Chapter 197

The black giant's punch was like a mountain, and ordinary defenses were like paper in the face of such power.

Fortunately, Luo En's flowing protective wall was not an ordinary defensive means.

Under the action of the giant's punch, it formed a special buffer structure, dispersing most of the impact force to the surroundings.

Even so, Luo En still felt a sharp pain coming from his chest, and his entire body flew backward several meters uncontrollably, almost hitting a stone pillar.

However, this level of attack, although powerful, was still within his expected range.

"Master!"

Daier shouted in panic, water elements gathering quickly at her fingertips, preparing to launch an attack.

Her large purple-blue eyes were filled with worry and anger, and her small body trembled slightly because of the power about to be released.

"No need to worry, Daier."

Luo En's voice was unexpectedly calm, his fingers brushing over the substitute puppet at his waist, "I still have a secret weapon I haven't taken out."

"It's time to test your strength."

A portion of his consciousness was slowly injected into the substitute puppet.

With the infusion of a large amount of magic power, that inconspicuous little puppet reacted immediately.

It expanded rapidly, its volume growing to the size of a human in just a few seconds.

Luo En could feel a portion of his consciousness flowing into the puppet, forming a peculiar dual perception.

He could feel the state of his own body, and at the same time perceive the surrounding environment through the puppet.

The black giant seemed to sense some kind of threat, its originally calm posture becoming vigilant, and those deep blue eyes stared fixedly at the deforming puppet.

Under Luo En's mental control, the puppet's appearance began to change.

Countless tiny scales appeared on the smooth surface, shimmering with a metallic luster like snake skin; this was the snake demon characteristic fused earlier;

The limbs became thick and powerful, the muscle outlines were clearly visible, embodying the strength of the manticore;

A tail full of power grew on its back, and the poison sting at the end shimmered with a light purple cold light.

Luo En could feel that the partial instinct memories of the snake demon and manticore were flowing in the "consciousness" of the puppet.

Those combat techniques and body control experiences all became resources he could call upon.

But the puppet itself had no independent will; it was like a highly precise tool, completely controlled by Luo En's intention.

"Daier, retreat a bit."

Luo En directed, while controlling the substitute puppet to strike a combat posture through the mental link.

The black giant did not hesitate at all, raising its hand for a powerful straight punch, aiming directly at the puppet's head.

The punch was fierce, splitting the air and emitting a harsh whistling sound.

Luo En did not let the puppet dodge, but directed it to raise an arm directly, meeting the giant's fist head-on.

This choice stemmed from his precise calculation of the puppet's abilities.

From previous experiments, he had already determined that the puppet had a special absorption ability for abyssal substances.

"Boom!"

The two forces collided, emitting a deafening muffled sound.

Air waves spread to the surroundings with the two as the center, and the gravel on the ground was blown up several inches.

What made Daier dumbfounded was that the substitute puppet was not only not repelled by the giant force, but the giant's fist sizzled instead.

The moment the two fists touched, it was like hitting some extremely unstable substance.

After a strange ripple appeared, it began to disintegrate as if corroded.

Black substances peeled off the giant's fist, dripping like ink.

But these substances did not scatter on the ground, but were directly absorbed by the substitute puppet's skin.

"Just as I expected!"

A flash of excitement crossed Luo En's eyes.

This absorption ability for abyssal energy was precisely one of the most precious characteristics of the substitute puppet, and the absorption effect was far more significant than he had imagined.

At the same time, through the link with the puppet, he felt a peculiar energy flow.

Those absorbed abyssal energies were not completely assimilated into the puppet's body, but were filtered through some special process, retaining only the useful parts.

How similar this process was to the "Furnace Concept" he had once envisioned!

The black giant seemed to realize the crisis, immediately withdrawing its damaged right fist, while its left hand turned into a sharp blade, sweeping horizontally toward the puppet's waist.

Through the mental link, Luo En directed the substitute puppet to dodge.

The puppet's movements possessed both the incredible flexibility of the snake demon and the explosive power of the manticore, easily avoiding the horizontal sweep.

And while dodging, it used the scorpion tail to stab forward violently, aiming straight at the giant's chest.

The poison sting stabbed into the black giant's chest, immediately triggering a series of energy reactions.

The black giant's body rippled like a lake surface into which a huge stone had been thrown.

Those originally stable black substances began to shake and separate irregularly.

"Continue attacking!"

With a thought from Luo En, the substitute puppet immediately launched a storm-like attack.

Under Luo En's control, the puppet demonstrated astonishing combat techniques:

The right fist aimed straight at the giant's soft ribs, the left leg swept to trip the leg, and the scorpion tail followed like a shadow, aiming at the vital points.

