Although Monica had no idea how John managed to immobilize the red-furred ape, she was convinced that the beast needed to be smashed into pulp to be truly safe.
Without hesitation, she clenched her fist and struck the red-furred ape with all her might.
A muffled "bang" echoed through the air. Monica's dark cheeks flushed with a surge of red, but she gritted her teeth and refused to cry out in pain.
Instead, she kept her eyes locked on the red-furred ape, her heart filled with shock.
Why did this magical beast suddenly become so tough?
At that moment, John acted as if he hadn't seen any of this.
Instead, he casually walked toward Harry, who was still screaming in agony.
Any creature that had transformed into a wood man was like an immovable block of ironwood.
John had previously tried hacking at them with his giant axe, but couldn't even leave a scratch.
Even Monica, despite being a hidden class Dark Pugilist, couldn't possibly shake a wood man.
Now, Harry, who had been dismembered by John and was writhing and shrieking on the ground, saw John approaching and was instantly overwhelmed with terror.
The excruciating pain almost numbed his senses, but what chilled him to the bone was John's overwhelming strength.
After all, not only had John easily neutralized his aphrodisiac potion, but he also displayed a terrifying level of power that completely crushed Harry, a powerful puppeteer.
As a puppeteer, as long as he had enough puppets under his control, Harry could almost claim invincibility among those at his own level.
John, by contrast, was supposedly only a silver-rank Awakener.
How could a silver-rank be so monstrously strong?
Harry hadn't even had a chance to resist.
In theory, after absorbing the blood and elemental essence from his puppets, Harry's body should have been so durable that even wielding sharp weapons against him would barely cause damage.
In the special state where he approached the threshold of gold rank, a single punch from him could unleash devastating power capable of annihilating a gold-rank Awakener.
Yet when confronting John head-on, he was utterly outclassed.
What Harry didn't realize was that John's physique was already extraordinarily powerful to begin with.
Later, through the Shadow Sweeper ability and by devouring corpses, his body had been further strengthened.
Especially after consuming the body of a major general who had attacked Winterhold, John's physique had undergone an explosive leap.
He had surpassed silver rank, surpassed gold rank, even surpassed platinum rank—
John's body had reached diamond rank.
A diamond-rank physique, paired with the razor-sharp Divine Serpent Sword—a weapon forged by a god—
dealing with a puppeteer who merely borrowed power from his puppets?
It was like crushing an insect.
John stepped firmly on Harry's neck, looking down at him coldly.
"What's your name?" he demanded.
Although fear still gnawed at his heart, Harry, thinking of his powerful backers, forced himself to stay calm.
He stared back at John with fierce defiance and said:
"That should be my question."
"Who are you? How dare you lay a hand on me?
Do you even know who's standing behind me?"
His voice bristled with rage, but before he could finish his tirade, John's foot abruptly pressed down with brutal force.
Splurt!
Harry coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His throat spasmed in agony, and he couldn't even let out a scream—only a paralyzing pain shooting from his crushed windpipe.
"I don't care who you are," John said coldly.
"This place is desolate. If I kill you and dump your body somewhere, who's going to avenge you?
Do you think anyone could even find me?"
His gaze was as frigid as ice.
"Your only way to survive now is to answer my questions properly."
Feeling the terrifying killing intent radiating from John, Harry's scalp went numb.
He nodded rapidly, signaling his full cooperation.
John was like a demon—one who could erase him from existence at any moment.
If there was a chance to live, Harry was willing to grovel for it.
After all, as a puppeteer, even with his limbs severed, he could slowly recover over time by relying on puppet techniques.
At this moment, Monica walked up beside John, still clutching her sore, aching fist.
"We don't have any grudge against you," she said, frowning.
"So why attack us?"
Harry replied with a grimace, "I wanted to turn you into my puppet.
The red-furred ape just wanted to eat you."
It was simple.
Even if John and Monica hadn't entered this area, if anyone else had, Harry and his beast would have attacked them just the same.
Seeing that Harry didn't seem to be lying, John pressed further:
"You just mentioned being someone's subordinate.
Which big shot are you talking about?"
Harry's lips curled into a sneer as he answered proudly:
"The Lord of Whitespire!"
John's mind immediately flashed to his mission card.
The second task listed was: Eliminate the Lord of Whitespire.
The fact that there was already a bounty on this Lord suggested he wasn't a decent figure.
Now, knowing that this scumbag Harry was one of his underlings, John's impression of the Lord completely soured.
At this moment, Monica seemed to recall something and quickly added:
"I've heard of the Lord of Whitespire.
He's powerful, but more importantly, he commands a personal guard composed of ruthless outlaws."
"Those outlaws are incredibly strong and savage.
Many assassins who tried to kill the Lord never even made it close before they were slaughtered by his elite force—the City Lord's Guard."
"From what I know, most members of the City Lord's Guard are silver-rank or gold-rank Awakeners.
The captain of the guard is especially fearsome—a diamond-rank Awakener with monstrous combat strength.
That's the real reason the Lord of Whitespire rules the city unchecked."
Hearing this, John frowned slightly.
"If Whitespire is already completely under the Lord's control," he asked, "why allow that red-furred ape to roam around eating people?"
Monica replied, "I heard that the red-furred ape was deliberately released by the captain of the City Lord's Guard."
"They use it to spread terror among the townsfolk and suppress dissent."
John nodded.
The Lord of Whitespire was indeed a vicious character.
No wonder there was a 200 silver coin bounty on his head—
though honestly, after hearing all this, John thought even that price was too low.
"Since the Lord has already conquered Whitespire," John continued, "what does he need you for?"
Harry coughed dryly, then confessed:
"There are members of the City Lord's Guard who enjoy beautiful women... but they can't move openly against noble ladies, since many of those ladies' families are the Lord's patrons."
"So they use me to kidnap the girls...
And of course, I get to have my fun first."
John's eyes narrowed dangerously.
After learning enough about the situation in Whitespire, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
Sensing John's murderous aura spike, Harry immediately panicked and begged for his life:
"Money! I have a lot of silver coins!
If you spare me, all the treasures I've accumulated over the years can be yours!"
"Oh?" John raised an eyebrow.
"It's true! I swear!
You can even take me there yourself—there's no trap, I swear!"
John shook his head.
"That's too much trouble.
Just tell me where you hid your treasure.
Tell me, and I'll guarantee not to kill you."
"Really?" Harry asked, eyes wide.
"Of course," John said casually.
"If you don't believe me, that's your problem."
"No! No! I'll tell you!" Harry blurted out desperately.
"My treasure's buried under the big locust tree at Villa No. 3, Whitespire!"
Hearing that, John immediately handed the Divine Serpent Sword to Monica.
"This scumbag has harmed countless young ladies.
I'll leave it to you to finish him."
Harry's face turned ashen.
"You! You're shameless!
You said you wouldn't kill me!"
"I said I wouldn't kill you," John replied coolly.
"I never said anything about Monica."