Chapter 38: Making Progress

"So you mean to say, I should use force on them?" Nox asked.

"If necessary, and it would get the job done," Eve stated indifferently. "If I can kill my enemies, I don't mind sacrificing a couple of undead to achieve that goal."

When she said this, all the undead skeletons standing beside the walls flinched. Clearly, she had used them as cannon fodder in the past to achieve her goal.

"Wouldn't that break the bond?" Nox knew very well that his companions weren't just mindless puppets; they had their own personalities, just like any human out there.

He couldn't stomach the sight of using them as cannon fodder for his own selfish interest. It would feel no different from using his biological children.

'Are all Necromancers this heartless or is it just her?' Nox shuddered.

"Bonding can be important, yes, but that doesn't apply to us Necromancers. As long as I have reanimated the dead, they'll be forever loyal to me and follow each of my orders."

"The same for Beast Tamers. No matter how much a beast dislikes its master, they'll never disobey any of their orders."

"Now I'm not telling you to go about using your beasts as cannon fodder; that would just be plain stupid because I can raise the dead over and over again as long as I have sufficient mana, while your beasts would die permanently."

"Basically, I'm telling you to exercise more of your power while bonding with them at the same time. I can tell you excel at bonding with your tamed companions already, but you still need to teach them how to properly take instructions."

"After all, you'll always fight with your companions beside you. The last thing you'll want is for them not to be coordinated."

"Hmmmm." With more thought, Nox realized Eve's point was very valid and reasonable. 'I'm sure Thirteen would follow all my orders, the same for Fluffington, but that lazy cat would never train; he only likes fighting.'

"Summon the cat and panda again," Eve ordered.

Nox summoned Fluffington and Thirteen, and they elevated onto the platform. At the same time, on the ground, several shadow portals opened up, and emerging were five ghostly beasts that looked very similar to the Demonic Wolf.

The only difference was these ones were dogs and had three large yellow eyes. Their build was muscular, with spikes protruding from their backs. Two pairs of fangs jutted out of their mouths.

[Black Fanged Demonic Dog]

"How effective can you command your beasts in the heat of battle?" Eve asked.

"I usually don't command them all the time; they… they just fight on their own… Is that a bad thing?"

"There is nothing wrong with that. However, it's more effective to give them instructions on what to do… because they're like an army. You don't even have to shout it aloud. I'm guessing you also have telepathy?" Eve asked, to which Nox nodded.

"I want you to focus on commanding your beasts to attack the dogs. You can go all out. On the other hand, I'll control my summons. Since they're lower level than your beasts, we should be pretty even." Sёarch* The NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"As soon as Skully over there sounds the gong, the fight will commence, so get ready."

"Alright, pipsqueaks." At that moment, the butler skeleton swaggered into the arena.

"The rules of this fight will be simple," Skully stated, his green eyes gleaming. "Any beast that falls off the stage will be automatically disqualified. Begin!"

'To instruct them, I have to know their strengths and weaknesses. Fluffington is fast and has a savage fighting style, while Thirteen, because of his inherited kung fu, is more refined and elegant.' Nox massaged his temple when he thought about something. 'Both of them are also offensive-type fighters. If we were to fight, my defense would be practically open.'

Shing!

"Fight!"

Immediately, Skully gave the green light. The five shadowy dogs pounced forward with menacing snarls on their faces.

'Go!' Nox commanded, and both Thirteen and Fluffington lunged forward at the horde of dogs.

Following Nox's command, Thirteen curled into a ball, and his speed increased significantly, almost matching Fluffington. He slammed into the first shadow creature. The impact immediately tossed that shadow creature out of the platform.

Before he could fall off as well, Thirteen expertly changed course and headed for the other dogs.

'Fluffington, claws!'

[Don't tell me what to do. I was about to do just that.] Fluffington sneered and made a powerful swipe at the first creature's face. At the nick of time, the creature dodged the slash, but Fluffington had already anticipated this. Fluffington's slash also changed direction, cutting a gash on the dog's face, shearing it into two.

Nox didn't stand by either; he summoned the dagger and started to hack away at the creatures that had somehow passed Fluffington and Thirteen. It was very difficult for him to split his brain into two places, but he was slowly getting the hang of it.

Sometimes, though, he couldn't help but let the beasts have their way. For Fluffington, he didn't need to be told what to do, but the only problem was Thirteen.

Nox reasoned it was because the latter was still just a few months old.

Even though they were faring well, Nox knew it was because Eve gave the shadow dogs basic commands to just attack; if not, they would have found themselves in dire circumstances.

After the first battle ended with Nox coming out as the winner, Eve increased the difficulty with more summons. Because of the increased difficulty, Nox lost over and over again.

Days passed. Nox didn't leave Eve's gloomy mansion and continued to learn how to split his focus between commanding his beasts and fighting at the same time.

Eve didn't only depend on her summons to fight for her; she was a capable swordswoman and dark magic wielder, a true menace in any battlefield.

Under her tutelage, he also learned how to wield myriad weapons, and slowly he was making progress.

At the same time, even Nyx made significant progress because… she was a literal monster when it came to training. Within the span of a few days, she had finally mastered the Phantom Slash.

'She's countless times more talented than the other girls back at home,' Aina realized. But there was a deep frown on her face because this revelation could very well be a double-edged sword.

"I hope they don't find out about her," Aina whispered to herself in an extremely low voice.