Ch. 22
Chapter 22: A Troublesome and Dangerous New "Recruitment Target"
In the eyes of Belle and Prince Adam, what crouched on the crossbeam of the castle hall was nothing more than a yellow-eyed crow.
But through Li Kainan's Eye of Insight, above this yellow-pupiled crow's head there floated a name in vivid red.
【Carabosse】
Name in red—enemy unit!
Li Kainan's gaze sharpened, every inch of muscle beneath his armor pulled taut, and his blood and energy surged through his entire body.
The ferocious Killing Intent that had charged every part of him transformed Li Kainan into a primal beast of the wilderness, as though at any moment he was about to lunge in for the kill.
The yellow-pupiled crow, perched up above, noticed that Li Kainan had spotted it, and spread its wings, intending to let out a taunting caw-caw.
But sensing the terrifying aura of suppression and ferocious Killing Intent radiating from Li Kainan, the yellow-pupiled crow's body couldn't help but go rigid.
This was a knight of utterly unyielding will, powerful enough to kill a Transcendent Individual with ease!
Even Carabosse—one of the most powerful witches on the continent, capable of wielding the power of hellfire—had never before encountered a human knight of such tremendous power.
A knight this powerful—even if his bloodline were as lowly as the dirt beneath one's feet—need only swear an oath of fealty to any king and he could easily obtain a Titled Knight's rank, a noble title, a territory, and become a member of the aristocracy……
After a brief silence, the yellow-pupiled crow immediately flapped its wings and descended.
The very next moment, green hellfire suddenly ignited across the body of the yellow-pupiled crow.
Those flames, saturated with an aura of evil, even dyed the entire castle hall a dim and eerie green.
And as the green hellfire burned, the yellow-pupiled crow's body did not disappear—instead, within the green flames, it transformed into a witch clad in black robes!
Evidently, this was Witch Carabosse's true form.
Li Kainan narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully scrutinized Carabosse, who had now revealed her true self.
Cold and stunning features, an elongated face, and a pair of demonic horns growing from her head.
A well-fitted and elegant black robe wrapped her entire body, concealing the specifics of her figure, leaving only the impression of tall and slender.
If judging by appearance alone, this was absolutely a beautiful woman of elegant coldness and proud bearing.
However, her skin was far too pale—utterly bloodless—and the green flames that circled her entire body made her complexion appear a ghastly green.
Combined with those yellow pupils, she had an extremely sinister and otherworldly look about her!
Carabosse appeared before Li Kainan and elegantly inclined her head toward him in a slight nod:
"Greetings, powerful knight!"
An entrance like this—one look and you could tell this was a boss-level villain!
Li Kainan was extraordinarily cautious, and immediately signaled for Belle, behind him, to step back and keep her distance.
Prince Adam beside him also steeled himself as though facing a great enemy, but he did not retreat—instead, he stepped directly to Li Kainan's side, intending to face the enemy together with him.
Mm, the goodwill was appreciated.
But in truth, with him standing there close by, he might actually end up interfering with Li Kainan's ability to strike in the moments ahead!
Belle, on the other hand, was a clever girl—she wasn't about to pull any nonsense like "you go ahead, I'm not leaving."
Gazing at Li Kainan's back as he stood between her and the threat, Belle took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, immediately thinking through the situation with a clear head.
Not wanting to become a burden to Li Kainan, she swallowed the worry and reluctance she felt inside and promptly organized the castle's servants to evacuate first……
Meanwhile, Carabosse had, on her end, lost any inclination to make a move.
Faced with a powerful knight of Li Kainan's caliber—one who could be called the pinnacle of humanity—any faction would want to attempt to recruit him!
Carabosse raised her chin ever so slightly and spoke in a composed and elegant manner:
"Knight, I harbor no ill intentions. We can talk."
"So long as you swear an oath of fealty to me, I will bestow upon you absolute power and boundless honor!"
"Title, domain, wealth……whatever Prince Adam has given you, I can give you more!"
【Prompt: Important story character "Carabosse" has extended an olive branch to you, hoping that you will swear an oath of fealty to her. Should you choose to pledge your fealty, it will greatly advance the conquest progress of "Carabosse"……】
【Prompt: Compared to typical female leads, a beautiful villainous female character who is cold, wicked, and ruthlessly cruel possesses her own unique charm—but she is also far more dangerous!
This presents a greater test of your conquest abilities, and so the rewards obtained upon completing the conquest will also be considerably more generous……】
……
【Prompt: Important story character "Carabosse" ******, ********* will greatly advance *****……】
【Prompt: ******* compared to others, cold, wicked, and ruthlessly cruel ****** even more dangerous!
This presents a greater ****** test, and ******* upon completion the rewards will also be considerably more generous……】
……
Hm, so she actually counted as a story character too?
The rewards after completing her recruitment would be even more generous?
Seeing the system prompt that had suddenly popped up, Li Kainan's brow gave a slight twitch as he fell into brief contemplation.
Fair enough—with how tastes had shifted these days, villainous characters were often far more beloved than upright ones.
As long as you added a little tragic backstory or a poignant tale of past suffering to this kind of villain character, she could be successfully redeemed in one clean sweep……
Carabosse was extremely powerful, and in all likelihood controlled a Witch Faction capable of throwing the Kingdom of Cape into chaos—she was absolutely a high-caliber talent!
On top of that, the post-recruitment rewards were generous. It seemed like it might actually be worth giving it a try……
Li Kainan's heart stirred somewhat, and the shifting of his expression naturally fell under the gaze of both Carabosse and Prince Adam.
Seeing this, Carabosse's lips immediately curled upward into a cold smirk.
So even a human knight of unprecedented power could not resist the temptation of worldly authority, status, and honor……
In an instant, what little respect Carabosse had felt in her heart for Li Kainan as the pinnacle of humanity was cut by more than half.
With her respect gone, the cold arrogance ingrained in her very bones surged back up, and she instinctively began issuing commands in a tone that brooked no refusal:
"Go now and kill Prince Adam, take his head, and swear your oath of fealty to me!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Adam's heart was thrown into utter panic.
He turned his head toward Li Kainan at his side, and fear rose within him, causing him to instinctively step back 2 paces.
In this moment, Prince Adam actually wanted very much to show his trust in Li Kainan—but the memory of Li Kainan slamming him into the wall with one strike was simply far too impossible to forget……
And upon hearing Carabosse's commanding tone that left no room for refusal, Li Kainan's brow furrowed slightly.
Somewhat irritating!
He looked up for a moment at Carabosse before him, and found that the name above her head was still red.
【Carabosse (-50%)】
Still a red name—and even her Loyalty Value was in the negatives?
No wonder the system had issued a "dangerous" prompt, and was even willing to offer more generous rewards upon completing the recruitment……
Forget it, far too troublesome.
Li Kainan had no "famous general collecting obsession"—a recruitment target this troublesome and dangerous was far more conveniently dealt with by simply cutting her down on the spot!
With that thought, the expression on Li Kainan's face, which had already relaxed somewhat, once again turned murderous……