Chapter 1127: The Great Bear Archmage

Lei En's expression remained unchanged, but he smiled inwardly.

The bear indeed surrendered!

I deliberately performed several spatial freezes in front of it, mainly to show it, and I even feared it couldn't comprehend Time Stop, so I switched to spatial freeze; judging from the rune array it set up in the bear's den, it clearly has a deeper understanding of spatial knowledge.

The desire to survive, combined with an intense thirst for magical knowledge, finally made a powerful Loa lay down its pride.

Wusok's demonic soul is very strong, but its quality is too high, and it already possesses the Element itself, so merging brings no improvement.

It is more valuable alive than dead, suitable as a mount!

Kelsaro lacks no mounts, but riding a Loa into battle would elevate his reputation and aura to its peak, providing extra effect on the quest to unify the Gulaman Empire.

"The great Loa…"

Wusok saw Lei En remain silent, felt uneasy, the intense pain in its body came in waves, and it forced itself not to cry out.

It finally sensed clearly that behind it stood an extremely terrifying presence, seemingly also a Loa, devouring its power.

Uh…

The Giant Bear's eyes widened for a moment; a giant demon stood before it—who was behind it?

It was about to turn its head backward when it heard Lei En say coldly, "If you dare turn your head, today will be your death day." The Thunder God's Hammer in his hand shifted slightly.

Wusok's head twitched, and it stayed still, obediently.

Yet its eyes kept scrutinizing Lei En; earlier the hammer had blown its head, seeing nothing, but now it was increasingly shocked—this giant demon Loa was taller than itself, its strength greater, and the hammer in its hand even more terrifying, as heavy as a mountain, something it couldn't even lift.

The Giant Bear quickly noticed some details.

This giant demon Loa didn't seem to be the original one; its weapon had changed, its armor, though still of the Holy Warrior pattern, was clearly a different set, its golden wings were gone, and most noticeably, its aura of power was entirely different.

Although they looked identical, Wusok saw far too many flaws.

"Who exactly is he?"

Wusok was extremely curious but dared not show it, fearing that this mysterious giant demon Loa would become angry and strike it again with a hammer.

Lei En saw its thoughts and was too lazy to conceal them.

Several minutes later.

Wusok's final strand of divinity was drained by Sheng Jilesi, losing its divinity, causing its size to shrink again to just over thirty meters, revealing its true form; its fur's sheen dulled, its power remained Level 20, but its strength was now less than forty percent of its peak.

Nevertheless, even at forty percent strength, Wusok, having undergone nine Soul Transformations, still holds a high Saint Rank, its melee prowess placing it at the world's summit.

Sheng Jilesi glanced at the phone interface: divinity value 243,507!

He leapt, breaking free from the ethereal plane.

Wusok still lay on the ground, its gaze bleak; the divinity it had accumulated for over a thousand years was completely drained, its power plummeted, something no one could instantly endure. Without divinity, its wound healing slowed, and the holy sword driven into its back and the ground rendered it immobile.

Lei En had no intention of removing the Tiriel Sword, and said calmly, "If you meet the three conditions, I will accept your surrender."

The Giant Bear's face showed irritation.

Not long ago, it had confidently presented three conditions; now the tables turned, and the other side demanded something from it, causing it great humiliation.

Wusok moved slightly, a piercing pain shot from its back, and it instantly calmed again.

"Please speak."

Lei En produced a cyan collar, a metal collar engraved with many mysterious runes, emitting a strange energy.

This is a Soul‑Binding Circle.

It was originally forged by the Green Dragon King Zhanqing to control the simulated avatar of Black Robe Duke Reslin; later I removed it and applied it to the Golden Three‑Headed Dragon Borchi, but now Borchi has taken a soul oath, so it is no longer needed.

Wusok instantly recognized the Soul‑Binding Circle's extraordinariness, and heard Lei En ask, "What is your true name?"

"I am just called Wusok," the Giant Bear replied, a bit puzzled.

Lei En nodded.

On the Southern Continent, there is no concept of true names, not even surnames; Loa, unlike dragons and demons, have no true names, and I just need to confirm that.

