Chapter 412: Pound Of Flesh

It could be said that Ryu's strength really hadn't grown much during the last six months. But, that was only in the case of raw power. After spending so much time turning an unconscious movement into a conscious one, how could there not be vast improvement?

Not only was Ryu's control of his body far beyond what it had been in the past, due to the nature of Osiris, it finally allowed him to break past that final barrier of controlling corpse puppets that had left him stuck for so long. 

By now, let alone only being able to control 70% of his body in Osiris, if his previous calculations were used, he was closer to 120% control. 

It seemed insane to supersede a 100% control, but this simply went to portray Ryu's own ignorance. He hadn't even realized that the control he exercised on his own body was still limited in so many ways. But now, it was as though a whole new world was opened up to him. 

It felt like every time he breathed, he could make each one of his individual cells breathe with him. Every time he formed an attack, he could make each one of his muscle fibers vibrate with strength. It was as though his body could now truly move forward and back in unison, whereas in the past, only a portion of it could. 

And the result…?

Esme closed the distance between herself and Zaren in the blink of an eye, her body streamlined and sculpted to perfection. Every understanding Ryu had in control his own body seemed to be perfectly translated. 

Although Ryu couldn't guarantee this same level of control when it came to other corpse puppets, he was confident that as long as the corpse puppet was humanoid… His control would be unmatched, even by those old fogies of the Sect. 

Zaren was caught off guard, not expecting such speed from a mere Peak Connecting Heaven Realm puppet. He suddenly found that this puppet was more dangerous than he thought it was. He was so enraptured by its beauty that he didn't understand the danger he was in until it was almost too late. 

'[Shadow Shield]..!'

Zaren quickly circulated his qi, causing numerous black fog-like shields to appear before him and Esme. 

The Enforcer's reaction caused many to be shocked. Was such caution necessary in the face of such a weak puppet? The only thing that could have been more shocking than this was if Zaren was actually forced to bring out his own corpse puppets…

Before they could even finish this thought, that was exactly what happened. 

Zaren fell back, using [Shadow Shield] as a method of buying time. Under normal circumstances, the corrosive properties of [Shadow Shield] would be more than enough to put a Peak Connecting Heaven Realm puppet out of commission. This was because despite the fact [Shadow Shield] was just a lower Earth Grade technique. When fueled by Immortal Death Qi, its strength was on a completely different level. 

Zaren immediately began to perform several hand seals as he fell backward. 

Usually, a Necromancer would have a dedicated spatial ring for their puppets. This was obviously because corpse puppets were not among the living and as such could be placed in such things. 

But, it also had to be remembered that spatial rings were incredibly expensive. Not everyone had near endless space like Ryu did with his Incubator. As a result, many Necromancers were limited in the number of corpse puppets they could carry on themselves, severely limiting their combat prowess. 

In order to mitigate this, many Necromancers learned from Summoning Necromancers, anchoring their puppets in separate dimensions that they could call upon whenever they wanted. 

However, there were a few caveats to this deal. 

For one, a normal Necromancer who couldn't afford even spatial rings would never be able to sustain such a dimension. As a result, many relied on the Sects they were a part of. These dimensions were actually just a garden of corpses cultivated by the ancestors of the Sect to be used by later generations. 

Just like how outstanding Sects might have Heavenly Herb Gardens they passed down from generation to generation, Necromancer Sects had Corpse Gardens or Dimensions. 

Depending on one's contribution to the Sect, it would be possible to gain larger and larger pieces of this Corpse Garden to not only store your puppets to be called upon as long as you were within the same world as the garden itself, but the garden would also be able to nurture your puppets into growing stronger. 

Still, all this said, as an Enforcer of the Sect, there was no doubt that Zaren had enough connections to gain a small piece of this Corpse Garden for himself. 

The second and main issue here was that… It took time to complete the ritual needed to summon a puppet was not small. Though it was not more than three to five seconds, in the middle of a battle of Immortals, this time might as well have been an eternity. 

This was exactly why even if one stored your more powerful puppets within a Corpse Garden, you would keep a few decently powerful ones within a spatial ring or the Death World Matteus mentioned during his battle with Ryu. Of course… Only geniuses could complete the latter…

There was one exception to all of this though… 

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Necromancers whose corpse puppets were simply too massive. 

Esme dodged the shadow shield with nimble steps, perfectly emulating Ryu's [Fragrant Breeze] as though they were mirror images of one another. 

She seemed to become ethereal, her body disappearing into the wind only to appear before Zaren. 

Zaren, who was still in the middle of his hand seals, went stiff. 

"Dammit! Help me stall her!"

The two Enforcers who had followed Zaren finally snapped out of their daze. They were shocked into action, so they didn't even pause to consider the fact Zaren actually spoke about a corpse puppet as though it was really a person for a moment. 

Ryu stood in the distance with his arms crossed, his gaze flicking across the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, he saw through several weak points and attacked them. 

The daggers in Esme's palm flipped, one aiming for the neck of an Enforcer and the other aiming for the dantian. No matter which landed, and if both landed, there was no doubting their fatality. 

The two Enforcers suddenly understood why Zaren had reacted the way he had. It was only after facing this monstrous corpse puppet for themselves that they finally saw the mountain looming over them. 

It was as though the massive shadow had always been there, but it was only at this exact moment that they deemed to look up, realizing the kind of mistake they had made. 

In the end, it wasn't their fault. Usually, one could feel the strength of a person by the qi that they leaked. Understanding someone's cultivation level wasn't an exact science and relied mostly on experience and context clues. 

But, what would one do when you were facing a monster you never had before and a beast that didn't let you grasp any of its weaknesses? 

Esme's, or rather Ryu's, control of qi was so immaculate that not a single ounce of it leaked out from the start of the battle to the finish. It wasn't until you were targeted by her and realized that there was no place to dodge, nothing you could do to protect yourself, no holy savior coming to save you… That you would understand that it was all over. 

PCHU!

With an elegant flicker, a slice was made across a neck and a dantian was just barely punctured. 

Both men panicked, feeling as though their lives were suddenly forfeit. But, before they could even realize that they had been spared, Esme shot by them like a fleeting wind. Their noses were tickled with a peculiar scent. Rather than one of death and decay like they had become used to for so long, it was like an ever-blooming flower, taking hold of their senses. 

Esme appeared before Zaren in a flash, just as he was about to complete the last of his seals. But, unfortunately, he never got the chance. 

A grating scream shot through the small city as an arc of blood was drawn through the air. 

Zaren fell to the ground, grabbing onto the bloody stump where his hand had just been. 

"My hand! My hand!" Zaren roared. 

Everyone knew how important one's hands were in cultivation. A swordsman, or any weapon wielder for that matter, without a hand, was practically a cripple. But, this was even more so for a Necromancer. Without nimble fingers, how could one possibly take fine control of their puppets? Taking Zaren's hand was practically like cutting off his future. Even if he managed to regrow it, who knew how many centuries it would take for him to reach the same level of control he had once had? 

"To attack an Enforcer of my Moonlight Blossom Sect for the sake of killing…! You have guts!"

A voice boomed across the skies. But in return, Ryu's gaze flickered with cold killing intent. 

The first time, he was shot through the heart and only survived thanks to his Realm Heart. The second time, he barely avoided death thanks to his Spirit Body. But now, this was already the third time this man wanted to kill him… 

This time, Ryu would take a pound of flesh as interest. 

[Sorry for the late chapters today guys, love yall]

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