Chapter 391: You Won't Even Say 'Sir'

At his words, the charging Yuchi Hong jerked to a halt, sheer terror filling his eyes.

"This... this is..."

Before his eyes, the world had completely transformed. The dense throngs of soldiers around him vanished. A bloody crimson swallowed the pitch-black night sky, and the earth turned a desolate ash-gray.

The entire world felt utterly desolate and forsaken.

"An Illusion Technique! This is all an Illusion Technique! Break!" Yuchi Hong bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain jolting his tense nerves.

Yet his surroundings did not change in the slightest.

Su Mu's indifferent voice rang out across the world. "I am quite curious. How does a Gold Transcendent with a damaged soul find the courage to stand before me?"

"Die!" Yuchi Hong struggled to raise his spear, but—Clang! Clang! Clang!

The heavy rattle of chains echoed out. He paled in fright, and when he looked down, sheer terror seized him.

Before he even realized it, countless iron chains had bound him to a cross. He could not move a single muscle.

Su Mu walked steadily up to him and said mildly, "Do not waste your strength. If you can survive the next seventy-two hours, I will consider sparing your life."

Originally, the Thousand Illusions of Fleeting Life could only stretch a single moment in the outside world into twenty-four hours inside. But as Su Mu's mental strength grew, that duration had extended to seventy-two hours.

"You... what are you going to do! I am a noble of the Empire!"

"Wind."

Su Mu's indifferent voice rang out like the decree of a heavenly emperor. At his command, a biting, freezing wind suddenly whipped through the desolate space.

The gusts felt like hundreds of millions of tiny blades, relentlessly slicing across Yuchi Hong's flesh.

"Ahhhhh!"

Countless sprays of blood blossomed as Yuchi Hong's agonizing screams echoed throughout the realm.

An hour later, the wind stopped, and Yuchi Hong's injuries healed in an instant.

His eyes no longer held any of the arrogance of a Gold-tier powerhouse; there was only the pathetic desperation of a beaten dog begging for mercy.

"Please, let me go! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! I really did collude with that Gold Nightmare..."

"Shh, you aren't allowed to speak yet." Su Mu smiled gently. "I haven't asked anything."

"Please, just ask!"

"Is this how you beg? You won't even say 'sir'."

"Please, sir... please, just ask!"

"No rush. Rain."

Pitter-patter...

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky. The crystal-clear raindrops landed on Yuchi Hong's body, hissing as they corroded his flesh.

"Ahhhhh!"

Another hour passed. The rain stopped, and Yuchi Hong had completely melted away, his very bones dissolved into nothingness.

But soon after, he was resurrected, perfectly intact.

"No! Spare me! Spare me, please! I'll give you the entire fortune of the Yuchi Family..."

Su Mu shook his head slightly. "You fool. If I kill you, that fortune will still be mine."

"Lightning."

Rumble...

Lightning flashed and thunder roared across the blood-red sky. Like divine punishment, bolts of lightning crashed down onto Yuchi Hong one after another.

...

In the outside world.

The onlookers' faces were painted with shock and disbelief. From their perspective, the moment Su Mu stepped out from the crowd, Yuchi Hong—a mighty Gold powerhouse—had charged at him fiercely with his spear.

And then... with a heavy thud, he collapsed to the ground and immediately fell asleep.

What was going on!? He had instantly defeated Yuchi Hong, a Gold powerhouse, with a single look!?

Just how powerful was this Marquis Su?

Su Mu looked down at the unconscious Yuchi Hong and frowned slightly. "Did he die just like that?"

He hadn't actually planned to kill Yuchi Hong; his goal was total control over the man. While Yuchi Hong wasn't particularly outstanding within the Gold Tier, his abilities gave him an edge, making him perfectly suited for naval warfare.

Had this coward not feared death so much that he colluded with a nightmare, and instead fought directly at sea, there was no telling how many Nightmare Creatures he could have slain.

What a pity. The ability was suitable, but the man was flawed.

It was precisely because there were too many nobles like him that humanity was constantly losing ground.

Just then, Yuchi Hong's fingers twitched. He seemed to regain consciousness, struggling to push himself up from the ground.

Su Mu watched with interest. It was better that he hadn't died.

Yuchi Hong painfully lifted his head. His gaze toward Su Mu was filled with sheer terror. Casting aside all the dignity of a noble, he immediately began kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Lord Su Mu, I admit my wrongs! Please, spare me..."

"Relax. I am a man of my word. Since you made it through, I will naturally spare—"

"Die!" Yuchi Hong's eyes suddenly flared blood-red. Snatching his spear from the ground, he lunged upward with the speed of a lightning strike, thrusting the weapon viciously at Su Mu's throat.

The terrifying speed of a Gold powerhouse far exceeded the limits of human sight; the onlookers could only catch a blur cutting through the air.

Su Mu merely smiled and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The next moment, a hideous, pitch-black arm violently shot out from his shadow.

The massive hand composed entirely of shadows clamped down, catching the thrusting spear with effortless ease.

Yuchi Hong's expression twisted savagely. He abandoned the spear entirely, balling his hands into fists. Dense green scales erupted across his knuckles as he unleashed a vicious punch!

Su Mu still made no move. A second massive shadow arm surged from his silhouette, moving with even greater speed to snatch Yuchi Hong by the torso and lift him high into the air.

Dwarfed by the massive shadowy grip, Yuchi Hong looked like a helpless little chick dangling by its neck. The difference in their sheer size was completely disproportionate.

The one taking action was naturally Bubai, who had long since advanced to Gold. Facing a Gold powerhouse who had just suffered horrific injuries, Bubai handled the situation with extreme ease.

Looking up at the savagely glaring Yuchi Hong suspended in midair, Su Mu smiled. "Yuchi Hong doesn't have the guts to rebel against me. It seems you must be that skulking Gold Nightmare."

A crystalline blue light bloomed in Su Mu's eyes as an overwhelming surge of mental power poured forth, invading Yuchi Hong's mind.

In an instant, an inhuman, piercing shriek erupted from Yuchi Hong's mouth. An ethereal streak of black smoke rapidly detached from his body, vanishing into the void in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Yuchi Hong completely lost consciousness; his blood-red eyes recovered their clarity before his head lolled to the side.

"It ran away rather quickly."

Su Mu ignored the fleeing Gold Nightmare. Instead, he turned to the surrounding soldiers. "You have all witnessed what happened here today. Yuchi Hong was possessed by a Gold Nightmare, which is why he committed these acts. As a marquis of the Empire, I am temporarily taking command of all military forces in Haibin City."

The soldiers exchanged nervous glances, but no one dared to object.

He had taken down Yuchi Hong with a single look, and he was an imperial marquis. Even the bravest among them wouldn't dare defy his orders.

"Where is the lieutenant?"

"Here, my lord!" A man dressed as a lieutenant hastily stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Su Mu.

"Quickly, prepare a prison cell. I will interrogate Yuchi Hong personally."

"Right away, Lord Marquis!"