He poured soul energy into the collar to activate the runes, and loudly intoned in giant demon language, "Wusok, you will forever submit to me, your master—Ryan Augustus's command, your soul belongs to me…"

At first, Wusok didn't understand what was happening; it heard a name, Ryan Augustus, and wondered what a strange name that was—wasn't this giant demon called Kelsaro? But soon it felt the power of the Soul‑Binding Circle, guessed it was a soul‑controlling sorcery, and was instantly terrified.

"I do not accept!"

It struggled desperately, and the invisible divine might erupted from the Tiriel Sword piercing its body and driven into the ground, making its soul tremble; Lei En rapidly chanted the incantation while levitating the Thunder God's Hammer, pressing it onto the Giant Bear's head.

The one‑million‑five‑hundred‑thousand‑pound war hammer, like a mountain, pressed it immobile, making it feel its head might explode at any moment.

When the incantation ended, the Soul‑Binding Circle turned into a burst of cyan light that sank into the Giant Bear's forehead.

It turned into a curse within Wusok's soul, like a Blood Soul Curse lurking deep inside. If Wusok were still a demi‑god with divinity, the Soul‑Binding Circle could hardly merge with the soul, but now, with its soul weakened, an opportunity arose.

"If you don't want to die, accept it," Lei En threatened, "This is the first condition."

Wusok felt the war hammer on its head, its gaze wavering for a moment, then finally gave up resistance; instantly, the Soul‑Binding Circle took effect.

The Thunder God's Hammer flew up and landed in Lei En's hand; he waved, and the Tiriel Sword summoned by the Three God Crown vanished.

"Hoo…"

Wusok gasped heavily, the pain in its body greatly lessened.

"The second condition," Lei En continued, "is to lift the control over the Creator's Altar."

The Giant Bear's eyes were filled with reluctance; losing divinity, then losing the Creator's Altar, it could never become a Loa again. It hesitated only briefly, its soul tearing in agony, it screamed and rolled on the ground.

Lei En watched coldly, intending to let the bear taste the power of the Soul‑Binding Circle so it would obey.

He tormented it for several minutes before stopping.

Wusok felt the pain recede like a tide, regaining its senses, and finally realized it had no room for bargaining; when its soul was controlled, the so‑called three conditions were meaningless, even if three hundred demands were made.

That terrifying pain, it never wanted to experience again.

"Do you lift it now?" Wusok asked proactively, "My Loa warriors are stationed outside the temple of Wodashir; if they notice any anomaly, trouble may arise."

Lei En shook his head and said, "You don't need to worry about that; I'll lift it immediately."

"Yes."

Wusoku closed its eyes, and when it opened them half a minute later, its eyes were full of loss and heartache, and it whispered, "It's already lifted."

In the ancient sacred altar beneath Vordashir, Ke Er Sa Luo had long been standing before the golden panel, hand pressed on it; the same second Wusoku lifted the permission, it sensed it, immediately infused holy light power, and began to seize the altar's permission.

Lei En simultaneously sensed the situation and said to Wusoku, "The third condition: you must publicly worship the Radiant Lord Saint Gilez on Giant Bear Ridge, and all troll tribes of Giant Bear Ridge must also become followers of the Radiant Lord."

Giant Bear Ridge is Wusoku's domain.

This area's size is about half that of the God‑Abandoned Land, which is also the range of influence of Vordashir's ancient sacred altar, and it is home to roughly four million trolls.

Wusoku is not surprised by trolls converting; every victorious Loa does this, demanding the enemy's followers to convert.

But who is the Radiant Lord?

The Loa troll before him is clearly not the Radiant Lord, and it also seems not to have seized the Creator's Altar; Wusoku has never seen such a situation before.

"I am willing to follow the Radiant Lord Saint Gilez." Wusoku did not dare to ask further and honestly agreed.

Lei En nodded with satisfaction, "Very well."

He thought for a moment, took a memory crystal from the Nebula Ring, held it in his hand, and wrote a large amount of magic knowledge into the crystal, including some basic common sense, energy attributes, runes, as well as dozens of spells from the first to the ninth ring, Arcane, and finally the Star‑Lake meditation method.

Since the stick has already been finished, a sweet date can be given.

Wusoku, this bear, will be useful later; it has always been merely enslaving and suppressing. It is now patient, but when its hatred accumulates to a certain point it will erupt, possibly a self‑destructive burst.

"Next."

Lei En tossed the memory crystal over.

