But the sand tiger is not for nothing the elder pack leader and the terror of the Gobi Desert, frightening all mid-level mages who decide to obtain useful resources for cultivation here. It met my strongest blows with dignity and remained on its feet, although this could be called a last attempt to preserve pride before death. In its condition, victory was out of the question.
However, I was also not in ideal condition. I had spent quite a lot of magical energy during this short skirmish and had performed a series of rather difficult attacks, leaving me exhausted. But this didn't mean I was ready to fall unconscious. A short rest, and I would be ready to show everything I was capable of again, although my magical energy would take a little longer to recover. I could have defeated this tiger without using the lightning blade gust, but I used it for another purpose, namely to instill fear. No, not in the tiger, but in the observers, those because of whom we were drawn into a fight with the tiger, the quartet of hunters who had tried to take the bodies of two fire scorpions from us yesterday.
They were also not in the best shape, as they had spent a lot of energy to properly provoke the tiger to attack us. Perhaps they had even killed a couple of unsuccessful attempts, but that was not important. After the fight, I would have been severely weakened anyway. Even if the decision was made not to touch them, they could have attacked me. However, I wasn't so kind as to just let them go. The spiky turtle gave me the ability to kill them all in an instant, but their deaths wouldn't be enough for me. What good would it be to me? So, first, I decided to instill real terror in them!
My fully released aura, the Asura mask, and the most powerful spell that had brought even the sand tiger to the brink of life and death! I could still feel the magical energy of the entire quartet behind the nearest hill. So, they must have seen the entire battle perfectly and now, I think, they were literally frozen with fear. I needed to finish with the tiger quickly and then deal with them.
As for the tiger, it was barely standing after the lightning strike, bleeding all over. Its head, belly, and paws were torn by my spells, and its contents were spilling out. Its intestines were already lying beneath it, and its brain was leaking out with the blood. How it was still alive was a mystery to me. I didn't torment it for long and sent three daggers directly into its head for the finishing blow. At the same moment, the tiger took a couple of steps. No, it wasn't attacking, nor was it trying to run, but simply taking chaotic steps, not even understanding what was happening. My daggers shattered the rest of its skull, and then its huge carcass fell dead.
I didn't linger to enjoy the sight and, using all my available wind magic, I was behind the impudent quartet who dared to covet my life and the lives of my disciples in just a couple of seconds. They were indeed standing frozen, hiding between the rocks so as to see the entire battle. I don't know what exactly they planned: to finish off the tiger and then take its precious body parts, or perhaps they guessed that I could kill the tiger and decided to finish me off. Although, no, the latter seemed like madness on their part. How could a guy who recently turned nineteen defeat a monster of the elder pack leader level? If you told me that before, I wouldn't have believed it either.
"A-a-a!" Meng Ji, who had just turned around, exclaimed, falling onto her backside with primal, animalistic terror on her face. "Forgive us, I didn't want to bother you in the first place!" she pleaded, falling to her knees before me.
"You! I'll...!" Kan Fu shouted at the top of his lungs, turning around, but immediately fell silent when one of the daggers flew to his head. Daggers also flew to the other two, which were still standing, threatening their lives. In case of anything, they wouldn't even have time to put up a defense. It's good that Meng Ji surrendered immediately; it meant less trouble for me. Although, for good measure, I took one dagger in my hand and was ready to send it straight into her head.
"Do you even know who we are, boy! If you do anything to us, you'll be found and killed!" Yin Lan screamed hysterically, losing all self-control from fear. I liked this the most, when I appeared as Asura. Although there was one who silently accepted her fate, and now I had saved her from the tiger, and before that, I called her sister. It all turned out quite amusingly.
"Be quiet, Yin Lan," Kan Guang said dryly, maintaining his composure and apparently accepting the situation he found himself in.
"That's right, you'd better listen to me," I said in an icy, soul-piercing voice. Jiaxing Er described me as the god of death when I fully released my aura. I wonder what they perceived me as, seeing everything I was capable of and possessing initially superior strength? "You say that I will face retribution if I kill you now?" I asked, pointing the dagger at Yin Lan, taking another one in my other hand to control the actions of the surrendered Meng Ji, who was kneeling. I didn't need any incidents!
"Yes, that's right! I belong to the Yin family in the city of Dunhuang. My family is one of the strongest, just like Meng Ji's Meng family," Yin Lan declared confidently, feeling the power of her family's status. "And the Kan family of Kan Fu and Kan Guang is the leading one in the city, and their father, a master-level mage in all four elements, is the head of the city! So, are you still sure you want bloody revenge on us? I think I have the right to let you go just like that after all your threats!"
"Yin Lan, be quiet and don't anger him!" Kan Guang stated confidently and quietly, so only she could hear him. He was clearly the most sensible among this group, although he looked like a brainless jock. Appearances can be deceiving.
"That's right," I chuckled. "You're not in Dunhuang, or any city for that matter, to be trying to scare me like that." I declared, with a slight devilish smirk, which twisted her confident expression into a new spiral of horror. She cast a desperate glance at Kan Fu, but he stood there with a frightened expression, looking from the dagger pressed to his head to me. I could literally see a plea for mercy in his eyes. "Are you still so sure of your power?"
