"Don't waste time. Capture him."
The indifferent voice from atop the dragon made Craig feel a strange sense of relief. It was as if he were a lamb stepping into a wolf's den, powerless and alone.
Upon receiving the command, Emi and Stanley, still flying, immediately began to cast spells.
Betty and Grote launched themselves forward, and Kosso charged in with heavy steps.
As a powerful Wolfman warrior, Craig naturally wouldn't surrender.
Awooo~
With a long howl, his body suddenly swelled in size. He tossed aside his longsword, and his grayish-silver fur visibly thickened, tough as if woven from mithril.
Sharp claws extended thirty centimeters from his hands.
A chilling gleam flashed across the tips, easily capable of tearing through ordinary steel.
Awooo~
Craig howled again, stabilizing his surging aura.
Berserk Mode.
The final trump card of the Beastmen, and their most powerful bloodline ability.
Once berserk, all of a Beastman's attributes would surge tremendously. They would ignore pain and fear no death.
However, the price was a prolonged state of extreme weakness afterward. Hence, this powerful bloodline trait was always a last resort.
Now, as a Level 16 warrior in Berserk Mode, Craig could go head-to-head with a Level 17 combatant without fear.
But it still didn't matter.
His enemies were simply too strong.
Emi and Stanley, both Level 15 spellcasters, activated dual casting. Four control spells immobilized Craig's frenzied body on the spot.
Shadow Prison, Shadow Tentacles, Rigidify, Swamp Terrain.
How could Betty, the Northern Valkyrie with legendary combat skills, miss this chance? The moment Craig was frozen, her massive sword swung down. A glow of Extreme Will flared dozens of centimeters from the blade.
From above, Witherbone, dense with Dragon's Might, cackled grotesquely and cast two Tier 4 Draconic spells on Craig: Mental Shock and Forced Stun.
Craig, who had just begun to break free from the four control spells, froze again in place.
Three spellcasters, working in tandem, left this berserk Beastman completely immobilized from start to finish.
Boom~
Betty struck in that instant. This battle-hardened Northern Valkyrie showed no mercy, her greatsword pierced straight through Craig's abdomen, slicing through his spine mid-swing.
Blood splattered.
Instant kill.
The Level 16 Craig, under the relentless control of three spellcasters, didn't even get a chance to fight back before being taken down.
It was only because his berserk form had expanded to three blades in height that his body wasn't sliced clean in half.
Drawing her sword back, Betty, dressed in tight leather pants with long, eye-catching legs, curled her lip with disinterest. "So pathetically weak. Compared to that lion, this Wolfman isn't even worth unsheathing my sword."
From atop the Bone Dragon, Li De glanced back at the unconscious Beastman King bound like twisted rope, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
The previous battle still amazed him in retrospect.
The power of an 18th-level Beastman King had far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Even with an 18th-level Bone Dragon joining the fight, it had taken ten full minutes of brutal combat just to subdue Kap. In his madness, Kap had traded blow for blow, grievously wounding Grote and Betty multiple times.
If not for their strong bloodlines accelerating recovery, they might have died at the hands of this fearsome Level 18 warrior.
Eventually, after Emi and Stanley finished casting, they joined the assault on Kap.
True to his title, the Beastman King unleashed his final trump card Berserk Mode, transforming into a three-blade-tall Golden Lion Warrior radiating golden light, with power surging further.
He shattered Grote's heart twice and even severed half his head, Grote was one step away from death.
Betty had both her arms broken twice, dozens of ribs shattered, and even Emi and Stanley were severely injured when Kap leapt skyward and struck. Even the 18th-level Bone Dragon's soul fire trembled under his blows.
It wasn't until the two spellcasters pinned down Kap that Grote and Betty exchanged wounds to severely injure him. In the end, Kap had no choice but to take a full blast of the Bone Dragon's Death Breath.
Only with the combined effort of five elites was the berserk Beastman King finally suppressed.
Compared to that, Craig, the Level 16 Wolfman warrior who was disabled in one round, seemed utterly pathetic.
Of course, it wasn't that Craig was weak, it was just that Kap had been overwhelmingly powerful. But without the comparison, the disappointment wouldn't sting so much.
Because of Kap's strength, they had faced him with extreme caution. Now that they saw Craig was so easily dispatched, their disdain and disappointment were natural.
From high above, Li De looked down. Though Craig had suffered fatal injuries, his berserk-enhanced vitality was staggering, his body was already starting to heal.
Clearly, given time, even such grievous wounds could be recovered from.
Li De couldn't help but marvel. In terms of survival ability, warriors with their tough physiques far surpassed mages.
Of course, mages had dazzling spells that warriors envied deeply.
"Emi, bring him up. He's our spoils of war now."
After speaking, Li De glanced back at Kap, a hint of frustration in his eyes.
Beastman physiology was different from humans. Thus, the Vampire's Embrace didn't work on them, their bloodlines were incompatible.
This was troubling for Li De. He couldn't perform the Embrace on this terrifyingly powerful Beastman. If he couldn't gain control of him, then this massive harvest would be far less valuable.
Beastmen, Dwarves, Elves, Goblins… Though they were all intelligent beings, their biology was entirely different from humans.
Whether in physical structure or bloodline, they were worlds apart from humanity. Hence, the Embrace had no effect on them.
It was just like Android apps being incompatible with Apple's system, he couldn't forcibly turn these other races into Vampires.
Grote was able to become a Bloodline Descendant because, at his core, he was still human. Though from the North, whether Northerners, Nolans, or Blue Skins, they all descended from humans, with human blood in their veins.
Their differences in appearance and power came from environment, climate, and other factors, but fundamentally, they were still human. So they could be turned into Vampires.
Humans possessed a special kind of energy in their bodies, a key to Vampire survival and the reason they could undergo the Embrace. Other races lacked this energy.
That was why Beastmen and Dwarves couldn't become Vampires.
If Kap's formidable strength could be used, he would become a trump card in Li De's hands. But for now, there was no way to control the Beastman King.
So he had to be restrained for the time being.
Rumble~
Just then, a powerful explosion sounded from within the Dwarven city. Flames shot into the sky.
Then came waves of shouting and intense battle cries.
Chaos had erupted within the Dwarven city.
Li De gazed into the distance. In the dark of night, his vision remained sharp.
He could faintly make out what was happening in the city.
"Lord Progenitor, it appears to be the Dwarves."
Stanley, carrying the bound Craig, flew over to him.
Li De nodded and turned his head.
The only king of the Beastmen was now his captive. Another top-tier combatant had just been instantly killed by three spellcasters and a Northern Valkyrie.
The Beastmen left in Dwarven Valley, leaderless, were now nothing but a flock of lambs awaiting slaughter.
"Come. Follow me and conquer this land."
A surge of pride rose in Li De's chest. Sitting atop the twenty-blade-winged undead creature, his eyes were sharp.
He should now be called the Dragon Driver, Li De.
"Wahaha~ The great Lord Witherbone has arrived! You filthy, lowly Beastmen, taste Lord Witherbone's Dragon Breath!!"