Chapter 113: You Finish Off the Rest for Me
The sound of fabric tearing echoed as ten bloody gashes appeared on Parida's body.
The rich aura of death seeped through the wounds, corroding her flesh, with gray blood gushing out like a spring.
"Ah!!"
Parida let out a piercing scream.
The dense negative energy from the Disaster Claws immediately invaded her organs, flesh, and bones.
One Disaster Claw could easily kill a peak Grand Knight. Struck by four Disaster Claws without any defense, even Parida, with her legendary-level strength, was severely injured in an instant.
Before she could catch her breath, Sunan hurled a high-level rune gem.
As it left his hand, the gem burst into blinding light, transforming into a cyan-blue lightning spear that shot through the air like an arrow, piercing through Parida's forehead with a hiss!
Crack!
The violent lightning exploded, turning her into charcoal!
In less than a breath, Parida was dead.
This scene sent chills down Yusula and Karolena's spines, and their eyes filled with terror as they looked at Sunan.
After swiftly dispatching one enemy with thunderous speed, Sunan's assault didn't stop. A large amount of silvery metal liquid seeped from his pores, forming sharp spikes in mid-air.
After a brief pause, the dense barrage of spikes shot out like a storm, raining down on Yusula and Karolena!
Man-faced Lion nobles were legendary knight-level powerhouses.
A Man-faced Lion noble capable of ruling a city had at least second-circle legendary power.
Two first-circle legends and one second-circle legend combined were enough to rival a level-three wizard apprentice.
Therefore, Sunan attacked with full force, aiming to eliminate one or two enemies as quickly as possible!
Swish swish swish!
The shrill whistling of the spikes filled the air, so intense it made one's scalp tingle!
Feeling the threat of death, the two Man-faced Lion nobles' faces changed dramatically, and they let out ear-piercing screams.
The crystals at the tips of their staffs suddenly glowed with deep light, quickly forming a sphere that enveloped them.
In the next second, the storm of spikes slammed into the sphere!
Thud thud thud!
The dull thuds of the spikes piercing the sphere were relentless.
In just over ten seconds, Karolena's sphere shattered, and the spikes tore through her body, causing a burst of blood mist, and her tattered figure plummeted to the ground.
Another one down!
Sunan turned his attention to the remaining Yusula, redirecting the spikes that had attacked Karolena to focus on Yusula.
Yusula instantly felt immense pressure!
Realizing her dire situation, Yusula knew she was utterly defeated today.
Neither the city-state nor she could contend with the young wizard before her.
If she continued fighting, she would surely follow in Parida and Karolena's footsteps!
Escape!
She had to escape!
With a decisive look, Yusula bit her lip and swung her staff at her tail.
With a wet sound, her tail was severed at the midsection.
Enduring the pain, Yusula chanted, and her severed tail exploded into a dense blood mist, enveloping her.
Boom!
The sphere exploded, and the powerful shockwave repelled the surrounding spikes!
Seizing the opportunity, a cloud of blood mist shot out like lightning, fleeing into the darkness!
Her speed was like a flash of lightning!
But just as the blood mist was about to disappear into the darkness, a massive, menacing figure appeared nearby, opening its maw and spewing a torrent of fiery flames at the blood mist!
It was the Shadow Dragon, lying in wait!
Sizzle!
The flames and blood mist clashed, mutually annihilating each other, their red and crimson hues intertwining and rapidly shrinking.
In a blink, the blood mist thinned, revealing Yusula's shocked face.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Sunan reappeared before Yusula, gazing at him with indifferent eyes.
Seeing this, despair filled Yusula's eyes, knowing she had missed her last chance to escape.
Who would've thought this wizard had an invisible draconic pet!
And its invisibility was undetectable even to her!
Swish swish!
The barrage of spikes closed in, crashing over Yusula and disappearing back into Sunan.
When the noise ceased, Yusula's figure was gone, leaving only a faint blood mist and the staff falling to the ground.
This Man-faced Lion noble had been shredded to pieces, leaving no remains.
The Shadow Dragon caught the falling staff and obediently handed it to Sunan.
"Well done!"
Sunan praised.
If the Shadow Dragon hadn't intercepted the Man-faced Lion noble, he would've needed another high-level rune gem to catch her.
The battle had erupted suddenly and ended just as abruptly.
With Sunan deploying most of his trump cards, the fight concluded in just two to three minutes.
This gave him a clear understanding of his recent strength growth.
With his current power, enemies below third-circle legendary knights were no longer a threat.
Even against third-circle legendary knights, he had a fair chance of victory.
"Now, among level-three wizard apprentices, I'm among the top tier."
Sunan smiled, turning his gaze downward.
With the death of the three Man-faced Lion nobles, the Man-faced Lions along the lake shore lost their will to fight and scattered in retreat.
But they didn't get far before the Twin-Blade Spiders caught up, slicing off their heads with razor-sharp limbs.
On the flat lakeshore, the four-legged Man-faced Lions were no match for the eight-legged Twin-Blade Spiders.
In desperation, some Man-faced Lions turned to fight, swinging their scimitars at the spiders, only to be bisected by the spiders' limbs, which then effortlessly severed their heads.
Against the swift and resilient Twin-Blade Spiders, armed with razor-sharp weapons, Man-faced Lions below Grand Knight level had no chance.
The fleeing Man-faced Lions were quickly exterminated by the Twin-Blade Spiders.
