All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 239: A Tamed Disaster Beast

At the castle master’s command, the two giant gatekeepers sprang into action. Each held an iron chain, with a massive iron ball at the other end. These simple meteor hammers wielded terrifying power in their hands. One aimed directly at Zhanyue, while the other attacked Yunyao.

The iron ball grew from a distant speck to fill Zhanyue’s vision. He hurriedly raised his sword to defend. But rather than being struck by the ball, it felt as if he’d been hit by an entire mountain. He flew backward at an incredible speed, a blow that would have incapacitated any ordinary expert.

The giant’s task was to capture these two, so naturally, he wouldn’t let them escape. In a few strides, the giant caught up to the flying Zhanyue. Just as he reached out to grab him, Zhanyue suddenly vanished.

Reappearing behind the giant after burrowing underground, Zhanyue didn’t understand why the castle’s master had ordered their capture without knowing their intentions. But he knew he had to show some real skill or risk being underestimated.

Zhanyue swung his sword at the back of the giant’s ankle. However, the giant’s body was covered in sand armor. The sword struck solidly but became stuck in the giant’s sand armor, failing to cause any substantial damage.

“Hm?” The giant noticed Zhanyue below and turned to catch him again. But Zhanyue wasn’t so easily caught. He burrowed underground once more, then leapt up, this time aiming for the giant’s nape. According to an unwritten rule, a giant’s weak point should be the back of its neck. Yet once again, the sharp Heaven Punishing Demon Sword was blocked by the sand armor.

“I don’t believe this!” Zhanyue pressed a finger against the giant’s back shoulder. “One Finger Scorches the Heavens!”

The terrifying flames that could normally pierce through anything had no effect on the giant.

“Immense strength, immune to weapons and fire… How can this thing be so powerful?” Zhanyue was shocked. The sand-armored giant’s capabilities far exceeded his expectations. These two gate guardians were unexpectedly formidable.

On the other side, Yunyao had clearly lost her patience. She directly used brute force to overcome all techniques. With a single sword strike, she sent the sand-armored giant flying back, crashing heavily into the city wall and embedding it there.

“How long are you going to play around?” Yunyao turned to look at Zhanyue.

Zhanyue nodded, covering his entire body with the Silver Moon Armor. He decided to use softness to overcome hardness. Facing the giant charging back, two enormous tentacles appeared on the Silver Moon Armor. The tentacles wrapped around the giant’s feet, and Zhanyue began to spin, throwing the giant back like a discus.

The sand-armored giant was slammed heavily inside the city wall.

“Useless fools.”

The castle’s master let out a cold snort, and the two giants fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

At this moment, Zhanyue and Yunyao saw a figure fly out from the castle. It also had the appearance of a lizard-man, but was much more robust than the others. It wore a crown on its head and held a golden scepter in its hand, able to hover in mid-air. Being able to fly using only its own power meant it was at least at the Spirit God Realm.

“Be careful, this Sand Dune Clansman’s strength is no less than that of the Mountain Yao Elder and Spirit Eye Elder,” Yunyao warned, then covered herself in golden armor. She too needed to fight at full strength.

Together, they were a force that even ordinary Spirit God Realm beings would avoid. But clearly, this Sand Dune King was no ordinary Spirit God Realm being. Or perhaps this world didn’t have the concept of Spirit God Realm, but his strength was undeniable.

“Respected elder, we’ve come here regarding the matter of the disaster beast. We mean no offense,” Zhanyue said. They had come to eliminate the disaster beast, not to make enemies. He still hoped to resolve this peacefully.

“Disaster beast? The disaster beast has already submitted to me. Why should you concern yourselves? Your appearance is identical to the legendary celestial beings. I wonder what you taste like.” The Sand Dune King let out a chilling laugh.

Zhanyue and Yunyao exchanged a glance. They understood that this person was determined to fight them, and a few words wouldn’t change that. Also, what did he mean by the disaster beast submitting? But soon, they would understand.

The Sand Dune King raised his scepter high, muttering incantations.

Zhanyue and Yunyao hovered in the air, but they could sense something strange in the sand below. Countless golden fish burst forth, each with terrifyingly large fangs, identical to piranhas. How could such terrifying fish exist in this desert sea? Clearly, they weren’t fish at all, but the disaster beast that the two had encountered many times before.

This disaster beast could fly. The school of fish formed a fish cloud, surging towards the two in a sky-covering, earth-blanketing mass.

“So he was telling the truth about the disaster beast submitting?” The two were utterly shocked that the Sand Dune King could actually control the disaster beast.

They wordlessly flew outwards. They wouldn’t fight an unprepared battle. If the enemy was just the Sand Dune King, it would be fine, but the appearance of the disaster beast made them abandon the idea of fighting. After all, the disaster beast couldn’t be eliminated by ordinary means, and they needed more information.

The two fled the oasis at extreme speed. The disaster beast chased to the edge of the oasis but didn’t pursue further.

“What a pity. These two have wings and are quite fast. I’ve missed out on a fine meal,” the Sand Dune King said with some regret as he watched them escape, not bothering to give chase.

On the ground, a giant sand worm watched the two figures in the sky, then burrowed into the sand to follow them.

“What’s going on? We barely saw any of the Sand Dune Clan, but we ran straight into their leader, who was so unwelcoming. And the disaster beast submitted? How could the disaster beast submit to him?” There were too many incomprehensible things, and Zhanyue couldn’t make sense of it all.

“Who’s there?!” Just then, Yunyao stared at a nearby sand dune.

A figure leapt out from the dune. It was a giant sand worm, enormous in size, blood-red all over, with a body like a snake and a head like a chrysanthemum. In the center of the chrysanthemum were human-like facial features. It was a desert worm Clan member.

“Please don’t attack,” the worm said in human speech, proving it was a member of a civilized species.

“Who are you? Why are you following us?” Zhanyue asked.

“I can answer your questions,” the desert worm Clan member said. “The Sand Dune Clan’s ancestor obtained the divine artifact, the golden scepter, and subjugated the disaster beast. He unified the oasis and surrounding major Clans, establishing the Sand Dune Kingdom. It won’t be easy for you to defeat him. I can provide information and some assistance.”

Although the worm was strange-looking, its tone suggested it indeed knew quite a bit.

“What’s really going on?” Zhanyue asked.

The worm crawled closer and patiently explained: “This oasis was originally inhabited by three major Clans living together: the Sand Dune Clan, the Desert Worm Clan, and the Sand-Armored Giant Clan. The three Clans were roughly equal in strength, balancing each other out. Although the Sand Dune Clan was aggressive, they generally didn’t fight to the death. But everything changed after the Sand Dune Clan’s ancestor mastered the use of the golden scepter.”

“He ventured deep into the desert alone, and with the golden scepter, he subjugated the disaster beast. Then he used the disaster beast to overwhelm my Clan and the Sand-Armored Giant Clan. The two giants you encountered earlier were warriors of the Sand-Armored Giant Clan. As for their chieftain, he was killed for resisting the Sand Dune Clan’s rule.”

“Then why didn’t we see many people living in the city just now?” Zhanyue asked, puzzled.

“Because all the Clans, all the people, have been sent by him to build the Millennium Tower.”