Chapter 80 - 28: [Sittika’s Hunter and the Red-Brown Sage]

Chapter 80: Chapter 28: [Sittika’s Hunter and the Red-Brown Sage]

"The principle of Demonization is to extract the Spiritual Energy form from a living Magical Beast and infuse it into a human body," the Demon Crow on Valak’s shoulder cackled loudly. "Spiritual Energy is a miraculous substance capable of storing and memorizing forms. Therefore, when a Magical Beast’s Spiritual Energy is extracted in a special manner, it records the beast’s traits and form much like a painted scroll. I call this a ’Spiritual Record’."

Valak mused thoughtfully, "However, the Spiritual Energy within ordinary humans is very thin, making it difficult to form a complete human-form Spiritual Record. But... Advanced Adventurers of the seventh tier and above have modified their bodies with vast amounts of Magic Potions and strengthened their physiques through various Magic Arrays. They are already brimming with abundant Spiritual Energy, enough to form a flawless Spiritual Record.

"In other words, by extracting a Spiritual Record from a living Advanced Adventurer and infusing it into the body of a Magical Beast, one can create a powerful, intelligent humanoid servant.

"I suspect that the Burrowers were created by the deities of the Age of Gods using human-form Spiritual Records infused into ordinary subterranean worms. This resulted in a servant race used for mining and construction during the Age of Gods." Valak waved his hands excitedly at the darkness like a proud conductor.

"After expending so much effort, spending so much time, and putting on an act for so long, I’ve finally captured a batch of living Advanced Adventurers of the seventh tier and above. It makes sacrificing such a massive ecological zone in the third ring worth it—oh well, I’ll just rebuild it later."

WHOOSH! Pale demonic torches ignited in the darkness, illuminating a magnificent Magic Array in the massive underground space ahead.

"The Ederic Empire can already mass-produce precious Blood Steel Weapons. They want to forge a Blood Army, a Longevity Army capable of plundering life. By utilizing massive amounts of Blood Steel Weapons and the power of elite soldiers trained by the alliance, they intend to reclaim the ancient empire’s territories, enslave the Demon Race, invade other kingdoms, and ultimately conquer the entire continent."

Pacing around the room with his hands behind his back to inspect the state of the Magic Array before him, Valak continued, "To face such a threat, I’m afraid I can no longer afford to be lazy. I must create a force capable of rivaling the Blood Longevity Army—I will forge a Nightmare Legion! I will create a terrifying race born from humanity’s darkest nightmares, just like the ancient deities did!"

He removed the Feather-crowned Demon Crow from his shoulder and gently placed it on a node of the Magic Array.

"My biological compatibility with Demon Crows is exceptionally high... I can easily command Demon Crows far beyond the typical range of a Dominator. They are like my hands, my eyes, my claws, and my wings," he said with a sinister smile. "What could possibly be more suitable as the foundation of my legion than the Demon Crows?"

"Stay still, my precious," he chuckled softly. "You will become the first Crowman in the world. I have already built the aviaries for the Crowman legion, and you shall be their leader. You will slaughter for me, plunder for me, conquer for me, and dominate the skies for me, utterly crushing the empire’s Blood Longevity Army!"

"The deities have departed, and the ancient Demon Race are the new gods!" Spreading his arms wide, he grabbed a chain and gave it a vicious whip. With a loud CLANG of rattling iron, he hurled Augusta into a recessed node on the opposite side of the Magic Array with terrifying force!

"I have constantly been wondering exactly how this kind of energy source should be used," Valak said, taking a bright Ethereal Crystal from his robes. "My years of researching the Divine Era Ruins have finally not been in vain. I have replicated a Magic Array from the ruins used to manufacture artificial Intelligent Races. Now, all I need is a suitable energy source—"

He reluctantly caressed his one and only Ethereal Crystal before pressing it into the center of the Magic Array!

WHOOSH! A blinding radiance suddenly flashed! Augusta’s mangled body was instantly torn apart by the light. Several scattered, glowing fragments were sucked into the Magic Array’s intricate lines. They spiraled around once before being infused into the body of the Feather-crowned Demon Crow!

The Burrower jailers at the door shrieked and immediately prostrated themselves on the ground. They buried their massive, pale heads and beady eyes into the corners of the walls, curling up and exposing only their armor-clad rear ends.

Amidst Valak’s maniacal laughter, the brilliant light gradually dissipated. In the exact spot where the Demon Crow had been, a bizarre humanoid creature now stood.

Cloaked in stiff, rigid black feathers, the half-human, half-crow creature limped forward. It dragged its steel-like claws and hung its sharp beak low before slowly opening its blood-red eyes.

"Gah... ah, rah, waah." Babbling like a newborn infant, it slowly bent its body and knelt prostrate before Valak.

"Master..." it cawed, clumsily mimicking the way the two Demonized individuals had previously addressed Valak. "In... In audience with the Lord of Kana... the Red-Brown Sage... the King of Blood-rusted Crows."