The Dragys Lordess struggled. Her eyes widened in surprise and terror. Michael didn’t look much better than her in the current situation, but he smiled from one ear to the other, ignoring the blade penetrating his chest. Instead of paying any attention to the blade in her chest, Michael focused on the serpent fang and the Beast God poison oozing out of it. The poison spilled out from the tip of the serpent fang and channeled straight into the Dragys Lordess’ heart. Even if it was possible to survive having one’s heart punctured as a Divine Lfieform, the Dragys Lordess was unable to remove the Beast God poison in a simple manner. Her expression distorted in agony and fear as realization dawned upon her. She realized what awaited her but couldn’t accept it. There was no way she could accept the situation. She…didn’t want to die. The Dragys Lordess was not ready to die just yet.
She roared and twisted the shortsword blade in Michael’s heart as a last-ditch effort, but Michael responded to her action with a mere smile. He infused more True Extraction Essence and Qi into her through the serpent fang and drained her energy and lifeforce while slowly tearing her muscles apart with Qi.
Michael was in pain. There was an undeniable fact. Having his heart punctured and limbs severed was painful, but Michael was also prepared for this situation. From the moment he saw the Dragys Lordess smile vibrantly when she thought Michael couldn’t teleport away after sustaining severe wounds, Michael had prepared for this moment. He produced enough advanced healing serum while accumulating the authority of Nature Heart – which could act as a replacement for the average heart as well – to mend all wounds.
His severed limbs were already back in their usual spot. The Dragys Lordess didn’t even realize that his limbs had been teleported back and that they would be reattached without causing any long-term problems within minutes. Michael didn’t channel any advanced healing serum into his arm and legs. Instead, he let River of Vigor’s passive powers do their work. His Soultrait would heal the severed nerves, tissues, energy paths, and so on in no time.
“Can you stop struggling, please? This is bothersome,” Michael asked, watching the half-paralyzed and half-dead Lordess in annoyance. The Aethyr Blade whisked through the air, severing the Dragys Lordess’ arms with some effort. It required Qi, Greater Enhancement, and every bit of physical strength he’d acquired through Jormungandr, Heavenly Beast Physique, Serpent Seals, Curse Fusion, and Foundation Break, but that mattered little.
Important was only that her arms were severed and that she could hardly breathe at this point.
She was bound to die.
“Don’t even try to push everyone to sacrifice their lives to destroy the Untamed Jungle. The Beast God poison has already altered your mind, and you haven’t realized yet that something important is missing.” Michael smiled, glancing to the side where the Azure Quetzalcoatl had been. It wasn’t there anymore.
Michael had teleported the Azure Quetzalcoatl to the Dragys Lordess’ main settlement, where it destroyed her wooden manor and Intermediate Summoning Gate. It required some effort to destroy the Intermediate Summoning Gate, but a crystal filled with True Extraction Essence accelerated the process.
The True Extraction Essence crystal was shattered on the Summoning Gate’s foundation and freed. It extracted the Summoning Cores installed in the Summoning Gate, therefore removing the Lord Powers of the Dragys Lordess without going through the hassle of destroying the Intermediate Summoning Gate.
The Dragys Lordess couldn’t force her subordinates to commit suicide by igniting their Energy Pillars anymore. She was no longer a Lord; thus, the Links of Loyalty ceased to exist. If the Lordess’ senses had been intact, she would have noticed something amiss. The Azure Quetzalcoatl had disappeared, and her Soultrait Symbol’s power plummeted suddenly. Something was wrong, yet the Dragys Lordess had been certain to emerge victorious from the battle. Unfortunately, the opposite was the case. She was on the losing side.
She was growing weaker. The Beast God poison was in full effect now, and her energy had been sucked dry. Only remnants of her lifeforce were left.
“Do you have any last words? If you want to kill yourself and take me with you, try it. But it won’t work,” Michael smiled.
The Dragys Lordess’ hazy and almost hollow eyes stared straight at Michael. She seemed to realize something looking at him, and the corner of her lips curled upward.
“I might die…but your future will be a living hell. I can see it now. Infested by Curses…and controlled by the Fates given by the Will. Your life will be miserable…and I will enjoy every last piece of it in the afterlife!”
The Dragys Lordess said more than expected. She had to muster every bit of strength in her body to do so, but she looked satisfied with the result. She smiled vibrantly before the last traces of life escaped her eyes.
A massive flood of energy swept through Michael. Both the energy influx and Death Call jumped into effect, providing Michael with tremendous energy as the Dragys Lordess died.
“Weird words to say as your last, but whatever,” Michael shrugged. He knew that his life wouldn’t be simple. It had never been simple in the first place.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
He was strong, but stronger enemies were always waiting for him, especially with three God Curses by his side. The Primal were probably unhappy about his God Curses, and Michael doubted the Supreme Human Alliance thought differently. The Supreme Human Alliance hated him probably more than most other Curse Users. He would be their biggest nemesis once his power increased even more. And that…that was bound to happen.
Michael was bound to grow stronger and would tirelessly work toward that goal. Nothing could stop him.
**
Once the Dragys Lordess lost her Lord Powers, everything went wrong for the Dragys. Their defenses crumbled, and it was merely a matter of days before their settlements were conquered.
The Divine Alliances emerged victorious against the Dragys Lordess, but not a simple member of the Divine Alliances was happy. They knew the victory wasn’t theirs. THEY didn’t win the war. The unknown Lord, his subjects, and the jungle monsters won the war.
