King
Chapter 53 - 53 52 The Great Deceiver Hudson_1

53: Chapter 52, The Great Deceiver Hudson_1 53: Chapter 52, The Great Deceiver Hudson_1 With a lot of persuasion and a sumptuous dinner, Uncle Bear, who was ravenous, was finally persuaded to stay.

If Hudson had known this, he wouldn’t have wasted his time.

He cursed himself for being foolish.

This guy obviously loved to eat and was lazy, but Hudson didn’t recognise and take advantage of this obvious weakness.

Having completed the first step of his plan, Hudson was at a loss about how to transform the cub into his mount.

Theoretically, after a knight awakened the Heart of Life, it could increase one’s affinity with magical beasts, but the amount of this increase varied from person to person.

Some people took a stroll in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and managed to find a decent mount, while others became droppings of magical beasts after a stroll there.

Looking at the knights who didn’t have exclusive magical beast mounts, it was clear that the latter probability was significantly higher than the former.

Unless one was a legendary hero in an epic, one shouldn’t expect pie to fall from the sky.

The most conventional method of acquiring a magical beast mount was to first subdue them, then slowly convince them before finally signing a contract.

This too was a test of character.

If one encountered a magical beast that would rather die than submit, no amount of persuasion would work.

Forcing them to sign a contract wasn’t impossible, but it meant being constantly vigilant of the magical beasts’ retaliation.

If the beasts weren’t afraid of death, the contract would essentially be futile.

Aside from counting on one’s character, there was also the option of domestically raised magical beast mounts.

Examples of these included Earl Piers’s Gryphon Cavalry and the Flying Dragon Cavalry of the Clergy.

Since these magical beasts were raised by humans from a very young age, they were much gentler, and the success rate of contracting them was much higher.

Every advantage has its disadvantage.

Those raised in captivity had combat abilities far inferior to those of wild ones, and their maximum potential was also much lower.

Theoretically, all wild magical beasts had a chance to cross their original rank and evolve via bloodline regression.

But for those raised domestically, this was hardly possible.

Maybe it was due to the quality of the feed, or perhaps the loss of their inherent wildness, but almost none of them crossed their ranks and evolved.

All these successful experiences weren’t applicable to Hudson.

Although the cub looked cute and seemed easy to deal with, his instinct told him that it was a bear, not a cat, and he should avoid becoming its dessert.

Keeping the cub and gradually taming it wasn’t a good idea either.

A free-range Earth Bear was simply a beacon.

Openly, they might need to mind their manners, and perhaps they wouldn’t do anything, but what happened behind the scenes was hard to say.

Those who followed the rules would propose a trade, while those who didn’t might arrange for an ‘accident’.

If the bear couldn’t recognize its owner soon, it would become a hot potato.

Hudson had made up his mind, if he couldn’t trick this cub into signing a contract, he would trade it with Earl Piers.

He had no choice.

Among the nobles of the Southeastern Province, very few could afford this beast.

Even fewer could take it home, patiently develop an affectionate relationship without worrying about being watched.

Perhaps detecting Hudson’s thoughts, the well-fed cub extremely rudely exclaimed, “Human boy, the food here is terrible.

Except for this milk, which doesn’t taste too bad, everything else is awful, no energy at all.

Your Uncle Bear is growing, I must eat top-quality magical beast meat…”

Hudson rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Despite complaining about the food, the bear still ate quite a lot.

He couldn’t have maintained the bear if he wasn’t in charge of transporting food.

The bear consumed the equivalent of thirty nobles’ daily meals in one go.

If it hadn’t been tricked yet, expecting such high-quality food would be a dream.

Despite its resemblance to a panda, Hudson didn’t know if the Earth Bear could eat bamboo.

But having magical beast meat every day was something he couldn’t afford.

“Mr.

Belsden, don’t you know that you’re supposed to show gratitude to your savior?

You should know that there are many people coveting your bear hide and your flesh and magical core.

Ending up in the hands of brutish people, all they could expect was to be butchered.