Wusoku subconsciously cupped the memory crystal on its bear paw; the palm‑sized crystal looked like a grain of sand to it, and it wore a bewildered expression, not knowing its purpose. When it followed Lei En's guidance and pressed the crystal to its forehead, instantly a massive influx of information surged into its mind.

The giant bear's expression changed.

After a long while, when it opened its eyes it was trembling with excitement all over, and the memory crystal cupped in its bear paw at that moment was the most precious treasure in the world to it!

"I understand!"

"So this is magic, spells, Wizard, Grand Mage, hahahaha…" Wusoku laughed wildly, "I knew I was right, magic is the greatest power in the world, hahaha, I finally understand!"

This memory crystal opened a new world for it.

The giant bear danced its limbs joyfully, like a child weighing three hundred thousand jin.

Suddenly, Wusoku lay on the ground facing Lei En, expression reverent, completely forgetting the soul‑torment pain moments ago, with boundless admiration in its heart, it shouted, "Master, teach me!"

Lei En laughed, "Teach you what?"

"Please teach me magic knowledge." Wusoku's gaze was firm, its hope for the future rekindled, "I want to become a Grand Mage!"

Lei En did not answer immediately.

Wusoku has undergone nine Soul Transformations; although fundamentally a bear and lacking an Affinity Element, becoming a Grand Mage is not difficult—once it masters the meditation method and cultivates magical power, it can soon become the Southern Continent's first mage in history.

Even if Wusoku ascends to Grand Mage, Lei En is not afraid of its rebellion; a mere Grand Mage cannot pose much threat to him.

He is considering Wusoku's prospects.

Wusoku was once a demigod, possessing divinity; any transcendent being that walks the path of apotheosis cannot turn back, as divinity reshapes the soul, making further Soul Transformations impossible. In other words, its mage path has an endpoint; it cannot ascend beyond, the highest being a 34th‑level Grand Mage.

But a giant bear Grand Mage reaching the 34th level is already very rare.

It will understand the level cap on its own later.

Lei En smiled and said, "First master this magic knowledge; whether I teach you more later will depend on your performance."

"Yes, I will certainly obey the master's command." Wusoku immediately agreed, with no hint of resistance.

One person and one bear said nothing further.

Lei En was waiting for Ke Er Sa Luo to complete control of the ancient sacred altar, which required some time; Wusoku repeatedly read the contents of the memory crystal, suddenly thought of a question and couldn't help asking, "Master, did you come from outside the Gulaman Empire?"

"You're clever." Lei En gave it a glance but offered no further explanation.

The clever Wusoku asked no further.

A moment later.

Ke Er Sa Luo seized the altar's permission; with that, Giant Bear Ridge fell under his rule. He did not alarm Vordashir's trolls, left a squad of Thunder‑forged Divine Weapons in the ancient sacred altar, opened a portal and returned outside Zuanke City, leaping into the Aether Plane.

Wusoku saw two identical trolls and instantly had an epiphany.

It had indeed guessed correctly.

It had already brushed against some magic, speculating this was a powerful spell‑crafted duplicate; the two trolls were actually the same one.

Ke Er Sa Luo's body swelled to about ten meters, and he leapt onto Wusoku's back to ride.

Wusoku subconsciously tried to resist; as a Loa, to one day become someone else's mount was a disparity it could not accept.

But it moved only a little before stopping.

The giant bear felt Lei En's cold gaze and the pressure of the Loa troll on its back, and could only lower its massive bear head.

"Go, and remember not to reveal my existence." Lei En said and vanished.

Ke Er Sa Luo squeezed his legs, activated the Phase Hunter magic soul's interdimensional traversal ability, and took Wusoku back to the Prime Material Plane, appearing outside Zuanke City.

He ordered, "Enter the city."

The giant bear said nothing, silently sprinting toward Zuanke.

The trolls in the city quickly saw it, then recognized Ke Er Sa Luo riding on the bear's back; whether Holy Knights or Blood‑eye Tribe trolls, they were instantly stunned. This was something they never dared imagine in their dreams: the god of strength, Wusoku, one of the strongest Loa, had become a mount!

Many trolls thought their eyes were faulty, that they had mis‑seen.

But as they drew nearer, all trolls saw clearly—it was real!

The Zuanke believers all wore stunned expressions; they had served Loa all their lives, yet not only were defeated, but completely submitted to the opponent.

The Holy Knights erupted in thunderous cheers!

(End of Chapter)