Michael became the owner of the Grand Region with the Dragys Lordess’ death. It wasn’t clear to most other Lords of the Untamed Jungle at first, but they quickly realized some changes in the Untamed Jungle.
Michael could have given everyone more time to celebrate their victory, but he wouldn’t miss this chance to demonstrate his dominance. There were still a few Lords left in the Untamed Jungle. Thus, Michael visited them with the Divine Beasts, thousands of High Beasts, the Quetzalcoatl, the Red Dragon, his Elementals, and the Untamed Awakened.
He didn’t have to bring his full military power, but displaying his great force, including the Grand Undead Soul, made many things much easier. There was no need for negotiations. Instead, Michael told the remaining Lords of the Untamed Jungle what would happen now.
“I can destroy your territories and reclaim what belongs to me in the first place. I can also kill you or exile everyone here with a wave of my hands, OR you become the subordinates of the Untamed Jungle’s Heart. You can swear allegiance to the Primordial Tree Spirit’s Divinity. If you tend to the Untamed Jungle and never try to expand your territory again, I will allow you to keep parts of your territory. Or you can relocate to the borders and expand outwards. The Untamed Jungle will grow and expand in the following years, decades, and centuries. Thus, we will have many enemies to deal with. If you want to expand your territory, you can do that outside the Untamed Jungle. The jungle may reclaim the land it lost, but you can keep your territory and help the Untamed Jungle expand.” Michael explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
Killing the Lords might be the easiest, but having additional military forces to protect the Untamed Jungle from invaders didn’t sound bad. In the first place, the Divine Alliances were Unions of multiple races who’d come together to trade and fight the forces threatening their lives. The Dragys had been their common enemy, but it seemed like some members of the Divine Alliances were now considering labeling Michael an enemy, too.
“I can sense your ill intentions. Do you think I’m weak enough to deal with you and the rest? Hmmm. No, you’re wondering if you should attack me right now to end this farce. You think you can kill me and escape the Divine Beasts and Azure Quetzalcoatl. Since there are only two Divine Beasts and a Guardian Beast who’ve ascended to Divine Lifeforms, you think I will be easy to deal with. By chance, are you…stupid?” Michael asked one of the Divine Alliances’ leaders.
His killing intent was easily perceptible. However, to someone like Michael, it was laughable.
He grinned at the Divine Lifeform, who was fuming in anger. The other Divine Awakened, Lords of their little domains, looked at him in fear. They were fully aware of what it meant if a single Lord, with only two Divine Beasts and the Guardian Beast of the Untamed Jungle, managed to defeat the Dragys Lordess, her Dragonian, and the other Divine Dragys fighting for her.
Some had seen him kill one of the Divine Dragys, who’d committed suicide only to obliterate his kin’s settlement. They had seen what he could do without effort and weren’t stupid enough to believe Michael was weak.
He may only be a High Awakened at the 6th Tier, but the power and presence he radiated were terrifying. He defeated the Dragys Lordess. He…was stronger than them.
But there was always a black sheep. Always someone unwilling to accept their fate.
“I don’t acknowledge you. Whether the Primordial Tree Spirit sent you doesn’t matter. I don’t care, and I will not obey someone like you. A Hyuman, or whatever kind of Human you are!”
Michael raised an eyebrow. He studied the Divine Lifeform and nodded slowly. The Divine Awakened, who stared at Michael in fury and wrath, didn’t hate him specifically. It was just that the man hated humans.
“I’m not fighting alongside the Supreme Human Alliance,” Michael commented, “I fight against them.”
“Your kin are all the same. Aren’t you suppressing us to gain strength like the Supreme Human Alliance does?!” He roared, his killing intent rising even further. Michael shook his head.
“I don’t think I’m like the Supreme Human Alliance. I’m giving you the choice to relocate to the outskirts to expand outside the Untamed Jungle, to stay where you are with the sole condition never to expand outward, or to help you exile and leave the Untamed Jungle forever. Of course, if you or anyone else resorts to violence, I will do the same, but I think too many good people died fighting the Dragys Lordess. We shouldn’t continue the bloodshed now that she is dead.
The other Lords of the Untamed Jungle nodded slowly, but the black sheep, as Michael called the troublemaker lovingly, was unconvinced.
“You will kill us once you’ve regained your power. What if we kill you now and solve all problems once and for all?”
Michael raised an eyebrow and looked at the Divine Lifeform for a few seconds.
“You think you can beat me?” Michael asked.
“Aren’t you merely a Higher Lifeform? You might have connections with the Primordial Tree Spirit and tamed a Red Dragon and the Azure Quetzalcoatl, but that’s about it.”
“That is dumb. You are not the smartest. I wonder how you managed to survive this long. Your talent must have been pretty good to advance to a Divine Lifeform and retain your territory while being such a dumb idiot.” Michael shook his head and made a simple move. He manifested Beast God poison in one hand and released it with a burst of energy. It moved swiftly through the air but not fast enough to hit even Higher Lifeforms. Suddenly, it disappeared and reappeared behind the Divine Lifeform. It burst apart and splashed all over Black Sheep’s back. Insert did the rest, inserting the Beast Blood Poison into Black Sheep’s body.
“This could kill you within seconds if I’d wanted to. But I don’t.”
Michael shrugged lightly as Black Sheep started to writhe in pain. He collapsed, paralyzed by the Beast God Poison.
“I can remove the poison, but I don’t think I’ll do that for the next ten minutes.”