Karen's Complete Domination!

Waking at noon once again, Karen lingered in bed with his eyes open for a while longer. A bed's greatest allure always seemed to manifest at two specific times: the moment you first lay down, and the moment you were supposed to get up. As the clock struck twelve, Karen got out of bed, showered, and washed up. He first went into the study and picked up a notebook from the desk. Inside were the two spells Alfred had transcribed for him: Black Mist Walk and Paper Crow. Neither was particularly difficult, usually learned only upon reaching a specific stage; Karen was currently skipping ahead of his level to learn them. The sun was shining brightly today. Wien's rainy season had finally come to an end. Ahead lay Wien's warmest and most pleasant time of year. The people of Wien were like quilts, seizing every chance to take themselves out and soak up the sun, storing away warm memories to see them through the cold and bleak weather that would arrive with autumn. Purr sat on the swing in the yard, with Kevin behind it, gently pushing. From Dora and Doreen's room came the voice of an unfamiliar woman—likely the home tutor giving a lesson. Karen, who had been leaving late and returning late these past few days, had not yet met her. Still, with Alfred managing the household, Karen was completely at ease. Stepping into the kitchen, Karen found that the ingredients he had requested yesterday were already prepared. Having woken around noon so frequently lately, Xili always prepared lavish spreads for him; Yet this was still his "breakfast," even if pushed to lunchtime. Having it happen too often meant waking up to heavy, greasy food, which sat uncomfortably in his stomach. Karen set water to boil in a pot. He picked up a nearby bowl, added chopped scallions and cilantro, tossed in salt and pepper, and splashed in a bit of soy sauce. Karen wasn't entirely satisfied with this soy sauce—it tasted just like Wien bean paste—though he had asked Xili to dilute it for him. Finally, Karen scooped a small spoonful of lard from a bowl and dropped it into the mixture. He had rendered this lard himself in his spare time. He felt like he hadn't eaten from it more than a few times, yet the bowl was already half empty. Just then, Karen noticed a similar bowl on the spice rack. Lifting the lid, he saw it was also filled with lard, but of a yellowish tint. Purr and Kevin ate whatever was given to them; they wouldn't cook for themselves. Xili and Mrs. Lake's cooking habits leaned traditional. That meant the one using it was Alfred. When it came to food, Alfred had aligned his tastes completely with Karen's. This wasn't merely to curry favor; he had genuinely come to love Karen's style of cooking. Pity his own attempt at rendering lard seemed to have ended in failure. Karen smiled, ladling boiling water into the bowl to blend the seasonings together. Then he tossed the noodles into the pot. Since they were thin noodles, Karen scooped them out after less than half a minute of boiling and transferred them into the bowl. A budget version of plain broth noodles was ready. Carrying the noodles to the small kitchen table, Karen sat down, took out dried chili flakes, and added two spoonfuls. He liked spicy food, but plain broth noodles weren't suited for hot chili oil, as the oil would muddy an otherwise clear broth. After a few stirs, Karen began eating his "breakfast," flipping through the notebook containing the two spells as he ate. He finished the noodles and drank every drop of broth, still wishing for more, though his stomach wouldn't allow another bowl. Recalling Ophelia's astonishing appetite, Karen wondered if he should find a way to improve his own physical constitution. In stark contrast to his reservoir-like reserves of spiritual power, his body's physical constitution could only be described as ordinary, and that was even after his continuous efforts at health and conditioning. Heaven only knew how badly that "autistic Karen" had depleted this body. Thinking of Jurist Eisen, who had social anxiety even around his own son, it really was true that a nephew took after his uncle. "Young Master, there is a phone call. It is Mr. Marlo," Alfred reported. "Alright." Karen got up to answer the phone. The gathering originally scheduled for yesterday had been called off due to the incident at the Church Affairs Building. It wasn't that Mr. Marlo was too impatient to wait past today, but rather that the Captain had called a formal meeting for tonight, so Marlo thought the team might as well gather early in the afternoon. Karen agreed. Hanging up the phone, Karen wondered: Was the Captain's formal gathering meant to introduce Richard's arrival to the squad? The moment the thought surfaced, Karen shook his head. Unlikely. The Captain wouldn't give his young cousin that much face, nor did Richard deserve such treatment. The Captain might let him join the squad as an auxiliary member for the sake of his family background, but he would never treat him like a sacred ancestor. Neo had extensive experience leading squads; he wouldn't