Chapter 348: Psychic Enthrallment

The Devils led by Jeerah were already surrounded by the Purgatory Warhorses. Though the numbers on both sides were roughly equal -about a hundred on each side-, their actual combat strength couldn’t be any more different; the Warhorses were vastly more powerful than a bunch of low level Devils. Not to mention that these Warhorses still had a Six-star elder watching over them from the sidelines who I doubt was in the best of moods after being pummelled by me. In all likelihood, he had no intention of sparing even a single one of them.

The battle going on before us right now was a pretty clear cut one. In order for the Warhorses to qualify for the hunting party, they had to at least be Three-stars. In comparison, the Devils who just came over from the Prison of the Dead were malnourished, and were mostly One-stars or Two-stars. There were barely any Three-stars, let alone Four-stars. With such a difference, it didn’t come as a shock that they were getting trampled right now.

Had it not been for Jeerah, the Devils probably would have lost in two minutes flat. You heard me right! Jeerah was like a messiah to them right now thanks to her decisive combat support.

As a Lust Demon of the beguiling branch, she practically radiated beauty from top to toe. As long as it was a male, regardless of race, they would be affected by her.

A Beguiling Lust Demon’s strongest tactic was to enthrall an opposing male to fight for her. However, in order to reach this level of beguilement, that Lust Demon first had to ensure that there was a comfortable distance between her level and her target’s.

Not only that, she had to ensure there was enough time to pull off the enthrallment. The requirements were rather complicated, but mostly because of individual differences.

The ability to enthrall an enemy without any physical contact was a high level technique. Most Lust Demons could only enthrall an enemy by coming into contact with them. But if a Lust Demon was powerful enough, her enthrallment technique could take place from a distance through her words, scent, or even sight. At the pinnacle of this technique, Lust Demons were even able to alter a person’s memory.

These techniques which controlled one’s psyche were all collectively known as Psychic Enthrallment.

Psychic Enthrallment possessed three tiers of power: Novice, Adept, and Master. Novice Psychic Enthrallment required the caster to maintain close contact with the target to have any chance of success. This was the forte of the carnal branch of Lust Demons. Through their bodily techniques, they would forcefully brainwash their targets. A normal human would merely require a single session or perhaps even a kiss to enthrall.

Adept Psychic Enthrallment was what the Lust Demons of the beguiling branch specialised in. Because this tier of enthrallment only required simple contact like a touch, they often did not have to go to the same… lengths… that the Carnal Lust Demons had to.

When one reached the master tier of Psychic Enthrallment, the brainwashing could take place simply through words, scent or even sight. Such a Lust Demon often only had to use her voice to control countless souls. This was the strongest power a Lust Demon could hope for!

In truth, I was naturally endowed with Master Psychic Enthrallment thanks to Ferti’nier. Furthermore, this enthrallment wasn’t easy for me to control. That was why when I had just reincarnated, I would often encounter situations where Devils would inexplicably submit to me.

Jeerah was performing just such a technique right now. As she stood atop a giant rock, she feverishly released her mana in the form of a pink fog that slowly travelled across the battlefield.

It was a pink fog that somehow triggered certain memories within me… didn’t I give out this fog in the past as well?

Upon inhaling this fog, the Devils immediately experienced an explosive burst of fighting spirit. Yelling “FOR THE MISTRESS!” at the top of their lungs, they would fearlessly charge towards the Purgatory Warhorses like a bunch of brainwashed zealots.

This fog wasn’t only effective against the low level Devils either. Majority of the Warhorses who inhaled this fog experienced a momentary period of giddiness. And on a battlefield, such a momentary distraction often proved fatal, no matter how short that moment was.

A Three-star Warhorse was the first to inhale this pink fog. His movement started to turn sluggish, and his strikes became weaker as well. In the beginning, he was able to defeat a Large Imp with one simple kick, but after ten seconds of inhaling that fog, his attacks not only became slower, but were now unable to even seriously injure a Large Imp.

In stark contrast to that, the Large Imp he fought charged with the ferocity of a zealot who just received a divine revelation from his deity. His actions practically screamed that he would at least take a bite out of that accursed Warhorse, even if it meant his death. Other than frenzy, there was nothing to be found in his crimson eyes.

But a Large Imp’s body was nowhere as tall as a Warhorse. That meant that he had no choice but to jump in order to reach the Warhorse. As he did so, he accurately wrapped his arms around the neck of the Warhorse and began biting into his neck. Like a hound that found his prey, the Large Imp viciously tore into the neck of the dazed Warhorse, inflicting a serious injury in the process.

