Chapter 1965 1965. Tactics

A battle of inspections unfolded. The three puppets studied the golden glow to counter King Elbas' jelly-like energy, and the latter transformed to do the same.

The shades of both prototypes changed multiple times as the process continued, but the three puppets seemed to be faster than King Elbas' energy. Their higher power gave them the chance to reach conclusions before the jelly-like sphere. The expert had to take out multiple items to enhance his thinking speed and help his creation, but he eventually fell behind.

That temporary inferiority made the three puppets unleash their attack. A bright yellow light shone out of their figures as they shot ahead and destroyed the golden halo with their sheer influence. Their speed was incredible and made them appear in front of King Elbas in less than a second.

The golden sphere in King Elbas' palm shrunk as the puppets destroyed its golden halo. The three creatures' aura had transformed into a poison that naturally consumed the jelly-like item's power and slowed down its transformations. He saw his inspection falling behind even more, but he couldn't address the issue since his three opponents materialized around him and prepared themselves to launch attacks.

King Elbas had to place the sphere inside his chest before exploding into a sea of flames. The three puppets waved their claws in his previous position, and the bright yellow light they released created a hole in that golden array.

King Elbas managed to dodge the attack and reform higher in the sky, but a huge hole had appeared on the right side of his chest. Flames came out of his injury and kept his shoulder in place, but his expression revealed how dangerous the attack had been. The three puppets had managed to deal a massive blow to his reserves of energy.

The puppets didn't halt their offensive. They immediately turned toward King Elbas and charged ahead to reach his new position in no time, but he raised his palm to show the latest version of his jelly-like sphere.

The dark-golden halo radiated by the prototype of his final energy shone on the three puppets and forced their offensive to stop. They had already raised their claws, but that darker aura hindered their functions and put an end to their attack.

King Elbas used that chance to sever part of the jelly-like substance and throw it toward one of the puppets. His prototype of final energy fused with the creature and dispersed inside its fabric. It imitated its structure perfectly and transformed into a tumor.

The puppets adapted to the dark halo in that short second. Their light grew brighter and allowed them to complete their attacks, but King Elbas resorted to his golden sea to escape again. He reformed even higher in the sky, but he revealed how another hole had appeared on his torso.

King Elbas had the chance to dodge the puppets perfectly every once in a while. However, that approach couldn't lead to victory. He had to sacrifice his fuel to seize the few chances when his final energy surpassed his opponents to have a chance to win.

The three puppets weren't mere masses of flawed final energy. They didn't initially carry intelligence, but they developed it since King Elbas kept dodging their attacks.

That new feature allowed them to understand King Elbas' tactics and develop countermeasures. The three puppets stopped attacking at the same time and alternated their offensive to make sure that one of them would always continue to study their opponent.

King Elbas saw his rare openings vanishing. He had previously used the time when the three puppets were busy attacking to get ahead of their transformation and create something that could hurt them. However, his plan had failed after infecting only one of them.

King Elbas didn't give up. He severed his figure to create multiple copies that used the final energy to replicate his existence. The puppets couldn't find the expert's true self in those conditions, but they quickly destroyed every replica before finding their opponent. The expert had managed to infect another golem during the process, but he went back to his initial condition afterward.

Golden flames and multicolored lights filled the sky as the three golems and King Elbas chased each other in the sky. Their battle merely involved the nature of their energy, but it appeared spectacular nonetheless.

The puppet grew used to King Elbas' battle style as they continued to exchange blows, but the latter's experience allowed him to resort to new tactics that always managed to take his opponents by surprise.

Yet, the puppets had understood King Elbas' goal by then, so they never let him infect the third. They didn't need to resort to reckless plans to win, so they focused on cornering their opponent while destroying chunks of the golden flames that made his existence without showing openings in their defense.

King Elbas reached his limits in no time. His storage devices had used every material inside them to refill his energy, but the three puppets consumed it in the span of a few exchanges.

The last puppet continued to escape his reach, but his existence would crumble if he continued to fight like that. King Elbas didn't take long to resort to a reckless plan that would even involve his storage items due to his lack of materials.

The three golems made their claws converge on his body, but King Elbas used his sea of flames to save the important parts of his existence. However, the golden fiery array was small at that time. It barely managed to reach safe areas.

The puppets had prepared for that event. They interrupted their offensive and made a dark radiance seep out of their figures. The halo consumed the golden flames and acted as a shield against eventual attacks reliant on that energy, but King Elbas had also been ready for that.

A series of dense flames seeped out of the area that the three puppets had encircled. The event forced them to adapt to the new energy and made them ignore that the previous technique had hidden a series of cracks that led to the void.

A torrent of spears came out of the cracks, pierced the sea of flames, and engulfed the puppets. Each of those items carried rank 9 power in the lower tier. King Elbas had to use everything he had to create that attack, but it wasn't even the core aspect of his offensive.

One of the spears had final energy hidden inside it. The rest of the array acted as a diversion that allowed King Elbas to infect the last puppet.

King Elbas reformed near the puppets. His body was nothing more than a few strands of lames connected to his head and right arm. His existence seemed on the verge of falling apart, but that didn't stop him from snapping his fingers and activate the tumors inside his opponents.

Bulging masses that radiated a golden halo started to grow on the three puppets. Their size increased until they exploded to release their final energy. The tumors weren't only destabilizing their structures. They were also weakening them.

King Elbas didn't dare to feel satisfied in front of that scene. Everything was working perfectly, but he wouldn't let satisfaction reach his mind until he confirmed that his attack had been a success.

The three puppets transformed into masses of hideous golden pimples that exploded to consume their final energy. Their level quickly fell in the lower tier and made them approach the bottom of the ninth rank.

Everything seemed to work perfectly until the three puppets joined their clawed hands and fused their different final energy to remove the tumors. Almost three-quarters of their bodies exploded and filled the area with the infected power.

Only a tiny ounce of final energy remained in their previous position, but it transformed to give birth to a single clawed puppet that didn't hesitate to fill the area with its dark-golden light. The creature studied the infected power in no time and fixed it before absorbing it inside its body again.

Everything had happened so quickly that King Elbas didn't have the time to think about a countermeasure. A single puppet at the peak of the middle tier formed in front of him and made him feel out of options.

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