Meanwhile, the others didn’t waste this precious time and quickly located the position of that magic puppet from earlier.
The magic puppet itself had no fixed shape. It was composed of countless independent small cubes that assembled together during mimicry to transform into the form of corresponding magic beasts.
It was said that each thumb-sized cube contained an independent, complete magic circuit, meaning every single small cube could be considered an independent magic puppet. Such exquisite magitool technology was precisely Instructor Shasta’s masterpiece.
But now, these small cubes were densely embedded and attached to a thick, long vine, each one emitting a eerie blue-green glow, resembling some kind of fusion between flesh and machinery. The sight was enough to trigger anyone’s trypophobia.
“Instructor Shasta’s magic puppet must have used technology similar to biological mimicry, which is why the Forest Lord was able to control its magic circuit.”
Xiliya stared intently at the magic puppet in front of her. She drew her dagger, but the thick vine seemed to sense something and swiftly coiled back, trying to retreat elsewhere.
Xiliya was quick-eyed and deft-handed. She slashed the upper half of the vine with her dagger, and the portion with the magic puppet attached dropped to the ground with a wet “splat.” Green, foul-smelling liquid oozed from the cut end. That made sense—this wasn’t an ordinary vine. This thing was actually an extension of the Forest Lord’s body, merely disguised as a normal plant.
Some of the more timid girls couldn’t stomach the disgusting scene and turned their heads away, but Xiliya remained unaffected. With swift hands, she grabbed the severed half of the vine and prepared to hurl it far away. That way, the area they were in could regain its magic.
But unexpectedly, countless vines surged in from all directions. Before Xiliya could let go, a new section of vine wrapped around it, reconnecting seamlessly with the broken half.
These vines weren’t extending directly from the Forest Lord’s main body; they were hanging from the trees, likely independent offshoots.
Damn, this thing was too tricky… So the only option was to destroy the magic puppet?
Xiliya thrust her dagger fiercely into the front half of the vine with the magic puppet attached, nailing it to a tree.
Without wasting time, she stabbed at the magic puppet on the vine. After a teeth-grinding clash… the dagger actually chipped.
Xiliya’s eyes widened in disbelief. She knew the strength of Ximo’s dagger well. If the dagger had chipped, yet the cubic magic puppet showed not even a scratch.
“Watch this!”
A stronger boy directly hauled over a large rock and smashed it down hard… but the effect was still minimal.
This was trouble. Xiliya realized something: the magic puppets were originally designed to be deployed in the forest as punching bags for the exam, so their durability was undoubtedly high.
She recalled the magic puppet she had shattered upon first entering the forest. Even after such a magical attack, it had merely disassembled. Simple physical weapons naturally couldn’t damage it at all.
This was real trouble. Who would have thought the academy’s pinnacle magitool creation would now become their greatest obstacle to escape?
No, perhaps their approach was wrong. There was no need to destroy the magic puppet. It only blocked magic because the Forest Lord controlled it. As long as they severed that connection…
Xiliya struck again, plunging her dagger deep into the still-writhing vine section, trying to pry out the embedded magic puppet.
This method worked, but soon she felt resistance from her hand. It was a bit gross, but… the vine was actively sucking the magic puppet back in, refusing to let her dislodge it.
“Damn…”
Xiliya’s expression changed. It wasn’t disgust; she just hadn’t expected the Forest Lord’s tendrils to be so resilient. They had identified the source of the problem, yet couldn’t resolve it.
With great effort, Xiliya pried off a small chunk of the magic puppet. She felt the dragging sensation in her hand—she knew this was how the magic puppet operated, like magnets attracting each other.
After handing the chunk to someone and instructing them to stand back, Xiliya frowned.
The good news was that once the small chunk was removed, it stopped emitting the blue-green glow. This proved that separating the magic puppet from the Forest Lord would break the anti-magic effect.
The bad news was that this method was too slow. How long would it take to dig out all the densely packed magic puppets on the vine? Xiliya didn’t even want to think about it!
No, they needed a faster way to deal with the magic puppet. Otherwise, Melrose and Ximo wouldn’t hold out much longer!
The Forest Lord seemed to notice that the two blocking the magic beast horde were formidable. It let out another piercing roar, and the vine cage parted slightly, allowing a steady stream of magic beasts to charge in from outside!
“Damn, how many magic beasts has this thing parasitized?”
Ximo and Melrose both looked grim. Though both were proficient in physical combat, sustaining such high-intensity fighting would surely lead to their defeat.
“Miss—how’s it going over there?”
“Sorry, Ximo. You might need to hold on a bit longer. Do you have any other weapons? Preferably something with high destructive power.”
They couldn’t just stand around, so Xiliya planned to rally more people to help pry off the magic puppets with tools.
A weapon with high destructive power? Ximo paused for a moment, then thrust her sleeve sword into a magic beast’s neck while dodging.
High destructive power, huh? You should have said so earlier!
Ximo thought of something. In the midst of dodging, she reached under her skirt and pulled out an object, hurling it toward Xiliya from afar.
“Miss—use this! It packs a punch!”
“Hey… I got it!”
In the end, Mira caught it. She stared at what Ximo had thrown, her hand trembling as she nearly dropped it.
Three cylindrical sticks bundled together with a long fuse attached—Ximo had tossed over a bundle of dynamite!
Yes, this world had gunpowder, even seemingly modern regulated dynamite. Ximo couldn’t fathom why this world’s tech tree was so skewed; the anachronism was overwhelming!
When Ximo had rummaged through her handheld suitcase and found this in a hidden compartment, she had been stunned. But adhering to the doctrine of firepower supremacy, she had thoughtfully tucked it into her maid skirt.
