Chapter 993: Alternate Timeline: The Zheng (4)

*BRRRRRR*

Another storm of bullets erupted forth as the barrels rotated at a terrifying pace.

The scarlet leopard continuously dodged with fluid side-steps, its massive body gliding across the frozen battlefield with astonishing speed.

Yet while the beast focused upon evading the bullets...

The true attack prepared itself.

The weapon finished charging.

Once again, Kiara tightened her grip painfully while forcing herself to endure the intense recoil pressure building within the barrels, to the point her fair arms flushed in red.

Then...

Six concentrated beams of ether energy exploded outward simultaneously before merging into one massive Superbeam.

The Zheng sensed danger instantly. Its enormous body twisted sharply sideways mere moments before impact.

The beam missed...

Or at least it should have.

Suddenly...

The Superbeam curved nearly ninety degrees midair.

Then struck directly against the leopard’s neck.

*BOOOOM*

Smoke erupted again.

But this time, the leopard skidded backward across the ice.

While no injuries appeared, not even a bruise... Kiara immediately lowered the weapon and raised two fingers proudly.

"That makes two. Only one remaining, Juren Frost."

The leopard stared at her silently for a moment before sighing. "This woman is really too much of a tricker, just like Madam Arianna. Suddenly, I feel as though my own ignorance has tricked me."

Still...

Its tone no longer carried hostility.

If anything, it was only growing amusement.

Kiara naturally sensed that change too.

Without wasting time, she immediately stored away the minigun and retrieved another weapon.

This time... a rocket launcher appeared in her hands.

As she loaded the massive 110mm warhead carefully, Juren narrowed his eyes. "Hmm?" After experiencing the earlier beam attack, the beast emperor no longer intended to underestimate these strange weapons or Kiara’s cunningness.

This time, instead of simply sidestepping, the leopard began creating significant distance beforehand.

Kiara noticed the movement immediately.

But instead of concern...

A grin slowly appeared on her lips.

The warhead launched.

*WHOOSH*

The rocket screamed through the air.

The moment it approached, the leopard instantly leaped over five meters sideways while focusing entirely upon the incoming projectile.

Then...

The rocket struck the ground.

And exploded immediately.

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

A terrifying explosion swallowed the battlefield.

Earth shattered.

Frozen structures disintegrated instantly.

Nearly thirty meters surrounding the impact zone transformed into dust and burning debris.

The explosion echoed repeatedly across nearby mountains, reaching even the valleys below where hidden bandits prepared for war.

Juren remained motionless afterward.

Perhaps he was shocked.

Perhaps he has already made his decision.

Either way... he no longer attempted evasion.

As the smoke slowly faded, the scarlet leopard had already transformed back into humanoid form.

Juren stared quietly at Kiara before finally speaking. "Not only do you receive Madam Arianna’s looks, but it seems you receive her cunningness too..."

Then a faint smile appeared upon his aged face.

"Anyway... girl... You win the challenge. You have my acknowledgement."

A while later;

[Ding! The Zheng has accepted the Spirit Beast Contract.]

[Congratulations on forming a contract with a 10-star rank Spirit Beast. You received 100,000 credits as a reward.]

[A new emperor-grade beast is detected. You received 50,000 credits as a reward.]

[You completed the hidden quest, Inheritance of Lysander Frost. Missile Defense System (Upgradable) was sent to the inventory.]

[You unlocked the X-1 missile. Check out the gallery for details.]

[Juren Frost is detected as a Demigod realm beast. Please upgrade the system to level-6 to place it in the familiars’ inventory.]

[Do you wish to erase the memory of Juren Frost and raise its loyalty to 50% for 1 billion credits? Note: If you accept the deal, 5 billion gold coins will be added to the debt.]

Kiara stood there quietly while the cold mountain wind brushed past her robes and scattered the lingering smoke of battle around the ruined peak, yet beneath that calm expression, her thoughts had already exploded into celebration because even she herself had not expected the contract with such a terrifying existence to succeed this smoothly.

A Demigod realm beast emperor.

A true emperor-grade spirit beast.

And now...

It belonged to her.

Even thinking about it made her heartbeat quicken slightly.

However, the final notification instantly poured cold water upon that excitement.

The moment Kiara read the system’s offer, her face twitched faintly.

"A billion credits?"

Her lips curled upward into a dry scoff.

