As Sunan spoke, the secret puppet was enveloped in a dazzling array of colors. All the third-level wizard apprentices present recognized the unique glow of spells.
In just an instant, the puppet was imbued with multiple spells: Levitation, Agility, Strength, Resilience, Shield, Elemental Protection...
The sight left Night Owl and the others wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
While spell-casting puppets aren't unheard of—wizard tomes describe techniques for permanently imbuing puppets with spells—the craftsmanship required to create such puppets was beyond their reach.
Even if they couldn't craft them, they knew that puppets imbued with three or four spells were considered exceptional.
Yet this puppet seemed to have at least eight spells active! It was the first time they had witnessed such a marvel in all their years.
What kind of puppet—or rather, what kind of construct—was this?
Saulo was equally astonished.
It was his first encounter with such a construct.
In an instant, any scorn he harbored vanished, replaced by a solemn demeanor.
With a sudden hiss, the snake body connecting the seven snake heads severed from Saulo, transforming into seven massive pythons that lunged at Sunan with a foul stench.
Saulo, meanwhile, unleashed an arrow formed of a greenish liquid.
Melf's Acid Arrow!
"Silent Spellcasting!"
Night Owl gasped, surprised that Saulo had mastered silent spellcasting.
But as he spoke, he noticed Hunter, Traveler, and Staff wearing strange expressions.
"What is it?" Night Owl asked, puzzled.
Traveler grimaced, pointing at Sunan. "See for yourself."
Night Owl looked over and widened his eyes in shock.
Sunan's gestures were accompanied by a continuous flicker of spell light, each spell cast seamlessly.
Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, Shattering Sonic Wave, Fiery Orb... As soon as one spell was released, the next was already being cast, the speed astonishing.
What shocked him more was that Sunan's spells were noticeably different from ordinary spells.
The trajectory of Magic Missile was unpredictable, Scorching Ray could bend, and Shield became a full-body protective barrier...
Wait!
Night Owl realized with a start that Sunan was casting Shield on himself while unleashing attack spells!
Complex Spellcasting!
Gasping, Night Owl's eyes filled with disbelief.
Instant Spellcasting, Complex Spellcasting, Spell Structuring!
Sunan had mastered so many super magic skills!
And these were among the most difficult and renowned for their complexity!
Compared to this, Saulo's mastery of silent spellcasting seemed insignificant.
On the opposite side, Saulo was equally stunned.
He had thought his silent spellcasting was exceptional, only to find Sunan had mastered at least four super magic skills!
"Is this guy a monster?!"
Even Saulo, often seen as a monster by others, couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.
But he quickly focused, drawn to the secret puppet nearby.
As he battled Sunan, the puppet girl clashed with the seven giant pythons.
Wielding a sword in one hand and casting spells with the other, she demonstrated formidable melee prowess and spellcasting finesse.
Her casting speed even outpaced Saulo's.
In just seven or eight breaths, she had unleashed over twenty spells.
How many spells were embedded in her?
Even if Sunan had the skill, what material could support so many spells?
What shocked Saulo more was the puppet girl being surrounded by intertwined pale blue and earthy yellow lights.
These were wind and earth energy particles.
The red and blue light on her sword was fire and lightning energy particles.
Occasionally, she unleashed ice and shadow rays, clearly ice and shadow energy particles.
This construct could manipulate energy particles!
Saulo was astounded.
The puppet's capabilities defied his understanding!
Its abilities were akin to those of a wizard apprentice.
When did constructs gain the ability to manipulate energy particles and cast spells freely like apprentices?
No, this secret puppet was even more formidable than many third-level wizard apprentices!
Judging by its present power, none in the Immortals, except for him, could likely contend with this puppet!
Saulo's inner turmoil was profound.
Night Owl and the others were equally dumbfounded, eyes glazed.
"It can even manipulate energy particles..."
"Is this really a puppet?"
"The snake bodies aren't becoming solid, so it must be a puppet."
"Incredible..."
They had never imagined that a puppet could be so intricately and powerfully crafted!
It was practically like creating a third-level wizard apprentice!
And even more powerful than they were!
Boom!
A massive fireball exploded, shattering a snake head. The puppet girl moved swiftly, dodging two snake heads lunging from the left and right, and ghost-like, she darted behind another snake head, thrusting her sword forward, unleashing flames and lightning that tore the head and its body apart.
Though the snake heads quickly reformed, their bodies were noticeably more ethereal, and the scales on the heads grew dimmer.
Without the nourishment of the seeds of killing intent, the seven pythons were no match for the puppet girl.
With each death and rebirth, their energy rapidly diminished.
Seeing this, Saulo's heart sank.
He had thought the Carlos Python bloodline would grant him victory over the Forest Cabin members, but he hadn't anticipated Sunan's hidden trump card.
"The seven snake heads are unreliable; the only option now is to eliminate Sunan first!"
Saulo's eyes flashed coldly as he thrust his hands forward, transforming them into two fearsome snake heads that surged towards Sunan, tongues flicking.
Simultaneously, a strange wave enveloped Sunan.
Sinister mental energy seeped into Sunan's mind, attempting to warp his thoughts.
"Don't you ever learn?"
Sunan sneered, using the last Death Knell Mark without hesitation.
A thunderous bell sound erupted, and Ira staggered into view from a shadow a hundred meters away. Before she could recover, two adamantine golems descended, flanking her, their iron fists crashing down.
