Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Main Character Takes the Stage
As the battle persisted, our side and the demonized creatures gradually reached a stalemate.
Though individually the mad demonized creatures were no match for us, they were tireless and seemingly endless. We had gone from a steady advantage at the outset to this deadlock and were even showing signs of falling back on defense. I was no longer able to guide Super Space-Time Strikes with precision. Muller’s speed in casting large-area magic had slowed significantly. Nova, who joined the fight later, managed to maintain high combat efficiency, but her simultaneous use of magic and Fighting Spirit exhausted her more than everyone else, and now she was showing clear signs of fatigue. Dingdang was hardly light either, having continuously purified the Abyss Power across the plains. The Little One could no longer flit leisurely through the air but was now perched on my shoulder, taking deep heavy breaths. As the Life Field weakened, the demonized creatures’ strength slowly returned, all their attacks concentrating on the green shield upheld by Mu alone, causing the Elf Priest’s complexion to grow increasingly ugly.
It was only now that the true strength of the demonized creatures was laid bare before us. They moved like the wind, possessed immense power, and each attack carried a potent corrosive effect. The omnipresent black mist caused all the plants on the plain to wither rapidly. Their magic, once easily resisted, was no longer suppressed by Dingdang, causing Mu, who was in charge of defense, to produce sizable beads of sweat.
Only Pandora’s attacks showed no signs of weakening. Her energy sources were the Ghost Energy Reactor and Void Energy Generator located in Other Space, an inexhaustible supply of potent power that spared her from worrying about depleting her strength in the short term. However, it was clear she couldn’t maintain such high-power energy output for long. The miniaturization of her body made it easy for her to overload, and despite her cooling system being at full blast, she was nearing the limits of an overload.
“I say, you’ve watched enough of the show, haven’t you? How about you lend a hand?”
I turned to Sandora, who watched everything unfold with a look of leisure on her face, and said this. She shook her head dismissively, her flamboyant golden hair transforming into a dazzling halo, before gesturing with her hand that she had it all under control.
Sandora stepped forward and took a deep breath. Immediately, numerous golden lines appeared in the air, like etched copper traces on a circuit board. They were not aligned in a flat arrangement but floated three-dimensionally. The golden lines swiftly spread through the air, connecting from Sandora and disappearing into the atmosphere on the other end. She looked like a central processor surrounded by intricate circuits, almost like the king of artificial intelligence with an artistic effect.
“Now,” Sandora’s voice, with its metallic tremor, rang out, “I make the rules here!”
With her words, inexplicable fluctuations radiated from her, spreading out rapidly. Each affected monster couldn’t help but pause momentarily before suddenly stopping their attacks, standing frozen on the spot with a vacant look.
The energy fluctuations released by Sandora didn’t spread far, affecting merely less than two hundred meters around her. However, the effect was significant. The demonized creatures closest to us halted their movements, and those farther away, unaffected due to the distance, posed no threat to us. Instantly, the pressure on Muller and the others greatly reduced.
“Good,” said Sandora in a cold tone. A sense of unfamiliarity emanated from her, and it felt like her personality had shifted with this state change. Although there was no hostility, the cold sensation was discomforting.
“Now, kill your fellow kin behind you!”
Sandora suddenly shouted, and bright halos surged along the hovering golden lines. Those demonized creatures that had been standing idly by hesitated for a moment, then collectively turned and began attacking their own kind frenziedly!
Muller and the others, who had just caught their breath, exchanged glances, reading shock and unease in each other’s eyes. This Xyrin Emperor, who had not taken action until now, had the power of Mind Control?!
Mind Control was an ability that could provoke panic anywhere. Imagine a day when your body no longer obeyed your own commands, a simple word from another could make you leap into fire or even harm your loved ones. How terrifying would that be! The power to toy with others’ thoughts was unsettling.
Soul System magic existed in this world, not only existing but also being quite refined. Fear Techniques, Heroic Auras, Soul Impacts—these Soul System spells were thoroughly researched by the world’s mages. But to control someone’s innermost thoughts was a long-standing, unresolved problem. Not just humans, any intelligent being’s soul is quite wondrous. They are delicate in structure, easily destroyed with little effort. Any power capable of harming the soul can inflict severe damage, but to precisely control one’s innermost thoughts without damaging the soul is difficult because the composition of a soul is too complex, beyond human comprehension.
