**Chapter 86: The Dragon Pact**
2015-06-30
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
(As an author who often makes silly mistakes, it’s not easy to write a good book for you. – Silly and cute Floating Tower.)
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In the Frozen Kingdom, Arendelle.
The clouds of war have dispersed, and this affluent and prosperous city has gradually regained its vitality. Although the legend of the Pirate King Soren continues to circulate in taverns, leading people to speculate about the relationship between this legendary Pirate King and Her Highness, Princess Anna, people have started to adapt to various changes in their lives. For instance, there are newly established merchant associations in the harbor where many specialty products from the south of the continent can be purchased, along with occasional luxury goods from the Eastern Kingdom.
Merchants are actively seeking to gain access to the southern trade routes, although this requires a cost to acquire the pass issued by Pirate King Soren.
However, the lucrative profits are still enough to attract the merchants’ attention.
Recently, it is said that the legendary Pirate King has practically established a maritime kingdom, ruling over vast seas and dictating his own rules within these waters. With increased knowledge of the southern coast, many merchants attempting their first voyage to the southern route agree with this sentiment. Only by purchasing the pass issued by His Highness the Pirate King can they safely reach the Southern Coast, where even pirate ships escort their merchant vessels.
This is truly a rare occurrence in hundreds of years!
But without the pass issued by His Highness the Pirate King, they can guarantee that their merchant ships will only last a day or two at sea before being entirely wiped clean, leaving nothing behind.
Soren’s grip is undoubtedly iron-fisted and ruthless!
The key lies in a balance; if Soren takes 50% of the profits, the merchants will surely complain, but if he allows them to keep 50% of their profits and ensures their safety, they will gradually adapt to his rule. In fact, people have a remarkable ability to adapt, and recently even merchants from other trade routes are preparing to acquire a pass, enabling them to have Soren’s fleet protect them until they leave the territory of the Víkings.
Recently, times have not been easy for the Víkings!
It is rumored that one or two exceptionally fierce and overbearing pirate leaders from the Southern Coast have appeared, commanding pirates who are quite formidable. They have engaged in several battles with the Víkings, with no clear victor emerging.
The rules of the sea are changing little by little, and those who cannot adapt will be eliminated.
Chaos is the true disaster.
And order, even if evil, can bring about prosperity.
Soren’s exploitation has not extinguished the enthusiasm of merchants; profit-seeking merchants are surprised to find that after careful calculations, they still retain considerable interests after acquiring trade route permissions, along with increased safety. The turmoil of war in the south is gradually spreading, but the Frozen Kingdom remains relatively peaceful. Many goods sent there are selling well, especially grain. A ship filled with grain can remarkably earn a profit of double its cost, and it sells out the moment it arrives at the port. (Note: Grain prices have doubled.)
On this day.
It was an extraordinary day for Arendelle.
On this day, a brilliant blue portal suddenly opened in the sky above Arendelle, and amidst everyone’s attention, the noble figure of the long Princess appeared like a goddess.
She stood in the air, overlooking the city below, her crystal blue gown fluttering in the wind, and the sunlight shone down from behind her, making her look like a goddess descended from the dawn. Everyone who saw the long Princess could not help but cheer. Many people gathered in the streets, humbly kneeling before the long Princess’s figure. In an instant, the entire Arendelle erupted with excitement; when the figure of the long Princess appeared, the kingdom in this ice and snow world seemed to fill with life and vitality.
Her Highness the long Princess has finally returned!
Arendelle is safe.
In the eyes of the people in this kingdom, it seems that as long as the long Princess is present, they have nothing to worry about.
“I have finally returned!…”
The figure of the long Princess stood in the sky, gazing at her cheering and joyful subjects below, then directing her gaze toward the blue portal, which held a wondrous silver light, like a dazzling smoke. This was a place within the Astral Realm. The long Princess let out a soft sigh, then gently waved her hand, and a long staircase made of ice and snow appeared beneath her feet as she descended step by step toward the royal palace, the snow and ice staircase gradually dissipating after her departure.
However, alongside some peculiar spiritual light, the whole of Arendelle began to fall with crystal snowflakes.
“Sister!!!”
Princess Anna had long been waiting in front of the royal palace. When she saw her long Princess coming step by step, our little Princess, who had been worried for months, could finally hold back and rushed into the long Princess’s arms, her eyes slightly red.
Sister has finally returned.
Princess Anna couldn’t help but cry; upon seeing the long Princess’s figure, the long-held pressure made her want to vent her feelings.
The return of the long Princess carries significant meaning.
Under the steps of the palace, the head court witch and the captain of the guards exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief. As for everyone else within the palace, upon seeing the figure of the long Princess, it was as if they had regained their cornerstone, their spirits and energies rejuvenated. For the entire Arendelle, this long Princess, who has been in power since the age of twelve, is truly different; her reputation in the kingdom even surpasses that of the vast majority of monarchs throughout history.
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Of course, Soren had no idea about the return of the long Princess.
In fact, what troubled him now was another matter: the Mind Sorcerer had not yet fully recovered. The little dragon, who initially planned to embark on adventures with him, was preparing to leave.
It was quite baffling.
The incident happened so suddenly that Soren was completely unprepared.
