The Demon Serpent Naga was drenched in cold sweat, twisting his body in agony at Lyle's feet.
It was an indescribable suffocating sensation, as if his entire heart was being rapidly gnawed by countless ants, or tightly squeezed in someone's hand, spreading throughout his body.
"The Naga race has some resistance to curses?"
"But it doesn't seem to be very high."
Lyle watched the Demon Serpent Naga's agonizing, suffocating state and thought to himself.
"It seems we can communicate normally now."
Lyle extended his palm, aimed at the wound on the Demon Serpent Naga's chest where he had stabbed him with the iron sword, and made a grabbing motion in the air.
Black curse energy overflowed from the wound and dissipated into the air!
The Demon Serpent Naga's suffocating pain began to recede, and he lay on the ground in a sorry state, gasping for breath.
Regarding the control of curse power,
Lyle was now increasingly proficient. During this time, he had been constantly refining his own powers, especially the curse power, which was currently his most bizarre attack method.
A large number of wild beasts and magical beasts, besides providing experience, also offered him considerable experimental reference. He discovered that the closer a 'curse attack' was to the heart, the better its effect.
"This old one is willing to submit." The Demon Serpent Naga's eyes were filled with terror and trepidation. He took a breath and quickly spoke.
This human in front of him was completely different from the weak humans he had encountered before; this person could truly kill him!
Thinking of the feeling of being on the verge of death just now,
the Demon Serpent Naga trembled all over.
"No, no, you misunderstood."
Lyle tossed the shattered iron sword to one side, pulled out the magic greatsword he had just plunged into the ground, and shook his head.
Seeing Lyle's actions, the Demon Serpent Naga recoiled his head, fearfully curled his tail, afraid that Lyle would strike him again.
"To be precise, it's a collaboration." Seeing the Demon Serpent Naga's fearful expression, Lyle tried to make his own expression as gentle as possible.
However,
this gentle smile, to the Demon Serpent Naga, seemed even more terrifying. He knew that weak humans were very adept at schemes and tricks.
As for words like "collaboration"...
The Demon Serpent Naga didn't believe it in his heart. He only hoped that the other party would let him go, and then he would immediately escape from here!
The Tob Forest was so vast; as long as he could escape, the Demon Serpent Naga believed that with his abilities, even if this human in front of him was stronger, he still wouldn't be able to find him.
"Are you interested in ruling the entire Tob Forest? Western Dominator · Demon Serpent Naga —" Lyle spoke gently, then paused.
"Rulalurus Spenia Ai Indrun." The Demon Serpent Naga clutched his fractured arm and whispered hoarsely.
"Oh, alright." Lyle shrugged, then continued:
"I've already cleared out the Ogre Gu's territory. All powerful magical beasts and wild beasts have been dealt with, including the large horde of ogres under Ogre Gu."
"Now, if you wish, you can easily rule this territory."
The Demon Serpent Naga's snake pupils widened, looking incredulously at the smiling Lyle before him.
He suddenly recalled that before rushing here, he indeed hadn't encountered any strong wild beasts or magical beasts along the way. Especially in the Forest Rift area, the ground was stained red with a large amount of blood, and there were residual traces of destruction.
Gulp ~
"This old one's territory is in the far west, separated by the Forest Sage King's territory."
The Demon Serpent Naga's throat moved, and he shrank his neck, speaking subconsciously.
Ruling the entire Tob Forest!
This was something the Demon Serpent Naga had never dared to dream of before. His strength was inferior to both the Forest Sage King and Ogre Gu, so he never had such a thought from the beginning.
In fact,
if it weren't for the Forest Sage King only knowing how to eat and sleep, and Ogre Gu being a muscle-brained fellow, perhaps these two would have been the ones to rule the entire Tob Forest.
"I can help you deal with them too."
Lyle saw that the Demon Serpent Naga was clearly tempted and spoke with a smile.
At these words!
The Demon Serpent Naga's pupils couldn't help but show a fervent look, and the thought of how to escape was immediately thrown to the back of his mind.
But soon,
the Demon Serpent Naga realized why this terrifyingly powerful human would do this. He didn't believe that the other party would help him for no reason.