make a mistake that harmed team cohesion. So... was there a new mission? Karen felt a slight pang of melancholy. He hadn't even spent much of the point coupons he had earned last time. Suffice it to say, after joining Neo's squad, Karen's income had skyrocketed, easily covering Dora and Doreen's expenses, as well as the everyday materials needed by Purr, Kevin, and Alfred. Karen pursed his lips. Should he try purchasing some special ingredients that could only be bought with point coupons to experiment with new recipes? He had always felt the preparation for roasted lizard-dragon meat was far too crude. The tender neck meat of a lizard-dragon would be wonderfully suited for Dongpo pork. "Never mind, that's a bit too extravagant. Best to save up some more first." Karen promptly smothered the spark of excessive spending in his heart. When he walked outside, Alfred was already waiting, tool kit in hand. "Young Master, are we setting off now?" "Yes." Karen drove the secondhand black Ponce while Alfred drove the hearse. Together, they first arrived at Ivy Cemetery. A hearse entering a cemetery was as fitting a match as red wine and steak. Stepping out of the hearse, Alfred opened his kit, produced a cloth measuring tape, and walked up to old Saman to take his measurements. Old Saman held his arms up, letting Alfred do as he pleased. Karen walked over, pulled a cigarette from his pack, placed it in Saman's mouth, and lit it with a lighter. "I have errands this afternoon, so I have to head out early. There's a meeting tonight, too." Old Saman grunted peevishly, "Hauling off the fridge made you cold all of a sudden, eh? Last time, no matter how perfunctory you were, you at least came over and boiled me some sleep." "It is dumplings," Alfred corrected Saman's pronunciation. "After the meeting tonight, I'll come back and have a late-night snack with you. I've prepared sliced vegetables and soup base in the new fridge. We'll have hotpot tonight." Old Saman nodded. "Now that's more like it." "If you have any requests for the funeral, just tell Alfred. He'll note them down and arrange everything." "Right, right, got it," old Saman urged. "Go on, go do your business." "See you tonight, then." Karen drove away from the cemetery. There was no traffic at midday, and twenty minutes later, he arrived at the warehouse. This warehouse was a shared venue for a combat club and a shooting club. The owners were Peige and Fanny, two women who were also gang bosses locally. It was truly a gang founded on a whim, just to provide a "recreational space" for themselves and the squad members. Karen was already a regular here; the door guards didn't stop him. Once inside, he headed straight for basement level one. Pushing open the heavy iron door, Karen was surprised to find quite a crowd. Twelve people in total—everyone except Captain Neo was present. Those who had been in wheelchairs during the barbecue restaurant gathering were now moving freely. Church hospital medical techniques were undeniably advanced, though they were never opened to ordinary people. Church personnel received discounts at church hospitals, and if injured on duty, their expenses were fully reimbursed. Outsiders enjoyed no such treatment. Even a family with vast secular wealth like the Allen Manor was desperately hungry for point coupons. In a sense, this achieved a higher form of "equality." No matter how much secular wealth you possessed, without point coupons, you couldn't buy a "lease on life" here. With everyone gathered, Karen greeted each member in turn. He tossed the notebook filled with array formations directly to Marlo, who reached for his point coupons, only for Karen to wave him off. On the sparring ring, two people had just finished an exchange: Zema and Cutro. Wende took the initiative to approach Karen, smiling. "Looking forward to seeing you and Gray spar." Standing nearby, Gray frowned slightly, though his expression soon relaxed. He had no desire to spar with Karen again. Once he confirmed that Karen had mastered combat techniques, he had told Karen that whatever experience remained could only be gained through real battle, decisively ending their week-long training. Aside from Fanny and Peige, nobody knew what kind of week he had endured! He had returned home completely exhausted every single day; walking from the bathroom to the bedroom after a shower had felt like climbing a mountain. Still, if it was just a brief bout or two, Gray thought it wouldn't be an issue. Today, everyone was here exchanging pointers and sharing experiences. Karen couldn't possibly drag him into another three-hour slugfest. "Sure," Karen agreed immediately. He had been looking forward to this as well. When he killed Adjudicator Ruke, Karen had advanced to Inquisitor, cashing in his prior accumulation and talent. But killing Ruke hadn't required much maneuvering. Upon returning home, he had formed a symbiosis contract with Purr. Inside his body now operated two distinct belief systems—one of Order, the other of Light. Having also shared the bloodline of Progenitor Allen through