The opportunity presented itself.


    However, at the same moment it was an opportunity for Spot to use Gentle Gaze; it was also the same for the bird-like beast.


    Lucas felt terror freezing his body and making his mind scream danger when he met the gaze of the bird beast earlier.


    From that, one could immediately guess that it was also using an ocr skill that could somehow make its target feel terror or dread so vast that their body can literally freeze.


    In a sense, it was the same skill as that of Gentle Gaze—cast in Hellhound Manifestation form—only the bird''s skill brought more dread towards its enemypared to Gentle Gaze, which was focused on entrancing the enemy to immobilize them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Both skills more or less achieved the same result, but each was done in a different manner.


    And it was also because of that fact that the two beasts gazing at each other produced two different kinds of reactions as they simultaneously used their own version of the ocr skill the moment the opportunity presented itself to them.


    On one side, struck by the Gentle Gaze, the bird, which seemed to produce no emotion earlier, visibly paused and became tranced. Its pitch ck, deadpan eyes constricted as its menacing expression somewhat calmed down. Its whole body, though, froze in ce, unable to move.


    On the other side, Spot was also struck by the bird''s ocr skill. Contrary to what the bird was experiencing, Spot''s expression turned serious. His snarl became subdued as his face turned somewhat confused. His menacing eyes were constricting violently, as if he were experiencing a horrible ordeal inside his mind. His whole body also frozen in ce, unable to move.


    At the next moment, though, the deadlock between the two was finally broken.


    The first to recover from the trance was Spot. His whole body shook as his once confused expression was reced by cold murderous intent.


    The bird beast, on the other hand, simply returned to its previous deadpan expression.


    Recovering from the slight impasse, the two once again shed with their own versions of menacing ws.


    Lucas, on the other hand, stared at both of them with a grim face.


    Although the situation might have turned in their favor due to Spot being able to match the high-ranked beast, the situation was actually the opposite if one considered a lot of things.


    First, Spot''s transformation ability was limited. Once the limit was up, he would forcefully return to his weak and small original form—the Gentle Dog form. Not to mention that his stamina, although quite vast in the Hellhound form, was not actually endless. Even at this moment, just five minutes into the battle, Spot had already shown signs of weariness.


    In each of their shes, Spot had always put his very best and all strength—just to evenly match the strength of his opponent. The injuries he sustained in each sh also grew dense, and at this moment Spot''s body was already full of wounds and blood.


    The same could be said toward the bird beast, though. Like Spot, it had also sustained some injuries during their recent shes. Like Spot, though, it was also bleeding profusely from the w marks that Spot had gifted.


    What was different however was the fact that it seemed to have been able to ignore the pain the injuries brought to it—if it felt pain to begin with—and was still fighting as ferociously as before.


    This, however, was not what concerned Lucas the most.


    His real concern stems from the fact that, up until now, the master of the beast was still nowhere in sight.


    From the information he knew, a contracted beast could not stray too far from its master. That was also the general rule that everyone knows. However, ording to another article he once read before, the distance that the two could exist actually differed from person to person.


    Just like how the grimoire calctes the experience points gained from a battle through the contribution system, the distance could also be calcted, but how to do it has never been found yet.


    One thing that the author was certain of, though, was the fact that the distance would be increased each time a summoner''s rank was increased.


    Five minutes had already passed since the arrival of the beast, and yet its master was still nowhere in sight.


    It might simply be because he or she did not want toe out. But the more obvious and logical exnation should be that he or she was extremely far away from the current location.


    And that was where the problem lies for Lucas.


    The greater the distance, the more powerful the beast''s master would be, which also indirectly means that he or she might have more summons than Lucas could imagine.


    Now that the battle was at an impasse and none of the two seemed to be able to finish each other in a short amount of time, the best possible action should be to send reinforcements, or better yet,e here themselves.


    At least, that was how Lucas would have done it and what any normal summoner would have done.


    And if that happened...


    ''Well, I''ll be truly doomed!''


    Earlier, Lucas had more or less determined that he would not be able to escape the bird''s grasp.


    After Spot fought with it, evening to a draw, hope was reignited in his heart as he felt that there might be a chance to escape, or perhaps even y the bird beast.


    He might not receive experience points for ying it due to it being someone''s contracted beast, but escaping the predicament would have be the most desirable reward that he could hope for.


