Chapter 1064: Spoils of War (2)

Chapter 1064: Chapter 545: Spoils of War (2)

The Taiyue Sword trembled lightly from time to time, as if it were craving a taste of his fresh blood.

The Croc-Monster felt a fierce instinct rising from the depths of its soul: no matter what tricks it used, there was absolutely no way it could block a single strike from that sword.

In other words—once the sword was drawn, death was guaranteed!

Yang Fan held the Holy Artifact Legion Tiger Talisman, glanced faintly at the Croc-Monster. “Open your soul.”

There were still a few “empty slots” inside the Sacred Artifact; he planned to turn the Croc-Monster into his first War Spirit at Knight Level.

Because the resources in the Mutant Beast Mysterious Land were even richer than those in the Sea of Death Black Sand and the Sobbing Green Sea, the Canglan Civilization was bound to develop this place. The Croc-Monster was quite strong, its abilities highly balanced, very suitable to be a bodyguard for the Canglan People.

The Croc-Monster squeezed its eyes shut, giving no response.

This was a silent form of resistance.

Perfectly normal.

After all, no living creature is willing to open its soul to another, because there’s only one outcome for doing so—becoming a slave.

Yang Fan casually added another line, the threat in his tone blatantly obvious: “If you refuse, I’ll skin you alive and rip out your tendons.”

“Clang!”

The Taiyue Sword enthusiastically chimed in.

The Croc-Monster’s whole body shuddered, its neck shrank even shorter.

Yang Fan thought for a moment, then used a new threatening tactic: “And I’ll imprison your soul for three hundred years.”

With a thought, he summoned out the Evil Spirit Curse Jar.

“Ah~”

With a shrill, miserable screech, a blood-red skull floated out of the black stone jar.

Yang Fan didn’t intend to push the guy all the way into a dead end. “As long as you serve the Canglan Civilization for 100 years, I’ll return your freedom.”

A Middle Rank Knight’s soul was far too powerful; the Sacred Artifact couldn’t forcibly capture it, so he could only resort to a mix of threats and enticements.

Five seconds later.

The Croc-Monster finally gave in.

It let out a “roar” and voluntarily dropped its soul defenses.

Yang Fan gripped the Sacred Artifact and rapidly sent one Legion Mark after another into the Croc-Monster’s soul.

When he contracted the Centipede Overlord in the Black Sand Sea, a single Mark had been enough to handle it with ease.

This time, though, he had to pour in more than twenty Marks in a row before he finally managed to subdue the Croc-Monster.

Examining the Sacred Artifact closely, he could see a tiny phantom of the Croc-Monster inside, swimming about cheerfully.

Right at that moment.

Yang Fan suddenly sensed that he was being watched.

He quickly turned his head toward the sky, and a High-Level Magic Thread shot out in an instant.

The pale silver Magic Thread stretched out thirty kilometers in a heartbeat, immediately locking onto a Supernatural Mark.

Star Formation Insight promptly returned a piece of feedback—this was a Black Swirl Knight’s surveillance.

Yang Fan frowned and quietly activated the Ninefold Luminary Spirit: “Dare to secretly peep at this Knight? Time to teach you a little lesson!”

The next instant.

An invisible spiritual shock wave slammed into a hidden Supernatural Mark.

This kind of long-distance Spiritual Attack was precisely what the Ninefold Luminary Spirit excelled at.

Several hundred kilometers away.

The Black Swirl Birdman Middle Rank Knight Yang Fan had encountered earlier suddenly let out a pained “caw,” both bird-eyes squeezing shut.

A hair-thin thread of dark red blood immediately trickled from its left eye.

But because the distance was extremely far, and Knights had incredibly tough bodies, to it this was nothing more than a trivial injury.

Another Middle Rank Knight turned to look over, a hint of shock and doubt showing in his bird-eyes.

The injured Black Swirl Birdman opened its right eye, a flash of horror darting through its pupils. “We’ve been tracking the Croc-Monster for more than three years, and that human Knight has already subdued it!”

The Middle Rank Knight was stunned on the spot.

Subdued?

How long has it even been?

The injured Black Swirl Birdman spoke urgently: “That human Knight is extremely dangerous. We’d better head back to the World Gate immediately.”

The Middle Rank Knight nodded repeatedly. “Let’s go.”

Very soon.

A swirl of black mist surged up, and the Birdmen vanished without a trace.

*

Canglan Star.

Southern suburbs of Atina Capital Bunos.

