Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

"Maybe... Maybe not," Amos said as he watched Liam attack one of the weaker spiders, using the large silver spear to strike the creature's abdomen. "If he wins, his methods won't matter."

Merlin looked at his boss and muttered in disagreement. "Until the day he loses. Then he will regret it bitterly."

While they exchanged comments on the methods of the Aspirants, Thal'Korr reached out to his most formidable enemy, using the mist that could block the senses, cloud the mind, and cause the demons of one's heart to emerge from the surrounding shadows.

Causing his own creatures of darkness to emerge from the shadow of the 2-Star second realm spiders, Thal'Korr combined his physical and spiritual abilities to attack the enemy's body.

The Violet Spider changed upon sensing the Shadowfiend's movement, moving backwards as it dodged.

But even as it dodged the initial attack and Thal'Korr, the strongest spider couldn't avoid all the surrounding trouble.

With the painful scream of the first of its companions, this spider, terrified by the power of Liam's Spirit, felt several small shadows' creatures slice through its legs and abdomen.

A strange scream erupted, and one of the spiders, lost in the dark mist, looked up and then jumped. It quickly appeared outside the mist-covered area and spotted Mary and the other three Spirit Masters.

With no trouble recognizing that Mary was responsible for the mist confusing its companions, this creature, "awakened" by the power of the illusion it was trapped in with its leader's group, moved against Mary.

"Shit! We have to fight!" Seth said to Amias and Ajax, each of them commanding their Spirits to fight head-on against this creature of a higher cultivation realm than their own.

Liam saw this situation from a distance, but he didn't despair.

'These three can hold out until I finish the other enemies.'

He removed the tip of his spear from the dead enemy at his feet, whom he had just hit in the vital spot using his special weapon and Mary's Spirit's concealment ability.

After removing his spear from that body and leaping toward the second enemy, Liam used his ability to use the shadows to strengthen himself as he attacked the target lost in Mary's mental attack.

Several shadow creatures entered the body of the largest of the spiders the group was facing, temporarily paralyzing it.

"This is not an even fight. The 3-Star boy is much stronger than his opponents," said one of the guards who was watching the battle.

"Don't be so quick to judge this fight. Those Violet Spiders haven't used their special power yet," Amos said as he listened to some of his men's comments.

While the 2-Star Spirit Lord Violet Spider was suffering at the hands of Thal'Korr's shadow demons, Liam's Spirit moved in for the ultimate attack, using his razor-sharp claws to slash at the head of his purple target.

Just as he was about to make the last attack that would likely end the battle, Liam sensed something strange and commanded his Spirit. 'Dodge!'

It was too late!

By the time he heard Liam's command, Thal'Korr was already in the air, unable to change his direction.

As soon as the enormous spider turned its mouth toward him and spat something shiny in his direction, the Spirit was the one who was paralyzed this time, as the creature launched its spider webs to confine him.

"Threads of constriction... It finally played its card. What will the boy do now?" Merlin asked as he watched the only one of the spiders using this ability against its opponents.

Threads of Constriction could wrap around a target, forming a tight cocoon that was difficult to escape. Combined with the poison in the Violet Spider's saliva, even a Spirit stronger than this beast could remain inaccessible to its master indefinitely if struck by this combination of attacks.

"But that was risky. Shadowfiends have complicated abilities... And this brat doesn't play by the rules." Amos watched Liam finish the second Violet Spider, already glaring at the one that was jumping towards Thal'Korr.

In summoning form, Spirits were not so different from corporeal beings, and could even be devoured!

Such a thing wouldn't destroy the Spirit's essence, since only the death of the Spirit Master would kill a Spirit completely. But having your summoned Spirit devoured in battle could be extremely serious for both the Spirit Master and the Spirit itself!

Seeing Thal'Korr's situation, Liam clenched his fists, and no longer hesitated to use everything he had.

'Force Amplification.'

With his command, Thal'Korr's eyes flashed, and his body grew in size and power almost instantly.

The surrounding cocoon cracked, while the spider that jumped towards him suddenly felt the shadow creatures that had invaded its body paralyze it again.

Liam hurled his spear at the spider's abdomen, while Thal'Korr finished untangling himself, tearing the cocoon that had trapped him.

Thal'Korr leaped into the air, feeling his power far surpassing what he had used a moment ago, and caught Liam's spear in midair before it pierced through the body of the large 2-Star spider with a deadly move in midair!

The guards nearby saw the Spirit's brutal attack right after they thought the boy was in bad shape and saw another of the Shadowfiend's powers.

Liam approached Mary's group, where the opponent of the three had just cast its special power—Threads of Constriction—on the three demon Spirits.

Violet Spiders didn't use their special power casually. For them, as for many magical races in general, using the best they had came at a price.

A Spirit Master, for example, would be exhausted shortly after summoning their Spirits. As a result, they only summoned them when necessary and didn't use all of their Spirits at once unless their lives were in danger.

This was also true for creatures similar to Violet Spiders. The moment it used its abilities to restrict the three Spirits on its way to Mary, the giant 1-Star spider weakened considerably.

Liam sensed his enemy's weakness and used the spider's shadows to restrain it as he leaped at it, one of his hands surrounded by mana in an attacking position.

When he attacked the spider's body at eye level, Liam was surprised as he pierced the top of the creature, bypassing the enemy's defensive exoskeleton until he reached the spider's brain.

Upon reaching the spider's brains, it stopped moving, allowing the three Spirits to escape the cocoon in which they were trapped.

The battle ended. The four spiders were dead. Liam and his four companions were exhausted. Each of them had injuries to their Spirits, which they didn't expect for their first fight as members of Demon Gate.

As soon as their Spirits returned to their bodies, Merlin appeared beside them, seeing them pale, sweating, their auras weakened. Liam and the three men with bleeding from their facial orifices, something related to the wounding of their Spirits.

The five Aspirants looked over and saw that the incense was still burning, a sign they had won within the five-minute challenge.

"You won, but a group of weaker Violet Spiders almost killed," Merlin said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, replaying the battle in his mind with all the mistakes those five had made. "You may eat. But remember, a group of your own level almost killed you. If Spirit Masters had been your opponents today, my men would be digging graves right now."

The five individuals quietly swallowed their saliva, humbled by their own errors, as they lowered their heads.

Merlin watched them return to camp after collecting the essences of the Violet Spiders and imagined the future of this group. 'Fighting as a team has its positive side, but it won't get you anywhere in Demon Gate. If you depend on each other in the guild, you'll all die in less than a year...'