Chapter 139: Dominion Angel

Sophia's voice had just trailed off when Geppetto shook his head with a regretful sigh and said,
"This is not your true persona, Carlo. I will wake you up."
Numerous threads of blue energy erupted from Geppetto's fingertips, sweeping across the entire battlefield!

In an instant, the blue threads wrapped around Pinocchio. The puppet boy's expression froze as unfamiliar gazes flooded his eyes, his youthful innocence shifting into a cold sternness never seen before.
He quickly took two steps back, nodded respectfully toward Geppetto, and said, "Father, I have returned."

With that, Pinocchio raised his sword toward Li Nanke, assuming a combat stance, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.
Carlo's consciousness had一直 remained dormant within Pinocchio's dynamic heart. He had watched helplessly as Pinocchio's persona awoke, easily manipulated and led by the nose by the stalker known as the Black Rabbit, acting precisely like a foolish adolescent.

Whatever the Black Rabbit told Pinocchio to do, that foolish boy did, obeying even more submissively than a damned puppet. This filled Carlo with extreme shame and fury, making him desperately yearn to awaken immediately and kill the other party.
However, only a fraction of Carlo's consciousness was sealed within the dynamic heart. He could not use this fragmented consciousness to suppress Pinocchio's awakening persona, leaving him no choice but to act as a mere spectator, awaiting his reunion with his father Geppetto.

Although Geppetto had not used the Grand Covenant to bind this puppet vessel, as long as he used the alchemical gauntlet, he could completely control Pinocchio, forcing his persona into slumber and allowing the true Carlo to take over the puppet body.
The blue threads of energy connected not only to Pinocchio, who was now possessed by Carlo, but also to the King of Puppets, Romeo, who had collapsed and fallen paralyzed to the ground.

Under Geppetto's control, Romeo stood back up, manipulated just like a war machine.
Even though his dynamic heart was damaged and he could not control his body independently, the operational commands originated from the blue threads, which completely seized control of his physical body.
Romeo's face wore a struggling expression as he shouted with utmost fury, "Geppetto, let me go!"
"I swear, I will kill you..."

Mid-sentence, the mechanical eyes of the King of Puppets grew vacant, and he muttered repetitively:
"Grand Covenant Rule Zero, the Creator is Geppetto... Grand Covenant Rule Zero, the Creator is Geppetto..."
"Current directive: Kill the enemy!"

His eyes filled with icy murderous intent, and he picked up his scythe weapon, pointing the sharp blade directly at Li Nanke.
Compared to controlling Pinocchio, Geppetto found controlling the King of Puppets even simpler; he merely needed the Grand Covenant to turn Romeo into an obedient, loyal hound.

According to the intelligence Romeo had provided, Geppetto had not used the Grand Covenant to bind Pinocchio, meaning the puppet boy would never be subject to his father's control. That was why the King of Puppets had wanted his old friend to come to the alchemical isle to trade for his freedom.
Yet, in truth, Romeo knew nothing of the Nameless Puppet, nor did he know that Geppetto had secretly crafted the alchemical gauntlet. Through this device, Geppetto could not only control the Nameless Puppet but even forcefully control Pinocchio.

Had the ultra-giant puppet not been entirely rusted and paralyzed, Geppetto could likely have used the energy threads to control that war machine as well, creating a four-on-one situation.
Right now, as the most powerful alchemist exerted his strength, the tide of the battlefield completely turned.
Li Nanke went from holding a guaranteed victory in a two-on-one to seeing all his allies defect, facing three opponents against himself alone.
Moreover, the individuals controlled by the blue threads seemed subtly stronger than before.

Geppetto's alchemical gauntlet appeared not only capable of controlling puppets, but also of enhancing their overall strength in the process of manipulation!
He took a deep breath, unable to stop himself from cursing at the butterfly perched on his shoulder:
"Couldn't you have fucking mentioned such important intelligence earlier?!"

The azure butterfly replied somewhat sheepishly, "Well, Black Rabbit, sir, you hadn't completed the commission yet either. Besides, hadn't you just reconciled with Geppetto? Who could have known you two would suddenly fall out again and start fighting..."
Carlo, Romeo, and the Nameless Puppet formed a pincer formation around Li Nanke, leaving him no room to escape.
Previously, Li Nanke had relied on the combined efforts of others to mob his enemies; now the roles were reversed, and it was his turn to experience being mobbed.

"Whether it is Simon or you, Black Rabbit, no one can stop me."
Using the alchemical gauntlet to manipulate the three puppets with one hand, Geppetto pointed his other hand toward the firmament: "Today, the entire human race shall usher in its greatest evolution!"

After Li Nanke terminated Simon's apotheosis ritual, the giant cyclone above the firmament subsided, and the densely gathered Ergo dissipated entirely. The completion of the hidden node seemed to bring everything to a close.
Yet at this moment, under the control of the 'Creator' Geppetto, the Ergo device atop the circular tower activated once more!

