Chapter 199: Royal Academy Mercenaries Part 1

Running was an option, but that would mean he would have to leave behind all the beast cores that he had gathered as he was unsure whether they would enter the Shadow Form with him.

However, when he thought about it, the previous times that he entered his Shadow Form, his clothes would enter with him and he would leave with his clothes still on.

That meant that if he focused enough it should be possible to take objects with him into his Shadow Form, but as for Kong and other living creatures, it was too risky.

It was also risky for him to try and take beast cores into his Shadow Form as they weren't in direct contact with him and also contained energy, which were two factors that Damian was unsure about.

No matter what, Damian wasn't going to give up or leave behind Kong or the beast cores behind so his only option was to fight.

He had been training so hard to never be put in a situation that he couldn't handle and now it was time to put his training to the test.

Overall, he could sense that there were 7 mercenaries along with the two royal academy students who hired them, who were also skilled at ranged combat.

Damian needed to be careful and handed over his bag that was filled with valuables to Kong.

"You keep a distance and don't let anyone get their hands on this bag. You cannot fight only if I am about to die and just use your speed and agility to keep the bag away from the mercenaries" instructed Damian to Kong through their telepathic link.

Their mental link had been strengthened after spending a long time together and Damian found that depending on the distance between them, he could clearly communicate with Kong through his mind.

The Monkey Beast nodded his head and was confident in its companion's capabilities, but it was also on high alert and ready to provide support, knowing that it would be a very difficult battle for Damian.

Kong was obedient and unless Damian was actually on the verge of death, he wasn't planning to intervene, which Damian knew and was what he wanted.

"I was looking to test out my new power anyway and I also wanted to kill the two of you so thanks for coming straight to me," said Damian who no longer had to worry about carrying or protecting his bag.

"Are you crazy? You won't even be able to take down one of the mercenaries, but we brought 7 just for the fun of it and you really dare to kill royal academy students without fearing the consequences" said one of the royal academy students.

"This will be where you buy and whatever you are protecting in that bag along with your Beast Pet will become ours" added the other.

Damian was still staying calm and knew that against multiple opponents that were more powerful than him, skilled and experienced, he would need to be careful.

"Toy with him and make sure not to kill him. I want him captured so that I can torture him myself and make him regret even being born" instructed one of the royal academy students.

"Yeah" agreed the other with an evil smile.

The mercenaries all nodded their head in approval as they sent forth the weakest out of them, who was still a skilled and experienced rank 6 External Cultivator. 

Damian wasn't thinking of escape and trying to do so would be a lost cause, so he had no choice but to face them, but also wasn't planning on holding back. 

[I will use my full power and take them all down, not leaving any survivors. If your intention is to kill me, you can also expect the same in return. But I need to reserve my energy, since I'm facing many opponents, so it's best I don't reveal too much of my power against this first mercenary] thought Damian to himself. 

If it was known that he wasn't seeing a cultivator that was an entire cultivation rank above him as a worthy opponent, everyone would believe that Damian was crazy. 

However, after his training, Damian was extremely confident in his power and the second Innate Ability that he copied allowed him to widen his energy pathways and also purify and compress his energy even further. 

Along with the density and purity of his energy improving massively, Damian's body had been strengthened massively after the strain of handling two powerful abilities. 

Additionally, his control, skill and combat prowess had improved greatly after facing hundreds of beasts and training endlessly for days. 

With his bow ready to fire, Damian jumped backwards and created distance between himself and the first mercenary attacking him before firing an Explosive Arrow towards him. 

The mercenary was about to block the arrow with the sabre he was wielding, however, he sensed danger as the arrow neared him and quickly evaded it. 

Looking behind him to see the power of the arrow he dodged, he saw the small explosion it caused and let out a sigh of relief. 

'That was close. This kid should not be underestimated and his eyes show that he has and is willing to kill. It also shows that he is very perceptive and skilled' 

The mercenary by no means feared Damian and wouldn't fear even cultivators that were stronger than him in terms of cultivation level, but he also didn't underestimate Damian. 

As a mercenary from the Royal Academy and as someone that was very skilled and experienced, he knew that he had to be careful. 

The rest of the mercenaries were also impressed by Damian's decisive decision to attack with an explosive arrow at the start of the battle, and after seeing its power, became more cautious of Damian and his bow. 

[He is wielding a sabre, is an external cultivator and clearly experienced and skilled. Engaging him in close combat would be risky, but continuously firing arrows at him would merely waste my time and energy at it wouldn't be very effective] 

Damian's mind was racing as he put his bow back over his shoulder and formed a sword out of his fire energy.