Sorcery Monarch

Chapter 17: Working for Me

Chapter 17: Working for Me

John hurried over, glaring at the confused Leon who was pinned to the ground by Yaya.

His eyes widened in fury, and he raised his heavy cleaver, ready to bring it down with deadly force.

Leon, startled and scared, tried to raise his sword in defense, but found that Yaya had already bitten it in half.

All the soldiers around, even those from Leon's own village, remained cold and silent, watching indifferently.

Attacking a noble was already a grave crime!

Moreover, Leon had attacked Matthew—a "generous," "powerful," and "well-connected" lord.

No one would help him; he was as good as dead!

Just as John's cleaver whistled downward and Yaya prepared to finish the job, Matthew called out loudly:

"Stop! He was under the influence of enemy magic and not acting of his own free will."

"But as my mother used to say, 'Death may be avoided, but punishment is unavoidable.'"

"As punishment for attacking me, Leon will work for me for five years, after which he will regain his freedom."

"Of course, during his time of service, he will receive appropriate compensation. Leon, do you accept?"

A glimmer of hope flickered in Leon's eyes. John kicked his shoulder and pressed him to the ground, whispering sternly into his ear.

"Are you mad? You attacked the lord! Thank the gods his bonded wyrmling stopped you!"

"Nod your head and agree quickly! You're lucky to be alive!"

"The lord sees potential in you; don't mess this up!"

Snapping back to reality, Leon realized what had just transpired. His face went deathly pale in horror.

Learning of the punishment from John, Leon nodded fervently in agreement.

At that moment, Leon had no idea that his original fate had been drastically altered.

Meanwhile, Matthew picked up the mud-caked Yaya, gently patting her head, and cast a simple cleaning spell.

Yaya curiously looked at her now-clean paws, her big, bright eyes full of wonder:

"Yaya? (Papa, is that magic? Can I use it too?)"

Stroking Yaya's increasingly smooth and refined scales, Matthew compared her to the wyrmlings in his memory, noting that while her physical traits were slightly inferior, her intelligence was far higher.

"Could it be that the life bond between us has strengthened her soul and intelligence while she enhances my body?"

The thought of experimenting with this connection turned over several times in Matthew's mind before he set it aside for now.

First, they needed to deal with the current dangers and safely return to the estate. He could investigate this further once they were secure.

Raising his staff, Matthew pointed it toward the battlefield in the distance.

Magic Missiles x4!

A series of arcane missiles shot forth, unleashing 40 mana points.

After the barrage of impacts, the ten most aggressive mutated fish-men were sent sprawling, their shattered bodies littering the ground.

The defensive line stabilized once more as Matthew leisurely settled back into the wagon. He knew he had to save his remaining 220 mana for critical moments.