Chapter 211: Become My Dogs

"Impossible... How—How on earth is it physically possible for you to be this overwhelmingly strong?" Nicolas gasped, his eyes bulging as he looked back over his shoulder at Asher, watching a clean, fine blade mark slowly materialize across his charred throat.

?"Even so... you still aren’t strong enough to kill me!"

?The deep laceration instantly closed and knitted itself back together through sheer demonic regeneration. Without missing a beat, he whipped his massive ten-foot frame around and hurled a devastating, bone-shattering right hook straight at Asher’s back.

?The next moment:

?BOOOOM!!

?Nicolas froze entirely mid-swing. He stared wide-eyed at Asher’s unmoving back in absolute, unadulterated disbelief, before his heavy ten-foot Ogre-like form buckled completely. He collapsed face-first onto the shattered stone pavement, dead before he hit the ground.

?"Utterly useless." Asher muttered quietly, dismissing the Twin Great Daggers back into his System inventory as he turned his back on the wreckage and began walking away.

?{Supreme Twin Daggers: [First Ability]: When this skill is actively triggered while the user is in stealth, physical and magical attack increases by 600%, and agility scales by 500%. When both daggers strike the same target simultaneously, they inflict a bleeding effect that instantly drains 50% of the User’s health pool directly from the Target’s total vitality reserves over a ten-second duration.}

?’Fifty percent of my current health pool translates to an absolute mountain of damage that no human can possibly endure... Ten seconds? A monster like that couldn’t even survive two seconds under that kind of numbers.’

?VOOOOM!!

?Asher suddenly halted his stride, casting his golden gaze toward the Blood Guild’s destroyed outer gate as a convoy of luxury vehicles screeched to a halt. The heavy doors swung wide open, and four high-ranking individuals—three men and a woman—poured out, frantically sprinting forward before dropping heavily to their knees in the dirt right before him:

?"Please, we beg of you—have mercy on our lives!!"

?"We... We were out of our minds! We should never have had the audacity to try and block your path on the way!!"

?"We were completely blind, arrogant, and foolish!! We don’t blame anyone else for this disaster, but ourselves... Please, forgive us, Senior!"

?"Yes, revered Senior! We will swear absolute fealty and execute any command you issue, just please spare our lives and the lives of our remaining subordinates."

?Asher swept his calm gaze over the four kneeling figures. Even without opening the system screen, he could instantly perceive the dense, suffocating spiritual pressure radiating from them: all four were seasoned SSS-Rank Awakened, clearly operating as the underbosses and faction lords controlling the various areas of No Man’s Land.

?Executing them outright wouldn’t yield any tangible gain, but forcibly bringing them under his control would instantly position him as the undisputed, hidden sovereign ruler of the entire territory. He raised his hand forward deliberately:

?Marianne revealed this, so taking these powerful pawns into his network would be a solid logistical play.

?Four glowing, blood-inked Contract Scrolls materialized instantly out of thin air, floating gently through the breeze to hover directly before the four kneeling leaders:

?"Become my loyal dogs, and I will graciously grant you your lives." Asher stated coldly.

?The four underworld bosses blinked in unison, momentarily stunned into silence. Begging for mercy was one thing, but voluntarily selling their freedom to become another man’s literal slave? Who possessed the stomach to swallow such humiliation?

?"I am truly sorry, but that is a line I simply cannot cross." A middle-aged man slowly stood up from the dirt, staring up at Asher with undisguised, boiling killing intent. 𝔣𝖗ⅇℯ

?"I already humbled myself and begged for my life, but if you demand total subjugation, there is no further point in this conversation." He stated firmly, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists.

?"That’s right—we won’t surrender our hard-earned freedom just because you possess overwhelming strength!" The second man rose to his feet beside him, his voice rising in defiant anger:

?"I don’t give a damn how terrifying your combat stats are; we are both certified SSS-Rank overlords of this district. We will never lower our heads to become anyone’s obedient dogs!!" the man roared.

