Reborn with Steve Stand

Chapter 719: Golem Tower and Vestibule of Darkness

A few minutes later, inside the Puppet Museum.

Fang Mo, looking pleased with himself, stepped on the Puppet King and turned to Summon beside him, saying, "Some people say they don't want it, but their bodies are surprisingly honest."

"Isn't this what you taught me?"

Summon, who had just signed Summoning contract, retorted angrily.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo was curious. "I taught you? What did I teach you?"

"Only pressure can make people see themselves clearly."

Summon glared at him, then pushed Fang Mo's leg away and carefully lifted the Puppet King, brushing the dust off it. "…Isn't it because you forced me?"

"Nonsense, when did I ever force you?"

Fang Mo retorted immediately. "You're the notorious Sinister Princess, and weren't you the one who said you wanted to capture some summoned beasts in Sky Tower?"

"My exact words were that I wanted to improve my strength. Stop twisting my words."

Summon countered.

"Is there a difference?" Fang Mo questioned. "Your profession is a summoner. Capturing more slaves increases your strength, right?"

"You can't just capture whoever you want."

Summon pointed angrily at the Puppet King beside them. "I told you not to act recklessly, but what happened? You see, without a contract, they would have been exterminated… The ancient puppet masters lived peacefully in Sky Tower, and as soon as you arrived, you trampled on them, killing them without contracts. How can you say you didn't force me?"

"You could choose not to contract them."

Fang Mo said righteously, "Sky Tower is still a city. If we slaughter a million souls, it would also bolster your title as the Sinister Princess across the continent."

"You're too much of a person…"

"Though it seems like we wiped out many species, it's actually a form of salvation. I call it 'stopping war with war.'"

Before the other could say anything, Fang Mo continued with his vision. "Look, if your notorious reputation spreads, we could subdue the enemy without fighting. By then, I could just use your reputation to say a few words… and the enemy would surrender without a fight. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"I can't believe you."

Summon was furious. "Fine, stop talking. You just want me to contract with them, right? I'll do it."

After speaking, she turned to the Puppet King beside her. "Don't worry, I won't harm you."

As for the so-called Puppet King.

It wasn't some tall puppet warrior.

On the contrary, it was a magician responsible for creating rock golems.

Its proportions were clearly off, very small, like Paimon from Genshin Impact. Kneeling on a gold ore, its skin was dark, but its eyes were surprisingly large, with a few green crystals on its head.

Even though Summon showed goodwill, it was still very nervous, its eyes filled with fear.

Of course, it wasn't its fault. As the king of the ancient puppet masters, it had guarded Sky Tower for years, turning many adventurers into stone statues. Its strength was unquestionable.

But such strength was mercilessly crushed by Fang Mo.

Yes, this was not a fight but one-sided torture. Initially, it was patrolling its territory when Fang Mo suddenly appeared and shattered it with a punch.

Then Fang Mo used some resurrection spell.

The Puppet King was bewildered the whole time. Fang Mo didn't speak, just tortured it until he revealed his intention after a long while.

He wanted to force it to sign a contract.

Honestly, the Puppet King barely had time to react before it was shackled.

Despite being restrained by the Ring of Domination, the Puppet King, Dogrie, was relieved. They had served the Dragon King Bakal before, so it was just a change of masters.

Compared to the terrifying torture, being enslaved was more comfortable.

"Looks like this level is cleared."

Fang Mo picked up Summon again. "Time to go to the next level, My Princess. How about a Golem contract?"

"If we don't contract, you'll exterminate the race, right?"

Summon responded sarcastically. "Fine, fine, I love contracts. I love them more than anything, okay?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing the conversation between the two, the Puppet King suddenly looked up instinctively, "Excuse me, My Princess..."

"Do you need something?"

Summon glanced at him.

"The Golems are golems. To control them, you should take this." The Puppet King respectfully produced a green crystal, holding it out to Summon with both hands. "My Princess, please accept this. It's a magical crystal that makes the Golems obey."

"Oh, thank you."

Summon took the crystal. "And... just call me Master, not My Princess."

"Yes, Ma..."

"Excuse me?!"

Before he could finish, Fang Mo's eyes widened suddenly, and a terrifying aura pressed down on him like a tide.

"Yes, My Princess! As you command, My Princess!"

The Puppet King, Dogrie, was terrified, kowtowing on the golden ore, "Your... My Princess, please save me!"

"I'm really..."

Summon felt a splitting headache, "Forget it, let's just go."

"Woohoo, let's fly."

Fang Mo laughed joyfully, then pointed at the ceiling, causing a brilliant white light to flash, blasting a large hole in the beautifully adorned white dome. He then grabbed Summon and flew upwards.

Below, many puppeteers could be seen kneeling collectively, as if sending off their queen's ascension.

Soon, the two floated to the Golems' Tower.

There's not much to say here, as these Golems are magical statues with no self-awareness, so Fang Mo chose to speed through it.

After leaving the Golems' Tower, they reached another level.

By this point, they were very high up. Standing on the edge of the Sky Tower, looking down, apart from the misty clouds, they could even see traces of what appeared to be seawater. This is the unique phenomenon of the Arad Continent, known as the Sea of Sky.

The game is called "Dungeon & Fighter" because, originally, the Arad Continent was a seabed.

In the original official lore, the wizard Mar used a great magic array to support the entire sea.

