Chapter 74: The Dragon-Ape Infant, An Equal Contract
Chapter 74: The Dragon-Ape Infant, An Equal Contract
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Dark clouds billowed, and the dragon’s armored scales gave off a savage feel!
The thunder dragon gave off a majestic aura as it soared into the sky!
A surging wave of pressure emanated from the thunder dragon, so oppressive that everyone’s scalps were tingling, and they couldn’t quite catch their breath.
In Heaven’s Vault Continent, seventh-grade spells were already considered high-grade spells capable of causing massive destruction and containing a fearsome level of destructiveness.
The moment a seventh-grade spell fully struck an Eighth-Grade Warrior, they would suffer serious injuries even if they survived. This was the reason why every single person present there was so fearful of the thunder dragon above.
However, the most fearsome thing here was that...
The casting of Thunder Dragon Descends had been completed in just two to three breaths. This meant that it was an instant release of... a seventh-grade spell!
“A Saint Domain Magician!”
“He’s a Saint Domain Magician!”
“C-captain, he’s a Saint Domain Magician! He’s... a Saint Domain!”
The Magicians’ legs trembled while their countenances filled with shock and fear. A Saint Domain, a lofty Saint Domain high up above... A Saint Domain was actually standing right in front of them!
“S-saint Domain!!”
Fear appeared on the faces of the captain and everyone else from the Fire Cloud Mercenaries. There was none of the self-confidence and courage from earlier anymore.
They could fight an Eighth-Grade Magician, but if the one they’d run into was a Ninth-Grade Magician, then they would have to flee, much less when it was a Saint Domain?!
“S-sir, we were too full of ourselves and ignorant and ended up affronting you. We’re willing to offer up this Titanic Dragon-Ape, so I hope you can forgive our sins, sir!”
The captain reacted very quickly. He dropped onto his knees with a loud thud, and hurriedly began to beg for mercy. One by one, the other members of Fire Cloud Mercenaries also knelt down and begged for mercy.
Even though they were extremely unwilling and reluctant to part with their kill, they didn’t possess even a shred of desire to fight back at all when facing a Saint Domain. What they had was just the desire to survive.
In Heaven’s Vault Continent, one could offend anybody, with the sole exception of Saint Domains. Otherwise, even their deaths would be in vain.
So what even if that was a Ninth-Grade Magical Beast? When placed in front of their lives, it could be discarded all the same.
“You may live, but dismember the Titanic Dragon-Ape first!”
Meng Lei’s voice was aloof and distant. He’d initially wanted to kill them, but the moment he saw the towering Titanic Dragon-Ape, he changed his mind at once.
That was such a massive lump of meat. How long would it take if he were to handle it all by himself? So, he’d better make them stay and help out instead,
“Yes, yes! Glad to offer my services!”
The captain didn’t dare to be remiss. He hastily ordered his subordinates to dismember the Titanic Dragon-Ape, lest Meng Lei found them too slow and changed his mind.
For a while there, the sound of flesh being cut and bones being cleaved rang out in the surroundings.
“Not bad.”
Meng Lei was very pleased with their performances. With their help, it’d be much faster than him doing it all by himself. If nothing went wrong, they should be able to finish dismembering the Titanic Dragon-Ape before night fell.
“How did you manage to instantly release a seventh-grade spell?” At that moment, Ol’ Amos’ voice, which was filled with puzzlement and astonishment, rang out. “Are you actually a Saint Domain? But that doesn’t make sense. Your spiritual power is clearly only seventh-grade!”
“It’s a secret.”
Meng Lei gave him a smug smile and didn’t pay any more attention to the furious old man. Instead, he turned and walked toward the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s den. He wasn’t afraid that the Fire Cloud Mercenaries would play any no-good tricks!
The cave was very big. It reached over a dozen meters high, but on top of the 100-meter high cliff, it was no more than a small scar at best.
The cave was very deep, and it twisted and turned such that one couldn’t see right to the end. Inside were jagged, strangely-shaped rocks and hanging stalactites, and it looked like a whole different world.
After walking for about 300 to 400 meters, the cave interior suddenly brightened—there were glittering jewels embedded on the walls.
There were pure, transparent diamonds, colorful, glittering jewels, warm and mild jade, agate the size of a dog’s head, as well as bright and colorful crystals...
“Damn! What a huge diamond! That’s as big as a pig’s head, isn’t it?
“The green of this jade is so rich! Like a green hat1!
“Is this agate...?”