Tiago, leader of the Panpas Independent Army, was standing on the top floor of a six-story building, looking down at the street below through a large glass window.

No one would ever guess that this leader was actually hiding in his own country’s capital, right under the nose of territory tightly controlled by Great Xia.

Tiago’s gaze followed a man and a woman, watching them walk down the street arm in arm.

Recently, on the streets of Bunos, pairs like this had been appearing more and more often.

The women were young and pretty Atina girls.

The men beside them, on the other hand, had the typical features of Great Xia People.

Tiago also knew that this Great Xia man was already 36, while the Atina girl was only 22.

Even though the Great Xia man wasn’t young anymore, he didn’t look greasy at all, nor did he show signs of baldness or anything like that.

Quite the opposite.

Judging only from his appearance, this Great Xia man had fair skin and a fresh, clean look. At first glance, he seemed around 25, far younger than his actual age.

The man and woman walked side by side, without looking out of place together in the slightest.

Tiago knew this wasn’t the result of makeup, and certainly not any kind of Superpower.

Nor was this an isolated case.

Recently there were more and more Great Xia People in Bunos; he’d seen plenty of them in their thirties or even fifties who looked at least ten years younger than their real age.

A few months ago, the famous Sirius Life Technology—a Great xia Company that produced Body Tempering Liquid—had released a series of cosmetic Black Technology products.

For example, a kind of ointment called “Black Jungle.” Just rub it on your scalp once a day for about half a month, and your scalp would be rejuvenated, achieving the miraculous effect of “hair out of nowhere.”

Another one was a beauty cream called “Clear Stream Flow.” If you applied it every morning and night without fail, then in less than a month, all the pigmentation, dark spots, wrinkles, and so on on your face would disappear without a trace.

Because the results were shockingly good, the two products had been on the market for more than three months, and each bottle casually cost over a thousand Xia Yuan. But they were constantly in short supply; rumor had it that preorder slots were already queued up two years out.

Tiago had heard his female subordinates discussing this, so it left a deep impression on him.

The Great Xia man who’d just walked past clearly had used such cosmetic products, which was why he looked so young.

Not long after.

The man and woman approached the intersection up ahead.

Tiago didn’t know what the Great Xia man said, but the girl broke into delighted laughter, then leaned over to kiss her boyfriend’s cheek, tightening her grip around his arm.

Tiago suddenly found the scene extremely offensive to the eyes, and cursed with a face full of disgust, “Damn Great Xia People!”

He reflexively cursed at the girl as well: “Shameless tramp!”

Yet in his heart, he had to admit that compared with Great Xia People of the same age, Atina men did indeed look older—and poorer.

On top of that, Great Xia People were generally richer. So for the pretty girls of his own country to willingly throw themselves into the arms of Great Xia men was perfectly normal.

Very soon.

The Great Xia man who had annoyed Tiago, along with his girlfriend, turned the corner and disappeared from his sight.

He stepped away from the window and sat back down in a comfortable armchair.

Originally, Tiago had been full of confidence that as the Independent Army kept growing stronger, they would eventually be able to drive Great Xia People out.

But half an hour ago, a piece of dreadful news had arrived.

His most trusted subordinate, Gwyneth—also one of his lovers—had led the Sea Beast Legion in an attack on the Great Xia Navy, and then completely vanished.

This hit him hard, and also made him realize how badly he had underestimated Great Xia’s strength.

Tiago let out a dispirited sigh and muttered under his breath, “Nine times out of ten, it was the Great Xia Spirit Crow or the Great Xia Ghost that made a move. Looks like the Independent Army had better lay low and go to ground for a while.”

He pulled open a drawer and took out a delicate shell, speaking in a low voice, “Rebecca, spread the word. Let most of our people enter the Secret Realm for a while.”

Atina’s communications network was already under Great Xia’s control, so Tiago didn’t dare use a cell phone and only used the communication Curiosities brought back from the Mutant Beast Mysterious Land.

This thing was called—Echo Demon Shell.

It wasn’t as convenient as a phone, but at least there was no risk of leaks.

“Buzz～”

The Echo Demon Shell vibrated.

Tiago heard his female secretary’s reply: “Yes, Master!”

He liked being called “Master”; it gave him a wonderful feeling of being above everyone else, so including his three female secretaries, all his women addressed him that way.

Tiago was just about to put the shell away when it suddenly vibrated again.

A strange male voice suddenly came from it. “Mr. Tiago, a pleasure to meet you!”

Tiago’s face changed drastically in an instant.