228 1 = 5
“Hey! Elliot, are you alright?” Khellendra shouted as they descended from the sky in a hurry. “We tried to get to you as soon as we could when we noticed the massive explosion of Hegemonic energy. But we were too far away! What happened here?
“A desperate fight for survival.” Elliot said with a smile and then pointed at the pieces of Emperor flesh all over the place. “A fight which I won.”
Khellendra, Khalondros and Autumn looked at the dead Emperors incredulously. At that moment, Autumn also finally noticed the bound and gagged Empress who had somehow survived Wu Kong’s powerful “Strike Of The Great Mountain Sage That Rivals The Heavens”.
“THIRD SENIOR SISTER???” Autumn couldn’t believe her eyes! She rubbed them quickly and then checked to see if the bound and gagged woman still looked the same.
She did!
“How in the world did you manage to take down my Third Senior Sister??” Autumn demanded as her rounded, shocked eyes stared at her powerful Third Senior Sister who looked absolutely miserable and helpless at that moment. “As her name suggests, she’s the third oldest and most probably the third strongest disciple of Fortune Hermit Mountain! She’s extremely close to being a Hegemon!”
“I didn’t take her down. My Lightning Apostle did.” Elliot replied casually as he received the last of the “loot” from his beasts and then dismissed them with a wave of his hand. pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ
“Your Lightning Apostle took her down… Ha.. ha..” What could Autumn do at that moment but laugh helplessly at Elliot’s words?
If his Lightning Apostle could defeat her Third Senior Sister, then wouldn’t he be able to defeat her as well? And if his mere Lightning Apostle was already that powerful, what about his personal strength?
Could he be the strongest under the Hegemon level while still being at the King level?
It was incredible!
Incredible!
“What happened to you three? I thought we drove the Emperors away before we got whisked away by that old man for a few moments earlier today.” Elliot asked them curiously as he ignored Autumn’s flabbergasted face which was simply begging for attention at that moment. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴoᴠᴇʟ
“What did you think happened? As soon as you disappeared, they returned to try and capture us once more. But thankfully, we managed to escape before they could get to us. All thanks to Autumn here who is rather proficient in Space Energy.” Khellendra explained.
“They stopped chasing us a while back, and we decided to hide to see if it was a trap. But the explosion took place, and we decided that you might need our help, so we came as fast as we could… And that reminds me, where is the Hegemon?”
“He… decided that he didn’t want to have anything to do with us anymore. The old man earlier probably scared him off.” Elliot said grimly as he got reminded of his utterly helpless moment under the vast and unfathomable might of the Hegemon.
Khalendros and Khellendra exchanged a quick look before deciding together that they wouldn’t press the issue.
“Very well. It’s good that you and your sister are both fine. And… judging by how easily you took down these Emperors, I am guessing that you do not need our help to rescue your sister anymore?” Khellendra said with a smile.
“The way you increased your strength in these few short days is nothing short of miraculous. It’s like you suddenly switched from our normal lane into a hyper-express lane.” Khalendros added. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Elliot chuckled lightly and merely smiled invitingly at Khalendros.
His meaning was clear.
Join me, and the “hyper-express lane” is yours to enjoy!
Khalendros smiled ruefully at Elliot and shook his head.
“We’ve signed a deal with Autumn. In return for runes, once we save your sister, we’re under contract to hunt Shadow Parasites with her for the next ten months until the Battle of Kings, and then serve under her for the next decade.”
“I see…” Elliot said and sighed very lightly in regret. His upgraded system was already strong enough to sign Beast Apostle Contracts with the two blue dragons, and he thought that having two powerful blue dragons would be a stellar addition to his power.
But alas, that Autumn girl moved faster than him!
“I’ll sell you their contract if you want.” Autumn said with a sly smile the moment she sensed Elliot’s slight sigh of regret. “For the secret to your power.”
“Hmmmmm.” Elliot was immediately intrigued. He wasn’t planning to tell her his secret, of course. But her offer had indicated one very clear fact. She was willing to negotiate!
Khalendros and Khellendra rolled their eyes and shook their heads helplessly. Not once in their long and glorious lives did they expect that they would be traded around like commodities!
But beggars can’t be choosers. If this was the only way to power and a better future for their clan… Then so be it. But if they were to be commodities, then by the Gods, they would be the most expensive commodity in the whole known universe!
“I can’t tell you my secret. But I can make you a different offer.” Elliot said.
“Oh? Let’s hear it” Autumn said, feeling slightly disappointed.
“I won’t need them for the duration of the Games here on Earth. I won’t touch that part of the contract.” Elliot began.
Autumn nodded.
Elliot raised five fingers.
“Five?” Autumn asked.
“Five. Any single one of my beasts is as strong as five of them.” Elliot said. “I will trade their combined twenty years of service with twenty years of service by my beasts. Only that I will send you four beasts to serve you for one year. After which, both Khellendra and Khalendros’ contracts with you will be considered fulfilled.”
Autumn’s eyes widened once more as she marveled at the audacity and the confidence of this young man. What a good “one equals five” statement!
But still, she looked at the seven dead Emperors and a clearly bound and gagged Third Senior Sister… He could very well be right!