"A kind of golem, I think it's called... the Dark Golem."
Sonia answered hesitantly.
"The Puppet Master is so mysterious, I don't know much about him."
"But once you know he can transform into a golem, it's easy to imagine how terrifying this person is!"
Alan agreed.
He had heard legends about golems from Mentor Pantheon.
Golems are a high-level construct.
In the warlock world, they are one of the highest achievements of construct technology!
Golems are a broad category, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Puppet Masters can transform into golems at level three.
So, this Dark Golem isn't very powerful.
However, this is only among golems.
Compared to other species, it's a completely different story!
All golems possess inherent construct properties.
The Iron Man's defenses, needless to say, are also nearly immune to all mind-control spells.
No wonder the Puppeteer didn't go mad like Hercules after inhaling the Hanged Man pollen.
Even more terrifying... golems possess magic resistance!
The higher the tier of the golem, the greater its resistance.
Since the Dark Golem is a tier 3 golem, spells and magical techniques below tier 3 are practically invulnerable to it!
I say "almost" because a golem's magic resistance isn't perfect.
There's always a certain type of magic, or a certain series of magic spells, that can penetrate its magic resistance.
For example, the Ice Golem is vulnerable to fire magic; that's understandable.
The question is, what is the Dark Golem's weakness?
Alan stared into the Puppeteer's deep facial cavity, lost in thought.
Dark... Dark... Is it afraid of light?
Unfortunately, this was a dark, underground world.
Neither he nor Sonia had awakened light magic.
Alan would rather fight the four-armed gorilla than provoke the eerie Dark Golem.
He hoped that Hubert, the ancestral figure, would show some strength and quickly dismantle this strange creature!
However, the situation on the battlefield once again defied his expectations.
The puppeteer, transformed into the Dark Golem, gazed up at the night sky.
A chilling wail suddenly erupted from the dark face hole!
A howl filled with utter agony and despair echoed across the battlefield.
Everyone who heard it trembled with fear!
Invisible magical power, carried by sound waves, deeply implanted itself in the hearts of the people, causing intense mental oppression.
Both offense and defense became sluggish, failing to perform to their full potential.
Ethan and Hercules, the puppeteer's allies, seemed unaffected by this mental pressure.
On the other side, with the exception of Hubert, who had transformed into a hanging tree, everyone else was pale and panic-stricken.
Alan and Sonia, hiding in the distance, were less affected by the despair wave.
After a brief moment of panic, they returned to normal.
The puppeteer wailed and slowly lowered his head.
He turned and aimed his facehole at a nearby green-robed apprentice.
A blue shockwave suddenly erupted from the dark facehole.
Hiss—bang!
The terrified apprentice on the opposite side was blown away by the "magic energy explosion" and fell at Ethan's feet.
Whoosh!
Ethan flicked his finger, and a strand of mycelium flew out, wrapping around the apprentice's neck and injecting deadly spores.
The apprentice's eyes widened, his body stiffened, and he was lifeless.
Alan observed secretly and noticed that the way Ethan used mycelium was very similar to that of the myconids.
"Sonia, is Ethan a mycologist?"
"You guessed right!" Sonia replied softly. "The captain has awakened the bloodline of the 'Phantom Mushroom,' but no one has ever seen his atavistic form."
"Phantom Mushrooms are born with advanced invisibility. Even if they kill you right in front of you, you won't be able to see the murderer until the moment of death!"
Alan's scalp tingled.
Advanced invisibility... Oh my god, what kind of monsters are these?!
Ordinary invisibility magic, with even slightly larger movements, such as launching an attack, will automatically reveal the person.
However, advanced invisibility doesn't have this shortcoming.
Even if someone kills or burns right in front of you, you won't be revealed!
Alan and Sonia had little chance of defeating a Level 3 Fungal Warlock with advanced invisibility.
But, fortunately, Captain Ethan shared a similar interest to Alan.
Poison.
Ethan was even more skilled at poison than the snake charmer, and he also enjoyed collecting supernatural spores.
Ethan had all five special spores produced in the mushroom garden in stock!
This was interesting...
Alan smiled faintly and activated "Detect Virus."
...
"Puppetmaster, help Hercules take down Hubert as quickly as possible."
Captain Ethan ordered calmly.
"As for the other enemies, I can handle them alone."
