books44 Chapter 341 [Empire] Keep Going
Chapter 341 [Empire] Keep Going
Facing the frantic onslaught of "monsters," my heart was no longer simply filled with determination to complete the mission; it was now filled with a complex mix of emotions. The strange beasts and half-human, half-beast monsters I had unleashed charged towards me with the force of bestial beasts. Their eyes were devoid of reason, filled only with rage and the instinct for survival. And their power was far greater than I had anticipated.
I stood still, my "water gun" energy blaster firing fiercely, each shot knocking down a monster, but their numbers seemed endless. It was like I had opened Pandora's box with my own hands, and the horror that followed was almost suffocating.
"Nightingale!" I cried inwardly, only to see him focused on the wreckage in front of the central control console, desperately trying to decipher it with his personal computer. "Buy me some time!" His voice was steady and calm, as if he had the situation under control. But this wasn't the outcome I wanted—I had no power to escape. I could only stand here, facing the wrath of these monsters.
A monster suddenly pounced at me, fell to the ground, and struggled with its limbs. Its irrational eyes and empty roars made me feel sick. Its claws scraped across my shoulder, and I pushed it away with force. Almost instantly, another monster pounced from the side.
"Let me go!" I practically screamed inwardly, but the reality was that the entire battlefield was dominated by the chaotic situation of these monsters and pirates. I cranked my "water gun" to maximum power, suddenly leaped out of a side passage, and rushed towards another group of monsters. Their figures twisted before my eyes, as if realizing that they had lost their freedom and that the only way to survive was to fight and attack.
My heart raced, the weapon in my hand nearly dropped, and I felt my body overloaded. Each strike demanded a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy. I was no longer the kid watching mung beans sprout in class. Every wound on my body and shoulders told me I was trapped in a vortex from which there was no turning back.
However, I still gritted my teeth and persevered. Nightingale's words echoed in my ears again: "Buy me some time."
A monster leaped in front of me, its sharp claws slicing through my armor. I looked up and saw Nightingale, still focused on the console, a hint of anxiety in her eyes. At that moment, I suddenly understood: in this battle, in every battle, in this constant struggle, there was no way back.
The moment the monster lunged at me, I swiftly aimed my energy blaster at its chest and fired a beam, sending it flying. However, my legs gave way, and I was instantly knocked down by another monster, nearly putting me in a desperate situation.
At that moment, I felt a strong gust of air rushing past my back. Then, I heard the nightingale's voice like thunder: "Enough!"
A flash of gunfire pierced the air, and then the monsters' roars suddenly stopped. Then, a series of explosions followed. Nightingale changed her tactics in an instant, using her dual pistols to fire deadly blows, quickly and accurately eliminating the surrounding enemies. As if losing their target, the monsters fell one after another, their flesh and blood huddled together.
I took a deep breath, lying on the ground, catching my breath. The battle wasn't over yet, but at least the immediate crisis was under control. Nightingale had already begun its assault on the console's final firewall. Time was growing increasingly urgent with each passing moment.
I stood up, wiped the sweat from my face, and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. Nightingale glanced at me from the corner of her eye, and the corner of her mouth curled up slightly: "You have completed the task."
"Is there any way to control monsters like this?" I couldn't help but ask.
Nightingale didn't answer immediately, but simply scanned the surroundings with a cold gaze. His gaze paused for a few seconds on the corpse of a monster, and finally spoke slowly, "Sometimes, humans create and destroy things precisely to make them more controllable. When you see their resistance, haven't you ever considered that we might be their inescapable fate?"
I didn't answer, only looking down at the ground, my mind awash with mixed thoughts. Who truly controlled the fate of this conflict? I no longer had the answer.
Sadness surged in my heart like a tide, but at this moment, I didn't back down. I clenched my hands, took a deep breath, suppressed all my emotions, and began to make my final decision.
Sheathing the energy blaster, my fingers flickered through the air, nimble as the wind. It was the gesture of a Contract Master. A familiar crest slowly emerged, and a strange red rune blossomed on my forehead—it shone with the blood-red light of the sacrificial devouring school, like an unquestionable summons.
I silently lowered my head, clasped my hands together, and began to whisper an ancient spell in my heart, activating the power of the contract. The exotic cubs before me, those innocent monsters, were powerless to struggle before me, only silently accepting their fate. They didn't understand the source of this power and pain.
One by one, monsters and beasts were gradually marked by my sacrificial contracts. Their life force was instantly twisted, their souls and bodies drawn into my contracts, becoming my sustenance, unable to escape. As the contracts activated one by one, blood and energy intertwined in strange patterns in the air, creating an indescribable sense of oppression. The chosen monsters began to twist their bodies in agony, struggling to escape their fate, but their strength now seemed so weak that even their final resistance seemed powerless.
I watched them suffer, feeling no remorse. Their lives were sacrificed for this world. Their death was inevitable. Their existence was destined to live within a fate controlled by me.
The effects of the sacrifices were swiftly activated. Their vitality seemed to be mercilessly drained away and absorbed into the body of the strongest monster. That monster grew stronger at an incomparably rapid rate, devouring the lives of those around it. Each sacrifice pushed it to new limits. In the end, only one monster survived; the others, without exception, vanished under my power.
I don't know how long this process lasted, until finally the monster seemed to be reborn, its power reaching an unprecedented peak. I watched it, the once weak and pitiful creature becoming extremely powerful in its pain, as if it had established some mysterious connection with all the life forces in this world.
This is the power of the Sacrificial Devouring School. To survive, all life must be ruthlessly devoured and sacrificed. And as a Contract Master, I am the one who controls all of this.
I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The monster had been completely transformed. Its eyes were filled with a wisdom that shouldn't belong to it, as if gazing at me. Its body was brimming with the energy of various exotic beasts, its strength far exceeding its original limits. Its breathing was rapid, but there was no anger in its eyes, only dependence and fear on me, the life force that gave it.
I stood up and gazed deeply at it. This sacrificed monster had lost its original savagery, leaving only absolute obedience to me. It had become my new carrier of power, the ultimate winner of this ruthless game.
"Do you understand?" I whispered, even though I knew it couldn't possibly answer. The mixture of fear and dependence in its eyes proved it understood who was its true master.
No one can escape the shackles of fate, no one can escape the constraints of a contract. Every choice, every sacrifice, determines the ultimate outcome. I also understand that all this is not without cost. I exchange the power of other lives for my own progress, my own strength. But such power is ultimately empty. No one can escape the ravages of life; the ultimate sacrifice is still myself.
"Keep going," I said to myself, my voice cold and firm.