Novel Full Chapter 1526 - 574: Mechanical Puppets (Part 3)
Su Mo, on the other hand, did not rashly make a move. His eyes swept over the mechanical puppets on both sides.
Suddenly, he seemed to have an epiphany:
"They... might not be attacking us?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoyun couldn’t help but be taken aback.
She turned to look at the ground where corpses were scattered due to the chaos.
Then she turned back to Su Mo, slightly raising her eyebrows... If they’re not attacking us, it’s already like this.
What if they were truly aiming to attack us, what would happen then?
Su Mo smiled and asked the Hidden Sword Hermit:
"Hermit, do you have a way to resolve this?"
The Hidden Sword Hermit thought for a moment, pointed to the throne on the steps:
"If there’s a solution, it should be there."
Su Mo immediately nodded:
"Let’s go!"
As soon as these three words were spoken, everyone beside him simultaneously leaped toward the throne.
Su Mo’s Qinggong prowess, of course, needs no further mention.
The others beside him were also not ordinary; although they were not as fast as Su Mo, they were not far behind with Su Mo intentionally helping them.
In a mere instant, they had already passed several pairs of mechanical puppets.
Seeing that they were about to reach before the throne.
The last pair of mechanical puppets suddenly moved.
This last pair, facing each other, had one holding an abacus, while the other stood with empty hands.
Su Mo initially thought that one would attack with abacus beads.
The other might use a grappling technique or something similar.
Unexpectedly, when they got closer, the empty-handed mechanical puppet suddenly pulled out a hidden weapon from behind its back and flicked it toward them.
On the other side, the abacus-wielding mechanical puppet behaved as Su Mo anticipated.
It pulled several abacus beads from the golden abacus and hurled them.
A deep resonant sound reverberated.
As if an everlasting bell sound echoed around.
Whether it was the abacus beads or the hidden weapons, they were all blocked by the Golden Bell’s light and returned without success.
With this pause, they had already ascended the steps.
Continuing to ascend, Mei Xuesong reached out and put down the Hidden Sword Hermit.
The Hidden Sword Hermit did not hesitate and went directly to inspect the throne’s armrest.
With a brief check, he suddenly slapped it.
Immediately, countless mechanical puppets fighting fiercely in the hall suddenly paused, putting away their weapons and returning to stand before the Coiled Dragon Pillar.
The sound of the winch mechanism turning clattered once more.
It seemed to be undergoing a new round of setting the bow.
Once all the mechanisms returned to their places, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
They escaped the danger and came to Su Mo and the others.
Mingyue Taoist swept through the crowd and was suddenly shocked:
"Where is Lei Zhenming?"
Everyone searched, but there was no sign of Lei Zhenming.
Upon closer inspection, they found not only Lei Zhenming missing.
Besides the ten or so dead and injured on the ground, many others were also gone without a trace.
Among them were Nine Armed Vajra Gu Renzheng and Lingxiao Sword Elder.
"In the chaos just now, could there have been another mechanism?"
"That damned Lei Zhenming! Agreed not to touch anything, yet couldn’t resist showing off."
"Senior Gu and Lingxiao Sword Elder suffered because of him!"
"He’s nowhere to be found, let’s be less harsh. He’s probably already dead."
The crowd started voicing their thoughts.
Mingyue Taoist furrowed his eyebrows, momentarily uncertain.
Qi Dingtian just laughed heartily, disregarding others, looking at the Hidden Sword Hermit:
"Indeed, remarkable skills. How did you know the mechanism would be here?"
The Hidden Sword Hermit did not immediately respond but looked at Su Mo.
Seeing him nod slightly, the Hermit then smiled:
"Because this mechanism... wasn’t meant to kill."
"Ah?"
These words left everyone puzzled.
Yang Xiaoyun had heard Su Mo say something similar before, that the mechanical puppets were not aimed at them.
Now the Hidden Sword Hermit said the same.
Everyone couldn’t help but look at Su Mo in astonishment.
Su Mo sighed:
"Have none of you noticed that these mechanical puppets always face each other in pairs?"
This... What does it imply?
The crowd murmured internally but dared not speak outright.
Facing each other in pairs, doesn’t it simply mean a pincer movement, clearly showing the mechanism’s designer intended to leave no escape?
They then heard Su Mo say:
"If this mechanism is activated and we’re not in between, what then?"
These words left everyone momentarily stunned.
If they weren’t in the middle...
Wouldn’t it become mechanical puppet versus mechanical puppet fights?
Looking back, seeing these pairs facing each other, Mingyue Taoist suddenly realized:
"Could it be..."
The crowd heard him speak halfway and grew impatient:
"Could it be what? You Daoist, can’t you finish your sentence?"
They dared not express displeasure at Su Mo teasing them with suspense.
But Mingyue Taoist doing the same infuriated them.
Mingyue Taoist dared not assertively conclude and turned to look at Su Mo.
Su Mo simply smiled and said to the Hidden Sword Hermit:
"Please assist us further, Hermit."
The Hidden Sword Hermit nodded slightly, manipulating the throne’s armrest carefully.
There was a sudden click, and the most distant pair of mechanical puppets stepped forward, leaving the Coiled Dragon Pillar.
This pair of mechanical puppets, one using an axe, the other wielding dual hooks.
They quickly took their positions and engaged in combat.
At first, everyone didn’t understand, but as they watched, they suddenly understood:
"This axe technique is exceptionally exquisite."
"Yet, the dexterous dual hooks are marvelous, filled with hidden killing intent. A slight misstep, and one could meet their demise!"
"Marvelous!"
"Who’s imitating a cat’s meow?"
Among them, some even instinctively started practicing.
These mechanical puppets were intricately designed.
Both for combat, and demonstration.
Showcasing twelve different weapon techniques.
As the Hidden Sword Hermit manipulated the mechanisms, these mechanical puppets activated one by one.
However, one awkward moment arose with the whip-user.
Because Su Mo had snatched the whip and discarded it on the ground.
This led to the whip-user puppet flailing empty-handed, appearing intense but unable to make contact.
Lastly, the technique involving the golden abacus and hidden weapon earned admiration from all present.
Su Mo gazed intensely and gained insight.
"So these mechanical puppets were meant for demonstration."
"Lei Zhenming’s strike unintentionally triggered the mechanism."
"All these mechanical puppets suddenly activated, encircling us. Their opponents weren’t us, yet made us think they were attacking us."
"This this..."
Someone slowly spoke up, drawing a long sigh.
Glancing about, they noticed someone not watching the demonstration of the puppets.
Standing the opposite direction, raising their head to ask what they were observing... only to find, this individual was bleeding from all seven orifices, seemingly dead for some time!