The puppetmaster nodded and turned toward the gallows tree. Mechanical arms opened holes in their palms, and two pitch-black, barbed chains slowly descended.
The puppeteer swung his arms, creating a clattering sound.
Like monstrous pythons, the two chains twisted and flew over ten meters away, fiercely lashing the trunk of the hanging tree.
The bark peeled away where the whips struck.
The whip marks were shocking.
Captain Ethan spread his right hand's five fingers and slowly pulled his long, silver-gray hair back, exposing his forehead.
With a dashing demeanor, he stood in front of Olivia, Angela, Charlie, and the others.
"Except for that middle-aged man of griffin blood, the remaining young people, especially you two girls, seem quite talented."
"I enjoy interacting with young people, talking about life and dreams."
A friendly smile graced Captain Ethan's handsome face.
"Except for that useless old man, I'll give each of you a chance to live."
"First, you will experience the horror of death. After that, you must carefully consider one thing."
"Either surrender to me, join the circus family, live and practice together in the mushroom garden."
"Or, choose death."
Ethan raised both hands, and his ten fingers simultaneously sprayed mycelium!
One strand of black mycelium, laced with deadly toxins, shot towards Charlie.
The rest, laden with golden spores, shot towards Olivia, Angela, and the three green-robed apprentices besieging the demon.
Charlie of the Griffin family didn't survive to this day solely by daring to fight.
He had long seen that Ethan was strong, extremely strong!
He could never afford to offend him!
Ethan had already issued the order: everyone would have a chance to live, except Charlie.
Because he's old.
Ethan doesn't like old men whose potential has been exhausted.
So, if you shoot mycelium at him, you're doomed!
Charlie didn't want to die.
Before Ethan could make his move, he transformed into a griffin, spreading his wings and soaring into the air.
He narrowly avoided the black mycelium that brushed past him.
The six young men on the ground, suffering from their lack of life experience, were all entangled by the golden mycelium.
"Shock spores" traveled along the mycelium.
A silent thunderclap exploded in everyone's minds!
Instantly, except for Olivia, the other five were stunned.
"Huh? Interesting little girl..."
Ethan's gaze fell on Olivia, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Olivia had also activated her second-level atavism, transforming into a tree-man.
Unlike her uncle Hubert, Olivia's atavistic form was merely a small tree-man, over three meters tall.
Its smooth, upright trunk was encircled by blue and white stripes.
"Indigo Tree-man," Captain Ethan muttered to himself. "This bloodline is quite rare."
The small tree-man stood before Ethan, using its not-so-imposing frame to protect Angela and the others behind him.
Olivia, atavistic, raised her arms and branches and cast a spell.
Animated thorns erupted from beneath Ethan's feet.
"Little tree-man, you're trying to stop me this way, to stop me from killing your companions?"
Ethan smiled.
"Your courage is commendable, but... it's useless."
With a flick of his hand, a strand of red mycelium twisted through the thorn bushes, entangling a girl in a green robe.
"Senior Sister, save me!"
The female apprentice had barely escaped the shock when mycelium entangled her neck, leaving her pale with fear.
Olivia hurriedly reached out a branch, trying to tear the mycelium apart.
But it was too late.
This time, the mycelium wasn't loaded with spores, but with a third-level necromancy spell—Vampire Touch!
Ethan Winston was a "Fungus Warlock."
The mycelium was a part of his body, an extension of his limbs.
He could transmit any contact magic through the mycelium, such as Vampire Touch.
The green-robed girl's cries abruptly ceased.
As Olivia and the others watched, she was drained of her blood.
Her fair skin lost its luster, becoming withered and gray.
Her beautiful face withered, her bones protruding.
Two eyeballs, like dried grapes, fell out of their sockets.
In just three seconds, a vibrant young girl was completely drained, reduced to a skeleton.
The blood essence flowed back along the mycelium and into Ethan's body.
His face looked even more rosy, and he looked more energetic.
I don't know if it was an illusion...
Alan even felt that Ethan, who had just drained all the life force from a young girl, seemed to have become younger.
"I like young people, energetic young people."
Ethan smiled slightly, revealing his white teeth.
"Only if you obey me."
"In my presence, if you're not a good child, you don't deserve to live."
"You've experienced the horror of the brink of death and witnessed the demise of a young girl."
"Now, please answer me."
"Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"