CHAPTER 481: CHAPTER 479: THE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT SHADOW SOLDIER CORPS_1

After the bright light subsided, Sack lowered his hands; the palace made of shadows was returning to its original form.

His eyes, however, had not yet adapted to the current darkness, and he was temporarily unable to see anything.

Soon, his eyes recovered from the effects of the flash grenade and adjusted to the dark environment, only then noticing the pairs of eyes releasing a blood-red glow in the darkness.

The flash grenade had no effect?!

Sack’s expression filled with shock, and his heart sank to rock bottom—the flash grenade was his last trump card.

Normally, shouldn’t shadow-like entities be afraid of bright light?

Why hadn’t it affected them at all?

Puzzlement flashed through his mind. Before Sack could figure out a specific reason, the Shadow Soldier in front of him moved. It pounced like a cat on a mouse, its 1.8-meter height allowing for a certain agile posture.

Sack reacted quickly, trying to dodge to the side, but the Shadow Soldier was faster. The instant he leaped, the Shadow Soldier closed in, choosing not to use its claws but a blade condensed from shadow to split Sack in half.

"Ah!"

He let out a sharp cry and fell to the ground. His flesh and intestines filled the air with a strong, bloody scent, coupled with the stench of yellowish-white matter.

"It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Sack screamed loudly as the ground, like a marsh, slowly swallowed him.

Realizing the direness of his situation, Sack quickly shouted, "No, please don’t kill me! I’m willing to serve you! I’ll do anything!"

Amidst his screams, Sack saw that the "King of Hell" on the throne remained indifferent, merely observing him from on high with a pair of blood-red eyes.

Sack was very familiar with that kind of gaze. His brother, politicians, and those in high positions always had that same cold, indifferent look.

"Hahaha!"

Sack burst into hysterical laughter, suddenly understanding. The flash grenade might not have been useless; it was just that the other party never intended to honor their agreement.

He was consumed by the darkness.

Of the remaining five, four trembled with fear. Only the Beast knew no fear; his body was taut, and he issued a low growl, like a wild animal warning an enemy.

His eyes no longer held their usual vacant daze but were now filled with ferocity, like a tiger with teeth stained with flesh and blood.

The Beast tried to use this display to warn the Shadow Soldiers not to step within his attack range.

"Damn bastards!" one man shouted in desperate resignation, pulling the safety pin from a grenade and throwing it towards the Shadow Soldiers in front.

BOOM!

A brief burst of flame lit the dark ground, and countless shrapnel scattered within five meters of the Shadow Soldiers.

Sharp pieces of shrapnel pierced their bodies. Some hit their heads, causing the Shadow Soldiers’ forms to dissipate into wisps of black smoke.

Witnessing this, one man cried out with joy, "Quick, use your guns! Aim for their heads!"

Aozawa also realized that attacks on other parts of the Shadow Soldiers’ bodies had no effect; only their heads were vulnerable.

Once their heads were struck, the Shadow Soldiers would dissipate.

It was a vulnerability.

But such a vulnerability was limited to the Shadow Soldiers.

Aozawa watched the grand hall below with cold eyes, a thought flashing through his mind.

Five Shadow Soldiers rapidly lunged forward.

「RATATAT.」

Gunfire erupted all at once.

They tried to use guns and grenades for indiscriminate strikes, aiming to hit the Shadow Soldiers’ skulls with shrapnel.

But the Shadow Soldiers’ agility was beyond their imagination, allowing them to dodge attack after attack.

"Beast, make your move now!"

"ROAR!"

The Beast let out an enraged roar. His body, taut like a spring compressed to its limit, launched him forward in an instant, pouncing on a Shadow Soldier.

The Shadow Soldier raised its hand to attack, but the Beast struck first, unleashing a fierce Cannon Fist that, like a flash of black lightning, shattered the Shadow Soldier’s head.

Then, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, the Beast precisely detected another Shadow Soldier sneaking up from behind.

He twisted his waist and executed a spinning kick, his right foot whistling through the air like a cannonball as it smashed into the Shadow Soldier’s temple.

BANG! The Shadow Soldier’s head exploded.

The next second, a dark shadow shot up from below, slicing off the Beast’s right leg at the knee.

This allowed the Beast to see what had attacked him.

The body of the Shadow Soldier whose head had burst did not dissipate; under Aozawa’s control, it transformed into a sharp blade that severed the Beast’s right leg.

In this Shadow World, Aozawa could control all shadows. Coalescing them into Shadow Soldiers was just one aspect of his Ability—not the entirety of it.

If he wished, he could turn the shadows into beasts, into arms, into blades.

Within the Shadow World, he could manipulate everything at will, including every living being that resided there.

The title of Shadow Emperor didn’t just mean creating Shadow Soldiers to obey commands; it signified his absolute, unquestionable authority over all shadows.

