The lone moon hung overhead, casting shadows from the trees on the cold mountain.
Cool moonlight spilled over the woodland, where a magic circle slowly took shape.
Seven circular formations overlapped, enclosing an upright and inverted pentagram. Thirteen Mantuo Yulei formations were arranged around them, divided by the midlines beside each diagonal.
As the Flake Gold powder filled them, countless intricate, twisted characters grew increasingly three-dimensional, profound and distorted, as though some spatial force were interfering with and tearing at them.
A strange magnetic field drew in the moon's essence, and faint whispers began to echo.
He carried anesthetized piglets one by one from the truck, laying them neatly atop the thirteen Mantuo Yulei formations.
"Pfft~ Pfft~ Pfft~"
All thirteen pigs were pinned to the ground with sharp knives. Thick, dark-red blood poured out, filling the magic circle as it flowed through the grooves.
The blood lent the formation a more sinister air.
The piglets, their throats slashed, gradually awoke. The tearing pain made them wail and cry out.
"This should do it!"
He stood, satisfied, in the center of the upright and inverted pentagram. Listening to the heart-rending cries, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile as he murmured.
Having fought underground, he knew that the point where the signal flickered had to be the Gate of Time and Space. There would certainly be plenty of "Enkai" world creatures there.
But he couldn't tell the Tianxia Association about this, much less Nato Tong.
If the higher-ups took an interest, they would find a way to bring it under control.
He couldn't contact other Otherworldly People, either. There was an "Inner Landscape" in this world, and if word got out, he might not be able to complete the mission.
So he could only rely on himself to complete this hidden quest!
As he thought this, a dagger appeared in his hand. He raised it and slashed his palm.
The bright-red blood seemed to be drawn by an unseen force, forming a line. The entire formation glowed faintly, and the whispers in the woods seemed to grow clearer.
These piglets had only just been born, their bodies still bearing the aura of birth.
Birth, reproduction, blood, sacrifice, magic circles, and prayers were all components of the ritual for contacting SABNicholas.
"SABNicholas, σᾶς καλῶ με μια γιορτή αἵματος! Ζήτα το δώρο σου. Έλα, έλα."
"..."
In an instant, the formation twisted and the characters warped. Brown tentacles began sprouting from the flesh of the thirteen piglets, and their wails seemed to tear at the soul.
Cool moonlight answered the call of some unknown force, gathering in the woods. Wang Changle bathed in it as the characters in the formation rose into the air and twisted.
"SABNicholas, σᾶς καλῶ με μια γιορτή αἵματος! Έλα."
[You summoned a Black Goat Cub. It became your temporary summon!]
Black Goat Cub (Juvenile)
Health: 100%
Mana: 150
Strength: 20
Agility: 12
Stamina: 22
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 1
Active Skill 1: War Stomp. Deals area-of-effect physical damage equal to Strength × 3 to enemies within 30 yards, and stuns enemies with less than 20 Stamina for 3 seconds. No cooldown.
Active Skill 2: Devour. Grabs prey with its tentacles and absorbs damage equal to one-tenth of its own Stamina each second, rapidly restoring its Health. No cooldown.
Active Skill 3: Stealth. Enters the shadow realm. When in woodland, movement speed increases by 30%. No cooldown.
Passive Skill 4: Unspeakable Horror. Inflicts fear on creatures with Intelligence below 10.
With 20 Strength, it had roughly three times his strength. Combined with 22 Stamina, it was practically a humanoid tank.
Its 12 Agility wasn't particularly high, but it still had decent mobility. Its 15 Intelligence meant this summon was highly intelligent.
With three active skills on top of that, it would be a devastating weapon on the battlefield.
An expert at breaking through enemy lines and taking down fortresses!
"Crack~ Crack-crack~"
Trees toppled in the nearby woods. Amid heavy thudding footsteps, a monster over three meters tall emerged from the darkness.
A huge mass of brown flesh, with a body like a tree stump, writhed with dozens of black octopus-like tentacles. It was hideous, terrifying, and bizarre!
Four of its tentacles were especially thick, covered in tiny barbs and layers of slick mucus.
Three ferocious mouths ringed the stump-like mass, their cavities lined with rows of sharp teeth. Green pus dripped from them, filling the air with the stench of rot.
Lumps like tumors covered its brown flesh. Where the roots of a tree should have been, three thick goat's hooves grew instead, their knobby growths trembling as the hooves moved.
