All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 25

Following dozens of wild wolves, several dozen zombie wolves poured into the village. The wild wolves were responsible for dealing with the illumination Stones, while the Nightmares possessing the zombie wolves bit villagers to death and devoured their souls, leaving the flesh for the living wolves. They had clear division of labor and shared benefits, already demonstrating a high level of organizational intelligence.

“Fire arrows!” At this command, soldiers hidden on various rooftops revealed themselves. They held longbows, with arrows specially made from ground illumination Stones. The soldiers were all contractors, using their contractor power to activate these arrows. Tiny points of light pierced the night like stars.

Arrows rained down, accurately hitting one zombie wolf after another. The specially made illumination Stone arrows were extremely effective against the Nightmare wolves. One arrow could immobilize them, and a second could end their existence. The Nightmare wolves reacted, with the few uninjured ones turning tail to run.

However, at the village entrance, on their escape route, Cheng Lu was already in position. The fire crystal dagger in his hand erupted with hot sparks, contractor power surging forth. This power could also effectively harm Nightmares.

A ghostly figure darted among the Nightmare wolves, the huge beasts unable to touch even the hem of Cheng Lu’s clothes. Cheng Lu was an expert known for his speed. In a breath, he sliced off one Nightmare wolf’s head, destroying the possessing Nightmare along with it. Another slash set a Nightmare wolf ablaze. Like a butterfly dancing among wolves, in just a few breaths, the four Nightmare wolves unharmed by arrows were completely silenced.

“Great! Captain Cheng is formidable!” The soldiers cheered.

Nightmares were spiritual beings that had to possess these wolf corpses to move. Low and mid-level Nightmares needed some time to leave the wolf corpses, so everyone acted quickly. Once the Nightmares escaped, killing them would be much harder.

Zhanyue recalled the scene of the Holy Maiden effortlessly killing a group of wolves in the desert. The Holy Maiden alone was more powerful than this entire troop’s result. And that was the Holy Maiden whose growth was suppressed by the Nightmare cold poison. The light contractor’s suppression of Nightmares was even greater than Zhanyue had imagined.

“Low and mid-level Nightmares can’t easily leave their possessed objects, so they’re relatively simple to kill. High-level Nightmares can instantly leave their bodies and escape, far beyond what we can handle. We need specialized experts to deal with them,” Cheng Lu explained as he came to Zhanyue’s side.

Zhanyue looked at the wolf corpses strewn about and asked curiously, “Captain, are there any mid-level Nightmares here?”

Cheng Lu shook his head, “No, mid-level Nightmares aren’t so easily killed with a few arrows. They’re very cunning and didn’t rush in at the first opportunity.”

“Ah? Doesn’t that mean they escaped?” Zhanyue hadn’t expected mid-level Nightmares to be so cautious, not immediately coming to harvest their prey.

Cheng Lu smiled slightly, “Guess why General Song isn’t here?”

Speak of the devil, a huge shadow appeared at the village entrance. It was a giant blood-colored spider, as big as a truck, looking quite terrifying. Standing on the blood spider’s back was a bald, burly man – General Song. The blood spider walked on six legs, with its two raised legs each impaling a wolf corpse. These zombie wolves were much larger than the others.

“I didn’t expect there to be two mid-level Nightmares. Good thing I was cautious,” General Song jumped down from the spider’s back. The huge spider then rapidly shrank to fist size and leaped onto Song Yi’s shoulder.

“As expected of a beast contractor,” Zhanyue marveled. The mid-level Nightmares hiding in the distance had also been caught and killed by Song Yi.

“Those living wolves were intercepted and killed by my men in the distance. This wolf pack must have migrated from very far away,” Cheng Lu reported. His men had been ambushing the wolf pack at another village exit from the beginning.

“The group-dwelling beasts within hundreds of miles have either been driven away or killed. I didn’t expect the Nightmare race to drive this wolf pack from so far away to attack. They’re getting more and more brazen,” Song Yi sighed, looking at the wolf corpses strewn about. However, this battle was a perfect victory. They had annihilated all these Nightmares without a single soldier casualty, executing a beautiful ambush. If they hadn’t had the advantage of striking first and waiting at ease, casualties would have been unavoidable, given how strong these Nightmare wolves were.

Zhanyue noticed a small transparent bead rolling out from beside a wolf corpse and picked it up curiously.

“What’s this?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

Seeing the bead, both Song Yi and Cheng Lu’s expressions turned sorrowful.

“Collect all the human soul beads,” Song Yi ordered. All the soldiers busied themselves picking up the transparent beads beside the wolf corpses. Almost every corpse had one.

“These are human soul beads. When Nightmares devour human souls, they condense these beads inside their bodies. They eventually bring these beads to high-level Nightmares as food. Each bead you see represents a lost soul,” Cheng Lu explained.

“By the way, you must learn this formation too,” Cheng Lu brought Zhanyue to Song Yi’s side. Song Yi was setting up a formation using illumination Stones.

