Starting With Contract Pets

Chapter 319 - Time Butterfly, Astonishment

After landing on the ground, Su Bai looked at the surroundings. It was dim, mysterious, and faintly shimmering around him.

Looking at the central area, a tall mountain under a dim sky could vaguely be seen.

In the gloom, a constantly changing ancient aura could be felt everywhere. It seemed that this world had existed for countless years.

"Dick, where's the shortcut you said?" he turned and asked.

This world seemed larger than expected, but no other humans were around.

"Follow me." Dick released a purple scorpion-tailed bat and flew in a certain direction.

After going for a certain distance, a translucent light black flying snake suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Be careful!"

As soon as this flying snake appeared, the middle-aged man's contract book appeared and a black pet emerged, killing the enemy monster before it could react.

"Remember: Many time-attribute monsters are here, and they must be killed as soon as they are discovered, or else it'll be troublesome by the time they issue a time-attribute attack."

His reminder was clearly meant for Su Bai.

He nodded, indicating that he understood. He followed the man's footsteps vigilantly.

With Dick leading the way, fewer monsters were encountered by their group along the way.

Jade, can't you reach your friend yet? he asked through voice transmission.

Not yet. I sent him a message, but Ultimate Invincible has yet to reply, the elf replied telepathically.

Okay, pay attention to our surroundings. He stopped communicating with it after sending this message.

"Be careful. There's a deceleration area ahead. Many Time Butterflies aren't affected by it, and they like sucking vitality. If you're injured by them, the flow of time on you will increase hundreds or even thousands of times, making you instantly turn into an old man."

After walking some distance, Dick pointed to the dark and narrow valley ahead.

Su Bai looked up and saw some flickering light spots. He estimated that those were the Time Butterflies.

"Can't we take a detour?" He could not help but ask this.

"No, the other routes are more dangerous. This is a road that has been found at the expense of many talents for decades. Through this valley, it's almost half the distance from the central area.

"Plus, though the Time Butterflies are dangerous, they're still relatively docile. As long as you don't provoke and try to touch them, you can still pass easily," explained Dick.

"Don't let them feel that you have a time-attribute crystal nuclei on you, or else they'll instantly riot." Nora reminded him.

"Thank you." Su Bai nodded.

"Get ready; let's go."

After giving everyone a few minutes to rest, Dick stood up and led the way into the valley.

They entered the valley and walked at a relatively fast pace. Their physiques were comparable to monarch monsters, so walking for tens of meters was an easy feat.

As they drew nearer to their destination, the sound of gurgling water gradually filled their ears; a small stream located at the entrance of a valley then entered their sights. When they walked in, they saw various black flowers and plants growing on both sides of the stream.

The majority of them were sparsely grown fluorescent flowers. They faintly thrummed of time. These flowers' fragrance gave them a feeling of time going backward.

"These are the Flowers of Time; don't touch any of them, their petals are actually disguised by some Time Butterflies." Senna, a tall and thin man who was walking behind Su Bai, reminded him.

He nodded silently. As he followed the three people walking in front of him, he spotted many transparent Time Butterflies emitting fluorescent lights and breathing time in the canyon, especially on the cliffs on both sides. Most of them flew high.

After walking for some distance, Dick whispered, "Everyone, continue walking but be careful; we're about to reach that place."

Not long after Dick's voice fell, light shone behind him as a sun had suddenly risen.

Dick and the others felt that something was wrong and looked back. Their expressions changed at what they saw. Thousands of Time Butterflies had started to riot.

"F*ck! Someone behind has thrown a time-attribute crystal nucleus! Run quickly! It's over if we're hit!" Dick's face changed and he barked this order quickly.

"Ride on your pets and run separately. I can't care that much anymore. Let's meet under the bronze tree outside the valley," Nora yelled as she rode her pet and rushed off!

"F*ck!" John's expression changed, and he left in a different direction.

Su Bai glanced at Senna, who had already run away from behind him, and jumped on Planet Eye, which activated its invisibility state.

"Oh, no! Ah Bai, the invisibility state can't stop the power of these Time Butterflies!"

Not long after, Planet Eye was hit by a violent Time Butterfly to reveal its body shape, and the influence of the time riot began to spread. Its spiritual shield seemed to go through thousands of years in an instant and quickly waned.

Sometimes, it seemed as if time would reverse all of a sudden and return to the way it was before the shield had been activated.

Su Bai's expression changed. The power of time was really terrifying, and there was no way to intercept it via conventional means.

Seeing the Time Butterflies, which were in full riot ahead, his expression turned gloomy. Because of the large-scale riot in the rear, the front was directly affected.

