Jacob sprinted through Fort Oak, a city that housed almost five hundred people, bigger than St. Peter and a bit smaller compared to Blacksoil.

He saw people running around, terrorized, and screaming.

Better screaming than dead.

The pack was still circling the city before assaulting it. It was a scare tactic to make sure that the prey would be agitated and dreading the battle.

“Geneva!” Jacob spotted the woman on top of a building, silent while gazing toward the North.

“Jacob?” she looked at him quizzically but then resumed staring into the distance. “The Demonic Beasts are coming.”

Jacob quickly climbed on top of the roof to observe where she was now pointing. A huge pack of monsters, at least a hundred of them, was howling barely two hundred meters from the first buildings in Fort Oak.

“Marina is trying to organize everyone, but it’s pure panic,” Geneva said quietly. She was as tense as a violin chord, ready for battle.

“Geneva, follow me,” Jacob said. “We will kill our way through the pack.”

“Kill the alpha or something?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It doesn’t really work like that for us. There are only two of us here. Killing the alpha wouldn’t change a thing for the other Demonic Beasts. So, we are just killing every single one of them.”

“Sounds good to me,” Geneva grinned.

…

Jacob looked at the numerous pack, thanking the heavens silently that there were not more than hundred-something wolves.

He was not strong enough to battle all these monsters without bleeding, but he was strong enough to minimize the damage as long as Geneva covered his back.

“Get the attacks that look like they are going to get to me,” Jacob said. He knew Geneva didn’t have formal training and only relied on her instincts during fights. Therefore, it was better to give a very general order rather than a specific one.

The Demonic Bloody Wolves had come closer now, ready to pounce on the first inhabitants of the city. What they hadn’t expected was to see two humans come running toward them. But a pre-snack wasn’t something to be sad over.

Jacob pressed the Meridians in his right arm, opening them up for what was to come next.

Aura Synchronization, 0.000005%

A red aura, much stronger than the one he had used against Geneva or the previous wolf, exploded from his body. It was much thicker than what the woman had seen before, but it was still hazier compared to the one Jacob had used while killing the Charybdis at the Mantis realm.

This one was five-times stronger than the one he had used with the other Demonic Bloody Wolf, but two times less powerful than the one he had to employ to kill the Mantis realm Charybdis.

This was the extreme limit of what Jacob could use without injuring himself. It put a lot of strain on his body, but not enough to deal direct damage through use. It would leave him winded for a day, but that was about it.

Jacob went through the first five wolves so fast the Demonic Beasts didn’t even notice they died.

Blade Tyrant Martial Style, 2nd stance – Invisible Blade

Then, in front of the sixth, he had actually to dodge his first blow.

After that, chaos ensued.

Geneva followed the trail of blood that Jacob left behind him, closing up the space at his back, where monsters tried to sneak attack. She was using the long-range of her halberd to kill the monsters.

Blade Tyrant Martial Style, 1st stance – Cut

Jacob put more Qi in his first stance, generating a glowing edge that cut through two Demonic Bloody Wolves simultaneously.

OH YEAH, BABY, LOOK AT THAT! HEADSHOT! THIS GREAT KEVIN IS UNSTOPPABLE!

The majority of the wolves he was fighting appeared to be at the lower end of the Intermediate Stage of the Mantis realm. But he finally met one at the Advanced Stage of the Mantis realm.

He felt the aura of the monster and looked at it. The red fur was brighter compared to the other Demonic Beasts all around; it had sort of a metallic sheen.

When Jacob’s sword tried to cut through it without using his Martial Style, he felt a great resistance. And not just that, the monster had seemingly allowed Jacob to strike to get him closer to him. Now, the huge wolf swiped its claw toward Jacob's upper body.

Blade Tyrant Martial Style, 3rd stance – Deflect

Even though Jacob’s technique was flawless, he felt his own bones groan under the immense pressure of the blow. He could definitely not engage in a contest of strength, even while holding his blade.

What happened next left Jacob speechless. His aura, which usually enveloped the sword, suddenly penetrated inside the sword, bringing the Relic on a completely different level of familiarity to Jacob.

In theory, Spirit Weapons had a Soul bonded to them, but they couldn’t interact with the host’s soul.

Jacob felt his bond with Kevin grow beyond what a Spirit Weapon and the sword become lighter and heavier at the same time, with a sharper edge, with a bond so deep Jacob could now extend his aura through the sword and use it to cut as part of the sword itself, not just a simple coating.

Jacob’s power had just grown exponentially in the span of a few seconds.

Because this was the power of a Soul Weapon.

ROUND TWO, BABY!