"Although Fin Spirit and the Little Prince did not use Undead Magic, their use of magic tools and Magic Scrolls still provides formidable offensive power."
"Ku Feng’s influence isn’t significant either. He already has some disguise ability, and no one discovered his true identity on Twin Eyes Island. The combat skill he uses for disguise also has nothing to do with Undead Fighting Energy."
The Dragon-man youth assessed the captives’ performance on the battlefield through a Magic Image.
Honestly, using Undead Transcendents carries significant risk. Once exposed, the reputation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would be tarnished. As the leader of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, the Dragon-man youth would naturally also suffer a significant loss of reputation and face widespread doubt.
Therefore, each of them was blessed with multiple layers of divine deception arts.
During the spellcasting, the Dragon-man youth even transformed into Fishman Form and simultaneously used the Divine Artifact "Mermaid’s Fairy Tale."
"The False Memory makes these captives one hundred percent loyal to me."
"However, it also affects their performance."
The Dragon-man youth observed carefully and drew some conclusions.
This first real battle test with the captives offered significant observation and research value.
Memory modification can negate much individual talent, affecting the display of their abilities.
Since talent and ability are often accumulated through past experiences and learning, any memory modification would destroy these experiences to some extent.
"At this stage, the damage caused by memory alteration could make a talented person simply average."
"This also starts my work on this. Maybe with experience enrichment and skill improvement, we’ll see a qualitative leap in the future?"
"Currently, the fiction and modification of memory are still crude. I can’t even let these captives remain awake for too long to prevent them from overthinking and discovering the contradictions and flaws in the False Memory."
"The main direction moving forward is to forge the False Memory to be more logical, reduce flaws, and make it more refined."
The Dragon-man youth pondered while observing the battle.
"But the cost of advancing the refinement technology of such memories is enormous."
"Maybe there’s a breakthrough on Cang Xu’s side? The Undead Orthodoxy has been immersed in it for a long time. They very likely have more advanced alchemy techniques. If they do and we can acquire them, it would significantly save our research costs."
"But what should I do if the Undead Orthodoxy doesn’t have them, or Cang Xu can’t get them?"
The Dragon-man youth pondered further: "Is there a simpler and more cost-effective way to progress technically?"
Suddenly, a spark flashed in his mind, and he thought of an answer: "Wait, isn’t the way deities nurture believers like this?"
Compared to the Dragon-man youth directly fabricating memories, deities nurturing believers is like casting a wide net, subtly influencing. The talents they cultivate ultimately are fully devoted, not merely loyal but often having been fully tempered in institutions like churches, possessing extraordinary abilities.
In an instant, the Dragon-man youth gained a new understanding of the existence of deities and sects.
"Die now!" Tan Mo charged furiously left and right, suddenly leaped up, and landed in front of the Little Prince.
With a single swing of his saber, he executed a combat skill, cleaving the Little Prince’s neck into two.
The Little Prince’s head and body fell from the air into the sea, resulting in an "immediate death."
Soon after, Ku Feng, who had fought his way onto the deck, was also slain by Tan Mo.
The Dragon-man youth still did not make a move.
Although it appeared that they had died, neither suffered a fatal injury.
Their "realistic" deaths were one part due to the deception of divine arts, and also because Ku Feng and the Little Prince themselves believed they were dead! This was similar to when they were previously captured, and the Fishman youth deceitfully made them think they were already dead.
"It’s a pity Ba Qi didn’t fall into my hands..." The Dragon-man youth looked indifferent, his gaze showing slight regret.
This Golden Level pirate was well-known, with strong fighting power.
The Undead Master, during a break in stealing the Death Divinity, persuaded him and successfully converted him into an Undead Life.
The biggest risk with Ba Qi was that he was gravely ill and wouldn’t live long.
Due to this, he was targeted by Qian Xing—knowing that even if Ba Qi was subdued, and died soon after, Qian Xing could easily take over Ba Qi’s pirate group.
Ba Qi knew he wouldn’t live long, so his resolve was flexible. Seeing the Undead Master come to persuade him, he didn’t think long and agreed.
Ba Qi’s life goal was to spread the Air Pressure Fighting Technique, and becoming an Undead Life was in some ways even more conducive to achieving this life goal.
After transforming Ba Qi, the Undead Master released him.
Zhou Zhang didn’t further trouble Ba Qi, mainly out of respect for the Undead Master.
The development of this matter quite matched the future divination Dahan had conducted using Time Divine Arts before.
"Should I make a move?" Hun Tong, seeing Tan Mo slay two Silver Levels consecutively, couldn’t help but actively ask to fight.
