Chapter 15 Puppet Show

The way space scrolls were unsealed allowed Suren to take out a large number of rune golems in a short period. Before the enemies could adjust their gun muzzles, he had already summoned hundreds of golems.

By the time the enemies noticed the movement and turned around, he had already pulled the strings, activating the golems' mechanisms.

The puppets stood in two rows, eighty Oil-Swallowing Dolls in front and twenty Phosphorus Fire Dolls in the rear.

At the instant the strings were pulled, the jaws of both types of golems suddenly opened, one spitting black oil and the other spewing pale blue phosphorus fire.

Looking at the astonished expressions of the Oliver family members, a fierce glint flashed in Suren's eyes, and he whispered, "Try my physical fire magic... the 'Twenty Fire-Breathing Dragons Technique'!"

A simple and crude name.

Instantly, twenty red-faced golems spewed beams of fire from their mouths. The phosphorus fire ignited the oil, transforming into twenty raging fire dragons that struck the crowd.

Twenty multiplied into eighty in an instant, becoming eighty fire dragons.

The improved Oil-Swallowing Dolls possessed enhanced spraying power. The black pipes in their mouths acted like high-pressure water guns, shooting the black fuel dozens or even hundreds of meters away.

This spraying distance would normally pose little threat to most professionals. As long as they created distance, they could easily avoid it.

But in the confined space restricted by the sealing barrier, there was nowhere to dodge!

Moreover, because the puppets were controllable, they twisted their heads and sprayed wildly in all directions. The blue phosphorus fire was inextinguishable with water and grew stronger with wind. Wherever the fire dragons passed, flames flowed everywhere. The sealed blocks were quickly engulfed in raging fire.

Except for a few warlocks who could control fire, almost no one could withstand it head-on.

This volley of eighty fire dragons instantly scattered the enemy formation.

More than a hundred people scattered and fled, each raising their guns to shoot.

…

"Kill him!"

At the command, gunfire erupted.

Suren was completely unafraid. The hundred puppets in front of him blocked almost every possible angle of attack. He controlled the rune golems to fly around, creating a chaotic scene.

These members of the encirclement team were indeed the elite of the Oliver family. After the initial chaos, they quickly found cover and began to fight back. These guys had sophisticated firearms and excellent shooting skills. Even though the golems flew nimbly through the air, they were bombarded with a hundred gun muzzles, creating a cacophony of explosions.

Although the dolls had sturdy runes and enchantments, the wooden materials of the lower-level dolls could not withstand too much concentrated bullet impact, especially with some people in the crowd attacking with single-soldier artillery and mechanical claws. Almost every hit resulted in an explosion.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

After a round of fire, the black-faced Oil-Swallowing Dolls flying in the front exploded one after another.

However, it wasn't just a simple explosion.

Like compressed gas cylinders being blown up, balls of fire erupted in the sky.

Flowing phosphorus fire splashed everywhere.

Suren looked at the exploding golems, not only did he not feel regret, but he revealed a satisfied smile.

These weren't the small-capacity golems from before, but space golems he had modified using space spells.

When they exploded, the space sealed inside the dolls also exploded. Like bursting oil drums, the black phosphorus oil exploded everywhere with a series of "booms."

The phosphorus fire splashed, and once it stuck, it couldn't be extinguished. For a time, screams of pain echoed everywhere.

"Ah... quickly... help me take off my bulletproof vest!"

"Damn it, my mechanical arm is red-hot. Someone give me a hand and remove the mechanical exoskeleton!"

"..."

Whether it was textiles or machinery, once they were stained with phosphorus oil, they could only wait for the oil to burn out. Not everyone was a fire mage who could handle this sticky fuel. Even a small amount meant burns.

Moreover, the threat wasn't just that.

The Oil-Swallowing Dolls, once destroyed, seemed to lose their ability to spray in a targeted direction, reducing their threat.

But the explosion was more direct than spraying from a nozzle. The burning area spread rapidly, reaching a point where it was impossible to extinguish.

Within this confined space of several hundred meters, phosphorus fire was everywhere.

At first, the Oliver family members didn't notice anything unusual, but as they watched the puppets shatter and the inextinguishable phosphorus fire spread, some people realized the problem and shouted, "Be careful! These flames are poisonous! Put on your gas masks!"

…

Poisonous gas?

