Chapter 302: Since We're All Dogs, It's Only Natural to Choose a Good Master (12)

Wuu~~~

The Black Stone vehicle rumbled through a heavy city gate and entered the inner city of You Lai.

Upon entering, Luosen realized he had stepped into an impregnable war fortress.

The walls were forged from a special dull-law material, seamless and extremely thick—about 20 meters thick, 25 meters high, overall circular, with a diameter of roughly 5 kilometers.

After passing the walls, Luosen felt a very thick secret-technique barrier tightly wrapping the area's Magic Rings.

Its effect basically matches the Soul Mist developed by the Natural Empire; the fog is fairly dense, shrinking soul perception range to about 10 meters.

Its range is just too small, less than five kilometers.

Besides that, there is a giant magical barrier enveloping the entire fortress.

After a brief probe, Luosen saw that this barrier can block magical scouting and possesses extremely strong defensive capability.

Roughly speaking, if the barrier operates at full capacity, even hauling over the empire's 210mm-caliber giant cannon would only hold out for a while.

Moreover, the inner city directly stations an elite army, with a small post every three steps and a large post every five steps, and detection magic towers are everywhere.

In short, the inner city of You Lai is armed to the teeth.

That's normal.

After all, it's the capital of the Mortal Republic, and to some extent the last base of the Nawatu mortals.

About three minutes later, Laifu completely ascertained the inner city's defenses and, using vast computational power, saw through the 'Secret Technique Barrier' here.

In Luosen's view, the overall defense is quite good, sufficient to withstand direct probing by powerful gods and to repel raids by their elite minions.

But there are many shortcomings, one of which is especially deadly.

He whispered directly with his soul: 'Mage Naya, the power supply of the large defensive barrier relies too much on the Magic Ring; that's not good.'

Naya could of course understand this, but she did not consider it a major flaw.

Or rather, she did not think there existed a better solution besides this.

Luosen seeing her incomprehension said: 'Gods and demons of Legend rank 6 and above can block the linking of a single target's Magic Ring; upon becoming a powerful god, they can block area Magic Ring linking.'

'The inner city's range isn't small; in principle it's hard for a powerful god to completely blockade it, but by coordinating an outside powerful god with inside saints to set up a large imprisonment formation, one could greatly weaken the linking of this area with the Magic Ring, even achieve "complete isolation".'

Once this happens, all defenses of You Lai's inner city will collapse without attack.

Naya pondered and said: 'Atum might have that ability, but we won't let them succeed.'

Seeing her confidence, Luosen added nothing more: 'Then that's fine.'

Soon after, the Black Stone vehicle stopped in a relatively secluded manor courtyard.

Naya explained: 'For now, only my husband and I know you have arrived; the other Sky Councilors only know that someone from the De Rui Tan Plane has come, but they don't know the exact identity.'

Luosen had already guessed this, smiling: 'It seems the Council's resistance to me is much stronger than I expected.'

Naya sighed lightly: 'There's nothing to be done; the steadfast combat faction of the Sky Council agrees to my seeking your support, but still does not want you to intervene too deeply.'

That is to say, even at this moment the Sky Council is still hesitating, unable to form a unified thought.

This is probably a drawback of the council system.

Or more accurately, it's the flaw of a council system lacking supreme authority.

Since only the Naya couple fully knows the situation, this manor must be their private residence.

"Get out of the vehicle, follow behind me."

These words were spoken by Luosen to Saint Azuna.

Right, Azuna is the name of the captured Judgment Saint.

At this moment, Azuna was as docile as a sheep, doing whatever Luosen said without a word, closely following behind him, as if she were his most loyal servant.

Following Naya into the main hall of the manor building, Luosen saw Naya's husband, Mr. Spen.

Taking a glance, he was mildly surprised and couldn't help but say: 'Mr. Spen, after six years apart, you've changed quite a bit.'

Six years ago, Mage Spen appeared to be a refined young man under thirty.

Six years later, his hair was half-white, his forehead covered in deep wrinkles, the corners of his eyes and mouth limp and drooping, making him seem like a little old man troubled by life.

At the same time, one could feel his magic power still only nine rings, even having regressed somewhat from six years ago, falling from the peak of nine rings to the mid-nine rings.

It seems the drastic change of the Nawatu Republic truly worried him sick.

On the other hand, Mage Spen was also filled with myriad emotions.

Six years ago, Luosen was just over twenty, his identity merely that of an island lord.

Back then he was tall and strong, bearing some lordly dignity, but overall he was just a petty lord seeking favor from Nawatu.

But now, he remains young, yet with a neatly trimmed beard, looking much more mature.

At the same time, his every move and bearing greatly changed, from a refined young man becoming solemn and dignified, completely bearing the aura of a mortal emperor who commands the fate of all people and holds worldly power.

He keenly felt the vast gap between them, instinctively offering a respectful salute: 'I pay my respects, Your Majesty Luosen.'

This reaction made Luosen blink slightly, but he quickly adapted to the shift in their statuses, smiling: 'I just happened to capture an assassin; in the carriage I only asked a few simple questions.'

