CHAPTER 210: WITHERING DOMAIN

Carlos settled into the head chair:

"You ladies want something to drink?"

"Whatever’s good." X2

Both Diliyas sat across from each other at the table, tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Tea it is."

Carlos thought for a second, and tea materialized. Nearby shield guards started pouring...

....

Not far off,

One black, one red—the two veteran retainers stared straight ahead with burning eyes.

The newly hatched yellow one—what gave it the right to sip tea with their master!

"Chirp!"

"Roar!"

What kind of special treatment was this!

Damn newbie—

Master never offered us tea!

Purple Vortex and Red Spirit

Were on the same page for once.

They completely ignored their own situations:

One was missing most of his guts,

The other was just a skeleton frame with flames.

Even if Carlos offered them tea, could they actually taste it?

No... they didn’t give a damn about that.

All they saw was that

Despite all being retainers,

This rookie got the VIP treatment right off the bat.

Their jealousy was eating them alive.

"Chirp!"

"Roar!"

They had to make a move!

Purple Vortex and Red Spirit’s eyes blazed with competitive fire.

They had to win back their master’s attention!

They wanted tea too!

For tea!

Dark Purple Force Field and crimson flames joined forces in this moment.

....

Though Carlos’s main focus was on the two Diliyas,

He still kept tabs on his two retainers.

’...What are Purple Vortex and Red Spirit cooking up?’

The two veteran retainers were huddled together plotting without any fighting—way too peaceful.

This was seriously weird.

He wasn’t worried about them duking it out, but when they suddenly went quiet like this.

That meant they were scheming something.

’Because of the new retainer?’

Carlos thought back quickly and nailed it.

’Right, I haven’t had a chance to check out the new retainer’s stats yet.’

The Anomalous Soul splitting was just too damn rare,

Making Carlos momentarily forget to look.

"Come sit next to me,

Diliya."

"Huh?

Yes, sir!"

Though both Diliyas were confused, they got up and planted themselves on Carlos’s left and right.

"..."

Actually, he only wanted retainer Diliya to come over,

But... whatever, if they both came, they both came.

He’d see later if retainer Diliya would agree to changing her name.

Otherwise with both around, things would get confusing as hell.

Getting back to business,

Carlos started checking out the new retainer’s stats.

[Unnamed Retainer:

A freaky being born from the super-fusion of Tulip Shield Guard, Human Soul·Anomalous, and Withering Sin Tree Sapling, miraculously inheriting abilities from all three.]

"Withering Sin Tree Sapling?

Where the hell did this come from?"

Carlos stared at the extra fusion material in the new retainer’s info.

His mind flashed back to how during the retainer ritual, the phantom mysteriously vanished and reappeared, with blood-curdling screams coming from inside.

’Could the retainer ritual have actually gone to the deep dark mist plane and snatched it?...’

Carlos’s mind was blown. This was... absolutely insane.

The retainer ritual was hunting down materials on its own.

And it bagged a Withering Sin Tree—such a nightmare creature!

Withering Sin Trees

Only existed in the deepest, darkest parts of the mist,

After countless ages soaking up decay vibes from fallen planes, maybe born under some miracle conditions.

Born from death itself, packing the horrifying power to wither everything.

In the future,

During the final showdown between Black Sinners and humans,

There was this absolutely terrifying Withering Sin Tree.

Its sin vines blanketed the sky, slaughtering left and right, withering endlessly with unstoppable power—basically invincible.

Finally, several top-tier powerhouses teamed up, luring it into a pre-built void-sealing array, cutting off its connection to all realms before locking it away for good.

"Holy jackpot!"

Carlos was pumped.

He’d been worried that Diliya’s core wasn’t as badass as his other retainers,

But with the Withering Sin Tree mixed in, that worry was toast.

"Though this kind of lucky break probably only happens once."

Carlos roughly pieced it together from the intel he’d gotten from the Black Sinners.

Precisely because Diliya was used as that Withering Sin Tree’s host, her soul was already linked to it.

So during the retainer ritual, the phantom mistook Diliya and the Withering Sin Tree as one package deal,

Following the soul connection to gobble it up.

Having mostly figured out the whole mess, Carlos couldn’t help but shake his head—what incredible luck.

Reading on:

[Health: 800 (Constitution×50)]

[Strength: 20]

[Constitution: 16]

[Speed: 3]

[Skills: Tulip·Variant, Tulip Shield Tactics, Withering Domain, Withering Sin Vines, Shadow Finger]

"Compared to Tulip Shield Guard,

Strength bumped up by 2 points, Constitution by 8 points.

Just like the previous two retainers, total stats increased by 10 points!"

Carlos finally let out a breath of relief. Just from the numbers, this crazy fusion wouldn’t be a bust.

"Sir’s eyes are gorgeous!"

Being so close,

Even with Carlos wearing a mask,

Retainer Diliya could clearly see Carlos’s emerald pupils, like two perfect jewels—

Even more perfect than her own nails!

Carlos kept examining the skills:

"The Tulip Shield Guard’s abilities carried over completely."

A quick scan showed no issues.

The real meat was the last three:

Two from the Withering Sin Tree, one from human Diliya.

[Withering Domain·Variant:

A nightmare domain born from the Withering Sin Tree’s absorption of endless plane decay vibes, made even nastier after fusion with weird essence.

(1) Withering: Speeds up life drain of beings within the domain, putting them in aging mode until they kick the bucket.

(2) Withered Leaves: Life force sucked up within the domain gets absorbed and stored by surface withered leaves—leaves eternal, life eternal!

Note: Domain range and intensity are affected by spirituality.]

"This is it—

The withering domain that’s gonna cause absolute carnage to human armies in the future!"

Physical withering, soul withering—

Without some serious mojo, completely irreversible.

During the final battle, those top-tier powerhouses who sealed the Withering Sin Tree

Only managed to lock it down because of this nightmare domain.

Now this terrifying power was on humanity’s side!

Carlos felt pretty damn good and kept reading:

[Withering Sin Vines:

Nightmare sin vines that can corrupt everything.

Whatever they touch withers and rots, even space itself!]

"Holy crap!

What a brutal attack method!"

Carlos sucked in a breath.

Even space could wither—meaning almost no defense could stop it.

"Wait, how does space wither?"

Carlos had only seen space shatter, revealing pitch-black void.

What would withered space even look like?

He was curious as hell.

"One more to go."

[Shadow Finger:

Both Diliya’s origin and her anchor, one of the fragments born when the Shadow Realm split apart.

(1) Shadow Affinity: Massively boosts affinity with shadow power

(2) Shadow Escape: Merge into nearby shadows

(4) Shadow Wings: Use shadow power to create wings for flight

Note: As shadow energy increases, new powers will unlock.]