    The thought of its mastering or sending reinforcement for it, however, poured cold water into his hopeful thoughts.


    ''Damn it! I need to do something before its reinforcement arrives!''


    Lucas thought desperately.


    The deadlock between the two beasts was still going on. Opportunities after opportunities presented themselves, but the two seemed to be holding back their ocr skill due to what happened earlier.


    Lucas looked around as he gripped the Armadon Tonfa tightly. He observed his surroundings as well as the ongoing battle, trying to think of something that would be of use for Spot.


    The light of the morning sun—or wherever the light wasing from—shone over his ragged face.


    Like the two beasts fighting a few yards away from him, Lucas was also waiting and searching for an opportunity. His help might just provide little effect, but it was the little things that mattered in the grand scheme of things after all.


    As he could not recklessly join the fight of the two ferocious beasts that could sh him into pieces in a moment''s notice, Lucas could only wait patiently to the side.


    It was a bit ironic that he wanted to enter the battle now, when he was desperately trying to extricate himself from it just a moment earlier.


    The technicalities do not bother Lucas anymore, though.


    At this moment, his whole body and mind were focused on the battle, analyzing and imagining countless scenarios in which he would be able to enter the battle in the most opportune time avable.


    And just then, the opportunity that he had been looking for finally presented itself.


    ''There!''


    Lucas turned to look in one direction and sprint toward it as fast as he could. His eyes showed caution but also a firm determination. His gaze left the battling duo as he moved to a location obscured from their view. He had also moved right when the bird beast turned its head away from him.


    Ignoring the sh of the duo, Lucas hid himself in one boulder as he mentally ordered Spot to bring the battle over. Since he could enter the battle willingly, Lucas decided to bring the battle over and let it flow toward him instead.


    Obscured from the bird beast''s view, Lucas patiently waited as Spot brought their battle over toward his location.


    The training they had done when cleaning the beast cage seemed to have produced some results. Due to his fear of being drenched with water and slumping over to the beast''s feces, Spot had learned to dodge the iing attacks aimed toward it splendidly. At the same time, he also managed to train his footwork, afraid of stepping over the beast feces.


    That same footwork he had learned was now being used as he moved around to evade the sharp talons of the bird beast. It was also that same footwork that allowed Spot to slowly bring the battler toward where Lucas was hiding.


    Lucas felt his heart tighten as the duo gradually came close toward his location with great fanfare. Suppressing his tumultuous thoughts, Lucas reversed his grip with the tonfa—creating more reach—as he waited for the distance to shorten even more.


    And just then, Spotnded three yards away from where he was hiding.


    The bird beast followed suit and swopped down toward Spot''s head, intending to pierce his eyes with its sharp talons.


    ''Now!''


    Lucas ordered mentally and ordered Spot to do something unconventional and unexpected once more.


    As the sharp talon came close, Spot did not bother to move an inch but instead stared at the bird''s eyes.


    At the next moment, he used Gentle Gaze, prompting the bird beast to halt its attack and turn its head away in a hurry to avoid Spot''s ocr skill.


    That action created the opportunity for Lucas to butt in. The bird beast, by halting its attack midway to avoid Spot''s ocr skill, lost its bnce and began swerving to the side.


    Having created his own opportunity, Lucas finally emerged in the boulder where he had hidden himself.


    The bird beast that was swerving toward him was unable to react as the Armadon Tonfa fell toward its head.


    The bird beast desperately tried to evade the strike, and indeed it seeded in doing so. It avoided Lucas'' strike as it turned toward him the moment itnded on the ground.


    And at that exact moment, even before the bird could do anything, Lucas had already activated his own version of Gentle Gaze.


    The bird beast lost its usual demeanor, but only for a split second.


    However, that split second of trance was all Spot needed tond a solid strike.


    It was a very solid strike indeed.


    His menacing ws finallynded themselves on the decaying feathers and wings of the bird beast.


    As the blood sttered, the bird beast desperately tried to get away. However, what met its desperate struggle was Lucas'' Armadon Tonfa that he aimed toward the bird beast''s head.


    Swiping down his ws toward its neck, Spot nned to finish the bird in that onest strike.


    As his ws descended, terror suddenly overtook Lucas'' mind.


    As he nced down, he btedly realized that one of his feet had somehow gotten entangled by long and thick vines.