Logan’s eyes narrowed.
Sure enough, Maya Archbishop hadn’t just defected from the Black Church — she had brought the Shadow Beings into Pinocchini, and made a dirty deal with the Brutus family.
"Master, what should I do?" Iron Fist·Brutus asked respectfully, his head still lowered.
"Keep in touch with the family," Logan said, tapping the hilt of his knife. "Pass fake information. Say I only won because I used outside help. I’m only at 28-star."
At this, Logan’s face turned cold. "I want you to be an inside man. Report everything the War Hamr family does."
"Yes, sir." Iron Fist·Brutus didn’t hesitate.
Logan turned and looked toward the corner of the forge.
Gwen was crouched by a pile of old alchemy equipnt, frantically connecting crystal tubes.
These machines were old ones she had found in the basent. Though rusty, their core rune patterns were still mostly intact.
The crystal tubes hissed, mixing the bitter sll of herbs with the sll of rust.
"How much longer?" Logan asked.
"Almost done!" Gwen pushed up her glasses.
Her fingers moved fast across the control panel. "Give five more minutes, and the energy channel will be ready."
Logan nodded. His eyes turned to the outside of the forge.
Suddenly, a loud roar exploded like thunder.
"Who dares hurt a mber of the Brutus family!"
Boom!
The iron door flew apart, and pieces flew everywhere.
In the dust, a tall figure stepped in.
A young man, his upper body bare, his muscles tight and fierce.
"Father!" The man saw Iron Fist·Brutus on his knees. His eyes turned red.
Iron Fist didn’t look up. He just bowed to Logan and introduced the man.
Stephen Brutus, a 28-star near-Saint, the heir of the Brutus family.
"Damn you! What did you do to my father? I’ll tear you apart!" Stephen roared. His gene lock opened to stage three.
In an instant, his body grew to 3.5 ters tall. His skin turned completely bronze, and his veins bulged like black worms.
God’s Descent activated. His power, defense, and speed all doubled. He temporarily reached 29 stars — equal to a Saint at 1 star.
"Frenzy mode?" Natalia leaned against the wall, spinning a black thread between her fingers. "No sense of friend or foe. That’s interesting."
"Lucia." Logan said calmly. "Play with him. Don’t kill him. I still need him."
"Got it." Lucia took a step forward. Her 28-star Saint-level pressure rose, and her [Crystal Body] activated instantly.
Her skin turned half-transparent, like glass. Inside, the Black Dragon’s ancient runes were clearly visible.
Stephen was completely out of control. He swung his shock blade at Lucia’s head, sending a strong wind.
Clang!
The blade hit Lucia’s arm. Sparks flew, but no mark was left.
Lucia didn’t move. Stephen’s hand hurt, and the blade almost slipped from his grip.
"What?" A flash of clarity appeared in Stephen’s anger.
"Now it’s my turn." Lucia’s right fist shot forward, full of crushing power.
Boom!
The punch broke through Stephen’s bronze skin and hit his organs.
Stephen was struck like lightning. His 3.5-ter body flew back, crashing into half of the forge wall, sending bricks and dust flying.
He fell to his knees, his bronze skin cracking open. Blood seeped out through the cracks. His God’s Descent state was completely broken.
"No way!" Stephen coughed up blood, his face full of disbelief. "I’m at 29-star! I’m as strong as a Saint!"
"Pfft. A fake 29-star." Lucia said, pulling her fist back and brushing dust off her hands. "Do you even deserve to be called a Saint?"
At that mont, Logan walked up to Stephen.
Stephen tried to struggle, but Logan kicked him in the shoulder, pinning him to the ground with great force.
"Aphrodite, tell how to extract the gene lock’s core," Logan thought to himself.
"A place your hand on his forehead. Use the Yepera bone to resonate with his gene lock core and pull it out. It will hurt a lot and cause permanent damage. His stage will drop," ca Aphrodite’s voice from the Spirit Palace.
Logan did as told.
He placed his right hand on Stephen’s forehead, and his left hand curled, glowing with the light of the Yepera bone.
Stephen felt sothing inside him being pulled. A golden thread of energy, rooted deep in his Soul Sea, was connected to him.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit him.
"Ah!"
Stephen let out a loud, painful scream. The sound echoed through the forge.
Logan showed no emotion. He pulled hard.
Zap! The golden thread was pulled out, pulsing in Logan’s hand like a living thing.
It was Stephen’s gene lock core!
Without it, Stephen’s power dropped instantly. He fell from 28-star near-Saint to 25-star Legend stage.
"Gwen!" Logan called.
"Coming!" Gwen ran over with alchemy equipnt, the crystal tubes still smoking slightly.
