Ryan lay upon his back on the ground, breathing heavily, his flames retreating back into his cracked, scaly body.

Terry stood beside Ryan as all around him were knocked to the ground, including Kingsman and the powerful adventurer he had been fighting.

Clang!

Terry moved his hand from his face to see the fool before him. A medium sized, skinny woman floated before him. The woman was white and had long blue hair, a very bright, young face, and a relatively flat chest. In her left hand was a small white wand around the size of a thick pencil while in her right hand was Elculem gripped tightly between her long, smooth fingers.

The young woman wore a long red robe and similar colored stockings, perfect for resisting the stains of blood that Terry sensed throughout. Oddly enough, the woman didn’t wear shoes and instead simply left her feet bare with small white chains dangling down to the ground while her body lay suspended in midair.

[Activating Appraisal]

[Ancient Witch of Ice=Strong] Notice, Ancient Witch of Ice is a Super Rare Class]

Terry remained in his current position, knowing full well that attempting to free himself from the grip of the beauty before him would further damage Elculem.

“Haah, I’m glad that you’re here so that we can have a conversation about whether I should level this place to the ground or become the ruler,” Terry replied calmly.

[Activating Intimidation]

“Interesting, rather than kill you, I may be better off using you to strengthen my guild. Of course, if you actually had a future,” the woman said in a chilling voice as cold air erupted from her hand, freezing Elculem and Terry’s hand which held it.

The woman pointed her wand at Terry which began to glow before a cold mist enveloped the entire surrounding area in an explosion of ice.

[Activating Resolve]

“Cough! Cough!”

“Oh, you are still conscious? Either way you won’t be able to do much, I will question you and your companions and if I am satisfied, you will live under my service. Otherwise, you will be left to be tortured,” said the woman as she poked Terry’s black mask with her wand.

Clang!

“Oh, you can’t even hold your sword anymore, how sad,” mocked the woman as she locked her eyes with Terry’s, hoping for the look of despair.

Terry glared back fiercely, moving the fingers in his left hand in order to prevent them from freezing solid like the rest of his body, skewered in ice.

The woman glanced at Terry for a moment before turning to Ryan, unmoving and weakly resisting the cold of the ice that coated his scales.

[Activating Read Minds]

Entema will get angry at his brother being harmed. And the same can be said about Saiorg and how his daughter has gone missing. If I can use these guys as scapegoats though, then the success of my guild can be guaranteed.

[Activating Soul Weapon Materialize]

Terry’s fingers began to close, remembering the shape of an imaginary gun, a gun that Terry remembered like the back of his hand.

Bang!

The woman spun around from Ryan to face Terry after the sound she had just heard and was met by a sharp pain in her head as her eyes filled with red before closing tightly.

[Activating Overwhelming Strength]

Shatter!

Terry stretched his arms and legs a bit before walking over to the young woman.

“Greed, it can change anyone, but still, you have strength and therefore a place in this world by my side,” Terry muttered as he stood atop the young woman.

[Activating Control Body Temp]

Terry gradually regained feeling in his arms which he continued moving in circles, circulating his frozen blood which began to melt, causing water to slide across his armor.

Terry lifted Elculem from the small puddle that had formed at his feet and slid it across his right arm. A few drops of red turned into a steady stream before finally becoming a small fountain of blood which dripped down the throat of the woman with ease.

“Boss! I have killed all of those who have resisted, shall I kill the ones begging for their lives,” Hector cried from inside the mansion.

“Just leave them be and come outside, I’m all done as well!” Terry called back.

Terry noticed several glances of all sorts of negative feelings directed at him from the windows of many surrounding houses although he simply turned his attention to more important matters.

[Activating Blood Regeneration]

[Activating Blood Compulsion]

“Boss!?” Ryan cried as he jolted up from the small puddle of ice and water around him. Kingsman acted similarly but made no sound and simply raised himself weakly to his feet.

“I apologize,” Ryan said almost immediately.

Terry nodded at Ryan before turning his gaze to Kingsman.

