<h4>Chapter 438: Ritual of Blood</h4>


    Bog narrowed his eyes. “Oh, it looks like you’re a good friend of Diablo. Well, of course, he won’t offend Isabe like this otherwise. He even sacrificed Naga... Oh man, how terrible.”


    Bog didn’t mean to hide his intention since Shadow already told Angor enough.


    “Correct, I will turn you into a puppet,” the man said while his tongue moved around his mouth like a real snake, “but what’s on your mind might be a little different than the actual puppet I use. Did you see Naga’s intelligence? I can allow you to retain your own consciousness, and it will be easier for you to be a wizard as I’d be making adjustments and upgrades to your body. What do you say? Will you follow me?”


    Bog stared at Angor with pure greed.


    Now that Bog revealed everything in the open, Angor wasn’t sure how to react. If Bog didn’t lie, then the man really gave him a choice that would determine whether he survived this day.


    However, Angor didn’t believe that everything Bog said was truthful. Rather, it would be weird if a wizard didn’t use word tricks at all. Besides, Angor’s nature told him to steer away from being someone’s underling. Bog’s promises didn’tpensate for what he would lose.


    But... what if “bing a puppet” and “death” were the only two options?


    In other words, he either lived on like someone’s dog or disappeared from this world right here, right this moment.


    As he struggled with the choices, a young man appeared from the woods, limping.


    It was Shadow.


    The two ends of Kurna’s Pact met each other in such an extreme situation. Angor nodded to Shadow and said “thanks” using his lips. No matter what the final oue would be, he would not forget Shadow’s help.


    Shadow saw Angor’s gratitude and didn’t say anything in return. The man only shook his head helplessly.


    And Angor felt puzzled at Shadow’s response. There was no way Shadow would say “no need to thank me” in this situation. This man was never the one to use such courtesy.


    So what did he mean?


    Angor looked up again and noticed Bog was giving him a strange look.


    Is Shadow telling me to NOT ept Bog’s offer?


    But why? Isn’t Bog Shadow’s teacher?


    Maybe something else is off...


    Shadow wasn’t disying any more movement. He only stood at the edge of the forest and waited for Angor’s choice—whatever Angor chose, he had fulfilled his responsibility as a friend.


    Bog’s blond puppets had stopped harassing Isabe. They now stood quietly behind Bog.


    Isabe was grinning again. Her hands were glowing again. At the same time, Angor felt something changing in his blood.


    It didn’t hurt this time. His blood was changing as it followed an unknown rhythm...


    “Jajaja... She’s injecting her curse in the root of your bloodline. Once it’s done, you’ll suffer from her curse for eternity, whether dead or alive.” Bog chuckled and said, “You have 30 seconds. Make up your mind.”


    The terrible feeling in his blood told Angor that Bog didn’t lie about this one.


    Bog is forcing me to submit. He even uses Isabe as a tool?


    Instead of worrying about Bog’s offer, Angor was wondering why a powerful wizard like this gave him a choice in the first ce. Why didn’t the man simply knock him out or something and directly process him into a puppet?


    Angor had no hope of escaping from Bog, that much was certain. Angor couldn’t understand why a perverted wizard like Bog was actually allowing him to decide his own fate.


    “Twenty seconds,” Bog reminded. “Once the curse sets in, I’ll not care about you even if you agree. This is your only chance.”


    Angor quickly returned to the more pressing matter.


    He closed his eyes and used mind overdrive to think about all possible factors.


    Time was too short. Using mind overdrive was the only thing possible for him to get an answer. Also, he kept thinking about Shadow’s previous signal.


    As far as he could see, rejecting Bog’s offer meant death. Of course, Angor didn’t want to live on as a ve. He had promises to fulfill. Jon’s life, Nausica’s mechanical arm, Toby, the Eyeless Man, and thest hope of Krakoks... If he had to choose, he would be someone’s ve, which at least would allow him to continue fulfilling his vows.


    “Ten seconds to go. So, will you follow me or will you ept your end?”


    Isabe didn’t speak in the meantime. She was busy casting her curse. On the first look, she seemed to be assisting Bog. But in fact, she secretly hid another stream of power in her spell that was meant to kill Angor right away.


    Angor noticed none of that. He was still thinking about what he could deduce from the environment so that he could make the best choice.


    “Even if my professor gets you, I can find a way to get you out.” Shadow’s words shed through his mind.


    Shadow had no reason to lie back then. So could Shadow help him get away from Bog’s control? But why did Shadow shook his head just now?


    Angor nced at Shadow again.


    The man stood therepletely still without presenting any emotions; it was as if his previous gesture didn’t exist.


    Angor’s “mind overdrive” allowed him to catch every single detail he could see. Shadow was trying to conceal his mind as best as he could, yet Angor managed to notice something; Shadow wasn’t looking at him or Bog. The man had his attention fixed on Isabe instead.


    Angor had been interpreting Shadow’s signal in a straightforward manner, but what if he were wrong?


    Shadow wasn’t trying to tell me whether I should ept Bog’s idea. Maybe I should not choose at all?


    That exined why Shadow was looking at Isabe. Maybe there was a way to stop Isabe’s harm.


    This seemed impossible, but Angor decided to scan around Isabe for more details.


    “Five seconds,” Bog said as he wanted to put more pressure on Angor’s mind, “four, three, two...”


    Before he could finish the countdown though, Isabe suddenly interrupted him with another heartyugh.


    “Now, DIE! Forget about my bloodline curse. What I have for you is... Ritual of Blood!”


    Bog’s body shook upon hearing Isabe’s words.


    Angor sensed that the strange ripples invading his blood had gone. There was no cursing power in his body.


    But the looming sense of death still arrived just in time.


    “Ritual of Blood?!” Bog had put away his dramatic expression and reced it with a serious look. “You’ve been nning this all along?”


    Ritual of Blood was a very powerful level-2 blood spell. Under normal circumstances, Bog would avoid getting affected by it at all costs, but now, he waspletely defenseless in front of Isabe.


    Bog no longer cared about Angor’s choice. He had to leave the area of the spell first.


    The man stepped into a rift. As he disappeared, the Hand of Spell that supported Angor also vanished, dropping Angor on the ground.


    Away from them, the Dual Sprite, Talos, also watched in shock at what just happened. Talos knew about Isabe’s mad character from rumors and stories, but this was the first time for Talos to witness the woman’s hysterical nature up close.


    A level-2 wizard was going to use arge-scale spell just to murder an apprentice. This was an outrage!


    Isabe never intended to mind the strength gap between her and Angor. She was simply using her best shot to kill an insect. There was not another wizard out there who would do such a thing. For one, it was an unnecessary waste of stamina. And secondly, it would be a joke that would stain one’s name.


    However, Isabe cared for neither.


    Angory still on the ground and watched as the overwhelming spell sealed his fate.