Chapter 1413 I need to prepare. 1413 I need to prepare. "I-I agree. I-I agree to be your slave!" The King shouted, pretty much begging for mercy. All his 'majestic' Aura had long disappeared, and how could it not? Nux, feeling bored, had stopped playing games. Honestly, with his current stats, overpowering Ricardus wasn't difficult, just using his higher stats to do that was possible. Yes, except for INT, Nux's current stats were higher than Ricardus's, after all, this time, he wasn't saving his Blank Points, he used them as soon as he got them and even though he used most of them to boost his stamina, he was still much stronger, strong enough to overwhelm Ricardus through sheer raw power alone, but... That wasn't fun now, was it? What? He still hadn't lost his playful side, you know? Despite being 1000 years old, he was still young in his heart. Not to mention he wanted to see just how much Zenith Flow affected his battles, after all, even if he was stronger than King Stage Cultivators, they weren't his main targets, he still needed to deal with Emperors, not to mention that mutated beast was still there as well... Anyway, Nux didn't raise his stats, still in his 'weakened' state, he shifted the battle gears and started getting on the offensive. Eyes, nose, ears, Nux attacked them all. First, the ear was cut off, then, then the left eye was stabbed, Nux aimed for the nose but the King somehow managed to defend himself, however, by now, 'fear' was already instilled deep into Ricardus's very being. Ricardus was different from the assassins Nux had dealt with before, the man had a lot to lose, he loved his life, and the moment he sensed that his life was at risk, fear took the best of him and he made the wrong choice. 'Let's follow along for now and think later,' After all, he wouldn't actually become a slave just because he said so, now would he? That would make no sense. A common thought that sealed the King's fate and turned him into the man he currently was. ... "Call the Shadow Guards." Nux ordered. "As you command," Ricardus spoke, not daring to lift his head. Was Nux going to fight the Shadow Guards? Of course not. It wasn't worth the effort. He had faced the Shadow Guards before, they were an interesting bunch, but in the end, they were still too weak to excite him and force him to actually fight them seriously. He had Ricardus now, he had no need to go around using these barbaric methods, he could simply use Ricardus to subdue the Shadow Guards and others in the Royal Mansion. It wasn't the first time he was playing these tricks after all. The act didn't take long, 3 hours later, Nux left the Royal Mansion, with most of the guards, maids, and ministers under his control, not to mention the King. The instructions he passed were similar, Act normally, make sure Allura, Amaya and Edda are protected. As for Astaria, heh, Nux knew better than anyone that the woman didn't need protection. With this job done, Nux's next destination was the Skyfall Academy, this time, he took the 6 King Stage Shadow Guards with him, making it easier for him to subdue Eliyard, the Headmaster of the Academy. He didn't spare the students of the Academy either, most teachers and students were enslaved, Evane and Royce were the only ones spared. Yes, even Arvina wasn't treated differently. Nux had feelings for the mentioned woman but that was a long time ago, he was already over her, honestly, he was rather glad that he was rejected, after all, he already had too many women, having more would only make it harder for him to spend more time with them. Anyways, the entire process took 8 hours, Nux sighed, obviously, the repetitive work was annoying but he wasn't done here. The next target was the Skadi, the Woods, and the Solid Earth Kingdom. Of course, since the Skyfall was the strongest, repeating the process wasn't difficult, however, the thing was, for his other wives, just controlling the people around them was more than enough to ensure their security. Ember and later Astaria however, were different. He couldn't exactly protect Ember if he controlled her generals. After all, those men were already loyal to the woman, even willing to go as far as giving their lives for the woman. Yes, controlling the Dynast and his men and calling Ember back to the Dynasty would prove helpful, but in the end, that would only be a temporary measure. After all, once Ember is called back, it is only a matter of time before the Woods Army falls, this would further push forward Solid Earth's plan. Which would later not only put Ember at