"Φίλε, ήρθαμε συμφωνία. Χρειάζομαι φαγητό."
The twisted monster roared, its four tentacles lashing through the air. Bathed in the blood-red moonlight, Wang Changle pointed toward the piglets on the truck.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
Its tentacles danced through the air like serpents, coiling around a Life Essence and drawing it into its mouth.
"Chomp, chomp~"
"Κάνω ένα σκοτεινό συμβόλαιο μαζί σου με τη σάρκα και το αίμα μου"
He removed his clothes and knelt naked in the boiling pool of blood, chanting in a low voice.
The boiling blood twisted into characters in the air. Twisted runes gathered and carved themselves onto his body with each chant, until a miniature spell appeared on his chest.
[Notification: You have made a contract with the Black Goat Cub. The Black Goat Cub has become your permanent summon.]
[Notification: Your permanent summon slot has been forcibly fixed at 1/1. You can no longer have any other permanent summons.]
[Notification: You have obtained Cthulhu's Summoning: Black Goat Cub Contract.]
Black Goat Cub Contract
Parasitism: Resides inside the host and requires a large amount of blood each day, at least 10 pounds. (If there isn't enough blood, it will drain the host's Health, at a rate of 10% per day.)
Black Goat's Mark: Stamina +1, Strength +1
Shared Life: Spend 15% of your Health to borrow one of the Black Goat Cub's spells. (Each additional use within 24 hours costs 5% more Health.)
Contract Summoning: Spend 50% of your Health to summon the Black Goat Cub to fight for you.
After absorbing his reserve Life Essence, he looked at the Black Goat Cub, which was holding seven or eight piglets in its grasp. Only then did he realize it was nearly six meters tall.
"So the Book of Eibon really was telling the truth. A monster this bizarre and powerful is truly fascinating!"
He ran his hand over the Black Goat's rough, knobby growths, its thick, powerful tentacles, its sturdy hooves, and its gaping maw. What a terrifying beast.
"I'll call you Black Hoof from now on! Black Hoof, let's go. It's time to hunt."
"Roar, roar, roar~"
Sakura Garden, Tianxin Nursing Center.
"Boss, sir, I'll give you all my Paradise Coins and all my equipment. Please, let me go! I'm a Staff Member. I have plenty of Paradise Coins."
Yue Yang lay prone on the ground, banging his head against it as he wailed at the figure mixing something nearby.
But the person preparing the solution kept their head down and worked without pausing.
Yue Yang struggled to raise his head and survey his surroundings, his heart filled with fear and despair.
In the activity room, which sank down in tiers, the air was damp, sticky, and foul. In a glass room in the distance sat a pitch-black vortex.
Under the dim lights, countless Formless Children swam about. Some took human shape, some rooted themselves in the walls, and others crawled across the floor tiles. Each looked different.
"I'm helping you. Once you've felt the glory of my lord, you'll thank me. You'll carry on my lord's radiance, and you'll become one of us. Soon. Really, very soon~ Hiss~"
The old man in the white coat was covered in black, ink-like grease. His brown, slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with fervent devotion.
A massive, dark-blue python suddenly crawled out of the pitch-black vortex, its fine, cold scales glimmering with a dark aura.
It raised its savage head high, flaunting its might.
The python reared up on two legs and extended its thick arms. Its four clawed hands were sturdy, agile, and strong.
It leaped up, caught the steel saber the old man tossed it, then landed and launched into a fluid, elegant performance of the Five Tiger Broken Door Saber.
"Καλώς ήρθες πίσω στον Κύριο."
The old man shouted, green fluid spilling from his eyes as he trembled with excitement. As if in response, the dark-blue python erupted with purple qi.
"Out of five plot characters, only one was successfully transformed. Then you're next, Staff Member from Cycle Paradise! I hope you make it~ Hiss."
The python's eyes fixed on the terrified Yue Yang. At its signal, two human-shaped creatures covered in long brown fur emerged from the darkness.
With practiced ease, they injected Yue Yang with the solution, then seized him as he struggled and carried him toward the pitch-black vortex.
"No! No! I don't want to become a monster!"
"Let me go! Please, I'll do anything! I can forge weapons—I'll do it for you for free!"
"Ah, you old bastard! I curse you! I curse you to die horribly! Ahhh~"
"..."
Before you continue