God-Tier Villain

Chapter 83: Chapter 83

She spun and retreated hard, landing right in front of the golden sphere, her red dress snapped in the gale, she looked ethereal, otherworldly, and under that celestial face sat an unshakable will to follow Soren to the end.

"Lysara, what are you doing?"

"Are you truly set on standing with a demon fiend, whatever it costs?"

"If that’s your choice, then I have no options left." Neal glared, expression dark and murderous,, the words set off a thousand ripples.

Seeing how stubbornly she held, the cultivators hurled venom from every direction, she stood unmoved through the barrage, pride intact.

Her voice carried on the wind, and drifted off with it.

"If I cannot live with my Master, then I ask only to die with him."

"I would rather betray the human race than fail the Demon Emperor. This... is my choice."

Uproar, the crowd exploded, boiling with righteous fury.

"How dare you, Lysara!"

"You’re absolute scum among humans!"

"A disgrace!"

"You’ve humiliated our race! Humiliated our Human Emperors!"

"To think you forgot what species you belong to!"

"And now you’re playing house with a demon fiend!"

Once, Lysara would have cared deeply about these voices, from childhood on, every word she’d heard was praise, sudden rejection and abuse would have shaken her.

Things were different now.

When someone shouted that she was playing house with a demon fiend, instead of shame she felt a small, secret thrill.

Am I a pervert? She shook her head, whatever, her mind was made up.

On the Strategy Encyclopedia, the favorability between Lysara and Soren tore straight through Deep Affection and Righteousness and lit up Absolute Loyalty.

More than that, the title for Following to the Death flickered fast for a moment. It didn’t catch, but the message was plain, right now she couldn’t find a single reason to betray Soren.

Reading it, Soren would be lying to say he wasn’t surprised, past the brief flash came a calm, settled satisfaction.

The strategy to conquer Lysara was steady awe and suppression, but that was never the only path, when the feelings in her heart resonated with his, the tier jumped on its own.

Awe and suppression were the key that opened the door to Lysara’s relationship.

The only key, from here on, her tier wouldn’t only rise through suppression, it would leap in huge bounds as her devotion deepened.

Which meant he’d conquered Lysara, even without Following to the Death lit, he already held her feelings in his palm.

Two reasons in the end.

First, under that cold exterior Lysara was a deeply traditional woman, and she’d already claimed Soren as her man.

Second, the business with Grant had shattered the faith she’d carried since childhood.

So she followed her heart, let the whole world brand her for it. She didn’t care.

"Lysara, a loosed arrow can’t turn back, this may be your last chance to choose."

"Have you... truly made up your mind?"

Basil’s gaze ran deep, his old hand trembled.

"Master’s grace in raising and teaching me, Lysara will repay in the next life, but my mind is set."

Seeing how firm she was, Basil said nothing more.

Neal stood off to the side, looking like she’d slapped him in front of everyone, he’d laid out every trump card.

Soren was trapped, waiting to be killed at leisure, and Lysara still wouldn’t bend.

A resounding slap to his face as the new master of the domain.

He ordered Basil at once. "Palace Master Basil! Kill this traitor now!"

"Show the slightest mercy again, and..."

Before Neal could finish, Basil sent a sword strike straight at him.

An arc of sword qi ripped across the gap, slicing through the void on a sharp, unpredictable line.

Neal’s pupils shrank, he struck out to shatter it, spiritual pressure erupting as he threw off his concealment.

Exactly as Soren had judged, Upper-Tier Human Emperor.

After his seclusion Neal had broken through and become the domain’s second Upper-Tier Human Emperor, but on emerging he’d learned Grant’s life tablet had shattered.

Life tablets tied to the soul, shattered meant dead.

Neal had to accept it, furious on the surface, inwardly ecstatic.

The old bastard was finally dead, he could take the domain by right, he could be Palace Master of the Imperial Palace.

He’d waited far too long, he’d thought the old man too strong, too respected, still in his prime, that replacing him wouldn’t be possible for centuries, he’d never dreamed Soren would do him such an enormous favor.

Master of a domain meant the support of every faction and the respect of every cultivator.

That had been Neal’s dream since childhood.

Even at Upper-Tier now, he still lacked the achievements to convince the masses.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have allied with the Heavenly Demon Alliance, or dragged Caspar out of retirement, with those two backing him, even if Soren had never come, Neal would have hunted him down once preparations were complete.

"It’s the Upper-Tier!"

"Our domain has another Upper-Tier Human Emperor!"

"As expected of Emperor Grant’s son! Now the demon race would never dare harass us again!"

Mid-celebration, the crowd’s attention snapped sideways, every face twisting into fury.

Every eye, Soren’s and Lysara’s included, landed on Basil, who’d just attacked Neal.

"Basil, are you courting death?"

"Don’t tell me you’re turning traitor too?"

"You actually dared strike at Emperor Neal! Despicable!"

"No wonder, a crooked upper beam makes a crooked lower beam, Lysara was tainted by your daily influence!"

"Kill the fiend! Kill Lysara! Kill Basil!"

Roars of crusade rang across the sky.

Neal’s face went dark and venomous, narrow eyes sweeping over cold. "Palace Master Basil, what is the meaning of this?"

"You’ve betrayed the trust I placed in you."

Basil knew there was no going back, he laughed loud and flickered backward like a phantom, materializing beside Lysara.

"Master, what are you doing?"

Basil stroked his beard, guessing his end was close, his heart felt oddly at peace.

"My precious disciple already made the choice for her master, didn’t she?"

"Lysara, I watched you grow up, no one understands you better than I do."

"When word came that you’d defected to Soren, I refused to believe it, not one part in ten thousand."

"I was sure you had some unspeakable difficulty, but I just heard it from your own mouth."

"This is your own decision."