Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1583: Section 1584 Consideration Factors

Sabel stood in the arena, watching Shalu fall from before him in a parabolic arc towards the outside of the ring.

With his decades of combat experience, he was certain that Shalu had almost no chance of recovering. Shalu fought with brute strength alone, and once his body lost its balance, it became difficult to regain control. Additionally, with the force of Sabelʼs rapier thrust, he could be one hundred percent certain Shalu would land outside of the ring.

Thus, the victor was sure to be himself.

Unless…unless Shalu could fly.

Of course, Sabel did not believe Shalu could fly. If he really could, Shalu would have already taken control of the airspace.

But sometimes, the more you think something is impossible, the more likely it is to emerge, baring its fangs, to slap you in the face. Just a moment ago, Sabel was confident that unless Shalu could fly, the battle was already decided; the next moment, Shalu was suspended in mid-air.

Shalu hung his head, his face obscured. His shoulders were slack, without tension; his legs dangled loosely as well, and his entire body looked like he was sleeping. However, despite this, Shalu did not continue to fall but remained stable in mid-air.

What was this?

As everyone was wondering in amazement, Shaluʼs body began to emanate dense black vapor. The fleeting image of a strange creature reappeared, this time more defined, and its toothy mouth opened wide as if it was laughing.

This bizarre creature flashed into view and then dispersed into black particles, burrowing into Shaluʼs body.

Simultaneously, Shaluʼs form underwent another massive transformation.

This change was even greater than before; the previously butterfly-wing-like ears expanded three to five times in size, fluttering and generating gusts of wind. His hands and feet too morphed abnormally, sprouting articulated tentacle-like appendages.

The black mist cleared, and the transformation ended.

An eerie, sinister laughter emanated from beneath Shaluʼs lowered head, carrying a terrifying pressure that inexplicably made oneʼs heart tremble.

When this pressure reached its zenith, Shalu suddenly lifted his head.

The scene was like a Joker, filled with endless malevolence, turning towards an audience trembling with fear, finally revealing its horrific true face.

In Shaluʼs no longer human eyes, there was a message of bloodthirst and slaughter.

He began to move, slowly flying towards the nearest Sabel, his movements swaying, like a snake or a worm, eerily graceful, yet no one could muster laughter.

The countenance of Knight Sabel grew grave, for he felt a formidable threat emanating from Shalu now.

The previous Shalu had clear weaknesses–he was quick to anger, prone to rage, and fought without any technique. Even with strength far beyond that of an ordinary person, he was like a baby wielding a knife. As long as one was careful, Sabel was confident he could easily defeat him.

But now, Shalu was like a changed person; although his eyes hinted at bloodlust, they were terrifyingly calm, reminding Sabel of a wolf lurking in the woods for prey, capable of patiently waiting in the darkness for the right moment to strike.

And he was now the piece of meat targeted by the wolf.

Shalu slowly approached Sabel, yet this quiet and slow motion exerted a pressure on Sabel that was dozens of times stronger than when Shalu was previously running around him!

Sabelʼs hand trembled slightly, and he waved his sword in a small arc, further compressing the “circle” around him.

Halfway through his flight, Shalu seemed to feel he had exerted enough pressure, and with an eerie laugh, he suddenly charged at Sabel.

Sabel thought Shalu would still rely on speed to win, just like before. If that were the case, he was confident he could cope.

But Sabelʼs confidence lasted only a moment before he suddenly found himself completely unable to move.

It was as if he had fallen into a dark Dream Realm; Sabel saw his past, oppressed and criticized by a decaying royal court, framed by colleagues, the departure of his loved one in helpless resignation, and nightmares flashing before his eyes, while whispers of mockery constantly echoed in his ears.

The once tenacious heart of Sabel abruptly seemed to crack open.

At this moment, a weird laughter echoed closely by his side. Sabel lifted his head to look, and the nightmare from before suddenly vanished, revealing Shaluʼs twisted face in front of him.

