Chapter 373: Wax Figure

Within that river stained with blood, a figure slowly crawled out.

For some reason, Lu Mi felt as if he had been struck by a shock; his thoughts became sluggish, and he didn't launch an attack immediately, watching helplessly as that figure crawled onto the bank.

It was a strange man with a stiff and gloomy face. The clothing on his body had shown signs of softening from being soaked in water, which made Lu Mi realize immediately that it was fused with flesh and blood.

This was a wax figure, a wax figure that had come to life!

Drops of bright red blood spilled from the wax figure's body, mixing with the river water sliding down and constantly hitting the wild grass on the bank.

Amidst the *drip-drop* sound, the wax figure's light blue eyes rotated slightly within their white base, vaguely reflecting Lu Mi's figure.

Just by being looked at like this, Lu Mi's mind went blank, as if refusing to make eye contact, and he suffered intense suppression, his body and mind not daring to resist.

In an instant, a dangerous intuition born from the survival instinct emerged in Lu Mi's heart, becoming increasingly obvious.

Finally, they erupted completely, overpowering other emotions and states.

Lu Mi's vision recovered instantly.

At this very moment, in his eyes, the distance between his own face and that gloomy, stiff-eyed wax figure's face was less than a meter. The pale palms, constantly dripping blood, had their five fingers spread wide, each one like a sharp blade, stabbing over fiercely.

Lu Mi had no time to make any other reaction, only instinctively raising his right palm to block in front of his face.

Amidst a *bang* sound, the pale fingers, sharper than daggers, were blocked by the iron-black "Torture" gauntlets with short spikes.

And where they weren't blocked by the gauntlets, the wax figure's fingers pierced through the edge of Lu Mi's palm, leaving a clear scar on his face.

If he hadn't broken free from that shock in time, this strike would have pierced his skull and penetrated his brain.

The familiar pain made Lu Mi even more awake. His left hand clenched tightly, carrying ignited crimson flames, and he smashed it with all his might toward the wax figure's side face in a swinging punch posture.

At the same time, he revealed a smile on his face, his right palm gripped inward, relying on the obstruction of flesh and blood to stall the wax figure's right hand from retracting, briefly imprisoning its evasion.

*Bang! *

The "Torture" gauntlets knocked the wax figure's head crooked, and the iron-black short spikes on the surface kissed its hard face, creating exaggerated scratches that went from deep to shallow.

And this wax figure actually shed bright red blood like a real person, but the wound at the crack showed no texture of flesh, only layers of wax piled up and softening as if burned by fire.

Immediately after, blood-colored capillaries protruded from the wax figure's light blue eyes, displaying a strong desire for blood from the inside out.

This made it more vivid than before, more like a living person.

Lu Mi had chosen the "Torture" gauntlets before because they were his most powerful magical artifact, and the enemy was the dangerous creature Te Er Mi Bo Luo Si had mentioned, so he couldn't be the slightest bit careless. But what he didn't expect was that the follower wasn't a living person, but a wax figure.

In this way, the gauntlets' ability to evoke certain desires or emotions seemed unable to produce an effect, and they could only be used as defensive weapons.

If it weren't for the strange shock he had just encountered, Lu Mi would have already taken off the gauntlets, thrown them aside, and switched to the "Decent" brooch. But now, with the enemy right in front of him, he could only make do with using "Torture," but the focus had changed to "Fire Injection." He didn't even dare to use the "Hum-Ha Technique," fearing it would have no effect on such a thing.

What surprised Lu Mi again was that the punch just now had actually stimulated the wax figure's bloodthirsty desire.

The other party seemed to be alive to some extent, possessing weak emotions and desires of its own!

"As long as it's still alive!" The smile on Lu Mi's face became more obvious.

He retracted his right palm, endured the pain, and delivered another swinging punch with crimson flames, knocking the wax figure's head back from its crooked position to its original place.

The wax figure, with its bloodthirsty desire strengthened, didn't try to pull away or use that kind of shock again, instinctively and madly engaging in close-quarters combat with Lu Mi.

This was exactly what Lu Mi wanted. His iron-black gauntlets with short spikes were wrapped in crimson flames, and in a posture of rapid, short strikes, he constantly collided with the wax figure's arms, fists, shoulders, torso, and head.

Each of these punches wasn't very powerful; what he wanted was "high frequency"!

*Bang, bang, bang, slap, slap, slap. * Lu Mi's double fists wearing "Torture" dragged crimson firelight, suppressing the wax figure—which wasn't stiff at all, but rather very agile and possessed excellent fighting skills—so that it couldn't use other abilities.

His feet occasionally stepped forward, occasionally lifted his knees, dealing with attacks from below.

In just ten or twenty seconds, the wax figure suddenly stalled, and a phantom explosion sound came from within its body.

The capillaries in its eyes exploded completely, staining the light blue into bright red. Its head then appeared with cracks from the inside out, connecting with the scars created by "Torture."

"Desire Detonation"!

Under Lu Mi's ultra-high-frequency attacks, the "Desire Detonation" effect of the "Torture" gauntlets was triggered!

