I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Before he could finish speaking, a somewhat familiar person walked towards them.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Norton walked over from the direction of the auction, carrying the prosthetic body he had just sold to a seller through a shady deal on his shoulder. He then waved his other hand at the two of them: "Duke, Cecil, you guys are out too?"

Duke and Cecil: "?"

Upon seeing Norton, Cecil immediately stood warily in front of Duke, while Duke's gaze shifted back and forth between Norton's nonchalant face and the prosthetic on his shoulder. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke: "Norton... what's going on?"

"Selling a broken prosthetic body for 10 gold coins, is that reasonable?" Norton said, seemingly indignant. "Anyone willing to spend that much money must be an evil exploiter! The money used to buy the prosthetic body must also be incredibly dirty, so I stole it. Family, do you think I did the right thing?"

"..."

Whether it's right or wrong is another matter; anyone who can do something like this must have some brains.

Duke's lips twitched slightly, and then he heard Norton continue:

"I can give you the prosthetic body, but you two have to come with me to the gathering of the mute members of the Tower faction, how about that?"

Chapter 190 Overnight Sudden Burden

"I can give you the prosthetic body, but you two have to come with me to the gathering of the mute members of the Tower faction, how about that?"

Duke frowned, remaining wary, and coldly retorted, "Why are you looking for us?"

“Is that even a question? Because you possess a fragment of Talia’s soul, you can completely impersonate Talia herself.” Norton laughed heartily, then threw the prosthetic body he was carrying on his shoulder onto the ground. “Anyway, that guy uses a different body every time he attends a Talia gathering. The Talia’s mute members only recognize souls, not faces.”

Talia's elusive ability to possess other spirits is indeed very convenient, and moving in spirit form within the floating city is indeed dangerous and inconvenient. It's understandable that she changes bodies each time she attends a gathering.

"...What if they can tell that Talia's soul is broken? You can tell."

"What do you mean 'I can tell'?" Norton rolled his eyes and said irritably, "It's not that only I can tell, okay? Do you think anyone can discern the subtle differences between souls?"

Norton, who is probably 2.1 meters tall, shrugged. Duke had to float up 50 or 60 centimeters to talk to him, while Cecil had to strain to look up—you know, Guangbao is already considered very tall among girls, and she still had to strain to stand on tiptoe to look at him.

Aren't you worried about what I might do to the aphasic people?

"I'm not a mute member of the Tafel faction. What you do is none of my business."

Norton looked at him with a somewhat innocent expression.

Just half a day ago, he had launched an attack on Duke, leading to a fierce battle with Cecil. But at this moment, Norton seemed to have no regard for that battle at all. In fact, the way he spoke to Duke was as casual as if he were chatting with a friend.

Norton's attitude made Duke and Cecil, who were usually extremely wary, seem rather naive.

His proposal further captivated Duke.

This artificial body would give his restless soul a physical form, which was an incredible stroke of luck for him. An exposed soul is very fragile, and Duke wasn't a legendary soul like Talia or Megan; any touch could severely injure it, especially since this was a floating city—a city of spellcasters, where every inch of land and every street was permeated with intense magical energy, which had a tremendous impact on an exposed soul.

But once you have a prosthetic body, the situation changes.

Furthermore, the gathering he invited was for the Tarpai Aphas, which was one of Talia's obsessions. Duke had already been planning to wipe out this organization that was prone to extreme behaviors. Norton's invitation to the Tarpai Aphas gathering gave Duke the perfect opportunity.

However, the person who made this proposal was Norton Cavendish.

This guy is even more unpredictable and elusive than Talia was back then. Even with the artificial body and the Tarpai Aphans as rewards, he couldn't easily persuade Duke to cooperate with him.

He didn't have enough trump cards or help around him to deal with Norton—he didn't have the Displacement Coordinates or Deus Ex machina with him, and judging from the previous battles, Cecil didn't seem to be able to defeat this guy either.

Duke hesitated.

But at that moment, Cecil, who was next to him, reached out and poked him with his finger.

