Alamos said nothing and answered with an attack.
If it had been someone else, he might have tried to reason with them or offered incentives to reach an agreement. But that clearly wasnât an option against Li Daqian.
So, it came down to life or death.
The Pain Curse Master was a support job, but Alamos, as an eight-star evolved and the leader of a top-tier laboratory, wouldnât place all his hopes on having warriors help him in battle.
He had his own way of fighting.
Alamos decided to strike first.
He pulled out a model from his space equipment and tossed it between himself, Li Daqian, and his son, Li Zhizhong.
The model resembled a prison cell. After landing, it expanded to about a meter in height.
Then, the model's iron-barred door opened, and a levelless zombie dog rushed out, baring its teeth and growling threateningly at Li Daqian and his son.
Next came a second dog, then a third. Ten medium-sized dogs, each about a meter tall, had appeared in just three or four seconds.
Li Daqian didnât immediately attack. No matter how tough he talked, he was deeply wary of Alamos. He had deliberately stayed down and watched as his subordinates were knocked out individually to observe this manâs fighting style.
But now, seeing Alamos summon so many creatures, Li Daqian became even more cautious. At the very least, Alamos hadnât done this earlier.
What surprised Li Daqian even more was that the summoning didnât stop there. Alamos threw out another itemâa dark, cave-like gate. After landing, it also expanded, though much larger than the prison cell, reaching nearly three meters in height before stopping. From it emerged a massive black energy troll.
Next came an Earth Troll, followed by a stitched-together, Decomposing Troll.
The appearance of the three trolls was far more impressive than the ten small zombie dogs. Though they werenât armed, their massive size and the surging energy around them made them seem far more dangerous.
Li Daqianâs eyes turned red, and his body grew more muscular. His fingernails elongated into sharp claws, and his equipment began to glow. Metal armor extended, covering his entire body.
The leader of Thousand Beast Villa wasnât like Qin Ru. His most powerful ability was summoning battle beasts, but he was still formidable even without them.
Now, he was using the basic Bear Bloodline, a long-lasting bloodline that enhanced all aspects of his body, though it reduced his agility.
His equipment had been specially purchased from Cloud Peak. Five pieces of green-grade defensive gear with excellent abilities were complemented by two blue-grade pieces he had acquired himself, giving him solid defensive capabilities.
An offensive bloodline paired with top-tier defensive equipment, combined with his eight-star evolution level, made Li Daqian a formidable fighter.
Li Zhizhong also activated his bloodline. His bloodline was far superior to his fatherâsâthe Demon Bloodline was already upgraded to the intermediate grade.
Li Zhizhong had a battle beast, a six-star one, which was decent by the standards of Thousand Beast Villa but couldnât compare to the seven-star beasts of his uncles and elders. Li Daqian himself also had a unique eight-star battle beast.
Li Zhizhong fell short in this area, but Li Daqian didnât neglect his son. He compensated in other ways, ensuring Li Zhizhong had an excellent bloodline, even upgrading it.
The Demon Bloodline was an explosive bloodline that not only greatly enhanced physical attributes but also granted strange and powerful abilities, turning attacks into energy-based ones.
It was also a versatile bloodline combining close and long-range combat skills.
Father and son moved in perfect sync. After transforming, they charged forwardâLi Daqian toward the three trolls and Li Zhizhong toward the ten zombie dogs.
Those who knew Alamos understood he was a somewhat eccentric old man, especially in battle.
Alamosâs confidence soared, seeing his two summoning items in place. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he muttered incantations rapidly under his breath. Soon, a cloud of black dots flew out from him, landing on the zombie dogs.
âStrength Curse!â
The Curse Master was one of the few jobs in the post-apocalyptic world with many skills. Though each skill might not be particularly powerful due to the jobâs supportive nature, they were enough to give opponents a headache.
The Strength Curse significantly increased the zombie dogsâ strength.
âSpeed Curse!â
Another quick spell, this one enhancing the dogsâ speed.
âFear Curse!â
This curse wasnât cast on the zombie dogs or the trolls but on Li Zhizhong.
It was unavoidableâa guaranteed hit.
This wasnât entirely accurate. The success rate of a curse masterâs negative status spells was directly related to the targetâs mental strength. The stronger the targetâs mental strength, the lower the success rate.
Of course, a lower success rate didnât mean success was impossible.
As a mental-based profession, curse masters naturally had immense mental strength, making their spells highly accurate.
Li Zhizhong was only a seven-star evolved and a warrior. Mental strength wasnât his forte, so the curse immediately affected him.
This was his first encounter with a curse master.
Seeing the zombie dogs, now significantly faster and stronger, Li Zhizhong suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of fear. He stopped charging and dodged to the side, trying to avoid these terrifying creatures.
Alamos chuckled and cast his fourth curse.
âSticky Ground Curse!â
The ground beneath Li Zhizhongâs feet seemed to turn into thick glue, making each step incredibly difficult.
The ten zombie dogs pounced, baring their sharp fangs as they aimed for various parts of Li Zhizhongâs body.
Li Zhizhong panicked as his fear grew. He couldnât even fight at his usual level, flailing his arms wildly to fend off the terrifying creatures.
In reality, these zombie dogs werenât particularly strongâthey were just sharp-toothed and vicious. Even with the Fear Curse making him timid, Li Zhizhongâs strength hadnât diminished. In his transformed state, a single swipe of his arm crushed the skull of the lead zombie dog.
Under normal circumstances, Li Zhizhong could have dodged and counterattacked, wiping out the zombie dogs in seconds.
But now, his attacks were chaotic. After killing one dog, he didnât know what to do next and was immediately bitten by several others.
Alamos suddenly raised his voice, pointing a finger as he cast another curse.