Chapter 977: Subdue
Garl immediately felt like his soul had been dropped into a wok of hot oil as it was overwhelmed with an excruciating and unbearable burning pain.
That was actually just the pure purification of the Holy Light. If not for the fact that Garl’s soul wasn’t very strong, Lin Li wouldn’t mind letting him experience the feeling of his soul getting burned by the Celestial Purification Fire, like what he had done to the Fire Demon King in the past. Of course, compared to the Celestial Purification Fire, the purification power of Holy Light was actually not weak. It just was not as explosive.
Garl was still waiting for Lin Li to name his conditions so that he could bargain with him, but to his surprise, Lin Li was more tyrannical than he had imagined. Lin Li did not plan to negotiate at all. However, at this moment, Garl was suffering from the endless pain in his soul that was being tormented by the purification power, and he wanted to ask Lin Li stop, but it was too late.
Although Archbishop Martin and the others behind Lin Li didn’t know exactly what Lin Li intended to do and what he had done to the ugly thing, they were also greatly shocked by the sudden shriek that came from the soul. Even though they saw that the ugly thing was still standing properly under the Light and Darkness Sword, they all knew that it was suffering from unimaginable pain and torment.
After only a few seconds, Lin Li withdrew the purification power, but to Garl, those several seconds felt as long as hundreds of years. As the powerful Lord Devourer, Garl had never been through such torment before. This time, it was definitely a memorable experience.
“Can you tell me your choice now?”
Lin Li’s words once again appeared in Garl’s mind. Although Lin Li’s tone was calm, Garl nonetheless shuddered involuntarily as he recalled the excruciating pain in his soul just now. Lin Li was truly the demon of demons.
However, was he really going to be a slave to a human? He thought about the freedom and the lofty feeling he enjoyed as a Lord Devourer on the one hand, and the lowliness he would be reduced to after becoming a slave and having his life and freedom mastered by others on the other. Although Garl did not want to experience the pain he had just felt again, the huge difference between a Lord Devourer and a slave of a human still made him very hesitant.
“It seems like you haven’t recognized the situation that you’re in yet.” Lin Li did not have that much patience to waste on Garl. Seeing that Garl did not give him an answer immediately, he mobilized his mental strength again, and infused the purification power into Garl’s body.
In fact, Garl was just about to open his mouth to discuss the terms of submission to ask for better treatment from Lin Li, but to his surprise, Lin Li was actually so impatient. In the end, because of his hesitation, his soul was in flames again, and due to the fact that he took a breather in between, the agony and pain became even more intense.
However, at this point, there was no longer any point in regretting. Amidst the burning pain in his soul, Garl could not spare a single bit of his mental strength to convey his intentions to Lin Li. The pain lasted for a few more seconds. Some kinds of pain would make one turn numb after some time, but the pain of the soul was something that could be felt clearly all the time.
After a few seconds, Lin Li finally stopped, and did not ask Garl any more questions. He simply looked at Garl coldly. Actually, Lin Li had already sensed from the fluctuation in Garl’s soul just now that the latter was giving in, but he did not give Garl the chance to speak at all, because he was very sure that he could not be kind at all when dealing with demons like the Lord Devourer. If he wanted to deal with it, he had to make sure that the demon was completely subdued, otherwise the demon would still not be serious about working for him even if he was subdued.
This time, Lin Li didn’t ask any questions, but Garl did not dare to delay anymore. He quickly told Lin Li using his mental strength, “Wait, human mage, can we talk things over calmly?”
“Talk? What right do you have to talk to me? Don’t forget, you are now my prisoner.” Lin Li had taught Garl a memorable lesson through the power of purification, but he knew that he could not use that method too much. Even though Garl was the Lord Devourer, his soul was nowhere near the original Fire Demon King’s soul in strength. If he were to do it a few more times, then even if he didn’t completely purify his soul, he would drive Garl crazy. That was not what Lin Li wanted.
“Yes, I am your prisoner and my life is in your hands. However, instead of killing me, you want me to submit to you. You should be a little interested in my abilities.” While saying that, Garl carefully checked Lin Li’s expression, and when he said those words, Lin Li’s brows moved a little. He quickly changed his tone, and said, “Wait, I can submit to you, but I want the contract between us to be beneficial to both of us. If you must make me your slave, then I’d rather be tortured to the point where my soul dissipates than give in.”
After all, Garl had once been the Lord Devourer, and making him submit was akin to making an emperor in a human kingdom become a slave to someone else all of a sudden. It was indeed something that was more painful than death. Hence, despite having been tortured twice, Garl still raised such a request.
Of course, Garl did not want to experience the pain of having his soul purified again, but if he, the hallowed Lord Devourer, had to become a slave, it would be a torture worse than death. Besides, Garl knew very well that since Lin Li did not kill him immediately, it meant that he was still of some value to the latter. Hence, the torture was just a form of coercion, and he believed that Lin Li would not want to torture himself until his soul dissipated.
Of course, Garl knew that Lin Li definitely had a bottom line. As long as he did not cross it, things would still be negotiable, but if he did, death would probably be inevitable. Submitting was undoubtedly the bottom line, but there seemed to be room for negotiation regarding the terms of his surrender.
There was a hierarchy among subordinates too. For example, among the group of Abyssal Demons under Garl, some were only meant for being cannon fodder and food, while others could get some degree of power and status.
