Chapter 546: The First Subhuman Race Subjugated

Shengzai and his companions departed from the Holy Kingdom, preparing to head for the Abelion Hills—the region with the highest concentration of subhuman tribes currently.

The subhuman tribes gathered there were also the strongest among all subhumans; even the top ten tribal leaders there were known as the “Ten Subhuman Paragons.”

They possessed strength nearly equivalent to human heroes at levels 29 to 35.

Remetios and Kuirat had repeatedly persuaded the Holy Princess, but the Holy Princess, who deeply cared for her people, refused to listen.

Thus, out of necessity, Remetios and Kuirat—the two strongest Holy Knights and the strongest High Priest of the Holy Kingdom—could only choose to follow.

Leaving Kuirat aside, Remetios had felt from the moment she first saw Shengzai that he harbored ill intentions.

A prince who failed to seize the throne, traveling all the way to their Holy Kingdom to help them solve their subhuman problem—could he possibly be this benevolent?

Helping them was a lie; his real goal was to use the Holy Kingdom’s power to subjugate the subhumans, then use them as troops to seize the throne of the Royal Kingdom.

The Holy Princess was far too trusting of him.

Remetios had already decided: if any real danger arose soon, she would strike first and kill this damned third prince.

Then she would stay behind to cover their retreat, letting Kuirat escort the Holy Princess away.

“Humans, you’ve got guts, daring to intrude into my territory!”

After entering the Abelion Hills, the first tribe Shengzai and his party reached was the territory of the Four-Legged Beasts.

Their tribal chief was Vekelagendara, one of the Ten Subhuman Paragons, nicknamed “Demon Claws.”

He resembled a bear mixed with a leopard, stood on four legs, wielded a massive battle-axe, and from his aura, his strength was no weaker than that of the Holy Kingdom’s strongest Holy Knight, Remetios, beside him.

Seeing the Four-Legged Beast tribal chief before him, Remetios immediately shielded the Holy Princess behind her.

“You’re one of the Ten Subhuman Paragons—the Four-Legged Beast chief known as ‘Demon Claws’?”

Looking at the towering black giant over two meters tall, Shengzai studied him carefully before speaking.

To be honest, aside from possessing human intelligence and language, Shengzai truly couldn’t understand why this creature was called a “subhuman.”

After all, his appearance differed vastly from the “subhuman” images he’d seen in other fantasy anime.

“That’s right—I’m ‘Demon Claws.’ You’re a new face, human. Are you the Holy Princess’s new pet lover?”

“We Four-Legged Beasts don’t much care for your meat, but since you’ve come to us willingly, I’ll reluctantly slaughter you all!”

Gripping his battle-axe, “Demon Claws” immediately swung it down to split Shengzai in two.

“Ding——————!”

Yet as the axe descended, the mocking “pet lover” before him simply pinched it between two fingers.

Seeing this impossible sight, not only “Demon Claws” himself, but even the Holy Princess and her companions were struck with utter shock.

Though they had heard of the Third Prince’s genius reputation—that he surpassed even the Kingdom’s War Master—they never imagined he could be this strong!

“Demon Claws” was one of the Ten Subhuman Paragons; even Remetios had just admitted she had no guarantee of defeating him.

Yet what did they see now? Shengzai had stopped “Demon Claws”’s technique with only two fingers.

And from the way “Demon Claws” strained, teeth gritted, unable to pull free his axe, the gap in strength between them was enormous.

“I see. So the subhumans are as unruly as rumors claim.”

“It seems then that merely offering benefits won’t be enough to make you submit—I must demonstrate overwhelming power, right?”

Shengzai released his fingers, causing “Demon Claws,” still straining to pull his axe, to crash face-first onto the ground.

Unwilling to accept defeat, “Demon Claws” adjusted his stance, reinforced himself with several martial techniques, then unleashed a full-power strike aimed straight at Shengzai’s head!

“Martial Art: Mighty Axe Strike!”

Facing “Demon Claws”’s full-force blow, Shengzai did not dodge—he clenched his fist and met it head-on.

“Boom——————!”

Though his fist was made of flesh and blood, the collision with the massive battle-axe produced a metallic clang.

“Demon Claws,” gripping the axe with both hands, felt an unimaginable force surge from the weapon into his body.

“Crack——————!”

As spiderweb cracks spread across the axe blade, and the weapon shattered completely, “Demon Claws”’s massive body flew backward like a comet.

His body plowed a trench across the ground and smashed through several massive boulders.

“Chief!”

Seeing their chief grievously wounded, many Four-Legged Beast warriors immediately surrounded Shengzai and his party.

“Stop… you’re no match for that human. Don’t… throw your lives away.”

Just from that single blow, “Demon Claws” understood the absolute gap between them.

And it wasn’t a small difference—it was a chasm spanning different dimensions.

Even his full-power strike had ended like this; if his own warriors challenged the man, they’d only be offering their heads.

“Human, who are you, and what do you truly want? With the strength gap between us, killing me just now should’ve been effortless.”

As “Demon Claws” spoke, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

First, he was certain Shengzai was not from the Robel Holy Kingdom—if such a being existed there, the subhumans would’ve been wiped out long ago.

“I already said it before: my goal is simple—I intend to bring you all under my command.”

“Of course, I won’t let you serve me for free. If you’re willing to be my dogs, I’ll grant you the power to evolve and guarantee your food and shelter.”

Having demonstrated his strength, Shengzai now stated his true purpose.

“You want us to submit to you… then if we refuse…?”

“If you refuse, I’m sorry—I’ll have to kill you all.”

“Before coming here, I already made a pact with the Holy Princess: she leads me to each subhuman tribe, and I solve the Holy Kingdom’s problem once and for all.”

Though the subhumans of Abelion Hills weren’t as utterly indifferent to life as the undead, they had killed many humans.

If they refused to submit, Shengzai would show no mercy.

(End of Chapter)