BXBX NOVEL Chapter 116: Puppet Onslaught!
I need to learn more weapon skills. My puppets would be in much better shape if they knew a spear technique or two. He evaluated the Array Puppets from the side while they fought, making sure to keep an eye out for any tricks the Mummy might use to target him.
William felt his combat sense had improved greatly since entering the Gravitas Ruins. Part of it was likely due to the upgrade to his Mind and Vision Talent, but he could also thank the trials for forcing him to strategize when fighting a massive group of goblins, or countering various Elemental Minotaurs.
He controlled the Array Puppets with even more fervor, making the best use of his Mind Talent to reflect on each strike the Ancient Gravitas Mummy made.
William had to admit that the Mummy was quite impressive. Each strike of its greatsword seemed simple in nature, but closer inspection revealed that the Mummy was performing its own evaluation and competing with ease against three Array Puppets simultaneously.
It wasn\'t just because the Mummy was in the Nascent Soul Realm, rather its insane mastery of the greatsword. It swung the greatsword from its right side, knocking the palm strike of an Array Puppet toward its ally while the greatsword continued forward.
The Arrays on both Puppets activated, exhausting even more of William\'s Mana.
The Ancient Gravitas Mummy looked in William\'s direction after dodging an attack from the third Array Puppet. It smirked, noticing the pain in his expression as he sent even more Mana to the Array Puppets.
"Kid, you\'re quite strong, but my combat experience is more than ten of your lifespans." The Mummy\'s rough voice made William\'s ears hurt.
William was back on the defensive even though it was three-on-one. He watched as the Ancient Gravitas Mummy jumped backwards past the third Array Puppet, forcing all three to attack from the front.
It took this opportunity to launch another sweeping strike with its greatsword, knocking back all three Array Puppets in unison. Two of the Array Puppets were knocked backwards and fell down, while the third only staggered backward a few steps.
The Mummy leaped forward, launching a powerful kick at the third Array Puppet and causing it to fall on top of the other two Puppets. The Mummy raised its staff, releasing a bolt of lightning that spread among the three fallen puppets.
Multiple defensive Arrays inscribed on the Puppets\' bodies activated, a few shattering as they couldn\'t handle the consecutive attacks of a Nascent Soul Beast.
William swiftly launched a place made of the Earth Element in between the Mummy and the Puppets, redirecting the flow of electricity and giving the Puppets enough time to regain their footing.
William\'s evaluation was complete, but the findings weren\'t good. He was able to identify a few key patterns in the Mummy\'s movement based on how it reacted to his Puppets, but a quick look at the Puppets and his Mana Reserve suggested William wouldn\'t be able to defeat the Mummy like this.
Do I need to reveal a Domain? He pondered.
The idea was tempting, but William had been screwed over multiple times by revealing his Talents. He thought back to the first time he revealed more than he should have, when he told the Guild Master about his experience fighting a Wind Wolf. If the man hadn\'t been a good person, William might have died right then and there.
He thought further to when he was attacked by Torc\'s companions just because he upgraded his Fire Talent out in the open and one of them became greedy.
There were a few other times besides that, and the degree of trouble William received scaled with the level of Talent he revealed. From the Thieves\' Guild to a group of Cultivators from an Ancient Family to even the Yu Royal Family that presided over the entire Continent, William had finally learned his lesson.
If he showed the creator of the Gravitas Ruins his Fire Domain, which he assumed would only awaken for those with an S-Rank Magic Affinity, William didn\'t know what would happen to him. He was already enslaved by the Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect; it was better to stay hidden.
He decided on a new plan.
William controlled the two Array Puppets that were guarding his position to move toward the Mummy, simultaneously pulling an additional pair of Puppets from his Space Ring. The first five Puppets were controlled to attack the Mummy together, while the remaining two would stand idle next to William.
Even if he couldn\'t control seven Puppets, he could alternate control between the Puppets in a flash if the Mummy decided to rush in his direction. This method was much faster than controlling the puppets to chase down the Mummy should it get past them.
The Mummy\'s eyes flashed in surprise once again, not expecting William to control seven Puppets at a time. It hadn\'t yet realized that William was still only controlling five, becoming serious as it expected a difficult battle.
William drank a Mana Regeneration potion to recover some Mana but found that it would only restore a bit under half of his total Mana Reserve. He drank a second potion to fully recover, causing the Ancient Gravitas Mummy to worry somewhat. Even though the Mummy was essentially an undead being, it still had a Mana reserve.
"Let\'s see who tires out first!" the Mummy released a loud shout.
Its aura skyrocketed as the ambient Mana approached its position, preparing a large spell. William detected the Fire, Earth, and Wind Elements and had a bad premonition. He looked to the sky, where a giant Meteor Spell was forming.
Shit! William ran as the Meteor threatened to crush him, forgetting to control the two Array Puppets to follow behind.
He looked back after moving to a safe distance but was angered to find out that the Mummy wasn\'t targeting him but the Array Puppets with the Meteor. The spell crashed down, obliterating all seven Array Puppets. Even worse, William lost track of the Ancient Gravitas Mummy while he was running away.
He looked around frantically for any signs of the enemy. His eyes shifted left and right, but there were really no signs. Did the Mummy run away?
"Behind youuu!" the sinister voice of the Ancient Gravitas Mummy sounded, its voice like chalk on a chalkboard that made the hair on the back of William\'s neck stand up. He turned around to face the Magical Beast only to find its greatsword crashing down on his Forcefield.
Cracks formed on William\'s Forcefield as the greatsword continued pressing down, the Mummy\'s sinister smile creating fear in William\'s heart.
"Take this!" a female voice sounded from afar.
An ethereal blade over twenty meters long and glowing a pale blue sliced off the Ancient Gravitas Mummy\'s arm from behind, the blade\'s edge less than a centimeter away from William\'s Forcefield.