Chapter 571: The Enslaved People

Under Luoning's command, the fleet charged toward the docks of Soul Suppressing Bay like an arrow released from a bowstring, the star banners above snapping loudly, perfectly in sync with the high-spirited fighting momentum of the warriors.

At the same time, sharp horn blasts rang out from the towering watchtowers within the Soul Suppressing Bay port. Upon seeing the ships on the sea, the Witch Soul Knights immediately rushed to the shore to set up Magic Cannons, heavy crossbows, and other defensive equipment to counterattack, and the sound of booming explosions became incessant.

It was a pity, however, that when these crossbow bolts and Magic neared the fleet, the glowing light screens, Wind Walls, and water shields became insurmountable chasms they could not cross, and they all missed their marks.

"Kill!"

When the ships were a few hundred meters from the shore, Maiken, Yiben, Gushan, and the others leaped up, boarded the shore directly, and began a powerful slaughter.

Following the lead of the Legendary and Blazing Sun Knight, the others also boarded the shore one after another when the distance was appropriate.

These enemies clad in pitch-black standard armor were all Witch Soul Knights; before the attack, each captain had already briefed the soldiers under them, knowing the key points to dealing with them.

In the blink of an eye, a safe zone was cleared near the port, and the captains maneuvered their ships to dock one after another.

At the top of the spire that towered into the clouds in the center of Soul Suppressing Bay, the guardian Georgia Bustamante appeared.

She saw the scene unfolding at the Soul Suppressing Bay port with sharp eyes, her pale face cold.

"I didn't expect the warning Lord Salonas gave me two days ago to actually come true. These scumbags from the desolate lands actually have the guts to attack Soul Suppressing Bay!"

Georgia slowly raised her hands, dark energy surging over her palms. This energy was like a key; as it lit up, the entire space of Soul Suppressing Bay began to resonate with it.

In front of her, the space rippled, and waves like a beating heart declared the awakening of something.

Hum—

A brilliance lit up, and the Nightmare Evil Power formed a barrier that shrouded the core area of Soul Suppressing Bay.

Accompanied by the activation of the Guardian Array, the entire ground began to spew eerie purple-black aura upward as if it were a single entity, instantly making the visibility in Soul Suppressing Bay turn gloomy, as if the sky had suddenly gone dark.

A gray mouse that poked its head out from a crack in the wall accidentally touched this purple-black aura and was blown apart out of thin air, becoming countless pieces of flesh.

This was the Strangulation Array, targeting all living beings except for all members of the Witch Soul Clan and those marked by them.

Under his elemental vision, Luoning saw these two arrays clearly.

At the same time, he also knew that besides the Guardian Array and the Strangulation Array, there was invisible energy permeating this place; it did not cause physical attacks or Magic damage, but directly affected a person's soul.

This was actually the Soul Shock Array that Salonas had mentioned, though Luoning did not know its name.

"Everyone, raise your Battle Qi Armor and defensive Magic!"

Luoning's voice reached everyone's ears, and at the same time, he flashed onto the spire.

Georgia looked up abruptly, her heart filled with shock; this person's speed was fast, so fast that he had already arrived above her before she could react.

Looking at the gaze with which the other party looked down at her, Georgia felt a surge of anger: "Ignorant human, go to hell!"

As the controller of the arrays, in this instant, she directed all the energy of the Strangulation Array and the Soul Shock Array toward Luoning.

This kind of unavoidable double attack would stun even a Sage.

Especially the impact on the soul; if one's defense was poor, even if they didn't die, they would become an idiot.

Luoning's Heart Fire had long since fused with his body, which had been transformed by World Power, turning it into an immortal body; the influence brought by the Soul Shock Array was like an ant biting an elephant to him, neither painful nor itchy.

As for the strangulation power, although it had some strength, it was just that.

Luoning raised his hand and swept it in front of him, forcefully pushing aside the two arrays' encirclement of him, as if tearing open a huge gap, and the surging Nightmare Evil Power in the surrounding space was instantly stirred into chaos.

As the controller, Georgia only felt a heavy punch strike her body, causing her delicate frame to sway uncontrollably, and she finally fell backward, barely managing to steady herself against the pillar behind her to keep from collapsing.

"How is this possible!"

She widened her eyes, looking in disbelief at the human before her who was completely unaffected, as if nothing had happened.

Luoning's mouth curled slightly, and he praised: "A nice array, it's just a pity it's useless against me."

He raised his hand and threw a punch, the Heavy Strike Explosion landing on the spire like a falling meteorite, directly smashing this iconic building and Georgia on the spire to pieces!

Along with the destruction of the spire, the three arrays set up in Soul Suppressing Bay collapsed one after another, instantly triggering a chain reaction, and the sound of energy explosions within the arrays became incessant.

"This spire must be the array eye; destroying it made those energies chaotic and with nowhere to release."

Luoning looked toward the port; fortunately, his team was still at the edge, so the impact they received was not significant.

"Ruidar, I'll leave the rest to you."

Luoning returned to the port watchtower, "I scanned Soul Suppressing Bay; there are still a few Legendaries left behind here."

"Leave it to me, Your Majesty!"

Ruidar felt regretful that there were no Sage-level opponents; he really wanted to test his skills.

