Chapter 36: Ch 36: The Path Of A Conqueror

Aegis formed a water blade and struck the rock wall, aiming to break through.

Clang!

The impact rang out sharply, but the wall barely cracked. The earth-element mana reinforcing it was far denser than ordinary stone.

Seeing this, MadDog’s grin widened.

“Haha… you’re weak, punk. There’s no point in trying,” he mocked loudly.

The very next second, his expression froze.

From Aegis’s palm, a massive blade formed out of thin air.

It was not ordinary water this time. The blade shimmered with extreme cold, layers of compressed frost spiraling around its edge.

Swoosh!

Crash!

With a single, clean swipe, the frozen blade cleaved through the rock pillars as if it were paper.

The reinforced stone split apart, collapsing inward in shattered chunks.

MadDog’s mouth went agape.

Disbelief filled his eyes.

Before he could even react, the armored lions and hyenas lunged forward, roaring as they charged toward Aegis’s group.

“Hmph!” the Phoenix descendants snorted, nostrils flaring with flames.

“Girls, take them down,” Naida ordered calmly.

The Phoenix sisters rose into the air and unleashed torrents of searing flame from their mouth.

Buzzz!

The flamed breaths engulfed the beasts instantly. Their stone armor melted, dripping like molten wax, followed by flesh turning into sizzling sludge.

The Dual Headed Hydra targeted the Hynas with tough serpentine body and strong physical prowess.

After beating them senselessly, they gathered the Hynas in one place then unleash Fire from one head, then water from anther.

The creatures howled and writhed in agony, collapsing one by one. But their master never came to save them.

MadDog stared at the scene for a heartbeat too long.

Only then he felt fear. Raw, instinctive fear. The kind of fear he had never known.

He turned around and ran. Like a real dog.

But then, Naida manifested before him in a splash of water.

She flashed a smirk at his cowardly face.

“Where are you going? Didn’t you say you wanted to make me your maid? Let this maid serve you!”

After saying that, she slapped him hard across the face, making his head nearly spin.

Afterward, she thrashed him repeatedly with her fish-like tail. She looked both fierce and strangely cute while doing so.

Aegis walked over and glanced at the man’s pig-like face with disgust.

He lifted him by the collar and said coldly, “Do you want to know what you are?”

The man could barely keep his eyes open, much less speak.

Yet Aegis continued mercilessly.

“You’re nothing but a joke in my eyes. You won a few battles against weaklings and now think yourself some kind of conqueror? What a pitiful creature you are.”

Aegis released him, finishing with a faint smile.

“Or maybe… you’re just unlucky.

Regardless, I cannot show mercy to those who look at my people with such ugly eyes. There is no forgiveness for you.”

His eyes were cold, yet he hesitated.

Naida and the others watched silently as he stood before the man, the long blade hovering just inches from his throat.

No matter how cold he acted, how indifferent his expression appeared, he could not deny the hesitation growing within him.

At the Tree of Life, he had thrown a human from a great height, but that had not been a direct kill. Nor had it been intended as one.

This time was different.

This time, he was fully conscious of what he was about to do.

The blade in his right hand gleamed faintly, sharp and merciless.

A single movement was all it would take to finish the man off.

Yet what he felt was not guilt.

It was familiarity.

As if he were standing at the threshold of something inescapable.

Sooner or later, it would turn into normalcy.

The man beneath him trembled violently. His legs gave out as fear overwhelmed him.

He already peed in his pants.

“Please… don’t do this your eminence,” he begged, his voice breaking. “We’re both humans. You shouldn’t kill me.”

Aegis looked down at him.

Really looked.

Then his eyes emitted frost.

“Humans,” he repeated softly. “You stopped being one the moment you decided others were nothing but tools and toys.”

Slash!

Aegis swiftly slashed the man’s neck from his body. Blood gurgled out as the corpse twitched like a dying animal.

The head rolled near Aegis’s feet, yet he forced his heart to stay calm. Even as the lifeless eyes stared at his soul, he did not flinch.

Naida suddenly went forward and gently hugged him from behind.

Her pink lips moved close to his ear.

“You have done nothing wrong, Your Grace. No matter how hard the decision may be, sin cannot be used to define it. Sin applies when innocents are killed and the undeserving suffer injustice.”

“I am not sure what you will become. But I can say with certainty that you will never be a sinner.”

Her words, mixed with her soft breath, tickled his ear.

He looked calm on the surface, but his heart was beating faster, due to the dangerous proximity they were in.

With crystal clarity, he could feel the texture of her plump and supple breasts against his back.

“Ahem!” he coughed awkwardly and put some distance between them.

“What’s wrong, Your Grace? Did you not like it?” she asked, looking slightly hurt.

He was speechless.

How was he supposed to respond in such a situation?

Fortunately, a line of text appeared on a translucent window, saving him from further embarrassment.

[ Congratulations! You have conquered an island. ]

[ Rewards Gained: 2 Sky Crystals + Special Skill Book: Earth Maker (E) ]

[ Earth Maker: An inferior version of Earth Manipulation. Allows the user to craft objects using earth elements. Incompatible with the host’s physique. ]

The skill book and the two Sky Crystals appeared in his hands almost instantly.

At the same time, the island beneath them rumbled violently and then vanished from the sky as if erased by magic.

Aegis and his followers quickly regained their balance.

Naida and Aegis stood atop the Hydra’s massive back.

Aegis was surprised to learn that Sky Crystals could be obtained this way.

This made him recall the time someone had offered to reveal a secret method to obtain as many Sky Crystals as he wanted.

“So this is the path…” he murmured, looking at the empty space where the island had once been.

Because of this revelation, he knew he had to reconsider everything from this point onward.

The path of a conqueror in this world was built by trampling over others.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep