Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A dead silence had fallen over the war room. Only the ticking sounds of a clock could be heard in a corner.
“Remind me again, what were the Jinsha military’s chances of taking down the Golden Hands when we were running our tactical simulations?” someone asked.
“I think it was around 60 percent,” replied one general.
The air in the room had turned icy cold. Even if they’d had a 60-percent chance of coming out victorious, there was no way they would be able to take down such a large-scale organization so easily.
Of course, the simulations had only taken into account the Jinsha military’s overall strength. More often than not, the region’s government and military were viewed as separate entities. While the military could improve their chances of success by recruiting trainers from the government, as well as those from the outside, the cost and manpower necessary to pull this off would be beyond the military’s resources. Also, a recruitment drive on this scale would definitely have tipped off the Golden Hands.
More importantly, this would go against everything the region stood for.
“Give the order. We’ll launch a coordinated raid on every existing Golden Hands branch this instant,” said a high-ranking general commandingly, slapping the table with his hand. They had been watching the Golden Hands for too long. Now was the time for action.
“Gao… Peng,” muttered a good-looking young man with sunken eyes and a high nose bridge. That name was now deeply embedded in his mind.
He was hailed as one of the young rising stars in the Jinsha region, the genius trainer in the military who had already raised a couple of Lord-tier familiars at such a young age. After watching the satellite feed today, the young man couldn’t help but feel frustrated at himself.
He took a deep breath. He only had five Lord-tier familiars with him. I too already have a Lord-tier familiar and three Commander-tier familiars at my disposal. There’s not much of a gap between us!
I, Suo Lun, will never give up. I will surpass him someday! This I swear! He had set Gao Peng as a standard that he had to surpass no matter what.
The only reason Gao Peng had been able to take down the Golden Hands was that they had completely underestimated him.
The Golden Hands would have definitely run for the hills as soon as they caught a whiff of the slightest movement from the military. Who would have thought that it would only take one person to bring about their downfall?
It was something that could only happen in their wildest dreams. This wasn’t some fairy tale, where a hero could just save a damsel in distress from the hands of a demon king by stabbing him in the heart with his legendary sword.
“We lost. Worse still, we were defeated by a 21-year-old boy,” muttered the red-robed apostle despondently in his ice prison.
“What? I’m only 20!” retorted Gao Peng, frowning.
“But I’ve read your file. Wasn’t yesterday your 21st birthday? Oh… maybe you Huaxia people follow a different calendar?”
“We’re using the lunar and solar calendars like everyone else,” said Gao Peng stiffly. He then looked at the creature that resembled a carpet lying in the corner.
[Monster Name]: Gold-Threaded Rug Monster
[Monster Level]: Level 43
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Attribute]: Metal
[Monster Ability]: Sturdy Golden Threads Level 2
[Weaknesses]: Fire
[Description]: Originally a gold-threaded rug passed down for 3,000 years. It came to life after the Cataclysm and subsequently evolved into the Gold-Threaded Monster. It has a gentle disposition. Other rugs and carpets are its main source of food. It hates fire.
A rug that was magically brought to life!
Gao Peng was stunned. This was the second non-living thing he had seen that had evolved into a living monster, the first being the living stone statues like the Guan Yu stone statue.
Curious indeed… I would really like to study it closely. If only we were at home right now…
It would be troublesome to bring a Lord-tier familiar that still belonged to someone else back home. Gao Peng would also have to keep it restrained at all times.
Gao Peng sighed.
There was another way—have the Jinsha government keep it for the time being. However, Gao Peng didn’t trust anyone there.
If I were to hand it over to them, there’s no guarantee that they would give it back to me. I’ve already killed so many people in the Golden Hands. What do I have to fear from a mere rug? thought Gao Peng.
He narrowed his eyes at the Gold-Threaded Rug Monster.
“Are you seriously thinking about taming this creature?” asked the Desolate Frost Lion through its Blood Contract with Gao Peng.
Gao Peng paused, then shook his head. “No, I just want to study it for a bit.”
Da Zi let out a sigh. He, too, thought that Gao Peng was going to add another monster to his collection. Its feelers wiggled about happily as it gave the Desolate Frost Lion a determined look.
“If it was a monster without a trainer, I could still let any of my subordinates keep it, but its contract with its trainer is still intact. There’s no way I can break it at this point,” muttered Gao Peng.
The Desolate Frost Lion looked at Gao Peng curiously, then asked, “So what if it still has a trainer? Just break its Blood Contract.”
Gao Peng widened his eyes at the Desolate Frost Lion. “What did you just say? A Blood Contract can be broken?”
The Desolate Frost Lion’s brows furrowed, then relaxed when he remembered that these people were country bumpkins and probably didn’t know that a Blood Contract could be broken.
“Yeah. However, there are three conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to break a Blood Contract.”
Gao Peng hesitated. He had never heard about this. However, this knowledge was akin to Pandora’s box. If Gao Peng didn’t open it now, someone else might do it sooner or later. The only thing that mattered right now was Gao Peng’s curiosity…
“What are these three conditions?”
“First, you must chant the incantation that’s supposed to break a Blood Contract. Next, you must have the other trainer willingly break his or her connection with the familiar. For this to work, he or she must be in a normal state of mind. If he or she is somehow bewitched or under any form of mind control, you won’t be able to meet this condition. Last but not least, you must have the familiar willingly break its Blood Contract with its trainer. Again, like its trainer, its mind must not be affected in any way.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Gao Peng fell silent. These three conditions seemed simple enough. However, there wasn’t much he could do to meet the last two conditions.
Who would be willing to break a Blood Contract with their own familiars? Still, the fact remained that he would need the consent of both parties in order to make this work.
A peaceful separation was how Gao Peng would describe breaking a Blood Contract between trainer and familiar.
“It’s still someone else’s familiar…” muttered Gao Peng to himself. There was no telling if he could get anyone to willingly break their Blood Contract with their familiar, let alone an enemy of his.
The golden-robed apostle’s finger suddenly twitched. He was now breathing heavily through his nostrils.
“Help me, please, I beg you, save me.” said the golden-robed apostle in a low voice. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. His face had turned as white as a sheet.
He was more than aware of his current condition. Only a Healing-type familiar could pull him back from the doors of death at this point.