Purr, his Sea God's Armor and Dark Moon Blade had undergone further development and enhancement. To put it in Captain Neo's terms: Karen was like a bloodshot-eyed kid holding a water gun on the street, itching to squirt anyone he saw just to lure them into the woods. Karen wasn't simply eager to show off a new toy; he genuinely wanted to know what his new toy was capable of. In other words, Karen had lost all benchmarks for his true strength. Karen and Gray each selected a weapon. Karen chose a longsword as usual, while Gray stuck to his spear. The rest of the squad gathered around below the ring, ready to watch. "The Captain just ordered him promoted to the second sequence?" Cutro asked Zema. "Yeah," Zema nodded. "Didn't Fanny announce it?" "I'd like to see it for myself," Cutro said. That was what most of the teammates were thinking. They didn't particularly care about the second sequence's advantage in loot distribution, nor did they question the Captain favoring his own people. What mattered to them was how to coordinate during future missions. The Captain was the lead hound; the second sequence were the powerhouses beneath him. The others had their respective roles, but their ultimate purpose was to support them. If they didn't know the frontline's true capability, providing backup would be very difficult. Quincy nudged Marlo's arm. "Hurry, they're about to start." Head down, Marlo was absorbed in the notebook. He looked up toward the ring and remarked, "According to Fanny, Gray's been tutoring Karen for a long time." Wende stood closest to the ring with his arms crossed. Peige stuck a straw into a bottle of brandy, took a long drag, and offered it to Fanny, who also took a deep sip. "Why are you watching so intently? Haven't you had your fill?" Peige asked. "You didn't participate in the last mission. There were changes you don't know about." "Ha. What kind of changes could completely overturn a person?" "For ordinary people, none. But what about a true genius?" Fanny countered. Peige paused, took another massive sip of brandy as if it were soda, and said, "I take back what I just said." Gray raised his spear and said, "I agree with the Captain placing you in the second sequence, and I heard about some things from the last mission through Wende. So, I want to get straight to the point today." Karen smiled faintly. "Sure. Straight to the point." A black aura radiated from Gray's body, wrapping around the spear in his hands. Clearly, with so many spectators watching, he didn't want to lose face. Sea God's Armor materialized over Karen's body. But now, not only did water flow across the armor, snowflakes swirled through it as well, and its overall hue had turned distinctly darker. Next, Karen raised his longsword, activating Dark Moon Blade. The blade was enveloped in an effect resembling flames—dark-colored flames. The two spells had merged and transformed with the bloodline of Progenitor Allen inside Karen. Coupled with his vastly improved control over his power, he could now disguise the two spells he had previously used, ensuring outsiders wouldn't recognize them. Gray went on the offensive, his spear whistling sharply through the air. *He said straight to the point, but is he still holding back?* *Otherwise, why do his movements seem so slow?* Karen felt a flicker of confusion. He hadn't realized that his heightened perception had elevated an entire tier, making Gray's actions look like slow motion in his eyes. Karen focused, swinging his longsword downward to parry Gray's spear away. Yet... Karen's strike hit nothing. "..." Karen. "..." Gray. The swing was simply too fast, exceeding Karen's own prior muscle memory, causing the sword to completely miss the spear. Gray was equally stunned. His thrust was like a break shot in billiards—merely an opening warm-up. He never expected Karen to fail to parry it. Yet Karen had missed, leaving his defenses completely wide open. *Buzz!* The tip of Gray's spear struck the armor over Karen's chest. Just as Gray went to pull his force to avoid severely injuring his teammate, he discovered in astonishment that the armor over Karen's chest had condensed into black ice. His spear tip couldn't penetrate it at all! Karen swept his longsword upward. *Bang!* Gray felt a terrifying wave of heat surge into his palms, accompanied by an immensely powerful shockwave. Forced to let go, his spear was sent flying. Out of habit from their sparring sessions, Karen's sword settled lightly on Gray's shoulder. The spar was over. Karen was stunned. Gray was stunned. The teammates watching below were all collectively stunned. Quincy said in disbelief, "And this is what Fanny called Gray tutoring Karen for a long time?" Marlo licked his lips, finally closing the notebook, and asked in bewilderment, "Yeah... so how did Gray manage to keep sparring for an entire week?" Cutro let out a long breath. "Good heavens." Zema rolled his neck. "Damn!" Peige took another massive gulp of brandy. "Fanny, am I drunk?" Fanny shook her head. "I suddenly feel that not taking him by force the first time you met