Chapter 32：Threatening the Madam

The ranger team members, paralyzed by Allen's poisonous mist, were helpless.

Little Obion, like a tiger among sheep, slaughtered them effortlessly.

Allen, showing no mercy, instructed Little Obion to kill everyone in the courtyard except for his wife.

"Hmph, a bunch of fools, daring to harm my potion maker!" Little Obion turned to Allen, "Good thing you weren't hurt, or who would help me seize control of the Obion family!"

Saying this, he walked up to his wife, Cecilia, and coldly glared at her. He threw the blood-stained, blunt hunting knife at her feet.

"You stupid, lowly woman, how dare you disobey my orders!" he scolded.

"Sir, she's yours to deal with. You can even kill her if you wish!" With that, Little Obion walked away.

Under Allen's influence, Little Obion had become a training-obsessed maniac, caring for nothing but getting stronger.

Allen slowly walked across the blood-soaked stone tiles to Cecilia.

He reached out, gently gripping her chin. "Madam, tell me, how should this lowly commoner deal with you?"

*Slap!*

With a swift motion, Allen knocked the knife out of Cecilia's hand.

She groaned in pain, glaring at Allen, "You lowly commoner!"

Allen grabbed both her wrists with his left hand, tightening his grip on her chin with his right.

His eyes roved over her body shamelessly. "Tell me your name."

With a painful squeeze, Cecilia cried out, "Cecilia!"

"Cecilia? Hmm..." Allen mused. "Not a pleasant name. I'll stick with calling you 'Madam'."

He lifted her face, staring into her clear blue eyes. "Madam, you wouldn't want your husband to get hurt in the rainforest, would you?"

Cecilia frowned, not understanding, cursing Allen inwardly.

But Allen, not acting like a lecher, merely locked her in a secret chamber.

He ensured she was well-fed and attended to by maids daily.

...

Bernice, Allen's loyal subordinate, quickly returned to the mansion with her team upon receiving his orders.

They were greeted by a gruesome scene of corpses and blood.

Some team members fainted from the shock of the hellish sight.

Those who remained were deeply intimidated by Allen's ruthlessness.

No one dared to harbor any rebellious thoughts.

The next day, the mansion was cleaned, with only the blood-stained soil between the stone tiles hinting at the previous day's massacre.

"Now, with most of the ranger team dead, we're short on manpower. Bernice, take a few people and sail to the black market in Bacha. Buy a batch of slave orphans for me!"

"Understood, I'll leave tonight," Bernice replied.

"Little Stinker, gather all the kids in the village like you. You'll be their leader."

Knowing this was an opportunity for growth, Little Stinker eagerly agreed, "Got it, boss!"

"Schmidt (the blacksmith), recruit all the craftsmen nearby. Tell them they'll have enough to eat working for me!"

With these orders, Allen's streamlined team quickly and efficiently executed his commands.

The bloodshed had purged the old ailments, and Allen's power would rise from the corpses and ruins.

...

Having imprisoned Cecilia and purged the ranger team, Allen now held full military and political control of the estuary rainforest region.

Officially, Little Obion remained the highest authority, but under the Plant Mage's curse, he was reduced to a drug-addicted, training-obsessed puppet.

Except for the ignorant commoners, everyone under the forest district's jurisdiction had witnessed the shift in power.

No one questioned or opposed it. The last dissenter, Cecilia, was imprisoned.

The rebellious ranger team members were slaughtered.

Moreover, Allen occasionally had Little Obion make public appearances.

Each time, Little Obion, following Allen's "suggestions," showcased his growing strength.

Once, he even single-handedly subdued two strong bulls and cut through a 30-centimeter thick banyan tree with one strike!

This astonished everyone, making them understand why the forest district chief entrusted everything to Allen.

Compared to the transcendent power and unassailable strength, mundane matters were insignificant.

Despite Allen quietly building his base and subtly reinforcing people's perceptions over the past weeks, trouble still came.

The news of the ranger team's massacre and Cecilia's imprisonment had spread.

No secret lasts forever.

Or perhaps Cecilia had already secretly notified a member of the Obion family before acting against Allen.

Late morning, Allen was overseeing the construction of his base with his subjugated ranger team and new recruits, under the pretext of expanding the forest district.

Soon, his little assistant and messenger, Little Stinker, came running, panting heavily.

Without needing to hear, Allen knew it wasn't good news from the boy's anxious expression.

Sure enough, "Boss Allen, our spies (a group of orphans) around the village reported seeing a group of well-dressed people heading our way quickly!"

The estuary rainforest region wasn't wealthy or large. Traveling merchants usually came between June and July, trading along the river when the water level was high.

Now, with a group riding antlered deer, they clearly weren't merchants.

"Looks like the Obion family is here..."

Allen thought, the massacre of the ranger team and Cecilia's imprisonment wasn't something a branch of the Obion family could ignore.

"Bernice, take a dozen ranger team members and ambush at the village entrance. Wait for my signal. If you hear it, act immediately. If not, do nothing."

Bernice, having led the streamlined ranger team deep into the rainforest for hunting, had significantly improved their skills.

However, Allen wasn't ready for an open confrontation yet. "Let's hope the visitors aren't fools..."