The little dragon beside him suddenly stated her intention to leave without even asking for Soren’s attitude, merely declaring a decision she had made.
Alright.
You absolutely can’t expect too much from chaotic allies.
It has been confirmed countless times that chaos breeds all sorts of anomalies.
“Are you really planning to leave?”
Soren looked at the little dragon before him, a bit helplessly saying, “Leaving now? I can’t send you off! You will likely need to leave the Underdark on your own.”
The little girl’s expression was somewhat complicated, but after a moment, she nodded and replied, “No need. I can teleport away myself.”
“I’m planning to return to Dragon Island.”
“Even the Spider Queen has appeared in the mortal realm. I am a bit worried about what might happen in my hometown.”
Upon hearing her words, Soren glanced at her and said solemnly, “Alright. Just be careful. Don’t linger in the Astral Realm after teleporting; it may not be very safe there lately.”
The little dragon’s hometown is certainly not on the Material Plane.
Soren has been to the dragon island on the Material Plane, where there are only a handful of dragons, while the true dragon island is found within the realm of the Dragon God.
Interdimensional teleportation.
The Astral Realm is an important transit station, but it is not as safe as it used to be.
The little dragon scrutinized Soren and, after hesitating for a moment, asked, “Soren! You should be quite wealthy, right?”
Wealthy?
This question caught Soren off guard for a moment, but he still nodded and answered, “I guess you could say I’m wealthy? Why do you ask?!”
Borrowing money?
Soren had never heard of a dragon borrowing money and actually repaying it.
“Then that’s good.” Upon hearing this, the little dragon gave a faint smile, then raised her white little hand, indicating for Soren to extend his palm toward her, and said, “Come. Hold your hand like this towards me.”
Soren was taken aback.
He seemed to have thought of something and obediently extended his hand.
“I!”
“Princess Alice of the Brass Dragon Kingdom, in accordance with the ancient contracts, hereby establish a pact with the human Soren before me!”
“I swear by the sacred name of the Dragon Race!…”
“When allies require help, we will demand reasonable compensation and assist our allies through hardship!…”
“In the name of the Brass Dragon!…”
“I represent the dragon race and establish the [Dragon Pact] with the human before me!!!”
An unusual glow of spell light erupted.
As the little dragon before him completed some sort of oath in an odd dragon tongue, a line of data rapidly appeared before Soren:
“Triggering a special situation!…”
“Princess Alice of the Brass Dragon Kingdom wishes to establish a [Dragon Pact] with you!… This is the oldest soul contract, requiring the payment of 50,000 Killing Experience!…”
“Would you like to establish the pact!?…”
Indeed, it is the [Dragon Pact]!
Soren chose to pay the Killing Experience almost without hesitation.
This is a form of soul contract.
It essentially requires the direct extraction of a portion of soul energy, but Soren’s Killing Experience serves as the source of soul energy, so he could substitute the consumption of the [Dragon Pact] with the payment of Killing Experience.
A magical power spread forth.
Accompanied by an indescribable feeling, Soren formed the most sacred [Dragon Pact] with the little dragon before him.
Of course.
This contract is only sacred to the dragon race. Due to their domineering and arrogant nature, the truth is that this pact often proves to be quite harsh.
“Dragon Pact [Legendary Ability]: You have established a sacred dragon pact with Princess Alice of the Brass Dragon Clan. From now on, you can summon Brass Dragons within the Multiverse by paying 10,000 Killing Experience, through the method of a contract (interdimensional teleportation to reach, minimum summoning an adult giant dragon). The sacred dragon pact can transmit requests to the vast majority of Brass Dragons, with summoned targets including ancient and primal dragons of the Brass Dragon lineage.
But!
Please note that this assistance is not without cost!
Using the Dragon Pact requires at least the expenditure of 100,000 Gind. This may result in 1-3 adult Brass Dragons responding to your summons.
The stronger the summoned dragon, the greater the reward you need to provide.”
[Note: If you cannot provide a reward satisfactory to the dragon, you may be attacked by the dragon, or the effects of the Dragon Pact may be canceled. However, if the reward you offer is highly satisfactory to the dragon, and even earns a reputation for generosity among dragons, then there is a chance that you may summon ancient and primal dragons for assistance when needed.]
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(Note 1: The [Dragon Pact] sometimes appears as a spell of seventh circle or above, which randomly summons other categories of dragons. This usually occurs because some deities or certain entities have entered into very ancient pacts with ancient dragons. These pacts have been passed down for thousands of years and have not been canceled due to breach, evolving into a form of spell eventually. Certain casters of particular powers can inherit such pacts and use spells to summon dragons for assistance.)
(Note 2: Soren is now equivalent to the first generation of individuals holding the Dragon Pact. If he does not lose the qualification of the Dragon Pact for some reason, in the future, if he becomes a deity, or becomes some kind of being that transcends the mortal realm, the priests or spellcasters he cultivates in the future can inherit the Dragon Pact he has now established.)
(Note 3: The Dragon Pact is one of the few abilities that consume Killing Experience. Even as spell memory, it requires the payment of Killing Experience. Furthermore, this summoning is one of the most expensive summoning rituals.) (To be continued ~^~)
