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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nYang Ling focused on training the puppet Kayseri after returning to Wissen Town.

nKayseri had displayed his alarming battle instincts in the battle to capture the killers alive. If he could sufficiently develop his potential, then he could perhaps have another powerful Spellcaster by his side, a rare high-level Spellcaster from the Church.

nA Church Spellcaster was unlike an ordinary Spellcaster. Other than the normal fire, water and earth element spells, a Church Spellcaster could also train in holy spells, or even the fabled divine spells. They had extremely powerful abilities. Over the millennia, aside from the many powerful guardian knights, the reason for the Church’s continued dominance over the Tailun Continent was more importantly due to how many top notch Spellcasters they had.

nCompared to the powerful warriors and knights, the effects a Spellcaster had in a large-scale battle was obvious. They could greatly increase the offense, defense and mobility of their own forces. Over the millennia, the main reason as to why the powerful Beastmen would be pushed back time and again by the human alliance was because there were far too little Beastman priests, their numbers far less than the human Spellcasters.

nSince the beginning, Yang Ling had fret over how little Spellcasters he had by his side.

nHis Horned Bee Beasts, tarantulas and Vampire Bats all had defensive capabilities far weaker than that of their offensive capabilities. This was especially so for their resistance to magic. That had always been their fatal weakness. They were good when it came to surprise attacks, but it was asking too much of them to tear apart the formations of his enemy head on.

nThe Twin-legged Flying Dragons were adept in both offense and defense, and had a decent resistance to magic. However, Yang Ling did not have very many of them. It did not pose a problem when it came to dealing with smaller opponents, but it might be hard for them to deal with armies from the Banto or Rossi Empire that had tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people.

nThere were countless low-level Magical Beasts like the Horned Bee Beasts, Evil Eyes, tarantulas and Vampire Bats in the Terras Forest. Yang Ling was confident that he would be able to tame and create a Magical Beast army with numbers enough to make his enemy’s skin crawl if given enough time.

nIf that is the case, then his massive Magical Beast army would be able to display alarming battle capabilities when paired with a large number of exceptional Spellcasters! At the very least, the army would be able to fully defend the Magical Beast Territory, lying in ambush as they dealt with the enemies infiltrating the territory to cause trouble.

nOther than his powerful battle capabilities, the Red-robed Cardinal Kayseri also had a unique identity which proved to be immensely useful.

nAs long as Yang Ling used him well, he would be able to infiltrate the Church to obtain information, frame the Church, or even use the influence of the Church to deal with the other factions… This puppet was an excellent chess piece in his hands.

nYang Ling focused his efforts on training the puppet Kayseri, while Goode quickly interrogated the killers that they had captured alive.

nPerhaps it was because they had undergone special training, or that they knew that they could not escape death, the few killers kept their mouths tightly sealed, unwilling to reveal anything even after suffering from the excruciating torture of a few barbarians.

nBeing unable to achieve any breakthroughs despite spending the entire day interrogating the killers, Godoe had no choice but to look for Yang Ling who was training the puppet Kayseri together with Alice in the garden, “Sir, the killers are unwilling to speak no matter what we do, do you think…”

nThey have not confessed?

nAfter ordering the puppet Kayseri who was working on its facial expressions to stop, Yang Ling gently knit his brows.

nAlice had an alarming talent when it came to the concoction of various medicines. She had created a murky looking liquid in just a few hours. Even though it had a vile stench, it did have decent effects.

nAfter a few applications, the joints and muscles of the puppet Kayseri had become looser. Even though it still looked a little rigid, it no longer gave off an eerie vibe.

n“Hmph, they don’t know any better!”

nTraining the puppet was important, but it was also critical that he found out the person behind the incidents and the rest of the killers hiding in the shadows as soon as possible. After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling let out a low grunt and walked quickly toward the underground jail. Goode and Alice followed closely behind him.

nEven though he could obtain the memories of the killers by taming them or using the Soul Tampering Technique, those methods had their individual weaknesses.

nThe success rate of taming a humanoid creature was not high, and should he fail, there was a possibility that the killers would die on the spot, leaving them with no chance to force out a confession. The Soul Tampering Technique required a large amount of Wizard Power and mental energy, the amount of Wizard Power and mental energy he had to expend increasing with the strength of the other party’s soul.

nFurthermore, the killers seemed to have powerful abilities. Yang Ling had wanted to lock them in the jail and turn them into puppets after Kayseri’s training was complete and he had mastered even more techniques. Now it looks like he had no choice but to push that plan forward.

nIn the dimly lit cell, the killers were tied in a row onto thick steel poles with their limbs spread open. There were open wounds on their bodies, all of them covered in blood. It looks like they have been inflicted with hellish torture by the barbarians.

nThud, thud, thud…

nHearing the dull footsteps coming from the dark corridor, the heavily injured killers lifted their heads in unison. They took in a difficult breath of air when they saw Yang Ling’s icy gaze. As experienced killers, they knew that the inevitable would come sooner or later.