She connected the golden thread to the energy channel. The machine made a deep rumble, and the bitter sll of herbs grew stronger.
The machine roared to life, vibrating with low energy.
Logan used the Yepera bone rune as a base, working with Gwen’s knowledge of alchemy to etch runes onto the crystal.
After half an hour, a clear and bright crystal appeared in Logan’s hand. Inside, the golden thread and black runes were intertwined.
A temporary immunity rune!
Logan looked at the crystal with satisfaction. "This will let them avoid the Pinocchini plane’s suppression for 24 hours."
Gwen looked excited. "We did it! That way, Evelynna and the others can fight at full power!"
Logan put the rune away, then looked at Stephen, who was now weak and barely conscious.
Logan didn’t kill him. Instead, he controlled him.
"Enslave Mind!"
A blue light flashed into Stephen’s forehead.
Stephen’s eyes changed from pain to confusion, then to obedience.
Soon, he slowly stood up, kneeling in front of Logan with great effort. "Master."
"Good." Logan stood up and said to Iron Fist·Brutus and Stephen. "Continue to play your old roles. Report to regularly about the family’s moves."
"Especially about Maya Archbishop. Report everything, no matter how small."
"Yes, Master," the father and son said together. Their voices echoed in the empty forge.
Logan looked around and ordered: "Hiyua, raise the Latio family’s flag."
From today on, this place would be called the Dawn Blade base."
"Yes!" Hiyua turned red with excitent and quickly ordered the remaining family mbers to change the flag.
The red hawk flag rose at the top of the forge, flying in the steam.
The na "Dawn Blade" spread quickly through all the streets of Pinocchini.
At this mont, in the Ninth District, at the Brutus family’s main house.
"What? Iron Fist·Brutus and Stephen are both controlled?"
The War Hamr·Brutus smashed the wooden table in front of him. Wood chips flew everywhere.
His 30-star Saint-level pressure was released without restraint. The whole hall trembled.
"Family leader, that Logan is a 36-star Legend, and he’s completely unstoppable..." a senior elder reported, trembling.
"Shut up!"
War Hamr stood up. His two-ter-five-tall body gave off a terrifying aura. Every step he took made the ground shake.
Then, his face twisted in anger. "No matter what star he is, anyone who hurts my Brutus family — he must die!"
"Gather the private soldiers. Block all exits in the Thirteenth District! I’ll crush that Latio bastard myself!"
Fifty family soldiers quickly gathered. All of them were Legend-level warriors with over 25 stars. Their killing aura was intense.
War Hamr flew into the air. His 30-star pressure covered the whole Thirteenth District. His voice thundered like lightning: "Logan! Co out and die!"
On the street, the people who had just started to feel hope were once again filled with fear.
"It’s the War Hamr family leader! A 30-star Saint!"
"He’s done for. Even if Logan is strong, he can’t beat a real Saint."
In the Red Star Forge, Logan felt the pressure. He raised an eyebrow.
"A 30-star? That’s way stronger than Iron Fist·Brutus, that fake one."
"Want to fight?" Natalia asked. Her Web Domain was already spreading out, with black threads moving in the air.
"No rush." Logan said, looking up at the sky. "Soone is more anxious than us."
Sure enough, just as War Hamr was about to give the order to attack, a crackling sound suddenly ca into his ears. The voice had a cold, synthetic tone.
"War Hamr, back off."
"Lord Turing?" War Hamr’s face turned pale. He froze mid-air.
"The summoning order has been sent. Follow the rules." the voice said coldly. "No private battles during the mission."
War Hamr’s forehead veins bulged. His fists clenched, making a crunching sound. "Lord Turing... he!"
"He what? Your son isn’t dead," Turing said after a pause. "Shall I help you pull back?"
War Hamr bit his lip angrily, then waved his hand. "Retreat!"
The soldiers quickly pulled back to the edge of the district, but they still blocked all exits.
War Hamr glared toward the forge. "Logan, we’ll settle this later!"
Logan stood on the roof, watching the Brutus soldiers leave. He smirked slightly. "Finally got the top leaders of Pinocchini out."
Thirteenth District.
The tense standoff continued.
War Hamr stared angrily at the Latio family’s ancestral ho, but the electric voice kept repeating in his ears: "War Hamr, don’t touch Logan. That’s an order."
In the end, War Hamr gritted his teeth and waved his hand. The soldiers withdrew like a tide, but they still blocked the exits.
Logan stood on top of the Red Star Forge, with 36 star marks rotating behind him.
At that mont, a figure made of blue data streams began to form in the empty air.
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)