Is that... some strange Curse Binding?
Gerald had noticed that these fearless creatures, upon dying, would turn into black ash and scatter with the wind.
Once might be a fluke.
But for it to happen twice... and even when the manners of death were different, the same outcome occurred.
Moreover, their weapons were so uniform. Even their armor was somewhat similar, each one as if unafraid of death...
This sent a shiver through Gerald’s heart, and he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of fear.
Could it be, a rare type of anthropomorphic cursed object?
Just like the legendary "Red Knight’s Three Hundred Lances"?
No, this is different...
The "Red Knight’s Three Hundred Lances" is considered the highest tier of cursed objects because it consists of three hundred silver-ranked "War Knights" that can slowly replenish their numbers.
Just that single object alone is enough to guard a nation.
But these people, they are merely rankless commoners... Even if they could resurrect, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
Gerald’s mind settled slightly, and he came up with a new plan:
That imposter who looks somewhat familiar must be a more experienced bronze-ranked wizard. But given his age, he has likely only been a Transcendent for three or four years at most.
From the intelligence collected so far, he possesses four spells: Cold Touch, Wall of Stagnation, Frost Nova, and Wheel of Frost.
At most, he could have two more Instant Spells and one Chanting Spell.
Chanting Spells are not to be feared.
If we assume he has the most dangerous "Lazy Eye", then the only Instant Spell that could potentially counteract my mental control would be "Freeze Thoughts"—if that’s what he possesses.
But so far, this Cripple Wizard’s style of combat seems more aligned with the tradition of the Kingdom of Noah—similar to Salvatore’s focus on static casting output.
After all, if this imposter were a traditional Cripple Wizard of the Winter principality, he should be wielding an axe or a hammer in his hand right now...
Using Frost Nova to slow down others to be slower than himself, Lazy Eye to prevent nearby enemies from attacking or defending effectively, Wall of Stagnation to block ranged physical attacks, and then Freeze Thoughts to bolster his own will against mental attacks.
Then, walk over and swing the axe.
...If it were that kind of Cripple Wizard, Gerald would run as far as he possibly could.
However, given this man’s age and physique, it’s quite normal that he’s not adept at such wild combat styles.
Gerald was quickly mulling over countermeasures, casting his gaze downward while sizing up Annan’s equipment from the corner of his eye.
He spotted the sword at Annan’s waist—he could tell at a glance that it was a decorative sword for self-defense.
He also saw the pouch at Annan’s waist.
The size of Annan’s waist pouch clearly couldn’t hold much... It must be for converting materials for Salvatore.
First, capture his emotions, then explode the fear in the boy’s heart—he, as a bronze-ranked Transcendent, wouldn’t be able to resist my spell.
Then, in the moment when he was too frightened to use spells in retaliation, I would lift my head to make eye contact and use "Heart Control"!
Although "Heart Control" can’t make them directly harm or kill themselves, it can cause them to attack each other.
And the whole process is silent... Salvatore wouldn’t realize that Annan had been controlled by me, unable to wake him up in time.
As bronze-ranked Transcendents, their will should be quite strong. Gerald estimated that he couldn’t control them for a long time.
—But Salvatore was very close to him.
Assuming the control duration of "Heart Control" is the same, if Annan used Cold Touch to attack Salvatore, that could effectively control Salvatore. Even if it didn’t inflict serious injury, it would at least interrupt Salvatore’s spells, leaving him unable to resist my attack.
At that point, I could then strike Salvatore with a powerful blow, tearing and stripping away his soul.
When Salvatore was calm, even a spell thrice as powerful could only barely inflict serious injury, which is why I had declared so earlier. However, being backstabbed by a comrade would significantly amplify the damage of "Soul Tear".
A twofold powerful "Soul Tear" would be enough to kill Salvatore instantly. At the very least, it would inflict a fatal wound.
That way, it would turn into a one-on-one duel.
If Salvatore didn’t come to his senses in time to wake Annan up, then Annan might not even be able to recover from "Heart Control".
In that case, Salvatore would only need to command him to use Wheel of Frost on his own guards again, this time investing all his mana reserved for safety... As a wizard of twelve or thirteen, he would have no more capacity to resist.
Even if Salvatore did wake him up, it would just be repeating the cycle.
Yes, Gerald had such confidence.
He was an expert at manipulating emotions, and he could easily sway hearts even without using spells.
Another second passed.
Gerald’s mind raced, and in the blink of an eye, he came up with a strategy and decided on his words:
"You all... are you undead?"
Suddenly, Gerald spoke up.
Asking this out of the blue, he was sure the other party would feel A fear of "having their secret seen through," especially during combat, where they would worry, "Has he seen through something else of mine?" or "Has my plan been seen through?"
Even if that fear flashed by in an instant, he would grasp it tightly!
At the same time he said this, he had already closed his eyes.
This was to shield the spell’s effect in his eyes!
——Consciousness Capture: Fear——
A dark red light flickered in the depths of his eyes, turning all fears into bubbles that could burst with a mere poke.
The third second passed, all was well.
But then Gerald began to tremble.
...What kind of monster?
Everyone has their own fears, varying in size and depth.
He couldn’t immediately determine what each "bubble" was a fear of. His earlier plan was only to let the fear he wanted to explode surface and become the largest one as he spoke.
This boy with a heavy expression...
——He had absolutely no fear in his heart!
Spotless, just like a doll.
Without any hesitation, Gerald switched spells.
——Consciousness Capture: Anger——
The answer was the same, nothing there.
His heart was spotlessly clean, devoid of any emotion.
Yet, throughout human history, there has never been a talent capable of completely eradicating emotions.
Gerald shuddered inside.
His pupils dilated, trembling as if he had realized something.
The True God he saw that day, "The Skeletal Lord"...
"What on earth are you——"
——What kind of monster?
He suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Annan with almost a sense of despair.
Gerald’s heart was filled with an inexplicable grief and anger.
He didn’t even care about the deterrence of Lazy Eye anymore... because even being controlled by Lazy Eye would be better than that future.
This "counterfeit" shorty must be some False God, or even a True God, walking among men!
It was already meaningless.
He just wanted to see one more time who the other party exactly was——
—— Consciousness Judgment!
He had thought he would see the other party’s mysterious nature, just like when he looked upon the true form of The Skeletal Lord that day. That his entire spirit would be washed over, his will and thoughts destroyed and then reshaped.
It was like dying once, and then being reborn.
But this time, what he saw... were the colors of humanity.
It was the color of emotions.
Incredibly intense, pure, and fierce emotions—
Excitement, elation, confidence, love, hope, joy, joy, joy, joy...
Gerald shuddered, realizing something was wrong.