"Do you truly take me for a fool? Even if I emptied the entire treasury of the Xynnar Continent, I still probably would not gather such an absurd amount."

"Not to mention, the monthly interest alone is fifty million gold coins."

"That is not a deal."

"That is a bottomless pit wearing jewelry."

The system answered almost immediately.

[Ding! You can clear the debt once you start producing Celestial-grade or God-grade weapons. Relevant ether powder can always be purchased from the system.]

Kiara narrowed her eyes slightly.

"And who exactly would buy those weapons?"

This time, the system’s reply arrived with unusual calmness.

[Ding! There are hundreds of thousands of worlds throughout the universe with intelligent life. You can always find wealthy customers willing to pay either with gold or treasures of equivalent value.]

Kiara fell silent for a moment.

That answer genuinely tempted her.

A Demigod beast emperor with erased memories and increased loyalty...

The thought alone was enough to shake anyone’s reason.

If she truly possessed absolute control over a being like Juren, then kingdoms, empires, noble clans, hidden organizations...

The entire world might bow before her.

At least, that was what Kiara believed.

But temptation and stupidity were often twins wearing different clothes.

After thinking carefully, she slowly shook her head.

"No. Even if you erase his memories, there is still no guarantee he will obey me unconditionally."

Her thoughts immediately drifted toward Baltrow.

"I already learned that lesson. Baltrow’s loyalty exceeded fifty percent, too, yet I still need to remain polite whenever I request something important. If I become arrogant, the beast simply refuses."

"So, unless you can give me absolute loyalty... I am not making such a suicidal deal."

The system crushed the tiny hope remaining in her heart almost mercilessly.

[Ding! Please upgrade the system to maximum rank-10 to unlock such a mechanism.]

Kiara’s expression instantly darkened.

Maximum rank.

Just hearing those words already sounded painfully expensive.

In the end, she sighed inwardly. "I reject the offer."

[Ding! The system’s offer was denied.]

"What a pity..."

Then her attention quickly shifted toward the newly acquired reward.

Missile Defense System.

The moment she saw the word "upgradable," interest immediately surfaced in her eyes.

After all, she already possessed enough upgrade crystals and credits to understand how frightening scalable weapons could become over time.

Soon, the details appeared before her.

Missile Defense System – I (upgradable)

Grade: Copper (max: God)

Weapon type: Mounted

Missile type: X-1

Launchers: 1

Number of missiles per launcher: 5

Missile length: 3 meters

Missile weight: 50 kg

Warhead type: Fragmentation

Max. range of fire: 1 km

Max. speed of missile: mach 1.5

Description: A missile defense system that can be used as an offense or defense, according to the situation. Moving at supersonic speed, X-1 could potentially obliterate all targets below 5-star rank in the blink of an eye.

Skills: None

Upgrade >>> 1000 credits.

Kiara’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Now this..."

"This is truly valuable."

The more she stared at the details, the more possibilities formed inside her head.

A missile system capable of upgrading all the way to God-grade.

And unlike ordinary weapons, this one could evolve directly through credits.

That alone already bordered on insanity.

"No wonder the system rewarded this after taming a beast emperor. If this thing eventually reaches high grades..."

A dangerous thought slowly emerged within her mind.

"Perhaps one day, I might not even need the beast emperor’s strength anymore. And if an entire battery of these weapons exists..."

Her imagination rapidly expanded toward terrifying scenarios involving flying fortresses, automated bombardments, and long-range warfare capable of wiping cities off maps.

But before she could continue daydreaming further, a dry cough interrupted her thoughts.

"Ahem."

Kiara blinked and looked up.

Juren stood nearby with his arms folded while staring at her strangely.

"Kiara Frost, how long do you plan on standing there absentmindedly?"

"Come and pay respects to your grandfather."

"Eh?" Kiara was, at first, blinked her eyes in surprise. She was taken aback by the surname.

The Zheng, as if he had learned her thoughts, crossed his arms with a deep frown on his face. "If you want to be the successor of Frost Clan, the successor of Lysander Frost, it is only obvious that you shall take the surname of Frost, from now onwards. Atleast for me."

"Ah... well..." Kiara felt reluctant to accept that. Frost isn’t a surname of her maternal lineage. It is also the surname of her mother, whom she hates to the core.

But after a long moment, Kiara let out a deep sigh and apologized, "Sorry. Thinking about something else..."