Puppet Master Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Quickly

Read chapter 32 of Puppet Master by PeName on NovelPedia.

(Note: To celebrate my very first Patreon subscriber, I’ve added a special bonus chapter placed right before Chapter 1. Feel free to go back and enjoy it.) It could be said that the assassin managing to react in time to the trap was truly impressive. But Tris had already anticipated that he could do so—and exploited it perfectly. By simultaneously closing the distance and launching an attack at extreme speed, the blade-wielding assassin, momentarily distracted, failed to react in time to the “Dimension Slash.” However, someone else reacted in his place. The masked assassin, moving at astonishing speed, arrived just in time and shattered the attack with a swing of his sword. The fact that he could break “Dimension Slash” with a single strike proved that his counterattack was anything but ordinary. Yet even after blocking it, the leader himself felt a deep sense of dread toward that attack. If he had been even slightly slower, one of his subordinates would already be dead. Moreover, the pain spreading through his arm after deflecting the strike continuously warned him of just how dangerous his opponent was. Having narrowly escaped death, the blade-wielding assassin was about to thank his leader. But a sudden pain erupted from his chest, cutting off his words. Looking down, he saw a massive, bleeding hole. Although Tris’s slash had been blocked, another attack launched at the same moment had torn through his chest, destroying everything inside. With his life gone, he became the first to fall in this battle. That attack came from puppet No. 4: Sniper—one of Tris’s newest creations. It was the very same kind of attack once unleashed on Noct. This puppet did not resemble a human or any animal. It had four metal legs, allowing it to move flexibly and anchor itself firmly to the terrain. Its body was spherical, with a long, flat structure mounted on top. Anyone with the right knowledge would immediately recognize it as something resembling a weapon known as a “gun.” With its four legs and spherical body, the weapon could easily rotate and aim in any direction while remaining stationary. It was integrated with four magics for ease of use: “Sky Walk,” “Light Bending,” and “Eye From Nothingness”—all used for movement, concealment, and observation. But the final magic, “Magic Bullet,” was where Tris had invested the most effort. Unlike the simple version used by the “Feathers,” the “Sniper” version had far greater damage and firing speed due to its specialization. More importantly, when infused with a large amount of mana, “Sniper” could make its bullets far more lethal. Although the firing rate would slow significantly, the enhancement was enormous. At that point, each bullet possessed terrifying speed and penetrating power, with a range exceeding 5 kilometers. Of course, such long-range shots would be meaningless without precision. Tris’s “Magic Bullets” carried a spatial attribute, allowing them to travel straight without air resistance. The 5 km limit existed because beyond that, the mana sustaining the bullet would gradually dissipate until it vanished. Additionally, “Eye From Nothingness” could be focused in a single direction rather than covering a wide area. This allowed the puppet to observe distant targets and adjust its aim with perfect accuracy. While “Feathers” were created mainly for reconnaissance, “Sniper” was built for one purpose only: long-range assassination. Returning to the battlefield, after a moment of shock, the masked leader immediately reacted and ordered the remaining assassin to locate and eliminate the source of the long-range attack. As a result, the main battlefield temporarily became a two-against-one situation. Some might wonder why Tris didn’t simply assassinate the masked leader or Zyron outright. The answer was simple: the risk of failure was too high. First, the blade-wielding assassin had stepped into a trap, making him the best target. Second, both the masked man and Zyron were in peak condition