Eddie's actions infuriated the demon general to no end. However, the demon wasn't foolish. Even in his rage, he maintained his composure, recognizing that the human who landed a punch on his nose, despite carrying a woman on his back, was no easy foe.
Unlike the other four humans, this one was a formidable adversary. The demon general, brandishing his blades, backed away thirty meters before summoning his battle beast with a crystal.
Relieved to see that the demon general lacked a summoning tome, Eddie felt more at ease. His least favorite opponents were those with summoning tomes and their eggshell-like defensive barriers. Without one, the demon was vulnerable.
To his delight, the demon's dual crescent blades seemed perfect for his collection, even if they didn't match the iconic 'Egg Slicer' in shape. The blades were designed for maximum lethality, not just for show.
Eddie was convinced that these were the demon realm's version of the 'Egg Slicer' – a weapon as legendary as the 'Frost Mourner' carried by the Death Knight, renowned for its flair and style.
"Grey Wolf, what are you waiting for? Attack!" Eddie commanded, and Grey Wolf sprang into action.
The demon general, caught off guard by Eddie's shameless tactics, was still in the midst of enhancing his summon.
He hadn't expected his enemy to be so bold as to charge in and unleash a wolf. In Eddie's view, however, releasing the hound was a glorious tradition in battle – a strategy that even the legendary Erlang Shen might have used to capture the Monkey King.
The demon general was utterly frustrated. His battle beast was moments away from reaching its peak strength, yet the fusion process halted abruptly.
The demon general's body was immobilized by an invisible force, rendering him completely unable to move.
This infuriated him, especially as Eddie, the human warrior he was facing, was a fool who solely focused on combat skills without summoning a battle beast. Eddie took advantage of this, unleashing a furious assault on the demon general, leaving him dazed and battered.
The general was utterly frustrated that Eddie was using his own dual crescent blades more skillfully than he ever did.
"Your crescent blades are not bad, but they're of inferior quality for a demon general. How can you, a noble general, use such low-tier demonic weapons?" Eddie commented with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Human, you have thoroughly enraged me!" the demon general bellowed, realizing that Eddie was a formidable opponent who had managed to land a punch on him despite carrying a woman on his back.
The demon was convinced that Eddie, who lacked a contracted battle beast and relied solely on combat skills, would eventually fall to his might.
The demon general then began to merge with his summon, the demon lizard. His body started to transform, with horns elongating and sharpening, and his fingernails turning into lethal claws.
Muscles bulged under his skin, and a thick layer of scales covered his body. His tail grew longer and sprouted sharp barbs, while thin wings emerged from his sides, aiding his leaps and glides.
Eddie watched as the demon general's toes scratched deep marks on the stone ground, displaying an astonishing strength. Surprised, Eddie readied himself for battle, realizing the enormity of the threat.
"Now, my physical strength and speed have increased fivefold. Tremble, cry, weak human!" the demon general laughed maniacally as he leaped towards Eddie.
Eddie countered with the crescent blades, but the demon easily blocked them with his scaled palms. The once lethal blades now barely scratched the demon's tough hide.
As the demon general prepared to strike with his other claw, Eddie swiftly dodged and countered.
The demon laughed, exerting more pressure, forcing Eddie towards the ground. Suddenly, the demon's barbed tail, swift as a serpent, lashed out towards
Eddie performed a backflip, narrowly dodging the demon general's barbed tail, which shattered the ground upon impact, sending debris flying.
His face expressed sheer astonishment, like a country bumpkin seeing an airplane for the first time in a big city.
"Quiver in fear, weak human!" The demon general, brimming with arrogance, summoned a ball of flame, igniting his claws since Eddie had taken his crescent blades. He believed that if Eddie were struck by his fiery claws, he would be reduced to ashes.
As Eddie retreated, the demon general laughed triumphantly and lunged forward, claws ablaze, aiming to seize Eddie. However, the same invisible force that had baffled the general earlier kicked in again, leaving him disoriented.
By the time he regained his senses, he found himself flat on the ground under the gaze of a towering Minotaur warrior. His fiery claws detached, rolling away as balls of fire.
Before the demon general could comprehend the situation, he felt the crushing weight of a giant hoof pressing down on his face. Meanwhile, Eddie's wolf, Grey, had been waiting for the right moment.
Seeing the demon general's fire beast being obliterated by the Minotaur's deathly glare, Grey pounced and devoured the beast's remains.
"You gluttonous mutt, eating everything in sight, do you think you're some government official?" Eddie berated Grey, who seemed to be absorbing the fire beast's energy. In moments, Grey evolved into a Bronze Level 5 Two-headed Demon Wolf.
However, Grey seemed disoriented with his new two-headed form, moving awkwardly and looking utterly shocked at his new head. After a few minutes of mutual staring and realization, both heads rolled back, and Grey fainted from the shock.
Eddie was speechless, suspecting that Grey might be the first beast in wolf history, or even in the entire animal kingdom, to have fainted from self-inflicted fright.
In the midst of chaos, Eddie watched as the Minotaur Shadow mercilessly trampled the unlucky demon general.
The general stood no chance under the Minotaur's brute strength, and even if he could retaliate, it would be futile with the curious Little Wenli watching with wide eyes.
However, it was Eddie's precise sword qi that truly rendered the demon general defenseless. A single stroke of Eddie's sword qi effortlessly pierced the general's heart, the weakest spot.
Desperate, the demon general cried out, "I sacrifice myself to the great Demon King Barlut, long live the Demon King!" His body grotesquely distorted, swelling unnaturally as dark energy rapidly formed into a sphere.
"Could you quiet down? I'm trying to contemplate the essence of trembling," Eddie quipped, uninterested in the general's attempted self-destruction. However, Little Wenli, having observed enough, summoned her petrifying Medusa.
A single arrow from Medusa turned the demon general, who was under relentless trampling by the Minotaur and on the verge of self-detonation, into stone.
The Minotaur continued its relentless stomping until the demon general was nothing but rubble.
Eddie, momentarily distracted by his thoughts, pondered, "Should I contract this Silver Grimoire now or wait to snatch a Golden Grimoire? Why didn't Immon gift me a Golden Grimoire instead? Silver seems so... underwhelming."
He seemed to forget that his own Bronze Grimoire was two levels lower than the Silver one he deemed insufficient.
His thoughts turned to the potential of contracting a duplicate grimoire. Could he still gain talents and a guardian beast of life with it?