Chapter 540: Magic Puppet

In the end.

“Interesting.”

HUM!

A fierce wind swept through, and the smoke and dust inside the pit instantly dispersed.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the humanoid giant lizard stood like a small mountain, an unstoppable force crushing everything in its path.

However, right beneath the smashing scaly claw, a raised left arm blocked it like an impenetrable shield. Lu Chao stood firmly in the center of the shallow crater.

Compared to the humanoid giant lizard, his figure was incredibly small. Yet at this moment, he didn’t tremble in the slightest. Instead, a look of surprise crossed his face as he looked the black-scaled giant lizard up and down.

[Magic Alchemy Puppet]

[Life Energy: 200 (Active State)]

[Consumption Effect: Powered by a Magic Power crystal core, forged through Magic alchemy, and operates according to Magic Commands… Will be activated upon triggering a command.]

The information sensed by his intuition flashed before his eyes. Lu Chao’s curiosity grew increasingly intense.

This didn’t seem like something that could be created on Earth Star, nor did it match the information about the people from the God-Worshiping Church who believed in High-Dimensional Demon Gods.

HUM!!

As the thought flashed through his mind, the black-scaled giant lizard shuddered. Several patterns on the surface of its body suddenly flared, erupting with a violent fluctuation of Magic energy.

Lu Chao slightly raised his head, following the movement. He saw black light gathering in its gaping maw. It was actually using the Magic patterns to pool energy and form a breath attack.

“Oh?”

BOOM!!!

The breath erupted, turning into a black beam of light that swallowed Lu Chao whole.

Raccoon Cat and the others looked on in shock and doubt. In their line of sight, the air in the center of the pit was distorting, and the surrounding ground showed signs of melting.

But before they could recover their senses…

“It really is a Magic technique?”

HUM!!

The black breath suddenly dissipated! Lu Chao stood in place, completely unharmed. With a single hand, he had torn through the air, forcibly destroying the energy breath.

Then, he gently shook his head, clenched his fingers into a fist, and threw a punch with his right arm.

THOOM!!

The black giant lizard jerked violently as a ring of white vapor exploded in front of it. Immediately after, the scales on its chest and abdomen blasted apart. Lu Chao’s Fist Seal punched a half-meter-wide black hole right through it.

In the next split second.

CRASH!!

Its legs buckled, and the black giant lizard fell to its knees. The Magic patterns on its body flickered unsteadily. No blood flowed from its gaping wound. Instead, a black, diamond-shaped Crystal Stone was exposed inside, flashing continuously as if it were the creature’s energy source.

This scene completely exceeded the comprehension of Raccoon Cat and the others. They stood frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.

In contrast.

“Oh?”

Lu Chao raised an eyebrow, suddenly recalling the key point mentioned in his intuitive sense. This so-called Magic Alchemy Puppet used a Magic Crystal Stone as its power source. In other words, to this thing, that stone was essentially a biological heart?

With that thought in mind, Lu Chao reached out, wanting to extract the Crystal Stone to study it properly.

However…

HUM!!

It was as if some Magic Command had been triggered. The other two humanoid giant lizards reacted. Their beastly eyes flared with bright light, and the Magic patterns on their bodies began to shine once more.

A pale-gray beam of light shot out from inside a scepter, freezing the air in its path. The other giant lizard, clad in dark scales, manipulated the shadows, attempting to pin Lu Chao down.

Catching this from the corner of his eye, Lu Chao narrowed his eyes.

In a split second.

BOOM!

He took a step forward, erupting with full force. The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly. His terrifying physical strength caused the air to vibrate, forcibly shattering the magical shadows on the ground.

As for the incoming pale-gray beam of light…

“HOOO!!”

Lu Chao took a deep breath, his chest expanding visibly as if it were being inflated.

In the next instant.

“HAA!!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

The explosive shout echoed throughout the pit, causing a series of sonic booms in the air. Raccoon Cat and the others turned pale with horror. Their eardrums rang, and an indescribable sense of suppression weighed heavily on their hearts. The ground beneath their feet was rattled by the sound waves, cracking and splintering.

The pale-gray beam in their line of sight suffered a violent impact; its Magic Power was clearly dispersed by the sonic force of the shout.

“So strong…”

Raccoon Cat and Penelope exchanged a glance, both horrified. Once again, they felt just how rapidly Lu Chao’s strength was growing.

Peak Transcendence Level? Had his combat power already reached the Peak Transcendence Level?!

THOOM!!!

Answering their speculation was a deafening blast.