She didn't use holy light or magic to poke him, so she didn't touch Duke's spirit body. She just stabbed him directly in the stomach area without touching anything. When Guangbao saw this, she quickly withdrew her hand, her little face suddenly turning slightly red for some reason. But she quickly looked firmly into Duke's eyes and confidently patted her flat chest.

Duke understood.

"Give up, you're already so old, your breasts won't grow any bigger."

Guangbao: "?"

Enraged, Cecil used a crazy claw attack on Duke (Holy Light version), which was extremely effective.

Under the barrage of punches from Guangbao, Duke dodged left and right while simultaneously sliding to his knees at lightning speed.

"Guangbao, I was wrong, it was just a joke!"

Duke truly understood Cecil's meaning—she seemed to have sensed his concerns and was expressing her confidence in protecting him amidst Norton, intrigue, and traps. Duke looked at Cecil, slightly breathless from his earlier outburst of anger, now staring down at her toes with a look of utter disbelief, and couldn't help but smile.

"It's all up to you, Cecil."

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'll try my best."

Duke withdrew his gaze, looked back at Norton, and asked:

"I agreed. When is the rally?"

"Now."

After saying that, Norton laughed loudly, then turned and left, leaving Duke and Cecil, who was holding a bottle, to quickly follow.

However, after walking only a few steps, Norton, who was as solid as a wall, suddenly stopped, as if he had suddenly remembered something, and turned around to say, "Oh, right, there was a little trouble, but I've taken care of it for you."

Duke looked at him, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you notice? Well, never mind then, hahaha!"

……

"Were the bunny girl agents who were with Cecil taken down?" Annie looked at the reporter with some surprise upon hearing the report and asked curiously, "Who did it? What's the situation?"

It wasn't Cecil or Duke; neither of them are the type to do something like that. In other words, there was a third party involved.

"It's a man over two meters tall, extremely strong. Although he doesn't seem malicious, he's certainly not someone to mess with. None of our agents died... but two are seriously injured and are currently receiving treatment."

The bunny girl agent reporting to Anne was also very disheveled, as if she had just gone through an exceptionally difficult battle. Her words made Anne frown.

"This gentleman also attended the auction earlier, but did not leave any identification information. However, he introduced himself to the waiter as 'Norton Cavendish.' Also, Miss Anne, he stole your artificial remains."

"Huh?" Annie was slightly taken aback, then asked anxiously, "Did you follow him?! Did you know his whereabouts?!"

"Sorry... I lost them."

"what?!"

Her voice sounded a little trembling.

The prosthetic body appeared to be a relic of an ancient magical empire, but it was actually her latest experimental result. It contained a variety of advanced technologies still under development, belonging to the category of high-end gadgets that could only be manufactured in a laboratory without regard to cost, and had no possibility of being mass-produced and sold on the market... It could be said that although it was indeed not worth 10 gold coins, it was not far off.

Although Anne has high authority and a lot of experimental funds, those funds do not belong to her alone. Losing such an important experimental subject could directly turn her from a rich girl into a poor girl, and it is not surprising that she would have to turn the "Anne's Family Affairs" series of stories to pay off her debts.

Anne swallowed hard and looked up at Amber, who was all alone not far away.

When she realized that Duke wasn't with Amber, she realized she had made the wrong choice, but it was too late to go back and make a different decision. She could only make the best of a bad situation... or rather?

She suddenly had a great idea.

Chapter 191 I'm Not Human Anymore!

Norton led them to a deep alley, left behind the artificial body and the words "I'll be back soon," and then left, seemingly unconcerned whether Duke and the others would escape with the artificial body.

It's unclear whether he believed Duke and his team wouldn't do such a thing, or whether he was confident that he could catch them no matter where they fled.

Duke shook his head to banish the thought from his mind, then clenched his fist and kicked his legs, awkwardly controlling his body.

Before its use, this prosthetic body looked like a mannequin in a clothing store, without a face or muscle definition, and was dressed in a thin, hospital-gown-like outfit. Its height was significantly different from Duke's original body. However, after Duke's soul entered the prosthetic body, it began to adjust itself according to the soul's form, making its muscle proportions, height, and even facial features a perfect one-to-one match.

