Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

After almost 10 minutes of hectic battle, night had completely taken over the surroundings, forcing the victors of the battle to use lighting devices.

The group's magic lamps illuminated the surroundings destroyed by the combat of so many Spirits Masters and their respective Spirits, with almost 20 dead bodies in the vicinity.

Following the unspoken rule of the Spirit Masters, those who killed opponents there quickly collected the resources from the bodies of their victims, in the blink of an eye, leaving only their dead companions.

Lazarus collected the belongings of the fallen faction members that night and shared their contents with the survivors.

Robert naturally ignored these belongings. He was too strong to make use of Spirit Lords' items, but he had also got the most valuable thing he had in the area, Enos' belongings.

Liam also refused. He got the storage items from Eleanor and three other women from Abyss Matriarchs.

His winnings were naturally high!

Counting all the coins he got, Liam increased his financial assets by 1,800 gold coins!

In addition, he had got at least a dozen Third Class potions, 10 pills of the same classification and 7 artifacts. He ignored the cultivation items or Second Class artifacts, but he got at least 40 of them in those space storage artifacts now in his spatial ring.

He counted it all up in less than a minute after Enos' death, enough time for everyone to think about what had happened there and look at each other.

Everyone had seen Liam's strange actions during the fight. They were partly curious, but also grateful. If it hadn't been for his interference, they certainly wouldn't have survived as well as they did.

Of course, everything had happened because the enemies wanted to eliminate Liam, so the survivors' gratitude was limited. But overall they were happy. They had survived and gained more artifacts and resources as a result.

Still, Lazarus couldn't help but look at Liam differently and ask. "How did you do all that? And what was that ability against demonic Spirits?"

Liam sighed, aware that he couldn't hide it from his group. "That was my main Spirit's ability... After I became a 3-Star cultivator of the third realm, affecting women's minds became something simple enough for me to weaken those Abyss Matriarchs."

"3-Star?" Lazarus shouted in surprise.

Liam was weaker than him by several levels until recently. But now the boy was already at a level above him!

Robert wiped his weapon as he looked at Liam, understanding how the boy had managed such a formidable performance in this fight.

'But he didn't answer about that action against the demonic Spirits...'

This man thought to himself.

But the faction leader and the others there would not pressure Liam. He obviously wouldn't talk and, for the moment, they had other matters to worry about. They were in the middle of a forest, particularly at the most dangerous time.

"Let's move." Robert said two minutes after the end of the fight, long enough for their recovery potions to have taken effect.

The group got into a formation, making their way towards the hunt for the Silver-Winged Leopard.

But they continued talking about what had happened for a little while longer.

"I hope you'll help me protect my realm advancement from our sect superiors. I still intend to stay in City Thirteen for a while," Liam said.

"Why? Why do you want to stay in the city?" One of the 9-Star Spirit Lords in the group asked in incomprehension.

"I fear moving to the inner wing of the sect and returning to the situation I was in just over a month ago." Liam replied with a green smile on his face. "Anyway, when I become a 6-Star Spirit Earth cultivator, I'll make my way to the inner wing of the sect. Until then, I'd like to stay in the city and continue my studies. Preferably become a Third Class Runemaster by then."

Robert looked at Liam and said, "Don't worry, we'll keep your secret. It's actually good for the faction if a talented and powerful member like you stays in town for longer."

The rest of the Leopards promised to keep his secret, imagining for themselves the benefits they could get if Liam stayed with them for a few more months.

So far, they had experienced more problems than benefits from having him in the faction. But after this trip, they were sure that things would be more peaceful in City Thirteen, and they could enjoy the advantages of having such a strong and talented team member!

...

Hours later, the night had deepened, with the woods surrounding the outer cities of Demon Gate becoming much more active, with nocturnal beasts moving through the area.

The groups traveling or hunting through the region moved more slowly during these hours, some of them even stopping to rest and camp, waiting for daylight to approach.