?’Huh? Marianne operates as the Guild Leader of a top-tier guild, boasting combat power ten times more formidable than both of these clowns combined, yet she knelt and eagerly begged for the chance to sign these contract... Why on earth did I even bother trying to recruit these two ungrateful fools?’ Asher thought, letting out an internal sigh as he flicked his gaze away from the rebels, glancing down at the trembling woman still kneeling with her head pressed to the dirt, and finally at the third man who remained respectfully silent upon his knees.

?"What is your final choice then? If you refuse to sign the blood oath right here and now, I will execute you on the spot," Asher warned, his golden eyes locking onto the two defiant bosses.

?"Hmph! Not after we turn you into a corpse first!!"

?The two furious men detonated their spiritual auras simultaneously. A violent shockwave of compressed energy rippled outward in all directions, blowing away loose rubble, dust, and gravel across the ruined courtyard.

?"That’s it! Our bosses are fighting back!"

?"Tear that arrogant bastard apart and show him who truly rules No Man’s Land!!"

The members screamed excitedly from the gates.

?"DIE IN AGONY, YOU BASTARD!!!"

?The two SSS-Rank lords lunged forward with blinding speed, materializing directly in front of Asher and unleashing twin, full-power punches aimed squarely at his face:

?BAM!!!

?{Soul Defense — Automatically Activated.}

?"Huh?"

?The next instant, the defensive script triggered: the impact of their incoming assault was instantly absorbed, multiplied by a terrifying 500%, and violently rebounded outward like a compressed spring.

?BOOOOM!!!

?Both men were blasted backward through the air like discarded dolls, crashing heavily onto the cobblestone pavement and vomiting vast fountains of dark blood as their sternums and internal ribs collapsed inward.

?".....?!"

?SILENCE...

?The entire ruined compound grew so dead silent that the sound of falling dust could be heard echoing clearly across the square.

?What the actual hell just happened?!

?They hadn’t even managed to close within three meters of their target before being instantly annihilated by their own energy.

?"Wait... What just hit us?"

?"Weren’t we just in the middle of executing that young man...?"

?The two lords blinked in sluggish confusion, watching as the Twin Daggers suddenly materialized directly floating above their heads, spinning once before plunging downward with merciless precision to pierce straight through their skulls, ending their lives instantly.

?".....?!"

?The surrounding crowd froze in absolute, terror-stricken silence as the daggers effortlessly slid out from the dead men’s brains and vanished back into spatial storage.

?Asher slowly lowered his cold gaze down toward the two surviving underbosses who were still kneeling respectfully on the ground.

?"What about the two of you?"

?"Yes! Right away, Master!!"

?The surviving man and woman frantically nodded their heads, biting their fingers to draw fresh blood and hurriedly stamping their seals onto the floating contracts, permanently binding their souls to his command.

?"Master, before we formalize our duties, there is a critical intelligence report I must share." The surviving male boss began, looking up cautiously from the dirt:

?"Those two fools who just died, along with the entire leadership of the Blood Guild, were actually operating as puppets under the direct thumb of one of the true Lords of the upper underground forces."

?"And what about you two?" Asher asked, raising an eyebrow.

?"Our factions have always remained strictly independent, operating as common scavengers and merchants who simply managed to seize minor territorial opportunities over the years." the woman quickly answered, eager to prove her loyalty.

?Asher nodded slowly, stepping past them toward the street: "Starting from this exact moment, the two of you hold absolute, undisputed control over the entirety of No Man’s Land. Furthermore, you will immediately shut down and permanently ban all illegal human trafficking, narcotics, and forced child exploitation networks across this territory. You now officially work directly under my banner, and I will personally oversee your funding and pay."

?"Funding...?"

"Pay from a Master?"

The two former underworld Bosses stared after him, completely stunned into paralyzed disbelief.