"Let's find a secret room and interrogate him properly."

Mage Spen nodded: 'Let's go to the underground secret room in the backyard.'

Soon, the three arrived at the secret room.

Luosen was the guest, the Naya couple the hosts; thus the couple sat in the main seats, Luosen took a guest seat to the side, and the captive Azuna stood in the middle of the secret room.

As the host, Mage Spen asked: 'Azuna, speak—how many Bright Assassins infiltrated You Lai City? What are their exact identities? How do they make contact?'

Azuna snorted coldly: 'Old mage, you don't even have legendary magic power; you simply aren't qualified to interrogate me.'

Mage Spen's brows furrowed; he offered no rebuttal, instead turning his head to look at his wife.

Naya said coldly: 'Recognize your situation, Azuna!'

Azuna chuckled: 'In fact, it's you Sky Councilors who should recognize your situation.'

"In my view, the Sky Councilors are utterly useless."

Most members lack foresight, but you, Ms. Naya, have foresight and ability—yet you are too naive. You are tightly bound by the rules you set yourself, lacking the courage to break with convention.

Translation: "Most members lack foresight, but you, Ms. Naya, you have foresight and ability, yet you are too naive. You are tightly bound by the rules you yourself set, lacking the courage to break with convention."

Most members lack foresight. But you, Ms. Naya, you have foresight and ability, yet you are too naive. You are tightly bound by the rules you set yourself, lacking the courage to break with convention. 'Tightly' means 'tightly'. 'Courage, resolve' means 'courage, resolve'.

We must not add explanatory words. Keep concise.

Thus: "Most members lack foresight, but you, Ms. Naya, you have foresight and ability, yet you are too naive. You are tightly bound by the rules you yourself set, lacking the courage to break with convention."

We need to keep the quotes? The source includes Chinese quotation marks 「」. In translation we should not include them unless they are part of the text? The instruction: translate the lines; we should output the translation without the Chinese quotes. Usually we omit them. We'll just output the English sentence.

Now 【62

Translation: "In this regard, Sasima'er is much stronger than you."

Note: "Sasima'er" is a person name; we keep pinyin Sasima'er. "is much stronger than you".

"In this regard, Sasama'er is much stronger than you."

As for you, Mage Sibin, you might have some skill in alchemy, but when it comes to magical training, you're completely useless.

Translation: "As for you, Mage Sibin, you may have some achievements in alchemy, but in magic cultivation you are utterly useless."

Mage Sibin, alchemy, magic cultivation, utterly useless.

In this era, only legendary powerhouses are qualified to speak at the table; what good is nine-ring magic?

Translation: "In this era, only legendary powerhouses have the right to speak at the table; what good is nine-ring magic?"

What good is nine-ring magic?

You still have the nerve to sit there; if it were me, I'd have already smashed my head to death by now.

Translation: "You still have the nerve to sit there; if it were me, I'd have already smashed my head to death by now."

You still have the nerve to sit there; if it were me, I'd have already smashed my head to death by now.

The harsh words turned Mage Sibin's face deathly pale and made his already stooped back bend even lower.

Translation: "The harsh words made Mage Sibin's face turn deathly pale; his already stooped back bent even lower."

The harsh words made Mage Sibin's face turn deathly pale; his already stooped back bent even lower.

Naya also turned pale from the words; she certainly knew her own problems. In the Nawate Republic era, when everyone was united, her enlightened sharing and rule-following earned her great prestige.

Translation: "Naya also turned pale from the words; she certainly knew her own problems. In the era of the Nawate Republic, when all were united, her practice of enlightened sharing and rule-following earned her great prestige."

Naya also turned pale from the words; she certainly knew her own problems. In the era of the Nawate Republic, when all were united, her practice of enlightened sharing and rule-following earned her great prestige.

But in this chaotic era, the old rules no longer suit the times, so she became confused, unable to see what is correct.

Translation: "But in this chaotic era, the old rules no longer suit the times, so she became confused, unable to see what is correct."

But in this chaotic era, the old rules no longer suit the times, so she became confused, unable to see what is correct.

She also lacked the ability and courage to blaze a new path for herself.

Translation: "She also lacked the ability and courage to blaze a new path for herself."

She also lacked the ability and courage to blaze a new path for herself.

So, facing the prisoners' mockery, the two were actually speechless.

Luosen had originally intended to respect the master, but seeing the situation turn out like this, with the master not taking charge, he too had no choice but to speak up.

"All right, Azuna, we've said enough nonsense; hurry up and answer the question."

Azuna's body shuddered, and he respectfully bowed to Luosen: "As you wish, Your Majesty the great emperor."

This performance was completely different from before.

He himself also felt a bit embarrassed, and explained in one sentence: "I was defeated by His Majesty the Emperor, so I only submit to His Majesty the Emperor; you two, however, I do not accept."

This attitude made Luosen's heart twitch slightly, recalling the words of the Forest God's saint, Laruxiya.

"Our saints possess independent thoughts; we follow the Void God only because they are strong enough."

