Chapter 113: Finish the Rest for Me

Chapter 113: Finish the Rest for Me

A sound like tearing fabric echoed through the air as over a dozen bloody wounds suddenly appeared on Parida's body.

The thick aura of death seeped into her wounds, continuously corroding her flesh and muscle. Gray blood gushed out of the wounds like a fountain.

"Ah!!"

Parida let out a piercing scream.

The dense negative energy from the Catastrophe Claw instantly invaded her internal organs and her flesh and bones.

A single Catastrophe Claw was enough to easily slay a peak Grand Knight. Parida, even with her Legendary-tier strength, was severely injured when she was hit by four Catastrophe Claws simultaneously without any defense.

Before she could catch her breath, Su Nan threw a high-level rune gem with a flick of his wrist.

The moment it left his hand, the gem burst into a blinding light, transforming into a blue-green lightning spear that shot through the air like an arrow, piercing Parida's forehead with a sharp hiss!

Crack!

Fierce lightning erupted, turning her into a charred corpse!

This scene sent shivers down the spines of Ursula and Carolina, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Su Nan.

After swiftly dispatching one enemy, Su Nan's assault did not pause. Large amounts of silvery metallic liquid oozed from his pores, coalescing in the air to form sharp spikes.

After a brief pause, the dense array of spikes shot out like a storm, raining down on Ursula and Carolina!

The noble sphinxes were all Legendary Knights.

A noble sphinx capable of ruling a city had at least the strength of a Second Circle Legendary.

Two First Circle Legendaries and one Second Circle Legendary working together could match a Third-Circle Apprentice Wizard.

Thus, Su Nan attacked with all his might, aiming to quickly eliminate one or two of his enemies!

Sssss!

Piercing whistles echoed in rapid succession, the frequency so dense it made one's scalp tingle!

Feeling the intense threat of death, the two noble sphinxes' faces paled, and they let out shrill screams.

The crystal balls at the tips of their staffs suddenly glowed with a deep, mysterious light, quickly spreading to form a sphere that enveloped them.

In the next second, the storm of spikes crashed into the sphere!

Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of blades piercing leather continued without end.

After barely ten seconds, Carolina's sphere shattered with a loud boom. The spikes swept over her, causing blood to spray in all directions. Her battered body fell to the ground.

Another one down!

Su Nan turned his attention to the remaining Ursula, and with a thought, the spikes that had been attacking Carolina redirected their assault.

Ursula immediately felt the pressure intensify!

At this point in the battle, Ursula knew she was facing a crushing defeat.

Neither her city nor she herself could match the young wizard before her.

If she continued to fight, she would surely suffer the same fate as Parida and Carolina!

Run!

She had to run!

In a flash, Ursula made her decision. A fierce look flashed across her beautiful face as she gritted her teeth and swung her staff at her tail.

With a sharp sound, her tail snapped in two.

Ursula endured the excruciating pain, muttering incantations. Her severed tail burst into a dense cloud of blood mist, enveloping her.

Boom!

The sphere exploded, the shockwave pushing back the surrounding spikes!

Seizing the opportunity, a cloud of blood mist shot out like lightning, speeding into the darkness!

Her speed was like a bolt of lightning!

However, just as the blood mist was about to disappear into the darkness, a massive, terrifying figure suddenly emerged from nearby, opening its massive maw and spewing a torrent of fiery flames at the blood mist!

It was the hidden dragon that had been lying in wait!

Sizzle!

The flames and blood mist canceled each other out, the red and crimson colors intermingling and rapidly shrinking.

In the blink of an eye, the blood mist thinned, revealing Ursula's horrified face.

With a flash, Su Nan reappeared before Ursula, his gaze cold and indifferent.

Seeing this, despair filled Ursula's eyes as she realized she had missed her last chance to escape.

Who would have thought this wizard had a subterranean dragon as a pet, with a stealth ability so powerful she couldn't detect it at all!

Sssss!

