Chapter Ninety-Two: Lord of the Land

In the distance, two patrol warriors from the Holy City Guard passed by and called out to them again.

"Why are you still in the forest so late? There have been demons appearing in the woods lately, so never go in there!"

"All right, we'll head back in a bit. Thanks for the warning."

As Black Feather spoke, the patrol moved on.

"Let's go."

Ling Xi still said little. With a leap, he sprang onto the treetops.

The other three put away their weapons, pulled the hoods of their mage robes over their heads, and with the same soft rustle, leaped up into the branches as well. The patrol was walking along the forest path opposite them. Hidden in the shadows of the canopy, they looked down and waited until the guards had gone far enough away before swiftly darting across to the woods on the other side of the path and racing at full speed toward the Twilight Forest in the distance.

"We won't really run into a demon, will we?" Shen Zhai Gu asked as they moved quickly.

Black Feather thought of the demons he had seen in the borderlands and said, "If we do, that's perfect. It'll be a good chance to test our skill. The beasts in Twilight Forest are too weak."

Ling Xi smiled faintly. "I forgot to tell you. The reason we came to the forest this time was specifically to look for demons."

"What?" Shen Zhai Gu was startled.

When they reached the outer edge of Twilight Forest, the group stopped. They were already far beyond the guards' patrol range, and it was perfectly safe here.

Lifting his gaze to the full moon, round as a basin and shining like water, Ling Xi said, "A full moon is when a dark elf's magic is at its peak. It's the best time to form a familiar contract."

"A familiar contract?" Ling Xiao Lei had never heard of such a thing.

"Listen carefully," Ling Xi said, stopping at the center of a broad clearing. "In ancient times, the dark elf race possessed a battle art unlike that of any other people: subjugation. It was one of the skills the Demon King taught the dark elves. Subjugation means forming a pact with a demon and commanding it to fight for you."

At this, Ling Xiao Lei's heart filled with longing.

"As the number of magical beings on the continent dwindled, and with the world's rejection of demons, subjugators have become fewer and fewer. By now, the art of subjugation has nearly been lost."

"To subdue a demon and make it fight for you?..." Black Feather murmured, stunned.

"But a subjugator must also pay a price. When a subjugator dies, his body and soul are devoured by his familiars."

"Aah, then wouldn't that mean dying without a whole corpse?" Imagining herself being eaten after death by familiars, Ling Xiao Lei shuddered.

"So whether you wish to become a subjugator is your choice."

Ling Xi went on to explain, "Many familiars live longer than dark elves themselves. They serve us only temporarily, merely so they can absorb our power after we die and make themselves stronger. If you regret becoming a subjugator now, it's not too late."

"No, let's begin. I've already made up my mind." Ling Xiao Lei's gaze was firm. She wanted to become stronger.

"Very well."

As Ling Xi spoke, his staff swiftly traced a circle on the ground before him. The circle spread outward, forming a glowing magic array. The four of them stepped back several dozen paces to avoid its range. He murmured an incantation under his breath, and suddenly the light within the array flared brilliantly.

"Come forth—Gluttony!"

A wild hurricane surged up. Space inside the magic array split open like an abyss, and from within slowly rose a colossal black shape. By the time its head emerged from the array, it was dozens of zhang wide, and its eyes blazed like scarlet lanterns. When Gluttony finally appeared in full upon the ground, it stood as high as a mountain, with the horns of a sheep, the face of a tiger, the body of a man, and the tail of a dragon. The trees were entirely hidden beneath its waist.

It reared up on all fours and let out a deep, eerie roar. Gusts of wind swept through the forest in waves. Most terrifying of all, there was a great mouth in its abdomen, spewing foul breath. Apart from that enormous maw and its forelegs, the others could not even make out the top of its head.

Black Feather was so shocked he could not move. The intense pressure radiating from Gluttony crashed over him, testing his will.

Shen Zhai Gu, whose will was weaker, had already collapsed against Ling Xiao Lei's shoulder and fainted. Faced with this monstrous being, they were like ants standing beneath an elephant.

Ling Xi said calmly, "I captured this demon when I was young. Back then it was only a cub. By following me all these years, it has gained another three thousand years of cultivation. Come to think of it, a primordial demon like Gluttony has a lifespan of at least a million years. In its long existence, I am only a fleeting part."

"L-Lord Ling..." Black Feather stammered.

"What is it?"

"I want to know... where your strength ranks on this continent?"

That question had been weighing on Black Feather's mind for a long time.

"Hahaha." Ling Xi laughed aloud. "Dark elves have never cared for the world's disputes. I have no taste for vanity; I seek only peace and stability."

"This demon won't go out of control, will it?" Ling Xiao Lei said shakily. If Gluttony suddenly attacked them, their chances of survival would be slim indeed.

"Don't worry, it won't. As long as a contract is formed and your own strength always remains higher than the familiar's, it will forever obey you."

"My own strength higher than the familiar's?..."

Black Feather thought to himself that this meant Lord Ling's own power must be far greater than even this Gluttony.

One must know that even among primordial demons, there was a hierarchy of strength. The lava behemoth that had appeared near the Great Wall before was merely an extremely ordinary primordial demon. Though ancient beyond reckoning and impossible to kill, it moved far too slowly, and its strength did not rank high at all.

By contrast, Gluttony, the Elephant God, and the Holy Dragon were the top three holy beasts among primordial demons, the so-called "Three Primordial Holy Beasts." In the age of savagery, they had been the overlords who ruled land, sea, and sky respectively.

To command Gluttony—what kind of power would that require?

"L-Lord Ling... please... put it away..." Ling Xiao Lei's legs trembled, and cold sweat broke out all over her.

"This is to demonstrate the summoning of a familiar for you. Make sure you remember it clearly."

"I-I'll remember... I'll never forget it for the rest of my life..."

Black Feather also checked on Shen Zhai Gu and found that her face had lost all color. She was clinging tightly to Ling Xiao Lei, and though she had awakened from her fainting spell, her body was still weak.

"Little Fire Dragon Fruit, are you all right?"

"I... I'm fine..."

"That girl from the Dragon God clan has a holy dragon bloodline that clashes with the blood of demons. And this Gluttony's rank is far above hers. It's only natural that she'd react this strongly."

With that, Ling Xi dismissed the familiar. The summoning array flashed once more, and Gluttony vanished in a whirlwind.

Only then did the others finally relax. Shen Zhai Gu sat quietly to regulate her breathing and recover her strength.

"Lord Ling, should we go find a suitable familiar now?" Ling Xiao Lei asked eagerly.