Chapter Seventy-Two: The Slave Becomes the Master

Lysa exchanged her own blood for the extension of Viscount Carl’s life. Worried, she continued to transmit blood, only stopping when she was reaching her limit. Chu Yun kept his distance out of concern for an attack from Hardy’s mirror image, but even from afar he could see that Lysa’s complexion had grown pale.

Feeling weak, Lysa sat on the chair beside the bed, preparing to observe Viscount Carl’s condition—when suddenly, a large hand pressed down on her head.

“Hardy, you…” she began.

“Look into my eyes,” Hardy commanded, the corner of his lips curling into a wicked smile as his eyes glowed with a dangerous violet light.

Now, Lysa was terribly weak and, even at her best, no match for Hardy. When she dazedly met his gaze, she fell into confusion at once. Hardy began chanting a mysterious incantation. Violet symbols ran from his hand into Lysa’s head—a scene strikingly similar to when Chu Yun had once signed a contract with Paimon.

“What’s going on?” Chu Yun, who had merely been watching, was suddenly bewildered.

He was about to intervene, but it was already too late.

“Heh heh heh… I’ve finally succeeded. From now on, no one can control me,” Hardy laughed brazenly.

When the spell was done, Lysa opened her eyes in a daze. She looked at the man who had once been her servant and immediately bowed to her knees.

“Master, what are your orders?”

Hardy was very pleased with how his plan had unfolded. Because of the slave contract, he had always been under Carl’s control. Outwardly loyal, he had been plotting his escape from Carl’s grasp at every turn. Normally, he had no chance: if Carl died, he would too; if he tried to escape, Carl only needed a thought for the contract’s power to kill him through the magic net.

But now, thanks to absorbing some mysterious shard of divinity, Carl was plunged into a coma—an opportunity from the heavens as far as Hardy was concerned. Carl had not lost his vitality while unconscious; this was all part of Hardy’s scheme, designed to exhaust Lysa’s power and make his own spell easier to cast.

With Carl kept in this perpetual sleep, and Lysa under his control, Hardy would have command of all of the viscount’s wealth—making it all his own.

There was a knock at the door.

Perhaps alerted by Hardy’s strange laughter, Ella called from outside, her voice tinged with worry: “Miss, is something wrong?”

Hardy glanced maliciously toward the door, then said to Lysa, “Go. Kill her.”

Ella was Lysa’s personal maid and deeply close to her. To prevent her from discovering anything amiss, it was best to eliminate her. As for the rest, Lysa had been away from the manor for so long that those people barely knew her.

A look of pain crossed Lysa’s face, but she obeyed Hardy’s command and opened the door.

“Come in, Ella.”

Ella noticed something odd about Lysa’s expression, but followed her into the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door shut, Lysa lunged at her, sinking sharp fangs into Ella’s snowy white neck.

“No, please. Miss, don’t!” Ella cried. “You promised… you wouldn’t bite…”

Ella tried to struggle, but as her blood was drained, the rest of her blood seemed to rush uncontrollably from her veins. In just a dozen seconds, she was completely drained.

Her eyes opened wide in death, and she fell to the floor, never to wake again.

As the blood flowed into her, Lysa’s depleted energy was gradually restored. Her face regained its healthy, rosy color.

“Such a convenient ability,” Hardy remarked, clearly envious.

Witnessing this, Chu Yun finally understood why Meda had warned him to be wary of Lysa—she seemed to be a vampire, or perhaps a blood-kin, or some other such being.

Ella’s death left Hardy thoroughly satisfied; his spell seemed flawless.

“That’s enough for today, Lysa. Go wash yourself thoroughly. Tonight, I’ll make sure to give you all the attention you deserve,” Hardy said lecherously, licking his lips.

He intended to possess not only Carl’s wealth and power, but the beautiful Lysa as well.

Lysa bowed with perfect noble decorum, then dragged Ella’s corpse from the room.

Once Lysa had left, Hardy returned to the viscount’s bedside. To Chu Yun’s silent astonishment, he actually unfastened his belt and urinated on Carl’s face.

“Heh heh heh… Honored Viscount Carl, this is exactly how you taught me back then. Rest assured, I’ll repay every bit of it through your daughter.”

“Tonight, you’ll have a perfect view of what your precious daughter will become!” Hardy raged hysterically.

No one truly wishes to be a slave—especially to a master like Carl. Hardy’s spirit had long since been broken; now, it was his turn for revenge.

His vengeance complete, Hardy cast a magical barrier around the bed to keep others away, then composed himself and left the room at ease.

After Hardy’s departure, Chu Yun approached Carl, rubbing his temples in exasperation. Carl was in fact a third-rank mage, but in his current condition, even his mirror image was dormant and unable to attack Chu Yun.

“If I asked the Guildmaster for help, Hardy could be dealt with easily. But then I’d have a hard time explaining how I knew any of this—and the shard of divinity would likely be confiscated as well.”

This shard, capable of inducing sleep, intrigued Chu Yun—perhaps by absorbing it he could gain powerful new spells.

He decided to handle the matter himself, with the divinity shard Hardy had taken as his reward.

As for defeating Hardy, Chu Yun had a plan: he could summon a fire elemental of third-rank strength, and with the twisted law, its power would be even greater!

From Hardy’s two previous spells, it was clear he specialized in enchantment magic. Elementals were immune to charm. Though Hardy might have other spells, Chu Yun was confident, especially with the advantage of the mirror world, that he could kill him.

“First, I’ll rehearse the battle in the mirror world to see what cards he holds. Then, I’ll finish him in reality.” Chu Yun’s strength lay not in his spells, but in his ability to freely traverse the mirror world.

Since it was still early, Chu Yun didn’t attack right away. Instead, he cast a bolt of lightning at the bedridden Carl, killing him instantly and absorbing the orb of experience that emerged.

He had already accumulated a great deal of experience in the previous Dragon Cult incident; now, with this immense influx, he ascended in power once again.

“Consider this my reward for saving you—a necessary step to increase my strength and chances of victory,” Chu Yun said, entirely justified.

If he ignored this matter, both Carl and Lysa would likely face grim fates.