Perhaps to convince Ye Zhongming of its sincerity, the demon monster commander ordered its subordinates to cease their attacks—but only those surrounding Ye Zhongming, Xia Bai, and Red Hair. The rest of the demon monsters continued fighting.
The commander feared that Ye Zhongming might refuse cooperation. After all, it and its subordinates also represented a vast number of demon crystals—it had already learned why these otherworldly beings had come here during the invasion.
Xia Bai and Red Hair hovered behind Ye Zhongming as the three regrouped.
Ye Zhongming stopped his assault. He wasn’t afraid of the demon monster commander lying—firstly, the battle was indeed as the commander had said: Cloud Peak was certain to win. Secondly, with Red Hair and Xia Bai by his side, even if twenty more level-eight demons appeared, they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
“I don’t know what’s needed to pass through the space gate. Is it… this?” The demon monster commander pointed to the demon crystal on its body. “If so, we can gather enough as payment. Once we reach the new world, we will leave.”
It had to be said that demons were rather straightforward—they even offered to pay their own way. But this straightforwardness, in the face of humans, came across as naivety bordering on exploitation.
Did they think paying a toll was enough to pass through the space gate? Did they think this was a highway?
Ye Zhongming shook his head. “You’d better show some sincerity. Otherwise, I won’t wait much longer. You know as well as I do that my subordinates are dying every moment. If your next offer doesn’t satisfy me, we’ll just keep fighting.”
The demon monster commander took a deep breath. “We are not of the same kind. Aside from these things on our bodies, I don’t know what else you desire. So, you should state your terms. If they’re acceptable, I’ll agree.”
The demon monster commander was about to refuse when they noticed Ye Zhongming and the two floating figures behind him preparing to attack. After a moment’s consideration, it tilted its head and emitted a series of low, rhythmic growls from the side of its skull.
The sound was faint but spread across the battlefield.
The demon monsters, locked in combat, paused in confusion. But they obeyed the command and began to retreat. Only a small number, already in a frenzied state, couldn’t stop—but without their comrades, they were quickly cut down by Cloud Peak.
Within minutes, the massive battle gradually came to a halt until complete silence fell.
The two sides separated, with Ye Zhongming and the demon monster commander at the forefront. Only then did they have a chance to survey the battlefield.
It was a scene straight out of hell—corpses, severed limbs, and blood covered the ground. The massive demon bodies lay where they had fallen, forming hills of death, riddled with gaping wounds and deep gashes.
As modern people, many of the evolved had never truly understood what a battlefield from the cold-weapon era looked like. Today, they saw it firsthand. There was no smoke, but there were scorch marks from fire-based skills, ice mountains left by frost abilities, shattered wood from plant-based attacks, and craters from earth-based strikes…
The diversity of attacks meant there were just as many ways to die—some beyond imagination.
The veterans of Cloud Peak’s defensive battles took it in stride, but those who had joined later felt waves of nausea—a sensation they had almost forgotten after five years in the apocalypse.
It was too brutal—not for themselves, but for the demons.
After recalling its subordinates, the demon monster commander suddenly glanced toward the mountain pass and closed its eyes. A strange energy emanated from its body, putting Cloud Peak on high alert. Ye Zhongming waved his hand, signaling his people to stand down.
He could sense that this wasn’t an offensive energy—it felt more like… the power of a contract. The kind used when activating contract scrolls from the wheel.
The demon monster commander suddenly opened its eyes, and a stream of light shot from its pupils, forming a peculiar symbol in the air.
Then, its body shuddered, and it spat out a mouthful of blood. Half of the symbol—about the size of a fifty-inch television—was stained crimson.
“Outsider, it’s your turn now. This is my Soul Oath. Only after you sign it can we proceed with our cooperation.”
Ye Zhongming hesitated. The core members of Cloud Peak, now gathered behind him, urged him not to proceed. No one recognized this thing—who knew if it was some kind of curse? If it latched onto him, the consequences could be dire.
Ye Zhongming’s fate was tied to Cloud Peak’s rise and fall. He couldn’t afford to take such risks.
He studied the demon monster commander’s eyes and saw resolve. Clearly, if he didn’t sign this so-called Soul Oath, the demon would never trust him.
“Fine.” Ye Zhongming focused on the symbol’s energy again, sensing no malice. Some risks were worth taking.
He drew Wind and Lightning across his palm and flicked his blood onto the other half of the symbol. The symbol flashed twice, spun in the air, and then extended two translucent red threads—one connecting to the demon monster commander, the other to Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming felt something imprinted on his consciousness—the terms of the Soul Oath. He also realized the demon monster commander hadn’t deceived him. As long as he upheld his end, the oath would dissipate naturally.
“State your terms,” the demon monster commander prompted. The Soul Oath would record the agreement. Violation would result in eternal torment for the soul.
“First, we want demon crystals—the ones on your bodies. They’re useless to you, so gather as many as you can. The quantity must satisfy us.”
“Too vague. You must give me a specific number. Otherwise, no matter how many we bring, you’ll claim it’s insufficient.”
Ye Zhongming didn’t argue. “Fine. At least… twice the number of demons still alive now.”
“You’re too greedy.” The demon monster commander bristled. The demon army still numbered over 700,000. Twice that would be 1.6 million demon crystals. Since they didn’t hoard these, gathering them would take considerable time.
“I’m not finished. All crystals must be level five or higher.”
“I can’t promise that. I have no guarantee of finding so many… demon crystals.”
The demon monster commander stumbled over the term, still unfamiliar.
Ye Zhongming reconsidered. Perhaps he was asking too much. Gathering nearly two million level-five demon crystals would be extremely difficult without deliberate stockpiling.