“This is the Rebirth Formation, used to help the souls trapped in these human soul beads pass on,” Cheng Lu explained, then said to Zhanyue very seriously, “According to the laws of various countries, anyone who obtains human soul beads must perform the passing on ritual on the spot. They cannot be kept privately or used for other purposes. If discovered, it’s punishable by death. This law is effective in all human territories on the Myriad Spirits World and is the first taboo. You must remember this. The Rebirth Formation is basically a mandatory formation for all contractors to learn.”

The formation was simple, and Song Yi quickly set it up, less than a square meter in size. He placed all the collected two hundred-plus human soul beads into the formation. All the soldiers gathered around, sitting cross-legged and praying. The scene was solemn, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Each soldier’s face was serious, sending off these tragic souls with the most sincere hearts.

Those two hundred-plus human soul beads represented over two hundred lives. Under the formation’s influence, they turned into wisps of white smoke, finally dissipating into the air. Only after the ceremony ended did people dare to speak.

“The illumination Goddess usually doesn’t pay attention to specific political affairs, but this Rebirth Law was personally established by her. No one is allowed to violate it. Even Night Lord and his subordinates have no record of breaking this law,” Cheng Lu sighed.

Zhanyue felt very unsettled. The lives of an entire village, young and old, dissipated like smoke. People living in areas illuminated by illumination Towers enjoyed a life of luxury, while those outside faced such harsh survival conditions. Was this fair to them?

Seeming to see through Zhanyue’s thoughts, Song Yi patted his shoulder, “What? Feeling sad for them or thinking it’s unfair?”

“Sigh, I just wonder if such tragedies can be avoided,” Zhanyue said honestly.

Song Yi said seriously, “As they say, the benevolent can’t command troops. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen such a scene. When humanity prospers, the population grows too large, and the areas covered by illumination Towers can’t support so many people. Only through competition can the more valuable people survive. What do you think my men fight for every day? It’s to accumulate military merits, secure positions for their wives and children, so their families can live safely in protected areas, not having to worry in outdoor villages.

On the other hand, if humanity declines and the population becomes sparse, the areas with illumination Towers could indeed support that many people. But that would also mean we’re at an absolute disadvantage in the struggle against Nightmares, with all outdoor areas occupied by them. Is that a good thing? As long as the Nightmare race isn’t destroyed, humans will never have peaceful days, whether prosperous or declining.”

Zhanyue smiled bitterly, “So it’s true that whether flourishing or perishing, it’s the common people who suffer.” Having just arrived in this world and met Mi Hongchen, receiving 100,000 purple crystal coins, able to stay in the best inns and eat the best food, he naturally didn’t know the hardships of the lower-class people.

“Kid, even if Thunder Lord and Sword Lord protect humanity, they’re protecting the overall concept of humanity, not individuals like you and me. Our lives and deaths aren’t really that important to humanity as a whole. Improving your own strength is the key. I started as a small soldier and only achieved my current position after nearly twenty years of brutal warfare against Nightmares. Nothing in this world is ever taken for granted. Work hard to improve your realm, and don’t die easily,” Song Yi said earnestly, then turned to command his subordinates to clean up the battlefield and comfort the villagers.

Zhanyue frowned deeply, wondering what General Song meant by these words.

“He means that even Thunder Lord and Sword Lord aren’t invincible. They can’t protect everyone, so they must make choices. Only by proving your value can you possibly gain their protection. Otherwise, you can only rely on yourself. Nightmares constantly compress human living space, and the human population is so large that many will inevitably be eliminated. This is the cruel truth of this world. You asked earlier if such tragedies could be avoided. I can tell you now – they can’t! All we can do is try our best not to let such tragedies befall ourselves and those close to us. This is why all contractors spontaneously work hard to cultivate,” Cheng Lu said.

“Let’s go, it’s time to carry out our own mission,” Cheng Lu led his soldiers back to their station.

Inside the inn, a black-robed man was eating a meat pie while looking at a map.

“From Cloud Peak Inn to Mountain River Inn, if moving quickly, it would only take one day. But with them escorting so many illumination Stones, they can’t move fast, so they’ll definitely camp in the wilderness for one night. Spending the night outdoors, they’ll be highly alert and mentally exhausted. When the sun rises on the second day, they’ll naturally relax their guard. That time will be a good opportunity for me to strike. I don’t know what the leader is thinking, having me, a Moon Profound Realm expert, use various teleportation formations to travel thousands of miles just to kill a third-stage Spirit Contract Realm contractor. Fortunately, that Blood Spider General isn’t traveling with them, otherwise it would be difficult to make a move. These experts who’ve grown up on the battlefield are not to be underestimated. Fighting across realms is commonplace for them.”

Even though this person was a first-stage Moon Profound Realm expert, his professional habits made him very cautious, unwilling to act rashly, aiming for a one-hit kill. He had just entered the Moon Profound Realm and might not necessarily win in a direct confrontation with the Star Profound Realm Song Yi. So he still hoped to strike when Song Yi was far enough away from the target, allowing him to escape smoothly as well.