Chapter 19: The Show Has Only Just Begun

At that moment, the towering trees around seemed to come alive,

Their branches twisted like spirit snakes, intertwining and shaping into Tree Demons.

These Tree Demons possessed human bodies in form, but bore strange Rat Heads atop.

In the blink of an eye, the cunning Terror Mouse used the Strange Secret Technique, and all the Tree Demons instantly turned into its copies.

What was originally a single Terror Mouse threat suddenly swelled to a horde of five hundred!

Even more shocking, each newly‑born Terror Mouse possessed the same formidable strength as the original.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to fight this? It just spawned over five hundred at once!"

"My heavens, this Terror Mouse can duplicate itself, and its first move is a big attack?"

"No wonder Beautiful Nation sent this guy; clearly they want to use sheer numbers to wear Zhang Cheng down!"

"I knew it, those old six from Beautiful Nation would definitely resort to underhanded tricks!"

"Damn, I don't know why, but I feel the Summoned Creatures Zhang Cheng called forth are getting overwhelmed."

"Hundreds of Terror Mice, each no weaker, this perverse ability would rank in the top three on the S-Class Strong List!"

Seeing the swarming Terror Mice, the Dragon Nation audience's hearts nearly leapt into their throats.

Even the spectators from other nations who had doubted Beautiful Nation now had to take its strategy seriously.

"Beautiful Nation really is full of tricks; they handled that Terror Mouse masterfully."

"Hundreds of Terror Mice can stall time; if they all hide in the forest, finding them becomes even harder!"

"Although Dragon Nation's Summoned Creatures are strong, defeating so many Terror Mice within three minutes is sheer fantasy!"

As the audience expected, the Terror Mice split and immediately vanished into the deep forest,

using the dense woods, noisy surroundings, and tangled foliage,

to locate all targets in a short time is almost an impossible task!

"Squeak squeak squeak!" The Terror Mice hiding in the forest let out mocking shrieks,

The sounds coalesced into wave after wave of assaults, echoing in the air, striking the nine Puppets' minds, throwing their sight and hearing into chaos.

"Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck..." The Puppets' mouths opened and closed,

their eyes blood‑red like fire, silhouettes flickering, ghost‑like they darted through the forest, each strike eliminating a Terror Mouse.

Their movements grew ever more agile, as if transcending the limits of puppets, their flexibility a hundred times that of humans.

Like leopards in the forest, more and more Terror Mice fell under their onslaught.

But that was far from enough; time was pressing, the end was near!

Zhang Cheng saw this, his mouth curled upward, and shouted loudly at the Puppet General:

"How long do you still plan to play? Only one minute left!"

Hearing Zhang Cheng's roar, the Puppet General's body stiffened, and he awkwardly scratched his head,

"Oops, got caught."

"Yeah, haven't been out in ages, once I start playing I lose track of time."

"There's still a minute left... how about I play for another 30 seconds!"

With that, it threw itself back into battle, as if caring nothing for the pressing time...

"Play?" Zhang Cheng's words rang clearly into the audience's ears.

"What kind of joke is that? Those Puppets are clearly fighting to the death, yet you call it play? Trying to fool us?"

"The Dragon Nation contestant can't be using this as an excuse to make Beautiful Nation concede, can they?"

"I have to admit, when it comes to bragging, the Dragon Nation contestant truly is exceptionally gifted!"

"No need to guess, let's end the match early; Dragon Nation is bound to lose!"

"Heh, only won two rounds, and now loses the third; that's just how the Dragon Nation contestant is."

"If they'd played steady, maybe they'd have a chance, but choosing such a risky method—can't fathom the Dragon Nation contestant's thinking!"

"Only 50 seconds left, everything is about to conclude!"

"Hehehe, you can't defeat my Terror Mice within three minutes!"

"This match, Dragon Nation—"

TeMiqi's words were cut off as the surrounding atmosphere suddenly shifted.

The nine Puppets seemed electrocuted, halting their blind attacks and gathering at the center of the stage.

Under their influence, the shattered stage miraculously restored. The Puppets floated above the stage, heads bowed, legs hanging limp.

The Puppet General murmured, "Puppet, Shadow Puppet Show, controller, marionette as man, doll, mortal manipulation..."

"A fine show... begins!"

Wooo!

That sound was like a curse before death. Centered on the stage, a chilling wind spread, making the massive trees sway.

In the sky, dark clouds gathered. Accompanied by rumbling thunder, fine rain poured down like silver threads, pattering hissily.

The rain seemed mixed with an indescribable foul stench, a blend of rot and fishy odor.

Raindrops struck the nine Puppets; on contact, the clear water turned ink‑black.

Their original earth‑yellow hue faded, becoming as pale as a corpse!

"This..."

The audience, witnessing all this, felt their pupils tremble and throats tighten.

If the Puppets' initial appearance was still normal, now everyone began to doubt,

what material these Puppets were made of, and why their bodies resembled human corpses so closely?

Could it be that,

These nine bodies are not puppets,

but are dead people?!

In fear, everyone witnessed the true form of the puppets. The control strings connecting their bodies gradually became visible, and gazes followed them upward.

Beneath the dim sky, behind the stage, a giant puppet thirty meters tall stood upright, arms outstretched, using the control strings tightly gripped in its hands to manipulate the nine small puppets.

The face of this giant puppet differed completely from the other nine, its expression stiff and solemn, with no adornment on its face—only countless scars and depressions.

Its eyes half-closed, feral light shining forth, like a colossal beast emerging from the abyss, it exuded endless killing intent.

It wore cold armor and a battle helmet,

Upon its appearance, the overwhelming aura caused the surrounding spectators to unconsciously ease their breathing.

With each of its movements, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to be toyed with in its palm,

Its mournful howl not only echoed around it, but seemed to transcend time and space, lingering without end.

"This, this fucking is a puppet?"

"Over thirty meters tall, this damn thing is a giant, right?!"

"My heart is racing!"

"I feel an invisible pressure spreading over my whole body!"

Everyone present felt shocked.

But some were already stunned into silence.

Because they saw with their own eyes that behind this colossal creature over thirty meters tall,

there trailed long drawstrings! Those lines pointed straight to the heavens, making it impossible to see who was pulling them.

The one controlling this giant puppet is another, even larger puppet,

so what, then, controls that giant puppet?

Could it be an even larger "Number One" puppet?

Or perhaps the chain of control is endless?

The crowd had no time to think further.

The giant puppet had already begun to move.

Its gaze betrayed ferocity, its huge hands like hooks, as it yanked out countless fine strings.

With a swing, the myriad fine strings, like venomous snakes coiling in the air, flashed into the forest, and in an instant all the Terror Mice were easily controlled!

"Shatter!"

The giant puppet gave a command.

The forest covering the entire arena collapsed in an instant.

Hundreds of Terror Mice lay exposed, bare and unhidden.

Yet, these Terror Mice were suspended helplessly in midair by the strings, a sight that made the onlookers shudder.

In the void, corpses hung suspended!

This was the first word that flashed through their minds.

Once again, the fear emanating from the Dragon Nation deeply shook their spirits.

No one dared to take a deep breath.

They feared that the next to fall would be themselves!

"The show… has only just begun!"