Chris was clearly distracted at this moment; her face was pale, her legs were tightly pressed together, and her body trembled slightly.
Sylvie could read intense fear and unease in her eyes.
This was something she had never experienced since they met.
The collapse of belief is more terrifying than encountering a powerful enemy; when one's heart hesitates, how much combat power can be exerted is an unknown.
The entire hero team had now sunk to rock bottom.
Evil Dragon Karl saw everything and was ecstatic; his plan was ninety percent complete.
First, he displayed an unmatched power, making the heroes willing to listen to him.
Then, he used manipulative language to make her waver in her own beliefs.
Next, he created conflict among the team members, causing them to distrust each other.
Now, only one final step remained for him to temporarily survive.
Evil Dragon Karl raised his hand, and his finger, as if by magic, traced an arc in the air: "Sylvie, you have enough time to think, and then become my companion."
Will was about to speak, telling Sylvie not to be swayed.
He suddenly found his pronunciation becoming slurred.
His eyes widened in shock as he raised a hand to touch his mouth, feeling a foreign object inside; his fingers frantically probed, pulling out a round gem.
This scene instantly made Sylvie's face turn pale.
Evil Dragon Karl's pupils were cold: "I hate hearing meaningless, foolish words, Prince of the Empire. I permit you to defeat me with thought, not with those foolish words used to exploit ordinary people. If you utter meaningless words again, I Will take away your right to speak."
Will's face was utterly devoid of color, and his hand trembled slightly as he held the gem.
He hadn't felt anything unusual; the gem had simply been placed in his mouth.
If Evil Dragon Karl truly wanted to kill him, it would be an effortlessly easy task.
This fear of the unknown sent a chill down Will's spine.
Sylvie looked at Will's predicament, her confusion deepening.
"I firmly believe that what this world lacks is not strength, but thought." Evil Dragon Karl gazed at Sylvie, his voice expectant: "I Will wait for you here, wait for you to think of your answer, and defeat me with your thoughts."
Sylvie's emotions were incredibly complex when she heard Evil Dragon Karl allow them to leave.
She looked at Evil Dragon Karl's ferocious black dragon face: "Why?"
Evil Dragon Karl smiled: "Because I want to see a world where all intelligent beings can find happiness."
Sylvie was stunned, and after a long moment, she turned to look at Will, seeing his pale face and solemn expression.
Chris was also not doing well; she hung her head, looking very dejected.
Sylvie took a deep breath and looked up at Evil Dragon Karl.
She wanted to say something, but her lips moved, yet no sound came out.
Evil Dragon Karl was too strong, unfathomable; she saw no possibility of winning.
Evil Dragon Karl's words, however, gave her a ray of hope; she could defeat him in another way.
"Let's go," Sylvie finally broke the silence, speaking to Will and Chris beside her.
Neither of them wanted to stay in this suffocating place any longer.
The three began to retreat cautiously, warily watching Evil Dragon Karl.
Evil Dragon Karl sat on the throne; his hearing was sharp, and he was sure that the footsteps of the three had gradually faded, finally disappearing outside the castle.
At this moment, the taut string in his heart finally relaxed.
His body seemed to lose all strength, going limp, and he collapsed heavily onto the throne.
A feeling of relief washed over him.
"I finally survived!"
Evil Dragon Karl was almost crying with joy; during the confrontation with the three, he had maintained a calm exterior, but his heart had been extremely tense.
If these three had attacked him, they would have instantly seen through his paper tiger nature.
His legs had already turned to jelly, but fortunately, he had been sitting the whole time, so it hadn't been noticed.
After resting for a while, Evil Dragon Karl calmed down. He silently thought: "Time Stop."
However, the surrounding time did not stop.
"Sure enough."
Evil Dragon Karl was not surprised by this; his Time Stop required a target, just like movies must have a female lead.
His "Time Stop" was not some kind of system cheat.
It was born from his soul and integrated into this world's power system.
Just now, after he had *fried rice* Chris and inserted the gem, the Time Stop range increased from one hundred meters to one hundred and ten meters.
He vaguely felt that to increase his power, he had to conform to this world's rules of power advancement.
This involved reenacting scenes from movies with various women.
Each time he *stir-fried* one, each time he used a new position, the "Time Stop" domain would strengthen a bit.
Chapter 8 Bold
Outside the castle, in the dense forest, night had fallen, the bright moon hung in the sky, and stars adorned the night.
In the forest, a vigorous bonfire leaped in the darkness.
Sylvie's gaze drifted towards the nearby tent from time to time; she hesitated, then finally couldn't help but call out towards the tent:
"Chris, do you need help?"
