Chapter 169: Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell

【Enslavement Failed】.

"Hmm?"

Rod was surprised.

Even this won't work?

This is already Rod's second failed enslavement.

The first was against the Ruin Brotherhood's ambush, where he, Tally, and the ghoul Pan Ni jointly ambushed and killed a half-werewolf.

At that time, he believed the opponent's rapid regeneration caused the enslavement failure.

The feathered person before him wore a face full of defiance, certainly not willing, yet the injuries on his body were real.

His whole body was riddled with blood holes burned through, mostly cup-sized, some even fist-sized.

Even if Rod faced such injuries, it would be tough.

Moreover, she seemed to possess no powerful regenerative spiritual art.

Rod drew his broken sword.

He stabbed again.

Pain, a muffled groan, and the sizzling sound of blood rose simultaneously.

【Enslavement Failed】.

"Why?" Rod felt an inexplicable strangeness.

The feathered person, Caroline, glared at him hatefully: "Just kill me! I thought you were a decent warrior, yet you are also such a scum who tortures enemies."

Rod: "I want you to serve me. As long as you are willing, I can let you live."

Unable to find the reason, he spoke directly.

The other party had a proud nature, not someone like Pan Ni who could be enslaved through threats to life; it was ten to one it wouldn't succeed.

"Hehe..."

The feathered person let out a contemptuous laugh.

At the same time, a halo of light reappeared around the figure, like an unstable projection on a movie screen, blurring and dragging slightly.

Rod: "I do not wish to torture you, nor kill you. As long as you are willing to establish an enslavement spell with me, I can grant you maximum freedom."

The feathered person, Caroline, kept the same contempt on her face: "Hehe..."

Her tone and expression hardly changed.

The bracelet on Rod's hand, gifted by the half-deer person Xiao Ke, vibrated violently.

His face changed; he forcefully swung 【Dedicated Body Sword】 and immediately severed the neck of the person beneath him.

The sensation was correct, and the spraying of flesh and blood was real.

However, after a burst of light, the wound on the severed neck filled with a ghostly image resembling a mosaic.

And the feathered person, Caroline, still wore that same disdainful expression, letting out a "hehe" laugh.

"A high-level illusion spell?"

Rod released his perception.

He immediately discovered the feathered person stumbling and fleeing nearby to the side.

She was limping now, her body wrapped only in a scrap of cloth, constantly spitting out large mouthfuls of fresh blood.

Rod immediately struggled to strike out a 【Scream Slash Wave】, and it hit successfully.

But that was all.

The power of 【Blessing of the Ancient Sky Tree】 allowed him to directly injure a seventh-ranker severely with one strike, but it also left him unable to continue fighting.

Thus, the feathered person, Caroline, endured the blow, screamed, and fell to the ground.

Then she turned her head to look at him with resentment.

Rod had no strength to pursue and could only watch helplessly as she activated a spell ring to escape.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

The side effects of 【Blessing of the Ancient Sky Tree】 were too great.

It seemed he needed to find a way to deal with it.

The illusion severed by Rod's neck completely vanished, leaving behind all equipment and spell bags, none of which were taken.

It seemed the feathered person, for this Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell, had abandoned all equipment.

Rod did not inspect further; after gathering everything into his possession,

he hurried to restore his physical capabilities.

Five minutes later.

Rod's condition recovered to about half of his usual state.

Unwilling to wait any longer, he immediately rushed toward the location of the demon Atu.

Quickly.

Amidst a pile of collapsed houses, he first found the buried zombie, Selena.

Checking her.

Her chest was pierced, half her heart destroyed.

Both arms were torn apart.

Fortunately, this creature was a zombie; most internal organs were functionally useless, plus zombies naturally possessed the spiritual art 【Body of Immortality】.

Death was impossible.

Rather, Rod felt some disappointment in her combat power.

A half-rank-seven researcher falling first—truly embarrassing.

"After all, she is a researcher."

He tossed her on the spot; she wouldn't die anyway.

Following the trail of battle, Rod finally realized their battlefield had shifted from inside Shi Ying Town to the outskirts.

From afar he spotted the witch Dimia suspended in midair.

Her face was pale, already in a state of magical overexertion.

On the ground, the berserk Ami and the demon Atu were clashing blades like madmen.

Clang-clang-clang!

Qi blades spilled out with their movements, carving countless slash marks across the outskirt meadow.

Watching Ami, covered in blood, being gradually suppressed.

Several threads of magic flickered in the witch's hand, burrowing into the beastman's body.

【Bull's Brute Strength】

【Bear's Endurance】

At the same time, 【Decay Ray】 and 【Stupefy】 shot into the demon Atu's body.

His form stiffened for a moment.

His face was full of grievance and rage.

Only then did Rod notice he had lost an arm.

From the wrist of his remaining arm sprouted a sharp bone blade.

Ami seized his moment of hesitation, roaring as she swung her great cleaver in a full arc.

But this was a deliberate opening left by the demon Atu; he twisted his body to dodge with prescient precision, the bone blade about to pierce the beastman's chest.

The darkness on the ground suddenly surged upward, like ribbons of shadow, binding his hands and feet.

The succubus Tally had already darted out from god-knows-where, a massive 【Reverse-Bladed Scythe-Claw】 in hand, slicing open a gash across his crimson back.

The ambush succeeded, but the cut was shallow.

The three were exhausted; defeat was only a matter of time.

The demon spun on the spot, tearing free of the shadows, and with a roundhouse kick sent the beastman Ami flying.

The tremendous force sent the beastman tumbling across the earth for countless rotations, gouging out a long skid mark.

She cried out in pain, reverting to her green-skinned form.

She withdrew from the 【Berserk】 state.

Ami struggled to her feet and slammed her cleaver hard into the ground.

Dirt flew.

Suddenly a hand pressed down on her shoulder.

A familiar touch, a familiar warmth—the same warmth from when he trained her inner muscles.

"Master!"

Rod looked at her shocking wounds all over and couldn't bear to let her go again.

So he patted her head in comfort.

Ami froze for a beat, wiped a trickle of blood from her nose.

Obediently she squatted down, reaching to undo Rod's pants.

"... What are you doing?"

"Master, every time you pat Ami's head it means you want Ami to eat this, right?"

Are you Pavlov's dog or something!

Rod slapped her hand away: "You rest well. Lend me your blade for a moment."

"Oh, really no need to suck?"

"Stay put and shut up!"

Rod picked up the cleaver.

He drew a deep breath.

This place was closer to the forest; he could feel the trees aching for his state, madly pouring natural spirituality into him.

Weakness had already left him behind.

"If I can't keep her, can I still not keep you?"

Rod opened his eyes, and the crystal cleaver in his hand erupted with blinding spirituality.

Hum!

He vanished from the spot in an instant.

The demon Atu turned his head sideways with prescient foresight.

A pillar of spiritual light came cleaving toward him.

He made a snap decision, and raging flames erupted from his entire body.

The two collided, unleashing violent energy waves.

In the dead of night, light pollution instantly maxed out.

When everything fell silent.

Rod stood with the cleaver on his shoulder, his face thoroughly annoyed.

The demon Atu's bone-blade arm was shattered, a blade wound across his chest exposing his ribs.

"Caroline, did you lose?"

"She's passable, but you're far weaker."

"Hmph, if not for that strange blade in your hand and that corpse's self-sacrificing secret art, you think I'd have Seeing Luo De in such a state?"

He staggered a step: "Forest Warden Rod, you truly are suited for Purgatory. On behalf of the Grand Duke, I extend the invitation to you once more."

(End of chapter)