This was not difficult to discern.
Gazing into the distance, one could see black smoke rising from the village, and several houses were clearly damaged. However, perhaps due to the distance, no sounds of fighting could be heard.
Bomb Cat sat on Dun Shan's shoulder and patted his head, saying, "Let's pick up the pace."
"Guagua, gugu gugugu..."
Dun Shan made a sound and then continued to move forward with great effort, although...
His speed was still slow, but Dun Shan was doing his best.
Soon, the three arrived at the entrance of the bandit village. As expected, there were signs of battle within, but the combatants surprised Bai Ye and his companions.
Bai Ye picked up a giant arm from the ground and said, "This is a mechanical puppet's arm, isn't it? And it looks a bit familiar!"
Bai Ye thought for a moment and then had a look of realization.
The arm looked identical to the mechanical puppets that had been present during the previous bandit attack. It should be the same model of mechanical puppet.
"But..." Bai Ye said, "something's not right!"
Bomb Cat asked, "What is it?"
Bai Ye pointed to the corpses nearby and said, "These people should be bandits, right?"
Bomb Cat nodded, "Judging by their attire, they should be. They're all dressed as bandits."
Bai Ye went to a bandit's corpse and examined it, saying, "Look closely at the bodies. There are no obvious sword or knife wounds. The cause of death was shattered bones. See, this part of the chest is completely caved in. It's clear the bones were crushed."
Bomb Cat said, "They must have been smashed to death by these mechanical puppets around here. What's so strange about that?"
Bai Ye paused for a moment and patted his forehead, "Oh, right. You were at the border market in the Cloud Desert back then, so you wouldn't know."
Bomb Cat asked curiously, "What is it?"
Bai Ye explained, "A week ago, a group of bandits raided a supply convoy coming from Chang'an. At that time, those bandits had a mechanical puppet with them. Judging by its appearance, it's the same type as these damaged mechanical puppets around here."
Bomb Cat pondered for a moment, "So, these mechanical puppets belong to those bandits?"
Bai Ye nodded, "Yes."
Bomb Cat was puzzled, "If these mechanical puppets belonged to those bandits, why are they fighting them?"
Bai Ye replied, "That's what I find strange."
Just then...
"Your hidden quest has changed."
"Objective: Investigate the secret of the mechanical puppets for the Great Wall Guard. Reward: Shadow War Axe x1"
Bai Ye was stunned for a moment, and then a light screen appeared before his eyes. He then discovered that his hidden quest had changed.
The original quest was to help Mulan investigate the appearance of "Ghosts." Now, it had become to uncover the secret of the mechanical puppets.
Had something happened midway that caused the quest to change?
However, although the quest had changed, the reward remained the same: the Shadow War Axe.
While Bai Ye was contemplating, Bomb Cat suddenly noticed something and raised a bomb, throwing it towards a thatched hut on the side.
"Watch out, move back a bit!"
Bomb Cat shouted to Dun Shan and Bai Ye, followed by...
BOOM!
The sound of an explosion.
The hut was instantly engulfed in flames. The thatched roof burned fiercely, the roof beams snapped, and the structure collapsed to the side.
Cracks appeared all over the exterior walls of the earth-built house, and then, with a crunch, a section of it caved in.
Black smoke spread in all directions.
At the same time...
Two red lights appeared in the black smoke, and the next moment, a huge fist punched out.
Dun Shan immediately rushed to the front, raising a square shield with both hands.
BANG!
A violent collision!
The sound alone indicated the immense power of this punch.
However...
Dun Shan remained completely still!
Setting aside other matters, Dun Shan's defensive capabilities had truly opened Bai Ye's eyes. He was incredibly resilient.
Then, Bai Ye looked up ahead. The owner of that giant arm...
It was a mechanical puppet!
Bai Ye recognized this mechanical puppet. It was identical to the one the bandits had brought when they attacked the supply convoy.
However, it was certainly not the same one.
The one that Bai Ye, Mulan, and Kai had jointly destroyed was still piled up at the Great Wall Guard's camp, awaiting a letter from Chang'an to confirm if it originated from Wan Xiang Tian Gong.
Looking at it now, the mechanical puppet didn't seem particularly rare. It was a standard mass-produced model. There should be many identical ones.
Meanwhile...
The mechanical puppet continuously raised its fists and slammed them down on Dun Shan.
BANG, BANG, BANG!
Dun Shan stood firm like a mountain with his shield, not moving an inch. Only the ground beneath his feet, bearing the brunt of the impact, continued to crack.
Bomb Cat moved swiftly to the side and took out a new bomb.
"One sulfur, two saltpeter, three wood. May your life be explosive!"
Bomb Cat shouted as he forcefully threw the bomb.
BOOM!
The bomb exploded in mid-air, creating a massive fireball.
The shockwave of the explosion sent the mechanical puppet's massive body staggering, tilting to the side.
Seizing the opportunity, Bai Ye rushed forward, instantly appearing beneath the mechanical puppet, and unleashed a punch.
Bai Ye did not use the poison ability of the Poison-Poison Fruit. He had fought it before, and the mechanical puppet's poison resistance was quite high; it wouldn't be easily corroded by poison.
Furthermore, using poison could easily harm Bomb Cat.
So...
Since Bomb Cat enjoyed explosions, why shouldn't he?
Let's see how many explosions this behemoth could withstand!
With that thought, scorching flames erupted from Bai Ye's fist. Large swathes of fire shot upwards, colliding with the mechanical puppet. As the flames engulfed the puppet...
"Flame Burst!"
BOOM!
A second violent explosion occurred.
This time, the explosion was from Bai Ye's attack!
Like a ping-pong ball being hit, the falling mechanical puppet was immediately blasted back by Bai Ye's explosion.
"I love it!" Bomb Cat exclaimed excitedly, "The art of explosion can destroy everything."
As Bomb Cat spoke, he threw another bomb.
BOOM!
The deafening roar of another explosion echoed. The mechanical puppet, unable to retaliate, was blasted by the explosions, its body shaking violently. Countless fine cracks appeared on its surface, and then it toppled backward.
Before the mechanical puppet could get up, the Steel Slime rapidly wriggled its body, transforming into the Fire God Gatling in Bai Ye's hand.
Without hesitation, Bai Ye leveled the Fire God Gatling and pulled the trigger, aiming at the mechanical puppet.
...