Night Owl and the others, moving to assist, paused, awestruck.
Not one, but two adamantine golems!
Meanwhile, Saulo groaned as the Death Knell's sonic wave hit him, his snake heads bursting into a bloody mist.
He withdrew his hands, both arms already bloodied.
"Bloodline Mark!"
Saulo's temples throbbed.
In nearly two hundred years, having faced countless third-level wizard apprentices, he had never encountered someone like Sunan, with endless trump cards.
It was exasperating!
The only silver lining was that Sunan seemed heavily depleted from previous battles, likely near mental exhaustion, as he hadn't cast spells after their exchange.
In other words, Sunan only had his magical tools for defense now.
Once those were exhausted, he could be defeated!
With a swift decision, Saulo slashed his right palm with two fingers, the skin splitting to reveal not blood but a gray viscous liquid.
With keen eyesight, Sunan saw tiny white dots within the liquid, like sesame seeds.
Upon contact with air, the white dots swelled rapidly into egg-like forms, then burst open, revealing slender little snakes bathed in mucus.
The mucus evaporated swiftly in the air, and the snakes grew quickly.
In moments, the cavern was filled with over a hundred ten-meter-long pythons, hissing as they charged Sunan.
Sunan remained unfazed, flipping his wrist to reveal a high-level rune stone.
A thunderous crack followed as countless serpentine bolts of lightning erupted, annihilating dozens of pythons.
Saulo's eye twitched as he released more snake eggs, his face darkening.
Now aware of Saulo's plan, Sunan smirked inwardly, producing another high-level rune stone.
The cavern echoed with the hissing of serpents and the rumble of thunder!
Pythons continued to spawn, only to be obliterated by lightning.
The cavern's center became a battlefield akin to a meat grinder!
Watching, Night Owl and the others swallowed involuntarily, their hearts pounding.
If they faced either of these two alone, they'd have been dead long ago!
Their power wasn't on the same level!
Boom!
Lightning burst forth, eradicating the surrounding pythons!
Saulo's face paled, and he ceased his actions.
His store of snake eggs wasn't infinite, and the fierce battle had depleted them all.
Seeing this, Sunan smirked coldly, flipping his hand to reveal four high-level rune stones gleaming under the cavern's fluorescent light.
For this operation, he had prepared over a hundred high-level rune stones.
Despite expending many in previous battles, especially against the winged creature, nearly a hundred remained.
Saulo's attempt to outlast him was a fool's errand.
Even another Saulo couldn't outlast him!
Even without high-level rune stones, he still had the golden apple and the golem army in the Cube, ensuring he wouldn't lose a war of attrition.
From the moment Saulo chose to engage in a battle of attrition, his fate was sealed.
Seeing the stones in Sunan's hand, Saulo's face drained of color.
With a deafening roar, brilliant lightning engulfed Saulo!
Nearby, the seven snake heads, battered by the secret puppet and almost ethereal, twitched as if shocked, then shattered like bubbles.
Sunan focused, and as the lightning dissipated, only a charred corpse remained.
"The body infused with ancient bloodlines is truly resilient, even after that it didn't disintegrate."
Sunan marveled inwardly.
The combined strike of four high-level rune stones could obliterate an adamantine golem, yet Saulo left a corpse—his resilience was astounding.
Sunan didn't approach rashly, letting the puppet girl check. Confirming Saulo's death, she retrieved his space ring, and Sunan turned his gaze to Ira nearby.
With golems immune to all illusions, Ira, flanked by two adamantine golems, was in dire straits.
Seeing Saulo fall, Ira knew things were dire and tried to flee, but Sunan's gaze was already upon her.
"You managed to escape once before, but did you think you'd get a second chance?"
Sunan sneered.
Without him needing to act, the puppet girl charged.
Facing an opponent on par with a top third-level wizard apprentice, immune to illusions, Ira was powerless. In a swift encounter, the puppet girl shattered her shield and magical defenses, decapitating her with a single strike.
Ira's head flew, landing meters away, rolling to a stop, her bright blue eyes staring at the cavern ceiling, filled with lingering regret and terror.
Sunan smirked.
While specializing in illusions could yield immense power, it left one vulnerable against opponents immune to them, rendering one utterly defenseless.
"Though specializing isn't necessary, it doesn't hurt to dabble."
Sunan retrieved Ira's space ring, glancing inside. It held many wizard tomes, possibly containing illusion spells.
Pocketing the ring, Sunan glanced at Night Owl and the others, then approached the winged creature.
Being in the corner, the creature hadn't been caught in the recent battle, instead regaining some strength.
Seeing Sunan approach, the divine being frantically flapped its wings, stirring air currents to lift itself, attempting to escape, but the puppet girl struck it down with a single sword strike.
A few more punches left the creature utterly powerless.
Only then did Sunan take out a gemstone, beginning to inscribe a sealing array.
Only then did Night Owl and the others return to their senses, their gazes at Sunan's back filled with complexity.
Both awe and admiration.
The notorious founder of the Immortals had died at Sunan's hands.
Before that, he had subdued a fourth-circle legendary divine being.
Such power inspired genuine awe.
Having known Sunan for so long, only today did they fully grasp his strength.
Throughout the entire southeastern continent, there was likely no more formidable wizard apprentice than Sunan!
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