risk but Astaria and later his other wives as well. After all, War engulfed everybody, no matter who it was. Even though he plans to have at least 2 Kings Protecting his wives in secret, it is still dangerous. Of course, Nux could personally visit the Solid Earth Kingdom and deal with the son and father pair of Emperors but... The real problem was the Pseudo Sage, Nawdren. The Beast they found in the Wilderness, the Beast that had now taken over a Human Body and the body went through metamorphism. Nux was strong, even though his stats were only stronger than a Peak King Stage Cultivator and were lacking compared to an Emperor, he was strong enough to face all the Emperors alone. The 'absolute' boundary between Phase 1 and Phase 2 Cultivators meant nothing to him because he used Essence. But the problem was, he couldn't enslave Emperors like others; this base version of the Slave Seal wasn't that strong. He needed to upgrade it and that is only possible when he upgrades his System, meaning that he himself would need to become an Emperor to do that. A time-consuming process without his dual cultivation ability and right now, time was what Nux didn't have. The Solid Earth Kingdom was moving forward with their plans, Ember was in a difficult position. Not to mention that in this 'world', Amletus Skadi, the Emperor of the Skadi Kingdom was not dead and he was definitely one of Herms's, the Emperor of the Solid Earth Kingdom's allies. Combined with Herms's son, Roone Lysander, the King of the Solid Earth Kingdom, the second Emperor of the Solid Earth Kingdom, the battle was a 3v2. With Astaria Skyfall, the Emperor of the Skyfall Kingdom and Alcimus Woods, the Emperor of the Woods Dynasty, on one side, the Herms, Roone, and Amletus on the other. The advantage the Solid Earth and Skadi Alliance have couldn't be more obvious, even Astaria, the 'strongest being in the continent' couldn't stop them. Everything seemed to be under their complete control and this is why the Solid Earth Kingdom's progress was much faster than Nux expected. With Solid Earth going full in, Nux predicted that Woods would fall within a week. Even if he saved Ember and took her away, in the end, in the all-out war, the threat wouldn't disappear. Of course, Nux could reveal Roone's secret to Amletus and start a feud between the allies, slowing them down, but in the end, it wouldn't matter. The real threat was still Nawdren. The mutation who hadn't even entered the equation yet. A mutation that needed to disappear. Thinking about it, Nux's golden eyes shined brightly as he clenched his fists, honestly, he was planning to get rid of Nawdren when he became a King Stage Cultivator, but, his progress was slower than his expectation, despite knowing everything about the cultivation stages, giving him an absurd advantage, his talent was simply too bad. 'How did I even make do with this body...?' Nux couldn't help but snort. He was already used to his body cultivating on his own, heck, rather than being unable to break through, he was now more used to holding himself from breaking through automatically. "Tsk." Nux snorted, then, he momentarily closed his eyes to calm his thought. A minute later, he opened his eyes, a serene calm could be seen in those pair of beautiful golden eyes. Nux had decided. He will get rid of Nawdren as a Master Stage Cultivator. 'I need to prepare.' With that thought in his mind, Nux disappeared. He only had 2 weeks, it was time to gather resources. He ordered Ricardus and his other influential subordinates to gather as many Mana and Health Potions as possible, while he himself rushed towards a place he recalled very well. A place that always awarded him with many things, something that was going to happen again. 'Ricardus.' Nux called using his connection with his slaves. 'Master.' Ricardus's voice was heard. 'All the Shadow Guards will be coming to the Bloodhill Wilderness, so make do without them, I need to gather points to buy a few 7-Star Swords and Armor.' There was no need to buy abilities, because, first, the abilities were absurdly expensive, 10 times the price of weapons of the same level, second, Nux had countless skills already assimilated into his Zenith Flow, even though he still couldn't use most of those abilities because his level was too low, the number of abilities he could use was more than enough to deal with a man-beast who wasn't even a complete Incomplete Sage. With a confident smirk on his face, Nux appeared in front of the nostalgic wilderness, this time, he rushed right into the deepest areas.