Book 4: Chapter 51: Inferno Hound

Qin Lun focused his gaze and saw that Mengkins the Flame Demon was indeed holding a small creature in his hands.

It was a dog-like creature with two heads. Its skin was wrinkled, and its eyes were closed as it trembled slightly, seeming to have been born not long ago. The two-headed puppy was only the size of a palm, lying on Mengkins’ large hand. If one didn’t look carefully, they might overlook it.

Qin Lun soon noticed something. Although Mengkins the Flame Demon’s hand was emitting flames and thick smoke, the puppy seemed completely unaware. It was still drooling and sleeping soundly.

“It is a newly born Inferno two-headed dog, a branch species of the demon hound!” Beruses explained with a smile.

“I’ve heard of this creature, but it must have just been born!” Qin Lun said curiously as he looked at the two-headed puppy.

He had indeed looked up some information on the five ruling races of the Devil’s Horn. He knew that the Inferno Hound was a low-level creature of the Demon Clan. The Inferno Hound was naturally fierce, loyal to its duty, and moved as swiftly as the wind. It was an excellent summoned creature.

However, Qin Lun kept a straight face, though he was actually not satisfied with this kind of summoned creature. The reason was that low-level Inferno Hounds were small in size and did not meet the standard for a close-combat tank.

“The Demon Clan has many types of close-combat creatures, but it’s not easy to find a powerful fourth-rank close-combat tank!” Beruses seemed to have noticed Qin Lun’s doubt and shook his head with a bitter smile. “After receiving your request, we accelerated the growth of over a hundred pure-blooded Inferno Hounds, and only then did we choose this one!”

“There are many branch types of Inferno Hounds, and their combat abilities vary greatly after adulthood. Please don’t underestimate it. Among all its companions, this puppy has the highest affinity for fire elements!” Beruses said lightly. “The array on the ground was drawn with the blood and souls of other Inferno puppies. It is both a contract array and a sacrifice array.”

Qin Lun’s pupils contracted, and he frowned slightly. He understood the hidden meaning in Beruses’ words. The Cunning Demon seemed to be explaining the rarity and excellence of this Inferno Hound, but in fact, he was subtly telling him about the effort the Demon Clan had put into this.

“Lord Mengkins will use this sacrifice array to inject a part of his own power into the little thing, forcibly advancing this Inferno Hound to an Inferno Hound, also known as an Ancient Molten Core Hound.” Beruses continued more seriously. “The Inferno Hound is a large-sized creature, perfectly fitting the role of a close-combat tank. However, adult Inferno Hounds are rarely below the seventh rank, but you can only contract with a fourth-rank creature, so…”

Although Beruses did not finish, Qin Lun fully understood. The Demon Clan had indeed put great thought into this. They not only wanted to find him a summoned creature but also wanted to use the creature’s advancement potential to make him unwilling to give up the Inferno Hound in the future. This would maintain a potential connection between him and the Demon Clan through this summoned creature.

Although the Demon Clan had such motives, they had indeed paid a great price for this Inferno Hound. Not to mention the over a hundred Inferno puppies used in the sacrifice array, there was also the power sacrificed by a high-rank Flame Demon. This was a scheme Qin Lun had to accept, full of the cunning style typical of the Demon Clan.

After figuring it out, Qin Lun felt somewhat helpless. The highest creature the Mazer Summoning Art could contract with was only the fourth rank. The fourth rank was exactly the lowest level of mid-level creatures. At this level, it was indeed a bit difficult to find a powerful close-combat tank.

If the Mazer Summoning Art could be set one or two ranks higher, he would have many more choices and wouldn’t owe the Demon Clan such a big favor. Even though the Inferno Hound was still a puppy now, its advancement potential was comparable to that of a high-rank demon. This favor was no smaller than the World Tree Fruit provided by the Moonlit Elves.

“The transaction offered by your clan is too great; I’m afraid I cannot bear it!” Qin Lun said with a bitter expression.

“How could that be? After all, it is only a fourth-rank creature now. As a high-rank Apostle about to step into the professional threshold, you should be able to afford the transaction cost, right?” Beruses blinked slyly.

The grading of Apostles by the Sapient Races was different from the true grading of Apostles. A Professional Apostle already possessed multiple attack and defense skills, and their Health Points were no longer as low as those of a Junior Apostle. With the existence of recovery items, they were hard to kill. In the eyes of the Sapient Races, Apostles of this level could already be considered high-rank creatures.

In fact, throughout the long history of the Shattered Starry Sky, very few Professional Apostles had died at the hands of local races. Unless they fell into a trap, they all had means to escape. This was also why the Sapient Races were wary of Apostles. If they couldn’t kill them in one strike, they would bring upon themselves a scourge that was immortal and would only grow stronger as long as they lived.

“You overestimate me. No matter what, I have only just passed three Quest Worlds, and my resource accumulation is limited!” Qin Lun shook his head.

Since he had decided to get closer to the Demon Clan, he didn’t intend to hide his background. Only by showing his investment value would the Demon Clan value him more, and it would be easier to obtain the Demon Bloodline in the future.

“Have you really only passed three Quest Worlds?”

The expression on Beruses’ face changed unpredictably. He knew that Qin Lun had only passed two Quest Worlds at the Devil’s Horn, and the personal information given by the Elven Race indicated one, making three in total. Moreover, judging from Qin Lun’s transaction information at the Auction House, it seemed he had successfully completed the Otherworld Missions and gained considerable rewards.

