The Creatures that We Are

Riverside scenic area, east of Qingyang Bridge.

With electricity cut off, the darkened buildings and landscaped grounds merged into shadows. Two obscured figures chased and grappled, their movements punctuated by bursts of sparks.

Boom! Wrapped in black bandages, Puppet Azure Dragon seized an opening. Its punch blazed with flickering golden light. Energy shockwaves carved a two-meter ditch through the lawn, culminating in an explosion that shattered a distant pavilion.

War Tiger landed gracefully atop a lamppost.

For over two minutes, they had been testing each other, neither committing fully to the fight. War Tiger had his reasons.

He wasn't certain if Azure Dragon's passive ability of Limitless Evolution had carried over to its puppet form. If it had, any killing blow from War Tiger might be absorbed, rendering the puppet immune to Killing Expert.

In such a case, War Tiger would need to end this quickly—within a minute, perhaps even thirty seconds—through serious self-mutilation. He felt confident he could manage it. After all, his Dragonslaying Giantsword was specifically designed to counter Azure Dragon, and this was merely its empty shell.

Theoretically, Qilin could fully utilize a puppet's power before its destruction if he focused solely on control. However, Qilin was no fighter, lacking experience in close combat. The puppet would fall short of Azure Dragon's true capabilities.

War Tiger had learned from the former Black Tortoise incident that even after a puppet's destruction, Qilin could still salvage its Talents—though with power loss and limited duration. But if this puppet retained Limitless Evolution, the situation became more complex. After War Tiger destroyed it with Killing Expert, Qilin would gain immunity to the Talent while matching Azure Dragon in melee combat. Combined with Eidos, the prospect made War Tiger shudder.

Therefore, War Tiger maintained his measured approach. His role was simply to keep the puppet occupied, forcing Qilin to divide his attention while multiple teams launched coordinated attacks. This would create an opening for Nine Frost to deploy their trump card: Wang Zikai. Once Wang Zikai struck Qilin's "acupuncture point" and sealed his Talents, victory would be assured.

Yet something felt off. During these past two minutes, War Tiger noticed that Qilin wasn't utilizing Azure Dragon's full potential, seemingly content with this standoff. This made little sense—puppet control had time limits. Qilin should be trying to end this quickly to conserve his control time.

Of course, Qilin might be overwhelmed by events in the main battlefield, unable to focus fully on puppet manipulation. He might also fear Dead Pig using Displacement again to move Puppet Azure Dragon beyond his control range.

While fighting, War Tiger monitored the "group chat" Nine Frost maintained through Telepathy.

[Zhang Wei: He’s not Qilin!]

[Nine Frost: Mission failed! Everyone, retreat!]

War Tiger started atop the lamppost.

[War Tiger: What’s going on?!]

[Nine Frost: The one that got stabbed was a substitute! Mission failed! All abort!]

Through his tactical binoculars, Nine Frost watched the fake Qilin tear off his skin mask. In that instant, everything became clear. Qilin had another trick prepared. Without hesitation, Nine Frost issued the retreat order.

As commander-in-chief of this battlefield, his word was absolute.

War Tiger looked down at Puppet Azure Dragon. The puppet had stopped its assault, its eyes flickering with new instructions.

[War Tiger: Go now! I'll keep Azure Dragon busy for a little long...]

Pain exploded in War Tiger's chest. His mind went blank as his connection to Nine Frost severed.

Black blood erupted from his mouth. Weakness swept through him like severe dehydration, and he toppled from the lamppost. Despite his attempts to roll and regain his footing, his body wouldn't respond. This wasn't ordinary weakness—he couldn't even trigger Killing Expert's berserk mode as he usually could when near death.

Shit, I'm poisoned!

The realization came too late.

A figure approached Puppet Azure Dragon—a woman, deathly thin with pale skin draped in a loose hospital gown. Needle marks from IV drips peppered her neck and hands. Two lifeless green eyes gleamed in sunken black sockets, while beneath her collarbones, a puppet brand flickered with the same sickly green light.

She was Blood Amber from Tails, bearer of Patient. Her corpse had survived the fire in Li Mountain's cavern, later stored at the Northbound Funeral Home. Now she was another body under Qilin's control.

War Tiger pieced it together. This was Qilin's true strategy! He'd held Puppet Azure Dragon back deliberately while secretly controlling Blood Amber, concealing her nearby to infect all living things with her virus. Azure Dragon, being already dead, was immune—leaving War Tiger as the sole target.

Blood Amber leaped onto Azure Dragon's back. The puppet immediately charged toward War Tiger.

He would kill him and drag both his body and Blood Amber's back to the main battlefield at Qingyang Bridge.

Suddenly, a gust of wind carrying black particles swept over them—Pestilence's poisonous wind, an indiscriminate force that melted anything it touched, living or dead, into rotting flesh.

Azure Dragon's green eyes flashed at the approaching danger. It bounded away, launching a devastating punch at the poisonous wind.

The shockwave scattered the black particles and continued toward War Tiger's prone form.

Three seconds later, only a three-meter ditch remained.

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