"Ah!" The Beast’s ferocity erupted. He attempted to support himself on his left foot and twist his waist to strike the shadow blade.

However, the ground on which he stood was also under Aozawa’s control. With a mere thought, a series of shadow blades sprung from the ground, riddling the Beast like a sieve.

The elation on the faces of the other four men froze. They had initially thought they could successfully join this individual’s service, but watching the Beast’s demise, they suddenly came to their senses.

"Bastard, you actually deceived us!"

"Why would you do this?"

"Please spare me, I’ll do anything for you! If you want sacrifices, we’ll help you get them!"

Aozawa’s appearance was too ferocious at that moment. It was reasonable that these people didn’t see him as a heroic character—after all, what kind of righteous hero looked so much like a major villain?

Aozawa said slowly, "I don’t need such useless subordinates. Death Piercing!"

As he uttered this rather theatrical move name, he lifted his right hand. Spikes instantly shot out from the dome, the ground, and even the pillars formed by shadows.

In a mere instant, the shadow-formed spikes impaled the four men like meat on skewers. Under Aozawa’s control, their bodies levitated, blood gushing to the floor. It was still somewhat lacking in grandeur.

If it were to pierce tens of thousands, the scene would be incredibly spectacular.

The thought flashed through Aozawa’s mind, yet he did not act on it. He wasn’t some world-destroying Demon King, after all; there was no need for such gratuitous bloodshed.

After a moment of thought, he had the shadows swallow the corpses within the palace, restoring everything to its original state, as if no one had ever died there.

Aozawa leaned back, sinking into contemplation. Just how high was the intelligence level of the Shadow Soldiers?

He got up and quickly materialized outside.

「In the living room of a mansion」

Warm lighting bathed the space.

The male and female homeowners, along with their two children, lay on the cold floor like newborn babies, completely uncovered.

Suddenly, a figure rose from the shadow cast by the sofa. Aozawa stepped into the living room, his Ability still active. He wore a pointed Crown on his head, his body still enveloped in a royal robe woven from shadows.

The attire showed no fine details. He had simply woven the shadow into a basic shape to cover his body.

His eyes, it seemed, glowed red as a natural effect of the shadow enveloping him, not because Aozawa had intentionally made them so.

He walked a couple of steps. The shadows on the floor elongated, and from them emerged sixty-six Shadow Soldiers.

Armor rapidly materialized on their bodies, along with swords formed from shadows, giving them a well-trained appearance.

Without skin, they looked like featureless black silhouettes, but with skin, their appearance was instantly upgraded.

They knelt in unison on the ground.

Aozawa touched his chin, pondering. How should I test their level of intelligence?

"Bring me New York’s richest man," he ordered.

He decided to issue a command that would require a high degree of intelligence to execute.

Even he wasn’t sure who New York’s wealthiest individual was.

After a brief pause, the Shadow Soldiers sprang into action.

Their bodies dissolved into blobs of shadow and rapidly moved in one direction.

This intrigued Aozawa. He seeped into the shadows and followed them.

Using his Catalyst sensing ability to perceive the world outside the Shadow World, he could observe how the Shadow Soldiers planned to complete his command.

If they harmed anyone, he could stop their existence at any time.

If not, he would let them try their best to see if they could find the richest man.

The Shadow Soldiers didn’t travel far. They merely passed over two unoccupied mansions and arrived at a third.

The lights in the living room were bright. A man, whose body was so large one might describe his weight in tons, sat on the sofa, donating to a beautiful streamer.

"Thank you! Thanks to my dearest Brother Merlin~"

The streamer’s voice was sweet, and she was beautiful, making the man on the sofa smile even more delightedly. His body seemed about to crush the sofa.

He enjoyed donating to beautiful female streamers and hearing them call him ’brother’ or thank him; it undoubtedly gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Even though in reality, with his wealth, he could easily summon beautiful women for private services.

But he was the type of rich, second-generation shut-in whose childhood experiences made him afraid of interacting with normal people. He spent all day gaming, browsing TikTok, and donating to streamers.

His weight had increasingly exceeded healthy levels, but he didn’t seem to care much.

Just as he was about to type a message to the streamer, shadowy soldiers suddenly sprang from the floor.

"Whoa! Who... who are you people?!"

The man’s fat trembled with fear; he looked like he wanted to squeeze himself into the sofa.

The Shadow Soldiers didn’t speak. One of them directly snatched his phone, exited the live stream, and quickly used a browser to search for New York’s richest person.

Braulio Vargas.

After obtaining the name and photo, the Shadow Soldier looked up addresses. It found that this tycoon owned many properties, the closest of which was in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

They quickly dropped the phone and disappeared from the room.

The man, still shaken, looked around. Confirming he was safe, he picked up his phone and noticed the Shadow Soldier’s search history was related to the city’s wealthiest person.

After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to report the incident to the police.