“I fought at my best so all I have is gratitude for your aid. An apology is for those who have made a mistake and beg for forgiveness while those who try their best feel either accomplishment or death,” Kingsman explained.

Ryan frowned at Kingsman’s answer, hoping that Terry would understand and not punish such behavior.

“Heh, hahahahaha! Good work, Ryan, you’ll have to work hard to regain your first place in my eyes. Either way, we are done for now,” Terry laughed heartily into the empty street.

Ryan and Kingsman stared at each other before they stared at Terry and the empty street.

“Boss, what should I do with these 2?” Hectare asked as he signaled to Terry from the broken window, pointing to what Terry assumed was Naverre and the princess.

“You know what, leave the guy up there and the girl, you can chuck her down here if she doesn’t come down herself,” Terry commanded.

“I have nothing to offer you sir, please let me go!” pleaded the princess in warm her voice that mimicked a harp being strung.

“Oh shut up, I know you’re the princess and I removed the poison from you so get down here!” Terry barked back.

Blzrrt!!!!!!!

Terry watched as yellow flashes erupted from the bedroom window as the princess leaped out, likely in an attempt to escape without being seen.

“Haah, why do people have to act like this whenever I’m nice,” Terry moaned as he heard rumbling in the heavens above.

WTF? Terry thought in dismay.

[Activating Blood Compulsion]

The rumbling in the sky stopped and Terry glanced around carefully before jogging a few meters to his left.

Catch!

“Ow~” moaned the princess in pain as she looked at Terry who glared back with now sharpened teeth, a furrowed brow, and a face colored red. Although the princess couldn’t see Terry’s face due to the mask, she felt his vice grip squeezing her arms like a tourniquet.

“While you may be valuable, that doesn’t mean that I won’t feed you to my friend here who loves devouring women in every meaning of the word,” Terry said coldly as he placed her gently on her feet.

Terry could sense the anger radiating from the princess but was able to easily contain it with the blood he had poured into her. And while Terry had gotten rid of the poison in her bloodstream, he had merged it with his blood, making him just as potent as the weapon he wielded.

Terry watched the open discomfort that the princess showed on her face even though she was unable to act upon such discontent.

“I’m willing to forgive this incident considering how you didn’t kill anybody so long as you serve me loyally,” Terry said in as kind a voice as he could muster.

Thankfully, the princess hadn’t killed Navarre because of Hector taking the hit, barely surviving, and since she hadn’t done much else, Terry had no reason to pursue.

The princess continued her glare upon Terry and he knew that he couldn’t form a contract with his circumstances, so continuing the other plans would take priority.

“Boss, what now?” Ryan asked.

“We’re taking everything over and collecting taxes. Gather everybody up and kill those who resist,” Terry ordered with a grin.

Ryan stared at Terry wide-eyed and with his mouth in awe.

“Are you refusing?” Terry asked in a deeper voice, letting on a hint of anger.

Ryan froze up, he continued to stare at Terry in awe. While Terry had killed people, he had done so to save lives by setting an example or by killing absolute scum, but normal people…

While Ryan had never seen the demihumans, he remembered hearing of them and they were treated even worse than normal, human slaves. Torn from their homes rather than willingly becoming slaves to survive. And while Terry deserved to be furious, Ryan still didn’t deem the people deserving of death even after they had bombarded him with rocks and flame.

“Is that truly your wish?” Ryan asked, his eyes calm and focused.

Terry flinched at the look but knew that mercy would only hurt more than help.

“Bring out everyone from their homes and if they resist, kill them. But leave the demihumans as I assume they can’t control themselves,” Terry repeated in a deep, commanding voice.

Ryan bowed and followed his way through the bodies to a large house nearby where an adult man opened the door with a knife in his hands as his kids stood behind him. The man had bits of facial hair to form a beard and stood shakily with a beer belly.

“Stay back, we don’t want any trouble!” cried the man as he swung his knife back and forth to dissuade Ryan from advancing further.

“Yeah, go away freak,” laughed the kids shakily.

“Get out before I accidentally break your door along with several of your bones by forcing my way in,” Ryan commanded.

