appeared, he would still stand no chance against Su Nan!

Even without the high-grade rune gems, Su Nan still had the Golden Apples and the golem army from the Magic Cube. There was no way he would lose in a war of attrition.

From the moment Sauro decided to outlast him, his fate was sealed.

Seeing the four gems in Su Nan’s hand, Sauro’s face drained of all color.

The next moment, a thunderous boom echoed, and blinding lightning instantly engulfed Sauro!

Not far away, the seven serpent heads, already battered and nearly lifeless, twitched as if electrocuted and then vanished like bursting bubbles.

Su Nan focused his gaze. As the lightning dissipated, only a charred corpse remained.

"An ancient bloodline really does make a difference. Even this didn’t reduce him to ashes."

Su Nan marveled inwardly.

The combined power of four high-grade rune gems could obliterate even a adamantite golem, yet Sauro still left behind a corpse, a testament to his astonishing constitution.

Su Nan didn’t rush forward recklessly. He sent the secret puppet maiden to check, confirming that Sauro was truly dead. She then retrieved the spatial ring, and Su Nan turned his attention to Iro, who was not far away.

The golems were immune to all illusions. Under the assault of two adamantite golems, Iro no longer had the calm she once had and was in grave danger.

Seeing Sauro fall to Su Nan, she knew things were dire and tried to escape, but Su Nan’s gaze was already upon her.

"You managed to escape once in the chaos, but you actually dared to come back? Do you think there will be a second chance?"

Su Nan sneered.

Without waiting for him to act, the secret puppet maiden charged forward.

Facing an opponent with the combat prowess of a top-tier third-level wizard apprentice and immunity to illusions, Iro had no chance to resist. In a single encounter, her shield and magical defenses were shattered, and she was beheaded with a swift strike.

Her head flew high and landed more than ten meters away, rolling a considerable distance before coming to a stop. Her bright blue eyes stared fixedly at the cave ceiling, still filled with defiance and terror.

Su Nan pursed his lips.

Specializing in illusions could be powerful in certain situations, but once faced with an opponent immune to illusions, it was a crippling weakness with no chance of retaliation.

"But while it’s not necessary to specialize, it’s still worth exploring."

Su Nan took Iro’s spatial ring, opened it, and found several wizard tomes. Perhaps he could find some illusion spells among them.

Putting the ring away, Su Nan glanced at Nightowl and the others before walking towards the multi-winged monster.

Hidden in a corner, the multi-winged monster had not been affected by the previous battle and had managed to recover some of its strength.

Seeing Su Nan approach, the divine creature frantically flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind to lift itself and try to escape, but the secret puppet maiden’s sword struck it to the ground.

She followed up with several punches, leaving the multi-winged monster completely helpless.

Only then did Su Nan take out a gem and begin drawing a sealing array.

Nightowl and the others gradually came to their senses, their eyes filled with a mix of awe and amazement as they looked at Su Nan’s back.

The notorious founder of the Immortal Society had died at Su Nan’s hands.

And just before that, he had defeated a fourth-circle legendary divine creature.

Such power was truly awe-inspiring.

After knowing Su Nan for so long, it was only today that they truly understood how powerful he was.

In the entire southeastern domain of the continent, there was probably no wizard apprentice more formidable than Su Nan!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end