The Fishman youth’s lazy gaze slightly focused.
He glanced at Hun Tong and saw the bewilderment in Hun Tong’s expression.
Apparently, Hun Tong couldn’t understand why Long Fu watched his subordinates fall and never took action!
Simultaneously, the Fishman youth also sensed Hun Tong’s inner anger.
Hun Tong harbored deep hatred for Tan Mo!
He had witnessed Tan Mo’s scheme against him throughout the entire process on the ship.
The current situation was surely a good opportunity for vengeance, right?
The Dragon-man youth slightly shook his head: "I have arrangements for this battlefield. You go to the Mage Tower. That’s the real key to this battle!"
Hun Tong’s heart tightened, immediately realizing that the Dragon-man youth intended to target not only Tan Mo, who was posing as a pirate.
"But is this really okay?"
"At least on the surface, isn’t the City Lord of Snowbird Port an ally of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps?"
"Dealing with two Golden Levels at once, who are also key members of the empire’s spies, is it necessary?"
Hun Tong felt deep hatred toward Tan Mo, but just average toward the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
After all, the City Lord of Snowbird Port didn’t plot for his life, only intended to deal with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Moreover, the City Lord didn’t make a direct move, instead letting Tan Mo act, even having Tan Mo pose as a pirate, taking a longer path.
In this situation, the City Lord of Snowbird Port was still usable.
Being a noble of the Empire, Hun Tong also understood compromise.
From his perspective, the Dragon-man youth’s actions seemed somewhat reckless.
But he had no intention of persuasion.
Although under the control of the Dragon-man youth, his loyalty was still to the Holy Bright Empire. In his current situation, Hun Tong inclined to view it as a joke of fate.
Aside from vengeance, he wanted to find a way to express the truth to the empire’s high-level and return to his Twin Eyes Island.
That was the foundation he had struggled for his whole life!
But the Dragon-man youth didn’t fulfill his wish, instead sending him to the Mage Tower.
"Tan Mo has left the Mage Tower, the City Lord of Snowbird Port hasn’t appeared, the Mage Tower is temporarily closed, and it’s in its most defenseless state."
"Destroy the tower, do your utmost."
"If the action fails, don’t come back."
The Dragon-man youth turned his dragon eyes toward Hun Tong, his tone cold.
Hun Tong’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded: "Yes!"
He was under someone else’s control and could only act on orders.
Relying on the deceptive divine arts, combined with the Mage Tower being "controlled by pirates," Hun Tong smoothly infiltrated the tower.
"What’s going on?"
"Someone’s dead!"
"Enemy attack, there’s an enemy! Find him quickly!!"
Only after reaching the main control layer and killing one person did anyone notice something was amiss.
Just as the Dragon-man youth expected, the Mage Tower was in its most defenseless state. The navy controlling it didn’t anticipate an enemy at all.
They couldn’t see through the Deception Divine Arts and could only defend passively.
However, defending at a Silver Level against a full-force attack from a Golden-Level assassin is extremely difficult.
Moments later, aside from Hun Tong, there was no one left alive in the Mage Tower.
"Make haste! Move, move, move!!" Hun Tong rushed as if racing against time, moving like the wind from the start.
After slaughtering everyone, he began to plant alchemy bombs all around.
Because he knew that if there were any issues with the Mage Tower, the City Lord of Snowbird Port would definitely not sit idly by, unable to keep up the pretense, and would directly intervene!
The Mage Tower is the core of a place’s defense, crucially important!
"What’s happening here? Is there really an enemy taking advantage of the chaos?!" Just as Hun Tong expected, when the City Lord of Snowbird Port heard about the anomaly at the Mage Tower, his expression changed dramatically.
To swiftly massacre a group of Silver-Level navy, the enemy must at least be Golden Level!
With this realization, the City Lord of Snowbird Port leaped up as if his seat was on fire, running out of the City Lord’s Mansion.
Tan Mo’s attack on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was something he had been watching all along.
He wasn’t supposed to show up; he needed to give Tan Mo enough time for the raid.
But now, he had no choice but to appear.
"The Mage Tower is too crucial, it must not be lost!"
The City Lord of Snowbird Port wasn’t acting alone; he immediately mobilized the City Guard, most importantly, the three Magic Teams.
The Magic Teams were still gathering, and the City Lord of Snowbird Port couldn’t wait, rushing alone to the Mage Tower.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port kept leaping across the rooftops, shouting warnings in his capacity as City Lord.
His main purpose was to alert Tan Mo and others that the situation had changed, to stop pretending, and to retreat quickly!
