Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 134 Enslavement

Grom's massive body swayed slightly, and he barely managed to stand steady by using his giant axe as a support.

The soul fire in its eye sockets dimmed considerably, its aura rapidly declined, its bone armor was covered with traces of corrosion from the poison, and its soul fluctuations became extremely unstable due to excessive consumption and the final burst.

Grom's massive body trembled slightly from excitement and exhaustion, his bone claws gripping the cracked...

Yet, it exudes an alluring, humus-like energy.

The soul fire in his eye sockets burned fiercely, filled with an almost insane joy and greed.

"Success—finally—Heart of Corruption!" It let out a deep and satisfied roar, as if it could already see its future of advancing to the second tier and holding power.

Just as its attention was completely drawn to this coveted treasure, and its vigilance was at its lowest point, a voice rang out at the right moment: "Leader." Kate (Shadowfang)'s voice was calm but carried a hint of imperceptible solemnity. "This matter is of great importance. There are some secrets regarding the use of this item and the upcoming mission—I need to report to you alone to prevent outsiders from finding out."

Upon hearing this, Grom's soul fire flickered, and he snapped out of his ecstasy.

It now obeys Shadowfang almost without question, especially after its strategy has just proven effective.

"Confidential?" It looked around. Although the battle was over, the canyon was not entirely safe. "Let's talk about it here."

"Although this place has been cleared, it is hard to guarantee that there are no remote spying methods from the undead lord or other forces."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

Kate lowered her voice, her tone extremely cautious, "Especially matters concerning the Heart of Corruption and your ascension must not be leaked in the slightest. Please come with me; I know a place that is absolutely safe."

As he spoke, he pointed to a stone forest not far away, composed of huge, twisted black basalt rocks. The terrain there was complex and the energy was chaotic, making it a good place for private conversations.

Grom glanced at the Heart of Corruption in his hand, then at Kate, whose face was filled with "loyalty" and "caution," hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Alright, lead the way."

The lure of promotion overwhelmed everything else.

It signaled the other undead to stay put and rest, then followed Kate into the depths of the stone forest.

Kate led the way, seemingly casually, but in fact every step was carefully calculated, eventually leading Grom to the center of several of the tallest, most intersecting boulders that formed a natural semi-enclosed space.

The light here is dim, and the surrounding rocks effectively shield most of the external energy fluctuations and visibility.

"Right here, Shadowfang, what's up—"

Grom stopped in his tracks, eager to hear what was "confidential".

However, before it could finish speaking!

Kate suddenly turned around!

The respect and calm that he had mimicked, belonging to "Shadow Fang," vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, absolute, and authoritative majesty.

At the same time, his aura suddenly erupted.

It was no longer the cold, illusory death aura of the mimicry spirits, but a magnificent, vast, and terrifying force field containing the supreme mystery of the cycle of life and death.

"The Realm of the Heart of Reincarnation - Fully Open, All Phenomena Forbidden!"

Buzz—! ! !

Centered on Kate, an unprecedented and extremely solid domain force field instantly expanded, completely enveloping the entire megalithic space.

This force field is no longer a simple energy barrier; it seems to form its own little world, with its internal rules forcibly rewritten.

Spatial fluctuations were completely anchored and locked, cutting off all possibilities of transmission and communication.

The flow of time seemed to have subtly changed, creating a brief time difference between inside and outside.

Most importantly, all energy, sound, and mental fluctuations are firmly confined within this small space, unable to be transmitted even a fraction of the way out!

This is the strongest forbidden technique that Kate can unleash after breaking through 150 points of mental strength and achieving minor mastery of the Heart of Reincarnation, combined with a deeper understanding of the rules of space.

"You?!?!" Grom's massive skeletal body shuddered violently, the soul fire in his eye sockets suddenly contracted, and he erupted in extreme horror and disbelief!

It instantly realized that this was not something a mimicry spirit could completely replicate; this was a real wizard.

The essence of this power—vast, ancient, filled with the creation of life and the end of death, yet perfectly integrated—far exceeds its understanding of power.

We've fallen for their trap!

Overwhelmed by immense fear and rage.

"Roar!! Who are you?!"

It roared and almost instinctively tried to unleash all its power, swinging its giant axe at Kate while attempting to forcefully break free of the strange force field.

