With a swing of his axe, Waldo’s strike was so powerful it could be likened to splitting mountains and severing peaks. It carried an immense, overwhelming force. Yet, when the axe struck the bloody puppet, it was as if it had sunk into the sea, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

"This..." Waldo’s eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him, visibly shocked. His power had erupted at full force. Logically, not just one bloody puppet, even if two appeared before him, they would be shattered by a single blow of his axe!

However, the reality was that Waldo hadn’t even budged his opponent! "The power was distributed among the nine bloody puppets!" Waldo’s eyes narrowed as he realized this fact.

"If there were only two or three bloody puppets, they certainly couldn’t withstand my power; they would be torn apart by the force of my axe. But, they are nine bloody puppets sharing this force..."

"That means, my power was divided into nine parts. As a result, it seemed much weaker, easily resisted." Having understood the situation, Waldo was somewhat prepared, but his mood didn’t improve much. This meant that defeating these nine bloody puppets wasn’t going to be easy. At the least, it would require considerable effort, and his idea of a quick battle was likely to be dashed.

...

However, at that moment, Waldo’s expression suddenly changed. The nine bloody puppets moved. They simultaneously tightened their grip on their swords and swung them towards Waldo! A chilling sensation immediately engulfed Waldo. Even the WadeMallin siblings standing behind Waldo looked terrified. They too felt a massive threat, their scalps tingling!

They sensed that if they were in Waldo’s place, they would be annihilated by the energy, leaving not even a trace behind. But Waldo was different.

With a cold snort, Waldo swung his axe once again, tearing through the air!

The axe traced a crescent arc, spanning seven to eight meters in mid-air, encapsulating the numerous, boiling forces of Waldo’s body. Its might was incredibly astonishing, dazzlingly brilliant.

The energy unleashed by the nine bloody puppets was equally formidable. A regular bloody puppet could pulverize a rock from a distance with just a casual wave of energy, let alone its full-strength strike. The full-force energy wave of a bloody puppet was enough to overwhelm many trial participants, cleaving them in half on the spot. And this was the combined force of nine bloody puppets, acting as one entity, their movements as synchronized and precise as a machine.

With one sword strike, the energy converged in mid-air, then shot out fiercely. Boom! A massive explosion erupted in the air again, the energy rampaging through the palace.

...

"This won’t do; I must find a way. At this rate, who knows when they’ll be dealt with," Waldo thought, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

A moment later, he snorted coldly. "Enough, I won’t hide my strength any longer. I want to see just how powerful you really are. To force me to use my full strength, good."

A mysterious glint flickered in Waldo’s eyes. An invisible pressure radiated from his body. It must be said, Waldo ranking first in combat strength over the past half-month was not without reason. With the Hand of God, he had access to resources far beyond others’ imaginations. Moreover, he could obtain whatever he wanted.

The increase in combat strength was almost explosive. On the surface, his combat power was only five hundred. However, this was not the highest level of power Waldo could exert. In the past, Waldo had mastered various pill formulas, including a Power Enhancing Pill. Swallowing this pill would instantly boost his combat power almost by double, a tremendous increase. Though there would be a series of side effects afterward, Waldo had already prepared the Apple Pill as a remedy. If side effects like weakness or energy depletion occurred, consuming a couple more Apple Pills would effectively alleviate these issues.

"In that case, I won’t hold back anymore. Power Enhancing Pill, come forth!" After some contemplation and weighing the pros and cons, Waldo decided to use the Power Enhancing Pill.

Firstly, even though using the Power Enhancing Pill would indeed produce negative effects, he also had great faith in his Apple Pills to quickly negate these adverse impacts. This meant he wouldn’t be exposing any vulnerabilities. Moreover, he could take the Apple Pills before the side effects even appeared, although the effect wouldn’t be as strong. But it would ensure that no accidents happened.

Secondly, he needed to fight quickly and decisively! Waldo was very clear about his current situation. He and others like WadeMallin were trapped in the rulers’ palace. If they couldn’t quickly resolve the issue with the bloody stone statues, they would remain trapped. Escape? Impossible! The system’s instructions were clear: they had only two options. Either kill all the bloody stone statues, fulfilling one of the requirements to unlock the rulers’ mysterious treasure, or be killed by the bloody stone statues. Were there any other choices? No!

But here lay the problem!

For each day they fail to kill the bloody stone statues, they are trapped here for another day. And each day they are trapped, they are unable to obtain resources and enhance their strength! They are cut off from the Progression and Wealth Leaderboards. If they cannot enhance their strength, they will never be able to overcome the nine bloody puppets. It’s important to note that the power source of these bloody puppets is the rulers’ palace itself, which is deeply rooted in the chessboard world, providing an endless supply of energy.

The longer it takes to deal with the bloody stone statues, the more disadvantageous it becomes for them. The third and most crucial point is the ongoing progress of countless other trial participants outside, exploring and battling across the chessboard world. Their strength and combat power are continuously increasing.

If Waldo and his companions remain trapped in this rulers’ palace without making any progress, the gap between their powers and those of other participants will narrow over time. Eventually, they might even be surpassed, which is the most frightening aspect. By then, all their efforts would be in vain!

Under no circumstances can they accept or afford such an outcome. Therefore, Waldo decides to fight quickly and decisively. He resolves to unleash his strongest power to eliminate the nine bloody puppets as soon as possible. Even the potential adverse effects on his body from consuming the Power Enhancing Pill are a risk he is willing to take.