I didn't expect things to escalate this quickly. Vernon, acting on my command, lunged at Elder Lin with inhuman speed, his movents fluid and precise despite his massive fra. For a split second, I saw genuine surprise flash across the old woman's face—perhaps she hadn't expected to be this bold.
That surprise lasted only a mont.
"Pathetic," Elder Lin hissed. Her withered hands moved in a blur, fingers tracing complex patterns in the air. "Path Inscription: Divine Lock!"
A shimring array of golden symbols erupted from her fingertips, forming a complex geotric pattern that slamd into Vernon's charging form. His montum halted abruptly, his body freezing mid-stride as if he'd hit an invisible wall.
"Did you think I ca unprepared?" She smiled coldly, her frail appearance belying the power she commanded. "The Guild has studied your pet corpse extensively."
I gritted my teeth, focusing my consciousness through the connection I maintained with Vernon. I could feel the restricting energy of her technique wrapping around him like chains, trying to bind his movents completely.
"Break through it," I commanded ntally, pushing more of my energy into him.
Vernon's muscles strained against the invisible restraints. Cracks appeared in the golden pattern surrounding him, fragnts of light shattering as his strength began to overco the technique.
Elder Lin's eyes narrowed. "Interesting. Your control is more potent than we estimated."
She abandoned her attempt to restrain him physically and instead closed her eyes, her expression intense with concentration. I felt an imdiate change in the battle—instead of attacking Vernon's body, she was reaching for his mind.
A foreign presence hamred against my connection to Vernon, trying to sever it. It felt like cold fingers clawing at my consciousness, seeking to pry away my control. The sensation was intensely uncomfortable, like soone trying to pull a piece of my soul away.
"You dare?" I growled, doubling down on my focus.
Inside Vernon's mind, our competing influences manifested as clashing energies—my golden light against her smoky gray tendrils. Her divine sense was remarkably powerful, probing and infiltrating with surgical precision. For each pathway she invaded, I had to expel her, a ntal ga of attack and defense that required all my concentration.
I was only a mid-term Military Marquis facing soone who had likely reached the peak of this realm decades ago. Yet sohow, I was holding my ground. Was it because this was my specialized technique? Or was there sothing about my divine sense that gave an advantage?
With a final push of will, I expelled her influence completely. Vernon's body jerked back to life, continuing his charge toward her.
Elder Lin's eyes snapped open, a hint of grudging respect in them. "Not bad, boy. But now I know your weakness."
She darted backward with surprising agility, her frail appearance clearly a deception. Vernon pursued her relentlessly, his massive fists swinging in devastating arcs that she narrowly avoided.
My heart pounded in my chest. She was right—she had discovered a critical vulnerability in my corpse control technique. Anyone with sufficient divine sense could contest my command, potentially turning my own puppets against . If she shared this knowledge with the Guild...
"Vernon, don't give her ti to prepare another technique!" I shouted aloud, abandoning all pretense.
Vernon redoubled his efforts, moving even faster. One of his blows finally connected, catching the old woman's shoulder and sending her spinning across the room. She crashed into the wall but landed on her feet, wincing slightly.
"You've forced my hand," she said, her voice eerily calm despite the situation. "I didn't want to reveal too much of my power here, but it seems I have no choice."
She extended her right palm toward Vernon, her left hand forming a series of rapid gestures.
"Secret Art: Annihilation!"
A beam of pitch-black energy shot from her palm, distorting the air around it as it streaked toward Vernon. I had never seen such a technique before—it seed to devour the light around it, creating a tunnel of absolute darkness.
"Block it!" I commanded urgently.
Vernon crossed his arms before him, channeling the defensive energy I sent through our connection. The black beam struck his crossed arms with trendous force, pushing him backward across the floor. The wood splintered beneath his feet as he skidded back, leaving deep gouges in the polished surface.
Yet he remained standing, arms smoking but intact.
Elder Lin's face showed genuine shock. "Impossible! That should have torn through him!"
I allowed myself a small smile. "Vernon isn't an ordinary corpse."
Her expression darkened. "So it seems. Then perhaps it's ti to introduce you to my oldest companion."
She bit her thumb until it bled, then slamd her palm to the ground. "Co forth, my pet! Heaven Swallowing Python!"
The floor beneath her hand glowed with an eerie purple light, expanding outward in concentric circles. From the center of this light, sothing began to erge—sothing massive and serpentine.
First ca a triangular head the size of a shield, covered in iridescent black scales that seed to absorb light. Yellow eyes with vertical slits regarded the room coldly, a forked tongue tasting the air. The rest of its body followed—a seemingly endless length of coiled muscle that filled a quarter of the hall.