No, it was more than that.

Burning phosphorus fire did produce deadly poisonous gas, but that wasn't the main reason Suren used so much fuel.

In fact, Suren didn't expect them to burn or poison anyone to death.

He was trying to create thick smoke to obscure vision and quickly burn up the oxygen in the space!

Burning fuel also consumed a huge amount of oxygen.

It might not have been noticeable outdoors, but in a confined space, dozens of tons of fuel would deplete the oxygen in the air in a very short time.

This was a tactic Suren had conceived when he heard from Shabina that the Oliver family was preparing to use "space lockdown" against him.

Confined spaces weren't only suitable for the Puppet Theater, but also extremely advantageous for his Phosphorus Fire Dolls.

Although this was a world full of alchemy, and ancient alchemists had long been able to prepare and separate oxygen from the air...

But laboratory research and civilian use were two different things.

Most people didn't have the concept of individual oxygen.

Filter-type gas masks were enough to solve most toxin problems, but they couldn't solve the problem of oxygen deficiency. (Not to mention sodium peroxide for ordinary gas masks).

Soon, people started experiencing difficulty breathing.

"Ah, I think I've been poisoned!"

"Help me..."

"..."

The wails continued, but grew fainter and fainter.

The rapidly decreasing oxygen content in the air made them greedily gasp for air.

Then they found it increasingly difficult to breathe, making them instinctively want to take off their masks to take a few breaths.

But they discovered that they were inhaling poisonous gas.

In the blink of an eye, their faces turned pale, and they fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth...

More than a hundred elites of the Oliver family fell like cut wheat.

Even professionals quickly showed signs of hypoxia.

There were also magic warlocks who understood the situation and shouted, "Stop shooting! Don't shoot those oil-spraying puppets anymore! Cast spells to replace the air, or we'll all die here!"

…

The gunfire stopped abruptly.

Suren listened to their conversation and unhurriedly took out a compressed air tank, connecting it to his mask.

Ordinary scavengers might not understand why they were having difficulty breathing, probably thinking they were poisoned. But these were the elite troops of the Oliver family, mixed with academy alchemists from the inner city.

It wasn't surprising that they could see through it.

Using the principle of equivalent exchange to cast spells to replace other poisonous gases with fresh air was the right response...

But would Suren give them that chance?

Seeing someone casting any wind-based spell, he raised his hand and shot them dead.

Those who weren't killed were definitely elite magic warlocks. These guys were busy replacing the air, so they naturally couldn't spare a hand to deal with Suren.

This one move directly crippled 90% of the enemy's numerical advantage!

Since the opponent wasn't shooting, Suren didn't plan to let them off so easily. He pulled the string in his hand and shouted, "Explode!"

The dozens of remaining intact Oil-Swallowing Dolls instantly exploded, spraying oil everywhere.

Now... the fire was even more unstoppable.

Moreover, the burning phosphorus fire also produced a large amount of high-temperature black smoke!

Because the oxygen in the sealed space was decreasing, the phosphorus oil burned incompletely, producing more and more floating particulate smoke. The high-temperature smoke interfered with all optical detection methods, rendering even the best night vision devices useless.

This was a physical visual impairment even more effective than smoke bombs.

The high-temperature smoke was trapped inside. The purple light curtain of the sealing barrier was like a glass cover, enclosing these blocks inside.

Visibility decreased more and more.

One hundred meters...

Fifty meters...

Twenty meters...

In the blink of an eye, black fog covered most of the space. In some areas, it was even impossible to see your own hand in front of your face.

Now that everyone was blind...

It all came down to perception!

The reason Suren did this was because he had an absolute advantage in perception among second-tier professionals.

Not to mention that after the Eye of Omniscience ability evolved, he could still see farther than others in the smoke. Coupled with the super-acute auditory perception and the perception of malice, he could easily capture the enemy's position.

Now, the enemy's numerical advantage was completely gone.

Unable to see the target, even the best marksmanship and equipment were useless.

After doing all this, taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, Suren sheathed his Cold Flame, extinguishing the light on his body, and stopped shooting.

He ignored the fire-breathing golems, using space teleportation again to appear in a crowd of people dozens of meters away.

Because visibility was extremely low, the Oliver family professionals hadn't realized that someone had suddenly appeared in their midst.

