Chapter 353: Bronze Dragon’s Legacy, Capped at the Peak

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Bronze Dragon’s Legacy, Capped at the Peak

Red Mercury is an expensive Alchemy Material.

But in the field of mysticism, it is defined as a viscous Spiritual Solvent capable of guiding emotions.

According to records left behind by a Witch, when this Red Mercury solvent is mixed and stirred with another solvent of a completely opposite nature, it symbolizes "sublimation" in the context of mysticism.

And it is by leveraging this mystical concept that a Witch can cast the [Hermes Red Mercury Secret Alliance].

At this moment, Lance, deep in concentration, was completely unaware of what was happening.

A faint glow began to flicker on his back. Scarlet mystical patterns, like living things, slowly emerged and began to connect head to tail, vaguely forming a closed circle.

This was the sign that the Secret Technique was taking effect.

Once this ring woven from mystical patterns was completely closed, it would mean that Lance had successfully entered into the [Hermes Red Mercury Secret Alliance] with the Witch.

However,

the mystical array was forming at a torturously slow pace.

It was as if it was being painstakingly carved onto Lance’s skin, second by second.

It was as if the carving process was being constantly interrupted by forceful impacts.

Moreover, almost every minute or two of carving, a large section of the newly formed pattern would suddenly show signs of collapsing.

It felt like a sandcastle, half-built with great effort, being washed away by the waves.

Yet after the wave passed,

the caster could only grit her teeth, gather her Magic Power once more, and arduously reconnect the broken nodes, continuing the carving with a heavy heart.

In life, sometimes watching a sensitive person do anything can feel heart-wrenching.

But as it turns out, sometimes, persistence pays off.

After Yvette gritted her teeth and persevered for a full half-hour, drenched in sweat,

the turbulent Technique finally formed a complete, closed loop on Lance’s back.

And upon its completion,

Lance finally noticed something was wrong. He could feel the existence of this Technique.

However,

reacting even faster than Lance’s consciousness was the skill he had just learned in the Soul Space.

[Bronze Imperial Decree]

This skill, specifically designed to deal with contracts and curses, seemed to awaken the moment it sensed the invasion of an external contractual force. It began to spontaneously analyze and reverse-control the Red Mercury Secret Alliance!

In that instant,

Lance felt his consciousness being pulled into the Star Realm.

In this boundless void, he saw countless, incredibly thick Bronze Chains, spanning the brilliant starry sky like a spider’s web.

At every node where the Bronze Chains intersected, a point of light glimmered.

Lance immediately understood. These lights were the unequal contracts that the Bronze Dragon, Galeos, had signed with the various races of the continent.

Out of curiosity, Lance’s consciousness drifted through the starry sky and randomly touched one of the faintly glowing bronze nodes.

[Contract No. #089 (Signatory: Princess of the Sub-human Species, Snake-man Race)]

"You damn scumbag!"

As the information appeared, a cold female voice suddenly entered Lance’s ears without warning, making him jump.

’Are all these contracts like this?’

With a sense of disbelief, Lance floated toward another node in the distance and gently tapped it open.

[Contract No. #411 (Signatory: Princess of the Sub-human Species, Siren Merfolk Race)]

"Why... Why did the marriage contract we signed back then become void? You liar! I’m going to apply for legal arbitration from the Star Realm Court!"

The voice this time was soft, sweet, and enchanting—very pleasant to listen to.

’Well, I’ll be damned. It really is like that!’

’Galeos is a complete scumbag!’

Lance couldn’t help but shake his head as he listened.

These Bronze Chains crisscrossing the sky were irrefutable proof of how that Bronze Dragon had shamelessly deceived the Hundred Races’ Princesses!

However, through this brief experience in the Star Realm,

Lance also instantly and completely grasped the powerful function of [Bronze Imperial Decree]: it could forcibly intercept, alter, and even reverse-control any contractual law imposed upon him.

Just then, a pulling force came, and Lance’s consciousness returned to the real world, back in the inn room.

At this moment,

Yvette was hugging Lance’s back tightly, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

A crimson halo, characteristic of a successful casting of the "Hermes Red Mercury Secret Alliance," swirled in the depths of her eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, her warm breath tickling Lance’s ear as she murmured in an incredibly sweet voice:

"Do you feel the pact on your back?"

"But don’t be afraid. It’s just a little bit of insurance to make sure we’re always together. As long as you’re a good boy from now on, and don’t lie to me, and don’t leave me, I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life, Lance..."

These words, combined with the almost pathological possessiveness in her eyes, sent a shiver down Lance’s spine.

[Bronze Imperial Decree initiating judgment...]

[Assessing host’s Perception/Spirit Attributes...]

[Level 5 Skill Level providing additional bonus...]

[Judgment successful! You have successfully intercepted and taken control of the contract.]

Fortunately, Lance’s Perception Attribute had always been quite outstanding.

This forced judgment succeeded with remarkable smoothness.

Through [Bronze Imperial Decree], Lance now completely understood the core of the [Hermes Red Mercury Secret Alliance].