"et my Heaven Swallowing Python," Elder Lin said proudly, stroking its scales. "I've cultivated him for over thirty years. He's reached Peak Military Marquis level."
The enormous serpent hissed, revealing fangs as long as daggers, dripping with viscous venom that sizzled when it hit the floor.
"Vernon," I called, keeping my voice steady despite the dread pooling in my stomach, "be careful. That venom looks potent."
Elder Lin laughed. "Potent? My dear boy, a single drop could lt through solid steel. Your puppet won't stand a chance."
She pointed at Vernon, and the python shot forward with incredible speed, its massive body undulating across the room in a blur of scales and muscle.
Vernon braced himself, but the python was too fast. It slamd into him with the force of a battering ram, sending him crashing into the wall. Before he could recover, the serpent wrapped its coils around him, squeezing with crushing force.
I winced, feeling the pressure through our connection. The python's strength was imnse, its coils tightening relentlessly around Vernon's body. I heard the distinct crack of ribs breaking, but Vernon showed no pain—one advantage of his unique condition.
"Your puppet may not feel pain," Elder Lin observed, "but even he has physical limitations. My python will crush him to dust."
Vernon struggled against the constricting coils, his fingers digging into the serpent's scales. With a trendous effort, he managed to create enough space to free one arm, then slamd his fist repeatedly into the python's body. Each blow powerful enough to shatter stone, but the serpent's scales absorbed the impacts.
The python hissed angrily and struck, its fangs sinking deep into Vernon's shoulder. Venom pumped into the wound, and I watched in horror as the flesh around the bite began to dissolve.
"Vernon, can you break free?" I asked through our ntal link.
"Difficult," ca his strained reply. "The creature is incredibly strong."
I needed to help him, but how? My own combat abilities paled in comparison to what we were facing. If I jumped into the fight directly, I'd be nothing but a liability.
Elder Lin seed to read my thoughts. "Feeling helpless, Knight? Good. That's how you should feel when facing the Guild's elite."
Vernon continued to struggle against the python's grip, managing to free his other arm. He grabbed the serpent's head, trying to pry the fangs from his shoulder. The python responded by constricting even tighter, the sound of Vernon's body cracking under the pressure filling the hall.
"Even if your puppet survives this," Elder Lin continued, "what then? We know your secret now. The Guild will develop counterasures. Your advantage is gone." First seen on *.
She was right. This confrontation had revealed too much about my abilities. Even if we survived, the Guild would be prepared next ti.
The python continued its crushing assault on Vernon, its coils squeezing with relentless force. But sothing wasn't right. Despite the trendous pressure, Vernon wasn't collapsing. His body was damaged, certainly—I could feel the broken bones and torn muscles through our connection—but he was holding out much longer than should have been possible.
Elder Lin noticed it too. Her confident smile began to falter as she watched her prized pet struggle with a prey that refused to be crushed.
"What manner of technique is this?" she demanded. "No corpse should withstand my python's embrace!"
I remained silent, focusing all my energy on maintaining Vernon's integrity. Every fiber of my being was concentrated on our connection, channeling strength into his damaged form.
The python redoubled its efforts, its muscles bulging as it applied even more pressure. Vernon's body creaked ominously, but still he did not yield. Instead, he managed to grab the serpent's head with both hands, slowly prying the fangs from his shoulder.
"Impossible," Elder Lin whispered, watching as her unstoppable force t an immovable object.
Vernon finally succeeded in forcing the python's head away from his body. Venom dripped from the wound in his shoulder, the flesh around it partially dissolved, exposing bone beneath. Yet he continued to fight, gripping the serpent's head tightly as he began to push against the constricting coils.
Elder Lin's expression shifted, calculation replacing disbelief. Her eyes darted from Vernon to , then back again. I saw the mont she made her decision—the subtle shift in her stance, the narrowing of her eyes.
"If the puppet can't be broken," she murmured, "then sever the strings."
With a cunning glint in her eyes, she suddenly pivoted, her withered hand stretching out not toward Vernon but toward . While her python kept Vernon occupied in their deadly embrace, Elder Lin launched a direct attack at the puppeteer.
Her palm shot forward, trailing wispy gray energy that looked deceptively gentle—like morning mist. But I felt the deadly intent behind it, the concentrated malice directed straight at my heart.
I had only a fraction of a second to react as the old woman's attack ca straight for , her lips curling into a satisfied smile as she aid to end our battle with a single, decisive strike.
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