There was silence inside the tent, and after a long while, Chris's slightly weak voice came from within:
"N-no, it's just a small injury, I can heal it myself."
Upon hearing this, Sylvie frowned, her expression complex.
Chris had immediately gone into the tent after returning to the camp, which Sylvie found unusual, as if she was hiding something from her.
Illuminated by the bonfire, Will walked over, carrying a pot of steaming broth and bread.
"Sylvie, have some food." Will called softly, handing her the food.
"I..." Sylvie wasn't in the mood to eat right now, but she looked up and saw Will's concerned eyes.
She couldn't bear to refuse.
"Thank you, Will." Sylvie took the bread, forcing a smile.
Will also sat down beside her, and the two ate in silence, the atmosphere very oppressive, with only the crackling of the bonfire.
Will opened his mouth to speak several times, but seemed not to know what to say.
It wasn't until they finished eating that he managed to blurt out: "I Will become a good emperor."
Sylvie looked at his handsome and serious expression, and Evil Dragon Karl's words flashed through her mind—this was all just a pathetic cycle.
"Mm, I know."
Sylvie encouraged him softly, and after she spoke, the two fell silent once again.
Inside the tent, Chris squatted on the ground, her face pale, eyes tightly shut, enduring immense pain.
Her black hair fell messily across her forehead, a few strands damp with sweat, clinging to her skin.
A fine layer of sweat had already seeped out above it.
Her hands were clenched into fists, and her body trembled slightly from overexertion.
Several gems were scattered on the ground, mixed with some viscous liquid, and a foul, suffocating stench permeated the air.
Chris tried to control her muscles to squeeze out the gems from behind.
The gems were not smooth, and each squeeze brought her unbearable pain.
She could clearly feel the gems inside her body, yet she dared not use too much force.
That strange pain and worry made her almost unbearable.
The innermost gem was clearly too deep; she tried several times but couldn't push it out.
When she tried to touch it with her fingers, it only made the gem move deeper.
This made her feel helpless and desperate, pain and frustration intertwined, and unable to ask her companions for help, it almost made her break down.
She was the Saintess of the gods, always upholding the sanctity of her body as the highest principle.
Now, her body was filled with injected gems and those liquids.
The innermost gem in her body kept sending strange, abnormal sensations.
Her face grew increasingly ashen.
Deep within the castle.
Evil Dragon Karl's muscles instantly tensed; he slammed a fist into the wall with such force that the air boomed.
Centered on Evil Dragon Karl's fist, the thick wall began to crack inch by inch, and with a "crash," large sections of the wall collapsed, sending dust flying.
Amidst the flying dust, Evil Dragon Karl retracted his fist, which was only stained with some dust.
"I'm quite strong."
Evil Dragon Karl was testing the strength of this body.
Undoubtedly, he had completely inherited the physical strength and memories of this seven-tier Evil Dragon body.
This world's power system ranges from 1 to 10 tiers.
Tier 10 is God.
The strongest individuals in powerful nations and some races on the continent can have one or two Tier 9 beings, similar to nuclear weapons.
Each of these is a legend on the continent and does not appear easily.
The truly active top-tier conventional combatants on the continent are Tier 8.
Evil Dragon Karl, at Tier 7, was already a local emperor dominating a territory.
Sylvie and her group were all Tier 6.
"Unfortunately, I only inherited the physical strength." Evil Dragon Karl sighed; this continent's power system is similar to soul advancement.
By practicing one's profession, one can advance and become stronger.
For example, a common profession like Warrior only needs to constantly fight; their strength at the same tier is far lower than Chris's Saintess or Sylvie's Hero.
But correspondingly, powerful professions like Chris's and Sylvie's naturally require more stringent conditions to advance.
For instance, Sylvie, as a Hero, must challenge the Demon King, and in this process, she Will become increasingly strong.
Conversely, if she were to settle down in a village and become complacent, her profession would immediately stagnate, or even regress.
Evil Dragon Karl is an Evil Dragon; by burning, killing, and plundering, and going further down the path of an Evil Dragon, he can continuously grow stronger.
He can advance to become a Demon King.
Each advancement strengthens his physique and greatly increases his original power.
"So, I've got a BUG here."
Evil Dragon Karl's expression was subtle.
He did not inherit Evil Dragon Karl's soul.
His power came from special movies, constantly completing actions that appeared in those movies to upgrade his power.
So his current ability level is actually Tier 1.
But his body has been strengthened seven times, the human form body of Evil Dragon Karl.
Therefore, theoretically, when he reaches Tier 7, it's equivalent to strengthening a Tier 7 body seven more times.
Even if he has no offensive skills, he is definitely a stat monster.