Tan Mo was very confused; he hadn’t received any battle reports from the Mage Tower, and he glared furiously, raging internally, "What’s with this ’Turn Over’? I was about to win, just a few steps away, and now he shows up to sabotage?!"
Even more ironic was the reaction of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
"The City Lord of Snowbird Port has come to support us! He finally showed up."
"Hold on, we’re about to win."
"Leave these damned pirates here, make them pay with blood!"
The City Lord of Snowbird Port felt a bit awkward seeing that his appearance had boosted the morale of the enemy he was supposed to deal with—the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Tan Mo was also gritting his teeth.
Spurred by the City Lord of Snowbird Port, the members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps rebounded in morale, many becoming fearless and ferocious.
This made Tan Mo doubt, "Is ’Turn Over’ really my ally?"
He really wanted to keep fighting.
But at that moment, he received a battle report from the Mage Tower.
Tan Mo was so angry he wanted to roar, but logic told him he could only retreat!
If he didn’t retreat, he would have no choice but to engage in a big fight with the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
If it really came to that point, it would be too ridiculous!
Tan Mo felt enormously aggrieved but could only withdraw.
He raised his arm, shouting for retreat, and the navy’s discipline was sufficient, gritting their teeth, they organized their withdrawal with order.
"We actually failed this time!"
"But I won’t let you go, Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps!!" Tan Mo roared in his heart.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port was extremely anxious!
He exerted all his strength to rush to the Mage Tower.
But just before he could storm into the Mage Tower...
Boom!!!
The Mage Tower exploded.
The violent explosion directly blasted the Mage Tower apart, blowing the top floor completely away.
The powerful shockwave almost blew the City Lord of Snowbird Port off his feet. He dug his heels in deeply, using combat skill for defense, yet was still pushed back over ten meters by the shockwave.
When the explosion ended, the City Lord of Snowbird Port looked up and was so angry he wanted to spit blood!
The Mage Tower—was gone.
Only one floor remained, and even that was only half intact.
The Mage Tower had turned into ruins.
The severe loss made the City Lord of Snowbird Port’s vision go black.
"I... he... I..." He wanted to curse out loud but stammered.
Hun Tong had long since left, hidden in a corner.
Seeing the City Lord of Snowbird Port’s twisted expression of pain, Hun Tong couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy. He and Dao Hen had personally investigated the conspiracy between the City Lord of Snowbird Port and Tan Mo, knowing the real situation.
These two wanted to play tricks, but the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps turned their scheme back on them, resulting in the Mage Tower being directly blown to smithereens.
The loss was too severe.
Had it not been for the Mage Tower being "controlled" by the pirates and its main defensive functions turned off, how could Hun Tong have possibly had the chance to sneer into the tower, let alone destroy it?
The Mage Tower was Snowbird Port’s strongest defense, the core of its defense, yet because of a trick, it was destroyed so easily.
"I didn’t expect the power of these alchemy bombs to be so great!"
"But why didn’t Long Fu wait for the City Lord of Snowbird Port to enter the Mage Tower before detonating the bombs?"
"Isn’t he trying to deal with the City Lord of Snowbird Port?"
Hun Tong conjured more doubts in his heart.
He couldn’t understand the actions of the Dragon-man youth.
For a few seconds, the City Lord of Snowbird Port stood in place, staring fixedly at the ruins of the Mage Tower, filled with pain and anger, unmoving like a statue.
A few seconds later, he had an epiphany, suddenly turning, and looked at Tan Mo and his group.
"You, it’s you!"
"You filthy pirates dare to destroy my Mage Tower!!!"
"Die, all of you die!!"
The City Lord of Snowbird Port abandoned his usual poise and launched a ruthless attack toward the navy.
Tan Mo took a deep breath and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly retreat, I’ll hold him off."
Boom, boom, boom.
The two began to engage, the fight was fierce and vicious.
Hun Tong’s heart was moved: "Could it be that the reason Long Fu didn’t blow up the City Lord of Snowbird Port was because he wanted him to fight Tan Mo?"
"Wait a minute, directly blowing up the City Lord of Snowbird Port is probably impossible. The Mage Tower seemed so fragile because it was damaged internally, with all its defenses down."
"This Long Fu, despite his honest looks, truly is a bit... insidious."
At this moment, Hun Tong felt even more sympathy for the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
The latter knew very well that it certainly wasn’t Tan Mo who did it. But he had to keep the act going; given the current scene of the battle, these "pirates" must certainly be the culprits.
Thus, the City Lord of Snowbird Port had to make a move, with full force, using his anger to fiercely seek revenge.
This was his duty as the City Lord to defend his territory, and it was a necessary act.