Chapter 109: The Keeper

Pinocchio was picking up a stun baton from a fallen police puppet, seemingly contemplating whether the weapon was worth carrying.

"Stop playing with that piece of junk. The real prize is up there."

He heard the scraping sound of a massive object scaling the wall. Following the direction of Li Nanke’s finger, he looked up to see a terrifying, hulking figure shimmering with electricity, looming over them.

The gargantuan metal puppet had razor-sharp claws dug into the exterior of the spire, crouching as it peered down at the street below. Its forelimbs were long and thick, its hindquarters short, much like a scaled-up silverback gorilla.

Violent electric arcs crackled and surged between three prominent magnetic coil pillars on its back. Even from a distance, the air felt uneasy, charged with a restless energy that made one's skin tingle and hair stand on end. Those two massive, crimson eyes were filled with cold, murderous intent.

The boy stared blankly. This was the "prize"?

"Boom!"

The giant guard puppet leaped down, shaking the street and cratering the ground upon impact. Immediately, a torrent of electricity erupted from its spine. A blinding white light flooded their vision as the wild current swept across the area.

Pinocchio’s body shuddered as the violent surge hit him. Sparks flew from his mechanical frame, and he stood frozen, completely unable to move. Even though his body was forged from extraordinary metal, he could not remain immune to such high voltage and current; he was inevitably subjected to a brief period of paralysis.

When Pinocchio regained consciousness, his ears were filled with the thunderous sounds of battle. He saw that figure—not tall, but broad and heroic—already locked in fierce combat with the giant puppet before him.

The intensity of their clash sent gravel flying. Carriages overturned on the roadside were shredded like paper, reduced to splinters and debris under the sheer violence of the struggle. The guardian’s massive metal claws hammered down, the air screaming as it was torn apart by the force, making it difficult to breathe or even keep one's eyes open. Just witnessing that strike was enough to chill the soul and extinguish any thought of resistance.

Yet, facing such a formidable blow, Li Nanke did not retreat; instead, he charged head-on.

He exerted a savage force, the veins on his neck bulging like twisted little snakes. For a moment, the sleek, form-fitting power armor strained and stretched to its limits over his tensed, erupting muscles.

Li Nanke stomped the ground, twisted his body, and swung his hammer upward. Hammer met claw; he countered brutality with brutality, meeting the blow head-on without yielding a single step. Compared to the guardian, his figure appeared small and lean, yet the ferocious aura he radiated created the illusion that he was the true titan and the guardian merely a small human.

The moment hammer and claw collided, surging electricity burst from the guardian’s back, flowing into its steel talons. The discharge was so blinding that it made the hair on one's arms stand up, leaving nothing but white light in the eyes. Simultaneously, Li Nanke’s warhammer ignited with soaring flames, an inferno erupting with the power to consume the heavens. Even from a distance, the blistering heat scorched their cheeks and curled their hair as a wave of searing wind slammed into them.

You are tough? I am tougher. You are ferocious? I am more ferocious!

"Boom!"

A blinding flash erupted, showering the area in brilliant sparks. A powerful shockwave swept outward, scattering debris. Ears ringing, Pinocchio felt dizzy and lightheaded, swaying as he struggled to stand. He instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but he forced himself to keep them open, desperate to witness every moment of the battle.

He knew he wasn't strong enough yet to assist in such a terrifying fight, but he refused to be a coward. He had to absorb every ounce of combat experience to grow.

This clash was merely a single frame in the sequence of their battle. The thunderous sounds of their struggle made it seem as if the police district were being leveled by heavy artillery. Pinocchio strained his eyes, carefully observing their movements; he was learning not just Li Nanke’s attack patterns, but those of the guardian as well.

Li Nanke, tempered by countless "Black Dreams," fought with no wasted movement—every strike was a lethal, all-out effort. The guardian, as a specialized humanoid police puppet, was programmed with a series of powerful combat techniques designed to neutralize hardened criminals and trackers.

Once he cast aside his cowardice and focused, the fight became a breathtaking spectacle—a feast of violent aesthetics and a textbook example of a life-or-death struggle.

After a long, grueling exchange, Li Nanke finally spotted an opening. As the guardian’s giant claw descended once more, he twisted his body and swung his hammer...

They had traded dozens of such blows. Li Nanke hadn't backed down an inch; whenever the enemy was fierce, he became fiercer.

They were locked in a stalemate, a brutal, head-on war of attrition. Just as Pinocchio expected another collision of force against force, Li Nanke feinted, suddenly side-stepping the blow.

This maneuver caught not only Pinocchio off guard but the giant guardian as well. Li Nanke had been projecting an aura of "you are strong, but I am stronger," intending to hammer his opponent to death with raw power—why the sudden evasion?

In the split second that the giant guardian’s attack missed, the "Magnetic Storm" trait was activated. The guardian was a puppet designed to manipulate electricity; even if the electromagnetic pulse of the storm was a devastating weapon against lesser puppets, it could only paralyze this one for a fleeting moment.

But in a clash between experts, the slightest opening is enough to decide the outcome, to dictate life or death.

Li Nanke roared, his savage aura spiking. The sheer power of his physical exertion caused his spine to snap taut; his muscles bulged, and in an instant, he transformed from a well-proportioned youth into a hulking warrior.

He took a massive step forward, shattering the paving stones into spiderweb cracks. The entire street seemed to tremble under the force of that single step. As his right foot pushed off, his center of gravity shifted; using the ball of his left foot as a pivot, his toes, knee, hip, and spine all exerted force in unison.

He lifted his heel, drove his knee, pushed his leg, twisted his hip—the power from his waist, abdomen, chest, and back flowed entirely into his arm.

The warhammer detonated like a fired heavy cannon!

"Boom!"

This violent, slashing strike connected with the giant’s chin, launching its massive, heavy body off the ground as if it had jumped on its own. It fell backward, out of control, the sound of grinding metal echoing from its neck. The ferocious force caused the guardian’s neck to twist spirally, its entire head rotating one hundred and eighty degrees under the devastating impact.