…

The commander of the Oliver team obviously had a lot of combat experience. After discovering that the black smoke had obscured his vision, he immediately guessed Suren's purpose.

"Watch out for enemy ambushes!"

"Form three-man teams, back-to-back!"

"Don't shoot rashly!"

At the command, the surviving professionals stood back-to-back in teams of three, covering each other.

This formation was indeed difficult to ambush.

However, Suren didn't plan to do it himself.

He opened a scroll, and more than a dozen golem dolls appeared out of thin air.

This time, they weren't fire-breathing golems, but Nightmare Dolls.

These were a combination of the previous Howling Dolls and Grinning Dolls. Suren made the new golem after mastering dual rune engraving technology. This type was capable of both auditory and visual hallucinations, making them very difficult to deal with.

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

As soon as the golems appeared, their hands and feet split open, revealing sharp, pitch-black, poisoned daggers.

Suren controlled them with his Eight-Armed Spider Spears, and more than a dozen golems flew towards the crowd at the same time.

Although the mental howls of the Nightmare Dolls still didn't have a wide range, they needed to be within a meter or two to affect the minds of professionals.

But… what was terrifying was the large numbers!

The maniacal laughter mixed together, like ten thousand nagging aunties chattering in your ear, capable of instantly causing mental breakdown.

Moreover, the puppets weren't afraid of death, and neither knives nor guns could make them retreat.

After the witch's hair was completely elementalized, the control was completely traceless.

A dozen golems were like a dozen Surens.

Plunging into the crowd, the maniacal laughter could instantly blur people's minds.

Then, in a moment of distraction, they would stab wildly.

For a time, screams rang out in the darkness, and gunfire erupted.

Suren, like a ghost, ruthlessly reaped the lives of the surviving professionals.

A chaotic massacre!

In just these two exchanges, more than half of the Oliver team of over a hundred had been killed or injured before they could even show off their might.

The space barrier that was originally intended to trap the turtle in a jar became their death warrant.

…

"Ah..."

"Help..."

"Doctor! Doctor!"

"..."

Wails and screams echoed endlessly.

The second-tier professionals of the Oliver family had many life-saving methods, and although they could temporarily protect themselves, they couldn't stop Suren from killing people.

The smoke obscured everyone's vision.

They couldn't tell which of the dozen or so movements was the real "Suren."

Acting rashly, they feared that a spatial rift would suddenly emerge from somewhere and cut off their heads.

Moreover, now that everyone knew that Suren was already a second-tier professional, no one dared to underestimate him anymore.

Not to mention the Black Scythe in his hand, even in a head-on confrontation, everyone was a second-tier professional, so why would anyone necessarily be weaker than you?

And at this moment, they also recognized a fact.

Were they here to besiege and kill this "SS-ranked wanted criminal Suren?"

No!

Now it seemed…

From beginning to end…

Suren was the one luring them out of their lairs.

Realizing this, the surviving second-tiers were covered in cold sweat.

The deaths of the five companions who died during the chase were not coincidences, but everything was within Suren's calculations.

Although they didn't know why Suren was so determined to kill.

But the fact was that if they didn't find a way, they were likely to be completely annihilated.

And now, embarrassingly, the space barrier that was supposed to trap Suren was the only thing controlling them!

They never expected that Suren had awakened a very rare space ability.

At this time, a small and cautious voice came from the communicator again.

"Damn it, we have to find a way to locate Suren and kill him, otherwise, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out until the barrier opens… Mr. Lloyd, what should we do now?"

Before they could get an answer, someone suddenly said in the communicator, "Hey… haven't you noticed that our entire plan has been under Suren's control from the beginning?"

"You mean…"

"..."

The words were only half-spoken, and the communicator suddenly went silent.

Everyone understood that their communication channel was being eavesdropped on.

…

Suren listened to the silence on the communicator and knew that his eavesdropping had finally been discovered. He chuckled inwardly, "You just realized?"

But it didn't matter anymore.

The plan was going even more smoothly than expected.

Having reached this point, there was no way for those guys to reverse the situation.

Now, Suren's only uncertainty was whether he could kill all the second-tiers in this space before the enemy's main force arrived.

Of course, the enemies were all famous, veteran second-tier professionals, so they wouldn't just surrender.

Suren looked at the falling silk threads above his head, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "The puppet show is about to begin…"