Chapter 2008: You Won the Jackpot

Wan Silang, watching this scene from a distance, was even more certain it was a demon puppet.

Dong Rui had told him that demon puppets, unlike monsters, usually lacked their own thoughts. They either acted on instinct or were mere marionettes controlled by a demon puppeteer. Self-aware and thinking demon puppets like Ghost Ape or Ashmona were extremely rare.

Therefore, a demon puppeteer's command ability often determined the demon puppet's maximum potential.

And since most demon puppeteers were not adept at close-quarters combat, it was no surprise that Ghost Ape was treating the demon puppet like a punching bag.

Driven by the puppeteer, Nine-Ring struggled to get back up. Ghost Ape stepped forward and pinned its neck with one foot. The puppet's tail had sharp spikes, and the ape was careful not to get its sole pierced.

Unexpectedly, with a crack, the monster's body and tail automatically separated. Its torso continued to thrash wildly, but its tail, like a nimble earthworm, plunged straight into the ground.

Other creatures sacrificed their tails to survive, but this one was sacrificing its body to survive.

It turned out its tail was the main body.

Fortunately, Ghost Ape had traveled extensively with He Lingchuan and encountered countless strange phenomena. Its first reaction was to snatch a spear from a nearby Black Armored Army soldier and, with a jab and a flick, target Nine-Ring's severed tail!

The movement was like a child poking an earthworm, but it was highly effective. Before Nine-Ring could fully burrow into the ground, Ghost Ape easily flicked it out, then tore it into five or six pieces with both hands.

As for the bone rings, Ghost Ape picked up a few, clacked them together twice, and, finding the sound crisp, was very satisfied.

Meanwhile, the other monster, which attacked with its tongue, was astonishingly fast; arrows could barely keep up with it. Each time the Black Armored Army cornered it, it would burrow underground.

However, after burrowing for a while, it suddenly stopped reappearing.

Wan Silang ordered, "Don't mind it; continue slaying the enemy troops!"

He knew someone must have intervened secretly.

Indeed, no matter how the enemy demon puppeteer tried to activate it, the monster remained unresponsive.

After another dozen breaths, the ground suddenly exploded with a bang, creating a shallow pit right beneath a squad of Guo Army soldiers, throwing them and their horses into disarray.

The explosion didn't have the force of a mountain-shaking thunderclap, but it ejected something from underground:

The monster's corpse.

Only then did everyone clearly see it. It resembled a large chameleon or a lizard, with webbed feet, but now it had two large holes in its body—one through its neck, the other through its abdomen—and black blood was gushing out, soaking the ground.

The monster, which had been a constant headache for the Black Armored Army, had died silently underground.

What could have turned its own tactics against it?

The demon puppeteer standing behind Guo Baiyu suddenly vomited blood with a cry.

With two demon puppets killed in quick succession, he suffered a powerful backlash.

But Guo Baiyu had no sympathy for his pain; he just turned and asked him, "Are there any more divine slaves available?"

The demon puppets given to him by the Heavenly Palace were called "divine slaves" here. Only demon puppeteers could control them, and they were prone to harming people if not handled carefully.

The demon puppeteer endured the pain and said, "The enemy also... also has a fellow practitioner!"

Just then, the supervisor also galloped up from the rear, stating urgently, "There's a demon puppeteer on the other side, likely the one the Palace Master specifically wants captured. He goes by the alias Wei Yishan in both Beijia and the outside world. Guo Baiyu, you've hit the jackpot!"

"Are you certain?"

"I just saw a giant ape in chainmail wielding a large club on the battlefield."

"There are many types of demon apes. What's special about this one?" Guo Baiyu himself knew of over a dozen types of demon apes that often appeared on the Shanjin Plains, sometimes even infiltrating human armies or bandit lairs.

"Its face is like a fiend, it wields a purple-gold club, wears battle armor, and can spew green fire—every one of these details matches the target the Palace Master wants to capture. Furthermore, the opponent also possesses earth-burrowing combat abilities." The supervisor left one thing unsaid: Last year, Dong Rui had a duel with the Master of Red House on the outskirts of Tianshui City and emerged victorious; there was clearly a major burrowing technique showdown at the scene.

Guo Baiyu couldn't quite articulate what he felt. If it was annoyance, a divine descent was likely today, and with a deity intervening, the battle would be much easier. If it was joy, under the interference of the deity and the supervisor, the battle's focus would shift from besieging the city to capturing someone, which would inevitably restrict his actions and hinder his performance. In the current chaos and disorder, this was a major, unwelcome complication.

He asked the supervisor, "Do you have a way to capture him?"

"We need to... we need to force him out," the demon puppeteer said, thinking clearly. "I heard his demon puppets might fight autonomously, so he could be ambushing anywhere—either behind the Black Armored Army leader or even hiding underground. Protector Qingyang mentioned he has a demon puppet that can burrow and carry people. My Little Xi was probably killed by it!"

"Little Xi" was the demon puppet killed underground just now; its main body was a chameleon.

Guo Baiyu, frustrated by their shortcomings, snapped, "Why don't you have such a treasure?"

"Well..." That hit a nerve.

"How to force him out... No, what's that got to do with me!" He almost got sidetracked. Guo Baiyu's gaze cut through the chaotic battlefield, assessing the struggling Black Armored Army leader. "I'll just focus on taking out the leader!"

If he could kill the Black Armored Army leader, he would achieve a complete victory tonight, shattering the Black Armored Army's myth and taking Miancheng into his grasp.

"I... I..." The demon puppeteer wanted to say, "The opponent is stronger than me." "I have one more demon puppet, but it can't defeat the Black Armored Army leader."

If all three had been deployed together, there might have been a slight chance.

He had been summoned from a demon puppet experimental facility by Protector Qingyang and directly assigned to Guo Baiyu. He had never been on a battlefield before and was unaccustomed to such chaotic and frantic scenes.

"Why didn't you deploy it sooner!"

"You must remember, the priority today is to capture that demon puppeteer named Dong alive; everything else is secondary!" *How could they speak to him like this?* The supervisor was displeased and immediately reminded him, "This is the only reason the Heavenly Palace is assisting you!"

As a Beijia native, his sole reason for being on the Shanjin Plains was to conduct demon puppet experiments under his superiors. He usually didn't interact with the Shanjin people and looked down on the local natives.

Guo Baiyu felt annoyed but could only say, "Since he's confirmed to be on the battlefield, this makes things easier!"

The battle between the two armies had now reached a fever pitch. The Black Armored Army tore through the Guo Army's periphery, heading straight for Guo Baiyu. However, their initial momentum had slowed, and being outnumbered, they found themselves trapped deep within the enemy lines.

Of course, Wan Silang had anticipated this situation. The Black Armored Army charged without breaking formation, maintaining a spindle shape. They had a vanguard for attack, a rear guard for support, and tightened flanks, with comrades looking out for each other, allowing them to advance steadily.

What Guo Baiyu observed closely, however, was whether there were other powerful individuals within his army.

The demon puppeteer also sent out his last demon puppet, attempting to lure the demon ape away from the army, but failed several times. The creature was too cunning and refused to be isolated.

After nearly a hundred casualties on his side, Guo Baiyu finally confirmed, "It seems those few demon puppets are the most powerful ones. Hmm, there's a chance! Did you just say his demon puppet can burrow underground?"