Chapter 2693: Box Carrier Castle
Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu launched their attack, while Zhu Bu and Ji Ji Bird manipulated spatial powers to clear the way for them. With their coordinated efforts, the two quickly reached the feet of the giant skeletal monster.
Although the giant skeletal monster possessed strong offensive capabilities, its movements were relatively sluggish—this was abnormal. However, Xu Huo didn't think much of it until his black blade struck the monster's leg bone. Instead of piercing through, it got stuck in the bone. That was when he understood why...
The giant skeletal monster's body was actually made of special metal. Its slow movement wasn't due to its massive size but because the metal was too heavy. In his haste, he hadn't noticed earlier that the ground where the two skeletal monsters stood was covered in pits, likely formed when they settled down!
The giant skeletal monster lifted its foot to the side, and Xu Huo was sent flying by a burst of force. His black blade was wrenched from his hand, and he crashed into the woods on the right.
But before he could pass through the trees, the giant skeletal monster's palm descended from above. The immense pressure slammed him into the ground, burying him instantly under the fallen trees!
"Chi chi chi!" Several black materialized objects shot out from the broken wood, wrapping around the giant skeletal monster's palm. As the black bone hand swung, Xu Huo was dragged out from underground. Just as he was airborne, another giant skeletal monster was toppling toward him!
Seizing the upward momentum, he opened a Spiritual Gate above and circled behind the giant skeletal monster. Using the materialized object power as a rope, he forcefully yanked it back!
The two giant skeletal monsters collided, the screeching sound of metal grinding against metal setting everyone's teeth on edge. Taking this opportunity, Xu Huo opened a large Spiritual Gate and teleported everyone behind the skeletal monsters.
Beyond the puppet wall lay woods and a lake, with both large and small skeletal monsters guarding the forest. Once Xu Huo and his group passed through the woods, the monsters stopped chasing them. Ahead was a vast lake, too wide to cross in a single attempt.
Without dwelling on what might lurk in the lake, Xu Huo did his best to open a Spiritual Gate at a high altitude. However, just as everyone ascended, a sudden, immense suction force pulled them all toward the lake surface!
"What's the point of calling this a circus city? Might as well call it a monster den!" Zhu Bu somersaulted in the air, conjuring layers of spatial barriers that formed a jumping bridge across the sky. Beneath this bridge, several more spatial barriers served as protection against the lake's suction!
"Hurry!" Zhu Bu struggled to maintain the barriers, gritting his teeth as he shouted at Xu Huo.
Several Spiritual Gates reopened, and after a few more teleportations, they finally crossed the lake safely and reached the opposite shore.
From there, they stood directly in front of the castle's main gate.
Perhaps because the owner was absent, only the towers on either side of the vast castle were lit. Although Xu Huo had seen the Box Carrier's castle before, he had been inside last time and couldn't glimpse its full exterior.
"We're missing someone," Ji Ji Bird reminded.
"Let's go in first and talk later," Xu Huo said. The Painting Woman had disappeared shortly after entering the puppet wall. Unlike the others, she had moved around the castle before and might have already gone inside.
The group hurried into the castle. Surprisingly, they encountered no resistance or attacks upon entry. The castle was unobstructed inside and out. Although some puppets stood at the entrance and in the main hall, they remained inactive with the lights off.
They silently entered the main hall, looked at the two spiral staircases ahead, and split into two groups to ascend.
The two staircases led to different corridors. The dark corridors stretched endlessly, with only a few nearby doors perceptible. Once inside, they might enter different spaces, making separation highly likely. But to find an exit quickly, they had to split up.
"Good luck," Zhu Bu mouthed silently before leading his two companions into a corridor.
Within just over ten meters, Xu Huo's perception was completely swallowed up. He turned to Yan Jiayu and mouthed, "Stay close."
Yan Jiayu nodded solemnly.
Many places within the castle emitted spatial power fluctuations, including but not limited to room doors, decorative paintings, stair corners, and skylights. With their perception range greatly reduced, Xu Huo and the others could only observe the doors and windows up close to determine their nature and whether they might be portals.
Xu Huo's perception strength surpassed everyone else present, but even he couldn't immediately distinguish which spatial portals were different from the others. The spatial power on the doors and windows had subtle differences, but they were too minor. It was unlikely that all these portals were exits, so most likely none of them were.
Yan Jiayu stopped in front of a door on the second floor and pointed at the doorknob, suggesting they try opening it.
Ji Ji Bird stopped her first, hinting that there might be living props inside.
Crocodile and Peacock indicated they should continue forward, at least to survey the castle's layout first. In their opinion, if an exit truly existed in the castle, it probably wouldn't be just any openable door. At the very least, a living prop would be guarding it.
Before they could reach a decision, a "thump, thump, thump" sound suddenly came from deep within the corridor. It wasn't footsteps but the sound of some hard object striking the carpet.
Their expressions changed. It couldn't be an outsider moving so openly through the castle. Without hesitation, they turned back, intending to return to the first floor.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" But the sound suddenly echoed from the other side as well.
They froze in place, holding their breath, only to realize the sound seemed to be constantly shifting positions—sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right—yet it never entered their perception range.
Their clear perception range was only about ten meters. If it were a living prop, at that distance, they'd likely be unable to dodge it. In their anxiety, they all instinctively glanced at the nearby rooms.
At that moment, everyone felt like gambling. Crocodile reached for the doorknob, but the moment his hand touched it, he was suddenly lifted by an unseen force, flying upward and vanishing completely into the darkness!
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye. Crocodile disappeared without resistance, while above the corridor, the wall's end remained an abyss of darkness. The "thump, thump, thump" sound persisted, still moving around them.
The sound didn't draw closer, but it didn't fade away either. Xu Huo focused his gaze into the depths of the darkness and seemed to catch a glimpse of a wooden stick flashing by—just a wooden stick.
He looked up at the ceiling, then signaled Yan Jiayu and the others not to touch anything on either side of the corridor.
They prepared their defenses but stayed put. The sound continued for another half minute before gradually fading away.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Xu Huo suddenly felt a force seize his head!