Chapter 27: Peckle City

"We arrived at Peckle City," General Artica said as she jumped on the ground, looking at the walled city far away to her front.

"How will we enter the city?" Regriel panted as he lay on the snow. The two Iron Puppets carrying him had dropped him on the ground for him to rest. In his current physical state, he wasn't even fit enough to travel far in a comfy carriage, not to mention on the arms of the Iron Puppets.

General Artica panted, gasping for breath as she was exhausted. They had basically run all the way from the border to the city. And, she was controlling her three Iron Puppets to do that, not to mention carrying herself and the heavy-weight Regriel. So, it took a great toll on her.

She then gazed up at the evening sky, looking at the snow that was falling, turning around to see that the footprints of her three Iron Puppets were already being covered. "We cannot bring these Puppets into the city?"

"Why?" Regriel was confused, "Wouldn't no one trouble us after seeing our power?"

General Artica twisted his ears, causing him to squeal in pain as she said in anger, "These are freaking Iron Puppets. And there are three of them. Anyone who has them is a General, even in Heroica Empire. We'll be attracting attention from all sides once we saunter with them. Do you even have a brain to ask such a question, dear?"

"S-Sorry," Regriel bowed his head in shame. He suddenly felt that he was turned on, stealing glances at General Artica to notice that she was looking around in tension, trying to find an appropriate place to bury the Iron Puppets for safety, 'Not now, not now. Once we enter the city, we can do it again. Besides, I can't even get up.'

'Fuck this shit, if only I wasn't this weak, I could have been inside her for longer. Three Seconds? Pathetic! She looked at me like an insect for only lasting that long.' Regriel wallowed up in regret when he was excited to hear the System resound in his mind once again.

<Ding!>

[Generating Quest: Find a place to stay for the Night]

[Quest: The night is cold, and it is freezing on top of that. Staying outside would weaken the exhausted General Artica even further. Find an inn to stay in for the night.]

[Time Limit: 1 hour]

[Reward: Body Resurgence (Level 1)]

[Failure: General Artica would be disappointed in you. There's a 30% chance the bond between you might break.]

'Fuck! I can't fail this!' Regriel thought immediately as he said, "Let's bury the Iron Puppets under a tree after uprooting it. The snow would bury all traces anyway."

"If it was that easy, I would have done it by now," General Artica frowned, "The farther the Puppets are from me, the weaker my control over them. This far away from the city, there's a good chance any Puppeteer that comes across them could snatch them away from me. I can't take such risks."

'Now what? How can I convince her?' Regriel thought before getting an idea, "Why do we need to leave them here? We can bring them with us by layering them with a layer of wood. By keeping it coarse, it'll match with our attire. We can act like I'm the one controlling a Wooden Puppet. Let's leave the other two under a tree. This way, even if someone tries to take control of them, you'll know immediately and can use the Iron Puppet to arrive here swiftly."

General Artica thought, 'Once I have rested a little, I'll have enough energy to fight against any Puppeteer that tries to steal my Puppets. I'll be able to stall long enough to rush to the scene immediately. And, if I layer them with coarse wood as he said, I'll be able to bring one Puppet with me. That's more than enough to deal with any threat in this small city.'

No sooner did she finish pondering did two Iron Puppets hold an Armament in each hand, condensing a sword before slashing them, cutting a tree trunk into two pieces. They swiftly worked in carving a wooden mask using the Armament swords, soon creating one to align on the face of the third Iron Puppet.

It was enough to make it look like a wooden puppet. They also created a wooden shoe so that the Iron Puppet's footstep sounds would also seem like it was made by a wooden object. As the rest of its body was covered, and since no one ever tried to inspect a Puppet, she judged that it was enough.

After uprooting a tree, they jumped into the hole, placing the tree atop it. As for the tree with the severed trunk, she made it look like the wind had broken it, causing its canopy to hide the tree under which the two Iron Puppets hid.

As it seemed like it would snow a lot, not many would try to remove the broken tree, that too in an area without any paths frequented by travellers.

Once it was done, the disguised Iron Puppet carried Regriel as they soon reached the city gates. Regriel showed an arrogant look like his usual self. And since he still wore his clothes as a Prince, the guards thought he was some bigshot, allowing him entry.

Upon seeing General Artica in commoner clothes, they shuddered in her beauty, turning green in envy as they dared not trouble Regriel. Rather, they tried to give him trouble even then, but when the Puppet stomped on the snow-covered ground a little, the sound made them flinch, letting go of their thoughts.

While they were proceeding about through the streets, General Artica noticed a group of thugs eyeing her lecherously from an alley. Regriel put on an act while her Puppet beat them, stealing their money once they were unconscious.

After that, they reached an inn, booking a room. Once the Puppet placed him on the bed, it creaked, looking on the verge of breaking. He didn't mind about that though, smiling excitedly when he heard the notification in his mind.