But now, Sandora effortlessly controlled the thoughts of demonized creatures, and not just one or two but many simultaneously. Considering how effortlessly she did it, no one doubted her capability to control even more enemies…
If this Xyrin Emperor were to apply her mind control ability to herself or even to Modis III…
Muller and the other two simultaneously shuddered; the threat of this power was even more terrifying than that of another male Xyrin Emperor who could melt an entire city with his Light of Destruction!
I had already noticed the three’s unusual expressions and, considering the need to avoid future trouble, decided to blurt out, “I know what you’re worried about, but rest assured, this power only takes effect when facing Abyss Power because Abyss Power can corrupt the souls of living beings, making them more susceptible to external spiritual power. Controlling ordinary humans, even for Sandora, is not so easy.”
Of course, the above is complete nonsense. The strength of Sandora’s mind enslavement is incredibly powerful; aside from beings of the Divine Race like Dingdang with their endless spiritual power, there is hardly any creature that can resist Sandora’s mind control. Although strong mind control often leads to many unpredictable and terrible outcomes, if Sandora were to disregard these consequences, controlling a human emperor would be as easy as reaching into a bag.
Of course, Muller and the others wouldn’t so easily believe my words, but they would feel somewhat reassured. By explaining this, whether true or false, it at least shows that I have no intention of turning on the natives of this world. In their eyes, even if I don’t resemble a ruler of the Empire, I am still an Emperor Level individual, and an emperor is not prone to telling such lies.
At this moment, this skill called “Soul-stealing Aura” that Sandora mentioned was producing quite noticeable effects. The monsters constantly charging forward became the victims of this power, completely disrupting the rhythm of the monster army’s assault. One could often witness such a scene: a fierce monster would roar towards Sandora, pause briefly, then turn its head and start attacking its comrades behind it with fervor as if voluntarily accepting Sandora’s command…
“Spirit Pulse!” Seeing that no monsters would cross the warning range of the Soul-stealing Aura for the time being, Sandora raised her arm and pointed toward a densely packed monster area. The potent spiritual power immediately hit those contorted creatures. They foamed at the mouth and convulsed on the ground with minds blanker than a clean sheet of paper.
But it didn’t end there. From an angle unseen by Muller and the others, a black flame flashed through Sandora’s eyes, and she said in a deep voice, “Spiritual Plague!”
Immediately, the group of demonized creatures that Sandora had just erased the thoughts of staggered to their feet and started charging confusedly at their “comrades” nearby. As soon as they were approached, those monsters would fall into a daze, and then, equally bewildered, they would charge at the next closest target, transmitting this abnormal condition to the next of their kind…
The Spiritual Plague, a power of Abyssalization that Sandora gained after being corrupted by the Abyss and miraculously returned, forcibly injects a negative mental state into the soul of an intelligent being. This mental state has the contagion power of a plague; any who come too close to the source of infection will inevitably contract it and become a new carrier…
I must say, Sandora’s abilities make it all too easy to think of her as the evil arch-villain, to the point where I’m starting to wonder if this wild girl who’s always joyfully hanging around me might become the final boss of this book… cough cough…
The power of the Spiritual Plague is immense; in a mere instant, countless demonized creatures were infected, and the infection continued to spread at an alarming rate. It looks like, before the effects of the Spiritual Plague wear off, at least a third of the monsters will become Sandora’s victims.
However, as I expected, things are destined not to go so smoothly. An army of tens of thousands of demonized creatures cannot be so easily exterminated by a few of us. After losing countless cannon fodder, the crazily advancing demonized creatures seemed to receive a unified command, collectively stopping their suicidal charge, spreading out to the sides, leaving behind corpses turning into black smoke and a group of Heartless trying to spread the Spiritual Plague to the next target.
A black mass, like ink, gradually emerged from the air, with astonishing hostility and murderous intent. Although it was merely a floating blob of black liquid-like substance, I could distinctly feel the sensation of being watched.
“Finally,” Sandora’s icy voice came from above, “the master has appeared…”
******************************************************************************************