The hulk emerging from the ground brandished two wicked pincers. In a blink, the erupting grass mound became a giant crustacean, billowing miasmic clouds in all directions. Wolf wrinkled his nose at the corpse’s nauseating stench.

As expected, I sense no animosity towards this Lioncrab. Its carcass rotted away and the Demonic Converter consumed its Monster Core. By the time the corpse-puppet surfaced, Wolf was merely five steps from the hypo-sized crustacean. Before he could brake, the monstrosity slashed its muddy pincer forward, awkwardly attempting to snap Wolf in half.

He observed the limb move with unnatural clumsiness, as if the crab had never used it before. Despite the maneuver’s stiff nature, the air screamed from the speed with which the claw tore towards Wolf’s abdomen.

Chitinous shell connecting the pincer with the crab's body cracked, then burst under pressure, and Wolf watched rotten flesh fountain from the spreading fissures. With his heightened senses, he saw clumps of milky-white tendrils move just beneath the decaying muscles.

It really controls corpses. Wolf sidestepped the straightforward lunge a moment before the strike landed. Fortunately, he read the bestiary and expected such an attack.

The limb’s chitin burst, leaving the pincer detached from the rest of Lioncrab’s body, hanging on a thick clump of white fibers.

Lucky. I don’t need to cut the carapace. Wolf slashed Book at the slivery mass, letting the severed claw fly out of the clearing.

This rotten thing isn’t worth my True Name. Wolf's throat clenched from the disgusting blackness gushing out of the pale tendrils he’d just sundered. Besides, there’s a bunch of roots. Wasting Soul Force to kill one is pointless.

The Demonic Converter used the Forest Lioncrab’s bulk to obscure other mounds rising from the ground, but it couldn’t hide such massive movement from Wolf.

While Wolf scanned the mounds, the first apple struck the ground. A moment later, the rest of them drummed against the soft grass. Wolf stored those falling towards him into his Ring of Holding. Meanwhile, the Lioncrab didn’t let out a single sound after losing a limb, nor after rock-solid apples rained on its carapace like hail.

The silent corpse’s only reaction was the squirming of the exposed white fibers.

This plant is clever. Its roots are fragile, but nimble; so, it uses them to control corpses of tough Demonic Beasts, mimicking manlings’ weapons and armor.

Roots go in through the crab’s belly, and the Demonic Converter keeps the puppet’s body low. Attacking would’ve been difficult, if it were a living Demonic Beast… and if I wasn’t short.

Wolf glanced towards the other seven mounds rising from the ground. Facing eight attackers simultaneously would be unpleasant, even if they are hollow shells. Best to start by whittling their number.

When battling an enemy with territorial advantage, hesitation wastes time and helps your foe. Wolf exhaled and sent a surge of Internal Energy into his legs, then shot forward the moment he regained his balance. His diminutive stature meant small openings were big enough for him to seize.

Wolf bent forward while rushing under the Lioncrab. The Demonic Converter tried to react. The plant concluded it could crush Wolf with the crab’s rotten bulk. But by the time it acted, Wolf severed the large clump of tendrils.

Still sprinting, Wolf stored the stinking spray of black goo into his Ring of Holding, then tossed it out a moment later, fearing he might taint his father’s Ring of Holding.

The Lioncrab behind him twitched as the Demonic Converter’s severed tendrils put up one final bit of resistance. However, without a unified will, those tendrils tore apart the carcass from inside.

Seven to go. At that moment, Scapegoat activated, and Wolf cast another. I prepared four more. Let’s see who gives up first.

Wolf glanced at the nearest Demonic Beast emerging from the ground. It was a Crowned Silverback, a biped. Demonic Converter’s tendrils didn’t penetrate its stomach and Wolf winced in sympathy for a moment.

There are two more Lioncrabs. They seem fresher than the one I disabled. There’s a Landbound Crocodile, a rotted beyond recognition whatever-that-was. A horse? An elk? Gods! Is that a Miasmic Gargoyle? Miasma is still gushing out of it. How did the Demonic Converter continue producing its toxic gas?

