At that moment, the Mithril Guard looked at the torn limbs he was holding. They had all turned into wooden dolls.

The incredible Clown's Trickery drew a chorus of astonished gasps from the onlookers.

Moreover, the Bone Gobble Joker, Korlaskin, was no nameless figure on these seas.

His strange title of "Bone Gobble" came from the uncanny skill of his Clown's Trickery, so profound that he could stealthily steal bones from an enemy's body without them even realizing it.

Once touched by his hands, one was certain to meet a grim fate.

Unfortunately, the Golden Law covered the entire Tayman Archipelago. This territory was the Royal Domain of Regent King Catherine—the Dragon Nest—and sneak attacks simply did not exist there.

Realizing that the mad Bone Gobble Joker was not dead, Catherine, though surprised, remained composed and coldly commanded,

"Ridiculous! Do you think we Mithril Knights are as fragile as those Beast Tamers? Helpless against your attacks without the protection of Guardian Beasts? Die!"

She stomped her right foot, shod in Mithril boots.

A bright silver aura exploded from her body, manifesting as a three-dimensional 'Marycheski Circles' composed of lines, numbers, and formulas.

White light pulsed with her breath, and the silvery moon bracelet on her wrist swelled instantly, transforming into a two-handed greatsword glinting with cold light.

Though it was a greatsword, the superior properties of Mithril made it no heavier than a regular Swift Sword, feeling as light as a feather in her grasp.

CLANG—!

Under the perfect integration of 'Flow State'—uniting her body, the Hand of Mithril, and her Sword Moves—she twisted and swung her sword.

With a flash of cold light, the Joker's two pallid arms flew into the sky.

The sword's momentum did not cease, flashing once, twice, thrice.

Not only the arms soaring skyward, but all the gift boxes within a three-meter radius of her were instantaneously sliced to pieces.

The secret swordsmanship from the Supreme Art: 'Circle of Offerings.'

To any enemy daring to step within this circle, a sacrifice would be offered, bestowing an absolute, fatal blow!

Only the lowest layer of the 'Swordsman's Sword' from the Supreme Art was activated. Even so, its rampant and ostentatious killing intent still made one's hair stand on end and marrow freeze.

Even with several Third Order Transcendents spectating nearby, not one dared to test the edge of the 'Circle of Offerings.'

Catherine realized there was something clearly abnormal about this clown; these were definitely not the abilities of a normal clown.

After that one move, she did not relax her vigilance.

Instead, she exercised the Authority of a Royal Domain—issuing Custom Decrees—and silently commanded: I, as the Regent King, declare: Korlaskin, the Bone Gobble Joker, leader of the Clown Pirate Group, is now a Wanted Criminal. Within the Royal Domain, there is no place to hide, no refuge to be found. By Decree... Death Sentence!

An invisible pressure instantly descended upon the battlefield.

Such an instant-death Decree typically did not affect those of equal rank, but Catherine did not believe this elusive character had remained completely unharmed thus far.

And indeed, as soon as Catherine finished her pronouncement, the wooden puppet limbs that the Mithril Guard had tossed aside began to tremble violently. Innumerable transparent threads connected the broken parts, as if about to reassemble into a complete clown.

"Ah, so this puppet really was Korlaskin's true body! He wants to try another sneak attack?"

"Even if the Clown's Trickery is magical, it's fundamentally just a combination of various illusion techniques and transcendent abilities. No matter what, it cannot change his Life Essence. This fellow must have a serious problem."

"I heard that some time ago, he took his flagship, the Circusian, deep into the 'World Serpent·Celestial Circumfluence,' which is rumored to hide a New Continent. He soon encountered something unknown and escaped back to the Bantaan Archipelago, suffering heavy losses. Yet, he told everyone he'd made a major discovery and would soon regroup to re-enter the Celestial Sphere Circulation, claiming his name would be emblazoned in history. This guy must have encountered something immensely beneficial but extraordinarily dangerous."

Catherine also heard the onlookers' whispers, which roughly confirmed the Bone Gobble Joker's current state. It's clear his Human Nature is beginning to deviate, moving away from Divinity and steadily falling towards bestial corruption. If he doesn't find sufficiently strong Anchoring soon, he might truly become an abominable freak. Why must such a troublesome and annoying fellow come to our territory? I'd better not find out who's been inciting this madman on the brink of losing himself, or I'll make them regret it.

Though her thoughts raced, her actions were not slow.

She immediately commanded the Mithril Guard to swing their weapons, shattering the nearby puppet limbs into pieces and slicing the threads to shreds.

Only the puppet's head reacted the fastest. Its mouth gaped wide as it once again inflated rapidly like a balloon.

As the Mithril Guard lunged with their spears, the head, already swollen to the size of a carriage, instantly exploded.

BANG!

A torrent of viscous, colorful paint—whether brain matter or blood, it was unclear—splattered all over several streets.

The nauseating stench, like a biochemical weapon, filled half the port area.

Under its cover, few noticed that many fragments of the puppet's head had also been flung far away.

Colorful wigs, glass eyes, painted wooden blocks... all other parts showed no anomalies.

Only the spherical red nose flew the farthest, propelled by the impact clear out of the port district, landing on the sandy beach by the sea.