Sabel wanted to resist, but he was still unable to move, watching helplessly as Shalu swung his bone blade toward his neck.

Just as Sabel thought his end had come, a green pattern encircled him.

When the bone blade was swung down, the green pattern emitted a faint light, as if striking a metallic wall, sparking some fire, yet the green pattern was completely undamaged, while Shaluʼs bone blade showed cracks.

Shalu leaped back abruptly, glancing at the green pattern with anger flashing in his eyes, then fiercely turned his head toward the instigator.

Sabel followed Shaluʼs gaze.

He saw a figure slowly approaching the stage. Sabel was familiar with this person; it was Lyonʼs brother, also called the “Lord of the New World” by Monroe–Angel!

Angelʼs appearance was different from what Sabel had seen before; his right eye sparkled with a faint green light, trailing a tail as he moved, as if a stream of light was dancing.

Upon closer look, within that green light were peculiar green patterns, identical to the green pattern that was swirling around Sabel.

Clearly, the one who had just saved Sabel was Angel.

Sabel opened his mouth, as he actually did not wish for their duel to be interrupted by a third person, even if that person saved him. It was a matter of pride and honor as a Knight during a duel.

But before Sabel could speak, Angel seemed to already know his thoughts, saying indifferently, “This match was over when Shaluʼs consciousness was supplanted by the Demonic Fiend. You had already won.”

Sabel was startled: “You mean… heʼs no longer Shalu?”

Angel nodded slowly, approaching and saying as he passed Sabel, “Leave the rest to me.”

With that, Angel took steps toward Shalu. At this time, Shalu seemed to feel threatened too; malevolence flashed in his dark eyes, but he did not dare to make a move against Angel. Instead, he turned and flew rapidly towards the outside, attempting to escape.

But just as he took off, a divine might with a flavor of “command” appeared in his mind.

Shalu didnʼt have time to react before he fell from mid-air to the ground, experiencing the inability to move that he had inflicted on Sabel himself.

Fear flickered in Shaluʼs eyes as he watched Angel approach step by step.

Angel stopped, looking down at Shalu who was still struggling on the ground.

“Itʼs useless, you canʼt escape,” Angel said softly. He controlled the Demonic Fiendʼs power through the Ability Tree, preventing the creature inside Shalu from moving. So no matter where he fled, it was pointless.

“Although Shalu did not complete the experiment properly, at least we learned something.” Angel lowered his head, as if seeing through Shaluʼs eyes the Magical Creature inside him shivering with fear: “Scared, trying to flee, and able to tempt… It seems you possess intelligence? Or more like, youʼre using his thinking for your benefit?”

Previously, the Demonic Fiend creatures Angel saw in the black fog indeed did not seem to have much Spirit Intelligence.

But the one inside Shalu was evidently different. Was it because the Demonic Fiend had entered a ʼgrowth phaseʼ, starting to develop Spirit Intelligence? Or, was it that the Demonic Fiend and Shalu were gradually fusing, able to use Shaluʼs thought process?

Either case was not good news for Angel.

Earlier, he considered keeping the Demonic Fiend suppressed within the human body; as long as the Sealing power wasnʼt exceeded, one could maintain their reason.

There was just one consideration: do not overuse the Demonic Fiendʼs power.

But now, after Shaluʼs test, he realized that the Demonic Fiend could even tempt the host. He had been monitoring Shaluʼs internal Demonic Fiend all along, clearly hearing Shaluʼs conversation with it. The Demonic Fiend not only tempted Shalu but also misled his decisions.

That is to say, if they were to choose residents of the Dream Realm to bear the power of the Demonic Fiend in the future, they needed to add one more consideration: they must have strong psychological attributes and resistance to temptation.

Otherwise, if everyone were like Shalu, succumbing to temptation in their first fight, then instead of protecting others, they would end up becoming criminals who bring harm to their own people.