“Sixth-tier Awakened One?” Jackey was stunned. He could feel the powerful Earth Elemental Power of Laws contained within the crystal ball, and he knew John was not lying.
He had always thought that his life would be limited to this point, but now he realized that he could actually break through to the Awakened One level.
“Thank you, my lord!” Jackey was deeply moved and was about to kneel to express his gratitude.
John quickly stopped him, lifting him up and saying, “Village Chief, you are the one who saved my life. How could I accept such a great gift?”
Nearby, Debbie frowned slightly. It seemed that this human was not as evil as she had initially thought.
“My lord, there is one more thing I would like to ask of you,” Jackey said, carefully putting the crystal ball away. He looked over at Spoorate and hesitated.
“My lord, may I speak with you privately for a moment?” He said, pulling John aside.
John had already guessed what he wanted to ask. He spoke first, “Village Chief, you want me to take Spoorate with me, right? It’s not that I don’t want to, but my next actions might be dangerous, and I won’t be able to protect her.”
“I understand,” Jackey said, nodding. “But I believe Spoorate can help you.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Spoorate has two divine-level talents: Three-Headed, Six-Armed and The Path of Immortality.”
“Three-Headed, Six-Armed? The Path of Immortality?” John was puzzled. He had never heard of these two abilities before.
Jackey nodded and explained, “These two talents are both linked to resisting The Heaven. Spoorate’s father knew that if her abilities were exposed, The Heaven would never allow her to exist. So, he decided to rebel against The Heaven to protect her, but he ultimately failed. I can sense that the seal he placed inside her to conceal her talents is weakening. If she doesn’t grow stronger quickly, she will be in danger.”
He looked at John with a pleading expression. “I know what you plan to do next. Though Spoorate is weak now, once her talents awaken, she will definitely be of great help to you.”
“Alright, I’ll take Spoorate with me,” John agreed with a nod. His base attributes had recovered by 10%, and although he hadn’t yet comprehended the Power of Laws, his strength was already comparable to a four-star Awakened One. As long as he was cautious, there should be no danger.
“Thank you, my lord,” Jackey thanked him again, and then asked, “My lord, did you really subdue the Divine Lady?”
John nodded and asked in confusion, “Is there something wrong with her?”
Jackey replied, “The Divine Lady is not the problem. She and the obese city lord have never gotten along, and she hasn’t caused us trouble. But the Divine Lady’s power comes from the The Heaven Law. She is absolutely loyal to it. I fear she might betray you.”
“Don’t worry, I can control her,” John reassured him. He wasn’t concerned. Debbie had already signed a soul contract with him, and she couldn’t go against him.
Even if she had the ability to erase the soul contract, she was no match for him.
After giving Jackey a few more instructions, John cleaned the blood off himself, changed into a clean set of clothes, and led the two women out.
With Debbie around, the map he had drawn earlier was no longer of any use.
“Master, just ahead is Quahog City, a low-level city,” Debbie said, stopping and pointing to a towering city in the distance.
John had already come to understand the hierarchical structure of cities in this world.
Villages were the smallest unit, followed by towns, low-level cities, mid-level cities, high-level cities, and at the top were the royal cities.
Each city needed to pay tribute to higher-tier cities to keep them functioning.
Quahog City was a low-level city, and its lord was said to be a four-star Awakened One with considerable strength.
Moreover, only in cities were there prisoners of The Heaven, and the higher the tier of the city, the stronger the prisoners held there.
Quahog City had prisoners of The Heaven imprisoned.
“Let’s not rush into the city. Let’s find a place and hunt some magical beasts,” John said.
For the past few days, they had been traveling along the main roads without any disturbances from fierce beasts or spirit beasts, so his strength hadn’t improved much.
He was now barely strong enough to kill a four-star Awakened One, but for safety’s sake, he still wanted to improve his power.
Moreover, the two women were not particularly strong, especially Spoorate. Along the way, she had absorbed quite a few crystal cores and spirit cores, recently breaking through to the mid-stage of Body Refining Realm.
With this level of strength, she wouldn’t even be able to deal with ordinary soldiers in the city.
The group entered a nearby forest.
“Master, are you really going to release the prisoners of The Heaven held in the city?” Debbie asked as she caught up with John.
“Why? Are you unwilling?” he asked, his voice showing irritation.
Debbie noticed his displeasure and quickly explained, “Master, the prisoners held by The Heaven are all notorious criminals. If you release them, it will lead to great suffering for the innocent.”
“Oh?” John stopped and asked, “So you think I’m a bad person?”
“No, Master, you’re different from them,” Debbie quickly shook her head and then added, “But Master, you are the exception.”
“Nonsense, my father is not a bad person!” Spoorate pouted and said, “My grandfather has said that my father rebelled against The Heaven only to protect me. My father and big brother are good people, so The Heaven must be the bad ones.”
The little girl’s thoughts were very innocent.
John looked at Debbie and said lightly, “Even Spoorate understands this, but you don’t?”
She opened her mouth, but was at a loss for words.
