[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu":3,"chapter-i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-chapter-658":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm a Forest Warden—Why Am I Enslaving a Succubus?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2329702,4555,"Chapter 658: The Puppet and the Unseen","i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-chapter-658",658,"\u003Cp>Mist clung between the dead trees like rotting cotton, oozing dark red resin from cracked bark, reeking of rust and decaying flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground seeped sticky dampness; the four figures’ shadows stretched tall in the fog, their boots occasionally crushing unknown white bones, producing brittle, grating snaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pallid, rotting moon cast a sickly bluish-gray glow through the haze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I really don’t get why you’re so obedient to him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a pure white cloud, Medlin initiated the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because one of her calves had been severed, she could only move by sitting on Laila Starword’s cloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley, having just endured a fierce battle and nearly exhausted her magic, was too embarrassed to touch Luo De in front of others, so she sat there too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the front was Luo De, leading the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laila Starword trailed behind him with a small notebook, peppering him with questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She chattered endlessly; Luo De replied only once every long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the celebrity still delighted in it, eagerly scribbling and doodling in her notebook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley had just exited her meditation to recover, and hadn’t heard clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I said, if you need a frontman, just tell me. Why go out and find all these random people?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Luo De is my friend, and why should I tell you? Would you give him to me if I did?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haven’t I introduced him to you before? You just never go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you’d just mock me anyway. What’s the point?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was just joking! How can you be such a grown-up and not take a joke?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get lost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, Haley saw Medlin pull out a handful of green herbs, crush them, and try to apply them to her injured eye—but kept missing the target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley frowned, snatched them away, and pressed down on Medlin’s shoulder to treat her instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin’s expression twisted; she looked aside and muttered irritably:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My mother said she’ll pay your father’s nursing fees. Honestly, even if you fail the trial, it doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley blinked: “Your mother said that? Your family’s that generous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our family has always been generous. It’s just that another family never appreciated it. If only your father hadn’t betrayed my mother back then—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait, wait—what do you mean my father betrayed your mother? It was your mother who betrayed first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you talking about? If your father hadn’t stood her up, none of this would’ve happened. Forget it. We don’t need to revisit the past.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exchanged glances and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin stubbornly turned her face away, letting Haley bandage her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it was just like before, their old resentment and friction had eased considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There. Ah! What are you doing?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley had just finished wrapping the bandage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, she noticed Laila Starword had also sat on the cloud, gazing at them both with tearful emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ancient grudges between generations—resolved in the face of death. Best friends reconciled! Waaah! Indeed, just being near Luo De, even without involving him directly, still lets my inspiration flow like a spring!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’s her best friend?!” “Exactly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahead, Luo De suddenly halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His large hand shot out, signaling silence; the chatter died instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze pierced the mist, fixed on the unknown region ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The high-backed throne.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin’s face darkened: “It’s the Throne of Silence. I told you earlier—the Silent Zone has grown abnormally strong, with potent mental influence. Even an eighth-rank mage can’t focus inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the mana grid spell slots?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spell slots are fine, but I’ve already used mine all once. I probably can’t help. Besides, my magic puppet is under mental control—maybe I can lure it out first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laila raised her hand: “I’ll go with Luo De.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin immediately objected: “Stay put. You dared to crave whispers and listen actively before—you’re no different from a madwoman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You all stay here. I’ll go alone to investigate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin objected again: “No. What if you die in there? We’re already weak—we can’t afford to lose combat power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laila stared at him strangely: “He won’t die. He’s—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough! Cough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he’d been called by name countless times, Luo De still clung to his desire to conceal his identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De is a common name. No problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The masked hero?! That’s a great theme!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laila, thrilled, ignored everything and buried herself back in her notebook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De waved his hand and walked into the mist without looking back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin watched the man vanish into the mist and panicked: “Hey, Haley! He’s your friend, right? Stop him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He won’t have any problems.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As captain of the Security Division, you should have basic situational judgment. You’re getting him killed, do you understand?! I misjudged you completely!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRASH!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssshh—ssshh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she finished speaking,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a metallic hum of vibrating strings echoed from deep within the mist, like hundreds of strings snapping at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound wasn’t like clashing blades—it was too fine, too dense, as if something were slicing through air, flesh, bone—but not a single roar from Luo De could be heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps he couldn’t make a sound inside the Throne of Silence’s Silent Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin gripped her robe, her face pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another grating slicing sound followed, then a heavy thud as something fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re done. I’m the only sane person left in this team.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a silver thread pierced the thick fog and drove into the ground before them, its end tangled with wood shavings, gleaming blindingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, all noise ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire episode lasted less than five minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hhh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a figure burst through the mist, crashing onto the ground like a discarded rag, dragging a long scratch behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Skin with wooden grain, metallic joints of a puppet, a dark green velvet corseted gown, silver threads knotted into bundles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both arms forcibly torn off, still connected by threads, dangling loosely around the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet was not incapacitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a face devoid of emotion, it struggled to free itself from the tangled mass of silver threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin’s impending scream froze in her throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Click.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked up, startled, toward the direction of the footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There stood the man named Luo De, calmly parting the cotton-like mist, expression blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a single wound. Not a single tear on his clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget ‘you.’ I want to know—what’s the trial of the Throne of Silence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De noticed the puppet’s multifaceted eye roll toward Medlin, then open its mouth, flashing silver light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually stomped on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRASH—the dirt splattered, the puppet’s head sank into the earth, twitching intermittently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medlin shrank back, staring at Luo De with disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.Just activate the mechanism on the throne. Who are you? My puppet has defense comparable to a high-eighth-rank body cultivator—how could you just tear off its arms—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De cut her off again: “The mechanism on the throne? What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haley, seeing her old rival stunned and dazed, spoke up: “It’s a crown embedded with half a skull—the Crown of Silence. That’s the token.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo De held out his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s strange. Around the throne, surrounded by twelve stone pillars, there’s no Crown of Silence—and no skull at all. It’s empty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1189,"2026-06-20T19:55:32.419Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","be00b341b9bd1114be595726871ebd238e074d165c8041e80ff8f8500299daaa","i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-chapter-659","i-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-chapter-657",704,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-a-forest-warden-why-am-i-enslaving-a-succubu-cover.jpg"]