"Fair enough."
Davis nodded.
He supposed if these women were sacrificed to appease him, he guessed the Ghostly Crow Clan wouldn't hand over the Ghostly Crow Lower Realm.
He waved his hand and let the concealment come undone by his side.
Instantly, a bloodied figure appeared, bald and wingless.
His head was cracked in various places and even sunken. Moreover, his cheeks were torn, revealing broken teeth. His two eyes were missing, replaced with stones inside. His torso was maimed, bloody skin creeping as it tried to heal but couldn't. He was missing his right arm while his feet were nailed to the ground, causing him to float in his own puddle of blood.
He couldn't even move as his bones were cracked in all places, especially the joints. Occasionally, he limped and whimpered in pain.
The moment he saw his women, and they saw him, time seemed to slow down. "No... no... no, no! Why- why did you come!?"
He roared miserably, his furious yet hopeless voice resounding in the atmosphere. "Yughen..." The woman in white's eyes quickly moistened as she called out, her voice breaking.
She walked forward absentmindedly but was stopped by her sisters.
"You- Divine Emperor of Death!" The second wife cried, tears spilling out, "You can kill, but you can't subject us to this kind of humiliation and torture!"
"You... you monster. Leave him alone..." The third wife sniffled as she dropped to her knees, appearing heartbroken.
They looked furious and saddened at the same time, their undulations at the Level One Autarch Stage revolving. Except for the woman in white, he could see the others hastily entered the Autarch Stage in the past few days since their auras were quite unstable.
Davis remained indifferent.
He knew the Ghostly Crow Realm Master had many wives than him, each of them coming from a high background within the clan and other crow clans. He could tell the first wife, the woman in white, was from the Ghostly Crow Clan; the second wife, the woman clad in black armor, was from the Dark Moon Crow Clan; and the wife clad in pale green robe was from the Serene Gale Crow Clan.
The other four women were also from these three clans. They seemed to have come to sacrifice themselves with the Ghostly Crow Realm Master.
However, he couldn't help but frown,
The attendance was very low. Only seven had appeared out of the seventy-two wives. It was a measly number.
Perhaps they decided to cut the losses by only sending these seven. Perhaps the others decided to abandon their husband. Either way, he didn't approve of this outcome at all. If more than half of them had come, perhaps he would've been moved enough to consider letting the Ghostly Crow Realm Master leave alive.
Mistakes were made, but the Ghostly Crow Realm Master wasn't an evil man, after all. He was also punished very badly as he was tortured for a long time, satiating Davis's heart for revenge. He had broken the Ghostly Crow Realm Master for daring to harm his Myria and wounding Illumina before finally doubling down and attacking Mingzhi. Evelynn frowned at the mention of monster, but. Mingzhi touched her shoulder, shaking her head ever so lightly.
Davis considered for a moment before opening his mouth, "The crimes committed by your husband, the Ghostly Crow Realm Master, are harming my wives. The severity was great since there was no warning, and it intended to end in a lethal strike that would result in Myria's death. Even if momentary, this is deserving of a thousand deaths. He will be publicly executed."
The hearts of Yughen's wives sank.
So their husband was really going to die.
"Is there no other way...?" The first wife asked. Her expression shone with determination, "His future is invaluable. He cannot die today. How about you take our lives in exchange for releasing him? There should be reason you called for a
negotiation instead of openly executing him."
"That's right." Davis nodded, "But your lives for a Realm Master's life isn't a fair exchange."
"I was going to have the Ghostly Crow Realm Core for myself"
....."
"However, none of your Grand Elders came. It seems like they do not respect me, but that's fine. It's a pity... that your husband has to die."
The second wife hastily opened her mouth, "That's- that's because the Guardians are dead, and our realm is now in a precarious position where every single one of our cultivators is in a warring state. They cannot afford to leave the realm or we would be attacked from all sides. It is not an insult to you, we swear."
