Overgeared

“This isn’t fair. I’m so frustrated...”

Tears fell down from the eyes of the old cultivator who was holding a dying girl in his arms. He was crying so bitterly that the atmosphere around him turned grim.

“Do you think we came here out of our own volition? This land is completely unfamiliar to us. We were forcefully brought here. In this cursed land where there are no constellations to perform rituals to and no way to raise our realm, we have no choice but to figure out a way to survive.”

The old man’s skinny hands tightened around the girl as he hugged her.

“My granddaughter has less than ten years left to live. If she doesn’t raise her realm within ten years, she will die. As her grandfather, how can I turn away from this child? I contributed to the construction of the Full Moon Fortress not because I had any ill will toward you. I just wanted to save my only granddaughter...”

The more the old man talked, the darker the expressions of the Overgeared members became. Together with Braham and Faker, they destroyed four fortresses and were on the verge of taking care of their fifth one.

They succeeded in capturing the walls of the Full Moon Fortress, which were guarded by as many as three Absolutes. Now, they just had to destroy the formation in front of them and a total of five Full Moon Fortresses would’ve fallen because of them.

The guardian of the formation also no longer fought back. Since his granddaughter, who was also guarding the formation with him, was seriously injured, all he could do was hug her and sob.

“...Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t have a story?” Zirkan asked. “I know how you must feel, but give me a moment. I will decide what to do with you once this formation is destroyed.”

Zirkan was the former top-ranked swordsman and Chris’ closest confidant. His words were oddly comforting, because he also had grandchildren, so he sympathized with the old cultivator.

The rest of the cultivators, who had been fierce in battle, relaxed their postures slightly.

Zirkan and the rest passed the sobbing old man, who was still hugging his granddaughter, and approached the formation.

But—

“So naive.”

The sneer of the young girl echoed throughout the hall.

Shocked, everyone turned around to see the dying girl in the old man’s arms standing up, looking quite healthy.

“...What?”

The Overgeared members were confused. They looked between the girl, who was smiling eerily, and the old man lying limp like a corpse next to her. They couldn’t really understand what had happened while they had their backs turned.

However, an archer with the skill Hawk Eyes noticed something suspicious. The girl’s fingertips had transparent threads attached to them. Quite a few threads were connected to the old man.

“That guy was a puppet...? A trap! It’s a trap!” the archer shouted, but it was too late.

The Overgeared members had already entered the formation, and the girl had the authority to activate it.

The girl snorted. “What is the point of making such a fuss when the trap has already been set?”

Every time her thin fingers formed a different shape, the formation containing the Overgeared members vibrated loudly.

shame that I couldn’t imprison the most vigilant assassin and the magician, but it’s fine. You are also quite strong. You will make great

Flash!

emitted a colorful glow, blinding them temporarily. They staggered back as long, thin threads pierced their skin. This wasn’t an illusion. Tens of thousands of

Circuits’ have

to escape, but

control

“What...?”

of the Overgeared members and penetrated their organs were in fact intricately crafted treasures. There were many complex circuits installed in every one of them. Every time the circuit was connected, the formation was completed and

members couldn’t even

“Huhu.”

Her enemies were now acting in accordance with

new master,” they

have pledged allegiance to the cultivator

puppet strings had an

been imprinted on the Puppet Circuits.]

‘This damn thing.’

in front of them was. They couldn’t think of a way to get

were all players, so

isn’t here,’ the

the hall. “I see how things turned out... Why did you appoint him as the commander of the unit? Did you pick him because of

to everyone’s expectations, Braham had already returned from chasing the runaway

I needed a squad commander to take charge.” Faker spoke for an

Chris’ because Faker asked Zirkan to lead the party on his behalf, since Faker had to act secretly as an assassin.

expectations. Zirkan wanted to apologize and explain how things had turned out this way, but

was going on. As expected of the god of wisdom, he immediately put two and two together just by looking at the scene in

just let your guard down because you felt sympathy for the girl who was crying while holding the dying old man...? Or was it the old man holding the girl? Oh, well. It doesn’t matter. Either way, you are

glared at Zirkan and contempt crossed

categorize ordinary people as mortals and don’t treat them as human beings. The vampires who have been superior humans from the moment they were born, and who treated humans as livestock because their blood is advantageous for survival, seem like innocent beings in contrast to the cultivators.

“......”

what he was saying was somewhat absurd. The way Braham described the cultivators was quite similar to how Braham used to

was

aren’t Grid. Expecting the other person to change and giving them such a chance is a privilege only for those who have the power to keep things under

become harsher. Zirkan’s face turned

who had been silently watching

are you going to do? Your companions have already

the floor like a corpse, as well as Zirkan’s

ten minutes to kill three cultivators in the early stage of

before becoming an immortal. She had enormous power and she

meticulous. As a monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years, she never let down her guard. Forcing Zirkan’s group into a trap and turning them into

and Faker would hesitate when faced with the risk of harming their colleagues, so she was planning to use this against

Clink, clink.

the great hall. Zirkan’s group

your