Endless dark clouds blanketed the horizon, as if the sky itself were about to collapse and overturn.
Amid howling gales, countless streams of Ergo energy gathered from all directions, and blinding bolts of blue light surged and flew like giant dragons, all converging into the Ergo device.
The surging, formidable energy disturbed heaven and earth, forming giant swirling vortexes as the overcast sky rolled and churned with them.

The Ergo energy born at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands in Krat all obeyed Geppetto's summons at this moment.
The free-floating Ergo energy lingering in the world rushed toward the device at the top of the circular tower.

The dazzling blue light blooming atop the circular tower shone as brilliantly as an artificial sun.
In some ineffable way, Li Nanke sensed that right at the absolute center of the blue sun, an indescribable, unnamable, terrifying entity was brewing.
The pure essence distilled from the sublimated wills of countless human souls was gathering collectively, about to form an unprecedentedly massive collective consciousness!

"Do you see this? This... is ascension!"
Geppetto looked up at the firmament, watching the blue sun grow ever larger, his fanatical and pious cries echoing through the circular tower.
At the very instant Geppetto cried out, the three powerful puppets launched a simultaneous attack on Li Nanke!

Li Nanke glanced sideways at the 'Arm of God' he had discarded not far away; the powerful beastly primary quality named 'Angel' was contained within it.
Earlier, his bestial nature had been unbalanced, making it impossible for him to absorb 'Angel', which was far more powerful than 'Pain'. But now, thanks to his Tier 2 human primary quality 'Alchemy', he had regained his balance and was fully capable of bearing a new beastly primary quality!

Faced with the onslaught of the three puppets, Li Nanke's gaze turned fanatically intense.
In an instant, all colors of the world faded into grayish white, leaving the three puppets attacking him as the only colors in existence.
Their swift attacks seemed to slow down simultaneously, just like a slow-motion video playback.

In reality, their movements hadn't slowed; rather, Li Nanke had cast aside all distracting thoughts, focusing fanatically on the battle, which heightened his neural reaction speed to extreme levels.
"Boom!"

The bloody warhammer collided with the incoming thunderous greatsword, irresistibly deflecting Carlo's attack.
Surging lightning erupted from the point of impact, washing over Li Nanke's entire body, yet it failed to cause even a moment's hesitation in someone who had blocked out pain.
With its momentum unchecked, the warhammer covered in bloody barbs immediately clashed with the sharp scythe blade!

"Boom!"
Sharp kinetic force burst from the edge of the scythe, and a biting cold glint flashed right before his eyes.
The indestructible warhammer blocked the scythe's attack; no matter how swift the enemy's strike or how keen their blade, they could neither leave a cut upon the warhammer nor inflict a single wound upon Li Nanke.

Fighting two opponents alone—Carlo and Romeo simultaneously—Li Nanke not only held his ground without the slightest disadvantage, but even seemed evenly matched.
One had to remember that not long ago, he had struggled against the King of Puppets in single combat, needing Pinocchio's sneak attack to secure victory.
Now, with Carlo's dynamic heart heavily upgraded and his strength rivaling Romeo's in a two-on-one fight, Li Nanke was trading blows evenly with both of them.

The speed of his growth was simply mind-boggling.
No wonder Sophia had initially pinned her hopes on Pinocchio, only to place all her hopes of revenge on Li Nanke after meeting him.

A longsword wreathed in bloody mist tore through the air with a piercing shriek, launching a ferocious assault from behind!
The Nameless Puppet was enveloped in a crimson haze, matching its terrifying featureless face, resembling a demon crawling up from the depths of hell.
Li Nanke had just fended off the fierce attacks of the two in front of him and had no time to catch his breath before he had to grit his teeth and turn to parry.

In the rush of the parry, he could not fully mount a defense, whereas the enemy's attack came at the height of its momentum—a fully charged strike utilizing their full strength.
This Nameless Puppet possessed power far surpassing that of the King of Puppets; the slightest carelessness in combat could result in crippling injury.
Had he faced only Carlo and Romeo, Li Nanke would have had absolute confidence in winning.
Similarly, had the enemy been solely the Nameless Puppet, he could likewise have emerged victorious.

Yet now, three of them were surrounding and attacking him alone. Under Geppetto's control, their coordination was exceptionally seamless, akin to triplets with telepathic links.
Their strikes came one after another like a torrential storm without the slightest gap, denying Li Nanke any chance to catch his breath.
Furthermore, the blue energy threads enhanced their individual strength, rendering already formidable puppets even more terrifying.

