The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

This is the improved "Black Heart"...

Xing Mo had just witnessed its power - when its steam core was destroyed, it used supernatural power to drive a large steam engine to perform terrifying maneuvers.

If Xingmo and Aurora had not precisely attacked its weaknesses, it would have been extremely difficult to destroy on the frontal battlefield.

"Could it be that the Imperials are manufacturing something like this..." Xingmo's face lost some of its color. "If something like this is mass-produced on the battlefields of Falu or the Citadel..."

Xing Mo couldn't imagine what kind of sea of ​​blood and corpses it would be.

"Put it away first. There's no point in imagining it."

Aurora muttered, turned her head, and looked towards the end of the castle hall:

"If you have any questions, the owner of the castle should be able to answer them."

Xing Mo looked towards the end of the hall. She hadn't had time to pay attention before, but after losing the cover of the steam spider, she saw a figure at the end of the hall.

It was a figure sitting on a bronze chair. She had long chestnut hair, her head slightly lowered, and her face was as pale as a porcelain doll.

From the beginning of the battle until now, she has been sitting there motionless, without even the slightest movement.

As Xing Mo's gaze moved downward, her pupils shrank slightly——

——Because this girl’s body...is not a human body!

She was wearing a long black chiffon dress that extended to her ankles, covering her joints.

The two arms she leaned on the seat had obvious mechanical structures, like a puppet.

This is a doll girl.

"..."

Xingmo and Aurora walked over to the chair and looked at the doll girl carefully.

Judging from her facial features, she was clearly the Architect, Isis Elebella.

Xingmo had seen her in the memory of the "Artist" Letes Agomont - at that time, she was a bard, and she was followed and applauded by so many people when she sang in the park.

She was young and beautiful then, but now...

Xingmo found it difficult to connect the lifeless puppet in front of her with the girl.

"Is she still alive?" Xing Mo whispered.

"Don't you have our Tree Vision? Can't you see for yourself?" Aurora complained. "Well, she's still alive, but... she's not alive in the way we imagined."

"you mean..."

Xingmo activated the tree vision and focused his gaze on Isis.

She saw Isis's flesh and blood... Only her torso and head were left of her body... No, her neck had also been replaced with a puppet joint...

As for the limbs, they are genuine puppet mechanisms.

And in her heart, Xingmo saw a mass of black and green.

"This is...?"

“Similar to ‘Black Heart’, but not quite.”

Aurora concluded:

"Her heart and limbs have all been replaced. She must have been in an accident, which is why she's like this now."

How could this happen... Xingmo recalled the bard lady in Lights' memory, and then looked at the lifeless puppet in front of him.

What happened to make it like this...

"Is there any way to wake her up?" Xing Mo asked.

"I'm afraid it's difficult," Aurora shook her head. "If it were just vitality, we could give her as much as she wants, but that's not what she needs."

"So what's missing...?"

"Remember that steam spider? It has two power systems..."

A set of "Black Heart"... a set of Steam Core...

"You mean, our Miss 'Architect' lost her steam core?" Xing Mo suddenly realized.

It seems that Isis is currently in a delicate state:

The contaminated heart can sustain her life, but if she wants to regain consciousness, the steam engine must be operated.

Xingmo opened the tree vision again and glanced at Isis. As expected, he found traces of lifelessness on her spine.

"The mechanical device connected to the spine..." Xing Mo exhaled, "It seems that her life activities are basically dependent on machinery."

I don't know why Miss Isis fell into this state, but since such a huge monster is placed in the hall to protect her...

...which means someone doesn't want her to wake up.

This is why the residents never approach the castle. Perhaps the giant mechanical spider will behave accordingly and scare away anyone who tries to approach.

"What a hassle! I have to investigate again..."

Aurora kicked a small stone off the ground gloomily and stuck out her tongue.

"...Ah, our lunch, our exquisite lunch..."

"Don't worry, little ancestor, it won't be too troublesome." Xing Mo said.

"Huh? Have you figured out a solution?"

"Um..."

Xingmo recalled the scene he saw before entering the castle - there were obvious wheel tracks at the door.

Considering that such a large steam-powered creation must require corresponding maintenance, one thing is certain... someone will come here regularly.