Neck throbbing furiously, the Warhorse finally came to his senses. His injuries caused the blood within him to circulate even faster, countering the slowing effect of the pink fog in an instant with its own adrenaline-filled frenzy.

The Warhorse neighed loudly in the air as if to announce what was coming next. Nostrils flaring and muscles taut, the Warhorse galloped furiously in a forward charge. No matter who he encountered, whether friend or foe, he simply rammed through them all.

Yet the Large Imp held fast. He stubbornly bit into the neck of that Warhorse, the rocking of the Warhorse’s charge merely adding to the speed at which his teeth tore.

Purgatory Warhorses had no arms to speak of, so no matter how fast that horse charged, he really had no way of knocking off that Large Imp. His only hope now was to shroud his body in flames, hopefully burning that Imp to death before it could do more damage.

Shrouded in flames, the Large Imp was immediately burnt by the wrapping flames. As this fire wasn’t of his own making, the Imp’s body was sure to be damaged. Yet no matter how much his body writhed in pain, he had no intention of ever letting go. Right now, he was the most devout follower of Jeerah; his heart only held the desire to protect her to his death.

Even with his flame resistance, there was no way a Large Imp could completely ignore the effects of a Three-star’s flame. Before long, the Large Imp was completely engulfed by the flames, yet that only served to fuel his ravenous biting. Finally, right before his body was reduced to ashes, his teeth made contact with each other…

Fresh blood gushed out like a crimson hotspring. The moment that happened, the Warhorse lost all strength and began wobbling, knocking into two more Large Imps and one of its own at the speed of over 150 km per hour, carving a bloody road of death right before its own impending demise.

At long last, the Warhorse collapsed to the ground leaving behind a smothering trail of fire in his wake, his head knocking into the rock Jeerah so happened to be on.

The Warhorse used whatever energy it had left in its body to raise his head in hopes of looking at Jeerah one last time. Unfortunately, he failed. He could only let forth one last mournful neigh before dying together with that Large Imp who finally let go of his neck at that exact same moment.

‘A One-star actually fought a Three-star to death…now that’s a miracle right there!’

In truth, such an occurrence wasn’t unusual at all. There were a few cases of something similar happening all around. The most frightening fact was that even a Five-stars wasn’t completely immune to Jeerah’s enthrallment. It could only be said that her technique had surpassed what a normal Adept Psychic Enthrallment should be able to accomplish.

“Little brother, that right there is the natural born power of the beguiling branch.” Jeerah’s exceptional performance naturally attracted the attention of Ferti’nier. Like the Devil queen that she was, I could hear her amused voice rattling in my head right now. “Her technique is on the precipice of evolving into a Master Psychic Enthrallment. That pink fog of hers is actually an enthrallment that uses scent to affect her opponents.”

‘So we got a genius on our hands…speaking of which, Devils with an Original Sin aren’t even that common to begin with…’

“Beguiling Lust Demons are actually a rarity amongst Lust Demons. That’s because they have to maintain their chastity until they comprehend the secrets of Adept Psychic Enthrallment… truly an ironic rule, I have to say. Even though they are the incarnations of Lust, they have to curb their desires…but should a Lust Demon be able to achieve such a feat, she would be a Lust Demon of the beguiling branch. She would no longer have to rely on her body to enthrall her opponents.”

‘So once they lose their chastity, they lose the ability to evolve into the beguiling branch. But if they don’t use their bodies as a weapon, these nightworking Lust Demons can’t survive… truly a conundrum…’

That exchange with Ferti’nier didn’t last too long, and we soon turned our attention back to the battlefield.

Jeerah’s enthrallment had brought forth an unexpected outcome in this battlefield, resulting in casualties amongst the Warhorses. However, such a fortuitous turn of events wouldn’t last long. Warwraith wasn’t one to allow his fellow horses die, thus he would never allow Jeerah to continue unchecked. And as I had predicted, Warwraith prepared to intervene.

‘We mustn’t let that Warwraith join the battlefield. If that blasted horse interferes now, he can take out all the Devils in an instant with just his Six-star might and capture Jeerah.’

‘That Jeerah was even able to earn praise from Ferti’nier. That must mean her talent is the real deal.’

Being understaffed as I was, there was no way I would give up this chance to recruit another member. I immediately gave the order, “Advance, don’t let that donkey of a horse join the battlefield!”