The man probably went crazy from fear at that point and smiled.

“Hahaha, I warned ya!” laughed the man as he forced his knife forth upon Ryan’s scaly stomach.

Crack!

The knife was dented slightly from the impact as Ryan used his massive hand to grip the head of the man and throw him onto the street before shoving the kids aside and crouching his way into the house.

Terry glanced at Kingsman who had begun to stand but did so very shakily which made Terry uneasy.

[Activate Spatial Storage? Yes/No]

[Yes has been selected]

[Retrieving Immediate Potions]

Terry lowered his swords to the ground before two large, glass vials were produced containing a sparkling red liquid.

“Oh, potions master? I would rather you use them for yourself,” Kingsman said in an inaudible voice.

Terry decided not to respond and simply tossed both vials to Kingsman who caught one while the other was knocked to the ground although without being shattered. Terry then pointed to the side of the street opposite to Ryan before sighing.

“Similar to Ryan, if they resist, kill the people, except, since you may need the nutrients, you can devour the bodies. Just don’t take too long and keep yourself under control,” Terry ordered as he stood beside the princess and fallen guildmaster, two beautiful maidens.

I miss the days when I could just leave my grunts to handle missions for me, those days were the best, Terry thought.

Why aren’t you killing these two, breaking though your level limit will help to promote you, making you far stronger than you are now! Din explained.

“Nah, I would rather have such powerful allies rather than be slightly better and alone, the time will come when the fighting starts,” Terry replied.

“People like you are crushed and betrayed, that’s what happened to me! Din continued.

I don’t trust any of them more than I could sink my fangs into them, besides, if breaking through is as amazing as you say, it will be even better to catch an enemy by surprise, Terry replied.

Terry watched as Kingsman stomped off to a house after drinking the potions which supposedly healed wounds as explained by the Spatial Storage item. Terry soon noticed Kingsman’s numerous scars dripping blood begin to close and fade, leaving thin scars as the remains.

“Aargh! Help!” yelled several citizens as they were torn from their homes. While a few understood Terry’s goal and left willingly, all who resisted were either splattered into the pavement or devoured by Kingsman who was hungry after a fight in his weakened state.

After a few minutes, the area surrounding Terry had been mostly evacuated including those who had been masterfully hidden inside the homes. No matter how small or quiet, Ryan and Kingsman had an incredible smell to find and kill such people including most which were children.

“Alright Sunga, Boychok, you guys are our last hope. Not even the master could beat him so you guys gotta help us beat him or we’re all dead.”

“Damn bastard, he’s killing so many, we have to bring him down while his allies are distracted.”

“And what about the princess? She’s not doing anything and is just watching.”

“She must be under some spell and he must have kidnapped her, once we kill that guy, we can follow her to capture the followers.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Terry’s ears twitched as he smiled beneath his mask and sat beside his swords, propping his head upon the hilt of Elculem while holding Daora’s fang in his right hand.

Terry watched the princess intently but noticed that her abilities were magic related and made her incredibly strong but not nearly as skilled as him.

[Activating Blood Compulsion]

“Let’s go now, his left side is open!”

“I’ll grab the princess and you guys kill this guy!”

Terry didn’t need to look behind him to hear the arrows tearing through the wind to reach him.

Terry forced the princess to duck before blocking each of the arrows with the side of Elculem which was still quite strong even with a crack upon its surface.

[Activating Spur]

“You guys aren’t worth my time nor my rulership leaving you no place in this world,” Terry muttered as blood sprayed across the roof of the baron’s mansion. Bodies and heads began to roll down the slate roof after a few seconds, further splattering the ground below.

Terry picked his way through the corpses to see what sort of plates they wore although only 3 had gold and the rest were silver, making them worthless.

[Absorbing Souls]

Now that there’s no more distractions, I can implement my plan, Terry thought. Although, I wonder how long I’ll have to wait before I can finally break through level 100.

“You took quite a while Ryan, I’m disappointed, although Kingsman was able to heal up quite a bit with his extra time,” Terry said as he looked at Kingsman, covered in blood and bits of flesh, chewing on a pair of bleeding lungs.

