Chapter 873 Stretching the Link of Loyalty  

The moment Michael resonated with his Curses, the situation all over the battlefield changed drastically. Everyone watched Michael pummel Olivia Blaze. They watched him bash her like a punching bag, realizing that Michael could kill her easily. Yet, instead of ending Olivia Blaze's misery, Michael impaled her on his claws before tearing her apart, piece by piece. Michael Fang beat the living shit out of Olivia Blaze. She was covered in black and blue bruises within minutes, and her bones were crushed into smithereens.

The defenders were shocked to the core. It had only been a few months since they had been summoned to serve their Lordess, but that time was enough to learn about their Lordess' power and how well connected she was to the other Lords of the Sacred Desert. They had been sure that their Lordess would lead to a better life…that serving her would grant them the opportunities they'd sought – and missed – in the past.

However, seeing their Lordess like this, on the verge of death, the defenders' battle spirit cracked. Their morale entered an all-time low, seeing how easily their Lordess was defeated.

But that didn't mean the battle ended right there. Michael's Untamed Army and his Awakened had yet to engage in close combat. The real fight had yet to start. Unfortunately, the defending side was already at an all-time, crushing the Summons' willpower as the barrages of projectiles continued.

More than a quarter of the defending forces were dead before they retaliated with full force – if one could call it 'full force' in the first place. The defenders tried retaliating, but Michael's massive meteorite and the bombardment spread panic throughout the large settlement. Most Tierless and Tier-1 combatants could instinctively feel that death was waiting for them. They didn't dare to charge out of the settlement and tried fleeing. However, fleeing was not possible. The Link of Loyalty was a contract of subservience. It didn't matter how frail the Link of Loyalty was, as long as Olivia Blaze's willpower and soul were stronger than theirs, they would have to obey her commands. There was one point that played a crucial role in the battle against Olivia Blaze and the Blaze household. The Blaze household might have been able to summon more than a hundred thousand combat Summons each, but they didn't pay much attention to their training just yet. The Blaze had yet to nourish the relationships with their Summons. Therefore, the combatants did only what they had been told to do before. They protected the settlement. Since their Links of Loyalty were frail, that was all they did. They tried protecting the settlement, but not like Olivia Blaze hoped. Protecting the settlement didn't mean the Summons would dive into the battle head-first. Instead, they chose to protect the settlement from the inside while sincerely hoping their Lordess would die soon. After all, in the Summons' humble opinion, the core of any settlement was their citizens. Using their comprehension of a settlement, the combatants protected the core of the settlement, its citizens, with their lives on the line. The Awakened working for Olivia didn't have the same means to stretch the contract of subservience. They signed an additional Soul Contract, forcing them to fight by Olivia's side.

That was what they did, even if they didn't like it. The first Awakened, a young and less talented member of the Blaze household, arrived on the battlefield. He hated their current odds and loathed the combat Summons for their loathsome act. However, what he hated even more was how easily Kevin had been killed, as well as Olivia's disgraceful defeat.

"It's time for me to show what true talent means!" He growled, activating his Soultrait while exerting the Primordial Bloodline technique at the same time. A surge of power swept through his body, pushing his physical prowess and energy control to an entirely new level. Even though his power wasn't anything special among the family, the Primordial Bloodline technique could change everything. He wasn't afraid of the enemies charging at him. There was no need to.

He was strong enough to deal with them!

That was what he thought until an army of Warlock Centaurs and Berserkers, led by a massive sun-skinned giant, charged at him. The majority of Awakened charging at him were already Higher Lifeforms. While that might be a slight problem, the young Blaze wouldn't panic facing them now. Under normal circumstances, that is.

Unfortunately, the circumstances were far from ordinary. Hiraku, the charging giant, had transformed into a ten-meter colossus, creating massive broadswords to wield one in each hand. As if the transformation into a ten-meter, sun-skinned colossus wasn't bad enough, Hiraku's body was suddenly coated in fiery flames.

He wasn't the only one, either. Everyone charging at the young Blaze was suddenly coated in fiery flames…flames, which didn't even harm the Awakened. On the contrary, the flames protected and strengthened the charging Awakened. Hiraku crossed the remaining distance to the young Blaze with a few mighty strides. He used the elemental might of the Pyro Baron – a Noble Elemental – who was willing to connect to him throughout the Sacred Desert's conquest and released tiny explosions underfoot as he kicked the ground.

Hiraku accelerated, breaking past his top speed, and emerged before the young Blaze, his broadswords flashing dangerously. He brandished his weapons and was about to strike down when the young Blaze reacted.

He unleashed a flurry of purple flames, ready to burn Hiraku into a cinder, when something unexpected happened. The Pyro Baron's power skyrocketed while the energy within the purple flames decreased drastically. Using the opportunity, a portion of the Pyro Baron's body manifested before Hiraku, swallowing the purple flames before they could harm Hiraku.

Simultaneously, Hiraku used Titan Spirit to tap into the power of the surroundings. He compressed the sand around him and created dozens of fortified hands with the sand. The sand hands lunged at the young Blaze, coiled around his legs, and pulled him into the sand. His feet disappeared in the sand before the young Blaze could react, but once he realized what happened, he immediately jumped into action.

His power surged, and his Soultrait was about to trigger when he felt his thoughts slipping through his mind. His thoughts transformed into a slippery mess. The young Blaze couldn't grasp them anymore, and he slowed down. His movements grew as sluggish as his thoughts.

The effect lasted only for a second, but that was enough.

Hiraku's broadsword flashed through the air in beautiful arcs. He executed a cross slash and severed the young Blaze's body in four portions.

"H-how?!" Disbelief swept through the young Awakened. He couldn't grasp what had happened. As his consciousness threatened to fade, his eyes traveled toward a small spot behind Hiraku.

A devious grimace appeared behind Hiraku. A young human, a mere Lesser Lifeform at the 3rd Tier, used a combination of two 4-Star Soultraits with perfect timing to slow down his response.

'Fuck.'

Darkness enveloped the youth, pulling them into the abyss of the afterlife.