Mind Control, but Useless
Suddenly, three signal flares—red, blue, and green—rose from the direction of the distant Him Cavern, tracing bright paths across the sky.
"The cave has been suppressed." Ge'enda'er clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking. "Only one left!"
****
Ten minutes ago, at the entrance to the Him Cavern.
About twenty bear-men and a small number of humans remained to guard the supplies and the imprisoned girls. The bear-men's thick fur was covered in frost, and their breath quickly dissipated in the cold wind.
Some pale white figures approached silently, their movements so light they almost blended into the snow. The leader of the bear-man squad suddenly twitched his nose, jerked his head up, and shouted sharply, "Who!"
Once discovered, the attackers no longer hid. They revealed themselves and rushed towards the guards. These were ordinary members of the Adjudicator Squad; they were not as fast as Yise and Silver Mask, nor were they qualified to participate in high-level combat.
But now that the enemy's main fighting force has been drawn away, it's the perfect time to rescue the girl on this side of the cave!
The battle erupted instantly. Thanks to their excellent combat skills and teamwork, the Adjudicator Squad quickly gained the upper hand and took control of the situation.
"Zephlin!" A passing Adjudicator recognized him and, taking a moment to unleash a spell, precisely shattered the forbidden spell on Zephlin's hand.
"Mine! Mine!" Rupert hurriedly held out his hand. Zephlin quickly picked up a dead enemy's staff from the ground, barely activated it, and shattered Rupert's staff with a single swing.
The two immediately joined the battle.
Rupert picked up a heavy battle knife from the ground and charged at the nearest bear-man.
"Law: Kneel!" Zephlin pointed, and the bear-man who was about to fight suddenly buckled at the knees and knelt on the snow.
Rupert seized the opportunity, dragging his heavy sword forward in a single stride. The blade traced an arc, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on the bear-man's head.
Seeing this, a nearby member of the Adjudicator team flashed behind Rupert as the bear-man was about to retaliate in a rage, and his longsword precisely pierced the bear-man's spine.
The bear-man immediately went berserk, roared, and swung his arm at the team member.
"Law of Binding!" Zephlin cast the spell again.
The bear-man's movements froze for a moment, and the team member took the opportunity to draw his knife and retreat. The sharp blade cut a larger gash in the wound, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
Rupert seized the opportunity and slashed at the wound from the previous attack. This time, the blade finally cleaved through the hard skull.
The bear-man convulsed violently a few times before finally collapsing unwillingly into a pool of blood.
Both Zephlin and Rupert were exhausted and nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Hey, are you alright?" Rupert wiped his face, removing the blood that had just been splattered.
"One more!" Zephlin replied, propping himself up with his staff.
The two laughed heartily and walked towards the next bear-man.
****
At the mountaintop, Su Ming.
To prepare for today's battle, the shotgun was wrapped with white strips of cloth to conceal its black body.
The gun, wrapped in strips of cloth, felt exceptionally steady in his hand, yet this seemingly solid weapon remained unresponsive after the trigger was pulled. Abigai manipulated Su Ming's finger to pull the trigger again.
QBA221 remained silent.
[Useless!] Su Ming laughed heartily in his mind. [This weapon only recognizes me; you can't use it!]
There are no bullets in the magazine right now, and the safety isn't even off, so it's no wonder Abigai can't fire!
Suddenly, Yise moved. Before Abigai could manipulate Su Ming into committing suicide, he pounced on him in the snow and swiftly locked his hands in a grappling technique.
Yise pinned him down from behind, pressing his knee into his lower back.
Abigai manipulated Su Ming's body to struggle for a moment, but it didn't budge. Although Yise was smaller than Su Ming, she had an overwhelming advantage in strength.
"[Your physical strength is useless!]" Abigai cursed.
"[She's a melee class, I'm a magic user, isn't that obvious!]" Su Ming retorted. "[Keep insulting me—" A white guy like you, so picky!"
"No!" Abigai, who had been eating her way through the day, finally realized something. "[You all Omniscience the characteristics of the ' Thread Puppet Prison ' perfectly well!]" she exclaimed. "[You've been waiting for me to take control from the very beginning!]"
[Just found out!] Su Ming didn't mind stalling Abigai for a little longer and answered all her questions. [We've discovered that you manipulated the girl in Lisi City and detonated the alchemical explosives!]
Abigai suddenly let out a muffled groan—high in the sky, Zijin seized the opportunity of her distraction and launched a fierce attack. She couldn't keep up with the change in her attack, and her main body was struck by a "Negative Energy Torrent."
"Damn it!" Abigai cursed, angrily severing the thread connecting him to Su Ming.
Su Ming immediately turned to look at Yise, "Alright, alright, she disconnected!"