It was, in essence, a trigger-based mind control contract.

As soon as the subject violated the conditions set in the contract (such as betrayal or lying), they would immediately suffer a backlash from the contract and be forcibly controlled.

The control Yvette had left in this secret alliance was: "Forcibly drag into a Nightmare."

And Lance, at this moment,

having successfully seized control of the alliance, could now change this trigger condition at will, or even change the target of the punishment directly.

"Yvette, you’ve been a little naughty."

Lance reached out and gently patted her soft back.

Hearing this, Yvette met Lance’s gaze.

A dazed, infatuated smile spread across her face, the corners of her lips turning up.

"Don’t you like what I did?"

Her hair was completely soaked with sweat, sticking in strands to her pale cheeks and neck, rising and falling with her breath.

Looking at her like this, for some reason, a single word popped into Lance’s mind: innocent.

She was the one who had forcibly placed this control contract on him, yet after succeeding, she could still put on the pitiful, heart-wrenching act of a victim who had done it all for his own good.

’Just as expected of a Witch.’

Lance lamented inwardly.

But,

Lance’s expression showed no displeasure. On the contrary, a gentle smile appeared on his face as well.

"Of course I like it."

Lance looked into her eyes and said softly, "Then... will you like the gift I’m about to give you?"

"What gift?" Yvette blinked, a little confused.

But the next second,

the smile on her face froze, and her expression changed instantly.

She had discovered that the once-stable scarlet mystical patterns on Lance’s back were now rapidly fading at a visible rate, sinking beneath his skin!

Immediately after,

Yvette felt a faint, stinging pain on her right wrist.

She looked down to see a bizarre ring of mystical patterns glowing with a silver-red light being uncontrollably etched onto the inside of her wrist.

The mystical pattern formed with extreme speed, connecting head to tail in just a few seconds to form a tightly locked ring.

Yvette’s pupils began to tremble violently.

Because the punishment Lance had written into this contract was:

[Technique will forcibly stall upon reaching its peak.]

...

「Inn Hallway.」

The Cat Girl waitress wearing a Golden Acorn Bell collar was currently walking down the hallway with a light-footed gait.

The "Golden Oak Leaf," a high-end inn, had clearly spared no expense on its architectural design.

The walls of every room were inscribed with a soundproofing Technique.

Its soundproofing effect was excellent; you could barely hear a peep from inside unless you were right in front of the door or standing very close to it.

This was a perfect example of getting what you pay for.

Even if guests were having a brawl in their room, it would absolutely not disturb the other guests resting next door.

The Cat Girl stopped at the door to Lance’s room.

Suddenly, her cat ears twitched sharply.

She vaguely heard what sounded like a heavy object hitting the wall with a muffled THUD.

’Did the guest accidentally fall down?’

Before she could try to make out what exactly was happening inside,

out of concern for the handsome, smooth-talking guest,

the Cat Girl immediately reached out a hand and pressed the Alchemy Communication Bell on the doorframe.

"DING-DONG~"

The crisp chime echoed in the hallway.

The moment the bell rang, the faint sounds of collision from inside the room seemed to cease immediately.

However, since the Cat Girl was standing very close to the door, her ears still picked up some muffled conversation.

It sounded like there were two people in the room now.

A slightly exasperated male voice rang out: "Stop messing around. Get down."

It was followed by a stubborn young female voice: "No!"

’What’s that all about?’

Standing outside the door, the Cat Girl’s ears drooped in disappointment.

Originally, she had been happily thinking she could use the opportunity of delivering the meal in person to chat a bit more with that handsome young man.

If he had the time, she even wanted to work up the courage to invite him to the newly opened Vanilla Market in town tomorrow night.

But listening to the sounds now,

it seemed that handsome guy already had female company in his room.

And judging by their tone, their relationship was clearly anything but ordinary.

’What a shame,’ the Cat Girl sighed inwardly.

Since the guest had company, she could only put away her little crush and adopt a professional attitude.

The Cat Girl cleared her throat and asked loudly at the door in a sweet voice:

"Um, excuse me, sir. The slow-cooked leg of ham you ordered earlier is ready from the kitchen."

"Will you be coming down to the restaurant to dine, or would you like me to bring it up to your room for you to enjoy?"

After asking, she stood quietly outside the door, waiting for a reply.

The Cat Girl herself belonged to a Sub-human Race with keen senses; she had an innate Racial Talent for perceiving minute vibrations in her surroundings.

Therefore, without even needing to use Magic Power, she could roughly form a three-dimensional image of the room’s interior in her mind just from the extremely faint vibrations in the air.

This was the fundamental reason why Sub-human Species generally surpassed Ordinary humans in certain specific areas.

Because within the Extraordinary System, they were naturally born with one more exclusive Racial Talent slot than Ordinary humans.

And at this moment,

through her Talent Perception, the image in the Cat Girl’s mind showed

that the figure of a person seemed to be pressed against the inside of the door with both hands.