Chapter Eight: A Refreshed Combat Style

Lowe’s triple-puppet assault dealt massive damage, dispatching the cultists of the Evil Church with relative ease in about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. However, the mana consumption was significant. Had they not come prepared with ample supplies for this leveling excursion, they would have been forced to spend an exorbitant fortune purchasing refills from the Remote Exchange.

The Remote Exchange is a specialized feature designed for players engaged in long-term field leveling, allowing them to purchase necessities on the go. However, items bought through this service are marked up by thirty percent over standard exchange prices, with some soaring as high as fifty percent.

Undoubtedly, the existence of Night Feather and his strategic planning had spared them from this massive financial drain. While the group still occasionally needed to use the Remote Exchange, the amount of money saved compared to their initial projections was staggering.

"That was close. It’s a good thing Third Brother planned for us to clear our inventory to stock up on supplies beforehand, otherwise, the medicine needed for this [Forbidden Land of Mount Tai] would have surely exceeded our budget," Luo Feng remarked, giving Night Feather a thumbs-up in admiration after observing Lowe’s resource consumption.

"It was just a stroke of luck; I hadn't given it much thought. But every bit saved is a bit gained. We can exchange the Spirit Stones of Mount Tai for a handsome sum of gold, so overall, we’re doing quite well," Night Feather replied after doing some quick mental calculations. In the game "God’s Demise," the currency had been unified into gold. It was no longer as convoluted as the previous three-tiered system, though the exchange ratios had been tightening.

In the new server where Night Feather was stationed, the ratio had stabilized at 1:1, whereas in the old servers, it remained at 1:10. Compared to the new server, the old servers actually held a slight advantage in terms of value.

Boom—

At this moment, everyone’s attention remained fixed on Lowe’s battle. The impact of the three puppets dealt clear, heavy damage. The destruction of their formations sent many of the Evil Church cultists into a frenzy; they lashed out at the puppets, and even Lowe, who was controlling them from a distance, came under fire.

Fortunately, Lowe’s combat maneuvers were quite sharp. He pulled his primary Copper Puppet back to his side and unleashed a fierce right hook, instantly killing the several cultists who had closed in.

As more cultists approached from the left and right flanks, the Copper Puppet’s frame shuddered. A terrifying gale of energy erupted from its body, instantly repelling the surrounding cultists.

"Can even a puppet perform such perfect defensive knockback maneuvers?" Night Feather watched the scene, momentarily stunned and disbelieving.

He soon realized, however, that this was only possible because the Copper Puppet was equipped with armor; it did not possess this capability in its base form. The other two summoned puppets, while arguably better at balancing offense and defense, could not match the primary puppet in raw performance.

The two puppets summoned later by Lowe were built for singular, specialized attacks—like the aforementioned ramming maneuver—which dealt significant damage. They relied on simple defensive blocks to mitigate incoming strikes.

In terms of defense, all the puppets shared a consistent trait: after successfully blocking two attacks from the cultists, they could trigger a defensive state identical to the primary puppet’s.

Lowe had undoubtedly improved his skills significantly, showing a level of proficiency in puppet control far beyond what he had demonstrated in previous dungeons. Throughout this clash with the cultists, his puppets were rarely struck by enemy attacks.

It was clear that for the future of the Puppeteer class, Lowe had chosen the path of a multi-control specialist. His subsequent skill progression and control optimizations were all building toward this specialization.

Fundamentally, Lowe had become a qualified multi-control Puppeteer. He now operated the left and right puppets independently, while keeping the primary puppet tethered to his side for close-quarters combat; he advanced and retreated in perfect sync with it.

As Lowe dashed backward, the two flanking puppets suddenly vaulted into the air, turning into streaks of light that crashed into the group of cultists nearby, followed by a thunderous explosion.

Rumble—

"I didn't know you could play like that," Night Feather watched with genuine interest. He was clearly fascinated by the combat style Lowe had developed himself. He observed closely, noting that the high damage dealt by the diving impacts of the two secondary puppets was likely tied to Lowe’s customized talent tree, which amplified the power of puppet collisions. Under this barrage of heavy damage, more than half of the two waves of cultists had already been wiped out.

Lowe then spread his arms wide, his fingers splayed. The flanking puppets darted toward the remaining cultists, unleashing a violent assault, while the primary puppet circled around Lowe to deflect several lethal ranged projectiles.

Lowe’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had calculated everything. With a subtle flick of his index and middle fingers, the primary puppet shifted into a charging stance, clearly aiming to ram into the last of the distant cultists.

Moments later, the group watched as all three puppets vaulted into the air, spinning 360 degrees before crossing paths and delivering a final, high-damage, lethal collision.

With a series of consecutive explosions, the remaining cultists were eliminated.

"That combination of combat styles is brilliant. It can handle groups of cultists solo, yet it’s also capable of cooperative team play. Both styles benefit from different attribute enhancements—this approach is truly refreshing," said 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero,' who stood behind Night Feather, clapping in genuine admiration. "It seems this customized talent tree is no small feat; he’s clearly put a lot of work into it."