Terror Fortress, Main Keep, Conference Room
Outside on the walls of Terror Fortress and inside the castle towers, the battle raged fiercely. At the throne of Luss Bolton, the scene was just as intense—blue ice shards clashed with dark green thorned branches in a deadly duel.
Yet, such a strange and mystical spectacle barely elicited any reaction from Luss Bolton himself, for his state was exceedingly odd.
At this moment, Luss Bolton's gaze was vacant, his eyes completely devoid of life, as if his soul had been stripped away. He simply stared blankly at the scene before him, without a single extra reaction.
Dominic Bolton, however, was far from calm. The rune energy at his back flared violently, continuously providing him immense power, enough to resist the terrifying monster before him.
Opposite Dominic, the Mermaid Queen had revealed her true form: her upper half was a stunningly beautiful woman with flowing red hair, while her lower half was a terrifying mass of octopus legs, eight enormous tentacles lifting her body, making her appear colossal.
"Hahaha! Adorable Dominic, you really are naughty. I didn't expect you to hide such incredible power—and yet you resist my charm spell. How amazing!
Oh my! What should I do? I want to give you a deep kiss right now, make you utterly submit beneath me… would you like that?"
The Mermaid Queen giggled, her emerald green eyes sparkling with a seductive haze that could ensnare anyone.
Whenever Dominic's gaze began to falter, he would swiftly draw a dagger at his waist and stab himself hard, anchoring his mind to resist her enchantment.
In just a few minutes of this battle, several wounds had already appeared on Dominic's right thigh, yet he didn't utter a sound, using his magic relentlessly to fight against the Mermaid Queen.
Dominic could endure this thanks entirely to his extraordinary regenerative abilities. He gritted his teeth and persevered, and under the stimulation of bloodlust, the runes on his body seemed to glow even more vividly.
"The mermaid—a species that exists only in legend. Many sailors have claimed to see them, yet all have always dismissed them as folklore.
Scholars believed mermaids were once like humans, but over time, like giants and the children of the forests, they became extinct. However, I once read in an ancient text in the Arid Tomb that during the Dawn Era, mermaids would select husbands on the Three Sisters Isles, bearing powerful children. The beautiful and handsome were taken, the ugly cast out.
I don't care what you are! Now, get out of our family castle! You're not welcome here! Release my father from your control so I can make your death swift!"
Dominic's eyes were icy as he glared at the monstrous creature, displeasure evident in his voice.
"Hahaha, little Dominic, you are so adorable! I admire your courage, but you have no idea what kind of existence you are dealing with."
The Mermaid Queen laughed lightly. At that moment, the doors burst open, and four Bolton family guards, covered in wounds, were thrown into the room. Immediately after, soldiers of the Moonlight Legion charged in.
These ten soldiers were exceptionally tall, radiating a faint bluish aura. Dominic sensed their power from afar—it was similar to the aura of the Mermaid Queen herself.
"Your family ends here! Before I leave, I'll give that heretic king a grand gift… using your family's fortress! Hahaha!"
With the Mermaid Queen's laughter, the tall Moonlight Legion soldiers swung their longswords and charged at Dominic, who was resisting the Mermaid Queen.
"Kill!"
Shouts of battle rang out as knights and soldiers bearing flayed-man crests suddenly surged in from outside. The two sides quickly clashed.
"You have your plans, I have mine. Do you think I would be unprepared? The wildfires were already put out by my brother, and I've stockpiled sand and contingency measures in the warehouse. Your schemes will fail.
And I forgot to mention—those monsters you sent on your evil mission were already poisoned. I expect they are all dead by now.
That was a special poison I prepared just for you. Since the moment I suspected your identities, I've been testing it. Do you remember the Moonlight Legion captain who fell out with my brother?
He didn't die. He's been hiding in my family's secret chamber. He refused to reveal your secrets, so I flayed him. Then I realized his body is unlike ours. Just this morning, I discovered your secret, which is why I came to my father… but I didn't expect…"
Dominic ignored the still-fighting soldiers, keeping his gaze fixed on the Mermaid Queen, a faint smile on his lips, as if victory was already certain.
"Hahaha! Little Dominic, you truly are adorable! Your talent is strong, but you have no idea what you're facing. Do you think I'd fear your little toys?"
The Mermaid Queen laughed, her voice echoing across the room. There was a strange power in it, forcing some of the fortress guards to roar in pain.
Soon, some normal Bolton soldiers noticed that their companions and the Moonlight Legion mercenaries were mutating horribly. Half-human, half-fish monsters and large fishmen appeared on the battlefield.