After thinking about it, he quickly released Starry Omnivore Kraken and let it block the front.

"Pipi, stand in front, turn on your Dark Diving, and hide us!" he hurriedly said.

"Onom!"

Starry Omnivore Kraken's eyes lit up, and it rushed forward, opening its mouth to swallow a lot of Time Butterflies.

The previous rioting time flow disappeared suddenly.

"Onom!"

Although it was not in its complete form, his pet kraken was still powerful, especially since the law of nothingness was circulating around its body. It seemed that under the transformation of this law, it was even fiercer than before.

After swallowing some Time Butterflies, its eyes lit up and it immediately became active.

"Don't expose us," he glanced at it and then said. "Planet Eye, pay attention to your detection!"

"Yes!"

Under the Starry Omnivore Kraken's escort, they did not need to fear the Time Butterflies at all. The moment the kraken swallowed them, the aura around its body seemed to undergo a certain change again.

"Ahhh… no—no!"

Suddenly, a miserable scream came from not too far away. Su Bai looked up and saw that the tall and thin man Senna, who had just flown away, was surrounded by a group of Time Butterflies; his shouts for help were gradually weakening because his body was aging by the second until he ultimately died!

In the end, only some of his dense bones, along with his pets' bones, could be seen on the ground.

It's too terrifying! Purple Jade could not help but show a look of fear. This power of time is too scary.

"Let's go." Su Bai was also quite scared. This was probably one of the most dangerous places he had ever been to.

Time was intangible and difficult to resist.

Even the current Little Blood Dragon found it difficult to resist and might even be wholly consumed.

Fortunately, the Starry Omnivore Kraken's specialty made it easier for them to deal with these insects of the time attribute.

Once it devoured a large number of Time Butterflies, Su Bai took the chance to walk out of the valley.

"Howl~" Ah Bai, are we going to wait for them? I feel that they don't have any good intentions, the elf looked at the dark area ahead and asked.

"Why not? At least, they know the way," he said calmly. "As for what tricks they have up their sleeves, I'm not afraid."

"Roar!" Exactly! They don't know Ah Bai's true strength at all, so there's no need to be afraid! The dino also roared in agreement.

"Still, I have to pretend a bit. Tyrant, Mewling, return to the contract book; I'll pretend to have sacrificed you two," he said after thinking about it.

"Roar!" Okay!

"Hing." Remember to check your surroundings, the fox said.

After doing all these, Su Bai put on a miserable expression and headed to the bronze tree on the top of the mountain ahead.

Since he had allowed the Starry Omnivore Kraken to swallow the valley, he was a little slow to arrive. When he came over, Dick, Nora, and John were already there.

"Oh, God bless you! Bell, you came out alive. Thank goodness!"

Dick came over and patted him on the shoulder, asking, "Are you not hurt?"

"My pets were killed in battle. F*ck! Didn't you say that there's no danger?" He looked at the other with a livid expression.

"I'm sorry, my friend; I also lost three pets. I've lost many years of life, too. I really didn't expect someone to provoke a butterfly riot." Dick apologized sincerely to him.

"Don't complain! Just look at me and John; we've lost a lot this time. If I fail to get anything out of this journey, I'll really go crazy!" Nora screamed. She had been directly corroded by the power of time and was now an old woman in her sixties.

John was even more miserable. He had become a skinny, old man, who seemed about to die.

"Not only did I become like this, I also lost three pets. D*mn it! It must be Baker's group! They're the only ones who know this route. Don't let me meet them, or else I'll definitely kill them!" yelled John angrily between his panting and labored breathing.

"Don't worry. If we encounter them, I'll never let them go." Dick was also full of murderous intent. He looked at Su Bai and said, "Don't worry. There's the time inheritance in the center of the Hidden Realm; it can definitely change the world, and your lifespan will be restored to the way it was."

With a common goal and their hatred directed to that other group, the four people quickly reached a consensus again and decided to proceed.

"By the way, what happened to Senna? Why isn't he here yet?" John asked aloud.

"There's a high probability that Senna is dead. The promise he made before a Void Oath has disappeared."

A look of dismay appeared on Dick's face.

After a moment of silence, he decided to continue with the three of them.

Once they passed through the dangerous valley of Time Butterflies, the road ahead was much easier to traverse, and if there was danger, they managed to find a way to avoid it.

Gradually, the mountain in front of them disappeared, and a city shrouded in darkness appeared in lieu.

"That's the city of Rome; the Vatican is in it. The inheritance of time is also in it. If we walk further, we'll enter the fog of time. Once we pass through that, we'll reach the city!" said Dick happily.