Below the seabed lies the Arad Continent, so the sky above Arad isn't the atmosphere or space but the Sea of Sky.

Passing through the Sea of Sky leads to the true continent of the Arad Star... known as the Empyrean.

If you wonder how the sun exists for the underwater Arad Continent, don't ask. It's a magical world, and this is how Fang Mo remembered the official lore. Unfortunately, the official lore was later inconsistent, making him lose interest.

One reason Fang Mo dislikes the neighboring game League of Legends is because their designers constantly alter the lore.

Anyway, back to the topic.

When they reached a higher place, Fang Mo immediately recognized where they were.

"This level is called the Vestibule of Darkness."

Fang Mo explained to Summon as they walked, "It's close to the Sea of Sky and has no windows, so it's very dark. Plus, there's a bunch of stupid goblins who love to turn off the lights. Back in the day, my uppercut would always miss here."

"It does look much more eerie than before."

Hearing this, Summon observed their surroundings. The environment was indeed strange, with endless corridors on both sides, very spacious but somehow exuding a heavy and murderous aura. The corridors were lined with stone armor statues, which were quite creepy.

"Hmm? These statues..."

Summon suddenly paused, "Aren't these Bakal's Exiles?"

"You recognize them?"

Fang Mo looked at her in surprise.

"Look at the dragon-shaped emblem on the shield," she said. "I read about it in ancient texts in the Demon Realm's library. If I remember correctly, these were created by Bakal to guard Sky Tower. I thought it was a legend... but it's real."

"Not bad, you know a lot."

Fang Mo laughed. "Why don't you guess who your next contract target is?"

"Could it be these Exiles?"

Summon felt a sudden pang: "Wait, it is said that a thousand years ago, the Tyrannosaurus King Bakal used magic to create the Army of Light, led by the so-called Heaven Expeller…"

"Nonsense, what Heaven Expeller?"

Before she could finish speaking, Fang Mo suddenly interrupted, "Apostle Bakal created two knights, one is the Light Knight Harvidant, and the other is the Dark Knight Bruce Wayne…"

"What nonsense?"

Summon immediately retorted, "I'm not sure about the Light Knight, but that Dark Knight is definitely named Sandor!"

"Huh?"

Fang Mo was taken aback, "...You actually know?"

"Of course."

Without hesitation, Summon said, "The legend of the Dark Knight Sandor has been passed down in the Demon World. It is said that during the Dragon War, it was severely injured but its loyalty moved the leader of the Spin Magic Society, Lady Katie. So, Lady Katie took it back, used the water from the River of Oblivion to erase its memory, and made a summoning contract with it."

"...There's actually such a backstory?"

Fang Mo touched his head in surprise.

In fact, this so-called Dark Knight Sandor is just a summoner skill in the game, and if I remember correctly, you have to pay with gold coins to summon it.

Later, after the EX skill was introduced, it could summon an enraged Sandor.

And the appearance of this summoned creature is indeed quite similar to those Expeller, all being armored soldiers, and their skill forms are very alike. That's why Fang Mo thought of a joke and decided to bring the Expeller to cosplay as Sandor.

But what Fang Mo didn't expect was that Sandor, as a summoned creature, actually had a backstory.

He wondered if other summoned creatures also had backstories, because if they all did, it wouldn't be easy to fool people.

"Emmm…"

Thinking of this, Fang Mo pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Summon and asked, "By the way, do you know anything about the Demonic Flower Aosuo?"

"Aosuo?"

Summon seemed a bit puzzled but still replied, "It's just a dangerous demonic plant, why?"

"Remember, when you want to bury a body, it's best to cover it with endangered plants because digging them up is illegal." Fang Mo suddenly joked, "Follow me for more gardening tips."

"You're not trying to fool me, are you?"

Summon suddenly realized: "You'd better not have any funny ideas, I'm not that easy to deceive."

"Oh, how could I?"

Fang Mo declared confidently, "I, the Joker, never lie… I just misspoke. Actually, Bakal created two knights with magic, the Heaven Expeller Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight Sandor…"

"Just how much do you hate this Bruce Wayne?"

Summon facepalmed.

"Anyway, our target this time is him."

Fang Mo ignored her and continued, "First, we need to corrupt him. I have a name change card here, and when the time comes, we'll change his name to Dark Knight Bruce…"

As he spoke, Fang Mo pulled out a helmet.

Summon glanced at the helmet and saw that it was completely black with two pointed ears, giving off a strange feeling, reminiscent of a bat and exuding an eerie and uncomfortable vibe.

"You're not planning something wicked again, are you?"

Summon frowned instinctively.

"What wickedness?" Fang Mo immediately said, "I haven't even taken the pearl necklace… How can you accuse me without proof? Anyway, that's the plan! Today, I'm determined to make you the Lord of Sky Tower!"

"I may never return to the Demon World again."

Summon said painfully, "I'm even worried that Lord Hilder might suspect I'm the illegitimate daughter of the Tyrannosaurus King…"

"If you were a dragon, that would be great."

Fang Mo chuckled.

And just as they were talking, the sound of stones breaking suddenly echoed around them, followed by footsteps, and countless armored soldiers emerged from all directions.

"Oh, it seems we've been discovered."

Seeing this, Fang Mo immediately reacted and stuffed a wallet into Summon's hand, "Follow me, hold onto this."

"When we see the Heaven Expeller, both of us should lie down."