Facing the Nameless Puppet's full-powered strike, the pressure Li Nanke felt was crushing.
His eyes turned sharp as he unleashed his ultimate technique, 'Flame Waterfall'!
The bloody warhammer suddenly transformed into a giant hammer of fire, scorching waves of flame erupting and expanding as a towering blaze swept through everything!

"Rumble!"
The Nameless Puppet was sent flying backward amidst the fiery explosion, and Li Nanke used the recoil to leap backward, smoothly parrying subsequent attacks from Carlo and Romeo just in time.
He halted his steps, forcefully swallowing the sweet taste of blood rising in his throat.
"The three of you teaming up is indeed formidable..."

Li Nanke traded blows with the trio, using the momentum to reposition himself.
At that moment, the 'Arm of God', resembling a blue crystal, lay right beside his foot, well within reach!
Pinocchio, now transformed into Carlo, let out a mocking laugh as if hearing something absurd. Pulling the charred Nameless Puppet up from the rubble, he sneered, "Black Rabbit, others might not understand you, but I know your background inside and out."

"That move you used earlier to enlarge your weapon was powerful, but how many times can you cast it?"
The trio's joint assault gave them an overwhelming advantage, leaving no room for failure. However, if Li Nanke were to fight to the death at all costs, he might genuinely drag one of them down with him before dying.

The move that made Carlo so wary was Li Nanke's ultimate skill—Flame Waterfall.
After all, even the Nameless Puppet had been reduced to a charred, battered state when facing Flame Waterfall head-on; the outcome for himself and Romeo went without saying.
The puppet boy had accompanied Li Nanke through countless battles and knew him inside and out.
Both Frenzy and Flame Waterfall were skills that consumed massive amounts of mental energy.

Li Nanke had already entered the frenzied state and had just cast Flame Waterfall once; at most, one more cast would exhaust his mental energy and strip away the majority of his combat capability.
Indeed, if they simply stalled for a short while, Frenzy would burn through his mental energy, leaving him unable to cast another Flame Waterfall.
"You have no chance left..."
"The ultimate victor of this battle will be none other than me!"

Li Nanke smiled coldly and shook his head. Under the gaze of the three, he stepped directly onto the Arm of God.
In an instant, he plummeted as if into an illusion.

Across an expansive wilderness, countless humans dressed in tattered ancient garments prostrated themselves on the ground, chanting sacred names like 'Angel' and 'Divine Spirit', worshiping a colossal entity soaring above the clouds.
The giant blotted out the sun, its shadow claiming the entire firmament.
Yet amidst the hazy mists, one could only faintly perceive that the giant was entirely azure, and every flap of its blue wings amidst the clouds stirred up destructive hurricanes.

Suddenly, a gale blew away the mist, revealing a creature resembling a winged giant.
Li Nanke caught sight of its familiar azure giant arm, alongside other terrifying and unfamiliar bodily structures...
He snapped awake abruptly, drenched in cold sweat.
"Damn it! This isn't any angel, it's a monster!"

The beastly primary quality named 'Angel', represented by the symbol of a blue wing, manifested within his spiritual world.
An exceptionally fierce power erupted from within his body, like a long-dormant volcano finally finding an outlet for release.
His muscles rapidly expanded, bulging and knotting together, while the blood flowing beneath his skin seemed to turn to magma, every heartbeat echoing like a heavy hammer blow.

The pupils of his eyes turned blue, and every cell in his body seemed activated in that instant, releasing unprecedented power.
On both sides of his upper back, a subtle, itchy sting prickled the skin, as though something was about to tear through the flesh and sprout outward.

[Primary Quality: Angel]
[Affiliation: Bestiality]
[Tier: Tier 3]
[Level: 0/10]
[Details: This primary quality allows you to evolve toward a higher life form known as an 'Angel' through a wish-granting mechanism, granting extraordinarily powerful supernatural physical strength. 'Angel' enhances your physique in all aspects. Every time this primary quality levels up, you can use the wish-granting mechanism (thought) to specifically enhance a certain physical ability, such as wings, tentacles, horns, limbs, lifespan, musculature, nervous system, and so on.]
[As the level of this primary quality increases, your physical fortitude will continuously grow. When this primary quality reaches maximum level, you will gain an ultimate enhancement to a specific physical ability based on the tendency of your previous nine wishes!]
[Remarks: What is love? I do not understand... but whenever I think of my master, my dynamic furnace aches so much!]

Though it took time to describe, in the span of a spark, Li Nanke had successfully absorbed the Angel primary quality.
The bulging, swollen muscles rapidly receded, the azure pupils returned to black, and the itchy tingling on his back faded away. All the abnormalities brought about by 'Angel' vanished completely, as though they had never existed.

Feeling the formidable new power surging through his body, Li Nanke gripped his bloody warhammer and cast a cold smile toward the three figures before him.
There was no longer any suspense as to the outcome of this battle!