The puppets clearly didn’t care about Valsa’s pedigree , but the stronger Hero Souls could be reasoned with or tricked . If she could utilize the soldiers on the squads , their previous tactic of using the Stand of Saeward’s locals to their advantage might backfire . They slunk back , returning the way they came .
They’d expected to find Saeward’s quarters in the final quadrant , opposite the entrance . Unfortunately , all they found were more corridors . Though it wasn’t hard to tell there were rooms they couldn’t access . After going up and down the confusing maze of paths for a few minutes , they vaguely mapped out a hidden section that was even bigger than the servant’s quarters .
Breaking in proved futile . The castle was made of incredibly tough stones and then further augmented by eons of channeling huge amounts of Dao and Energy . They barely managed to leave a scar on the walls . They might be able to open a path if they went all-out and used skills , but they feared creating a ruckus like that would backfire spectacularly .
The only other thing that set the fourth section apart was a large gate that should lead to the inner section . Perhaps a back door for the servants . Neither the officer’s lounge nor the servant’s quarters had something like this . Having explored the rest of the castle , they stopped before the entrance .
Zac had almost mapped out the whole array in his mind , and he’d dealt with enough patterns based on Conflict to find a few clues . One thing was for sure , things weren’t as they seemed . Something odd was mixed in , and the engravings didn’t match the usages Kruta described .
First of all , the patterns felt more like a gathering array than something for defenses or a War Array . It would explain the cloud above the castle’s center and the extremely dense Dao that permeated the walls . But that also wasn’t quite right . It felt more like an exchange . Much of the energy gathered by the castle went into forming new Hero Souls . But something was also taken back from the memories .
Zac frowned , slowly starting to form a hypothesis . However , there was no way for them to confirm while skirting the edges of the castle . If they wanted answers , they’d have to enter the heart . That’s where they felt the energy churn , and that’s where the Stand of Saeward’s upheavals originated .
You ready? - Zac said , and Kruta tersely nodded .
They carefully pushed open the gates , immensely thankful it didn’t creak . However , both froze when faced with the scene inside the large hall on the other side .
A puppet?
57
PUPPET
It turned out that the central section of the warfront castle was a large atrium with a diameter of over three hundred meters . The whole square was covered in dense scripts , and intense fluctuations of Conflict were released from the glowing lines . At first , Zac thought the whole array was illuminated and running , until he noticed that wasn’t the case .
There was a small section , no larger than a bedroom , which remained inactive . It was dim , though Zac could feel how powerful pulses of energy continuously pushed against the edges , leaving small motes of energy behind . It shouldn’t be more than an hour before the array was filled in .
There were also at least one hundred rune-covered pillars the height of a man with floating orbs hovering above . They were clearly man-made , a mix between orange glass and purple steel . Inside , Zac could vaguely see small fires burning . Looking at the setup , the pillars were no doubt the inner array flags to the formation that spanned the whole castle .
And in the heart of the array was a large dais , reminiscent of the altar Zac had seen in the Twilight Chasm . Atop it sat a five-meter puppet .
It looked like the thing was meditating . The complex array provided dense streams of Cosmic Energy and Dao , and a terrifying cloud of resentment swirled around it . Even Zac wouldn’t dare enter that cloud out of fear of losing his mind , yet the puppet somehow appeared tranquil . Untouched .
The puppet was completely different than the ones fighting outside . First of all , it was far larger than any of its brethren . Even the Golden Champions were no more than half a meter taller than Zac , but this one would tower over him even when he used Arbiter of the Abyss] .
Its quality was also on a completely different level . The puppet was made from the same purple metal as the floating orbs , and it was so vividly detailed that it looked more like a statue than a puppet . Its back faced them , but Zac could confirm it had human features . It even had a set of hair made of black wires , neatly held in a bun . Clothes fashioned from alloy were draped across its body , with both - skin’ and garments covered in runes that made Zac’s mind tremble .
It didn’t emit a speck of energy , yet Zac’s mind warned of certain death if they attracted the ire of this goliath .
Kruta nudged him , and they slowly inched back from the doorway , careful not to make a peep . They closed the door , yet they didn’t feel safe even after moving to another section of the castle . It felt like they were trapped in a cell with a monster .
What’s going on? - Kruta whispered . - I don’t know much , but I know that wasn’t a War Array . It gave me an extremely creepy feeling . And that puppet . . . -
That orange glass , was that Damchi Glass? And the fires inside . . . - Zac asked .
Aye , that was Damchi Glass and the flames of Ancestral Moss , - Kruta confirmed , his eyes thinning . - You’ve been studying these patterns since we entered the castle . You know what’s going on . -
I can’t be certain , but I think that was Saeward , - Zac sighed .
The puppet? -
Zac nodded . - The materials were meant to deal with possession , but not in the way we guessed . I think Saeward was trying to transfer his soul and Inner World into the puppet . Perhaps he still is . -
What? - Kruta said , his eyes widening in realization . - Then the puppets outside . . . -
I don’t think there were two sides to this - last stand . ’ I think it was all Saeward . -
Why would Saeward send puppets to slaughter his own— - Kruta said , but he quickly caught on . - Conflict breeds Conflict . -
Exactly . This whole castle is gathering . . . I don’t know exactly what , but something like the essence of war . There are hints of the Dao of Impetus hidden within as well . I think he used the resentment and desperation of his men to elevate his Dao and fuel a breakthrough . -
Sacrificial cultivation , - Kruta spat . - So he’s probably the one who arranged the Hero Souls to reappear after the war was lost . What a bastard! Using the deaths of his subordinates over and over to further himself . -
Zac sighed as he glanced in the direction the puppet resided . Yet another reminder of the length some people went to in the pursuit of power . Be it Valsa or this Saeward . They didn’t even consider their subordinates as faceless cogs of their faction . They were reduced to cultivation resources , probably to pass some bottleneck that had kept Saeward trapped for a while .
The revelation brought back memories of The Great Redeemer , a threat that loomed over him to this day . There was still no news of Voridis A’Heliophos’ capture or death , even with the Allbright Empire and the Kavriel Province looking for him high and low . Zac didn’t even know if his mad plan to enter Monarchy had succeeded . He’d simply disappeared from the face of the earth after the events in the Mystic Realm .
He probably got stuck one way or another , - Zac grunted . - Perhaps his original body had limited potential , and the solution he came up with was to transfer his cultivation into a Supreme-quality puppet . I have no idea how this is related to the array or the sacrifices , though . -
If what you said is true , then Saeward has succumbed to the unorthodox path . Even transferring your true self into a puppet is skirting Heaven’s Path . -