The Master of Beasts

The first time he faced Bali, Gabriel was brutally beaten. Clamping his legs together, he arrived at the main camp, giving Gal a fright.

"What happened to you?" Gal asked curiously, eyeing Gabriel's strange walk and his face, which was almost purple.

Sitting in an empty spot, Gabriel burst out in anger, "I'm done with this! I'm not going tomorrow."

Gal was completely baffled. His partner was always eager for a one-on-one fight with a Cultivator; he wondered what could have upset him today.

Under relentless questioning from Gal, Gabriel eventually spilled the humiliating details of the battle.

Gabriel's anger flared even more when he saw Gal secretly suck in a cold breath and stealthily press his own legs together. "That snake is too shameless! I have plenty of little succubi waiting for me at home."

"AHEM." Gal tried to soothe him. "Maybe you can just endure it for three more months?"

"Three months? I don't even want to go for one day, unless you allow me to use all my strength," Gabriel insisted, shaking his head. A battle that wounded a man's dignity like this truly held no interest for him.

"Granted."

"What did you say?" Gabriel looked incredulous. His partner was a real schemer; he never wanted to reveal his strength until the very end, claiming that keeping an ace up his sleeve could help them defeat the enemy faster and achieve greater victories during the final assault.

"The Myriad Beasts Sect disciples guarding this time are quite strong, as are their two Spiritual Beasts," Gal pondered. "You can use your full power. It would be best if you could force out any other hidden Spiritual Beasts they might have at the Demon General level."

"You said it."

Watching a pleased Gabriel leave, Gal frowned. No wonder our clan was nearly wiped out by the Myriad Beasts Sect back then, he thought. Just one of their disciples requires several of our Demon General-level members to handle. If this is also true for the higher ranks, then they will indeed be tough to beat. I wonder what kind of support the Moluo Royal Family has sent. I hope it's something powerful.

「The next day」

Gabriel's demeanor had clearly changed when he appeared.

Facing Bali, who had given him a sound beating the day before, a sinister smile curled Gabriel's lips. "Little snake, today I'll show you my true power."

Gabriel's frame expanded, and faint flames appeared on his skin. Bali, who had been expecting the same opponent as yesterday and was looking down on him, was caught by surprise. Gabriel's flames suddenly withdrew into his body, red patterns originating on his face began to spread across his entire body, and his aura surged dramatically.

"Little snake, here I go."

Before his words faded, Bali was struck by Gabriel's punch. He sensed the danger but couldn't dodge—the speed was incredible!

After taking a few hits, Chen Jiuge on the city walls also noticed something was amiss and urgently said to Ming Yujing, "Go help! Something's off with the Demon Clan today."

Heeding Chen Jiuge's advice, Ming Snake didn't rush in immediately but instead released countless Sand Snakes to entangle Gabriel.

With a slight exertion of force from Gabriel, the Sand Snakes disintegrated, but this gave Bali the chance to distance himself.

Looking at the two large snakes before him, Gabriel tauntingly beckoned with his finger.

Exchanging a glance, Ming Yujing clad Bali's massive form in a layer of heavy sand armor. Bali then charged at Gabriel. Full of confidence, Gabriel didn't bother to dodge and met him head-on.

With the protection of the sand armor, Bali could at least tangle with Gabriel for a while. Ming Yujing provided support with harassing attacks and occasional counters. However, this wasn't very effective against a fully-powered Gabriel, whose strength had more than doubled. If Gabriel hadn't relied solely on brute force, the two snakes, with their current strength, might not have been able to keep him contained.

As the sun set, it signaled the end of that day's routine battle.

The two snakes were somewhat downhearted. Just yesterday, Bali had been able to thrash Gabriel, but today, even when they fought together, they were the ones who got beaten. So the Demon Clan members are actors too, huh? they thought.

Chen Jiuge simply consoled them, acknowledging that the snakes' combat experience was still too limited, especially when compared to an old Demon like Gabriel, who had fought on battlefields for thousands of years.

「That night」

The two snakes hid in a secluded corner within the city, surreptitiously drowning their sorrows in alcohol, when a relaxed Da Bai spotted them.

Adhering to the belief that one would be a fool to pass up a good opportunity, Da Bai smoothly joined their drinking session. As the snakes vented their frustrations, he soon learned the reason for their dejection.

"You could use sand to mimic the structure of Magic Artifacts, right?" the slightly intoxicated Da Bai casually said. "For example, couldn't those Sand Snakes be turned into rope-like Magic Artifacts? And sand armor is just the Magic Artifact version of real armor, isn't it?"

Ming Yujing understood immediately. After spending some Spirit Stones, he successfully obtained two structural diagrams for High Rank Magic Artifacts.

Mimicking the structure was easy, but imbuing the sand-based items with the power of Magic Artifacts was difficult. After three more days of being thrashed, Ming Yujing finally achieved partial success.

When Gabriel next struck the familiar sand armor, his eyes narrowed. "What's going on? Why has the sand armor become stronger?"

He then cautiously took a step back, only to find that Ming Yujing had anticipated this and had already laid an ambush of numerous Sand Snakes in that very spot.

Looking at his body covered in crawling Sand Snakes, Gabriel felt disgusted by such insignificant tricks.

"Now! Hit him below the belt!" Ming Yujing exclaimed, his eyes gleaming.

Gabriel sensed something was amiss and exerted all his strength. However, the Sand Snakes' resilience had increased, slowing his movements by a fraction. It was precisely this fractional delay that allowed Bali's tail, covered in Sand Thorns, to viciously strike Gabriel's third leg.

"AAAAOWWW!"

The miserable howl momentarily stopped the besieging Demon Worms and the slave army. Even Gal, far away in the main camp, heard it.

Gal sucked in a sharp breath as he saw Gabriel fall, clutching his groin. He used his full strength and still got hit? He then glanced at Bali and Ming Yujing, the two large snakes, who were eyeing the fallen Demon menacingly. Gal quickly rushed to Gabriel's side.

However, Chen Jiuge saw this as a good opportunity and immediately dashed from the city walls toward Gal.

Seeing Chen Jiuge charging toward him, Gal frowned. This is trouble, he thought.

BANG!

Their swift exchange of blows created a series of booming sounds. Gal was considerably stronger than Gabriel; not only could he completely resist Chen Jiuge's onslaught, but he also rapidly seized opportunities to inflict injuries on Chen Jiuge.

However, Chen Jiuge, who cultivated the Green Vine Immortal Body, wasn't afraid of injuries. As long as I can keep Gal occupied, he schemed, the two snakes can finish off Gabriel. Then we can eliminate these members of the Demon Clan!

Turning his gaze toward the other battlefield, Chen Jiuge realized the two snakes couldn't take down Gabriel. Unlike his earlier aggressive fighting style, Gabriel was now primarily defensive. He endured extra hits rather than leave his vital spot unprotected again. Coupled with the naturally durable hide of the Earth Demon Clan, defeating him seemed impossible.

If Gabriel is determined to flee back to the Demon Clan's main camp, we won't be able to kill him and Gal, not with so many Demon Clan regular soldiers there, Chen Jiuge considered.

Realizing this, Chen Jiuge seized an opening to retreat and stop his attack. He gave Gal a long, meaningful look before signaling the two snakes to return to the city walls.

With a dark expression, Gal retrieved the injured Gabriel and led the cannon fodder army away as well.

Without Gabriel there to keep the enemy's main fighters occupied, this cannon fodder army would truly live up to its name.

Watching the Demon Clan depart, Chen Jiuge sighed with regret. "What a pity."