n“Tell me who your employer is, give me a reason to spare your lives!”

nYang Ling’s expression was ice cold, speaking as he walked quickly to the front of the leader of the black robed killers, Draxas. Unfortunately, none of the killers lifted their heads.

nThey know that they cannot escape death and are going to be stubborn till the end?

nLooking at the killers who were not tempted by the offer, Yang Ling knew that they had already given up all hopes of survival.

nOn the Tailun Continent, assassins would either kill or be killed. There were no cases of assassins who would be kept as prisoners of war. Even if a killer was to escape with his life after being held captive, it was highly possible that they would be pursued by the Association of Assassins, in case they exposed any secrets.

nThus, there was no assassin that would think of making it out alive after slipping up and being captured. If not for becoming limp after being inflicted with the poisonous stingers of the Horned Bee Beasts, they would have long bit open the capsule of poison hidden between their teeth and committed suicide.

nAfter a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling decided to give it a final try, “I swear by the name of the Goddess of Nature, I will let you regain your freedom and protect you and your family using my authority as a leader as long as you tell me the secrets behind the mission!”

nSwear by the name of the Goddess?

nOriginally, the assassins had decided to resist till the end as they thought that they would not escape death. However, their hearts could not help but waver after hearing Yang Ling’s words.

nYang Ling being a Summoner was a secret that anyone on the street knew about. On the Tailun Continent, almost every Summoner believed in the Goddess of Nature, similar to the forest elves and druids. If Yang Ling swore by the name of the goddess and was going to use the might of his territory to protect them and their families, then not one of them would be willing to die.

n“Hehe, Sir, don’t forget that there’s this saying on the continent. The oath of a noble is like the wind on the Wilderness of Siberia, it comes and goes fast!” Of the assassins, only the leader Draxas remained unmoved, reminding the partners beside him with just one sentence.

nThe wind on the Wilderness of Siberia?

nYang Ling let out a cold smile as he looked at the stubborn Draxas. Originally, he had wanted to fool assassins using the deity that the forest elves believed in. He did not expect their leader to still be in such a clear state of mind even at the brink of death. He sure lives up to his reputation as a cold blooded killer!

n“Fine, very well, since you guys want to die, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” After understanding that his words would not have any effect, Yang Ling silently recited the Wizard Mantra, prepared to tamper with Draxas’s soul on the spot.

nJust as he was prepared to take action, the little lass Alice stepped out and said, “Brother Yang, this is the Soul Intoxicating Water that I created a few days ago. This is not like the rosemary that can make someone numb when sniffed. This can make someone lose rapidly lose consciousness!”

nSoul Intoxicating Water?

nYang Ling gently shook the bottle after fetching the dark red, wine-like liquid from Alice’s hands. He deliberated for a moment before handing it over to Orlando. The latter understood and poured a large mouthful of liquid into each assassin’s mouth with the help of a few barbarian wardens.

n“You… You despicable…”

nAfter being forcefully fed a large mouthful of the Soul Intoxicating Water, Draxas stared straight at Yang Ling, his eyes red. He wanted to swallow Yang Ling whole. Unfortunately, his eyelids got heavier and heavier, his consciousness getting more and more hazy. The other assassins were no exception.

nUnder the effects of the Soul Intoxicating Water, the assassins lost individual thought, as if they had slipped into a deep hypnotic state, answering every question they heard. Soon, they revealed all of their secrets under Goode’s guided questions.

nAs it turned out, they were indeed assassins acting under someone’s orders. They had been responsible for launching surprise attacks on mid to low-level hunters journeying within the Terras Forest. They attempted to create a sense of paranoia within the Magical Beast Territory and severely damage to confidence the people had of the Hunter Association, as well as their passion to join the association.

nThis time, over twenty people had sneakily infiltrated the territory, with five people acting as small merchants, ten as adventurers and the rest as adventurers roaming the continent. Amongst them, two of their partners acting as adventurers had also successfully joined the Hunter Association, obtaining intelligence from within the association itself.

nYang Ling acted quickly according to the confession of the killers, splitting his group up.

nViola was tasked to lead men in defending the exit of the Hunter Association and capture the two people that had infiltrated the Hunter Association; Orlando was responsible for leading his men and surrounding the inn newly opened by Andrew and capturing the assassins disguising themselves as small merchants and troops; Goode was in charge of leading men to the edge of the Terras Forest and capturing the people acting as adventurers.

nThe group moved all over the place, taking actions quickly, while Yang Ling and Alice continued taming the puppet. This time, Kayseri now had five more black robed partners. Even though there were not many of them, it was enough for Yang Ling to create a unique puppet squad.

nElusive assassins, a Red-robed Cardinal with a massive amount of Magical Energy…

nLooking at the movements of the puppets getting more and more natural under Alice’s training and the black liquid smeared all over their bodies, Yang Ling was full of anticipation for the battle capabilities of the puppet squad.

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