The other two's faces showed faint hints of hope, wanting to obtain the time inheritance to restore their bodies.

"What's the fog of time?" asked Su Bai at this time.

"It's a gray belt shrouded in fog outside the city. Time Demons live there, but they're not like the Time Butterflies earlier.

"They can communicate, so we can exchange treasures or time-attribute crystal nuclei for free passes," explained the middle-aged man.

"I see." He nodded.

As they moved forward, Su Bai suddenly received a telepathic message from Dick: "Bell, in fact, if you want to pass through this mist, you must sacrifice a human soul, especially one that is full of desire, to the Time Demon.

"Nora and John are done for; brimming with greed and desire, they happen to meet the requirements. In a while, when I call the Time Demon, you have to take this opportunity to suppress them.

"Don't be weak-hearted; they've already decided to sacrifice you. Even if they can pass through here, they won't be able to pass the river of time later, for their lifespan is too short.

"I'm giving you this chance, so make your own choice."

When he heard this, he glanced at Dick, who calmly was walking at the forefront. The latter did not have any expression as if he was not the one who had sent the telepathic message to him.

He then glanced at Nora and John, but their faces revealed nothing.

One day later, they arrived before the fog of time. It was a boundless gray mist with black shadows floating within, looking utterly terrifying.

"Let me call the devil; you take out the crystal nucleus for sacrifice," Dick said, glancing at Su Bai with a deep meaning. He walked to the front to recite some strange syllables, and a wave of mental power plunged into the mist.

Su Bai glanced at Nora and John calmly and then took out the time-attribute crystal nucleus he had collected. He placed it in front of him without any intention of making a move.

Soon, a strange sound came and then a huge demon appeared at the edge of the fog.

"Hasi, hasi!"

A strange voice came from the mouth of this world's demon.

Su Bai looked up and saw that the Time Demon with a terrifying aura on its body looked a little cute, and its appearance was almost the same as Gengar in Pokémon.

However, he knew that this was not a Gengar but a Time Demon with a strong power of time.

Furthermore, its voice was highly similar to the sound of Ultimate Invincible. Was Ultimate Invincible actually a certain Time Demon?

He looked at the elf, which also nodded, indicating that the voice was indeed very similar.

"Attack!"

At this moment, Nora and John shot at the same time; their pets at hand suddenly burst forth with powerful attacks.

The Willow Leaf Monster beside Nora sent out countless vines without warning and tried to bind Su Bai and Dick at the same time.

The spirit monster, Ghost Face Doll, with John cast a Freeze skill, and it instantly affected the two targets.

"Hahaha! Don't think we didn't see that you wanted to sacrifice us. Now, you have to die with Bell." Both assailants looked at Su Bai and Dick with sneers on their faces.

"Don't blame us; just think of yourselves as sacrifices." Nora told the two of them as she let her Willow Leaf Monster push them into the fog of time.

"That's it? You're too weak."

Suddenly, a sneer sounded.

Immediately after that, two puffs pierced their flesh, which caused their blood to spurt.

Dick had moved behind them without their knowledge and pierced their bodies with two daggers.

The two turned their heads over in shock, looking at Dick and Su Bai incredulously. "No, you've obviously been pushed into the mist…"

They could not understand why the two were still alive when they had obviously been controlled by them just then.

With another puff, Dick pulled out the daggers and pierced their bodies with these, causing fresh blood to spurt out further.

"Don't blame me, my friends; I'm more optimistic about Bell than you two."

Dick grabbed their bodies and threw them into the mist. "Also, compared to Bell, the desire in your soul is even more terrifying at this moment. The Time Demon even named you by name."

"Hasi, hasi!"

Once the corpses of the two were thrown in, the demon made a weird laugh. The two corpses flew a few times and then colorful souls were sucked into the demon's mouth until all the power in the corpses had been swallowed, leaving nothing behind.

Dick looked at him and said, "My dear Bell, you're too soft-hearted. They've suffered such serious injuries yet overestimated themselves. They should've known their final value."

"I don't like attacking others first when they have yet to do anything evil toward me." Su Bai glanced at the man and shook his head.

He did not expect Dick to kill the two without trying to conceal it.

"Haha! You're really a man of principles. Your pet isn't bad, either. The illusion it created was so powerful that even I could not see through it," Dick glanced at the Mewling Fox and complimented.

"Since we can go in now, let's just go." He did not explain anything and simply changed the topic.

"Of course, we can. Let's go." Dick laughed, happy to collaborate with a strong man with principles.

However, he would have to sacrifice this friend later on. After all, only one person could obtain the time inheritance.

Su Bai glanced at the man, who was walking in front, and followed him expressionlessly.