might end up being the greatest regret of your life." Peige clutched her chest. "Don't say it. My heart is already aching." Karen lowered the sword resting on Mr. Gray's shoulder. Gray chuckled wryly and raised both hands. "There's truly no fighting you." "It's because you taught me well," Karen said. "How thick would my skin have to be to reply: 'I'm very gratified'?" "Actually, if we fought again, it wouldn't go like this," Karen said. Gray operated like an assassin. Engaging Karen in close-quarters brute force had two flaws: first, he underestimated the current defensive power of Karen's Sea God's Armor, failing to disrupt Karen's stance; second, he hadn't anticipated the fire-attribute power conducting through to scorch his spear. Had he used his personal spear, it might not have ended this way; And had he avoided these pitfalls beforehand, choosing to maneuver and wear Karen down, he could have held out for a long time—at the very least, he wouldn't have been disarmed so effortlessly. "If this had been a real life-or-death encounter, I'd already be dead. I'm really looking forward to seeing you take on the Captain." Gray then turned toward the crowd below, looking at Wende, who was quietly trying to slip back into the group. "Wende, your turn to spar!" Wende, who had hoped to dodge this fate, cracked a wry smile and leapt onto the ring anyway. As Gray vaulted down, Wende couldn't help muttering under his breath: "Must have been tough on you, keeping this secret for so long, secretly taking lessons here the whole time." "..." Gray. Gray wanted to explain, but had no idea how. It sounded absurd even to his own ears, so he couldn't expect anyone else to believe him. He couldn't exactly say that Karen didn't even know how to properly hold a sword when they first sparred, could he? Wende gave Karen a slight bow, and Karen bowed in return. Immediately, Wende's figure dissolved into gray mist, flitting rapidly around the ring. This was his usual combat style—harassing opponents with sheer speed. Besides, with Gray's example fresh in his mind, he dared not approach rashly. Seeing this, Karen chose not to use the spells he had studied over lunch. The ring was only so large, wasn't it? Karen began to chant: "Order—Guardian Wall!" *Buzz!* A massive Guardian Wall materialized on the ring, but Wende skirted right around it. "What is he doing?" Quincy asked in confusion. Having just stepped down, Gray observed the scene and said, "The ring is only this big. Karen intends to use Guardian Walls to box in Wende's mobility." "Is that even possible? How many walls would that take? Does he have enough spirituality?" Quincy asked. Hearing that question, Gray's lips twitched. *You're asking if he has enough spirituality?* Gray truly couldn't answer that. Except for the very first day, he had spent the rest of the week ground into sheer helplessness and despair by Karen's overwhelming spiritual reserves—a memory carved deep into his soul. At first, Wende didn't understand Karen's aim either. Until the second, third, fourth, fifth... and twelfth Guardian Wall appeared. Wende finally realized something was very wrong. He attempted to shatter the walls with his own power. Yet this basic spell, learnable even by a God's Servant, proved despairingly sturdy. His daggers slashed against them repeatedly, but couldn't carve out so much as a crack. Had Wende known that not long ago, an Adjudicator using two summoned skeletons hacking with scythes the entire way hadn't managed to break these walls, he might have felt somewhat better. The twelve Guardian Walls divided and locked down the space on the ring. Then, Karen raised his longsword, ready to herd the fish into the net. Seeing this, Wende didn't bother stepping off the ring to make a graceful, dignified surrender. Instead, he materialized where he stood, raised both hands, and declared bluntly: "I lose." Then he added: "You're just bullying people." Karen waved his hand, dismissing all the Guardian Walls. The spar ended in complete peace. Karen smiled. "This wasn't a real battle. In a real battle, I wouldn't have caught you." Wende didn't care about saving face and replied directly, "I wouldn't dare get near you, either." Then, Wende turned to face the teammates below and shouted: "You can start cheering now! With Karen joining us, our squad has become stronger!" Everyone had initially been in shock, but no one felt envy. The losers had conceded cleanly, without a trace of resentment. Everyone present knew that the stronger the lead hunting hound was, the more meat and resources the following dogs would share! They could only feel happy and thrilled. Who wouldn't want to belong to a more competitive squad? Only a fool would be unhappy! Every hand went up below, and thunderous cheers erupted. ... Outside the warehouse, a car pulled up, driven by Richard. Sitting in the passenger seat, Neo pointed inside and said: "Get out. I'll take you in to meet your teammates." Richard nodded furiously, his face flushed with excitement: "Yes, Captain! I... I... I've been waiting for this moment forever!"