60 New Subordinate

"Hahaha, how's it, you old coot? Enjoying the torture?" A blond, middle-aged woman laughed aloud. Her appearance and mannerism showed that she was a noble, but her crazy laughing destroyed that image.

"What are you saying, mother? This is only the beginning… hehehe," A young man added sinisterly. He had a crown on his head, indicating his identity as a king. He was William Udanem.

"Why are you two doing this?" A bloodied man spoke. His voice was coarse and grating to the ears. His hair was disheveled, and his body had scars covering it. It was Nathan Udanem, the husband and father of the perpetrators.

They were in a black room filled with the stench of shit and rot. Suddenly the room's door opened. A man that appeared in his early twenties entered; he had a white fox standing on his shoulder with purplish-white hair.

"Please save me!" Nathan immediately screamed, hoping for a rescue. The man looked at him with eyes filled with sadness and pity, ignoring the other two, and spoke, "don't worry, you are safe now!"

After Nathan heard these words, his eyes became heavy as he went into slumber.

"Huff Huff" Back in the Assassination Academy, Nathan woke up in a start. Sweat filled his body as he looked at the room he was in. It was a nice-looking room that even nobles would appreciate it. Immediately the man and the fox sitting next to him caught his gaze.

Memories of what happened to him back in the torture room appeared in his mind making him scream. The man and the fox looked at him and did nothing more.

After a few minutes, Nathan calmed down and looked at Xue Mo and Lu Yao with shining eyes. "Thank you for saving me from that hell," his voice seemed sincere. "From now on, I am not the previous king of Udanem; I am just Nathan!" He continued to himself.

Nathan looked at Xue Mo and Lu Yao and bowed. He didn't speak anything more, which gave a chance for Xue Mo to say, "what will you do from now on?"

Nathan didn't ask who these two were, as it was visible from the different looks that they were from the Assassination Academy. He went silent, thinking of the words the man just spoke.

"I-I don't know!" Nathan's voice appeared sad and depressed. His family had betrayed him and tortured him; he didn't know what to do from now on.

Xue Mo smirked inwardly before casually suggesting, "you can follow me until you do. How about that?"

Nathan was touched; this man from the Assassination Academy not only saved him but even offered him to follow him. This was such a big opportunity. The Assassination Academy was so powerful that no one in the Ash Expanse could compare. And he was just offered a chance to join such a behemoth.

Of course, on a typical day, Nathan would suspect that something is wrong with all this, but because his mind was disoriented from all the torture and even scarred from it, he didn't. If it were normal for him, he would immediately become paranoid about this situation.

Lu Yao looked at the duped Nathan and thought, 'this was as easy as Mo said it would be!' She believed that this plan wouldn't work, but her expertise told her that Nathan wasn't faking and actually for the scheme. Xue Mo never ceased to surprise her.

Xue Mo didn't let up, taking advantage of Nathan's situation, he said while slamming his head with his hand. "I just remembered..." he looked at Nathan, who was looking at him with confused eyes, and apologetically said, "to be to stay in the Academy, you have to swear an oath that you will not disclose any information and will even join it."

Nathan didn't see any problem with that and agreed to do it, making Xue Mo's inward smirk widen, 'I got him!' Continuing with his explanation, Xue Mo said, "I have to record the oath-taking, and you have to say it in another language."

Still not seeing the huge problem in that, Nathan nodded that he would do it. Xue Mo, still looking at him apologetically, said, "Then let's start." He took out a device that looked the same as the one he used to talk to Hesroth and said, "repeat after me."

"Khalo Asinat otoo. Nathan asilat kahier mo laimtes!" Xue Mo's words appeared gibberish to Nathan, but he already agreed and said it.

Xue Mo used his ability to understand and speak all languages because of his bloodlines and made Nathan his follower. Nathan had just made an oath using Arch Energy unknowingly to become Xue Mo's follower.

Because he didn't Cultivate, Nathan couldn't sense the oath happening in him and just took it as formalities. After he finished, Nathan looked at Xue Mo with questioning eyes asking what to do now.

It was a funny scene seeing a middle-aged man letting a man that looked 20 years younger than him make decisions, but that's just how big of an effect Xue Mo's presence had on people.

Xue Mo knew what Nathan wanted, but he didn't let him. He knew how extreme he had tortured him and that even with the Pill taking effect and him being asleep for a week recovering, he still needed time to recover.

"Stay here and recover," Xue Mo ordered. "Even though you look fine and want revenge for what your son and dead wife did to you all those years, you still need to get better first."

Nathan's heart warmed at those words, and he swore inwardly, 'I will protect this man with all my life from now on!' Suddenly realizing that the man knew him, but he still didn't know his name, Nathan scratched his neck and asked, "may I know your name, savior?"

"Oh, my bad," Xue Mo's face slapped himself again, trying to ease Nathan. "I am Xue Mo," he pointed at himself. "And this here is Lu Yao. She's my partner, and she also helped save you."

Nathan looked at Lu Yao with grateful eyes. Just knowing that she was Xue Mo's partner, he already started respecting, yet knowing that she helped free him from that hell, his respect and gratitude became the most only losing to Xue Mo.

It seemed that the illusion Nathan had made him think that he spent years getting tortured by his wife and son, and even when his wife died, his on kept on torturing him. This made a gap in his memory where he didn't remember anything about his plans, the red-robed lady, or Xue Mo. That meant that he didn't even remember battling Xue Mo.

The reason the Pill was so effective was Xue Mo. He had made some modifications to it and increased the potency of its hallucination effect, which made Nathan become prey to his ploy.

Xue Mo got up from the seat and said, "stay here and recover. These years had been tough on you. Currently, war is happening outside, and your kingdom is a part of it."

Xue Mo informed him to gauge his attachment to his kingdom after getting his memories mixed. Yet, seeing that he didn't react assured him. As he was leaving, Xue Mo slapped his forehead again, took out a book from his robe, and gave it to Nathan.

Smilingly warmly at Nathan, who was receiving the book, he said, "from now on, you are part of the Assassination Academy!"

Nathan knew that his book must be precious, so he gave Xue Mo grateful and trusting looks and nodded.

"Welcome to the Assassination Academy, Nathan!" Lu Yao said before they left.