Once again, the firewall rose and prevented the battle-ax from cutting the beastmen's neck.
Tang Shaoyang had anticipated this as he noticed three Dee Guards rushing toward him from a distance. He moved to the side, learning from the previous encounter. Sure enough, the Dee Guard who was on his knees released a breath of fire that passed through the firewall.
Roar!
Tang Shaoyang opened his mouth and a lion-like roar escaped from his lips, stunned the incoming three Dee Guards and also the beastmen in front of him, "No one is going to save your life this time," with a big grin, he pushed the beastmen's chest to the ground before he pushed the pointy end of his battle-ax to the neck, ripping apart the throat.
The Beastmen tried to hold the bleeding with his hand but it was a futile effort as he died immediately afterward. Tang Shaoyang turned his focus to the incoming enemies, 'Should I face them, or run?'
The three Dee Guards did not give him spare time to think. They threw fire spears at him from a distance.
"Fuck it!" He easily avoided the fire spears as it was not that fast. He decided to fight instead of running away. Three Dee Guards suddenly changed their formation, the two guards on the side moved to the side, leaving the Dee Guard in the middle to face him.
"Huh!?" Tang Shaoyang was confused with the action of these beastmen. Then the beastmen that ahead of him made an abrupt stop, the Dee Guard opened its mouth, and he saw a spark of fire from the throat.
He was about to move to the side, but the firewall rose from his right and left, cornering him and stopping him to move to the side. At this moment, he realized their formation. Firewall not only could be used to defend but also offensively.
[Wild Axes]
At this moment, Tang Shaoyang stored the battle-ax in the inventory and cast [Wild Axes] to the Dee Guard ahead of him.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
The twin-axes made of energy spun in the air. He was hoping his axes were faster before the Dee Guard could fire the flame in his mouth. Fortunate for the man, he was quick with his reaction, and the axes struck on the beastmen's shoulders.
The Dee Guard was pushed back until his face looked toward the sky. The fire breath fired toward the sky instead of toward Tang Shaoyang.
"This time I am not going to miss your neck!" With a smirk, he picked up his pace and hacked the battle-ax toward the beastmen's neck.
Slash!
The head flew off the body as blood spurted out from the neck. He turned around, was about to fight the remaining two Dee Guard. However, soon he heard a series of footsteps, it was not only three of five, but at least ten beastmen rushed here.
"This should be enough," he muttered in a low voice and dashed toward the wood. After killing two beastmen and short exchange, he gauged the strength of these beastmen. If it was three to five Dee Guard, he might be able to take them down, but more than that was hard and he might risk his life.
The Dee Guards tried to chase him to the wood, but he was faster than these beastmen. Soon, he shook them off as he entered the stage-1 Deere zone. He stopped there to take a breath for a moment.
—Why don't you learn Mana Mastery? The skill will strengthen the other skills, you can easily take them down, and it might be possible for you to cast [Spirit Integration] with me.
Zaneos' voice rang in his head. The Demon Swordsman reminded him about the skill book he got from the first portal.
"Should I? But shouldn't I save it for the mage?" Tang Shaoyang replied with a question. Zaneos taught about mana, how it was essential for a class that relied on Magic Power. He remembered that there was a Flame Mage in the Unique Class of his smart base. He thought to save the skill book for whoever got the class later on.
—The skill book can be used three times, you can have your share. I understand your thought and your care for your subordinate, but before that, you have to prioritize yourself. From my experiences, humans are fickle and…
The Demon Swordsman stopped midway as he realized his Master was a human too. Their relationship was based on mutual respect, so he tried to not disrespect him.
"You can keep going. I am not that petty over something trivial like this," Tang Shaoyang shrugged slightly. After a slight hesitation, Zaneos continued.
—In my world, humans thrive despite the constant war between demon and human. However, something is interesting about the human kingdom.
From the tone of The Demon Swordsman, Tang Shaoyang could portray the demon formed a smirk when he was talking about that.
—In my lifetime, many human kingdoms fall by their hands rather than being destroyed by us, the demon race. Interesting, isn't it?
The Demon Swordsman sniggered in contempt when he mentioned this. Tang Shaoyang's interest was also piqued when Zaneos mentioned his world.
—While humans fight against us, the demon race, they also fight by themselves especially when the monarch of the kingdom shows a hole or two holes. Most of the kingdoms fall because of a civil war when the subordinates find the chance to do so. So, you have to prioritize yourself, don't give your subordinate a chance to rebel, you have to be strong, strong enough so they don't have a funny idea to rebel.
"I see," Tang Shaoyang nodded, accepting the advice from his teacher. He said nothing wrong about humans, not he felt offended by the way the demon's view regarding the human. He then took out the skill book from the inventory.
————————
[Skill Book]
Skill: Mana Mastery (Apprentice)
Use: 3/3
————————
[Do you want to learn Mana Mastery? Y/N?]
Tang Shaoyang followed the advice and learned the skill. He chose yes, and the book was glowing in blue afterward. The blue light then enveloped his body, and at the same time, he felt a cooling sensation passed through his body. It started from his head to the chest, to the arms before finally reaching the heels.
[You have learned Mana Mastery (Apprentice Level)!]
—Amazing isn't it?
Zaneos's voice rang in his head after he had successfully learned the skill. Tang Shaoyang immediately nodded in response, "Yes, that was amazing. I never felt that good before. Oh, it actually gave the same level of satisfaction when I am having sex,"
His answer left the Demon Swordsman speechless. The man was the mana sensation and sex, first time hearing this kind of comparison.
Hearing no reply from the demon, Tang Shaoyang proceeded with checking his status.
-----------------------------------------
Name: Tang Shaoyang
Class: Spirit Contractor
Age: 26
Affiliation: Tang Empire
Level: 82
Talent: Divine Body
Attribute Point: 0
Strength: 280
Agility: 97
Vitality: 179
Stamina: 109
Magic Power: 82
Sense: 13
Mana: 820/820
Skill Point: 20
Skill: [Basic Detection], [Spirit Summoning - Lvl 2], [Spirit Contract - Lvl 1], [Spirit Integration - Lvl 1]
Contracted Spirit (2/3): [Karan - The Great Warrior] [Zaneos - The Demon Swordsman]
--------------------------------------
There was an additional status on his screen, Mana.
"Now I have Mana, how do I use it? It says I have 820 Mana, is that a lot?" Tang Shaoyang asked the demon.
—That's enough mana for using the skill a few times, not a lot though. However, we can work for it since you have mana in your body and have sensed it. Try [Spirit Integration] with Karan.
"Karan? Why don't we try it with you?" Once he integrated with Zaneos when he faced the Death Reaper. For the first time, he felt an overwhelming power inside his body, and he carved for the feeling.
—There's a possibility you can integrate with me for a longer time, but what are you to do after that? Leaving your body vulnerable to the beast?
He then remembered the feeling after their integration. He felt powerless and weak, if that happened now, he might be an easy target for Deere.
Tang Shaoyang followed the instruction. Once again, he and Karan integrated. Instead of trying his skill, he checked the status window. To his surprise, the integration with Karan gave him a boost of 300 Strength and 150 Vitality instead of 200 Strength and 100 Vitality.
He then checked the bottom part, the mana. His mana was reduced to 720/820. [Spirit Integration] skill cost him 100 mana but it gave him a big boost as well, it was worth it.
