Chapter 288 - 167: The Pursuit Arrives (2)
"Wait, Lord Bess!"
"Don’t you have the schematics for a Teleportation Array that can take us back to the Eye Demon Realm?"
"Let’s set up a Teleportation Array right here, right now."
"If you return empty-handed, you’ll be punished too, won’t you?"
Ah Pu tried to stop Bess from leaving. He now felt some resentment toward Bess. If Bess hadn’t ordered him to head north, he could have just quietly waited with the parasitized lords and heroes for the phase to end and returned directly to the Eye Demon Realm.
But now, not only had he failed to secure more gains, he couldn’t even bring back these parasitized lords and heroes. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to get back himself.
"Sure. You get the materials ready, and I’ll set it up for you."
Without another word, Ah Pu immediately had someone bring over the materials they had prepared long ago.
"Basalt, adamantite, Spiritual Crystal Cores..."
"But there’s no Space Stone, is there? Can’t be done, can’t be done. You should just focus on finding a way to save your own skin!"
Bess took stock of the materials and didn’t see the most important ingredient: the Space Stone.
So, he shook his head, indicating that without a Space Stone, he couldn’t build the Teleportation Array.
"Lord Bess, could we use your Space Stone? I’ll definitely pay you back double in the future!"
Ah Pu grabbed Bess, who was about to leave.
After listening, Bess turned back to look at him and asked quizzically, "Why would I have a Space Stone? If I did, wouldn’t I have left long ago? Would I still be here worrying my head off with you?"
"Heh, Lord Bess, let’s not play dumb. Just dismantle your Space Stone Detector. I know there’s a Space Stone inside it."
Bess’s expression flickered, but he calmly said, "So what if you know? Once activated, a Space Stone becomes extremely unstable. Dismantling it rashly won’t just fail to retrieve the stone, it could also trigger spatial turbulence and get us torn to shreds by the chaotic currents."
"Lord Bess, don’t be so modest! I’ve heard you’re a rare genius among the Invisible Sentinels, a master of spatial abilities. Otherwise, the lords wouldn’t have sent you here to set up the Teleportation Array. You can definitely get the Space Stone out of the detector, can’t you?" Ah Pu said with a placating smile.
"But why should I help you?"
"Lord Bess, how about this? The upgrade resources and the Space Stone I promised you before—I’ll double them! No, I’ll triple them!"
Ah Pu laid out his bargaining chips, but Bess still looked unconcerned. No matter how good it sounded, it was just an empty promise and couldn’t be taken seriously.
"Lord Bess, as long as we make it back, I’ll also give you resources to raise your level in the future." Seeing the two at a stalemate, a Core Lord standing nearby grew worried that dragging things out would leave them with no hope of escape, and so he chimed in.
Ah Pu’s eyes lit up. "Exactly, Lord Bess! It’s not just me, it’s them too. As long as we get back to the Eye Demon Realm, we can participate in the next Lord tournament. When that time comes, each of us will pay you in upgrade resources and points from the tournament."
"Hm?" Bess glanced at the lords present, a flicker of interest in his eyes.
’No matter what,’ he thought, ’even though the elimination rate for the Lord tournament is quite high, with dozens of lords here, there’s a decent chance a few of them will pass the first phase. Getting points and resources from them then... that doesn’t sound so bad. It might even be possible to make up for the loss of the Space Stone.’
"Alright. Come and sign this contract, and I’ll lend you a hand."
After a moment of thought, Bess took a contract from his robes and wrote down the terms.
The contract was surrounded by all sorts of Magic Patterns; it was a rare Magic Contract.
"This is a Magic Contract. As long as you sign it—true name or alias, it doesn’t matter—it will be binding. Look over the terms. If there are no problems, then sign it."
Ah Pu took the contract and examined it carefully.
[It is hereby agreed that the Invisible Sentinel, ____, will assist the contractors in returning to the Eye Demon Realm via Teleportation Array. The contractors shall, after the completion of each phase of the subsequent Lord tournament, give one-third (1/3) of all resources and points obtained to Bess as a fee for the use of the Teleportation Array.]
[Contractors: ...]
"Lord Bess, isn’t this usage fee a bit steep? How about... a little less?"
After reading the contract, the other lords also began to murmur amongst themselves, most of them feeling that a one-third cut was too high.
"Heh, if you don’t make it back, you’ll have nothing at all. What are you even thinking about? Or maybe you want to try your luck and see if you can survive until the end of the day?"
"Sign it if you want, give it back if you don’t. At worst, I’ll just have wasted this Magic Contract."
Bess was getting angry. In his eyes, these lords really didn’t know what was good for them. Their lives weren’t even safe yet, and here they were, already worrying about future profits.
"No, Lord Bess, I’ll sign!" Fearing that Bess would actually get angry and leave, Ah Pu quickly signed his name.
With Ah Pu taking the lead, all the (parasitized) lords signed their true (Eye Demon) names on the contract.
Bess took back the contract and, after a satisfied look, signed his name. The contract then spontaneously burst into flame, but as it vanished, everyone present felt something new lodge itself in their (Eye Demon) minds. They understood that if they failed to abide by the contract, they would lose consciousness (their souls).
Afterwards, Bess gathered the materials Ah Pu had brought out, found a relatively safe clearing in the nearby mountain forest, and began to set up the Teleportation Array.
...
The sky gradually brightened, and sunlight spilled down. In the blink of an eye, it was noon.