The skeleton of this puppet figure is made of bronze, while its body is a combination of steel and wood. Smooth iron spheres are embedded at the knee and elbow joints, and a carved bronze-steel plate covers the core mechanism in its chest. It also holds a steel blade stained with blood. It looks like an excellent butcher—no, more like a formidable swordsman. As a fire specialist, though lacking in exaggerated defensive capabilities or extraordinary self-healing abilities, this close-range fighter is physically robust and full of vitality. Even when struck by a fatal wound, they can endure for a long time, rarely succumbing quickly. Yet Red Chicken Brother is gradually losing his strength. His spine has been severed, rendering him unable to move; his limbs tremble slightly, and he is watching his life force slip away—half of it already gone. Perhaps due to a shift in perception, believing himself to be a pig, he has truly become one. Pig-like cries rise up. The timid Shina Ryō gasps, "Red Chicken Brother is dead! Run now!!" The pigs scatter in panic, rushing everywhere within the cavern. This scene appears both absurd and comical—it's hard to imagine that the young prodigies from the lawful faction would one day flee in such a manner, gasping for breath as they go. Yet Zhang Yuanqing couldn't smile. A major crisis had struck. No matter how skilled their professionals or powerful their equipment, they could not withstand a single slash from the enemy. Now they were mere pigs—cut down with one stroke, and dead before they could even utter a word. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly threw himself over Sun Miao-miao, knocking her to the ground, and shouted, "Don't run! Come to me! This puppet has limited strength; I have a shield to protect us." If they kept running in disorder, he simply couldn't keep up. "Let go of me! Let go of me!" Sun Miao-miao cried out in a high, urgent tone, kicking wildly with her four legs, trying to push Zhang Yuanqing away, shouting, "The human slaughterers are coming—don't we run and die?" Zhang Yuanqing roared back, "You pig-headed fool! If you keep running, no one will survive. Right now, we must stand together and work as one." "We're just ordinary pigs," Sun Miaomiao struggled, her voice strained. "Don't you have a brain problem, Yuan Shi Tian Zun? Pigs don't work together!" At that moment, the puppet man carried the sword, sweeping through the cavern, gliding past the scattered pigs and landing precisely on two that were locked in a fierce struggle. Inside his chest, the sound of gears turning and link rods transmitting motion surged, powerful energy propelling the puppet warrior into the air, raising his war sword with the fierce momentum of a tiger pouncing on a sheep. Zhang Yuanqing stiffened, quickly adjusting his stance, using his strong hind legs to stand upright and raising his shield in front of him. CLANG! Spark flew as the steel blade cut a shallow groove across the purple-gold shield. "Crack!" electric arcs shot out, striking the puppet warrior but failing to affect the immovable form of a lifeless body. Zhang Yuanqing rolled completely over, tumbling out, dazed and bruised, his face and nose swollen. The puppet warrior's joints clicked and creaked, then turned, lifting his left arm to aim directly at the fleeing Sun Miaomiao. The shield on the palm slid aside, revealing a dark, circular opening, and a mechanical clicking sound echoed within. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two short arrows shot forth, striking precisely at Sun Miao-miao's abdomen and neck. The white pig cried out in agony, collapsing heavily to the ground, its white, plump body stained with warm, crimson blood. She struggled briefly before finally giving in, her body going limp, her breath growing faint. Witnessing this scene, the fear of rabbit-kill-fox-buried—the emotional response of animals facing death—exploded within Guan Ya, Zhao Chenghuang, and the others. With no thought of resistance or battle, they instinctively rushed toward the exit. Zhao Chenghuang, Tianxia Guihuo, Guan Ya, and Xiao Yuan—all white pigs—moved side by side, leading the charge. Shinoya Ryouta and Xiahou Aotian followed a little later, trailing behind. Ying Yao, the Princess of Gin, stood at a distance, tilting her head, silently observing the entire scene, seemingly torn between the decision to fight or to flee. Her cultivation level and mental state were several tiers above Yet it could not fully restore cognition, and under the struggle between will and instinct, it appeared dull and stupid, much like a young deer. "Buzzzzz... clink... clink..." The core of the puppet man operated at full power, generating a surge of remarkable momentum—like a sports car flooring the accelerator, charging toward the pig herd fleeing toward the entrance. "Clang... clang..." The sound of its rushing footsteps was heavy and resonant, and in a moment, it caught up with the herd, leaping into the air to reach Xia Hou Ao Tian and Shanzhong Ryō, who were just behind. With a single slash, it struck Guan Ya at the front. This blow would surely sever her from the body. At the critical moment, Zhang Yuanqing, holding the purple-gold shield, galloped with his four legs moving swiftly, his hooves striking the ground in a steady, rhythmic rhythm like a sudden downpour. He leaped into the air, carrying his body weight of two hundred catties, pressing the shield against the side of the puppet swordsman, and launched a sudden assault, crashing into him with full force. "Clang... clang..." The core of power within its chest hummed with rapid activity. Instantly adjusting its balance, the puppet figure pressed its elbows and knees into the ground, forcing itself steady, then raised its arm to launch an arrow. The arrow struck the hind leg of Tian Xia Gui Huo, piercing through flesh and tissue, with the tip emerging from the inside. Tian Xia Gui Huo screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground, rolling several times due to inertia, dragging his wounded leg while crawling forward, crying out continuously. Meanwhile, Guan Ya, Xiao Yuan, and the others—like pigs—fled in panic as soon as Zhang Yuanqing and the puppet swordman struck the pig herd. "Don't go toward the exit! Come back! Come back!