With the arrays of Soul Suppressing Bay easily broken by Luoning, the subsequent battle had no twists or surprises.

Luoning couldn't help but sigh.

Salonas had occupied Soul Suppressing Bay for hundreds or thousands of years, backed by the Storm Sea, and no enemy had ever been able to threaten this place; it was likely this that made him lower his guard.

Of course, it was also possible that he never expected Luoning's team to directly raid his base camp.

Above Bolte Town, the World Power surging out from the Element Ocean turned this area into a chaotic space.

Collision rifts of all sizes spat out deadly risks, which only Sage-level existences could ignore; if it were anyone else, even a Legendary, they would be injured upon contact with such rifts, and those below Legendary would likely be torn apart directly.

Shadow Lord Salonas had been at a disadvantage under Ryan's powerful attacks, but he was well aware of the gap in strength between the two sides.

His positioning in the battle was very clear: he did not seek to defeat Ryan, only to drag him out.

To drag him out meant he would win.

Bang!

Another clash, and under the fierce energy impact, the heavens and earth changed color.

Salonas, who had been acting leisurely, suddenly felt his heart tighten, and then, as if realizing something, he looked sharply toward the direction of Soul Suppressing Bay.

In his perception, the Nightmare Evil Power of Soul Suppressing Bay had become incomparably chaotic.

That was not the most important thing.

The most important thing was that he sensed the three arrays he had set up in Soul Suppressing Bay had actually been destroyed in an instant.

"How is this possible!"

Seeing this scene, Ryan laughed out loud, "Finally realized it? Too bad, everything is too late, Salonas! Starting from today, the balance between the human race and the demon race has been broken!"

"Hmph!"

Salonas glanced at the team fighting below; if he were to withdraw at this moment, Ryan would surely harvest all of his subordinates.

He could not pull himself away.

"It is just a small town, what does it matter if I give it to you?"

He regained his composure and immediately notified Phoenix of the situation at Soul Suppressing Bay, while simultaneously sensing that the other side had sent people to support Bolte Town, and Phoenix himself headed directly toward Soul Suppressing Bay.

He mocked, "I just don't know if your allies will hold out until you arrive when faced with the fury of the Flame King?"

Salonas stepped forward again, entangling Ryan and forcing him to remain on this battlefield instead of going to support Luoning.

Although Ryan had been in frequent contact with Luoning, he had never witnessed Luoning's true strength and did not know if the other party would be at risk when facing Phoenix.

Considering the big picture, he needed to go support Luoning.

He waved his hand to block the other's attack, then pulled away and flew toward Soul Suppressing Bay, "Then we shall see if Phoenix can withstand the combined force of him and me!"

Salonas frowned deeply; had the other party actually left the main battlefield?

He let out a cackling laugh and gave chase, "Blindly trusting your teammates will lead to a miserable defeat!"

At this moment, Luoning, who had been in a state of holding the line, had his attention drawn by a sudden report from Maiken.

On a street in Soul Suppressing Bay, thousands upon thousands of Knights holding Shields and weapons were charging the defensive line.

However, they were deterred and forced to retreat under the powerful counterattack of Yiben and the others, and now the two sides were in a standoff.

According to the rules Luoning had established on Star Continent, he could show mercy to those who were not Witch Soul Knights, killing only when necessary.

"Your Majesty, there are at least seventy or eighty thousand people here; they are all humans, yet they have offered their loyalty to Salonas."

Maiken's expression was grave; if they were Witch Soul Knights, he would not mind killing them all, but facing this situation, he did not know what to do.

Luoning frowned as he looked ahead; indeed, although the strength of this group varied, they were truly all humans.

He could not help but look at Aierlong: "Have they been subjected to mental control? Is there any way to undo it?"

Aierlong shook his head, "As far as I can see, there should be no one controlling them."

"They have simply been thoroughly brainwashed."

Suofeiya, who had rushed over from another battlefield, arrived at Luoning's side and looked at the group of people, her eyes filled with unbearable pity.

"Their parents, their parents' parents, and even generations tracing back further, have all lived here, enslaved by Salonas, raised by it like pets or livestock."

"Although they look like humans, they have had the brand of 'Wuhun Servant' on their spirits since birth. They take pride in serving the Witch Soul Clan, and they consider 'giving their lives for the Witch Soul Clan' to be the highest honor!"

Luoning frowned deeply.

This innate concept of obedience was almost impossible to reverse.

In other words, this group of people before him only looked like humans; in essence, they were no different from the alien races.

"Is there any way to baptize them and help them regain their status as humans?" Luoning asked.

The number of these people was truly quite large; if they could be reformed, that would be for the best.

But when faced with this question, Suofeiya still shook her head.

"We have done such things before, hundreds of years ago."

She said, "In that war, we rescued hundreds of 'compatriots,' brought them to a town to rest and recuperate, and taught them how to integrate into a new life, but in the end, all we received was betrayal!"

"That betrayal cost us a town, and over a hundred thousand people were reduced to slaves of the Witch Soul Clan, losing their freedom and falling into an endless abyss, and until they all died, not one of them walked out!"

She looked at Luoning, "Although it is cruel, killing them all is the best salvation for them." (End of chapter)