The spikes from behind caught up, overwhelming Ursula like a tidal wave, then disappeared into Su Nan's body.

By the time the sounds of battle had faded, Ursula's figure was nowhere to be seen in the sky, leaving behind only a faint cloud of blood mist and her long staff, which was now plummeting to the ground.

The noble sphinx had been torn to shreds, leaving no trace of her body.

The hidden dragon caught the falling staff in its mouth and obediently presented it to Su Nan.

"Great job!"

Su Nan praised the dragon.

If not for the timely intervention of the hidden dragon, he would have had to use another high-level rune gem to chase down the noble sphinx.

The battle had erupted suddenly and ended just as abruptly.

With most of his trump cards in play, the fight lasted only two or three minutes.

This also gave Su Nan a clear understanding of his recent growth in strength.

At his current level, enemies below the Third Circle Legendary Knight were no longer a threat.

Even against a Third Circle Legendary Knight, he had a good chance of victory.

"I'm now among the top tier of Third Circle Apprentice Wizards."

A smile played on Su Nan's lips as he turned his gaze downward.

With the defeat of the three noble sphinxes, the other sphinxes on the lakeshore lost their will to fight and scattered in all directions.

Unfortunately, they didn't get far before being caught by the dual-bladed spiders, which swiftly decapitated them with their sharp limbs.

On the flat lake shore, the four-legged sphinxes couldn't outrun the eight-legged dual-bladed spiders.

In their despair, some sphinxes turned back and swung their curved blades at the spiders, attempting a last stand. However, the spiders effortlessly split them in two with one limb and decapitated them with another.

Faced with the swift, resilient dual-bladed spiders, the sphinxes below the Grand Knight level had no chance of resistance.

The fleeing sphinxes were quickly exterminated by the dual-bladed spiders.

Under Su Nan's command, the golems and dual-bladed spiders spared those who surrendered, but mercilessly killed those who resisted or tried to escape.

The war ended even faster than Su Nan had anticipated, taking less than an hour.

Besides the exceptional combat power of the golem army, the fact that the sphinxes had gathered outside the city made the surprise attack far more effective than expected.

"What should I do with these guys?"

Su Nan surveyed the sphinxes kneeling on the ground, deep in thought.

After the battle, only a hundred or so sphinxes remained, including seven or eight Grand Knight-level elites.

This was a significant force.

Killing them all would be simple, but it would be a waste.

If he spared them, he would need to find a good way to manage them, or they could become a future problem.

As he pondered, Su Nan suddenly sensed something and turned his head, his expression one of surprise.

"You're still alive?"

"You have quite a strong will to live."

Su Nan slowly descended to the ground and approached Carolina, who lay on the ground, her body covered in blood and multiple piercing wounds. However, her head, throat, and heart had been spared.

Su Nan was certain he hadn't missed these vital areas when he attacked, so the only explanation was that she had used some means to protect them.

Although she had managed to save her life, Carolina was now completely incapacitated, only able to lie on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Please, spare me. I beg you, let me live."

"Give me a reason," Su Nan said, raising an eyebrow.

"I can serve you, become your slave."

With a glimmer of hope, Carolina's spirits seemed to lift, and her speech became more fluent.

"I can help you manage the city. You need someone familiar with this area. I can provide you with a lot of information about the surrounding region!"

Su Nan sneered. "Sounds good, but your kind is known for being cunning and untrustworthy. Why should I believe you?"

"I can sign a soul pact!" Carolina weakly offered.

Su Nan's eyes narrowed. "You know a lot."

A soul pact, in simpler terms, is a slave contract. One party splits a portion of their soul and hands it over to the other party in the form of a contract. From then on, their life is under the control of the other party. A mere thought from the controller can instantly destroy the soul of the controlled.

Additionally, if the controller dies, the controlled party will also die.

In short, it is an extremely stringent contract.

It must be signed voluntarily by both parties.

Once the soul pact was signed, Su Nan would have complete control over Carolina, ensuring she wouldn't betray him.

