"Speak your last words, pretty boy. You won't get another chance." The petite woman smirked at Thunder.
The members of the Silver Serpent Mercenaries showed no urgency. With their opponents weakened, the griffin was already within their grasp. The man called "Mantis" was especially excited, already fantasizing about ravishing the two beauties on the other side. The thought alone made him tremble with anticipation.
"You just want to kill and loot!" Thunder forced his expression to remain calm as he spoke slowly. "Honestly, I admire you. My dream since childhood was to live a life on the edge. How about letting me join you? As a token of gratitude, I'll hand over my mentor and this lovely classmate to you." He directed the last part at Mantis.
The Silver Serpents froze for a second, then burst into laughter—Mantis loudest of all.
They'd done this kind of thing countless times, but this was the first time they'd encountered such an amusing man.
"Kid, I like you!" Mantis grinned. "You've got the right attitude."
"Brother Thunder!" Eric stared at him in disbelief. Meanwhile, Sis's eyes darted around, glancing at Maria. The mentor frowned in thought, but neither woman showed any anger.
Though they hadn't known Thunder long, both Sis and Maria knew he wasn't the type to betray them.
"But you're too weak. You still have to die." Mantis sneered, thrusting his greatsword straight for Thunder's throat.
Thunder was in the middle of maintaining a spell. By the time he reacted, it was almost too late. He barely managed to dodge with his Celestial Master's Agile Steps, but a cold sting grazed his neck. Ignoring the wound, he roared, "Now!"
Before Mantis and the petite woman could press their attack, a blood-curdling scream came from behind them. They spun around—and froze in horror.
Their team's high-level mage was already dead, his head barely attached by a thread of flesh, body twitching before going still.
The one who'd done it was their own burly axeman.
The axeman's head hung low as he charged toward the remaining two mercenaries.
What the hell was happening? The remaining Silver Serpents were stunned—even Maria and the others were completely lost.
"Mentor, Paralyzing Net!" Thunder shouted, pouring all his focus into maintaining his spell.
Maria's vision swam with red, her thoughts sluggish. At Thunder's command, she instinctively cast the Paralyzing Net.
With the enemy mage dead, Thunder felt a surge of relief. In any team, the mage was always the most dangerous.
Maria's net landed perfectly on Mantis and the petite woman. As the axeman charged toward them like a raging bull, the woman shrieked, "Siber, what are you doing?!"
The axeman's eyes flickered with confusion before dulling again. Mid-charge, he leaped, his massive frame blotting out the sky above Mantis. His axe gleamed with dark blue battle aura as it came crashing down toward Mantis' chest.
"Boom! Clang!" Paralyzed by the net, Mantis couldn't dodge. He mustered all his strength, raising his greatsword to block.
The impact sent him flying over a dozen meters, blood spewing from his mouth. His sword clattered away, and when he finally landed, he tried to stand—but collapsed.
Maria swayed after casting the spell, clutching her chest as a trickle of blood escaped her lips.
With Mantis critically wounded, Thunder wasn't about to let him live.
The petite woman braced for death—she had no battle aura, no way to survive a direct hit.
But to her shock, the axeman ignored her entirely, sprinting straight to Mantis. Without hesitation, he raised his axe—and brought it down.
The battle aura split the earth, and Mantis didn't even have time to scream before he was cleaved in two.
Only then did the axeman turn back, charging toward the petite woman.
In Thunder's calculations, she was the least threatening—no battle aura, no powerful skills, just agility. But with his Celestial Master's Agile Steps, he wasn't worried. That's why he'd prioritized killing the mage and Mantis first.
The axeman's control was all thanks to dark magic.
Just like with holy light spells, Thunder had studied dark magic scrolls and even inscribed a couple. But dark elements were harder to master, and the success rate was low. Low-tier spells were useless—only third or fourth-tier ones were barely functional.
**Shadow Domination**—this was the dark spell Thunder had used to control the axeman. A fourth-tier dark magic that enslaved the target's mind, turning them into a puppet. Still, to be safe, Thunder had targeted the axeman, who seemed the weakest mentally. Even then, it had taken a fierce struggle to seize control.
To outsiders, Thunder had just stood there, doing nothing. In reality, he'd been locked in a mental battle to dominate the axeman.
"Eric! Sis!" The Paralyzing Net was about to wear off. If the agile woman broke free, she'd be trouble. Before the axeman reached her, Thunder barked orders.
Eric hurled another Paralyzing Net at the woman, while Sis went straight for the kill—palm thunder at point-blank range.
Sis couldn't even bear to watch, turning her head as she blasted the woman again and again.
**Will the petite woman survive the onslaught?**