Frank was eager to take action, but Anna deemed it too risky and insisted that Frank charm two more to the brink of their limits, if possible.
Despite the heavy toll it took on him, the thought of the astonishing rewards awaiting him upon success invigorated Frank, and he managed to charm two additional people.
After exerting control over twenty-two individuals, Frank was beset by an excruciating headache. Clutching his head, he groaned, "I've hit my limit. Can we proceed now?"
Anna, with a lick of her lips, replied, "Let these damned expendables lead our charge!"
With that, Frank led the twenty-two masters forward. Chen Guo blended into their midst, keeping an incredibly low profile.
Before long, they reached the inner sanctum of the Exquisite Paradise, where a yellow-clad Taoist lay on a meditation mat, murmuring to himself:
"King in Yellow, Divine Lord of Salvation, Divine Lord of Salvation, King in Yellow..."
The Taoist's gaze was vacant as he chanted, oblivious to the group's arrival.
Chen Guo briefly reviewed the Taoist's details.
"Hwa Yangzi, level 9 (Extremely Weak) legendary figure, with a fighting capacity of 6000. A nominal disciple of the Divine Lord of Salvation, his mind was tainted during a great disaster, leaving him severely depleted, clinging to a thread of consciousness."
Chen Guo then turned his attention to the three puppets.
The male puppet was clad in dark attire, wielding a broadsword, with a rugged countenance that belied his non-living nature.
The twin female puppets were the spitting image of each other, with skin as pale as snow and features as delicate as a painting, garbed in courtly attire reminiscent of maids from the Great Ming Palace, each brandishing a silver dagger.
"Puppet Tang Qingyu: Level 10 (Broken), Combat Strength: 3000."
"Puppet Tang Ziyu, Level 10 (Broken), Combat Strength: 3000."
"Puppet Tang Zining, Level 10 (Broken), Combat Strength: 3000."
All three puppets were in a state of disrepair, yet they were a level higher than their master, Hwa Yangzi, albeit with only half his combat strength.
Despite Hwa Yangzi's extreme frailty and his level dropping to 9, his combat strength remained an impressive 6000, surpassing even Chen Guo, a fellow level 9. This legendary character truly lived up to his reputation.
Hwa Yangzi failed to detect the intruder, but his trio of puppets were on alert.
"Master, we have an intruder!"
"Death to those who dare trespass into the Exquisite Paradise!"
The puppets cried out and launched an immediate assault on the group.
"Engage the enemy! Sacrifice your lives if you must, but eliminate these aberrations!" Frank commanded with chilling indifference.
To him, these bewitched experts were mere expendables, nothing but cannon fodder. To extract their utmost value, he was willing to trade their lives for victory.
Such a strategy would not only push the cannon fodder to their limits but also lighten his mental load—a classic case of killing two birds with one stone.
"Ah!"
With a strategy in mind, Chen Guo let out a thunderous yell and charged at the puppet Tang Zining, taking a dagger to the chest!
"Ah!"
Clutching his chest, Chen Guo let out a pained scream and swiftly engaged his "Playing Dead" skill, collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
He had no intention of exerting any effort for Frank and his wife. Instead, he chose to feign death and coast through the battle.
Chen Guo's skill in feigning death was so convincing that no one below the rank of Heavenly Venerable could see through it, let alone Frank and his wife, or even Hwa Yangzi at the peak of his Earth Immortal strength.
And so, Chen Guo's ruse fooled everyone present.
"This Wang Shaoyun is utter garbage. So impulsive, taken down by a single stab—such unprecedented incompetence!" Frank sneered. "He yelled so loudly, I thought he was about to unleash some power, but instead, he just handed over his life. How such a loser ever got ahold of a quest is beyond me!"
Anna rolled her eyes and added, "Some people just get lucky and coast on it. Maybe that's the case with this Wang Shaoyun! Let's drop the subject of this loser; it's bad luck even mentioning him!"
The assassin couple held nothing but contempt for Wang Shaoyun.
Lying on the ground, Chen Guo chuckled to himself, "Wang Shaoyun is the trash, the loser. What's that got to do with me, Chen Guo?"
Although Chen Guo was out of the game from the start, it hardly made a dent in the grand scheme of things. The remaining 21 cannon fodder were all quite skilled experts.
Despite being no match for the puppets on their own, the 21 experts exchanged their lives for those of the puppets. Ultimately, it cost the lives of eleven of them to take down the three puppets.
"What a bummer. The system says these puppets aren't monsters, just mechanisms, so there's no reward for taking them out. All that effort for nothing!" Frank complained bitterly.
He had dashed forward to finish off the puppets, reducing the intricate constructs to scattered mechanical parts, only to find that there wasn't even a slaughter point to be had, let alone a treasure chest.
Upon checking, he realized that the puppets were mechanical creations; destroying them was akin to dismantling traps, not slaying monsters. Hence, there were no rewards or slaughter points to be earned.
"What a rip-off. Eleven cannon fodder down for nothing. But as long as the remaining eleven can defeat Hwa Yangzi, it's not a total loss!" Anna said through clenched teeth. "Keep up the attack, let's take down Hwa Yangzi!"
"Take down Hwa Yangzi!" commanded Frank.
The last ten cannon fodder, trading wound for wound, life for life, began their assault on Hwa Yangzi.
Hwa Yangzi showed little desire to counterattack, barely managing to lift his hand. A mere glance from him was enough to unleash an immortal spell.
Yet, even Hwa Yangzi's seemingly effortless immortal spells could easily claim the life of an expert.
In a flash, four of the ten cannon fodder were dead. But their struggle wasn't in vain. When only one remained, Hwa Yangzi was a mess of wounds, his eyes blinded, incapable of casting spells.
In his final moments, Hwa Yangzi was barely hanging on, his last immortal spell extinguishing the life of the final cannon fodder.
All twenty-one cannon fodder were annihilated.
But Frank didn't even flinch. With a surge of excitement, he declared, "One more slash and Hwa Yangzi is finished. The kill is mine, and we'll split the loot as agreed."
"It's okay, darling. I..." Anna began tenderly, her voice trailing off as she suddenly unleashed Infinite Horror!
"Trial challenger Anna has activated Infinite Horror. You are within the attack range. You have been struck by Infinite Horror!"
"Your mental strength surpasses that of the trial challenger, Anna!"
"Your level of cultivation exceeds Anna's!"
"Your Clear Qi Daoist Robe has taken effect!"
"You are immune to Anna's mental attacks!"
Chen Guo was sprawled on the ground, inadvertently caught in the crossfire. Yet, not even Frank's Charm Human spell could sway Chen Guo, so Anna's Infinite Horror stood no chance either.
Frank, on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate. His face was etched with terror, clearly affected by the assault.
"Farewell, my dear. You always take so much, leaving me with scraps!" Anna, clutching a dagger, thrust it towards Frank's heart. "This time, I will..."