Perhaps to ensure Isis's continued sleep, or perhaps to protect the castle's defenders.

Xingmo walked through the hall and came to the door, playing the "Dagger of Truth" and stabbing into the space.

Time passed quickly before her eyes, trying to figure out when the mastermind came to the castle every day...

"Ah, it seems we are lucky."

Xingmo let go of the dagger and let it dissipate into the void.

She raised her head, looked at the sun gradually approaching overhead, and said softly:

"The person behind this will come to check every day at noon."

"All we have to do now is wait..."

Wait until the mastermind comes and then find out everything from him.

"What a great idea~" Aurora muttered, "How about we go out and shoot a couple of birds and roast them?"

"Don't hurt the animals...!"

"Ah, it's the law of the jungle... It's like you're going to be eaten by me too..."

......

9) Doll's Little Sadness (Part 5) -1w- (Level up and more)

Half an hour later.

Xingmo and Aurora each held a roasted bird, hanging under the ceiling of the castle.

Aurora used vines to weave two swing-like structures to help the two of them hide.

"Well, even if it's improvisation, the little saint tastes pretty good."

Aurora finished showing off the roasted bird in a flash, spat out the bones, and began swinging on the vines.

"Will they really come? Maybe they won't come today? What if..."

"Shh, there's a noise outside." Xing Mo put his index finger to his mouth.

In the distance, the sound of wheel wheels rolling over the rice fields gradually approached and got closer.

There was a lot of chaotic conversation going on, and it seemed that there was more than one person here.

It's a lot of people.

Are they very powerful...Xing Mo estimated the number of people outside in his mind.

At least five to ten people...

To be on the safe side, she did not use any mystical means to confirm the identity of the outsider.

——If those outside were Immortals or people closely connected to the Garden, some of them might be able to sense the presence of the Tree of Life.

"..."

Xingmo stretched out her wand and flicked it lightly in the air. The surging shadows tightly enveloped the place where she and Aurora were.

In this way, even if they look up, they can't see up.

She held on to the swing and waited silently in the shadow of the ceiling...

After a while, the visitor seemed to have parked the camel cart and was approaching the door.

They soon noticed the state of the gate and began to talk:

"The door's been breached?" a voice muttered. "An intruder?"

"Which idiot came here to die again..."

Judging from the sound, they had discovered marks on the door - two cuts pierced by the steam spider's blades.

But they obviously thought the steam spiders would take care of the intruders, so they pushed the door open without hesitation -

"I'm going, what's going on?"

There was a loud shout from the men, and then a group of people in leather armor rushed into the hall, passing right below Xingmo and Aurora.

They were well-equipped, with iron swords on one side of their belts and wands on the other, and their leather armor looked clean and neat.

Are they well-equipped mercenaries...? They look like them.

Xingmo decided to continue hiding and observe what they would say next to determine who they belonged to.

"..."

In the castle hall, the man dressed as the captain walked up to the steam spider and kicked its broken head.

"He was killed?" His voice was hoarse. "The client wouldn't want to see this happen."

"This thing is so weak?"

"This isn't weak at all. The Immortal Division is currently researching a mass-produced version of it. If it's feasible, we'll use it against the Faroese on the battlefield..."

"Boss, you really understand... So what should we do now?"

"What should we do? We can only blame our good luck. Today is the day to replace the whale oil tank, so we brought so many people..."

The captain was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Isis sitting in a chair at the end of the hall.

"Seal off the area and send a messenger to notify the Immortal Division."

"Yes!"

A clerical worker who was accompanying him immediately began drafting a letter and walked towards the door.

Seeing this, Xing Mo closed his eyes and his vision went high up in the sky——

"call--"

The puppet falcon flew across the sky, its eagle eyes overlooking the golden fields and ancient castle directly below.

Xingmo saw the clerical staff summon a white dove as a messenger, hand it a letter and then go back.

"..."

After confirming that no one was watching, Xingmo controlled the falcon to dive, and its wings burned with shadows under the power of the dark string.

The puppet falcon streaked through the sky like an arrow, flying straight towards the mercenaries' messenger.

"bass--"

The falcon's claws tightly grasped the pigeon's throat, and then it beat it severely with its beak.