There were a few thousand people gathered before Terry even though it was still the dead of night. A few hours had passed since Terry had ordered for the people to gather and since there was no shortage of examples to be set for those who didn’t comply, the people of competence got out of bed no matter what they were doing and ran to heed the words of their new ruler.

The crowd before Terry stood shivering as their shoes or feet soaked in the blood and corpses of those who resisted. Although, only the people gathered in the crowd while the demihumans stood in a separate crowd, for Terry to enslave once he had time.

The demihumans bore several bruises, scars, and a few dislocated or even broken bones causing blood to drip from several parts of their different bodies but as long as most would still live, Terry saw no reason to stop his operation. The chains and collars of slavery still clung to the demihuman slaves but considering how Terry wasn’t freeing them and simply changing their owner, he saw no reason to remove them. In fact, the collars could serve as a way to easily differentiate the groups of demihuman and human.

“I’m glad that we could have a nice chat now that the baron is dead. I wanted to get the rules all set up as well as explain myself to you all. Firstly, I have captured Navarre Ragnroe and killed Baron Scythe because they refused to serve me, just like those dead at your feet,” Terry began as he looked across the front row of people, making eye contact with those he could.

“Yeah? So what now?” asked a young man on the verge of tears. Terry had vaguely seen Kingsman devour his wife before the man complied.

“Now? That’s up to you all who still draw breath. You guys can leave freely or stay enslaved to me,” Terry called out to the shaken crowd.

“What?” asked numerous of the citizens throughout the crowd in surprise.

“I said that you can leave or stay depending on what you want. Of course, those who leave may only take food and possibly transportation. But those who stay may keep what is theirs so long as they become my slaves,” Terry explained.

“Even if we stay, becoming your slave means forfeiting everything we have anyway,” mentioned someone deeper into the crowd.

“I give my word that you all keep what is yours other than the occasional taxation,” Terry said. “Just know, you all have until the sun rises to make your choice and act upon it. Those who wish to leave may do so immediately and those who wish to stay may also do so as I will administer the contract.”

Interesting, so you learned how to form a collective contract? I don’t remember you getting a scroll of such power. Din asked in surprise.

I assumed that my skills would work fine by mixing my contract and ghouls. Besides, if I had a scroll, I wouldn’t waste it on fodder. Especially with how rare they must be, Terry replied.

Hmm, I remember something about that but not very well… Some scrolls are rare while others are less so. The scrolls you retrieved from the dungeon were incredibly strong but weaker ones can be made on demand, Din explained.

Wait, what do you remember about skills? Terry asked in suspicion.

I don’t remember what you mean, Din replied in confusion.

The crowd murmured amongst themselves for a while as a few from the back of the crowd filtered out through the streets. The citizens started with a walk to test the truth of Terry’s words before running to grab what they owned while some ran straight out the main entrance of the city.

Ryan and Kingsman flinched but were stopped by Terry.

[Activating Raise Ghouls]

“Ryan, you watch the ghouls while handling the egg. Kingsman, keep watch over the city to keep things calm. I’ll tend to watching the refugees and helping them leave in the meantime,” Terry said.

Ryan and Kingsman nodded before Ryan’s eyes raced around frantically.

“The egg, shoot! I messed up!” Ryan exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, the egg is fine on the top floor since I left it under the bloody covers. So just hurry up with your jobs. My ghouls should also serve as the perfect mediums for contracts based on my skills,” Terry explained.

Ryan’s face formed a smile before he squinted his eyes, puzzled.

“Shouldn’t you test first?” Ryan asked.

“I already have. It works fine on those demihumans so you also have them to help you in case,” Terry said as he pointed to a small group of the demihumans the baron had collected.

“As expected of you master, alright, I shall act accordingly. Although…” Kingsman stopped.

“Oh yeah? You look sleepy but... Whatever, you can handle this much without sleep. You two can rest after we’re done and I have these guys doing the grunt work. Especially since after the citizens flee… we’ll have an army at our gates.