Surrender

"Squelch..." Three sharp claws pierced through Yarman's back and erupted from his chest. Ye Luo stood behind him, his left arm wrapped around Yarman's neck from the front, appearing intimate.

Yarman's pupils dilated uncontrollably. The agony in his heart quickly transformed into a lethal suffocation. He felt his lungs cease their function; no matter how wide he gasped, he could no longer draw in a single breath of the air he so desperately craved.

Even as Ye Luo throttled him, Yarman's gaze slowly swept across the mages of the Six Kingdoms!

Thomas was pinned to the ground by a red Zergling, its claws ravaging his body. Gilbert had been impaled through the chest by a three-meter Earth Spike; his hands hung limply, his entire body suspended three meters in the air. He was the first to die. Yaheng had already been frozen into an ice sculpture by a Magic Ice Arrow, his face etched with regret and fury before the end...

"How... did you... convince the humans... to help... you..." Even without air, Yarman persisted, fueled by the final breath in his chest.

Ye Luo flashed a charming smile, though Yarman could not see it. "Did you really think Ye Yan was human? Oh, right, the name he used for his disguise was Ulysses..."

Yarman's vision blurred as his organs failed. He suddenly realized that today's battle was no stroke of luck!

They had lost. Some might say they fell because of Ulysses's surprise attack—catching the heavily guarded mages at their most vulnerable moment of casting and causing the entire formation to collapse. But if Yarman could have walked away alive, he would have said that even without Ulysses, they were doomed to fail!

Tier 6! Ye Luo and his Zerg commanders had reached the level of Tier 6 combat power. That was the fundamental reason for their crushing defeat! Without Ulysses, they would have simply paid the price of a few tens of thousands more common Zerg...

The outcome had been clear the moment Ye Luo and his subordinates advanced to Tier 6...

"Thud..." Yarman's corpse hit the ground. Looking at the commander who had been so high-spirited just moments ago, Ye Luo sighed. What did it matter if he was Tier 6 Diamond? He had seemed like the strongest in the kingdom, yet under a surprise attack from someone of the same Tier 6, did he not die without a place to be buried?

Likewise, he himself seemed to have obtained the Imperial Inheritance, with a vast path ahead, but in the boundless sea of stars, who could guarantee he wouldn't become the next Yarman?

In that moment, Ye Luo's mindset shifted. Previously, he had always loved to lead from the front, charging into the battlefield first, ignoring the advice of Ye You and the others. Thinking back, perhaps it was the influence of the protagonists in the movies and TV shows from Earth; heroism was a shackle in the heart of every young man.

"It seems I really need to change my way of thinking. After all, heroes are always accompanied by tragedy. Aside from the true protagonist, the heroes by his side—even if they don't die in the first season, they're bound to have bad luck in the second..."

"Whoosh!" Suddenly, a sharp whistle interrupted Ye Luo's brief reflection. Without turning, he saw through the vision shared by Ye Wang an arrow leaving a long trail in the air!

The arrow was incredibly fast, streaking straight toward the back of his head!

"Clang!" Although the sneak attack was stealthy, the Zerg heroes, who were constantly observing their surroundings with half their attention on their Overlord, reacted in time!

Ye Zhang burst from the ground, his shield blocking the arrow's path. With a crisp sound, the force behind the arrow made Ye Zhang take two steps back.

Ye Zhang's appearance confirmed Ye Luo's recent decision. Setting aside his own importance, from a tactical standpoint, the Zerg army only had one extra Tier 6 hero. Because Ye You and the others had to divide their attention to protect him, their combined combat effectiveness was likely less than eighty percent. His presence was effectively reducing the combat power of two heroes!

"My Emperor, you just lectured Yarman about not being distracted, yet here you are, distracted yourself..." Ye You looked at Ye Luo with deep resentment, guarding him tightly.

Ye Luo took a deep breath and patted Ye You's shoulder. "That was indeed my fault this time. Ye You, you don't need to protect me..."

"No, My Emperor, you are the core of our Zerg. If you are in danger, the Zerg will be doomed!" Ye You's face, usually full of playfulness, was now solemn and grave.

Ye Luo nodded and flew toward the distance. "Rest assured, from now on I will command the overall situation from the rear. You all, go all out!"

Ye You stood stunned. They had tried to persuade their Overlord more than once, but he had never listened. He didn't know what had triggered this change, but it was for the best!

"Whoosh!" Seeing Ye Luo unexpectedly trying to flee, Swadi drew his bow again. However, two sharp Earth Spikes erupted from the ground; if he didn't dodge, he would be skewered through the heart!

A fierce light flashed in Swadi's eyes. Glancing at Yarman's corpse, Meng gritted his teeth. "Whoosh!" Instead of dodging, he drew his bow and fired in one fluid motion. All his battle qi poured into the arrow, and it flew toward Ye Luo like a shooting star!

"Squelch!" One Earth Spike pierced his calf, shattering the bone and exiting his thigh, while another pierced his heart!

Even in death, Swadi didn't look down at the spikes beneath him. His gaze remained locked on the shooting star arrow, filled with anticipation.

"Whoosh!" Just as the arrow was about to pierce Ye Luo, a sharp spike struck it from below with even greater speed!

"Boom!" The spike and the shooting star arrow collided precisely. The battle qi on the arrow exploded, causing the air within a three-meter radius to ripple violently. Yet, Ye Luo, ten meters away, remained unscathed...

Hope turned to despair as Swadi's head slowly drooped...

"I surrender! Don't kill us, we surrender..." The Vice President of the Nicia Magic Guild looked in despair at the dwindling First Legion soldiers and the increasing number of Zerglings and Iron-Armored Cockroaches. He dropped his staff at his feet and shouted loudly.

Ye You, who had transformed into a red Zergling, was about to pounce on him, but hearing the shout, he turned his body and looked toward the Overlord in the sky!

Of course, he wasn't asking for the Overlord's opinion!

Through the Overlord's vision, Ye Luo looked at the mage kneeling on the ground and smiled lightly. "I love making friends with the wealthy. Rumor has it every mage is a small treasury. If they are willing to surrender, I will certainly accept!"