The Witch Hunter System

"Ahhh--!"

A second round of painful wails resounded as Emperor Varan mercilessly butchered the Delarosan Shamans in the vanguard with several more sword waves.

The barrier-type totem powers simply could not withstand the tyrannical and sharp force of Emperor Varan's sword waves. As a result, three dozen of Delarosan Shamans were decimated in an instant.

The power of the barrier-type totems was, no doubt, strong. But unfortunately for the Delarosas, Emperor Varan was stronger!

The difference between them was no different from rats and a lion.

There was simply no competition.

"Retreat to the inner courtyard! We're no match for him!" Matriarch Laelana cried as she tried to conserve whatever forces she left from the slaughterer.

With their defenses breached and Emperor Varan personally taking action, they had no hopes of claiming victory. They could only retreat to the inner courtyard and hide behind their inner walls.

It was the only way to minimize their losses.

Matriarch Laelana felt pained by the deaths of Delarosan Shamans in the vanguard as they were all equipped with Peak Rank 4 Totems. And with the outer courtyard overrun with imperial troops, reclaiming them to strengthen her remaining forces was impossible.

"Witch Doctors, delay the enemy! We must give our vanguards the chance to retreat!" Matriarch Laelana roared as she also acted.

She used a black cross-shaped bone totem to rain curses on Emperor Varan with one hand and a ruby-colored ring totem to fire powerful flame lances with the other.

The power that came from surpassed all totem powers demonstrated thus far.

Even Emperor Varan sensed a slight threat from them as he didn't dare to block Matriarch Laelana's magical attacks with his aura alone. He was forced to rely on his sword to deflect her flame lances, as they could punch holes in his aura and allow her curses to slip through.

Thanks to Matriarch Laelana's intervention, Emperor Varan's swift advancement was delayed.

After Emperor Varan was delayed once, he did not pursue his targets. He frowned at Matriarch Laelana as she recalled her forces into the inner courtyard--or rather, he was staring at her totems.

He was beginning to understand the nature of the totems.

The totems were like magic tools for storing magic spells. No training was required to use them so long as one mastered the activation language. There didn't seem to be any other requirement.

In other words, anyone could use the power of the totems, even warriors like him.

'If I can equip every warrior in the army with such totems, my empire will become much stronger than before,' Emperor Varan thought as the desire to acquire such knowledge and magical equipment festered in his heart.

Suddenly, Emperor Varan's expression became more serious as he targeted Matriarch Laelana.

'If I defeat her, the rest will follow,' Emperor Varan's eyes glowed.

Just when Matriarch Laelana thought Emperor Varan had given up his pursuit, the latter suddenly lunged at her with full force.

The drastic burst in speed greatly startled her, but she still reacted accordingly.

All five totem rings on Matriarch Laelana's right-hand lit up as she activated all their magical abilities – the Flame Lance of a Magma Wyrm, the Water Bullet of a Sea Serpent, the Wind Blade of a Storm Garuda, the Shock Blast of a Lightning Sparrow, and the Gravity Suppression of a Giant Earthworm.

Emperor Varan had no idea where Matriarch Laelana acquired the materials of such creatures. However, he could still vaguely recognize them after seeing their faint manifesting spirits.

Matriarch Laelana assaulted Emperor Varan with every attacking totem in her arsenal, as she didn't dare to underestimate him.

However, she also knew that with Emperor Varan hot on her tail, she couldn't retreat to the inner courtyard without him following inside with her. As such, she could only draw him away.

"Shut the inner gates! Don't wait for me!" Matriarch Laelana barked before quickly chanting, "Arg, Lunos, Windr!"

Swish!

Two pairs of small white feathered wings of light appeared on Matriarch Laelana's ankles, allowing her to soar into the skies with a single step.

"You can fly as well?!" Emperor Varan frowned, finding the situation troublesome. But at the same time, he also became excited.

Who didn't want the ability to fly?

From the distant past to the present day, no Body Refiner or Aura User has ever experienced the freedom of flight like feathered birds. But now, there was an opportunity.

Emperor Varan's hot gaze fell on Matriarch Laelana's beaded ankle bracelets before he snorted, "So the wing bones of the Storm Garuda can give you such abilities, huh? How enlightening!"

"Hmph! But just because you can fly, it doesn't mean you can get away from me!"

Emperor Varan drove his sword into the ground before repeatedly flinging large pieces of the stone ground into the air with different amounts of force.

Afterward, Emperor Varan leaped into the air, using the flying stone debris as stepping stones to launch himself higher and higher into the sky, rapidly closing in on Matriarch Laelana.

His movements were incredibly swift and fluid, shocking Matriarch Laelana. And by the time she realized what was going on, it was already too late for her.

"Get down for me!" Emperor Varan roared, smashing down on Matriarch Laelana with the flat side of his sword.

Matriarch Laelana could only hurriedly summon a green barrier with her turtle totem to block the blow.

Boom!

The green barrier shattered after blocking most of the force before Matriarch Laelana slammed into the ground from a great height, causing a small crater upon impact.

Numerous bones in her body broke as she lay in a pool of her own blood, greviously injured by the fall.

Shortly after, Emperor Varan landed nearby before stepping on her, suppressing her into the ground to prevent her from resisting further.

"You sure have numerous abilities, Laelana Delarosa. It's too bad you lack the battle experience required to utilize them properly. Life has been going smoothly for you, huh?" Emperor Varan looked down on her.

Matriarch Laelana coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Given the terrible state of her body, she shouldn't have any more strength to resist. However, she soon activated the power within her bone necklace – wolf totem.

Red light quickly covered Matriarch Laelana, mending her broken body. The wolf totem actually possessed the power of rapid regeneration!

Emperor Varan was immediately stunned when he saw the faint figure of the manifesting demon wolf spirit.

"This is… the Demon Wolf King Furhengir..? No, it's only the remnant spirit found in its spine… Your family actually obtained a piece of Furhengir's spine bone!" Emperor Varan spouted gravely.