Seeing this scene, Lu Mi retracted his double fists and quietly watched the wax figure's blood-colored eyes reveal painful emotions.

Two reddish tears slowly formed at the corners of its eyes and slid down.

The wax figure opened its mouth as if wanting to say something, but couldn't make a sound.

*Boom, boom, boom! *

A dull explosion appeared within its body, and exaggerated wounds split open all over its body.

Streams of crimson flames burst out from those places, completely igniting this wax figure.

"Fire Injection"!

Amidst the intense burning, the wax figure softened rapidly, its body covered in sticky, blood-stained liquid droplets.

*Plop! *

It fell to the ground.

What kind of monster was this? Lu Mi stared for more than ten seconds. From the perspective of a "Hunter," he intuitively judged that the prey shouldn't be able to yield any Beyonder characteristics.

During this process, he picked up his briefcase and put the "Torture" gauntlets back in.

Lu Mi no longer delayed, turned his body, and walked toward the outside of this forest.

Behind him, streams of crimson flames leaped, burning his dripping blood.

Amidst the intense firelight, the wax figure had melted beyond recognition, and Lu Mi's figure faded step by step, suddenly disappearing not far away.

"Spirit World Shuttle!"

To avoid the gaze of the evil god and the dangerous creature brought by the "Torture" gauntlets, he directly shifted his position and "teleported" to the small town ahead.

That was a place he had scouted in advance and whose Spirit World coordinates he had mastered.

After another few dozen seconds, on the forest road where only a few flames were still burning, a patch of broken, desolate wilderness suddenly spread out.

The weeds there gradually grew lush, and a figure wearing a white robe was quickly outlined.

That figure wore a light-colored veil, her abdomen was obviously protruding, and a substantial maternal radiance flowed on her body. It was none other than "Lady Moon" of the "Night Travelers."

"Lady Moon" cast her gaze toward the blood-stained wax figure that had completely melted, watching the crimson flames quietly leaping there.

After inspecting for more than ten seconds, this lady, along with the broken wilderness, disappeared instantly.

Inside Red Swan Castle, in a room in the main building.

Count Pu Yifu, wearing a red shirt and black slim-fit trousers, sat behind a messy desk, coldly staring at a wax figure head placed in front of him.

That head was carved no differently from a real person, with light blue eyes and blackish hair.

In the silent waiting, Count Pu Yifu appeared a bit anxious, occasionally tugging at his collar, changing his sitting posture, and even unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, as if the surrounding air was exceptionally thin, making it difficult for him to breathe smoothly.

As time passed second by second, that wax figure head suddenly made a *crack* sound.

It split into many pieces at once, each piece showing a state of high melting.

Pu Yifu stood up in astonishment, his pupils dilating instantly.

In his eyes, tiny blood vessels protruded, many of them rupturing, staining a patch bright red.

"Was it finished off?" Pu Yifu muttered silently, both shocked and suspicious.

Charles Dubois was even more mysterious and powerful than he had expected!

Even if he himself wasn't, the secret force behind him was!

Count Pu Yifu paced back and forth, his expression quite solemn.

After Lu Mi "teleported" to the small town ahead, he didn't show himself immediately, but stayed in the dark, silently counting the time.

When he felt that a "Hunter" running would be enough to reach here from that forest, he truly entered the small town, found the coachman, and returned to No. 11 Spring Street in the Memorial Hall District.

In the room with numerous bookshelves, Lu Mi looked at Gardner Martin, who was holding a cigar, and said frankly:

"I was attacked."

This couldn't be hidden from the boss.

"Hmm?" Gardner Martin expressed his question with a nasal sound.

Lu Mi, in a very frank posture, started from when he chose the King Cake after Count Pu Yifu, felt the mad spirit hovering and trying to invade, and went all the way to how he used "Fire Injection" to blow up and melt that wax figure, and showed the wounds on his hands and face.

What he didn't mention was "he knew why the mad spirit didn't truly occupy his body" and that he had used the "Torture" gauntlets, attributing the former to a reason he didn't yet understand.

Gardner Martin smoked his cigar, listening quietly, not surprised at all that Lu Mi hadn't been invaded by the mad spirit.

If he felt surprised and showed suspicion, Lu Mi would have decisively "invited" Mr. K over to jointly clear out this "Iron and Blood Cross Order" stronghold.

Gardner Martin, holding the cigar that was already half-gone, smiled and said:

"It seems that the official members of our 'Iron and Blood Cross Order' are more favored by the spirit of his ancestor than Pu Yifu, but it also fears them."

Does that mean Beyonders who have suffered the strange pollution in the building at No. 13 Market Avenue? Even without the aura of the "Blood Emperor," that mad spirit wouldn't invade official members of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" other than me? I don't know if it's true or false. Why don't you go try it, boss? Lu Mi suddenly felt like urging Gardner Martin to go play the King Cake game with Count Pu Yifu.

"Now I have confirmed one thing." Gardner Martin's expression quickly became serious. "That ancestor of the Sauron family, Vermond Sauron, has not truly died and is still living in a state we cannot yet understand."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 374 =====