Chapter 159: Dagger

When the giant beast fell, the hunter naturally smiled with delight.

But how many hunters are there, and who truly is the hunter?

"Moo moo!"

As the younger giant stag finally exhausted its life force and collapsed in sorrow, the earthquakes shaking the underground world also came to an end.

The massive body crashed to the ground, its flesh—capable of destroying city walls—covered in bloodstains and wounds.

But more deadly were its irreparable skin and withered limbs; it had drained all its stored life force in its bloody battle with its kin.

"Aoo ooo!"

As the victor, the other giant stag, furious as thunder, raised its head and roared in rage.

Like its fallen brother, it was covered in wounds—one antler broken, one eye blinded; the slow regeneration revealed it, too, was nearly spent of all life.

In a certain sense, this was inevitable: two beasts of identical genes and stage, both stripped of reason and wisdom, could only fight to the death with instinct and talent; surviving at all was luck, and the slight edge one held might merely be a few extra days of growth.

"(Moo moo) Delicious. Delicious." The more it felt its body weaken, the hungrier it became, and the more its "carrion-eating kin" instinct activated.

The giant beast's single eye glowed crimson, filled with blood vessels.

It tried to lower its head, stretching its mouth toward its brother's corpse.

Eat it—just eat it—and not only would its wounds heal, but it would grow stronger, many times stronger!

"Stop. Brother."

"Bai" floated before the giant beast, and her familiar also hovered in the air.

It intended to communicate with its victorious brother.

Herds never deny internal struggle; eliminating the weak and preserving the strong is the law of nature.

Even the "Beast King" has changed hands; several new-generation herd members have successfully become "Beasts."

But when the true Beast King is sealed and a new temporary Beast King emerges, it must bear the herd's responsibility—this "older brother" must now bear the duty of saving "Father."

Yet at this moment, this beast prince still did not know what had befallen his brother.

He still believed his brother had broken free of the mind flayer's control and was now vying for leadership of the herd.

In his calculations, if the other wanted the head stag's position, let him have it—he himself was still immature.

From this perspective, perhaps the mind flayer's psychic ability—accelerating metabolism (and thus growth)—had actually helped his side immensely.

Originally, the plan might have required at least half a year to grow and gain strength.

Now, perhaps there was no need to waste time accumulating power—perhaps he could strike back at Huicheng right now and break "Father's" seal!

Thinking of this, his calm tone grew slightly urgent; he had gained more emotion and humanity from the magic girl.

But to them, such feelings were instinctively viewed as negative states.

"New Beast King, lead us to save our Father."

The newborn beast princes had no names; the herd required no overly complex social relationships.

Even in its former golden age, since they never felt the need to separate from their group and become independent individuals, most herd members were nameless; only those who earned great achievements and gained unique status within the herd were given distinctive names, for easier external communication.

In a certain sense, possessing a name that marks the self is one trait of "human society."

The herd needs no names, but beasts interacting with the outside world often require one.

Beasts bonded with magic girls gradually develop selfhood and more independent humanity.

It had even privately named itself "Xiao Bai."

It still hovered in midair, voicing its ambitions; compared to its kin, it was no longer pure—beasts bonded with magic girls gradually acquired human hearts.

"Stag."

"Stag? We are all stags, yes." The snow-white young stag looked bewildered; its pitch-black pupils suddenly held a hint of confusion.

"Male stag! Another male stag!" The giant beast suddenly roared, its lone eye radiating naked malice.

It had gone mad again.

Its massive mouth abruptly shifted direction, snapping toward the floating Xiao Bai.

"Zizizi!"

But this time, it bit straight into a magic shield—"Bai" stood before the giant beast, staff in hand.

The command "Protect the Master" triggered; the magic girl would fight to the death.

In an instant, both sides clashed in mortal combat.

"Forget it." Xiao Bai sighed, feeling utterly despondent at this moment.

"Xue, I suggest we kill it. It's beyond saving."

But the young stag named Xue merely floated silently, watching—just as the two previous stags had watched their other brother die.

"Xue!" Xiao Bai roared, unable to control the anxiety and unease in its heart.

Beasts cannot handle such complex emotions; instead, their emotional fluctuations become starkly obvious.

Yet Xue remained motionless.

In its cold, rational judgment, the mature beast before it was worth far more than Xiao Bai, this juvenile.

Unlike Xiao Bai, who had gradually (and forcibly) acquired humanity, Xue had only recently bonded with the magic girl—it still acted purely through reason and instinct.

"It's completely insane. Try it. Try it."

At this moment, Xue moved.

Its reason told it there was merit in attempting—should this mature beast prince truly be beyond saving, losing Xiao Bai would be too costly.

Xue floated upward, facing its massive kin.

"Crack!"

The sudden snap of its massive jaws was the most direct response.

"Xue."

In a calm voice, Xue called for its "tool."

Two magic girls stood before their "masters"; seeing this, the distant Violet Rose pouted, her face full of displeasure.

But the battle continued—and soon, both magic girls' familiars noticed something odd: how could a kin at this stage still fight so fiercely?

"Boom!" Again, the magic girl Bai was crushed to the ground by gravity, blood seeping from all four limbs.

Clearly, eliminating this mad kin in the short term was impossible. "Protect our retreat."

