Chapter 533: Dilemma Or Opportunity

Leo’s previous irritation at not being able to tame a wyvern vanished into thin air the moment the Wyvern spoke those words.

But he still needed to be careful.

"Why?" Leo asked.

There had to be a reason for a prideful being like a Wyvern to lower its head, and Leo couldn’t simply tame it without knowing the reason.

"Because I see no other way to get out of here alive," the Wyvern replied simply.

"So, you’re telling me you’ll break the contract after getting out of here?" Leo asked.

"I would have very much liked to do that, but that’s not the way the world works. I will not do that. I give you my word," the Wyvern replied.

"How can I trust your word when intelligent beasts are capable of unilaterally breaking the taming contract? And leave that aside, I don’t think staying alive is your sole agenda. Because that should have also been the wish of your brothers and sisters who died by my hand over these past hours," Leo said.

"Tell me your true purpose, and I will decide what needs to be done."

The Wyvern nodded.

"That’s true. I have other purposes too. The first and foremost is to take revenge against the pathetic existence that killed my mother without a second thought, despite her serving him for over 3 centuries. The second is to live a long and happy life with my mate. Unlike my brothers and sisters who are ready to die for their hollow pride, I want to see more of the world alongside the woman that I have come to truly love."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"By revenge, do you mean your father, the one called Hidimba?"

"That pathetic person is no longer my father, but a future target to be brutally killed," the Wyvern replied resentfully and continued,

"And this also brings me to the conditions under which the taming contract will be formed."

Leo looked into the Wyvern’s unwavering eyes.

"Speak, but remember, if I find even the slightest hint of future betrayal, I won’t hesitate to kill you outright."

Leo also wanted to know where this Wyvern had found a mate and where she was, but he figured the conditions might revolve around her, so he waited.

"The conditions are simple. First, you will tame my mate alongside me and bring her out of this hellhole together."

"Second, you will allow both of us to grow stronger under you to eventually enact our revenge."

The Wyvern paused, releasing a faint stream of hot breath.

"I give you my word that you won’t need to provide us with anything, only certain intervals of time periodically for us to roam the wild and look for opportunities ourselves. And we will be away for at most 10 days at a time and stay for a month after that before we ask for the next time interval."

"Third, in case my mate gives birth to young hatchlings, you will not try to capture them, sell them, or harm them. It would be their decision what they want. If they wish to stay, I won’t complain or push them away."

"I don’t want to become like my father, who sacrifices his own children for benefits."

The Wyvern said these rigidly, seemingly not ready to compromise on these conditions.

The Wyvern had even wanted to impose a time limit on the taming contract, but he refrained because it would become far too one-sided and risk Leo rejecting it.

Leo was his only way out of this place, and if he didn’t negotiate while keeping the situation in mind, he risked death.

Leo pondered the conditions carefully. Out of all of them, the only troublesome one was taming the mate alongside this Wyvern.

The mate would, of course, be another Wyvern, and not only did he have only one taming slot left, but two of the same beast would be a kind of waste of his [Primordial Beast Taming] talent.

Then Leo suddenly recalled something.

He closed his eyes for a moment and sensed his soul.

Wait! Just a little push in strength and I can tame one more beast! Leo exclaimed inwardly.

Because his strength had increased due to leveling up and Nyxa’s feedback, his taming potential had increased as well.

As a matter of fact, he could now tame two comparatively weaker beasts than himself. And a High 3-star was not actually that strong. Not to mention, his mate would obviously be weaker, so he could tame both Wyverns.

But once again, taming two similar beasts felt like a waste.

Maybe I can gift the female Wyvern to Lily? I mean, eventually we can summon each other’s beasts... Leo thought.

He didn’t even bother pondering over the Wyvern’s other conditions. The beast was simply cautious about being mistreated and being prevented from getting stronger, and that would never happen under him.

But there were still some conditions that Leo needed to impose from his side.

"I hear you. They seem appropriate. But there are some conditions that I will also place," Leo said.

"Naturally," the Wyvern responded as Leo began.

"The first condition comes on the basis of your condition of having periods of free travel to look for opportunities in the wild. Sorry, but I won’t allow you and your mate to go out together. One of you will always stay back as insurance. As compensation, you can go out twice a month."

"Second, when you are with me anywhere, my orders are absolute. If I see you disobey my orders, terrible punishment awaits you. And terrible means terrible. There are no loose ends."

Leo’s conditions were just these two when, suddenly, a theory popped into his head.

Wait... if intelligent beasts are capable of breaking the taming contract, even in a blood bond, does bond progress even matter to them? Leo wondered.

The only difference between chainbond and bloodbond to an intelligent beast was the backlash. In the former, the tamer would suffer it; in the latter, the beast would suffer it.

He had even seen Niri form a bloodbond directly, so shouldn’t it be possible to do the same with the Wyvern? That way, Leo would be completely safe from betrayal and wouldn’t risk damaging his soul.

He immediately put forward his third condition.

"Both of you will form a bond of blood with me from the start."

The Wyvern fell silent for a moment. As a beast, he inherently understood the meaning of the blood bond without ever being taught, so he also knew the severity of it. Once the blood bond formed, all the leashes would belong to Leo, and he would largely be at Leo’s mercy.

The Wyvern released a stream of hot breath through his nostrils.

"I accept."

The Wyvern had no choice. He knew Leo’s conditions were sensible and fair if one considered that Leo would literally be saving his and his mate’s lives.

But then, the Wyvern suddenly noticed one thing in Leo’s third condition.