Chapter 1074: 1074. Negotiation

Noah remembered the environment in Shandal's separate dimension. The God of the Empire had tried to recreate the Immortal Lands there, and the oppressing white sky was a natural opponent of the Pterodactyls.

It was as if Heaven and Earth had declared their species unfitting of the higher plane. Noah could only feel surprised that the rank 7 specimen had even managed to build a pack up there.

Still, there was a limit to how much that information interested him. Noah wanted to understand if he could exploit that encounter to his advantage, but the situation appeared helpless.

He couldn't open the cage and breaking it was out of the question. Letting the rank 7 Pterodactyl free wasn't ideal either since he would die if he succeeded.

'Should I just leave it here?' Noah thought as he watched the beast raging inside the cage. He would generally kill it to remove the creature from King Elbas' clutches, but he wasn't sure that he could even leave a scratch on its divine body.

"You better come up with something, or I'll leave you here," Noah said at some point.

His knowledge had limits due to the lower plane, but that creature had lived in the Immortal Lands. Moreover, it was a divine beast, so its abilities had to surpass ordinary beasts' limits.

The Pterodactyl continued to rage for a few seconds before calming down and pondering over the matter. Noah felt its stare on him as human words resounded in the darkness. "What can you even offer? Your darkness is so pitiful."

Noah's eyebrows arched. He didn't think the creature would consider his words, but it seemed to be a way out of that situation. The only problem was whether he should trust the Pterodactyl.

Snore formed next to him before unleashing a wave of black flames. The dark matter that made its elemental attack spread in the cage and engulfed the divine beast.

The Pterodactyl shook when the higher energy touched its lines. It didn't suffer any damage, but it was its first time seeing darkness that it couldn't fuse with.

The dark matter appeared far better than the normal "Breath" of the darkness element. Noah's darkness was on the same level as that energy, but the dark matter was far more powerful.

The beast remained silent as it watched the flames disperse. The dark matter left the cage and vanished in the blackness of the Gorge.

The Pterodactyl appeared stunned, but Noah wasn't sure that he understood the creature's behavior correctly. His senses couldn't comprehend much when it came to divine beings. He was mostly using his knowledge in the magical beasts' field to help his mind.

"You have some interesting stuff," The beast eventually said. "Why don't you feed me with that energy until I'm strong enough to break the cage?"

"Is that what your species eats? Darkness?" Noah asked.

"Yes, only darkness can fuel beings made of darkness, and yours is quite pure," The Pterodactyl replied. "Now, hurry up. Give me that, but don't transform it into flames or anything. It disrupts its purity."

"That's not going to happen," Noah said, and the beast began to rage again under him.

Noah's smiled while the Pterodactyl slammed its head on the metal bars. He couldn't help but enjoy that situation even if he didn't trap the divine beast himself.

"Get me out already!" The Pterodactyl cried, but Noah shook his head. If he was going to cooperate with the creature, it had to be at his conditions.

"You can speak quite fluently," Noah said after the Pterodactyl calmed down. "Are all divine beasts like you?"

The Pterodactyl hesitated for a few seconds. It didn't want to reply to Noah's questions, but he appeared different from the other humans who studied it during the last period.

There was a different type of interest in Noah's eyes. King Elbas could only see a material and a peculiar creature when looking at the Pterodactyl, while Noah saw an asset that could increase his power.

"All divine beasts can use human words," The Pterodactyl said. "The fluency depends on our innate intelligence."

Noah's smile widened when he heard that. The divine beast had finally started to cooperate, and a single answer had managed to improve his knowledge of his field of expertise.

Having an ally who knew so much about the higher plane could help him reach the divine ranks. It could even increase his chances of survival during the divine Tribulations.

The only problem was that the Pterodactyl's knowledge could go against him during the negotiations since he didn't know the limits of divine creatures.

"I have an offer," Noah said after he pondered about the matter for a bit. "Become my slave."

Noah directly started to ignore the beast after his words. He didn't need to look at it to know that it would rage inside the cage again.

He had no idea of how he could submit a divine creature. His power wasn't enough to control it, and he was too weak to use the superiority of his species against it.

The only one that could give him answers was inside the cage, and it would say anything to get out. Still, Noah wanted to gain something out of that encounter. He would leave he couldn't find any solution.

The Pterodactyl recovered its calm after a while and stared at Noah. It knew that it didn't have any other chance to come out of there, so it had to find a way to exploit it.

"I'll never be a slave," The Pterodactyl eventually said.

"What do you want then?" Noah asked. His previous offer had been only a ploy to force the beast to accept an unfavorable outcome. He didn't expect it to play along.

The Pterodactyl tilted its head to point toward Snore. Its lines followed the Blood Companion floating lazily behind Noah. Yet, it didn't speak. The Pterodactyl remained silent as it continued to stare at a being entirely made of higher energy.

"I can make a similar body for you," Noah said when he confirmed how deep its interest in the dark matter was. "I'll even solve your problem with the sunlight. You only have to submit to me."

"That's not going to happen," The Pterodactyl replied, but Noah's answer arrived before it could even think about something else to say.

"Then you'll remain here forever," Noah said, and those words appeared to hurt the creature deeply. He didn't know for how long it had remained locked there, but it had to be quite desperate even to consider his words.

A few minutes of silence had to pass before the Pterodactyl spoke again. "I accept to submit. Keep your darkness in the cage for a while so that I can fuse with it."

"That's not going to happen either," Noah turned down that offer. He wouldn't let a foreign substance fuse with his energy. He would probably lose his life if a creature in the divine ranks tried to become part of him.

"This is the only way," The Pterodactyl replied in a calm tone, but Noah could see the lies under its human voice. The beast had turned violent whenever something didn't go according to its plans so that peaceful behavior was a pondered act.

"You said that all divine beasts can speak," Noah said. "But you seem pretty above the average in terms of intelligence. What about your consciousness? Can you move it?"

The Pterodactyl didn't initially understand what Noah's words meant, but a low growl spread through the valley when it did.

"Do you want me to abandon my body?" The creature said, and Noah answered with a simple but universal nod.

More silence filled the area as the creature pondered over the offer.

Noah had guessed correctly. The core of that species was in a few mental waves that kept the lines together. However, the Pterodactyls were nothing more than thoughts that had taken control of darkness.

They could separate their minds from their bodies if they wanted. What Noah didn't know was that they would have to abandon their bodies forever if they did.