Free Web NovelChapter 304: Chapter 40: Garuda Cried, and You?
This made it all the more desperate to hurry and absorb nature’s spiritual energy to recover its Spiritual Power. Otherwise, facing such a terrifying opponent, it probably wouldn’t even be able to escape.
And how could Su Zhou give his opponent time to rest? He naturally intended to strike while it was down and finish it off. He gripped his Long Spear, his steel-like muscles contracting as he gathered a furious power. Then, Thunder Light erupted beneath his feet. After an incredibly swift Thunder Shock Step, Su Zhou crossed a hundred meters in an instant amidst the trembling earth, thrusting his spear straight for the Garuda’s head!
It was the simplest, most unadorned straight thrust—incredibly swift and immensely powerful. Even the Garuda found it difficult to dodge. It could only force its beak open, attempting an avian version of catching a blade between one’s teeth.
But it had made a strategic error, after all. Too much of its Spiritual Power had been drained by Su Zhou, and its reaction time was far from its peak. Su Zhou slightly altered the path of his spear and bypassed its beak.
However, Su Zhou seized the opportunity, using his spear like a club. He changed his thrust into a downward smash, not intending to pierce its eye and go straight for the brain, but simply to knock the Garuda to the ground.
He didn’t actually intend to kill it. After all, even though they had fought for so long, the Garuda hadn’t managed to do anything to him. And frankly, the Garuda hadn’t done anything wrong. According to the judgment of his Evil-Devouring Demon Lord’s Divine Techniques, his opponent wasn’t some supremely evil creature. At worst, it was on the same level as someone who doesn’t wash their dishes after a meal.
’I can’t just eat an intelligent creature because it’s supposedly delicious, can I?’ Although Su Zhou was a Demon Lord, he wasn’t *that* depraved.
Most importantly, the Garuda currently held authority over the Kunlun Secret Realm. It was better to capture it alive than to kill it and then go fumbling around in a central control hub whose location he didn’t even know.
BOOM! Su Zhou’s heavy spear came crashing down, condensing an immense amount of Spiritual Power. Though it looked like a simple strike, in his spiritual vision, it was a malformed sledgehammer of Spiritual Qi, or perhaps a colossal barbell. It smashed down hard on the head of the despairing Garuda, kicking up a thunderous gale that smelled of ozone. The resulting shockwave blew away soil and mist, causing the very air to shudder.
The moment Su Zhou’s spear struck the Golden-winged Bird’s head, its Demon Body was grievously injured. It dissolved into light and vanished—and in its place, a blonde girl reappeared. Her head wound was still fresh, and she lay limply on the ground, dizzy and stunned.
This was the practical advantage of the Transformation Technique. It was like cultivating an External Incarnation; if one body was grievously injured, it could be recalled to recuperate while the other was used for fighting and moving about. It was essentially like having two lives.
As the Garuda saw Su Zhou approaching her, his face radiating Evil Qi and murderous intent, his Long Spear in hand, despair and the fear of death flooded her heart. After all, she had only been alive for sixteen years. Even with the memories, combat experience, wisdom, and knowledge inherited from her bloodline, she had not yet fully integrated them and made them her own.
Besides, what if she had fully integrated them? Facing a freak of nature of the highest order like Su Zhou, even a true Golden-winged Roc would probably never guess that he had fought this entire time without even using his most fundamental abilities: his Fire Element Enhancement Spiritual Power to strengthen his body, and his Evil-Devouring Demon Lord’s Divine Techniques.
In other words, Su Zhou was essentially like a Mage who forgoes Magic to pick up a Great Sword and fight in melee... no, that’s backward. He was a perfectly good Warrior who, instead of engaging in close combat, was messing around with his Thunder Technique. And he was having a grand time, putting on quite a show against the Golden-winged Bird.
"So, what should I do with you? Steam you? Boil you? Or maybe roast you?" While casually spouting intimidating trash talk, Su Zhou had actually already decided what to do with the Garuda. First, he would force her to reveal the location of the Kunlun Secret Realm’s control center. Then, he would demand she hand over her authority. If she complied, he would of course spare her. After all, a living Golden-winged Roc was probably worth no less than the legacies of seven or eight Demon Gods.
"Sob... please, don’t kill me..."
But hearing Su Zhou’s greedy tone, which sounded so convincingly real, the powerless Garuda, sprawled on the ground, was genuinely terrified. She had no strength left to resist. Facing the man standing before her with an unreadable half-smile, she had no idea what he was thinking, but she was pretty sure it involved how best to cook her. Panicked and at a loss, tears streamed down her face. "If you’re going to kill me, just do it quickly! And don’t add any peppers... they hurt..."
"Damn it, Su Zhou, are you really going to threaten and abuse a little girl?" Seeing the Garuda actually start to cry, Yara put on an act in his mind, full of bravado. It jeered at Su Zhou, but its words were anything but normal. "What are you standing around for? Give her more! Hit her! Keep hitting her until she cries for her mommy—make her eat a snake!" freewёbnoνel.com
’If I hit her just because you told me to, wouldn’t that make me lose face? And Yara, have you no shame? She’s probably never even eaten a snake in her life!’
The contrarian Su Zhou clicked his tongue in his mind, then said magnanimously to the Garuda on the ground, "Forget it. Consider your life spared, Golden-winged Bird."
Of course, he didn’t let her get up. He kept his spear pointed at her heart. Su Zhou’s tone might have been friendly, but his question was sharp and to the point. "So, how about it? Are you willing to hand over your authority now?"