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted in urgency. The puppet swordman's movements were highly predictable: any pig attempting to escape the cavern became its primary target. Within just two minutes, Hong Ji Ge and Sun Miao Miao perished, and Tian Xia Gui Huo was severely wounded. Had it not been for Zhang Yuanqing's self-sacrificing defense with his Purple Golden Shield, all three of them would have been separated from their bodies. Yet even thus, the three of them might not survive until the curse ended, and others would die at any moment. They must find a way to eliminate the puppet swordsmen. The thunder cannon? No, the pig’s feet couldn’t fire. The purple-gold mallet? The pig’s feet couldn’t lift it either, and with its five-foot-long body so clumsy and lacking in agility, it could only barely hold on behind the shield. If it carried the mallet into close combat with the puppet, it would likely be cut down, its pig head severed. As the thought formed, the puppet swordsmen launched two more arrows— one striking the abdomen, the other the back of the neck. Tianxia Guihu immediately collapsed, gasping in and out with difficulty, his life hanging by a thread. "Clang! Clang! Clang!" The puppet swordsmen paid no further attention to him and turned to strike Zhang Yuanqing with their steel blade, forcing him to retreat step by step. Fortunately, the puppet swordsmen were not particularly intelligent—though their attacks were fierce, they lacked finesse and relied solely on brute force. Thus, Zhang Yuanqing could just barely withstand them. Witnessing Zhang Yuanqing endure a relentless barrage of knife attacks, the three pigs approached hesitantly, eager to assist yet too fearful to advance. They were Guan Ya, Xiao Yuan, and Princess Yin Yao. At that moment, the suona music arrived—each note sharp and piercing, each one soaring and powerful. The entire cavern was filled with the sound. The music emanated from Princess Yin Yao’s sash, where the Cat King speaker had stepped in to act. Amid the piercing suona, a deep crimson glow slowly ignited in Princess Yin Yao’s eyes. Anger and determination flared in Guan Ya and Xiao Yuan’s eyes, transforming the once timid household pigs into fierce, wild boars. Huan Cheng, Xia Hou Ao Tian, and Shallow Reo, who had huddled at a distance, remained motionless, their heads slowly turning toward the action, their eyes blazing with rising fury and resolve. At the same time, their previously slender, white, and plump bodies swelled, muscles rising prominently, as if infused with a gene-enhancement serum, transforming them into devilish, muscular pigs. The same transformation occurred in Zhang Yuanqing. "Clang!" Another powerful blow landed, sending sparks flying off the shield. This time, Zhang Yuanqing did not retreat. His hooves firmly gripped the ground, and his sturdy limbs snapped forward. He crashed into the figure's chest with great force. "Clang, clang, clang..." The figure staggered. Before it could steady itself, Guan Ya launched an attack from the side, knocking it over. The figure's internal core spun rapidly, adjusting its center of balance, preparing to rise. But Guan Ya, with her well-developed muscles, lifted her hooves high and stepped firmly onto its chest. Yin Yao, the Princess of Yin, and Xiao Yuan raised their hooves as well, pressing down together with their weight to hold the figure in place. The figure's knife-wielder emitted a crisp crack at the elbow joint, lifting his forearm so that the blade pointed directly at Guan Ya's abdomen. At that moment, Xiahou Aotian bit down on the elbow, while Zhao Chenghuang stepped forward with his forehoof, pressing down on the blade and pushing it back. Meanwhile, Asano Ryouta pressed down on the figure's left hand from the The sheng sounds resound, the pigs surge forward together, firmly pressing the puppet swordsman. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing's right hand—no, his right hoof—melts, transforming into a small pumpkin shape. He bites into the hammer handle, charging wildly toward the puppet swordsman, lifting his head high, then slamming it down again. "Clang!" The bronze plate on the puppet's chest instantly dents. Under the powerful resonance, the joints—elbows, knees—vibrate with a humming tremor. The puppet's limbs lose strength, becoming loose and weak. The pigs pressing upon it feel their organs and even their brains vibrating, their eardrums tingling. Zhang Yuanqing lifts his head once more, then lowers it again. "Clang!" This time, the puppet swordsman is completely shattered—the joint components burst into fragments, and the mechanical core in his chest emits the sounds of gears breaking and connecting rods snapping. Zhang Yuanqing loosens his teeth, and the pumpkin hammer "thuds" to the ground. He collapses, weak and gasping, murmuring softly, "At last, it's done." Meanwhile, he noticed several pigs nearby undergoing a transformation—hair sprouting on their bare heads, wearing clothes, and their hooves turning into five fingers—as human characteristics rapidly returning.