Chapter 303 Withering Leaves Part 1

Aakash's body had barely crashed onto the ground that the two dozen light beams surrounded Konrad, revealing themselves to be eighteen dwarf-like men of similar ages and strength. At their helm were six pear-shaped beauties that merely stood at 1.6 meters tall.
However, the eerie green of their eyes and shining bloodlust within made all appeal they held negligible.
The leading six boasted an early-stage Divine Ascension cultivation base while the remaining eighteen all stood at the peak of Divine Transformation. However, the battle-power echoing from their pressure far outpaced the likes of Anatol.
And as the twenty-four surrounded him, Konrad's eyes contorted into a frown. Not only him but Yvonne, Else, Verena and Astarte were all startled. Clearly, those demons had been there for a substantial amount of time. However, despite their extrasensory abilities, they all failed to sense and locate them.
And at this juncture, it didn't take a genius to figure out that they all were…zenith ants!
They spoke no unnecessary words, and ignoring Nehal, assailed Konrad from all sides!
The eighteen peak-stage Divine Transformation zenith ants all summoned their lineage weapons to hack at Konrad from all available angles. However, although their battle-power far surpassed that of the usual peak Divine Transformation expert, how could they deter him?
*CLANG*
Long before their Nihility Flails could reach him, Konrad swung his war hammer in a horizontal curve, sending the eighteen zenith ants flying backward with a resounding metallic sound. Nehal used the opportunity to vanish, collect Aakash and Dasra's bodies, then return to the headquarters!
"This is not right. Having witnessed this battle, they should know very well that with Konrad's current strength, they do not stand a chance. Why then do they still dare appear with arms bared?"
Else wondered, her words awakening Yvonne and Verena to the suspiciousness of the situation. And indeed, by the time the eighteen male zenith ants were flying backward, three of the leading six were upon Konrad. Though their cultivation was at the early stage of Divine Ascension, they each possessed one high-grade, Mastered Divine Physique.
Thus, making their battle-power impossible to underestimate. However, that was still far from enough. With another hammer swing, Konrad sent them reeling with blood spurts, but undisturbed, they returned with greater fervor, locking him with their flails.
"Get lost!"
Konrad exclaimed, and the dark-purple flames coating his armor expanded in a repulsive force that again sent the assailants reeling with various degrees of damage.
But at that time, though their bones and organs ached, their lips curled into fiendish grins!
The remaining three zenith ant ladies used that instant to each fire a projectile toward Konrad, and the trained eye would be startled to see that those three projectiles…were nothing more than leaves!
However, those three leaves were all coated in a strange grey force none could recognize. None except…
"Avoid this at all cost!"
…Selene. And as soon as she sensed those leaves, her voice boomed in Konrad's mind.
Alas, it was far too late. The three leaves slammed against his armor, but instead of colliding with it, as if traversing dimensions, they bypassed its defenses to lodge themselves in Konrad's body!
Instantaneously, the leaves each released vast gray fog that spread within Konrad's body, filling every nook and cranny of his inner self!
Each leaf held a specific target. The first one aimed at Konrad's cultivation. The second one at his physiques, and the third at his bloodline. And by the time he realized what was occurring, his cultivation, bloodline, and physiques were all sealed by the three parasite leaves settled within his body.
His eyes widened in a stupor.
But that stupor didn't even last the fraction of a second. And as soon as he realized the leaves' effects, Konrad removed his armor, replacing it with his golden imperial robe.
"Parlor tricks."
He sneered as if the leaves held no effect on him, and waved his hand, summoning the second tool he'd gained from the system's eighth quest.
A floating, jade-colored throne appeared at his back, and he dropped into it, resting his hands on the throne's arms.
This throne was a reward for his Harem Emperor title. On the one hand, it could drastically weaken women at the Divine Rank and below while slowly gaining control of their mind, on the other hand, it could channel the strength of all his harem members, regardless of where they stood, to form a protective halo.
At the same time, Konrad could use the combined harem power to release one strike. Alas, he was limited to one per day.
But right now, he only held one desire. To make sure those zenith ants would fail to assert the leaves' effects on him!
As soon as he took position on his throne, the strength of the entire harem gathered within, forming a fifty meters wide protective barrier around him. At the same time, the six leading ant ladies felt their minds pervaded by a foreign force that weakened them at a rapid pace.
Yvonne, Else, Verena and Astarte didn't need any order to start a counterattack of their own.
"Kill!"
Yvonne bellowed while activating her Absolute War Sense and barreling into the six leading zenith ants!
With a swing of Hell's Reach, she tore a large gash in her target's chest while Verena and Else supported her with their Seer's Vision and Astarte controlled hundreds of artifacts to create openings with her second layer Absolute War Sense.
At that time, Konrad aimed at the eighteen male ants that raised their flails to surround and assault his consorts.
*BOOM*
A dazzling white light ball formed before his protective screen and turned into a hundred-meters wide beam that blasted the eighteen male ants below!
In tandem, Krann and the concealed Hidden Moon Pavilion experts activated the Jade Captial's formations, releasing dozens of jade-colored beams that slammed into the six female demonesses!
"Capture one, kill the rest!"
Konrad ordered in a strident tone but simultaneously sent his consorts messages to let one ant return to the nest. The pressure on his chosen target lessened, and as her partners fell one after the others, she managed to break free of the encirclement and fly back to the colony!
The eighteen male ants were all butchered. As for the remaining five, four perished while one turned into a captive.
Peace finally returned to the Jade Capital. But at the second it did, an alarming scene followed.
*PUH*
Konrad's eyes went bloodshot, and he spurted a large mouthful of blood before tumbling from his throne and drop toward the ground!