Every attack was precise, without any waste, perfectly fusing the precise strikes of the snake demon and the violent power of the manticore.

What satisfied Luo En most was that every time the puppet came into contact with the black giant, a portion of black energy was absorbed.

So much so that the giant kept getting weaker, while the puppet kept getting more powerful.

"Thud!"

Another heavy punch, the puppet's right fist slammed into the black giant's abdomen like a cannonball, triggering a dull impact sound.

The black giant staggered backward, a huge hole appearing between its chest and abdomen, and black energy constantly overflowed from the wound.

Luo En did not hesitate to control the puppet to follow up.

The left leg swept out, precisely kicking at the black giant's knee.

"Crack!"

Clearly a body composed of energy, yet it made a crisp sound similar to bone fracture.

The black giant's right leg bent directly at an incredible angle, and its entire body lost balance, tilting to one side.

Seizing this moment, he controlled the puppet to use both hands through the mental link.

—In the posture of a lion tearing prey, it grabbed fiercely toward both sides of the black giant's head.

The pair of claws sank directly into the black giant's head, then pulled outward violently...

"Crack... Bang!"

The black giant's head exploded like fireworks, turning into countless black fragments drifting in the air.

"So amazing, Master!"

Daier jumped up happily, the worry just now swept away.

Luo En did not immerse himself in this brief victory.

He noticed that although the black giant's body had lost its head, it was still stubbornly reorganizing, trying to continue fighting.

This regenerative ability was one of the terrifying aspects of abyssal creatures.

But what surprised him even more was the reaction of the substitute puppet at his waist.

After absorbing a large amount of black energy, its body actually autonomously grew a third arm!

This newborn arm extended from the right scapula, and its structure was completely different from the original arm—.

Its whole body was covered with dark purple scales, its fingertips were sharp like claws, and it radiated a deep blue light.

"This is... the puppet is adapting and fusing the newly absorbed energy." Luo En felt a trace of amazement in his heart.

He quickly adjusted his tactics, directing the third arm to reach forward, piercing through the black giant's chest, and grabbing the glowing core directly.

That was the energy hub after the Shadow Nightmare Hunter fused.

As the core was held in its hand, the black giant's body completely lost support.

Collapsing rapidly like a sand sculpture washed by waves, it turned into a pool of black liquid, gathering at the feet of the substitute puppet.

Luo En controlled the substitute puppet to pick up the core, while simultaneously reaching out to touch the pool of black liquid, beginning to absorb energy in large quantities.

With the continuous absorption of energy, the substitute puppet's body began to undergo subtle changes:

The surface became smoother, the muscle lines became clearer, and the overall outline became closer to a human.

Most importantly, the third arm had completely integrated into the overall structure, as natural as if it had existed since birth.

"Master... it... has become more like a living thing." Daier said in a low voice, her voice carrying a trace of unease and curiosity.

"Don't worry, it is completely under my control."

Luo En reassured, while checking the status of the substitute puppet through the mental link.

He could clearly perceive a piece of data:

【Automatically absorbed active abyssal substance, charging progress +5%】

【Current energy: 8%/100%】

"Energy increased by 5%."

Luo En calculated in his heart: "If I really go to the Great Abyss for exploration in the future, the charging progress should rise very quickly."

A 50% charging level is the threshold for the substitute puppet to unlock the "two-way interoperability" characteristic.

After reaching this level, not only can the puppet completely replicate Luo En's abilities, but Luo En can also obtain the characteristics absorbed by the puppet to a certain extent.

"By then, I can transfer the substitute puppet to a Witch Hunter..."

Luo En calculated in his heart, the corners of his mouth rising involuntarily:

"Obtain all the ability bonuses of a Witch Hunter without having to bear any job transfer risks and side effects."

Imagining that possibility—the extraordinary perception ability of a Witch Hunter, enhanced physique, toxin resistance, and various specialized skills, all for his own use.

But without having to endure that painful physical transformation process and long-term side effects, Luo En couldn't help but feel a surge of expectation.

Especially when facing various distorted creatures or "Awakened Ones," Witch Hunters possess the "Witch Hunt" special attack bonus brought by their professional characteristics, which is an advantage that other professions cannot replace.

As his thoughts flowed, the puppet had already completed energy absorption, standing there quietly, waiting for the next instruction.

With a light thought from Luo En, it shrank immediately, returning to its original size, turning back into an ordinary little puppet, and returning to his hand.

"Now, it's time to deal with the last thing."

He put away the substitute puppet and walked toward the glowing stone pillar in the center of the altar.

The surface of the stone pillar was covered with ancient runes, radiating a faint blue light.

Luo En used "Extraordinary Identification" to study these runes carefully and found that they formed a complex teleportation array.

(End of chapter)