"What does this old one need to do?" The Demon Serpent Naga asked in a low, hoarse voice.
Lyle's face revealed a brilliant smile. He glanced at the stunned Ogre Gu at the cave entrance, then looked back at the Demon Serpent Naga: "As expected, I still prefer to communicate with intelligent races."
"Throughout the entire Tob Forest, help me raise goblins."
"Huh?" The Demon Serpent Naga was bewildered, thinking he had misheard.
He had considered that the human in front of him might have various schemes, but he had never expected such a purpose?
"That's right, just help me raise goblins."
Lyle nodded, indicating that the other party had not misheard.
As his own level grew higher and higher, Lyle had long begun to consider the issue of experience gain. Although higher-level creatures yielded more experience upon death,
Lyle was well aware that the otherworld was not a game; there was no respawn for powerful creatures after they died.
Moreover,
if these powerful existences died on a large scale, it would inevitably be noticed by the True Dragon Kings and various factions.
But gaining experience was an insurmountable problem.
If rabbits were one of the representatives of extremely strong reproductive capacity among ordinary animals, then goblins were the fastest reproducing representatives among magical beasts!
As long as they had sufficient food, goblins could quickly grow in two to three months, and could reproduce at least three times a year.
"Is it really true?"
The Demon Serpent Naga spoke blankly. He found that he couldn't keep up with the human's line of thought and couldn't understand why the other party would do this.
"Oh?" Lyle looked at the Demon Serpent Naga in surprise.
"This old one can discern whether someone is lying." Facing Lyle's gaze, the Demon Serpent Naga's wrinkled old face shivered, and he quickly spoke in a low voice.
"The Naga race still has such an ability." Lyle raised an eyebrow and spread his arms:
"I originally chose Ogre Gu, after all, lower-ranking magical beasts like goblins could be easily controlled by ogres, who are a higher-ranking race."
"Clearly, he isn't a good collaborator."
Lyle was indeed a bit regretful.
"This old one is willing to serve you, my lord." The Demon Serpent Naga's tone carried a hint of excitement.
The opportunity to rule the entire Tob Forest was right before him, and the price to pay was merely raising goblins. To the Demon Serpent Naga, there was no reason to refuse.
What's more, the current situation didn't allow him to refuse either.
"I said, it's a collaboration."
"There's a large goblin tribe in this forest called the Gik Tribe. You just need to subjugate them, and you can easily control ordinary goblins."
Lyle reminded him again, then the smile on his face vanished, and he looked at the Demon Serpent Naga with a slightly cold gaze:
"Of course, I hope that this collaboration remains a secret between you and me. As a precondition for our cooperation, I've left a little something in your heart."
As Lyle finished speaking,
"Ah!!"
The Demon Serpent Naga felt his heart constrict, and the excruciating pain and suffocating sensation, as if ants were tearing at his heart, surged again, causing him to let out a scream.
But soon, this sensation disappeared again.
The Demon Serpent Naga gasped for breath, and a fearful expression once again covered his face.
This was a trace of curse power that Lyle had deliberately left in the Demon Serpent Naga's heart, very weak, not even enough to pose a danger.
This was a small trick he currently employed in using curse power.
That last surge had completely expended this residual curse power, but the Demon Serpent Naga didn't know that.
"Don't worry, you only need to help me raise goblins for four years. After four years, I will personally remove this power for you."
Lyle's face once again showed a gentle smile: "Your ability should tell you that I'm not lying, right?"
"Ruler of Tob Forest: Lord Rulalurus."
"This old one is willing!"
Hearing the words "Ruler of Tob Forest," the Demon Serpent Naga prostrated himself on the ground, both excited and terrified.
After the matter was settled,
Lyle let the Demon Serpent Naga leave on his own, and also instructed him to gather the powerful wild beasts and magical beasts within his territory.
He naturally had no intention of letting go of the experience in that area.
As for whether the Demon Serpent Naga would have any ulterior motives?
Lyle didn't care at all. Even human subordinates of the same race couldn't be guaranteed to have no other intentions, let alone demi-humans of completely different races.
He only needed to ensure that the Demon Serpent Naga would follow his instructions, and after four years?