It was easy for the ruling races to track down such information. However, the old Cunning Demon also knew that the Moonlit Elves had a deep relationship with Qin Lun and wasn’t sure if the Elves had tampered with the Apostle’s information.

The Demon Clan had a long lifespan. It had been over a thousand years since the Devil’s Horn was established, and Beruses had dealt with thousands of high-rank Apostles.

In his memory, there were Apostles who were close to the professional threshold after three Quest Worlds—there were even exceptional individuals who succeeded in their Class Change directly after passing the trial world. However, those Apostles were originally very strong in quality, possessing high-rank combat abilities that allowed them to easily cross the threshold for Class Change.

But Apostles like Qin Lun, who were originally ordinary people yet rose rapidly in just three to five Quest Worlds, were extremely rare. Such Apostles generally had both wisdom and strength. As long as they acted cautiously and had some luck, they would basically become influential figures in the future.

Of course, Qin Lun was still far from such influential figures now. However, people like him were the ones the Sapient Races most liked to win over. Because by the time he truly became strong, the Sapient Races would have lost the chance to make him owe them a favor.

“Seventy thousand Shattered Crystals, what do you think?” Qin Lun looked seriously at Beruses.

Potential did not equal strength. To truly advance this Inferno Hound into a high-rank creature, he would have to put in great effort to nurture it in the future. Even if the sacrifice succeeded now, after the summoning contract was formed, it would only be at the fourth rank. Seventy thousand Shattered Crystals could already get a decent piece of Dark Gold Equipment at the Auction House, which was about enough to offset the value of the Inferno Hound.

“Do you have that many Shattered Crystals?” Beruses’ eyes flickered as he said with a smile, “I heard that you just bought a pair of top-tier Dark Gold Firearms at the Auction House a few days ago.”

“Your information is not detailed enough. That transaction did not involve a large amount of currency; it was just an item exchange.” Qin Lun said indifferently.

“This… well, you know I didn’t mean it that way!” Beruses was slightly taken aback and rubbed his hands somewhat awkwardly.

As a ruling race, the Demon Clan could inquire about some information at the Auction House. However, they couldn’t dig too deeply into the specific content of Apostles’ transactions; that was a taboo.

“Well, actually, I still need to purchase some things next, and I still have a big gap in funds. If your clan agrees to let me owe fifty thousand Shattered Crystals, that would be even better!” Seeing the awkward expression on Beruses’ face, Qin Lun broke into a smile.

“Of course, you are such a shrewd person!” Beruses patted his chest, pretending to relieved.

The Demon Clan had paid such a great price, of course not for a mere seventy thousand Shattered Crystals, but to make Qin Lun owe them a favor. If they really turned the Inferno Hound into a pure transaction, that would be putting the cart before the horse. Qin Lun’s way of owing money now was an implicit acceptance of the unwritten rule of favors, which set the old Cunning Demon’s mind at ease.

“Alright, Lord Qin Lun, since you are satisfied with this little thing, I will inform Lord Mengkins to begin the sacrifice ritual. Please step back a bit and wait for my command to cast the summoning spell!” Beruses said seriously.

After the two stepped back some distance, Mengkins the Flame Demon, standing in the center of the array, slowly released the newborn Inferno Hound. The palm-sized two-headed puppy was restrained in mid-air by a mysterious force. The entire sacrifice array, drawn with the soul blood of the Inferno puppies, began to glow with a bright blood-red light.

Accompanied by the incantation in the demon tongue by the Cunning Demon Magician, wispy, smoke-like blood-red souls rose from the sacrifice array. These puppy souls whimpered and gathered into thin lines, slowly connecting to the only surviving brother in the air.

The molten rock seams on Mengkins’ body began to leak strands of fiery lava. These pure fire element lava slowly gathered together, like a fiery transfusion tube, also connecting to the newborn Inferno Hound in the air.

“Whimper!” The palm-sized two-headed puppy trembled, opened its eyes, and let out a whimper toward the Flame Demon.

To Qin Lun’s surprise, the two-headed Inferno Hound rapidly grew in size at a visible rate. It soon went from the size of a palm to the size of a basin, then to the size of a small calf. The smoke-like puppy souls were swept away by it, and the lava tube connected to Mengkins was like a straw, drawing wave after wave of fire elements from the Flame Demon.

“Now is the time!” Qin Lun suddenly heard Beruses’ reminder in his ear.

A sharp light flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes, and a wave of law fluctuation passed through the hall. However, Beruses and the Cunning Demon Magicians around the array seemed to have no feeling for this law fluctuation. Only Mengkins the Flame Demon glanced in his direction as if sensing something.

“Roar!” The Inferno Hound, the target of the summoning, also felt the contract law and let out a resisting howl.

Sensing the Inferno Hound’s resistance, Qin Lun was slightly startled. When he obtained the big black bear BEN, the Demon Hunter Bonnie had helped him complete the summoning contract. He himself had no experience in forming summoning contracts and could only brace himself to first connect his consciousness to the Inferno Hound’s soul.

In fact, even Beruses hadn’t anticipated this change. How would the old Cunning Demon know that Qin Lun had no experience at all?

Fortunately, Mengkins the Flame Demon keenly sensed the subtle change in the array. A flash of cruelty appeared in his eyes as he crushed the lava tube with his large hand, cutting off the power output to the Inferno Hound.

“Whimper!” Having lost its source of sustenance, the Inferno Hound let out a dissatisfied whimper and instinctively began to make demands on the summoner…