"Uh... Yes, a criminal always faces punishment!" Yin Lan shouted, with a hint of rage in her voice, bringing me unprecedented pleasure.
"Hahaha!" I let out an icy laugh, making even Kan Guang flinch. "You're so naive. We're in the desert now! The only law that applies here, leveling everyone, is the law of strength! If your high-level mage were with you, I wouldn't be able to even squeak against you! But he's not here! You said criminals face punishment, right?" I asked, calming down slightly.
"Yes, that's what always happens," she replied uncertainly, realizing something was clearly wrong. Had she fallen from the moon?
"From my perspective, you are criminals who tried to take my spoils, and then, in revenge, sicced a strong monster on me!" I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "And my sentence for this crime is death! And no one will stop me from carrying it out, and after that, your corpses won't even be found! Monsters will tear apart and devour your bodies before your parents even start to worry about you!"
"You... you... you're joking! Are you really capable of killing a person?" she asked in a trembling voice, realizing the direness of the situation.
"Yes, why not? Or weren't you going to do the same to us with that tiger's paws?" I asked, pointing to the mangled carcass.
"No, not exactly. Kai Fu and I just wanted to scare you a little and knock some sense into you. When he had you cornered, we would have saved you! We even followed you when you split up to help you. Who knew you possessed such terrifying power!" Yin Lan cried, almost in tears, taking a couple more steps back and leaning her back against the wall. "Kan Guang and Meng Ji didn't support our idea at all!"
"Are you two really that idiotic?" I asked, losing all interest in them. I didn't doubt the truthfulness of her words; a person in her position couldn't lie so plausibly, even I would find it very difficult. But that didn't negate the absurdity of their plan! To think of playing heroes! How did they even live to such an age?
"Please don't kill us!" Yin Lan begged, falling to her knees, joining Meng Ji.
"Sigh... So, first, what elements do you wield, and how did you end up here?" I decided to finally learn the backstory of these idiots.
"My brother Kan Fu wields wind and shadow. I wield earth and sound. Meng Ji wields water and ice, and Yin Lan wields fire and healing," Kan Guang stated dryly and concisely. I had to admit, they were a quite strong and balanced team. Although they might have problems with offense, as the only mage with a purely offensive element was also a healer. "Although our families have great prestige and power in Dunhuang city, we are not nearly as rich or well-known as even ordinary clans from Shanghai or Guangzhou. However, our families have an ancient history and have studied the nearby desert well, learning to extract various resources. So, to support our families, we became hunters and hunted in the desert, earning good money, which we spent on our development. True, we've only been doing this for less than half a year; before that, our families wouldn't let us go, as they considered us too weak."
"I see," I said, resting one hand with the dagger on my chin. They weren't such bad guys, but the fact that they behaved so arrogantly towards me didn't change, and a harsh punishment awaited them.
"So, what's with all this prelude? Are you going to kill us or not?" Kan Guang asked with a slight challenge and hopelessness in his voice, after a silence that lasted a couple of minutes.
"No, please, don't kill us!" the girls pleaded in unison, while Kan Fu stood, dripping with cold sweat, as if nothing interested him except the dagger hanging over him.
"You have a chance to keep your lives," I said coldly, making a long, dramatic pause.
"Really?" Yin Lan asked, raising her head with excitement, while Meng Ji remained kneeling.
"And what chance is that?" Kan Guang asked without a hint of fear, clearly having a strong will.
"You will sign a spiritual contract with me, by which you will serve me faithfully and truly," I said as if I had said nothing absurd or strange.
"What!" Kan Fu and Yin Lan exclaimed in unison. "Isn't that too much? It's even worse than death!"
"What will be the terms of the contract?" Kan Guang asked, still maintaining his composure.
"You will be under my complete control, you will carry out all my orders without exception. Essentially, consider it slavery. Also, you will not be able to reveal any of my secrets or mysteries, even the fact of my existence will be hidden by you from everyone..." I began to explain in detail, as there was no point in hiding anything.
"What! How can you do this!" Kan Fu and Yin Lan exclaimed again.
"I agree to everything, as long as I stay alive," Meng Ji said.
"Quiet, you, let him finish!" Kan Guang roared at everyone at once. "Please continue," he then addressed me politely.
"Thank you," I said, smiling slightly. "I won't be too harsh on you. In essence, you will continue to live as you did, occasionally carrying out my assignments. I won't force you to go against your families or do anything indecent. Also, if you remain loyal to me and don't try to go against me, I will help you become stronger, teach you new skills and techniques that will allow you to surpass the limits of your development. But, if you even think about betraying me or consciously help my enemies, the contract will immediately tear your soul to shreds!"
"This..." Kan Fu and Yin Lan said uncertainly, exchanging glances.
"I agree! This is a wonderful offer!" Meng Ji agreed, her willingness to cooperate both pleased and made me suspicious, as she could also betray me. Only next time, she would immediately die from the contract's effect. Of course, there was still a possibility that she acted this way due to excessive fear from the show I put on, but I didn't really care.