But Kate had prepared for this moment for far too long and had planned for it too much.

His choice of location and timing, as well as Grom's own decline in condition and mental relaxation due to the fierce battle and acquisition of treasure, were all part of the plan.

Just as Grom's power was about to erupt, Kate's left eye shone with a life-giving brilliance like the blazing sun, while her right eye was as deep and silent as the death of an ancient tomb.

He extended both hands simultaneously, not to attack, but to clench them sharply into the void.

"The Nursery of Reincarnation - Roots Entangled, the Seed of the Spiritual Pivot - Shackles on the Soul!"

boom!

The ground beneath Grom's feet suddenly cracked open, not with soil, but with countless green and gray-black energy roots, interwoven with the purest rules of life and death, bursting forth like wildly growing vines and coiling upwards.

These roots ignored its hard bone armor and directly wrapped around and bound its soul fire core and energy circulation nodes.

While frantically absorbing its death energy, they also neutralized and suppressed its resistance with their boundless vitality, creating an extremely uncomfortable effect of restraint.

At the same time, a silver-gray soul seed, far more complex and condensed than before, and covered with reincarnation runes, silently pierced through Grom's hastily formed mental defenses and directly pierced into the deepest part of its soul fire.

"Ughhhhhh—!"

Grom let out a agonizing scream, feeling as if his soul was being pierced by countless red-hot needles and bound by layers of cold chains.

Its movements suddenly froze, and most of the power it had gathered instantly dissipated.

But it's not over yet.

Kate knew that to deal with a battle-hardened second-ring undead warrior, especially one as fierce and violent as Grom, simple binding and soul impact were far from enough. She had to use absolute power to completely crush his will in his area of ​​expertise.

He took a deep breath, and the Heart of Reincarnation began to operate at an unprecedented speed, unleashing his spiritual power without reservation.

His figure seemed to grow incredibly tall in an instant, like a god who held the power of life and death!

"Grom!" Kate's voice, like a thunderclap from the heavens, struck directly into the depths of Grom's soul, carrying supreme authority and oppression. "Look at yourself. Death is not the end, but a part of the cycle of reincarnation. Your rage, your anger, your greed—how laughable and insignificant they are before the true rules of life and death!"

"Life is drawn from all things, yet all things wither."

He pressed down with his left hand in the air, and an indescribable, terrifying suction force targeting the undead erupted.

Grom was horrified to discover that his meticulously crafted skeletal body was becoming gray and fragile at a visible rate.

It was as if ten thousand years had descended upon it in an instant.

The core essence of the Soulfire was teetering on the brink of collapse, as if it were about to be forcibly extracted.

"No!!!" It struggled frantically, burning its soul fire to resist.

But Kate then raised her right hand.

"Resistance to Death, Eternal Annihilation!"

A completely opposite, dark ripple, representing ultimate nothingness and annihilation, spread out.

Grom felt as if his consciousness was about to be frozen and annihilated, and even his thinking became sluggish!

That absolute "nothingness" is more terrifying than any pain.

Life and death, two extreme forces, under Kate's precise control, are not simply superimposed, but form a terrible cyclical millstone, placing Grom's soul within it, repeatedly crushing and tormenting it.

On one side is the "end of life," where aging accelerates and energy is lost; on the other side is the "ultimate death," where consciousness is frozen and existence is erased.

In the frenzied alternation between these two extreme experiences, Grom's will was rapidly eroded.

Its pride in its power and ferocity appears utterly pale and powerless before the forces of higher-level rules.

What made it even more desperate was that its opponent seemed to know everything about it, and every attack precisely hit its most vulnerable and defenseless points.

"Submit! Otherwise, you will forever languish on the edge of life and death until your consciousness completely vanishes."

Kate's voice was like a final judgment, cold and merciless.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead; maintaining this level of intensity in the domain and the dual-rule attacks was extremely taxing on him.

But his eyes were sharp as an eagle's, fixed on Grom, giving it no chance to catch its breath or regroup.

Grom's struggles grew weaker and weaker, his soulfire dimmed to its lowest point, filled with pain, fear, and—bewilderment.

It cannot comprehend, nor can it resist, this force that transcends its understanding.