In other words, the so-called saints are just a pack of good dogs.

Now, Azuna's performance fully confirms this.

Luosen came alone to Nawat, and he was currently lacking enforcers.

The Natural Empire naturally has many legendary mages, but they are all talented, erudite, and wise research-type mages—great treasures whose best use is in the rear laboratories.

Bringing them to the battlefield would be a huge waste.

And this Azuna before us possesses a legendary level 5 soul; among mortals he's not weak, capable of being an assassin, and surely quite formidable in combat.

Thus he said: "Since you are willing to submit to me, I will pardon your assassination crime."

"If you are willing to fight for me, I will grant you the status of an honorary citizen."

Having reached Azuna's level, upon hearing this he understood Luosen's intention; he also knew this was probably his only way to survive.

Thus he went "plop" and knelt down cleanly before Luosen.

"Great Luosen Your Majesty, fighting for you is my greatest honor, but my soul still bears the soul imprint of the Lord of Judgment."

Luosen chuckled: "This is simple; just bring your head over."

Azuna was full of apprehension, but he still crawled forward a few steps and came before Luosen.

Luosen's attitude, however, was quite casual.

He crossed his legs, set down his wine cup with his left hand, and with his right hand lightly grasped at the void, whereupon a very exquisite and splendid staff materialized in his hand.

It was actually the new guise of a disguised tree branch of the Tree of Life, which Luosen called the "Nature Scepter".

He looked at Azuna's head, his gaze landing on the oily Mediterranean-like spot in the middle of his forehead, furrowed his brow slightly, and said: "Clean your head thoroughly."

"Yes yes yes~~~"

Azuna immediately cast several high-level Immaculate techniques on his own forehead, washing his scalp until it shone like a mirror.

Luosen then placed the Nature Scepter on his head, while silently thinking: "Laifu, seek the judgment imprint."

If it were the soul imprint of a great being, it would indeed be hard to find at once, but the Lord of Judgment is merely a legendary level 9 Void God.

His perception of power's fineness is far inferior to Luosen, who has already reached a strength of 14.9.

This also destined that the soul imprint he forged has a fineness far inferior to Luosen's perceptual limit.

At the same time, to ensure it is hard to crack, the Lord of Judgment will certainly operate at the limit of fineness.

This is called "using good steel on the cutting edge," a perfectly logical course of action.

So, Luosen only needs to search Azuna's brain within the opponent's ability limit to greatly reduce Laifu's workload.

Sure enough, before long, Laifu found the elemental entity of the soul imprint amidst the vast sea of brain neurons.

He easily removed it, but did not imprint his own mark.

Not because he couldn't, but because it was utterly unnecessary.

With Laifu's current computing power, by observing the soul's external manifestation he could directly infer its internal thoughts, so there was absolutely no need to engage in such an enviable act.

At the same time, he could also use this as his greatest competitive advantage over the Void God.

"From now on, your soul is completely free; no one will bind your free will, not even me."

"I will not only not bind your thoughts, but also not probe them, for I respect every person's individuality."

"I don't care what you think; I only look at your concrete actions."

"If your actions are loyal to me, I will reward you; otherwise, I will punish you."

As a legendary powerhouse, one's perception of one's own soul is extremely keen.

Azuna faintly felt that his soul's shackles had indeed been removed, and that no new shackles had appeared—at least he had not sensed any new shackles.

For a moment, his heart was filled with great joy, yet at the same time he grew ever more awestruck by this immensely powerful Natural Empire emperor.

He could sense that the opponent possessed an extraordinarily great soul, compared to which he himself was as insignificant as an ant.

He also personally experienced the opponent's terrifying spells.

What's even more terrifying is that, unlike the Void God who resides far beyond the law ring, the opponent is actually within the law ring itself.

In other words, this is a great being within the law ring! As a saint of the god, he knows well the terror of gods, but at least the law ring still shields against divine perception.

And now, however, there is such a god who can actually penetrate deep into the law ring—undoubtedly an invincible existence in the mortal realm.

He didn't know, however, that Luosen's true form was actually that of a mortal, and destroying his body would be enough to kill him.

He simply assumed, on instinct, that the other party was some great god who had sneaked into the mortal world via some astonishing secret method.

Now, such a near-invincible existence, whether willing to take me on as a dog or as a subordinate, I naturally must seize the opportunity.

Thus, the legendary powerhouse with five legendary souls straightforwardly knocked his head against the carpet, making a 'thud' sound.

「Great Luosen, Your Majesty, I am deeply honored to become an honorary citizen of the Natural Empire, and equally honored to fight for you! 」

Luosen was very pleased with Azuna's discernment, and pointed to the nearby chair.

「Sit down, tell us in detail the plan of the Light Assassin, and then we'll discuss countermeasures thoroughly. 」

「Yes, Your Majesty! 」

Azuna quickly adapted to their new identity, without hesitation betraying their former comrades.

Because I went to the hospital for a check-up yesterday, delaying the update, chapter two will be a bit late.

(End of chapter)