Baron Storm stared in disbelief at the scene before him, his mind blank as he gaped, unable to utter a single word.
How had it come to this?
Hadn't the Marquis said that these beastized humans were highly effective against wizards, capable of easily suppressing Sunan?
But what was happening now?
These beastized warriors, whom he had high hopes for, couldn't even withstand a single confrontation with Sunan!
This was utterly absurd!
He simply couldn't comprehend it!
The air was filled with a bone-chilling cold.
Sunan glanced at the frozen beastized humans, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
Had he faced these creatures while still battling Hodge, he would have been forced to retreat.
The Marquis of Golden Rock had likely seen him at that time as a benchmark and deemed these beastized humans adequate to counter him, which wasn't entirely incorrect.
But times had changed; he had many more trump cards now, and the Marquis's understanding of his strength was outdated.
Pulling his gaze away from the ice sculptures, Sunan turned to look at Baron Storm.
Meeting Sunan's indifferent stare, Baron Storm felt as though he had been doused in cold water, jolting him back to reality.
"Stop him!"
Baron Storm cried out in terror, ordering his guards to block Sunan while he scrambled backwards in fear.
The guards, though terrified, dared not disobey and charged toward Sunan with steely resolve.
What awaited them was a surge of blazing flames!
**Burning Hands!**
Intense flames erupted from Sunan's palm, fanning out in a conical shape, engulfing a hundred square meters in fiery waves.
The soldiers charging forward were instantly transformed into torches, screaming in agony as they fell to the ground, rolling and struggling before their cries faded into silence.
Just as Sunan finished taking out these guards, two more commanders rushed over, having heard Baron Storm's cries for help.
Their bodies were enveloped in the radiant aura of fighting spirit, clearly indicating they were powerful knights.
"This is troublesome."
Sunan swiftly tossed out two runic gemstones.
Boom!
Lightning suddenly ripped through the night!
The two fierce knights charging to protect their lord didn't even get within five meters of Sunan before they were obliterated, turning into charred remains on the ground.
Sunan didn't even spare the corpses a glance as he darted forward, quickly closing the distance to Baron Storm.
Seeing this unfold, Baron Storm was filled with dread, wishing he could sprout two extra legs to escape.
However, he was only a junior knight, and compared to Sunan, who was as swift as a peak knight, he was quickly caught up.
Swish!
A grayish beam shot through the air like an arrow, striking the fleeing Baron Storm.
**Weakening Ray!**
In an instant, Baron Storm felt an overwhelming sense of weakness wash over him. His legs buckled, and he fell to the ground, landing awkwardly.
However, he paid no mind to the pain, struggling to get back on his feet while fearfully glancing at Sunan.
"Don't—don't kill me! I beg you, spare me!"
Sunan raised an eyebrow, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
He recalled the former Baron Storm, a dignified and resilient knight.
In contrast, the man before him was the epitome of a coward.
Without saying a word, Sunan cast **Sleep** to silence him.
How to handle Baron Storm was a matter for Key to decide.
Sunan surveyed the surroundings; the carnage wrought by the Stone Golems left the forces of the Storm territory decimated.
The few soldiers still stubbornly resisting lost their will to fight when they saw their leader captured, dropping their weapons and fleeing.
Within moments, Key burst into the camp with his troops.
To prevent any surprises, Sunan had previously stationed Yinglong by Key's side.
With Yinglong's assistance, their charge into the camp went smoothly, encountering little resistance.
Seeing Sunan unharmed, Key breathed a sigh of relief.
Though he knew Sunan was powerful, sending him deep into enemy lines was naturally worrying.
Now that he saw Sunan was unscathed, he could finally relax.
Amid his relief, Key couldn't help but reflect on how Sunan had single-handedly infiltrated the enemy camp and emerged without a scratch, achieving what few others could.
Bred and the others quickly noticed the ice covering the ground, their eyes widening in shock.
"What is this?"
"Look over there! So many ice sculptures!"
"Did Lord Sunan do this?"
Looking at the frost-covered area within a hundred meters, they instinctively swallowed.
Only Lord Sunan could create such an impressive spectacle!
"This guy is the new Baron Storm; you handle him."
Sunan pointed to the unconscious Baron Storm on the ground.
"Good job!" Key said, excitement evident on his face.
After tonight's battle, the forces of Baron Storm would no longer pose a threat. They could then turn their attention to the troops of Baron Winter Frost to relieve Qilin City.
As long as they defeated Baron Winter Frost, the Shimmering Territory would gain a much-needed respite.
If they acted quickly, they could even take advantage of the enemy's disarray to swiftly conquer both the Storm and Winter Frost territories, significantly boosting their own strength!
The tide of the situation had clearly turned!
"Take this man and lock him up."
Key ordered his soldiers to drag the unconscious Baron Storm away before looking at the ice sculptures nearby.
"What are those?"
"Beastized humans," Sunan replied succinctly.
Key was taken aback. How had beastized humans ended up here?
But he quickly realized that they were likely intended as a precaution against Sunan.
It seemed the Marquis of Golden Rock had greatly underestimated Sunan's power; the beastized humans had turned out to be completely ineffective.
Key thought this was rather normal, as even he himself couldn't fully see Sunan's true strength.
The number of trump cards Sunan possessed was simply staggering!
"Now, it's confirmed that the spread of Beastization Syndrome is indeed orchestrated by the Marquis of Golden Rock!" Key furrowed his brow. "That old man is truly ruthless, willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for his own interests."
Sunan said solemnly, "The Marquis alone couldn't have pulled off such an operation; I suspect there might be a wizard apprentice backing him."
"A wizard apprentice?" Key exclaimed in shock.
With Sunan as a living example, he had a deep understanding of the power of a wizard apprentice.
If the Marquis of Golden Rock had a wizard apprentice supporting him, the situation would become very tricky.
"Right now, it's still just a suspicion. I'll need to investigate these beings further to find out for sure."
Sunan glanced at the blood-marked fang in his hand and then at the ice sculptures nearby.
He planned to dissect these beastized humans tonight to see if they were indeed the work of another wizard apprentice.
"I still have use for those ice sculptures; send people to help me transport them back to Firefly City."
"Sure, I'll have someone take care of that right away."
Key nodded anxiously and turned to give orders.
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