Guangbao, who was watching the transformation, was dumbfounded. She rested her chin on her hands, stared at Duke's face, and looked at his strong yet not burly body. She exclaimed in surprise, "My god, it looks so much like him... No, this artificial body looks even more handsome than the real you, Duke! Your title as the most handsome man in the floating city is about to change hands."

"Becoming myself again? Thank you so much."

Congratulations to Duke for winning second place in the Duke Imitation Contest, right?

Duke's lips twitched slightly, then he bent his knees simultaneously and leaped up, easily jumping ten meters into the air. They were still in the underground world of the floating city, with the metal ceiling just ten meters above them. Duke gently pushed against the ceiling and landed back down.

If it weren't for the ceiling blocking his view, he could have jumped even higher.

"They're much better than I was back then."

Duke was only a level 10 rogue before, and he was never known for his physical abilities. It can be said that his original body was far inferior to this prosthetic body. Whether it was strength, agility, or physique (resistance to blows), it was far inferior to the performance of the prosthetic body.

However, because of this performance gap, Duke will need a considerable amount of time to adapt to this body; otherwise, daily life would be manageable, but combat would be out of the question.

A warrior who can't control his body is not fit for the battlefield. Given Duke's current state, where even a slight jump could potentially set him at his peak, he would still be a liability to Cecil in a real fight.

He didn't even know his current level; even when he looked down at the system's attribute panel, he could only get a bunch of question marks.

[Name: Duke]

【grade:???】

[Occupation: Wanderer (Trickster)]

[Basic Attributes: Strength?, Agility?, Constitution?, Intelligence?, Perception?, Charisma 19.]

[Items: Pinocchio's Heart, Space Anchor, Lucky Dagger (Modified), Voice of All Things, World, Mixed Berry Multi-Layer Cake, Lazy Man's Magic Wardrobe, Tome of Truth, Insect Arrow, Demonic Woody Plough.]

(Both the sulfur fire and the nine-lives cat have been used and are not in the inventory.)

Duke's attribute panel has remained unchanged since he woke up. As for why all his attributes except for Charisma are question marks, and even his level is "???", Duke is at a loss for words. As for why his Charisma has increased slightly, reaching an inhuman 19… well, perhaps it's because he's truly not human now?

After all, neither a spirit body nor a prosthetic body should be considered human, right?

"Cecil, I'm not human anymore!"

"What kind of crazy thing are you doing now?"

Guangbao rolled her eyes and glared at Duke, who was suddenly acting crazy. She had figured out Duke's personality and was completely immune to his sudden outbursts. She had even learned to turn the tables on him.

She looked Duke up and down, her gaze finally settling on his lower body. A strange thought suddenly popped into her head, and without thinking twice about whether it was appropriate to ask, she blurted out, "Does this prosthetic body... have a lower body?"

"Something's not right with you???" Duke's face darkened immediately: "You're into porn, aren't you?"

"I was just asking for Amber." Amber immediately closed her eyes guiltily after being accused by Duke, then tried to cover up the truth by bringing up Amber and shouting, "This concerns my best friend's lifelong happiness, it's not... it's not something I'm concerned about myself."

"Tch, the more you try to explain, the worse it gets."

However, after criticizing Cecil for speaking without thinking, Duke subconsciously looked down at his own body, reached out to check, but quickly withdrew his hand, pretending nothing had happened.

He hesitated for a moment, then took out the Lazy Man's Magic Wardrobe from his inventory, used it to separate himself from Cecil, and then took out suitable clothes to change into.

Soon, Duke, dressed in a jet-black robe, appeared before Cecil. His appearance made him look like a cultist, and combined with his inhuman charm, Cecil felt a chill run down her spine the moment she saw his new look. She felt as if her heart had been suddenly clenched for a moment.

Cecil held her breath until Duke spoke, at which point she finally remembered that she hadn't lost the right to breathe.

However, Duke's first words shattered the gloomy atmosphere around him.