Having already recognized John as her master, she couldn’t resist, even if she felt reluctant.
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly, accompanied by the sound of roaring tigers. The gates of Quahog City opened wide, and a cavalry troop charged out, galloping past. The riders were mounted on fierce tigers, a one-star magical beast, the Storm Tigers.
The Storm Tigers were extremely fast, and it didn’t take long before they vanished from sight.
“It’s the Storm Legion. Strange, this is the elite force of Quahog City, they rarely leave the city. Could they have an important mission?” Debbie recognized the cavalry and said in surprise.
“Let’s go, let’s follow and see.” John’s interest was piqued, and he quickly followed.
The Storm Tigers were extremely fast, and it didn’t take long before they vanished from sight.
John was barely able to keep up, but the two women were too slow.
Fortunately, they were traveling along the main road, so they wouldn’t lose track.
Roar…
At that moment, a tiger’s roar came from the distance, followed by the sounds of battle.
It seemed that the cavalry had already engaged with the enemy.
John quickened his pace.
Boom! Boom!
Ahead, a narrow pass appeared, with magic howling and arrows flying.
John finally saw the two sides of the battle.
“Are those Gnolls?” He was taken aback.
From both sides of the forest, waves of Gnoll warriors emerged, arrows flying and magic surging. This was a powerful Gnoll army.
Unlike the weak Gnolls from the gods’ game, the weakest of this army were one-star Awakened Ones, with strength comparable to one-star magical beasts.
What was even more surprising was that this Gnoll army was highly organized and disciplined. They had set up traps along the road and occupied the strategic position of the narrow pass.
The Storm Legion’s charge was completely neutralized, and then, relying on their advantageous position, they unleashed all their firepower and began attacking relentlessly.
“Haha, the strategist is truly a genius! These fools fell for it!” A Gnoll in the attire of a general stood on the high ground of the pass, laughing arrogantly. “Go all out and kill them! Whoever kills the most enemies will be rewarded by the strategist!”
Three-star Awakened One!
John recognized the general’s cultivation and slightly furrowed his brows. This Gnoll army was not to be underestimated.
While their overall strength wasn’t as great as the Storm Legion, with their numerical advantage, favorable terrain, and perfect coordination, they easily suppressed the Storm Legion, which numbered almost a thousand.
“Big brother, who should we help?” Spoorate asked, eager to get involved.
John was speechless. With her current strength, if she rushed out, it would be no different from courting death.
He replied, “We don’t help anyone, just watch for now.”
He could tell that the Storm Legion was already at a disadvantage, and their retreat route had been blocked. It was only a matter of time before they were completely wiped out.
This was the fighting power of Quahog City. He had originally planned to attack the city, so there was no reason for him to assist them.
As for the Gnolls, he also didn’t plan to intervene, nor did they need his help.
Roar!
With a tiger’s roar, the last of the Storm Tigers was killed by several magical spells, and the Storm Legion was annihilated.
“Haha, we’re rich!” The Gnoll commander shouted excitedly, leaping down from the high ground. He looked at the piles of bodies with a delighted expression.
He then ordered, “Strip all the equipment from these bodies and collect the Storm Tiger magic cores. We will give our soldiers a proper burial.”
“Yes!” The Gnolls responded, and their movements were swift and orderly, clearly the result of strict training.
John observed the Gnoll army, his brow furrowed. There was something off about them, an instinctive feeling that these creatures were not normal.
“Hmm? There’s still someone?” The Gnoll commander roared, his eyes scanning the area where John and the others were hiding.
“They found us!” John frowned as a Gnoll army quickly surged toward them.
“Everyone!” The Gnoll commander didn’t attack immediately but called out, “We are just passing through, we mean no harm.”
“Goddess!” The Gnoll commander’s expression darkened as he recognized Debbie. He coldly ordered, “They’re from Quahog City, kill them!”
With a furious shout, the Gnolls immediately surged forward, not giving John a chance to explain.
It worked out perfectly for him, though. He needed to kill a large number of enemies to increase his strength, and these Gnolls, being numerous, were a good opportunity.
“You protect Spoorate,” he instructed Debbie quickly. His longsword appeared in his hand, and he charged toward the Gnoll army.
These Gnolls were no pushovers. The weakest among them were one-star Awakened Ones, much stronger than the guards from Peach Town.
Fortunately, his strength had increased during this time, and he was now strong enough to handle these creatures.
“Strange, how is this human so strong?” The Gnoll commander watched his fallen comrades with a frown.
He couldn’t sense the power of laws emanating from John, which indicated that his physical attributes were terrifyingly powerful.
“The strategist said we shouldn’t mindlessly charge, we must use tactics,” he muttered to himself, deep in thought. Then, he immediately issued an order: “Those with defensive talents, stay in the front. Use Hellfire from a distance to cover the area, and minimize casualties as much as possible.”
“Yes!” The Gnoll army responded, quickly adjusting their formation.
Strong and defensive Gnolls moved to engage John, while others fell back, launching arrows and magic spells, quickly enveloping John in a torrent of attacks.