"Even if you die, do not let us die."

Both beasts instantly made the most rational judgment.

A battle without benefit (food) need not be fought to the end—retreat first.

Even if the magic girls died, they could just bond with new ones.

Even if some damage occurred, it was worth it; the original soul contract placed the least burden on the familiar's side.

If the master (familiar) dies, the magic girl dies; if the magic girl dies, the familiar is injured—but the main soul loss can be transferred away.

"If Bai and Xue die, it might even be beneficial—without them, we can hide better."

Rational Xue made its judgment: they had already been exposed and might need to lie low for a while.

At this moment, the two magic girls with revealed faces might become obstacles.

"Indeed… Bai, die here."

The cruel beast issued a death-order to its own companion.

Bai's body trembled violently, yet her expression remained calm.

The fully controlled soul contract left her utterly unable to resist the command.

The two magic girls began to fight desperately, converting vast amounts of life force into magic; colossal magic cannons erupted one after another.

The mortal combat between magic girls and beasts instantly escalated to white-hot intensity once the magic girls fought to the death.

Just as the two beasts were about to escape successfully, their path was blocked by a group of people.

Li En stared at the two beasts, feeling genuine revulsion— if survival meant nothing more than rational existence, if anything could be discarded for the sake of living, then what meaning was there in living?

"Filthy ground-dwellers."

"Bai, come help me!"

The two weak juvenile beasts instantly made their decision—they still needed combat power now.

Let the weaker Xue die; Bai can still be used.

The command "Master" was absolute; in an instant, despite taking another brutal hit, the magic girl Bai threw herself between her familiar and the danger.

Seeing the magic girl's half-body drenched in blood, the familiar Xiao Bai fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"Kill these roadblocks. If you can't, detonate yourself." Perhaps it had gained some humanity—but it would not extend "pity" to its tools.

In its rational judgment, this was an excess emotion that would make it weaker.

The cruel beast made its decision anyway—the magic girl had been used enough; use her until she broke.

"Ignite your life force."

But this command was not immediately obeyed!

"Crack!" The magic girl, standing extremely close, suddenly turned—her pale hand shot out.

Xiao Bai was too near; it had no time to react—the magic girl seized Xiao Bai's neck in an instant!

Terrifying physical force crushed its next command and scream back into its throat.

The other beast froze, utterly unable to comprehend what had happened—how could a magic girl attack her familiar? Hadn't the millennia-old contract been unbreakable?

But Bai did not stop; her movements were swift—a bony dagger, somehow already in her hand.

It glowed with a faint silver sheen in this space, yet somehow evoked unease.

Wasn't this the dagger Bai had been carving these past days? Xiao Bai was bewildered; it recognized the weapon, yet did not understand how she had broken free of the contract—or why she wielded this fragile bone dagger.

The power of a contract should be absolute; the soul of a contract could never act against its own interest!

"I can't," said the calm-faced magic girl Bai, her voice as toneless as ever.

"I can!" In the next instant, the girl's face twisted violently—a rage-filled expression so extreme it became an entirely different personality!

The twin souls acted independently; the newborn soul had never been bound by any contract.

Thus, the contract-free newborn soul seized control of Bai's body—and the dagger fell straight down!

Little Bai's eyes widened in disbelief. Even if you break free temporarily, killing me will still kill you!

"Oath—broken!"

The woman's furious cry echoed throughout the underworld; in that moment, her rage and suppressed anguish could burn the entire world.

As the pure white bone dagger fell, a sharp crack rang out—and something invisible was torn apart.

In the next instant, the pure white magic girl clenched her fist.

"Crack!"

The "cute little deer" had its skull crushed outright—dying on the spot!

The girl finally smiled.

She had prepared for this moment far too long.

【"The Beast Child of Elsena possesses the right to control gravity and separation; its antlers, when stripped, can be forged into top-tier equipment imbued with the laws of 'overturning,' 'inversion,' and 'gravity.' Legends say several divine artifacts were crafted from it, such as the famed 'Oath-Breaking Dagger.'"】

The Chuanchengzhe team, witnessing all this, instantly recalled Ziqiangwei's "lecture" upon their first encounter with the Beast Child.

This dagger was forged from the Beast Child's antlers—its sole function: to tear apart and betray all contracts, even those between the Beast Child and the Human Child!

And the technique to forge it into the Oath-Breaking Dagger? Naturally, it was granted by Kuku, who now happily watched the "drama."

Using materials from the deer to successfully murder the deer, the magic girl Bai finally gained her freedom.

For the first time, she smiled from the depths of her heart.

Sweet, innocent—and yet filled with unbearable sorrow.

The dagger's surface was now riddled with cracks; it was clearly not a complete "divine artifact," merely a makeshift item, usable two or three times by exploiting the material's properties.

But it was enough.

"Traitor. Snow." The other Beast, Snow, cried out to the Qiyuezhe —but was cut off mid-sentence.

The swift-moving magic girl Bai instantly seized it.

As the dagger fell a second time and the contract shattered once more, the dagger itself completely shattered.

"Boom!"

What followed was the magic girl Snow crashing to the ground.

"Food!!"

And the monstrous beast's greedy gaze.

(End of Chapter)