Wolf decided to avoid the Miasmic Gargoyle. The Demonic Converter dispelling my enchantments will create an opening for a Subtle Volcanic Blast. Igniting the miasma ought to clear it while simultaneously incinerating the tendrils, hopefully disabling the puppet.

While those thoughts ran through his mind, Wolf began casting the second Subtle Scapegoat and charged towards the unfortunate Crowned Silverback. It was the closest and easiest enemy to handle. The problem was that the chain would naturally continue with the Miasmic Gargoyle, and Wolf would either have to allow the Demonic Converter to dispel his enchantments or focus on the second closest enemy, the Landbound Crocodile.

Backtracking it is. I can always retreat, recast my spells and come back tomorrow after killing the gargoyle. Based on the commotion, there are only a handful of Demonic Beasts heading towards me; escape will be easy. Plus, if I kill them, I’ll have it even easier next time.

Even though he was aware of this possibility, Wolf would’ve preferred to finish everything in one go. Frowning at his options, he appeared under the giant gorilla.

*Slash!*

With a single flash of Book, the Crowned Silverback’s corpse toppled to the ground. It’s like I neutered it. Wolf thought as the carcass behind him convulsed, its limbs trashing disjointedly, tearing it apart.

The Demonic Converter moved the Miasmic Gargoyle’s corpse closer to its trunk, making a giant poisonous cloud to keep Wolf at bay. Meanwhile, the five remaining corpses slid towards him like ghosts. They glided over the ground, limbs not matching their forward movement.

They are slow, and I can dance circles around them. But there’s nothing I can do about the poison. I should prepare Breathe Poison when I attack the next Demonic Converter.

The tree was a poor general. It knew no advanced tactics, allowing Wolf to dispatch the puppets one by one until its only chess-piece remaining was the Miasmic Gargoyle.

Now that I've collected the corpses, I should incinerate the gargoyle and get the hells away. I shouldn’t stay around these trees without Shield Mind.

The Demonic Converter had dispelled four Scapegoats, and Wolf didn’t bother casting the last one. Instead, a small barrage of molten rock struck the tree and the gargoyle puppet as Wolf’s defensive spells shattered.

Wolf watched as the Miasmic Gargoyle burned, confirming he had completed his objective for today. He saw the Demonic Converter catch fire, its branches violently shaking. He suppressed the urge to charge into the flames and hack the tree until he killed it.

Wolf smirked. Like that’s gonna work.

He turned around and bolted. Along the way, he dispatched two Eighth Order Demonic Beasts, temporarily storing their bodies into his Ring of Holding.

I wish I could magically eliminate these corpses. I could only extract the Monster Cores, but the Demonic Converter will probably absorb vitality from the flesh and blood.

Wolf tried not to make any conclusions and stick to his predefined script. He believed he was at least partially under the Demonic Converter’s influence. So he only noted any thoughts for later contemplation.

Wolf stopped five kilometers away from the Demonic Converter. He opened a folded space and entered it. Silver, is my mind alright?

I don’t know how to answer that without offending you, Master. Silver followed her quip with a girlish giggle.

Barbara? Really? Wolf rolled his eyes. I heard she was with a child.

I know. I was there when Lady Matilda told you. Silver seemed sad about the explosive red.

Can you even imagine her being a mother, though? Wolf continued. I wonder how poorly she will do as a parent.

She will perform far better than Anna would. She’s self-centered, cruel, delusional, tainted— Silver started a barrage, but Wolf interrupted her.

Alright, alright. Barbara will make a great mother, and Anna won’t have children, so all is well. For some reason, Silver trash talking Anna made his gut churn. He had a gnawing gut feeling he was responsible for Anna’s negative traits.

Yes, Master. Silver gave up. She'd already suggested Wolf should leave his petty brat and marry Barbara. Silver was so desperate about him leaving Anna, she nominated Mandy as an upgrade, even though she rarely said anything nice about the submissive clerk.

The only thing Silver admired about Mandy was her vision. She realized how great her master was from the first moment they met. In Silver’s book, this was a huge plus. The huge minus was the mess Wolf went through because of her.

Alright, enough about this subject. Wolf sat down and entered his Mind Palace.

“I need to prepare spells for my next attempt. If nothing unexpected happens, that Demonic Converter should go down before sunset tomorrow.”