Davis turned to look at Mingzhi, and she shrugged.
The Guardians were at fault for trying to attack her.
Davis chuckled and turned to look at them, "It doesn't matter. They should know that their life and death could also be decided by me, yet they sent you, his wives. Did they think that just because I'm known to be a womanizer, I'll accept you seven as my conquests and forget about the Ghostly Crow Clan?"
..!?"
The seven wives shuddered. They were sent here to die and save the Ghostly Crow Realm Master in secret, not be conquests. But what if... they were sent to appease the Divine Emperor of Death and cause him to release the Ghostly Crow Realm Master so that he could continue to prop up the clan?
However, other candidates were also vying for the Ghostly Crow Realm Master's position, so what was the truth?
They couldn't tell if their clan betrayed them or wanted them to be heroes who saved the Ghostly Crow Realm Master.
"Please, we will exchange our lives for his release. The clan needs him." The third wife pleaded. She was already on her knees, so she kowtowed.
"Kruna..."
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master trembled, feeling his heart be ripped off.
His third wife was the one who was fond of him the most, doing everything she could to make him happy, even looking for other women who would benefit him and his cultivation. Back then, if he had the slightest doubt that she was just trying to gain favor and grow her influence, then now, he could tell that she was completely selfless and full of affection for him.
He turned to look at the Divine Emperor of Death. He couldn't see him but sense him. "No... their lives... are not for exchange. Kill me... and spare them..." His dry and hoarse voice was weak.
"What a good family. Are you satisfied with breaking it by trying to act righteous?"
Davis asked with a mocking gaze.
"I... regret it deeply... please... let them go...." Yughen clenched his teeth, blood leaking from his broken teeth and gums.
Davis felt a sense of accomplishment and nodded. It was good that. Yughen deeply regretted his actions. Otherwise, he would still be pissed.
"A pity only seven of your wives came. t seems like the rest don't care about you or couldn't be bothered to enact the vows they exchanged with you. It's unlikely they felt they didn't need to sacrifice all of the wives. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent you the first wife and other beloveds who hold a high position in the clan. Isn't that right?"
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master trembled ever so lightly, his expression changing.
He tried not to think about it because the lives of his seven wives here were more
important.
The first wife and the others also lowered their gazes. It seems like they already knew the reason their sisters didn't accompany them was that they wanted to get out of a sinking ship. But what could they do?
The clan was already on the edge of discarding them. They needed to be careful in the decisions they make or offend the Divine Emperor of Death and invite a complete
calamity.
"Davis, it's enough... he has apologized a hundred times to me already. If you want them dead, then just kill them. Anymore is just... cruelty..."
Davis blinked as he heard Myria's voice in his head.
He turned to look at her, seeing that she was becoming more and more like a Saintess.
No, it was better said that she was returning to being kind and caring, making him smile. She couldn't bear to see a close-knit family suffer.
"But I will be cruel until they learn their lesson... no one harms you and gets to leave with a pat on their hand..."
Myria turned speechless. She glanced at the Ghostly Crow Realm Master and saw his miserable figure. How was that a pat on his hand?
However, she couldn't help but feel secure with the way he protected her, causing her
to smile lightly. As long as he was ruthless, she felt like she could afford to be kind again. Otherwise, she knew she would turn into a fiend sooner or later.
"The Ghostly Crow Realm Master will be executed, but that could be changed by fulfilling three conditions. The last condition is fully optional. Are you seven willing to
hear it?"
Davis raised his hand and displayed three fingers.
"Yes!~"
Yughen's first wife and the others screamed. It could be seen they were grasping at straws here, completely powerless and trying to see hope at the end of the tunnel. Davis felt like he was taking advantage of their plight but this was brought on by their husband, so he supposed it was warranted. He raised a finger.
"First, kowtow and apologize to Myria three times. Second, receive my arrow-just like
your husband tried to shoot my Myria."
"