Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 672

Chapter 672: Shadows on Ascension Isle

Counting them up, their group numbered fifteen—a respectable force by any standard.

“Hmph.”

The moment Ethan and his team stepped into the grand array, a cold, disdainful snort echoed from somewhere ahead.

CRACK!

A sharp, air-shattering sound followed, cutting through the silence from the direction of the Elaborate Buildings.

“Explosive Shot!”

BANG!

Before Ethan could react, a clear, feminine voice rang out behind him. Lyla’s bowstring twanged, and an arrow of pure energy, glowing bright as lightning, streaked forward.

BOOM!

The two projectiles collided high above, meeting with perfect precision. The blast that followed rolled through the sky, shaking the air itself. A fierce, whistling wind burst outward, sweeping across the jungle below and sending the trees swaying wildly, as if a hurricane had passed over them.

“Oh?”

A voice of mild surprise came from the direction of the Elaborate Buildings.

Ethan turned toward Lyla, grinning, and gave her a thumbs-up. Her reflexes were remarkable. Even Victor, standing nearby with his rifle raised, couldn’t help but whistle in appreciation. He had been about to take the shot himself, but she had already beaten him to it.

“You cowardly sneak!” Blackie roared from beneath Ethan’s feet, his deep voice rumbling like thunder. “Attacking from the shadows! Come out and fight me like a real man!”

The group hovered in the air, searching for any sign of movement. After that single, distant strike, the enemy had gone completely silent.

Seconds dragged on. Still nothing.

“Hm?” Micah’s soft exclamation broke the tense quiet.

“What is it?” Ethan asked.

“There’s a magic barrier fluctuation,” Micah replied quickly.

Even as he spoke, the scene below began to twist. The green mountains and clear rivers blurred, melting away into a dense, white fog. The mist rose fast, swallowing everything. In moments, visibility dropped to nothing—they couldn’t even see each other at arm’s length.

“It’s an Illusion Array!” Micah shouted. “I don’t know if there’s a combat array mixed in!”

“Can you break it?” Ethan called out.

“I should be able to—”

“Purify.”

Before Micah could finish, a small, ethereal voice—clear and gentle like a chime—spoke from behind Ethan.

WHOOSH…

A warm current of air swept past them, carrying the faint scent of the sea. Instantly, their surroundings began to clear. The mist, drawn as if by invisible hands, thinned and fell away, dispersing faster than it had appeared.

Turning toward the voice, they saw a tiny figure hovering in the air—a Merfolk girl, barely a foot tall, with a faint blue star gleaming on her forehead. She floated just behind Ethan, her expression calm and unbothered.

It was Princess Star, the Third Princess of the Merfolk.

Ethan blinked, realizing he had almost forgotten she was even with them. She was so small and quiet that she often faded from notice. He suddenly remembered seeing her use this same ability in the deep sea. Back then, when the ocean floor had been clouded with stirred-up silt, she had cleared the water in an instant. He hadn’t known her “Purify” could also dispel illusions and break magical barriers.

CLANG! CLANG!

The sharp sound of weapons clashing rang out again, echoing through the clearing mist.

“Holy hell! You sneaky bastards! Trying to ambush your Grandpa Markham, are you?”

The shout snapped everyone’s attention forward. In the brief minute that the mist had risen and vanished, a dozen strange figures had materialized around Markham’s position at the front line. They had struck fast, moving in coordinated silence.

Markham’s mech whirred and shifted as he swung both of his massive swords, intercepting every blow that came at him. Sparks scattered like rain with each clash.

Now that the fog was gone, the attackers wasted no time retreating into the distance.

But Ethan quickly realized Markham wasn’t the only one they’d gone for. Around the team, shapes were emerging—figures that looked human at first glance, yet felt wrong. They lacked any trace of energy. Their faces were pale and still, their eyes hollow.

“They’re Puppets!” Ryan shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

“Puppets?” Ethan’s brows furrowed as he turned toward the nearest one.

The word hit him like a memory. He recalled the dying shriek of the last creature Blackie had crushed: The Island Lord will turn you into Puppets and enslave you forever.

Could these things really be the people who had fallen victim to that curse—humans twisted into puppets?

Ethan’s jaw tightened. So Amber’s fiancé really was that kind of monster. Oddly enough, the realization brought him a flicker of grim satisfaction. If that was the truth, he’d have no problem ending the man himself.

BAM!

The air cracked as Victor fired his Barrett M82A1. He didn’t wait for Ethan’s order—he just raised the massive rifle, steady inside his mech, and pulled the trigger.

The blast echoed like thunder. For an ordinary person, the recoil would’ve torn an arm clean off, but Victor didn’t even flinch.

CRACK!

One of the Puppets’ heads exploded in a spray of black mist. But before the body even fell, something small shot out from the wreckage—round and pulsing, like a brain trying to escape.

For a moment, everyone froze.

“What the hell—did that thing just throw its brain?” Leo blurted out, eyes wide.

The “brain” twisted midair and began to unfold, stretching and reshaping itself into a grotesque creature. It had the face of a ghost and the body of a monkey, with a long, sinewy tail that had once looked like a spinal cord.

Leo’s voice dropped. “Boss… doesn’t that look exactly like the thing we ran into back in Ravenwood?”

Ethan didn’t need the reminder. The image was burned into his mind. He’d seen it with his own Senses during that nightmarish attack after they’d left Shadow Lynx Village—the same thing that had burst from the head of that controlled woman when she died.

So this was what they were up against again. And now he finally understood. Those Puppets back then must have been the same creations, tied to the same hand—the Island Lord of Ascension Isle.

The thought settled like lead in his chest, sharpening his resolve. Whatever this “Island Lord” was, he wasn’t just a threat. He was an abomination that needed to be wiped out.

A voice finally rose from beyond the treeline, cold and disdainful. “Hmph… You dare come to Ascension Isle and stir up trouble? Have you even considered the consequences?”

Ethan’s grin spread slowly. “Consequences?”

Before he could say more, Blackie bellowed from below, his tone dripping with mockery. “Blackie likes your dog kennel and plans to use it as a latrine. Got a problem with that?”

Ethan chuckled. He’d never been much of a trash-talker, but thankfully, Blackie handled that part just fine.