Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints

While the crown prince’s camp in the Stellar Empire was full of scheming, blame-shifting, and distrust, the atmosphere on the Serpent Empire’s side was the complete opposite.

Charles, General Sost, and the others were doing everything they could to prepare for the coming battle.

General Sost stayed at Withered Tree Fortress. He decided to further strengthen its defenses—at the very least, he wanted the outer walls to hold out for as long as possible.

Zara, on the other hand, chose to return to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. The Serpent Queen’s condition had grown even worse compared to before. As the one the Queen trusted most, Zara felt she had to remain by her side in such a fragile time.

Everyone respected Zara’s decision.

High Priest Kent also chose to go back with her. He believed that Charles and General Sost were enough to handle the battles at the front. His role now was to stay behind the lines and make sure supplies reached the army without interruption.

After Zara and Kent departed, Charles and General Sost finally had an honest conversation.

“To be frank, I never truly trusted you,” Sost admitted directly. “It wasn’t until you defeated the Stellar Empire’s vanguard forces that I finally believed you could be relied on.”

Charles gave a small smile at that.

“I can’t blame you. If I were in your place, I wouldn’t trust an outsider so easily either—especially when that outsider came from a race you’ve always fought against.”

“As long as you understand,” Sost said, letting out a breath of relief. “I just want to make it clear that, in the battles ahead, we must give everything we have and fight as one.”

He knew Charles was sharp enough to sense his doubts before. That’s why he wanted to say it openly, before the war truly began. At this point, the fate of the Serpent Empire rested almost entirely in Charles’s hands.

If Charles held anything back in the next battles, then their empire would surely be destroyed by the Stellar Empire.

“I understand perfectly,” Charles replied calmly. “And you don’t need to worry. I promised to help protect the Serpent Empire, and I’ll keep that promise. What I need from you is to follow my command without hesitation.”

He paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

“I almost forgot—there’s one important thing I need to take care of. Your task now is to keep strengthening Withered Tree Fortress’s defenses. As for me, I have something else I must do. I’ll be back by tomorrow morning.”

With that, Charles turned and left.

General Sost was puzzled, but he didn’t ask any questions. At this point, no matter what Charles chose to do, he had no choice but to trust him.

Charles left Withered Tree Fortress and headed straight into the depths of the Atacama Desert.

The Chrono Rabbit was still trapped there, and its condition was worse than before. Even a mystical beast with the power of time couldn’t withstand the endless frenzy of chaotic time currents.

The moment it saw Charles, the Chrono Rabbit’s eyes widened, staring at him with fierce hostility.

“Don’t look at me like that. You don’t need to keep suffering. If you agree to form a contract with me, I’ll set you free. Life with me will be far better than it ever was with your old master.”

Charles chose persuasion before force. He believed that after enduring such pain, the Chrono Rabbit would no longer reject him as firmly as before.

But to his surprise, the Chrono Rabbit still refused outright.

“Why are you so stubborn?” Charles raised his voice. “All my mystical beasts live happily. Were you happy with your master? He never cared about you! When his own life was at risk, he abandoned you without hesitation!”

The Chrono Rabbit’s expression shifted at those words.

Seizing the moment, Charles pressed on.

“For a mystical beast, once a contract is formed, you must fight with all you have for your master. But if your master abandons you, then you no longer need to follow that bond. Julian threw you away to save himself. He can’t use the contract to control you anymore. Don’t you want to grow stronger? Don’t you want a better life?”

At last, the resistance in the Chrono Rabbit’s eyes faded. It looked at Charles, and then a voice echoed in his mind.

“My master can still bind me. Our contract exists within the time currents. As long as they remain, the contract cannot be broken. If I betray him, the contract will kill me instantly—and my soul will be lost forever. But if you can find a way to destroy the contract hidden in the time currents, then I will gladly become your mystical beast.”

The words left Charles deeply shocked. At the same time, he finally understood why Julian could so easily abandon the most powerful beast under his command.

“No wonder he just left you behind and ran. He hid your contract inside the time currents… what a vile piece of trash,” Charles muttered angrily.

Of all things, what Charles despised most were people like Julian.

Normally, the bond between a Beast Master and a mystical beast should be built on cooperation.

If a Beast Master wants to gain the strength of a powerful mystical beast, they must first earn its trust. Only then can their relationship grow close, and only then can both of them improve their strength at a faster pace.

But some Beast Masters are unwilling to show any care or affection for their mystical beasts. Instead, they rely on tricks, lies, or even brute force to force a contract upon them.

Contracts made this way are twisted and cruel. To make sure such contracts cannot be easily destroyed, these Beast Masters often hide them in places no one can reach—inside raging time currents, or sealed within cursed objects.

Most Beast Masters who use such dark methods come from the Ancient Academy. In fact, Everett, the dean of the Academy himself, openly encourages this practice. To him, it was simply the most efficient way.

“You don’t need to worry,” Charles said firmly. “I will destroy the contract between you and Julian in the time currents. And if you still don’t wish to form a contract with me afterward, then I’ll let you go free.”

That promise struck the Chrono Rabbit deeply. Never before had it met a master who showed such care.

“If you can destroy my contract with Julian, then I will surely become your mystical beast. Because you are the best master I have ever seen.”

The voice of the Chrono Rabbit returned, gentler this time.

Charles smiled.

“Then I’ll begin right now.”

With that, he stepped straight into the time currents.

The moment he entered, the Chrono Rabbit began using its own powers of time manipulation to assist him. Of course, by helping Charles, it was also helping itself.

As soon as Charles stepped into the flow of time, his mind was flooded with countless voices. Most of them were his own—echoes from different points in time.

In the time currents, the greatest danger was not physical injury, but the collapse of the mind.

Here, one’s consciousness could be dragged to any point in time. For anyone with a weak will, it wouldn’t take long before they completely broke down.

And once the mind collapsed, the person would become nothing more than a wandering soul, lost forever in the chaos of the world.

The wandering souls would stop at nothing to attack anyone inside the time currents. Charles was no exception—he, too, faced their assaults.

But he didn’t pay them much attention. They weren’t strong enough to truly threaten him. And with the Chrono Rabbit’s help, he quickly located the contract’s hiding place.

It was buried deep within two of the strongest streams of chaotic time. Anyone who wanted to seize it would have to destroy both.

Charles poured his power into the black gold long knife. That weapon was not only deadly in real-world battles but could also wound things that existed only as concepts. And the time currents were exactly that—conceptual existences.

Pushing forward under the attacks of the wandering souls, Charles lifted the black gold long knife and struck with all his might at the raging time currents.

The blade shattered the first and strongest flow. At the very moment it broke, Charles caught a glimpse of a strange vision—Julian, speaking to a young man. In front of him, Julian looked humble, almost groveling.

Who is that young man? Could he also be in the Atacama Desert? If so, he might become a great threat to me later, Charles thought, making a quick judgment.

But he didn’t dwell on it. Destroying the contract was still the most important task.

After a short pause to recover, he swung the black gold long knife again, this time at the second time current.

When the final current collapsed, Charles finally grasped the contract.

“I’ll destroy it now! You’ll never be bound by Julian again!” he declared, turning the contract to ash in his hands.

In that instant, the Chrono Rabbit became a free mystical beast.

Overjoyed, it leapt and bounded across the Atacama Desert, darting here and there in delight. But soon, it returned to Charles’s side.

“I am your mystical beast now. Let’s form our contract right away!”