Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Wrong chapter released. Just like the previous one.

Four days later, Liam was entering a restaurant with his group by his side at the moment, having just finished training that morning. Going to take a break and satisfy his hunger, he entered a well-known local establishment with his group.

Having already been to this restaurant a few times in recent days, the group was recognized by one of the waiters, who quickly arranged a large table for them near one of the windows with the best view of the establishment.

From where they sat, the group could see people coming and going in Irondom's central square, but also the mountain ranges to the north of the region.

They placed their usual orders, with 70% of the group there, waiting for their companions who were resting during Liam's training that morning.

Initially, the group paid no attention to their companions' tardiness, chatting amongst themselves about the matters most important to them, waiting for their meal.

"Chief, I've got good news for you," said one of Liam's subordinate officers, drawing the gazes of all his companions around their table. Everyone was seated, although Toby and Isa remained attentive to their surroundings.

The Officer reported, "The Runemasters' Association issued a notice on their boards this morning. The promotion exam for Fourth Class will take place in four days."

"Oh?" Liam opened his eyes in interest, not expecting to receive such good news just now.

'If that's true, then I'll have time to finish refining my skills and take the exam before we return!' he thought excitedly.

"Are you sure about this?" Isa asked the man subordinate to Liam seriously. "We have heard nothing about any more Third Class Runemasters arriving in the city these days."

"I thought that was strange too," said the man who had brought the news to light. "But I made a point of questioning the association's officials about this announcement being some kind of mistake. They confirmed the exam will indeed take place in four days."

"In that case, you'll have your chance to become a Fourth Class Runemaster, chief." Toby looked at Liam with a smile, wondering if this fellow would be able to pass the challenge.

Ever since they arrived in Irondom, Liam had been hiding his progress in their forge and only talking vaguely about his progress. Toby trusted his leader was stronger now compared to a few days ago, but the promotion exam wasn't easy.

Liam nodded to Toby, feeling graced by this chance.

It was in the middle of this part of the group's conversation that their food arrived and they began their meal, even without some of their companions there.

Halfway through the meal, still amid side conversations, most of them optimistic, one of Isa's men raised a problem in the air.

"Guys, our companions are almost an hour late now... This is getting strange. It's never happened that they've been this late before."

Initially, no one there had found it strange that they had started their meals without all their traveling companions. It wasn't unusual for Liam to finish his training at a different time than usual and often the group members' time on local duties didn't coincide with the time for regrouping. So, sometimes over the last few days they had missed each other, with members of the group running up to half an hour late.

Today, the situation went a little beyond that, which caught the attention of the person responsible for observing the shifts at that time.

Liam frowned, seeing that Nance wasn't there. "Let's give them another 15 minutes. If they don't arrive by the end of the meal, we'll start looking for them around the city."

Incidents could happen anywhere, whether small or large. Now that the group was aware of their companions' tardiness, he waited to confirm the problem before acting more forcefully.

Liam didn't want to show the eyes of this town problems over simple things. Already accustomed to the plots of Demon Gate, he knew that the mere fact of them starting searches could trigger actions by local forces interested in avoiding groups looking for anything in the area. Not only that, but as Isa and Toby had already explained, the Demon Gate had its enemies. The slightest sign of trouble could show the best moment for opposing forces to act against them.

Before taking an irrevocable step, Liam waited the 15 minutes, finishing his meal and then paying for his orders.

Just as the group was about to leave the restaurant and start their investigations, one of the late men burst in, stopping them halfway to the restaurant exit.

"Chief, we have a problem!" said the guy who entered the restaurant agitated, running and with rips in his clothes. "I was on my way to meet the others when I saw the resting group being attacked! They tried to move against me and take me with the others, but I narrowly escaped!"

The tension in the entire group increased a few levels, with Isa, Toby, and Liam firmly displaying their worried expressions.

"Who did it?" Liam asked in a grave tone, his eyes dark as night.

The masked Officer said, his eyes flicking to Liam's, "I don't know. It was a group of high level Spirit Sky cultivators. But I brought this with me."

The officer showed a dagger soiled with his own blood, which Isa quickly took from his hand and looked closely at the dagger.

"I don't know this symbol," she said as she passed the weapon to Toby, who analyzed the object in the same way she had - looking for clues to the identity of their enemies.

Toby said, "It's not uncommon for members of enemy forces to create factions outside their organizations and move them against enemies of those larger forces, Chief. Even we at Demon Gate do this to hide our tracks and avoid larger wars.

This could be the action of one of those groups nurtured from afar by larger forces, a group that could be targeting us to cause damage to the Demon Gate without moving the sect against the real masterminds."

'Clever. I hadn't thought of something like that.' Liam saw the logic in this kind of planned action, although he couldn't invest too much in considering the advantages of having something like this on his side. His focus was on the situation of his companions, particularly Nance.

Liam didn't know if what he felt for his women was love. Constantly planning actions to strengthen himself and prevent his own death almost always prevented him from thinking about romance and the like. But he knew that he genuinely cared about the well-being of his women, and now, with Nance in danger, he couldn't help but feel as if there was someone squeezing hard on his heart.

Whether it was love, it didn't matter. He feared for Nance and couldn't stand by while she was in danger!

"Can any of you use this to track your enemies?" He asked as he looked at Isa's group, aware that his subordinates didn't have that good tracking skill, but in the dark about Isa's people.

"I can get something... But this could be a trap," said a masked woman, taking a step closer to Isa and Liam.

Isa looked at her subordinate and asked, "Do you think he might have been able to bring this in because the enemies let him?"

Susanna was experienced in investigating enemy traces. Although most traces were usually left subconsciously, now and then in her studies, she came across situations constructed by sordid minds. It was not at all uncommon for an item left behind to purposely lead investigators to their ends.

This woman said, "I think it's possible. It could be a desperate move to leave something valuable behind because of the surprise factor, but we can't rule it out."

Liam said, "Just do what you can to get us closer to the last user of that weapon. Even if it leads us into a trap, we can't stand still without an answer."

Officer Susanna nodded in understanding and as soon as they left that restaurant, she used her skills in a local alley to distinguish special markings on that weapon.

Susanna would ask Minos' subordinate officer to take them to the place where he had escaped and seen the enemies acting against the rest of the group.

When they got there, there would obviously be no one else around, with only subtle signs that something had happened recently in the mixed residential and commercial area of Irondom.

Being a relatively large city, not everything of interest in the city was in its center. Liam's group mates had been exploring much of the city, which usually took them out of the center.

This was even more true for the weaker members of the group, who naturally needed more affordable options, found further away from the center, like where they were now.

There were no guards constantly patrolling the area and even the movement of people was quieter, with moments when the streets and alleys were completely deserted.

"I can take us through, Chief Porter." Said Susanne after a few minutes investigating the combat site with the help of Liam's subordinate officer. "But now I'm pretty sure it's a trap."

Toby and Isa looked at Liam, aware that if this was indeed a trap, then the enemies' purpose shouldn't be the missing Officers, but the red-clad figure among them.

"A trap for you, I'd say." Isa said to Liam.

Liam didn't move with this warning, becoming even more serious with this threat. "So be it! If they want a fight, then they'll have one!"

He looked at Susanna, giving her the order to lead them into the path of their enemies.