But amid this, one group was marching in the opposite direction to all the others, while its leader had wide, red eyes, craving the blood of his opponents.

About two and a half hours away from where the Silver-Winged Leopard hunting area was, Myles was marching ahead of his fellow faction members.

Hours ago, he had lost the vital sign of his precious Eleanor. Furious at losing the woman he loved, he marched in the direction his opponents should be heading.

There weren't many paths in this forest for one to take if one wanted to avoid the beasts or tribes that lived in the surrounding area. Certain crossing points were unique and there were no detours unless one wanted trouble.

Just then, the group of Crimson Rebels stopped at one of these special points, and Myles ordered.

"Set the traps! We'll wait for the enemies here!" he shouted, his voice laced with unparalleled anger.

He had already lost his brother not long ago. But now that he had lost Eleanor, he was willing to do anything to relieve the desire to destroy his enemies.

The men of Crimson Rebels moved into the small passage between two mountains, both homes to beasts, this narrow passage being the only 'safe' way to the Silver-Winged Leopard's home.

"Boss, everything's ready," said a man a few minutes after they arrived.

"Let's hide and wait. The enemy can't be far." Myles looked up at the sky, still dark, but already able to see the day approaching in the distance.

Morning would come in less than an hour, which should be about the time Robert's group arrived in the area.

"How many of them must be left over from the action against our allies?" Someone asked in concern.

"Certainly few."

They naturally believed that it was the Leopards who handled Eleanor's fall. It could certainly have been other groups of disciples from the sect, or even beasts from the forest. But most of them were quite confident that Leopards had a hand in Eleanor's unexpected fall.

But some of them were still uncertain about it and couldn't help but fear the possibility that the Leopards' group was at its best.

That would make it much harder for them to take down their enemies!

...

A few minutes after the group of Crimson Rebels stopped moving, a creature as big as a bull, with an extremely muscular body, 4 meters long and golden fur, slowly left a cave.

Its face was shrouded in silver fur, while teeth protruded from its mouth, presenting a brutal appearance to those who observed it. This was particularly true now that the creature's forehead was full of expressive lines, with its eyes narrowed, obviously in a bad mood.

The two large but momentarily retracted wings on its back were also eye-catching, both covered in silver feathers that contrasted with its mostly golden body.

Finally, its large tail moved strangely in the air as it walked in cat-like strides, its eyes focused on the surroundings where enemies were waiting for it.

This was the Silver-Winged Leopard!

Upon identifying the first of the groups that had disrupted its hibernation, the 6-Star creature from the Spirit Earth Realm counted the number of enemies it had to kill to vent its hatred.

But this was a much more intelligent beast than usual. It even noticed the traces of individuals who had disturbed its sleep and who were no longer around.

But running away wouldn't save them. It was determined to hunt down every one of the humans who defied its mercy to wake it from its pre-Night of the Beasts' slumber!

...

"The enemies are nearby."

Liam made a hand gesture for his companions to stop moving, finally seeing the signal from his tracker showing on the artifact's screen.

Robert and Lazarus stopped and looked at the item in Liam's hands, aware of the possibility it held.

"Could he have thrown away his tracker? We're far from the location of the Silver-Winged Leopard sighting, Liam," Lazarus said as he frowned.

Liam said reflexively, "It's possible. But it's also possible that they're right nearby. We'd better be careful. If I'm not mistaken, Myles found out about Eleanor's death and is now after our lives. It's possible that they have a trap up ahead."

Robert agreed to do things the way Liam suggested, already regretting not having trusted this young man's instincts earlier. "Let's do it. How far are they from us now?"

"Hard to say. I can only say that we're less than a kilometer away."

Opening a map in front of him, Lazarus estimated. "In that case, they must be this way." He pointed to the area where he imagined would be the best place to lay traps and wait for enemies nearby.

They all knew ambush strategies and the map of the area. They agreed with Lazarus and soon came up with a plan of action.

In less than five minutes they continued forward, still with the shadow of night covering the area, but the day getting closer and closer to them!