"Prove it!" Yise raised an eyebrow slightly, not letting go but instead tightening his grip on Su Ming's arms even more. "For example, recite that disgusting thing you said to me in the attic that day?"
"- It's in the cellar."
Yise then released Su Ming's arms, stood up, and reached out to pull Su Ming up from the ground.
"From connection to being controlled, it took about ten seconds." Su Ming rubbed his sore shoulders. "You've been in her domain for a long time; you should be nearing your breaking point."
Yise took out a pair of metal bracelets from his waist and put them on his left and right wrists respectively. "Don't you dare take revenge later, or I won't let you off the hook!"
"I'll try my best," Su Ming said.
****
An hour ago, Ranger Leoni submitted an investigation report to Princess Dafulin through the communication array in Lisi City, highlighting Abigai and the characteristics of the "Thread Puppet Prison" domain collected during the investigation.
Dafulin was shocked by this unexpected discovery. She thanked Leoni and rescinded the regulatory penalties imposed on one-sixth of the Alva Family's lands.
Dafulin quickly had her subordinates forward the report to Katharine; this was the content of the urgent message Su Ming had received.
At that time, he learned of Abigai's ability to manipulate others and devised targeted tactical strategies.
Therefore, all actions on the battlefield today are aimed at seizing every opportunity to deplete Abigai's strength and deliberately tilting the scales of victory in their favor!
"But overpowering Abigai is only the first step," Katharine's voice came through the communication array, her tone grave.
The situation was urgent, and without hesitation, both sides initiated a second long-distance instant communication, leaving the expensive magic crystals burning in the magic circle.
"The most difficult part of facing Saint Rank expert is preventing them from escaping."
"This is indeed a tricky problem." Su Ming had done several calculations and realized that it was fraught with difficulties.
Given Abigai's strength and experience, he would definitely withdraw from the battlefield if he judged the situation to be unfavorable.
Yet, she is also incredibly powerful.
Su Ming couldn't help but sigh. He turned to Jielusi and Ge'enda'er, who were on the side of the communications room. Besides them, the Watcher Yise and the Assassin Silver Mask were also scheduled to join the battle today.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you all to do your utmost to intercept Abigai!" Su Ming said.
Zijin's stamina is less than half that of Abigai. Even if she successfully forces her opponent into a retreat phase, it's hard to guarantee how much strength she'll have left.
The tactical margin that Su Ming could calculate was almost zero.
However, mind control skills are extremely troublesome, and no one would want to face such a formidable opponent a second time.
In any case, they must leave Abigai here forever!
"Lord Su Ming, there's no need to doubt our resolve," Jielusi said.
"If the shadows try to devour the world, we are the walking dawn." Ge'enda'er clenched his fist and placed it on his chest, his voice solemn.
Su Ming nodded.
"I have a request," Katharine said.
"Please speak."
"Before we enter the final stage, we must severely injure Abigai!" Katharine's voice was serious and earnest, "Otherwise, the price will be ours!"
"Understood," Su Ming replied. "I'll devise a strategy."
After the call ended, Katharine leaned back in her chair, her expression full of worry. A maid came in carrying the Tuanzi and handed it to her.
Today, the baby is wearing an adorable green and white monster onesie and is waving his little hands while babbling.
Katharine hugged him tightly, her grip unconsciously tightening. "I hope everything goes well for your sister and the others."
****
In mid-air, Abigai cast a spell again, neutralizing Zijin's attack.
The scholar's offensive noticeably weakened, seemingly running out of steam, just like the performance expected of someone newly entering the Saint Rank.
But Abigai no longer easily believed such appearances.
Especially with the deaths of Aiwanbei'er and Ruogejin, the enemy's entire second-tier combat force was unleashed. Under Zijin's leadership, these people could indeed pose a substantial threat to her!
The wounds from the initial "Six-Pointed Star - Divine Decree" were becoming increasingly painful, and Abigai's Magic Power and mental energy were more than half depleted. If this continued, she might really die here!
Abigai made a decision, using "Sigh of Eternal Winter" to force Zijin back. She took the opportunity to create distance, and while flying backward, she added a set of matrix wind blades as cover, then turned around and fled the battlefield at full speed.
Although Zijin has a slight advantage in flight speed, it is not enough to intercept her.
She had already suffered too many losses today—her "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" was replaced by that strange tracking magic device at the start, then she was inexplicably hit by Zijin's "Six-Pointed Star - Divine Decree," and then she was dragged into a war of attrition by Zijin.
During this time, Abigai's energy was greatly depleted by using "Thread Puppet Prison" to corrupt and manipulate targets.
This is also what Abigai regrets: if she hadn't used her domain today and had focused on the magical clash, the situation might not have been like this.
Furthermore, the impact of the troublemaker Su Ming was severely underestimated by the organization.
His danger level must be raised to the highest! Abigai thought fiercely to himself.