You Forced My Hand

What was more dangerous than facing a trapped dragon?

The answer was facing a dragon that was about to break free and had regained some of its mobility!

Zuo Si knew very well that with the power he currently possessed, facing an adult Red Dragon head-on was basically no different from seeking death.

Especially since his earlier attempt to make her sign a Magical Contract had clearly enraged her.

It's obvious, the "negotiation" had failed.

The vengeful Red Dragon had long since transferred her hatred for Astar onto everyone in the entire Mage Tower.

After all, to her, those low-level Undead Creatures outside posed no threat to her life at all.

Once the powerful Binding Array Enchanted upon her body failed, Vermes could carve a bloody path out at any time with the protection of her sturdy dragon scales.

As for whether the terrifying plague outside would affect a true dragon, she clearly was not worried in the slightest.

Or rather, she had never considered such a question at all.

Faced with such a desperate situation, Zuo Si did not show the slightest loss of control. Instead, he shed his previous humble demeanor, put away the highly restrictive Spell Scroll, and smiled mockingly at himself. "All right, I hereby declare Plan A a failure. It's time to activate Plan B. Remember, you forced my hand."

"Plan B?"

Seeing that the little runt before her had not only failed to kneel and beg for forgiveness and mercy, but had instead threatened her, the Red Dragon immediately revealed a surprised expression.

"Yes! Aside from tricking you into signing this Magical Contract, I had also prepared coercive measures in case the negotiations failed."

As he spoke, Zuo Si stuffed the scroll back into his satchel, rummaged through it for Several Seconds, and then pulled out a glass bottle filled with an amber-colored translucent liquid.

Besides the amber preservative fluid, the bottle contained a large piece of soft tissue soaking within it.

Its torso was as large as an adult's palm and looked somewhat like an octopus.

But six metal rings had been embedded near its brain and central nervous system.

Each ring was set with a gemstone of a different color.

Below the torso were four octopus-like Tentacles tipped with barbed hooks.

With an extremely practiced motion, Zuo Si unscrewed the sealed jar and used Awaken Creation to grant consciousness to the most dangerous—and likewise the most powerful—Wondrous Item among all the Magic Items he had personally created.

In an instant!

The limp mass of soft tissue, which had shown no signs of life whatsoever, suddenly came alive.

It wrapped its slimy Tentacles around its master's arm and gently writhed, expressing the intense joy deep within its mind.

At the same time, the thing faintly emitted a kind of energy fluctuation completely different from Arcane magic.

"Do you know?

Whether human or dragon, the brain is the most vulnerable organ for the vast majority of creatures.

Because without the protection of the skull, even the slightest impact could cause irreparable damage to the brain.

The brain, meanwhile, connected through the spine to the network of nerves spread throughout the body, controlling it all.

In other words, if the connection between the brain and spine were severed and replaced with a new controller,

then even if the creature remained conscious, it would lose control over its body..."

As he spoke, Zuo Si took out a Blue Card.

Magic Card: Enhance

LV2 Blue Card (Cannot be upgraded)

Card Quality: Rare

Effect: Enhances an existing spell effect for thirty seconds. The degree of enhancement is proportional to the Planeswalker's level; the higher the level, the better the enhancement effect.

Using this card requires payment of two blue mana, symbolizing the ocean, flow, and control; or two generic mana; or twice as much mana of another type.

After taking effect, this card automatically enters the graveyard to await rebirth for two days.

Before Vermes could react, the magic on the card had already been activated.

Just one second later!

The Red Dragon, who had been back on her feet for less than two minutes, once again felt the Binding Array on the ground—which had previously weakened—suddenly become more than twice as strong.

Her limbs simply could not withstand such enormous pressure.

With a thud, she crashed face-first onto the ground.

Her furious and humiliating state formed a stark contrast with the pride and arrogance frozen on her face.

Since Enhancement Magic lasted only a limited time, Zuo Si had no mood to stop and admire this ironic scene.

He swiftly took out a Flame Protection Potion and drank it, then strode directly toward the dragon's head with his awakened Wondrous Item.

Perhaps sensing the danger, Vermes struggled to open her mouth and unleash a deadly Fiery Breath to force him back, despite being unable to move her body.

Unfortunately, the strengthened Binding Array was far more powerful than before.

She could not even open her mouth enough to release a complete dragon breath, let alone exert half or even a third of its power.

After struggling for quite some time, she managed only to spew a fan-shaped flame roughly two meters long from between her teeth and nostrils.

Without exception, all those flames were absorbed by the energy barrier formed by the potion.

Unharmed, Zuo Si stepped through the lingering embers and used the interval the dragon needed to replenish her energy after breathing fire to place the octopus-like creation in his hand near the Red Dragon's eardrum.

In the blink of an eye, the conscious creation burrowed into her ear.

In less than five seconds, Vermes began struggling wildly in terror and shouted, "No!!!!!!! Get this damned thing out of my body!"

"Sorry, it's already too late. It may hurt a little in a moment, so please endure it. Trust me, the process won't take long. The pain is only temporary."

With that, Zuo Si began retreating quickly, intending to maintain a safe distance.

As long as he noticed anything wrong, he would immediately turn around and run.

After all, this was also his first time using Awaken Creation, the special ability of the Creator profession.

He had no idea whether that dangerous creation would break free of his control after succeeding.

If he had not been forced into a desperate situation, Zuo Si would never have risked awakening and releasing the thing in that jar.

One of the primary materials used to make that Wondrous Item was the head of a creature called a Mind Flayer.

Anyone who had heard of the Mind Flayers' notorious reputation understood just how terrifying and difficult to deal with they were.

These evil creatures, which loved eating brains and enslaving other races through Mind Control, were born with a power known as psionics.

Most adventurers and ordinary people without mental protection equipment would lose consciousness after a single encounter and become obedient slaves.

About six months ago, after opening a Teleportation Gate, the Archlich Astar had happened upon these creatures hiding in a city's sewers, intending to establish a secret base.

After learning of their abilities and equipping himself with the appropriate amulet, he easily flattened that half-built secret base using Undead Creatures and constructs completely unaffected by Mind Control.

Most of the slaves and Mind Flayers had been killed in the battle.

Only four injured, unconscious unlucky ones became prisoners.

Zuo Si had been fortunate enough to participate in the research on those captives.

After Astar lost interest in the Mind Flayers' anatomy, Zuo Si suddenly had a burst of inspiration. He cut open the skull of a Mind Flayer barely clinging to life and used the soft brain tissue and Tentacles inside, which had not yet fully died, to create a terrifying magical Wondrous Item without rest.

According To the original design, once awakened, this Wondrous Item would gain abilities somewhat similar to those of a Mind Flayer.

After burrowing through a creature's ear or nose to reach its brain, it would attempt to sever the connection between the brain and spine, then replace it.

This way, the thing could use the abilities inherited from the Mind Flayer to discern what the signals transmitted from the brain meant, and then control them.