Indeed, he needed someone to assist in managing the city-state.

The slaves, for one, needed to be managed.

When it came to running a city-state, golems were of no use.

The students in the base were still growing and were not yet capable of taking on such a responsibility.

As for asking Koi for help, that was also not an option.

The officials in his territory were not familiar with the underground world, and having them manage the underground city-state could lead to more problems than solutions.

After much consideration, using a native to manage the city-state seemed to be the best choice.

"Alright, sign the soul pact, and I'll spare your life."

At Carolina's pleading gaze, Su Nan pondered for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

Hearing this, Carolina's face lit up with a wild joy, as if she had been given a second chance at life.

Su Nan flipped his wrist, and a gem appeared in his palm. He rubbed his thumb and index finger together, and the gem instantly melted into a translucent thread. As he traced intricate patterns in the air with his index finger, the thread gradually formed a series of mysterious and intricate runes.

Once the final rune was completed, Su Nan pointed at it, and the runes floated toward Carolina's forehead, slowly disappearing into her skin.

In the next second, Carolina's body trembled slightly, and she felt a subtle, almost imperceptible connection form between her and the wizard standing before her.

It was a one-way connection.

From this day forward, her life would be in the hands of the man before her, a matter of his single thought.

After the pact was sealed, Su Nan tossed Carolina several healing potions.

After taking the potions, Carolina regained some of her mobility.

"My lord, what about my kin?"

Carolina glanced at her fellow sphinxes nearby and cautiously asked Su Nan.

A sardonic smile played on Su Nan's lips as he approached the kneeling sphinxes. He lightly tapped his finger, selecting fifty of the weakest among them, then turned to Carolina, who looked confused:

"I'll keep these fifty. As for the rest, you'll kill them for me!"

To manage the city-state, he needed to leave Carolina with some manpower, but not so many that she could cause trouble. Fifty sphinxes should be enough to manage the slaves and handle various tasks.

The defense of the city-state would be the responsibility of the golem army.

Although the soul pact ensured Carolina wouldn't betray him, he didn't want to give her the means to plot against him.

Upon hearing Su Nan's words, Carolina's face changed.

The sphinxes who hadn't been chosen also looked horrified and were about to resist, but as soon as they stood up, an invisible wave enveloped everyone.

Group Fear!

This spell, which Su Nan had recently mastered, would cause all creatures within a certain range to fall into a state of terror.

In an instant, the sphinxes all showed signs of fear, as if they had seen something truly terrifying. Some collapsed to the ground, while others cowered, trembling and hugging their heads, losing all will to resist.

Su Nan turned to Carolina, his gaze cold and indifferent.

Carolina's face changed, and the hesitation in her eyes disappeared. She picked up a curved blade from the ground and, gritting her teeth, walked toward her terrified kin.

It had to be said that sphinxes were skilled in the art of killing. Despite her severe injuries, Carolina's movements were still swift and efficient, each strike ending with a slit throat.

The intense pain instantly brought the sphinxes out of their fear, but it was too late.

Gurgling sounds came from their throats as they glared at Carolina in disbelief and anger, then fell to the ground, motionless and silent.

Soon, over sixty sphinxes lay dead on the ground.

Carolina, wielding a blood-soaked curved blade, was panting and pale.

The surviving sphinxes, those who had been fortunate enough to live, looked at her with a mix of emotions—anger, indifference, sorrow, and hostility.

Watching this scene, Su Nan nodded to himself.

This was one of the reasons he had Carolina do the killing.

By planting a thorn between them, he ensured these sphinxes wouldn't easily unite against him.

Afterward, Su Nan had the remaining sphinxes sign soul pacts, using up fifty more gems in the process.

The reserve of gems in his spatial ring was nearly depleted.

Once this was done, Su Nan ordered the sphinxes to clean up the battlefield and gather the escaped slaves.

Fortunately, the island was surrounded by the lake, so the slaves couldn't get far. A few teams of sphinxes were enough to round them up again.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end