“You want me to submit to you because of your following exploration, right? I can agree to submit to you, but I also want you to promise to give me back my freedom after you leave this place.” Garl stated the conditions that he had thought through thoroughly. In his opinion, that was the most suitable. He felt that Lin Li clearly wanted him to submit because of the exploration of the palace. Once that was over, they would naturally go their separate ways.
However, how could Lin Li let go of a slave with such a special ability? Garl’s devouring force was not only useful for this place. In the future, Lin Li would be going to seal the spacetime rift which would inevitably involve battles with strong enemies. If he could have a combat force like the Lord Devourer, it would definitely save him plenty of effort.
Moreover, Garl, who had lost his host, was currently not able to play much of a role in the Well of the Sun at all, and it would not be in Lin Li’s interest at all to restore his freedom after leaving. Hence, Lin Li decided to make Garl his servant forever, like Ujfalusi and Norfeller.
However, Lin Li could also see that despite the memorable torture he had just subjected Garl to, it was clearly not an easy task to get the other party to submit and agree to be a servant forever. It was also an issue of the bottom line. No matter how greedy one might be, there would always be a bottom line, or a measure of value between life and death.
“Garl, how can you benefit the exploration of this place? Besides, even if I let you go, I’m afraid all those demons that used to have scruples about your power and abilities would probably come to kill you as soon as they can. It may be great to have freedom, but you can only enjoy freedom if you live on forever.” The mental strength of a third person suddenly joined the conversation between Lin Li and Garl.
“Who is it!?” Garl suddenly realized that someone else in the human team recognized him after being called out by his name.
“I just changed my body, and you don’t recognize me?” It turned out that it was Connoris who had spoken.
As a former ancient demon deity and a Demon Lord who mastered conspiracy and deception, Connoris had dealt with Demon Lords at all levels of the Abyss during the millions of years he had lived in the Endless Abyss, and although he couldn’t say that they were all close to him, he was at least familiar with them.
Hence, Garl quickly recognized Connoris through the mental strength fluctuations, which surprised him. Although Garl did not know Connoris’ identity of an ancient demon deity, he knew that Connoris had always been a sly and scheming existence that had never taken enough advantage in the Endless Abyss. All of the Demon Lords Connoris had dealt with had suffered great losses. Now that such an existence had appeared in the human team, Garl was truly shocked as it was beyond his imagination.
“Connoris, why are you here? Did you lie and coax these humans to come here?” After recognizing Connoris, Garl subconsciously asked about this based on his knowledge of the past. That was also enough to reflect how infamous Connoris was in the Endless Abyss.
“No, I’m just following my master, who is here to explore.” Connoris usually would not address Lin Li as his master, and although they had a contract between them, it was different from a slave-like contract. However, Connoris knew that Lin Li wanted to subdue Garl, so he specifically highlighted his master-servant relationship with Lin Li this time to display it to Garl.
Garl was in greater disbelief after hearing Connoris’ words. He could not believe that a cunning and malicious existence like Connoris would actually acknowledge a human as his master.
Connoris naturally knew what Garl would think after hearing this, so he continued, “There’s nothing to be surprised about, Master Felic is not an ordinary human. Look at me now, this body of mine is the perfect body that the High Elven Highlord Osric had specially prepared for himself. If I had not acknowledged my master and followed him, I wouldn’t have gotten it.”
Osric had once led his Magic Legion from the first level of the abyss all the way to the deepest depths, killing countless Demon Lords. To the demons of the Endless Abyss, he was just like their nightmare. Hence, in the Endless Abyss, Osric was a terrifying legend that was even more famous than the legendary ancient demons who created the Endless Abyss.
The perfect body that Osric had created for himself? Garl’s beady eyes immediately glistened with thirst when he heard Connoris’ words.
Although Connoris had a bad reputation for being scheming and sly, there were still many who often got tricked by him because Connoris’ lies were never purely lies. In fact, what he said was more true than anything else, but if one were to do as he said, they would inevitably fall into his trap.
The most terrifying lies were partial truths that were 1% lie and 99% truth. It could be said that on the one hand, Connoris was a liar, and on the other, he was extremely credible. That was a well-known fact to almost every demon in the Endless Abyss.
Hence, despite finding Connoris’ words to be unimaginable, Garl did not suspect it at all. Besides, he could also feel that Connoris’ body contained a very terrifying and destructive force.
“Is this the reason that you’re willing to lose your freedom and become a servant of a human?” Garl had a very strong desire for a powerful body as well, but there seemed to be some hesitation in giving up his freedom for it.
“What’s wrong with that? My master may be a human, but he has even more potential than Osric, and might be able to reach the heights of the Immortal King in the future. What’s wrong with submitting to a master like him?” Connoris boasted on Lin Li’s behalf without feeling ashamed at all. Of course, it was not actually boasting, even though it might sound so to others.
Garl was still not too trusting of Connoris’ words. “I admit, he is indeed powerful, but saying that he is comparable to Osric or the Immortal King is a stretch. You’re bragging too much, aren’t you?”
“What do you know? My master may be human, but he managed to step into the Sanctuary-realm in his early twenties. Is this something Osric can compare to? I’m afraid even the Immortal King might not have been able to achieve this.” Since Connoris had mentioned Lin Li and his master-servant relationship, he had to put Lin Li on a pedestal. Otherwise, he would seem too embarrassing.
“What!?”
Although he had already seen that Lin Li had a young face, Garl also knew that it was actually very easy for a Sanctuary powerhouse to change his appearance. However, most Sanctuary powerhouses generally wouldn’t care about such things.