Cosmo fell silent, deep in thought.
If he accepted, his freedom would certainly vanish. But if he refused, his family would suffer.
Even though he was an arrogant noble who looked down on those beneath his status, he still had a heart.
It was just for those equal to him—his family.
After careful consideration, he nodded and reassured himself.
"Alright, I'll accept. But I have conditions."
"No revealing secrets, right? I know. But I'm sure the slavery we're talking about isn't just bound by words."
"I know," Cosmo said, though he didn't really know what would come next.
Amon grabbed the iron sword beside him and sliced his own palm. The blood that poured out was then dripped onto Cosmo.
Though Amon had been lazy in the past few weeks, he had taken some time to perfect the Red Parasite Technique.
Now, this technique could manipulate humans.
"What is this? A spell?"
"No, it's a technique. Keep it secret."
Cosmo was confused. If it were a spell, he wouldn't be surprised, since there were indeed spells to enslave people. But this was the first time he had seen a technique used for slavery.
Amon's blood seeped into Cosmo's body without the skin acting as a barrier.
In just seconds, the blood reached his brain.
Amon then tried to control Cosmo.
As he willed, Cosmo's arms raised up.
"What?!" Cosmo was shocked to see his arms moving on their own.
"Besides controlling your body, I can also brainwash you. But that's too troublesome, so I'll do it later. For now, this is enough."
Cosmo felt sad and gloomy hearing that. Becoming a slave, from once being a noble, was something he had never imagined. But this was the decision he made, so he simply shook his head in resignation.
"First, as my slave, tell me why you attacked me? Did I ever provoke you?"
"No. Actually, I made a deal with Theodore Hampton. If I succeeded in killing you, he would help me expand my territory."
"Theodore… Theodore… Theodore…" Amon murmured the name repeatedly as he searched his memory. "Who is Theodore?"
"Theodore Hampton is a Duke. He managed to reach that rank at a relatively young age. You could say, he's a genius. He wants you dead because you're seen as an obstacle to gaining the favor of Her Highness, the princess."
"Oh, I remember. The mosquito Ariel mentioned."
Theodore was just an extra character in the novel. Amon didn't even consider him significant enough to occupy his memory.
How could such an insignificant character cause him so much trouble?
"Now go. I want to sleep again."
"Alright."
The Martial Swallowing Technique was useful for turning a martial artist's body into a sphere before swallowing it whole.
After that, Amon had two choices:
First, to obtain the techniques that the martial artist possessed.
Or second, to use them as resources for cultivation.
Amon turned all the warriors he killed into black spheres before swallowing them, then remarked, "Disgusting. It tastes like burnt meat with the texture of stone."
He chose the second option.
All of these warriors were weak martial artists. They probably didn't possess techniques worth his attention.
However, with their large numbers, they could still speed up Amon's cultivation progress.
A spiritual object appeared in Amon's chest—a core. It was black and extremely dark, like a black hole.
The appearance of this core indicated that Amon had reached the first level.
His aura increased significantly. It had once been transparent, but now it was black and menacing. Amon was sure that as his level continued to rise, he would look like a demon king.
Not only had his aura changed, but his muscles were also perfectly toned, though not overly large, maintaining a slim physique.
Amon patted his stomach. He used to have a bulging belly, but now he had a six-pack. He nodded in satisfaction.
But then he suddenly felt discomfort in his groin area. It felt tight.
He opened his pants and was shocked.
"My manhood has grown larger!"
As someone who had studied science, he knew that such an organ shouldn't grow larger. Its size was only influenced by genetics.
He never thought martial cultivation could enlarge his manhood.
"Such a vulgar thing was never mentioned in the novel."
Whatever the case, Amon was still pleased.
He immediately imagined the moment when his enlarged weapon would pierce Ariel's hole and make her scream in pleasure.
'Hehehe, I'll try it out sometime.'
Amon then went to find a suitable place before summoning his mansion again.
As he walked into his room, he reflected on what had just happened.
"The Red Parasite Technique is quite troublesome. I have to injure myself to use it."
Amon didn't mind the pain, as he had developed a high tolerance due to once suffering from bone cancer.
But it would be better if the blood could come out on its own without having to hurt himself.
"I might have a technique for that."
When creating the Red Parasite Technique, he had studied many techniques from the Lucerion Clan's library, using them as material or reference.
Miracle Cube's archive now held a large number of techniques.
But he didn't want to cultivate such techniques.
"There's no way I'm cutting my finger again just for a technique to make blood flow from my body. At least, the blood should be able to turn into a sword or another weapon to look cooler."
Another problem emerged.
Blood is a liquid, and Amon didn't have a technique to make it solid.
He also couldn't create an entirely new technique. His experience was too limited.
There had to be an existing technique similar to what he needed. Just like when he created the Flash Dance Technique, he combined two different techniques.
"I remember," an old memory flashed in his mind. "Steel Saint could harden his body, right?"
Around sixty percent of an adult human's body weight consists of fluids. Blood is part of that.
If Steel Saint's technique could harden the body, then it should also be able to harden blood.
"I need to find Steel Saint's legacy."
But after that, Amon entered his room and fell asleep.
Not far from Amon's location, a young man accompanied by three beautiful girls walked closer.
He was tall and slender, with slightly tanned white skin and bright blonde hair. Although he wore simple clothes, his handsomeness surpassed that of any prince.
But the most striking feature was his dragon-like eyes. He had vertical pupils with blue irises.
His smile radiated warmth, truly reflecting his kind heart. Every woman might be drawn to him because of that smile.
In his hand, he held a white spear with a golden aura, as if it were a divine weapon forged by the gods—Holy Spear.
This man was none other than Liam.
"Liam, look ahead. There's a luxurious mansion over there."
"Suspicious. Who lives in a forest like this?"
"Maybe it's a vampire's home. Let's attack."
"Huh!" Liam was a little surprised by what the three girls were talking about. "What are you thinking? It's rude to enter someone's house without permission."
"Come on, it might be an evil vampire who eats the locals."
"The inhabitants aren't necessarily vampires."
"This is for justice."
"No, this is for your fun."
"Let's ambush that vampire."
The three girls ran toward Amon's mansion, leaving Liam dumbfounded.
"Oh my gosh."
Liam had no choice but to follow them.