After Jarvis, Green, Resha, and the others entered the Nostril Deep Cave, the giant that Ye Chui had transformed into continued to engage in close-quarters combat with the terrifying slime monster apostle. “Guren no Yumiya” was one of the first BGMs Ye Chui had unlocked. Using this BGM allowed him to transform into a giant.
However, initially, Ye Chui could only manifest part of the giant’s body, and its power was not particularly strong. As his strength continued to grow and his magic storage became vast, he could now summon the complete version of the giant. Moreover, he could even activate the Hulk transformation magic while in giant form, greatly enhancing his power.
Yet the slime monster’s strength was extraordinary. Each of the Church’s thirteen apostles was a fantastical creature capable of destroying a nation, the ultimate weapons in the Church’s arsenal. Even though Ye Chui’s green giant repeatedly smashed the slime monster into scattered fragments, it could still rapidly reform. Countless remnants landed on Ye Chui’s body, wriggling like insects and corroding the turtle armour on his surface.
“My current power is too weak. This massive battle armour won’t hold out much longer,” Turtle Baby’s weary voice sounded in Ye Chui’s ear.
“Then it looks like we’ll have to do this next,” Ye Chui uttered in a muffled thunder-like growl. He kicked the slime monster away and turned to look down at Debbie and Gilga below.
When Ye Chui had made his deployment earlier, he had kept Turtle Baby and Debbie behind. Turtle Baby was needed for her defensive power, while Debbie was retained for an offensive weapon.
Debbie was half-crouched on the ground, hiding behind Gilga. Seeing Ye Chui look over, the little girl hurriedly shouted, “What do you need me to do?” She knew Ye Chui had kept her for a reason.
“Gilga, unleash your golden sword energy to the maximum!” Ye Chui roared. On the way here, Ye Chui had charged Gilga with a large amount of dragon blood stones. She was now glowing golden all over, having reached the maximum storage of golden sword energy.
Gilga protected Debbie with one arm while shielding her eyes with the other hand. Her golden hair flew wildly. Hearing Ye Chui, she immediately asked, “Do you want me to use the curry stick? No, the Golden Starfall to attack it? Alright, I understand. I’ll try.”
With that, a solemn and determined expression appeared on Gilga’s stunning face. She gripped her sword with both hands and raised it high. With a boom, a golden sword beam pillar shot into the sky, reaching the heavens!
The pillar was about to disperse, turning into a rain of golden starlight across the sky.
But at that moment, Ye Chui suddenly shouted, “That’s enough. Just like this!”
“Just like this!?” Gilga was stunned.
In the next instant, she saw Ye Chui’s giant suddenly bend down. Its massive right hand descended from the sky and grasped Gilga’s tall body. Gilga’s height perfectly matched the width of Ye Chui’s palm, allowing him to hold her completely. Then, in Ye Chui’s hand, a golden sword energy longsword appeared.
Debbie lay flat on the ground to avoid being blown away by the wind. Squinting as she looked up, she saw Ye Chui wielding the golden longsword. The little girl gaped in shock. So that’s it. What an ingeniously quirky idea.
The slime monster roared and charged again.
Hum.
Ye Chui swung the Gilga-brand golden sword horizontally, slicing through the void. It instantly struck the slime monster.
The terrifying sword energy directly cleaved the slime monster’s body in two. This time, the damage from the golden light sword was far greater. Though it could still heal, the recovery speed was much slower than when Ye Chui smashed it directly with his fists.
“Excellent. It seems Gilga’s golden sword energy deals massive damage to it. Gilga, maintain the power of the golden light sword. Here we go!” Ye Chui said excitedly.
Gilga: “”
I’m actually the sword.
While Ye Chui wielded the Gilga-brand golden light sword against the slime monster, the nostril team had already ventured deep into the cave.
It grew increasingly dark here. The cave, originally over dozens of metres high, became somewhat narrow. Several Eternal Puppet Tribe members lit torches to illuminate the path ahead. Evans, Bart, and Green also took out magic lights. In this place, the Puppet God’s breath had vanished. It was peaceful and quiet, yet carried an atmosphere that made one’s heart palpitate.
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“Wait,” the puppet elder suddenly said as they advanced. When everyone quieted down, he continued, “It seems some sound is coming from all directions!”
The others soon heard those sounds too.
Rustle rustle.
As if coming from the surrounding walls.
Green sensed something. He used teleportation magic to send his magic light upwards. In the cyan glow, the light instantly reached the cave ceiling, illuminating a section. Then everyone witnessed a scalp-numbing scene. The walls above the cave were covered in constantly crawling insects!
Those insects were black, with distinct puppet joint features. They were puppet bugs!
They densely covered the upper walls, making them seem alive and constantly wriggling.
“These are black-armoured puppet bugs, a type that always appears in swarms. They’ve shown up in other places, but never in such numbers!” Puppet Number Two, the female puppet, exclaimed in shock. “They’re similar to ants in the outside world, but far more terrifying!”
No one knew how many puppet bugs there were. Though called insects, each was as large as a human head. Just as Green and the others discovered them, the puppet bugs seemed triggered by some alert. With rustling sounds, they continuously fell from the ceiling.
“Be careful. These things have extremely sharp teeth that can easily tear through puppet beast skin and shell. Don’t let them bite you!” the puppet elder urgently shouted. The puppet tribe warriors, who had retracted their shields due to the absence of wind, immediately reactivated them, raising them overhead. With clacking sounds, puppet bugs continuously fell onto the shields.
Some bugs landed on the nearby ground and rapidly pounced towards the group.
At this moment, the Eternal Puppet Tribe warriors understood their value. They formed a circle around the perimeter, protecting Green, Resha, Evans, Fazhe, and the others in the centre while constantly attacking the puppet bugs that landed on them. These bugs were puppet life forms. Amid bursts of firelight, they were torn apart. But soon, several puppet tribe warriors were enveloped by the swarm and collapsed completely to the ground.
“Don’t worry about us. Go on ahead!” the fallen puppet warriors shouted even as they were submerged by the bugs.
“We press deeper inside!” Jarvis shouted next. “If I regain control of this body, I can revive all the puppet warriors who die here!”
The puppet bugs seemed to increase endlessly, surging from all directions. Zenith Mountain and the Nostril Deep Cave were sacred grounds for the Eternal Puppet Tribe. They had never ventured here and had no idea such a terrifying swarm of puppet bugs existed.
The group advanced with great difficulty under the bugs’ assault.
The cave grew narrower, and more puppet warriors fell. Even those protected in the centre, like Bart, Green, and Fazhe, sustained some injuries.
At that moment, outside the deep cave, the Puppet God’s enormous head suddenly stirred restlessly. Its originally slightly closed mouth opened a bit wider. “Mmm mmm,” a strange sound emerged from the massive mouth.
Ye Chui swung Gilga to sweep away the slime monster and glanced curiously at the Puppet God’s huge mouth. He felt a powerful suction force appear within the nostril cave. Debbie’s body nearly got sucked in. She could only cling desperately to a protrusion on the ground, her body already lifted into the air. Realising something was wrong, Ye Chui hurriedly bent down and grabbed the little girl in his hand too.
The slime monster charged fiercely.
Ye Chui prepared to swing his sword in resistance.
Just then.
“Achoo!”
A earth-shattering sneeze erupted from the massive head’s mouth. The sudden burst of fierce wind from the nostrils and mouth instantly swept Ye Chui and the slime monster into the air together.
