Earth-Carrying Boars were numerous, which was handy as they were basically the only beasts in this realm that could easily be directed to attack a precise target. Their aggressive nature meant that once enraged--Which was a state they got into at the slightest inconvenience--They would target nearly anything they saw.

The only exceptions being powerful beasts capable of intimidating other creatures by simply willing it.

Humans could not do that without a specific cultivation technique or boon, and none of the three golden-robed youths were equipped with such a thing.

The righteous one stepped in front of his two compatriots, his skin seeming to take on a golden tint as he fearlessly grounded himself in place.

‘Body cultivator’ thought Edrick to himself.

The shady one also stepped forward, but still remained behind his fellow. From his hand, a spear-like weapon manifested, made entirely out of gold.

‘Mmh…’ this did not seem like a weapon cultivation technique, or, at least, not the typical sort. Nonetheless, it seemed like he was a close-quarters fighter.

Lastly, the efficiency-focused disciple made some hand movements, manifesting floating spikes of gold that hovered around.

‘Spell cultivator’

Considering that most people can only cultivate a single technique at a time, and the fact that they were inner disciples--Not core disciples--Anoteros felt confident that they shouldn’t have access to anything else. Not that it mattered much. What was important was whether any besides the first one was also a body cultivator on top of what they had shown.

But if that was the case with the second one, he probably wouldn’t be hiding behind his fellow like this. Clearly, he was wary of being wounded by the boars. As for the third one, spell cultivators typically never learned any body cultivation, mostly because spell cultivation techniques required one to understand and comprehend the spells associated with the technique, on top of cultivating it.

This made them progress at a slower rate than their peers most of the time. Moreover, his body wasn’t very well built.

The group of Earth-Carrying Boars soon reached the group, slamming into the body cultivator. Although the youth held, his expression shifted into one of pain making him take several steps back. Meanwhile, the shady one by his side lashed out with his golden spear, piercing one boar straight through the skull. His weapon got stuck as a result, forcing him to abandon it and summon something else.

Another boar was riddled with projectiles by the spell cultivator, but it did not die. The spell lacked the strength to go through the tough body of the beast.

The fighting went on for several minutes.

The golden-robed disciples were good, but they lacked cohesive teamwork and did not seem used to having to deal with so many beasts at once...

The spear-wielder was struck in the thigh by the tusk of one of the boars, forcing him to step back further as he did his best not to fall over.

Soon enough, however, only a single boar remained. The body cultivator was taking care of it, battering the beast with his golden fists repeatedly.

“Damn it! Their bodies are so freaking tough! My fists hurt!” even with his body cultivation technique, it was hard for him to get through the natural defences of a beast. Humans were rather squishy by nature, so a single body cultivation technique that hadn't been trained to perfect mastery was rarely enough to go up against most of them barehanded.

“Couldn’t you guys have helped me a little bit there?!” having had to deal with the last boar all by himself for some reason, he turned around to check on his allies. He was expecting one to have simply ran out of energy to cast spells, and the other to be a sitting duck after being wounded, but he saw none of that... The first thing that happened as he turned around was for a club to come smashing atop his forehead.

The body cultivator crumbled to the ground like a rock. Unconscious, but not dead.

Edrick and Daklaiel were the only ones left standing. The efficiency-driven disciple was lying on the ground with his head facing the wrong way. He had been the first to fall, being the furthest in the back. Anoteros had merely walked up behind him and given his neck a good twist.

That one had been as durable as a regular person.

The shady disciple had come right after. After being wounded by a boar, he stumbled back, and as he had been trying to maintain his balance, Edrick had hit him in the back of the head with his Kanabo, blasting off part of the disciple’s skull, killing him instantly.

In the end, Daklaiel hadn’t even had to intervene. The way the trio positioned themselves might have been good in practice, but the instant a third party became involved, the distance they placed between one another had become a serious weakness.

Edrick stashed the two bodies into his storage pouch. Only some bloodstains were left behind.

The noble scion then knelt and placed his palm against the back of the unconscious third cultivator.

This one, Edrick, had intentionally not killed on the spot.

He once again used his innate ability: Crest Of Domination. He placed a servant crest upon the unconscious disciple, which manifested in the exact same way it had for the Underwood Elf.

There was no reason not to use this ability some more. Although the crest itself was large, and that the purple was a pretty big giveaway of who the master was, the fact that it was placed on the back, combined with the style of clothing typically worn, meant that it was actually pretty well concealed.

It wouldn’t hurt to place servants within other sects and organisations secretly. Though at the moment, Anoteros was thinking of another use for this new servant of his.

The reason he had picked this one over the other two was mostly because he was a body cultivator, so he had more stamina to run around and perform errands back and forth for him. Moreover, since he was the most righteous of the bunch, making him a servant was especially amusing.

In any case, he would be acting as a spy. He would be wandering the woods with Daklaiel tailing him while invisible, seeking out disciples trying to hunt Underwood Elves, or those who had already hunted some. Then, whilst this one would be distracting the targets, Daklaiel would be running back to inform Edrick.

Anoteros himself was too conspicuous, being from the Elt family. Any disciple would immediately be on guard, especially when they noticed that he was alone.

“What is your name?” asked Edrick as soon as the golden-robed disciple woke up.

“Zhujing… Master”

“Good... Then Zhujing, I have a mission for you…”