The Price of Submission

The moon had reached the highest point in the sky and the entire area was silent.

Standing in front of the towering Skyscraper Tower were more than 50 militia in white armor. They held their swords and stood all around Su Hao.

The soldiers were surrounding a fire pit that was emitting smoke.

The light from the fire pit produced sparks and hot air were lingering all around.

An iron slave brand was being heated in the fire.

The blazing flames shone on the faces of the 12 city lords who were standing in front of the fire pit.

They all seemed to be trembling in unison as they stood in front of the fire pit.

After all, they were about to face the result of being branded as slaves.

It was something that they had not expected, and they were extremely afraid at that moment.

They were afraid of not only the pain, but also having to submit to Su Hao for a lifetime without ever having freedom.

That was the price of submission.

Nothing else could be done once a person submitted themselves in the Endless Mainland.

It was due to Su Hao that they were able to escape the invasion of darkness, which obliged them not to disobey despite their fear of what was about to happen!

Su Hao was standing near them, and his face was filled with endless indifference as he glanced at the head of his militia.

Then, the militia leader nodded his head slightly and grunted!

"Hand me the brand!"

The soldiers standing by the fire pit immediately took out the slave brand!

As soon as the trembling city lords saw that, they were all so shocked that they instinctively took a step back.

They had never thought that they would have to accept such a treatment if they surrendered.

One second they were the city lord; the next second they would become Su Hao's eternal slave.

Some did it out of their own free will and were willing to go through everything.

They had, after all, accepted Su Hao's protection and had nothing to fear at that moment.

With that in mind, the lords all took a deep breath, pushed aside the fear in their hearts, and then took a step forward!

"I'll go first!"

"So will I! If it wasn't for Lord Su Hao's shelter, we wouldn't have lived to this day!"

"I... I'll admit that I'm scared, but this is something I have to accept. Even if the searing iron burns my skin, I'm more than willing to do it!"

Then, a burning hot brand with the word 'slave' engraved on it instantly left an eternal mark on their exposed left chest!

Sizzle…

It was one burning sound after another, accompanied by an echo of intense pai!

The bright red word 'slave' could be seen on their left chests. The burnt skin and flowing blood made for an extremely gory scene!

As soon as they were branded, they lost their self-awareness forever and became Su Hao's eternally loyal subjects!

Some were willing to go through that, while others were not.

They were extremely terrified when they saw the other lords screaming in pain after being branded.

There were even some people who initially wanted to reap the benefits but did not expect to pay such a huge price. To them, losing their own will forever was an extremely horrifying result!

Even if they were willing to become Su Hao's men, they were unwilling to give up on their autonomy for the rest of their lives.

The moment the burning-hot slave mark was about to branded on their left chest, the subjects who were unwilling pushed away the soldiers in front of them and ran out of the entrance!

They did not want to lose their free will!

A couple of lords ran out of the gate.

When the others saw their actions, they immediately yelled, "Are you guys crazy? Don't run! You'll only die if you leave this place!"

"Just accept it!"

"Submit to Lord Su Hao forever!"

Standing behind them was Su Hao, whose dark and cold pupils reflected the figures of the fleeing lords. He had little, if any, expression on his face.

The figures in his line of sight were getting smaller and smaller as they were about to reach the gate!

At this moment, the lords who had not been branded and were still hesitating whether or not to escape felt as though they had a chance to do so!

In an instant, two more lords could no longer suppress their fear and also stepped out of the gate!

As soon as they stepped out, Su Hao lowered his gaze.

At the same time, the swords held by the militia flew right toward the lords' bodies!

The next second!

Several silver swords went straight through their hearts and skewered them onto the soil!

"AGHHH!"

They struggled helplessly in the pools of blood that formed through the wound created by the silver sword. Eventually, they all stopped moving.

Behind them were the remaining lords who had been branded and were yet to be branded.

Horror appeared in their eyes after they saw that scene!

They knew very well that they would end up the same if they dared to rebel or show the slightest sign of insubordination.

Compared to being eaten to death by wild beasts, being under Su Hao's command forever was not necessarily a bad thing, even if they were reduced to doing things such as farming and construction.

Self-consciousness was meaningless to them, as there was no point in having it if they died.

In just a short while, all the lords who were still alive had accepted the slave brand willingly!

…

It was quiet at night and the moon was still shining bright.

At the center of the city-state were militia and civilians, all of whom knelt down on one knee and placed their right hand on their left chest as they yelled, "Long live our lord!"

Su Hao stood at the highest point and gazed down coldly at more than 60 of his civilians. He knew that his city-state would develop to even greater heights in the future!