Its pride was utterly shattered, its power was completely suppressed, and its will was on the verge of collapse under the torment of the cycle of life and death.

Finally, as another wave of "withering" and "eternal annihilation" alternated, Grom let out a final, weak, and unwilling cry. His massive body ceased its struggle, and the soul fire in his eyes was reduced to nothing more than humble supplication and a yearning for existence.

Its will—was utterly crushed.

It's now!

Kate's eyes flashed with a sharp light as she seized this fleeting, perfect opportunity.

He clasped his hands together abruptly, concentrating all his spiritual power, and mobilizing the core rules of the Heart of Reincarnation to their fullest extent.

"In the name of reincarnation, let us return to our origin! The imprint of the soul, depart."

He pointed his fingers like a sword, gathering a point of extreme gray-green light at his fingertips—a fusion of the essence of life and the true meaning of death—and pointed it sharply at Grom's brow—the core of his soulfire.

This is not destruction, but rather assimilation and imprinting.

hum!

The light entered Grom's soulfire.

Grom's body trembled violently, and his soul flames flickered wildly, as if he were undergoing some kind of fundamental transformation.

Its original chaotic, violent, and negatively emotional soul was forcibly sorted out and purified by this external, higher-level force of rules.

Those stubborn fragments of its own will were quickly erased and replaced.

A completely new core of soul, absolutely loyal to Kate and guided by Kate's will, is being forcibly shaped and imprinted.

This process is infinitely more complex and delicate than direct destruction, and only someone like Kate, who has a profound understanding of the soul and the rules of life and death and possesses the special origin of the Heart of Reincarnation, can attempt it.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Kate did her best to maintain the soul imprinting process, her mental energy pouring out like a flood.

Grom's body twitched slightly, and afterimages of struggle flashed continuously in his soul fire, but they were quickly soothed and reshaped by a stronger force.

finally-

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been just a moment, or it might have been an extremely long time.

Grom's massive body calmed down completely.

The ghostly green soul fire that had been filled with violence and greed in its eye sockets now became empty and submissive, with a faint gray-green hue, the same as that of Kate's Heart of Reincarnation, flickering deep within.

It slowly knelt on one knee, lowered its head—which it had never bowed to anyone before—to Kate, and uttered a dull, emotionless voice: "Master."

[Target: Grom. Soul Resonance Penetration: 100%. Absolute Control Achieved.]

Status: Extremely weak, soul fire damaged, energy depleted, but absolutely obedient. Can be completely controlled in terms of will and actions.

Its soul core is marked with the cycle of reincarnation, and its loyalty is always at its highest level.

It worked!

Kate exhaled a long, deep breath, her face slightly pale, but her eyes were filled with excitement and joy.

at last!

After many twists and turns, countless schemes, and even risking a direct confrontation with the Second Ring Undead, he finally gained complete control over the leader of the Skullcrusher Gang.

From this day forward, Grom and his forces will become the sharpest blade in his hand, deeply embedded in the heart of the undead camp.

He calmed his severely depleted mental energy, then ordered in a deep voice, "Get up, Grom. Immediately focus your mind, stabilize your soul fire, and recover your strength as much as possible. We don't have much time."

"Yes, Master." Grom stood up as instructed, like the most obedient puppet, and immediately began to try to absorb the death energy in the surrounding environment to repair his own damage.

However, its movements and efficiency are far inferior to before.

Kate walked to the side and picked up the decaying heart that had fallen to the side due to the impact.

He examined it carefully and found that although it was covered in cracks and had lost a lot of energy, the core fundamental rules were not completely broken.

"Good stuff, can't be wasted." He stored it in his Reincarnation Storage Domain, to study it slowly or use it to replenish Grom's power when he had time later.

He then lifted the Myriad Things Forbidden Domain.

The surrounding scenery returned to normal, and some uneasy commotion of spirits could be heard from outside the stone forest.

Although the fluctuations in the domain were isolated, they lasted for some time, and the undead outside must have noticed them.

Kate winked at Grom.

Grom immediately understood, letting out a deep, authoritative roar towards the outside of the stone forest: "Silence! All undead, remain where you are!"

Its lingering power remained, and the commotion outside immediately subsided.

Kate nodded in satisfaction. That's the advantage of absolute control: no explanation needed, orders are obeyed without question.