The Hecate Blood Vessel

The candlelight had long since faded, and the long night was drawing to a close.

With the only person who posed a threat to them now dead, the Lord’s Mansion had inevitably grown somewhat lax.

It was beyond Martin’s wildest expectations that the supposedly dead person would resurrect, crawling back from the depths of hell; he was utterly unprepared for such an event.

Fortunately, her lingering concern for her friend’s safety allowed Martin one final, crucial manipulation.

While it would undoubtedly cause a deviation from his ultimate plan and add no small amount of trouble, compared to the preservation of his own life, every inconvenience was worth enduring.

Martin led Iordera into the secret room beyond the hidden passage.

He slapped a hidden button with decisive force, then snatched a small contraption from the table, tucking it swiftly into his clothes.

It was a scrambler designed for combat puppets; with it, the indiscriminately attacking automatons would perceive him as nothing but air.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Several peculiar sounds, resembling the amplified thumping of a monstrous heart, echoed through the room, hinting at the activation of something truly terrifying.

“Iordera, is that what you call yourself?” Martin sighed, shaking his head. “You died once, yet you are still as reckless and greedy as before.”

Boom!

With a resounding boom, a compartment in the wall was violently shoved open, and a combat puppet, easily twice the size of a human, slowly emerged.

Though it appeared incredibly cumbersome, it exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression, each heavy step leaving faint cracks spiderwebbing across the floor.

The door behind them had locked itself at some unknown moment, transforming the dark room into a sealed chamber.

This environment was nothing short of perfect for a combat puppet, an entity of immense power and weight, yet lacking in significant agility.

Iordera narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression remaining utterly unchanged.

She had come here, not out of greed, nor out of a naive hope for a stroke of luck.

This was her purpose!

[Iordera, Self-Propelled Doll, Level 28]

[Unit 018, Combat Puppet, Level 61 (Theoretical Strength)]

Just as Cairns had described, a combat puppet was merely a humanoid shape, far removed from any true human form.

In Iordera’s vision, it was nothing more than a colossal lump of iron.

Yet, enveloped in violent energy fluctuations, even a mere lump of iron became powerful enough to be utterly suffocating.

The puppet completed a swift scan, detecting Iordera as the sole “thing” with any energy fluctuations in the entire room.

It extended its massive lower limbs, lumbering forward with heavy, slow steps, charging directly toward her.

Much like a heavy-duty truck, though its speed was not exceptional, when it came thundering head-on, nothing could stand in its path.

The room was small, and Martin, meanwhile, had long since vanished into some unseen corner.

With no escape, Iordera could only step forward, baiting the puppet’s attack to fall prematurely.

She intently watched the puppet’s movements, scrutinizing every single area of its formidable body.

A uniform black sheen covered its entire body, without a single discernible difference.

Where, then, was that so-called “Hecate Blood Vessel”…?

Boom!

The puppet’s heavy fist slammed into the ground.

Although Iordera swiftly evaded the direct blow, the resulting shockwave, possessing the raw power of a Level 60 attack, surged forward, leaving her nowhere to hide.

Her chest constricted painfully, and she felt as though she had been struck head-on by a truck once more.

Yes, *again*, confirming the authentic terror of her sensation.

[Alert! Alert! Receiving extremely high-danger impact damage. Main torso damaged by 34%.]

Iordera opened her small mouth, and a high-pressure gust of air, mixed with bionic blood, streamed from her lips.

A level difference exceeding 40 levels typically represented an absolute, insurmountable disparity; normally, every five levels constituted a chasm of power.

In the air, a thick white mist slowly dispersed, and Iordera stared intently at the swirling vapor, biting her lip.

She saw it.

The combat puppet’s entire body was concealed beneath black metallic armor, presenting no discernible weak points.

However, the instant it threw a punch, the black armor on the segment connecting its shoulder and arm slid upwards, revealing a membrane-like shield and, beneath it, a transparent tube.

The Hecate Blood Vessel, and its heat dissipation casing.

The puppet retracted its stance, re-adjusted its direction, and charged toward Iordera once more.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Its heavy footsteps resonated, feeling as though they were trampling upon her very heart.

But this time, she did not dodge.

Instead, meeting the ferocious, hammer-like strike head-on, she thrust her elbow forward with sudden, defiant force.

Clang!

The two alchemical creations collided with a resounding clang, the crisp yet heavy reverberation no less potent than a Level 60 shockwave, causing Martin, hidden in the shadows, to feel a deafening ringing in his ears.

He knew he had created a monster, but that girl — what kind of monster was *she*?

[Alert! Left arm sustained extremely… ]

‘Not now, just one more second!’

Iordera ignored the chip’s insistent warning, allowing the second phase of the joint hammer’s attack to violently spring forth from her already shattered elbow joint.

It slammed heavily against the puppet’s blood vessel membrane.

Crack!

The puppet, sensing imminent danger, casually threw her aside.

Iordera crashed into the wall, leaving a deep dent, and struggled to free herself for a long, agonizing moment.

[Alert! Left arm sustained extremely severe damage, 98% compromised.]

Her left arm ceased to respond, hanging limp and useless, like a cooked noodle.

Iordera’s heart sank completely.

She wasn’t particularly concerned about her own injuries; the primary issue was that the membrane-like casing hadn’t shattered, but merely showed a few hairline cracks, like stressed glass.

If the puppet’s other defenses were rated at Level 61, then the membrane casing was “only” about Level 50.

Yet, even with the joint hammer’s critical hit multiplier enhanced by its second stage, a mere Level 28 attack proved to have negligible effect.

Only 30% of the armor penetration had taken effect.

Hiss—!

The puppet dissipated heat, then swiftly re-covered the exposed membrane.

It was not a machine utterly devoid of intelligence; on the contrary, it possessed a keen, adaptive combat awareness.

Since the blood vessel casing on its right arm’s connection had been struck and lost some protection, it simply opted to use only its left arm.

It changed its attack method from ferocious bombardment to slow, deliberate grabs, inching closer and closer with each movement.

The disadvantage of this approach was significantly slower efficiency, but its undeniable advantage lay in its unwavering stability.

If a grab failed, it would immediately retract to defend, denying Iordera any chance for a second effective counterattack.

It could, little by little, relentlessly force its opponent into the final corner, and once there was no longer any room to retreat, the outcome of their struggle would be utterly without suspense.

‘No, this won’t do. I must force it to expose another weakness.’

Iordera stared intently at the puppet’s right arm, which had sustained 30% armor penetration.

If it refrained from using that arm to attack, it wouldn’t need to expose the membrane for heat dissipation.

Steeling her resolve, she pulled out the pencil lead powder from her pocket and shoved it all into her mouth.

Then, she strode forward, actively meeting the puppet’s grasping attack.

Crunch!

Her waist was seized without resistance, and in that agonizing instant, Iordera felt as though her body would tear apart at the middle, the pain so intense that her consciousness nearly severed.

The puppet pinned her face-down to the floor.

With a desperate surge, Iordera’s sole remaining right hand twisted out, and the second stage of the joint hammer struck toward the puppet.

The combat puppet’s internal chip meticulously calculated all factors: this loli-like enemy had one arm disabled, was pinned helplessly to the ground, and the attack from her sole remaining hand was nothing more than a final, futile struggle.

Furthermore, judging by the attack intensity it had previously sustained, a single blow from her would not be enough to breach even its most vulnerable defense.

Thus, the puppet extended its right arm, pinning Iordera’s swinging fist-hammer, and with a decisive motion, forcefully twisted it, breaking it.

Crunch! Snap!