Chapter 121: Necromancer

“Since you think like that, you wouldn’t mind working for me, would you?” Ray said, shocking the Flying Serpent with his proposal.

“Am I hearing things?” it wondered before saying to Ray, “You don’t like me one bit. I can tell from your tone and expression that you find me disgusting. Yet you’re fine with sparing me and turning me into your subordinate?”

“Ever so often, I try not to let my emotions dictate my rationality and actions,” said Ray in response. “You have done a lot of wrongs, and killing you would be the right thing to do. But it wouldn’t be the best choice for me right now.”

Ray had changed, bit by bit, ever since he started using the Devour Skill.

With his memories mixing with those of extremely ruthless and borderline psychopathic individuals, it was impossible for him to remain the same.

If it had been the Ray from before, before he walked this bloody path despite knowing the circumstances, then the Flying Serpent would’ve already been lying cold and lifeless on the ground. After all, he didn’t actually need it alive to know what it knew.

But the Ray of now had developed enough patience and tolerance to go against his own instincts, to restrain his desire for immediate judgement and instead seize greater benefits.

“And this happens to be one of those times?” The Flying Serpent felt curious. “What makes me so special to deserve this?”

“There are things you can be used for.” Ray added, “But don’t be mistaken. You are replaceable. The second I think it’s not worth keeping you alive, that will be the end of you. You are completely at my mercy.”

He said that not just to intimidate it, but to imprint his superiority deep into its mind, to make it fully understand that survival hinged solely on obedience.

“What are you planning to use me for?” it asked.

Ray lifted two fingers. “Two things.”

He curled his forefinger. “Firstly, I have a palace that’s in need of guards. You will make an excellent one.”

He curled another finger. “Secondly, you will make good bait to catch the last Great Terror off guard.”

The Flying Serpent stared blankly for a while before asking, “What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Nothing much, really. I just want you to attack him when the Necromancer least expects it,” Ray said.

“That guy isn’t some fool. He’s smart enough to delve into forbidden arts without suffering loses. He commands an army of the dead! Last time an expedition was sent out to end his reign of terror, not a single soul made it out of alive, adding to his army. Do you really think he’ll fall for such a cheap trick?”

The Three Great Terrors were the most resourceful creatures in the Misty Swamp Region, but they were in no way equal to one another.

The Mad Chieftain was truly mad. He loved fighting. Even if Ray had offered it a better option, he would’ve declined. Not to mention, at that time, Ray wasn’t as strong as he was right now. He wouldn’t have succeeded in subduing him.

The Flying Serpent was a coward and a proficient backstabber, changing masters faster than some people would change clothes!

The Necromancer was the most terrifying amongst the three because of his massive army and countless trump cards. He was as terrifying as a silver ranker!

“Even if he’s a seer who can peek into the future, unless he’s so paranoid that he spends every waking moment predicting what’s to come, he won’t see it coming,” Ray said confidently.

“I can’t understand you. I really can’t. What gives you the courage to trust me?” it asked, its voice heavy with confusion and disbelief.

“You remind me of someone I once knew. He was willing to do anything as long as it benefitted him. From selling his people to orchestrating the demise of entire villages and corrupting his own son, he did everything to get ahead. You’re just like him. That’s why I believe you won’t do anything stupid when your life is at stake,” Ray explained as his fingers deftly danced through the air, creating a rune with primordial essence.

Veloria wasn’t lacking in resources. Primordial essence could be found in abundance here.

The rune was shaped like overlapping rings.

The rune symbol glowed before a sharp flash of light shot forward, sinking into the Flying Serpent’s body. A massive tattoo made of thousands of writhing black runes like countless curses blossomed across its form. They flickered like dying torches before vanishing from sight.

“What was that? What did you do to me? Why do I feel like I would suffer if I betray you?” it asked in a voice trembling in fear.

“You’ve been branded with a Restriction,” Ray said calmly. “It ensures you can never act against my interests. The second you do, it will trigger the restriction and your soul will be pruned. If there’s an afterlife, you won’t reach it. You’ll simply cease to be. It’ll be as if you never existed.”

The Flying Serpent trembled as the image of an incomparably horrifying being overlapped with Ray in its gaze, making it feel like an insect before an endless storm.

Ray, in that moment, seemed utterly terrifying to it.

“You’re the devil incarnate, aren’t you?” it said, voice shaking.

Ray chuckled at its words. “Perhaps.”

He wasn’t so evil before. But Ashclaw’s memories had changed him, enlightened him, allowing him to do things he once deemed unthinkable.

The Flying Serpent valued its life above all else. It had once been willing to serve the invaders to avoid trouble and live longer. From that alone, it was easy to conclude that now, with its life and death bound to Ray’s decision, it would obey Ray’s every command, no matter how humiliating or impossible.

“If you don’t do as I say or fail to live up to my expectations, you will lose your life. So you better do your best in angering the Necromancer. I don’t have high expectations of you. I don’t expect you to take him out. But at the very least, I want you to draw all his attention to yourself so he won’t see me coming. I’ll be rooting for you,” Ray said with a shameless smile, giving it a thumbs up.

“I won’t let you down!” the Flying Serpent said through clenched teeth, clearly not pleased with its current predicament.

“Call all your subordinates,” Ray ordered.

The Flying Serpent obeyed without delay.

It let out a roar that reverberated throughout labyrinth.

In no time, an entire army of serpentine creatures came slithering and crawling into the massive chamber it called home. From giant snakes and winged serpents to snake-men and snake-women, countless creatures filled the cavern.

Snake-men and snake-women were demi-humans with triangular snake heads and humanoid bodies and green, slimy skin covered in scales.

Worth noting, the snake-women had distinct feminine forms that made their gender clear at a glance.

Naturally, their psychology was so different that Ray found them neither appealing nor attractive. They simply didn’t fit the human standard of aesthetics.

“Why is there a human here?” one of the snake-men generals hissed, eyes narrowing in anger.

He had lots a lot of good men at the hands of human hunters in previous wars fought to stop the expansion of the territories the three kingdoms and vice versa.

His hatred burned brighter than anyone here.

If not for the fact that he didn’t want to break rules and appear uncouth before his master, it would’ve already lunged at Ray to rip him apart.

Of course, that would be a stupid thing to do for someone of his calibre, and he would have only won a stupid prize if he had done that.

“Humans are part of the Alliance of the Three. Our enemies. He should be dead, killed on sight. So what’s he doing here, all alive and well? Master, what’s going on?” another one of its generals demanded.

The Alliance of the Three was the greatest united front in all of Veloria, and it was a coalition formed out of desperation and necessity rather than friendship or trust.

It consisted of three powerful realms.

The Sun Kingdom of Beastkins and Humans, the Elven Dominion of Ivondir, and the Dwarven Confederation of Thramdor.

Together, they stood as the last bastion of order and civilization against the encroaching darkness that was threatening to swallow Veloria whole.

“Casasa is right. Humans deserve to be killed on sight. They are part of the Alliance of the Three!”

More and more voices joined in. Complaints rose from all sides, many serpentine creatures expressing their disdain and contempt for Ray.

He endured silently as they were going to end up as guards at his palace whether they liked it or nor, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

The Flying Serpent begged him not to act before explaining to its people.

“We’ve changed sides.”

At its words, their eyes went wide with disbelief. “What?”

“You heard me right. From now on, we will be fighting against the invaders!” the Flying Serpent declared.

Although their confusion cleared, rage quickly took its place.

Their hatred toward the Alliance of the Three Kingdoms ran incredibly deep and for a good reason.

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