Under Sunan's control, the golems and Twin-Blade Spiders spared the surrendering Man-faced Lions, while mercilessly killing those who resisted or fled.
The war ended even faster than Sunan anticipated.
In less than an hour.
Besides the puppet army's exceptional combat prowess, the Man-faced Lions' decision to gather outside the city amplified the success of Sunan's surprise attack.
"What should I do with these guys?" Sunan pondered, looking down at the kneeling Man-faced Lions below.
After the slaughter, only about a hundred Man-faced Lions survived, including seven or eight elite Grand Knights.
This was a considerable force.
Killing them all would be simple but wasteful.
But if he spared them, he had to find a good way to handle them, or risk future trouble.
As he pondered, Sunan's expression shifted, turning to look at a spot nearby with surprise.
"Not dead yet?"
"Quite tenacious."
Sunan descended to the ground and approached Karolena, who lay there, studying her with a playful gaze.
Though the Man-faced Lion noble was bloodied and riddled with wounds, her head, throat, and heart were untouched.
Sunan was sure he hadn't spared these vital areas, meaning she must've used some method to protect them.
However, while she survived, Karolena was completely incapacitated, left to cling to life on the ground.
"Spare me, please spare my life," Karolena begged weakly.
"Give me a reason," Sunan replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I can serve you, become your slave," Karolena said, her spirit seemingly lifted by hope, her speech more coherent.
"I can help you manage the city-state. You need an assistant familiar with this place. I can also provide intelligence about the surrounding areas!"
Sunan snorted, "Sounds nice, but your Man-faced Lion kind are notoriously deceitful and untrustworthy. Why should I believe you?"
"I can sign a soul contract!" Karolena offered weakly.
"You know quite a bit," Sunan said, narrowing his eyes.
A soul contract, essentially a slave contract, involved splitting a wisp of one's soul and giving it to another as a contract, placing one's life in the other's hands. With a thought, the controller could extinguish the controlled party's soul.
Moreover, if the controller died, the controlled would also perish.
Overall, it was a harsh contract.
Both parties had to willingly agree to it.
With a soul contract, Sunan could fully control Karolena, without fear of betrayal.
And he did need someone to help manage the city-state.
The slaves needed someone to oversee them.
Puppets couldn't handle city management.
The students at the base were still developing and lacked the ability.
Requesting personnel from Key was also unfeasible.
Territory officers weren't familiar with the Underground World, and assigning them to manage an underground city-state might backfire.
On reflection, using a local to manage the city-state was the best choice.
"Alright, sign the soul contract, and I'll spare your life."
Under Karolena's pleading gaze, Sunan considered briefly before nodding.
Hearing this, Karolena's face lit up with joy.
Sunan flipped his wrist, producing a gemstone.
With a rub of his thumb and forefinger, the gemstone melted into translucent threads, forming intricate patterns as he traced them in the air.
Completing the final stroke, Sunan pointed, and the patterns drifted to Karolena, merging into her brow and vanishing.
In the next second, Karolena shuddered, feeling a faint connection with the wizard before her.
A one-way connection.
From this day on, her life was at his mercy.
After the contract was completed, Sunan tossed Karolena several healing potions.
After drinking them, Karolena regained some mobility.
"My kin..." Karolena glanced at her kin nearby and cautiously asked Sunan.
Sunan's lips curled in a half-smile as he approached the kneeling Man-faced Lions, selecting the fifty weakest, then turned to the puzzled Karolena.
"I'm only keeping these fifty. You finish off the rest for me!"
To manage the city-state, Karolena needed some subordinates, not just the title.
But not many were needed, just enough to manage the slaves and handle some tasks. Fifty Man-faced Lions should suffice.
The golem army would handle city defense.
Though the soul contract ensured Karolena wouldn't betray him, Sunan didn't want to give her the means to cause trouble.
Hearing Sunan's words, Karolena's face changed.
The unchosen Man-faced Lions' faces fell, and they prepared to fight back, but as they stood, an invisible wave enveloped them.
Mass Fear!
A spell inducing fear in all creatures within a certain range.
Sunan had recently mastered this second-circle spell.
In an instant, the Man-faced Lions' faces filled with terror, as if seeing something horrifying, some collapsing in place, others trembling on the ground, all losing the will to fight.
Sunan turned his gaze to Karolena, his eyes cold.
Karolena's expression shifted, her hesitation vanishing. She picked up a scimitar and reluctantly approached her terrified kin.
Despite her injuries, Karolena was a skilled killer. Her strikes were swift and lethal, each blow severing a throat.
The sudden pain jolted the Man-faced Lions from their fear, but it was too late.
Their throats gurgled, eyes filled with disbelief and anger at Karolena, before collapsing lifelessly.
In a short time, sixty to seventy Man-faced Lions lay dead.
Karolena stood, scimitar stained with blood, panting and pale.
The surviving Man-faced Lions looked at her with mixed emotions.
Anger, indifference, sorrow, hostility...
Sunan observed, nodding inwardly.
This was partly why he had Karolena do it.
With a wedge driven between them, they wouldn't easily unite.
Afterward, Sunan had the remaining Man-faced Lions sign soul contracts, using up fifty gemstones.
His stash of backup gemstones in his space ring was nearly depleted.
With this done, Sunan ordered the Man-faced Lions to clean up the battlefield and round up the fleeing slaves.
Fortunately, the island was surrounded by a lake, so the slaves couldn't escape far. A few squads of Man-faced Lions quickly gathered them back.
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