Tens of meters away, the dark-green-scaled giant lizard shuddered. Its chest and abdomen exploded, forming a similar black hole. Somehow, the small-statured Lu Chao had teleported over. His clenched right arm was as heavy and powerful as a battering ram. Relying purely on physical strength, he had severely injured it, shattering its scales and piercing straight through its body.

Even more so, the moment the dark giant lizard fell with a THUD, the sound of tearing air rang out again.

SWISH!!

Lu Chao vanished from his spot, reappearing right in front of the pale-gray-scaled giant lizard. His calm eyes met the beast’s gaze. An invisible fluctuation of Magic Power covered the surroundings, attempting to resist his physical aura.

[Life Energy: 230]

His intuitive sense surfaced once more. The pale-gray giant lizard before him was undoubtedly the strongest of the three.

Moreover, as a HUM rang out, Magic manifested again. The Magic Power patterns on its body flashed wildly as invisible elements coalesced, forming a Magic barrier that perfectly shielded its body.

At the same time, the pale-gray scepter in its hand also burst with blinding light, illuminating the entire pit as if turning night into day. The air trembled, and the nearby ground began to petrify. Everyone was enveloped within its area of effect.

Whether it was the Superpower Members or Superpower Level experts like Yue Zhenhong, they all felt their bodies stiffen, as if their vitality was being stripped away, turning them into inanimate objects.

At this critical moment, with a loud BANG, the punch connected!

A muffled explosion tore through the air, and all the magical light shattered into nothingness.

Raccoon Cat and the others snapped back to reality, feeling as though they had just brushed past the gates of death. They looked over once more.

The pale-gray-scaled giant lizard was now kneeling on the ground. More than half of its chest and abdomen were gone, leaving a semicircular gap a full meter in diameter. The pale-gray scepter in its hand shattered with a crack, dissolving into a pile of dust on the floor.

CLATTER! CLATTER!!

The shockwave scattered outward in a swirling gust, kicking up debris.

Standing before it, Lu Chao was completely unscathed. He merely cast a calm glance around his surroundings.

Raccoon Cat and the others were momentarily stunned, but they quickly noticed something unusual. The Magic Power patterns on the three giant lizards had completely dimmed, devoid of any light. Even to the naked eye, their beastly bodies were visibly stiffening and fading. They lost all signs of activity, ultimately transforming into three inanimate objects.

They looked just like lifeless giant lizard statues.

“This…” Yue Zhenhong clutched his chest, his face filled with doubt and shock. “What on earth are these things?”

The other Superpower Members finally regained their mobility. Watching this scene unfold, they were dumbfounded and lost for words.

They were actually three inanimate objects?

No one could provide an answer. Even Lu Chao remained silent for a few seconds.

“Magic Alchemy Puppets…”

As the intuitive information surfaced in his mind, he looked at the three lifeless giant lizard statues, forming quite a few hypotheses. Earth Star couldn’t possibly possess this kind of creation method, and the Mages of the God-Worshiping Church who followed Evil Gods definitely couldn’t achieve this either.

Could it be…

Lu Chao instinctively looked up at the sky.

Magic, civilization, the Starry Sky…

A series of thoughts flashed through his mind, making him feel even more keenly the hidden depths of this pit ruin.

Several minutes later.

Amidst a series of rustling sounds, the three humanoid lizard statues were pushed to the ground. They showed no further signs of life. The Magic Crystal Stones in their chests had been extracted by Lu Chao. They looked like three-dimensional, diamond-shaped crystals, each roughly the size of a human head.

[Basic Magic Crystal Stone]

[Quality: Basic (Excellence)]

[Effect: One of the Starry Sky Magic ores. Can store Biological Energy—Magic Power—to allow a Mage to replenish their Magic Power, or act as the energy core for an alchemical creation…]

His intuition presented the corresponding information.

Lu Chao toyed with the Crystal Stone for a moment, feeling slightly surprised. This thing actually couldn’t be consumed; it was more like an energy storage tool.

However, looking at the introduction of its effects, he murmured, “Starry Sky Magic ore…” His suspicions grew increasingly stronger.

At this point, he could conclude that these three Magic puppets had been deliberately left behind, seemingly to guard this pit ruin, or perhaps to prevent others from exploring it.

Instinctively, he glanced at Penelope and Raccoon Cat to the side.

This pit was an experimental base for Moray Country. Logically speaking, it had existed since the old era decades ago. But back then, Earth Star hadn’t even officially made contact with the Klar Civilization.

How could an object from the Starry Sky have appeared here?