Huiyan charged toward Nero at top speed, deftly dodging the gourd monsters coming from both sides to intercept him.
He still remembered that when Cirrus mocked him, she had told him to experience the shock of Nero for himself.
She had read some of Guinaifen's memories and knew that the one called Nero should be this white-haired kid.
Judging from Cirrus's words, it wasn't hard to figure out that these gourd monsters were the work of this little brat.
In that case, as long as he subdued this white-haired kid, those gourd monsters would naturally fall apart on their own and might even become his helpers.
On the other hand, he also felt that Nero was the easiest target among the people present.
Although Cirrus was right beside him, Huiyan could tell that Cirrus wasn't possessing Nero at all.
Instead, there was a Heliobus suppressing another foxian judge nearby who also looked easy to possess.
As he got closer and closer, just about to possess Nero, Huiyan should have been excited and happy.
But Nero's reaction left him stunned.
Seeing him charge over so quickly, not only did this kid not run away, he actually walked forward with great interest.
'What was that supposed to mean?'
Though confused, Huiyan didn't stop. Success or failure depended on this one move.
If he didn't try to possess Nero, then this battle was doomed. Everything he had created would sooner or later be completely eaten by those gourd monsters.
Then Huiyan saw Nero casually raise a hand. The instant he got close, a sleeve whipped over like thunder.
A burst of sparks exploded in front of Nero.
Right after that came the trail of flames left behind as Huiyan was sent flying and crashed onto the ground.
Huiyan felt dizzy and disoriented. His whole body hurt terribly. He couldn't hear, couldn't see clearly, couldn't speak, and his body wouldn't obey him.
He didn't even have time to think about why he had been knocked onto the ground.
He only remembered a dark blur flashing before his eyes, and after a burst of intense pain, he ended up like this.
He felt a huge shadow pounce toward him. Huiyan wanted to dodge immediately, but when he told his body to go left, it went right. When he told it to move forward, it backed up.
When he stopped trying to move and wanted to stay still, it shakily stood up and started swaying in place. After finally lying down, it began drawing little circles on the ground.
Even if he hadn't been crippled by a single slap, he was at least half-paralyzed.
In that condition, there was no way Huiyan could dodge.
The shadow grabbed him and swallowed him whole in an instant.
Before disappearing, his vision recovered a little, allowing him to finally make out a gourd face.
Only then did he realize what exactly had caught him.
Seeing Huiyan get turned into an idiot by a single sleeve strike from Nero, Cirrus suddenly shuddered as if that slap had landed on her.
Then she couldn't help feeling fortunate.
'Good thing I surrendered quickly. Otherwise, there was no way I could have taken that slap.'
With Huiyan defeated, the fragments he had split off lost all will to fight. Every last one of them was devoured by the animated Moon-Hiding Gourds.
Just like that, the battle against the abnormal Heliobus ended.
Although Huiyan wasn't quite a Great Heliobus, his strength was not to be underestimated. Winning this easily had not been easy at all.
They had to thank Nero and Black Cutter for creating these strange friends.
The animated Moon-Hiding Gourds looked odd, but they were truly capable. One after another, they charged into enemy ranks like armored vehicles.
Xueyi wondered whether Black Cutter's animation ability had any limits in time or distance. If not, then the Ten-Lords Commission had gained another powerful combat force.
Looking at Nero, countless thoughts ran through Xueyi's mind.
However, since the battle was over, the remaining matters inside Fyxestroll Garden could be left to the Ten-Lords Commission.
Nero had no intention of staying longer. After spending so much time here, he was eager to leave and eat.
Before leaving, he had a discussion with Xueyi. These animated Moon-Hiding Gourds would not be turned back. They would all be handed over to the Ten-Lords Commission.
Perhaps in the future, they would become a special unit under the Ten-Lords Commission.
———
After eating, the three members of Seven-Star Fish ran into Sushang at Cloudford.
After the battle ended, the unconscious Guinaifen had been sent to the Alchemy Commission for treatment by the Ten-Lords Commission. Sushang seemed to have just returned from there.
When she saw the three of them, she came over to say hello.
"I've already heard the general outline from Guinaifen at the clinic. If it's convenient, could you tell me about it again?" Sushang asked.
Naturally, the three of them didn't refuse. They carefully explained what had happened, though each focused on different parts.
March mainly talked about going to Fyxestroll Garden and how she escaped the illusion after deep consideration (randomly wandering around).
As for Stelle, she mainly described the final battle between the Heliobus and the muscular gourd monsters. She even used the storytelling style of Mr. Xiyan, making it sound incredibly passionate.
Finally, Nero gave Sushang a detailed explanation of Heliobus-related knowledge. As for how much actually entered Sushang's head, nobody knew.
"Thank you for telling me so much."
After hearing Stelle's story about the battle between the gourd monsters and the Heliobus underworld messengers, Sushang could understand how dangerous it had been, but she really couldn't imagine the scene itself.
It all felt rather abstract. She could only say with a strange expression, "I never thought things would develop this far..."
"If I had been in Fyxestroll Garden too, I could've helped you. Maybe Guinaifen wouldn't have ended up in the clinic either... sigh."
Looking at Sushang's hot-blooded attitude, Nero couldn't help recalling the recording he had seen from Guinaifen at the very beginning, where Sushang had been scared unconscious on the spot.
But now she was acting like this.
Nero felt that perhaps Stelle's description had been too abstract, making it difficult for Sushang to understand how terrifying it actually was.
Unable to properly assess herself, she said, "No matter how much we talk about it, it's still just words. If you haven't seen it yourself, it's hard to understand what it was really like. How about this? I'll show you the real thing."
After saying that, Nero called out to Cirrus.
The next moment, Cirrus crawled out from a pocket in Nero's clothes. Although she couldn't possess Nero, hiding in his clothes was still possible.
Having already surrendered, and after witnessing that night's battle, she understood that she had fallen into Nero's hands and was destined to never escape. If she wanted freedom, she'd have to wait until this brat's lifespan ran out.
In short, her current identity was one of Nero's collectibles, not much different from the other things displayed in his train room.
As for the factory psychologist position, Nero had decided to give it to Huiyan.
After all, he had promised from the beginning that he would exempt Cirrus from punishment. He was a good kid and naturally kept his word.
Cirrus flew out and narrowed her single eye, as if smiling, then greeted Sushang.
The next instant, Sushang's face turned deathly pale.
The Cloud Knight stepped back two steps. Her face then changed from white to green. Her eyes lost all focus, and terror filled her face.
The next moment, Sushang opened her mouth wide and let out a shrill scream.
"Ghoooost!"
Immediately afterward, the poor girl rolled her eyes and fell backward. She nearly dropped off the Cloudford dock, but Nero pulled her back with a gust of wind.
Cirrus blinked and laughed mockingly.
"Haha, all I did was say hello, and she fainted already?"
"This proves that even if Sister Sushang had been there, she probably wouldn't have helped much. After all, Cirrus has been beside us the whole time."
"And if she were by herself, she'd probably be even more scared," Nero said while looking at Sushang lying on the ground, only one step away from foaming at the mouth.
Then he looked up at Stelle and March.
"Let's take her to the clinic too. Put her in the same room as Guinaifen."