The Demon Serpent Naga would naturally no longer be important.
"I still have too few usable hands." Lyle sighed inwardly and returned to the cave entrance.
He put the blood-filled wooden barrel into his item box, then took out another large wooden barrel and placed it beneath Ogre Gu, continuing to collect blood.
This couldn't be wasted.
Ogre Gu's regeneration ability was stronger than that of ordinary ogres.
Lyle felt that using his blood might produce even more excellent regeneration potions.
"Oh right, I forgot to take some blood from the Demon Serpent Naga. I wonder what effects alchemy potions made from his blood would have?"
"I'll have to get some next time."
Lyle thought silently.
Lower Fire Month, September 25th.
After more than half a month, Lyle once again entered the domain of the Forest Sage King, Kurasuke.
In mid-air,
Lyle, covered in a layer of magic, overlooked the deep, lush forest below. With a wave of his arm, five ogre corpses appeared in mid-air, then crashed heavily towards the ground.
Bang!
The ogre corpses slammed into the jungle below, making a loud noise that startled a series of bird calls and beast roars.
Then came the waiting.
All the goblin corpses in Lyle's item box had been cleared out, distributed to the ogres who had previously worked for him.
Now, in the item box, there were over 200 ogre corpses.
He hadn't brought the Imp Hound this time, firstly because it wouldn't be much help in the upcoming battle, and secondly, he needed the Imp Hound to look after the controlled Ogre Gu.
"All-species Charm" had a time limit.
He had completed 30 scrolls of the third-tier "Summon Angel." Originally, he should have been making fourth-tier "Summon Angel" scrolls, but to deal with the upcoming situation,
he temporarily made several "All-species Charm" magic scrolls and gave them to the Imp Hound. Once the charm effect on Ogre Gu wore off, the Imp Hound would bite a scroll and cast it again.
Kou!
Chuan Chuan!
Sounds quickly came from the jungle below.
Lyle, suspended in mid-air, clearly noticed a gray-white figure rapidly moving through the dense jungle below.
Approaching the direction of the five ogre corpses.
Whoosh—The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, despite his corpulent appearance, easily traversed layers of tangled trees with agile speed, arriving before the five ogre corpses.
"Corpses?"
The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, stood on his hind legs, raised his forelimbs to cover his nose, and showed a human-like expression of disgust: "No wonder the repulsive smell is so strong."
"Why are there ogre corpses here?"
The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, tilted his head, his slightly glowing, eerie eyes showing confusion in the deep jungle environment.
This suddenly reminded him of that human who had escaped some time ago!
He could fly!
He hated flying things the most!
Boom!
Just then, a hurried whooshing sound came from above.
The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, raised his head and looked up, but due to the obstruction of a large amount of lush foliage overhead, he didn't see anything.
But the next moment!
A dazzling magical slash cut through the obstructing branches and leaves, appearing in the Forest Sage King, Kurasuke's field of vision.
Bang! The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, swung his forelimbs, his five black-gray claws with a metallic sheen collided with the magical slash coming from mid-air,
emitting a roar.
Air waves surged!
The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, shook his head, shaking off the broken branches and leaves that had fallen on him, and looked up again.
The previous attack collision and the impact of the magical slash created a narrow opening in the sky above, which had originally been obscured by dense foliage.
"It's you, you annoying human!!"
The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, immediately noticed Lyle hovering above and roared angrily.
The previous attack was clearly unleashed by that human!
"It was blocked so easily." Lyle gripped the magic greatsword in his left hand, his eyes narrowing.
In terms of raw strength, he was indeed a cut above Ogre Gu and the Demon Serpent Naga.
"This makes it even more interesting!" Lyle's eyes sharpened, and his body suddenly leaned forward, rapidly plunging downwards.
Boom!
His rapidly descending figure quickly broke through the obstruction of the upper branches and leaves, arriving above the Forest Sage King, Kurasuke.
"Rapid Slash!"
Lyle gripped the magic greatsword with both hands and fiercely swung it towards the Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, below.
"This humble one will kill you! This time, I absolutely won't let you escape, you annoying human!" The Forest Sage King, Kurasuke, roared angrily,
and swung his claws as well.