These monsters attacked all humans indiscriminately, sometimes even devouring their own kind. After consuming their kin, they advanced further toward the fishmen.
In the underground warehouse of Terror Fortress, Rams Snow was in crisis. After using Dominic's mechanism to bury the wildfires, he discovered the supposedly poisoned Moonlight Legion soldiers were all resurrected.
Upon hearing strange noises, these soldiers transformed into fish-like monsters with glowing blue eyes. Seeing these terrifying humanoid beasts, Rams felt waves of fear.
The thirty soldiers with him also grew weak-kneed and icy, but before they could think, the monsters charged. For survival, they had no choice but to fight back.
Outside the fortress, Marco, using "Far Sight" to observe, felt a chill. He had suspected the possibility of possession among the fortress guards but never imagined it would be so widespread.
"Wooo…"
With the sounding of the horn, Marco's high-level system soldiers joined the battlefield. The gates were simultaneously breached. Many pre-positioned wildfires were unearthed and deployed due to Dominic's internal suppression efforts.
Most of the wildfires now in the Bolton family came with the Moonlight Legion. They were more stable than the twenty or so wildfires in the family's storage. Dominic had secretly reinforced them.
Though sand scaffolds were built for fire prevention, Dominic still felt unsafe. To further reduce the threat, he secretly created special ice vines using rune magic.
Dominic controlled these vines to silently replace the wooden supports under the sand scaffolds. This not only increased the sand quantity but made the scaffolds controllable.
Additionally, the ice vines absorbed moisture from the air, gradually freezing the hollow vines. When the sand scaffolds fell, they formed a protective layer of ice and sand, perfectly preventing wildfire ignition. He even designed mechanisms to collapse the ice vines by cutting just two support points.
Despite securing this, Dominic didn't anticipate the enemy's power—his special poison was ignored, and the semi-dead poisoned soldiers revived, giving Rams trouble.
However, with Marco's empire forces joining, the battle quickly tilted. Partly because Bolton human soldiers had lost the will to fight, and partly due to the magical purification crystals Marco had created.
With long research, Marco discovered that all level 1–2 magic could successfully enchant the crystals. He spent days traveling to the Gryphon Fortress's vitality springs to make more.
During this time, the crystal dragon developed good rapport with Marco, responding reliably to simple commands.
With the crystals deployed, bursts of radiant magic illuminated the battlefield. Many possessed Bolton soldiers wailed, though some—mainly Moonlight Legion fishmen—remained unaffected.
As the offensive began, the Abyss Multiheaded Lizard dominated the battlefield, using its massive size to trample or crush fishmen at will.
The other four powerful units were equally overwhelming. The half-human, half-fish monsters lacked organization, unable to affect the five main units.
From the city gate to the base of the Bolton Keep, Marco's forces advanced. Suddenly, a glass window above the keep shattered violently.
A massive wooden ball crashed through the broken glass and framework, instantly killing several unlucky fishmen and half-fish monsters below.
Then, over ten fishmen and a strange octopus-like creature fell from the opening, aiming for the wooden ball.
The wooden ball scattered, and a weary Dominic emerged from it. After surveying the scene, he shouted:
"Lord… no… Your Majesty! I am Dominic Bolton! My father has been captured by that monster! I beg you to help me. I will command the Bolton family to pledge loyalty to you, never to betray! Please, help me!"
After a brief silence, the Rakshasa King and Chieftain of the Valeria Empire army charged, targeting the Mermaid Queen.
At that moment, everyone noticed five humanoid figures entwined around the Mermaid Queen's octopus legs—one was Luss Bolton, the other four her mermaid attendants.
Seeing the two high-level system soldiers advancing, the Mermaid Queen commanded her ten powerful fishmen to attack while her own body radiated a blue, water-like energy.
This energy shielded her and her subordinates, cooling the surrounding air and causing even restored half-fish monsters to mutate again. The water energy slowly spread, targeting Bolton soldiers and forcing them to retreat in fear.
"Kill!"
The Beastman Chieftain Gaotai let out a fierce roar, and blood-red energy surged over him and his soldiers. The Mermaid Queen shuddered, her water energy flickering as if dissipating.
As the Rakshasa King and others prepared to press the attack, the four mermaid attendants moved, slowly regaining their true forms. Singing enchanting melodies, their song filled Terror Fortress.
All soldiers seemed entranced, forgetting their purpose and standing dazed. Hidden fishmen and half-fish monsters crept out, ready to ambush.
The Mermaid Queen smiled in satisfaction. Her four attendants, gifted spellcasters and charm masters, were her trump cards. Seeing the tide of victory swing her way, she delighted in the human's dazed march toward death, relishing the cruel thrill.
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