There was a greenish glow in Meng Lei’s eyes. Looking at this place through the eyes of a human from Earth, every single jewel here was a piece of treasure worth millions and would definitely sell for exorbitant sums of money!
Everything else aside, the worth of just the diamonds alone was already immeasurable. Even the smallest was as big as an infant’s fist, while the biggest was no smaller than a pig’s head.
All of these highly valuable treasures had been embedded so casually in the moist and gloomy earthen walls? To act as illumination? How aggravating and frustrating!
“They’re actually using such treasures as illumination! That’s just treasures covered by dust and a waste of God’s gifts!”
Meng Lei shook his head and sighed. He’d already made up his mind—he was going to take all the jewels with him and leave not even a single one here when he left later. That bunch of fat, old geezers from the nobility loved glittery things like these the most. He’d definitely be able to sell them for a good price.
As he went all the way into the depths of the den, the light suddenly dimmed. However, Meng Lei’s eyes lit up instead. Compared to when he’d seen the jewels earlier, the light in his eyes was much brighter by severalfold!
He was looking at... a nest?
Meng Lei’s breathing turned quick and ragged as he crept over stealthily. A small nest piled full of weeds, tree branches, and beast furs appeared before his eyes—there was a young beast sleeping soundly inside.
Under a layer of wet, sticky fluid was soft, supple armor. A pair of bloodstained wings wrapped tightly around its body, while its nose and lips were soft and tender...
“Is this thing really the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s infant?”
After he got a good look at the little beast’s true appearance, Meng Lei now held a rather distrustful attitude toward life. Wet and wrinkly, this was clearly a soft and tender naked gorilla with wings!
The kind that had just been born, no less!
Which part of it had even a shadow of the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s mighty aura?
Weak, helpless, and pitiful!
Weren’t these just describing that thing over here?
“This is the Titanic Dragon-Ape’s infant, no doubt about that.” Ol’ Amos floated in mid-air, twisting his beard with a smile as he said, “Don’t look down on it. Once it gets past its weak stage that lasts two days, it’ll be on par with a Fifth-Grade Magical Beast. Ripping apart tigers and leopards with its bare hands and devouring jackals and wolves will be a cinch.”
“Is this thing really that powerful?”
Meng Lei curled his lip, a million doubts in his mind. He wasn’t judging a book by its cover. It was just that this miniature version of the Titanic Dragon-Ape in front of him now was honestly a little too big of a wuss. It looked just like a newborn kitten, the kind that even a chopstick could suppress.
“Stop being so goddamn pretentious and set up a contractual magic circle to contract it at once!” urged Ol’ Amos in dry amusement. “Remember, sign an equal contract, not a master-servant one!”
“Why should I sign an equal contract?”
Meng Lei frowned, somewhat reluctant. “Isn’t a master-servant contract better? Getting it to become my servant and bow to me completely, commanding it with ease so that it’ll do whatever I say, isn’t that a better idea?”
“Meng Lei, you must understand this.” Ol’ Amos shook his head. “A magical pet is the trusted right-hand man of us Magicians and is also the closest partner of us Magicians. It’s even more so a friend and support that’s worth our utmost trust!
“While getting it to become your servant can certainly give you great assistance when its master completely controls a Magical Beast’s mind and consciousness, it’s no different from a puppet during battle. The rapport between the two is too poor.
“The chemical reaction is terrible, and 1+1 equates to less than 2.
“But an equal contract is different.
“After you enter into an equal contract, the Magical Beast and its master are on equal terms. They rise to glory together and fall to disgrace together. When a Magical Beast has its own mind and consciousness, and its heart is closely linked to its master’s, they can coordinate with each other with great rapport and achieve an effect where 1+1 equates to more than 2!”
“Oh, I see!”
Meng Lei nodded slightly, as if deep in thought.
“There’s also something else that you must understand—when one enters into a master-servant contract, they are usually forcibly subduing a Magical Beast. This is a contract that the Magical Beast signs in a situation where it’s resentful and unreconciled to its fate. But now?”
Ol’ Amos sighed and said, “The Titanic Dragon-Ape infant is still young and is oblivious and ignorant of the outside world. If you raise it, it’ll see you as its one and only kin.
“In a situation like that, unless you’re suffering from brain damage, why would you enter into a master-servant contract that’ll turn it into a puppet?”
“Ol’ President, you’re right. That makes a lot of sense!” Meng Lei agreed wholeheartedly. Then, he scratched his head and said in embarrassment, “But I have a problem... I don’t know how to set up the contractual magic circle for an equal contract!”
“I’m gonna faint!”