Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Chapter 122: Developing the Plans

With the new day, he followed his routine, eating heavily in the Refectory at the beginning of the day before continuing his two hours in the Runes Hall under Ann's supervision. He did some more rune training at the end of the morning and practiced his fighting techniques and Mana Mask a bit after his cultivation in the early afternoon.

After another meal, this time at a restaurant, Liam went to the Beasts Hall, where he would work for five hours, tending to the beast cages, transporting the creatures, and feeding them. His goal was to spend the next 10 days free of all responsibilities and concentrate on studying the runes. So he finished his weekly responsibility with the coliseum on time.

In a few days, he would have to fight for the Arena rank again, and he would probably be forced to train with a member of the Emerald Owls. In that case, he wanted to prepare well.

After leaving the Beasts Hall, he met up with Electa again, still with no new targets from Felicity, but in no hurry. Even though having more women would be an undeniable advantage, he had a lot of plans in his head at the moment, so he wasn't in such a hurry.

He went to bed alone for another day, to relax for a few more hours before the start of a new day.

...

After leaving the Refectory, Liam made his way to the Missions Hall, where he had arranged to meet Ester before going to the Runes Hall.

On his way there, Liam ignored the people who followed and watched him closely. These people thought they were doing their job very well, but he knew every one of them, their positions, and their cultivation.

At that moment, seven people, five men and two women, were watching him. What factions did they belong to? Liam couldn't tell exactly who belonged to which group. But he was pretty sure that they were members of the Crimson Rebels, Emerald Owls, and Abyss Matriarchs.

He had been careful since his return to the city. He had avoided going out at night and only visited places where there were Officers on duty. Also, he had avoided certain places in the city where there was a greater chance of trouble developing.

But he knew things wouldn't stay as smooth as they were now for long. With every step he took, there were ramifications that opened up possibilities not only for him but also for his enemies.

'Mary should be back from her hunt in a day or two. I must prepare to help her with her Promotion Exam. Electa will take hers today and may reach our goal. If Mary can do the same before these tranquil days are over, we can do far more than our enemies can imagine.'

At the sight of the majestic Missions Hall, Liam pushed Mary and Electa aside to focus on the brown-haired woman he was about to meet.

'I need to quicken my pace with Ester. The enemies won't hesitate to encircle me soon. A confrontation with them is inevitable, so it's better to take the initiative.'

His gaze narrowed as he arrived at the negotiation wing of the hall.

He followed the same procedure he had used to meet Ester the first time. He pretended to be looking for someone to negotiate with and then entered one of the private rooms in the area where Ester was already waiting for him.

None of his observers suspected he was there to meet an ally. They simply positioned themselves at the edge of the area and waited for Liam to leave so they could continue to follow him.

...

"Did you get anything?" Liam sat down in front of Ester without ceremony, not even bothering to greet her.

She met his eyes and nodded. "I did, but I don't know if I want to go through with it." Her voice wasn't as good as it used to be.

He said nothing about her will. It obviously didn't matter.

"What did you get?"

Ester sighed before she began, "Well, if you're going to use me to put one of your enemies in danger, it has to be against the Crimson Rebels. The Abyss Matriarchs don't have any men in their group, and as much as some women like flowers more than maybe they should, my charm won't work well with them...

But either way, by acting against one, we will inevitably affect the other."

"Oh? Are they together?" Liam asked.

"The leaders of the two factions met a few days ago, and since then, the relationship of rivalry and hatred has changed a lot. I have no way of confirming their agreement, but it's almost certain that it happened and they now have some sort of partnership."

She paused for a moment, looking suggestively at Liam as she settled into her chair. "If I had to bet, I'd say you're the entity that brought them together."

"That wouldn't surprise me." Liam laughed bitterly.

She continued, "You should be on the lookout for action against you. It's almost certain that these two groups will coordinate their movements and act to bring you down with a single attack. This may also mean that you have some time to prepare. A decisive attack is not so easy to plan and execute."

He agreed with the last part of her statement as he brought one of his hands to his face, his elbows resting on the table in front of him.

"As for the Crimson Rebels, I must warn you that your situation with them will not improve until one side falls. The boy you killed outside the city was the brother of the faction leader, Myles Smile."

"That... That's terrible to hear." Liam didn't know this information.

"Indeed, it is." She nodded, her look deep and serious. "I can't help you with him. He's just too strong, and he's in love with Eleanor McCalla."

"The leader of the Abyss Matriarchs?"

"Yes, that's her." She confirmed, ignoring the surprised look on his face, and continued, "I can't act against Myles, but maybe I can get close to one of his trusted men. Myles has a group of seven close friends or subordinates who help him deal with the Crimson Rebels.

Of these people, five are Spirit Earth cultivators who I wouldn't be able to get close to. But two of them are peak Spirit Lords, against whom I might stand a chance."

Liam was aware of the Crimson Rebels' numbers. With only six Spirit Earth cultivators, Myles' faction was the strongest of those who had tried to approach him before and were now against him.

With 66 members, the Crimson Rebels had a lot of bargaining power in City Thirteen, with a few Blacksmiths, Alchemists, Healers, and Runemasters under their wings.

Fortunately, the number of third realm outer disciples wasn't high, so no local faction had over ten Spirit Earth cultivators in its ranks.

"Whom do you have more confidence in?" he asked, giving her the option to choose.

Liam would not send Ester on a suicide mission just because she had wronged him. He valued her more alive, so he wouldn't force her to act against the strongest of his enemies.

She said, a little relieved by his position, but still very serious about what they were planning, "Hudson Brown. He is a Spirit Lord who recently reached 9-Star. He's quite confident in himself, and at only 22, he considers himself a genius.

He's an outstanding talent, but he's more arrogant than his talent should allow. A born womanizer, his weakness is his company, with whom he spends as much time as he does cultivating.

I'm going to approach him and seduce him.

I've heard that men talk more than they should when they're drunk around women..."

"Some do." Liam nodded, smiling in partial agreement. "Since you're going to do that, take this." He handed her a small pouch.

"What's this?" Her expression changed from serious to curious.

As she looked at the mixture of spices ground into a greenish powder, Liam explained, "A mixture of special herbs... If you manipulate it with a drop of your blood and mana, you'll produce an extremely potent cream for men of the same power range as you. It'll make him extremely relaxed and even delirious.

Even if you don't have sex with him, he'll think that a simple hug was much more than it really was…

Use this wisely. He'll become more resistant the more you use it. So don't overdo it in the beginning."

She was surprised that he knew such a thing, but gladly accepted it. "All right, I'll try it."

"Be careful and guide this Hudson guy. I have no interest in knocking over a little fish like him."

She nodded as she saw him stand up. "Don't worry, I know what to do."