If they ended up in the hands of research fanatics, they’d be subjected to frequent blood drawing and meat cutting, it’d be worse than death.

Oh, and there’s also the Clergy.

Those charlatans most enjoy brainwashing children like you to prepare for the arrival of bird people when you reach adulthood.

An Earth Bear with wings.

Haven’t seen one on the Continent of Aslante for thousands of years.

Mr.

Belsden, what about you…”

Before Hudson could finish, the cub erupted, “Shut up, you damn human, you’ve bullied me too much.”

“Don’t even think about tricking me into becoming a magical pet.

I, Belsden, would rather die than surrender.

The glorious Earth Bear Tribe has no cowards, and we will never be slaves…”

This escalated quickly.

Even Hudson, the timid Earth Bear, was speechless.

You should know that in the myths and legends, this creature was known as the king of the earth, the ultimate ruler of the continent of Aslante.

“Mr.

Belsden, how could I enslave the great Earth Bear?

As a friend, I just can’t bear to see you facing danger.

Why don’t we sign a mutual aid agreement for two hundred years?

I’ll provide you with food and protection, and when necessary, you can help me in fights.

With your long lifespan, two hundred years is merely a brief interlude in your life.

After adulthood, there is still plenty of time for you to return and become the king of the forest.”

“No way, two hundred years is too long.

I, a genius of the Earth Bear Tribe, will only need another hundred years to reach adulthood ahead of time.

How about this?

You arrange for someone to send me back, and in return, you will gain the friendship of the Earth Bear Tribe.”

Genius?

You mean born idiot!

Hudson didn’t believe that a “genius” bear could be captured and transported thousands of miles without even knowing what was happening.

Despite knowing the truth, Hudson did not expose Belsden.

His sales experience told him that the best way to secure a deal was to make the other party feel superior and then guide them into the pit themselves.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s no other way.

Mr.

Belsden, your appetite earlier has already attracted the attention of certain individuals.

I guess it will not take long before someone comes knocking.

You can try your luck.

May the Lord of the Dawn protect you, so you won’t fall into the hands of the Clergy.

Note that the Dragon Knight Corps from the Judgement Knights are nearby, and it seems that it was the Clergy’s people who caught you and planned to offer you to the Skeleton Society, presumably to sacrifice a skeleton frame.

You should understand my predicament.

As a mere knight, risking offending the Clergy by paying a high price to protect a bear is difficult.”

Obviously, what Hudson said was nonsense.

Wishing for the protection of the Lord of the Dawn is simply the nastiest curse.

Even if the Divine Spirit is ever so benevolent, it wouldn’t neglect its own believers to help outsiders.

Using “not wanting to offend the Clergy” as an excuse is clearly taking advantage of Belsden’s inexperience.

In the daytime battle, Hudson killed the most people.

After a moment of hesitation, the cub said uneasily: “This is what you humans said, we can only sign a mutual friendship contract, and I’m not your magical pet mount.

Whether I will help to fight or not depends on my mood.

And the food you promised, there must be a cup of the Beast Milk every day.

No, a cup is not enough, I want a pot, a pot this big…”

Looking at the serious baby bear’s face, Hudson didn’t know how to haggle.

Was the Beast Milk really necessary to emphasize over and over, as if it were the most important thing?

“Alright, Mr.

Belsden.

If there are no other issues, we can sign the contract now.

To show my sincerity, the contract will be prepared by you.

The above promises can be written unchanged, witnessed by the God of Contracts.”

Hudson said generously.

There was no other way, as he, an impostor mage, didn’t know how to draft a contract, so he could only trick Belsden into doing it himself.

As for the contract’s content, it seems like Hudson is giving more than he gets, apparently at a loss.

But in reality, these were all basic treatments that a master would provide for a magical pet.

It’s just that they have just beautified the relationship between the two parties by changing the rhetoric.

If Belsden wants to eat without working, he would have to get the enemy’s agreement.

On the battlefield, he wouldn’t get to decide.

However, this reminded Hudson that this creature seemed to be a close relative of the Eating Iron Beast…