Lady Virulent looked at smiling Cyrus, who was giving her the creeps. His mysterious means had already shocked her to the core, and she knew this opponent was not just some nobody.
She was the strongest existence present in this place with a Grade-7 Half-Monster Core and had achieved the half stage of Beast Transmutation, yet she still felt fear from Cyrus.
The Magic Beasts followed the path of Beast Core evolution and ranked them with grades from 1, the weakest, and grade-9 being the strongest. Furthermore, if the magic beast achieved Beast Transmutation before breaking through Grade-9, they had to restart their cultivation again.
However, after the Beast Transmutation, their beast core would no longer be the same and called a Monster Core instead and separated into the initial, half, quasi, and complete stages.
Moreover, every stage monster core was ten times more powerful than the previous stages. The Beasts going through Beast Transmutation were also called Monsters because of it, and the more potential they had, the higher level of Beast Transmutation they could achieve.
Cyrus looked the Lady Virulent and thought, 'She should have the strongest potential in the race for her to already reach the half-monster core stage, and she might evolve into higher species if she breaks the mortal shackle or achieves the quasi-monster core stage….'
Cyrus thought about it would be quite a shame to kill this sort of potential, but he wasn't going to recruit her like he did with the other ladies. Those days were long past; for now, he had many candidates waiting to be picked up by him.
Even the Magic Beasts going through Beast Transmutation weren't enough to make him go out of his way and recruit them when he could just subdue them.
So, without hesitation, Cyrus intensified his killing aura spreading his pressure like crazy, but he didn't attack yet as he wanted to see how this woman would react.
Lady Virulent's heart palpitated as she felt that killing aura like never before and quickly responded by casting the strongest golden-grade poison spell she knew.
'Poison Rush!'
Nefarious poisonous energy torrent around her before turning into deadly waves as they headed toward Cyrus, wanting to swallow him completely.
The people around them were also effective, but Lady Virulent didn't care about their lives when her own was on the line.
Cyrus's lips rose, but he didn't move his sword and use an ascension-grade poison spell!
"Heavenly Poison River!"
A horrifying scene suddenly played in everyone's eyes, and their hearts almost stopped when they saw a pitch-black river forming behind Cyrus. Just looking at it made their eyes burn profusely.
Even the Vile Horn Snake Race, who had an affinity with poison elements that provide them immunity from thousands of different types of poisons, seemed to be pale in compression against that pitch-black river.
When Lady Virulent's dark brown waves collided with that pitch-black river, she was utterly ashen when that river didn't even flinch and swallowed all those waves like a trench.
Not only that but after swallowing her entire spell, that pitch-black river magnified over her and kept increasing until it was covering the entire city. Everyone, including Lady Virulent, felt like ants who were about to get drowned in this ghastly river.
It was also at this moment that she understood just how ridiculous her thought of killing Cyrus and then claiming that reward for herself was. Now that death was approaching for her and everyone else in the entire city.
But just when the river was about to swallow her, and she was too horrified even to move or retaliate, a devilish voice whispered into her ear, "Do you want to live? Then hand me your monster core, and I'll only take the lives of half of your city, and you all will be my loyal subjects from then on…."
A monster core was greatly different from a beast core because even without it, a magic beast could survive, but it will lose half of its prowess in the process and had to create a new monster core with twice the effort than the first time. But this was in case it got destroyed by an enemy.
But if they handed over their monster core willingly to another being, it was akin to giving away their life and becoming a slave of the person who held that monster core.
If Lady Virulent handed her monster core to Cyrus, then it means she is willingly becoming his slave, and despite having a chance to recover her strength, she will never be free.
However, when facing impending death, no matter how much pride one has, one will grab a chance to live if presented. This was the nature of living things.
Furthermore, Cyrus was even demanding the lives of half of the denizens as a sacrifice for his transgression.
Lady Virulent now had a moment to choose, and that fear of death made her choice what anyone else who had ambition will.
She instantly pierced her stomach with her own sharped nails and dug out a beautiful glowing orb coated with her crimson blood, and she groaned loudly, "I-I accept!"
"Heh, I like the people who bend with the circumstances since stubbornness can only lead so far in life. This Emperor accepts your allegiance!" Cyrus's dark yet amusing voice rang as if he liked this entertaining sight.
The next moment the pitch-black river, which was about to swallow the entire city, suddenly churned and started to compress until only half of the city was under its might.
Thereby, Cyrus simply touched the pitch-black river with his lust sword tip and let it swallow half of the city without any mercy whatsoever!
This was the price of opposing him as well as what he wanted from the start. If he didn't show his might, who would be going to listen to him after he was done with this dimension? Besides, if he spared everyone, what about his growth?
As for this practice, he lost all interest after thinking about a peculiarity!
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