Chapter 135: Nerissa vs Terrence (3)

All eyes were locked onto the third beast Terrence had just summoned.

It was a human-sized, extremely buff Stone Golem with greyish, rock-hard skin features and bulky stone formations imitating what would normally be muscle groups on a human physique.

With a relatively small head compared to its beast counterparts, this Stone Golem looked far more human-shaped than typical golems.

Technically, Stone Golems were still classified as beasts—most golems were—though debates were constantly ongoing over whether they should be categorized as magic-mechanical, since human technology could replicate them as well.

Regardless of taxonomy, none of that mattered to Nerissa, as the entity that had just blocked her decisive attack was undeniably a third beast Terrence had summoned out of nowhere.

’So... he possesses the abnormal ability to contract multiple beasts,’ Nerissa realized, a faint, amused smirk touching her lips. ’I can hardly believe such a person exists, let alone from our own Lee bloodline. But unfortunately, he is no longer on our side. It’s a complete waste of talent.’

Up on the second-floor balcony overlooking the grand hall, the five observers looked at one another with growing concern.

How could anyone break the natural laws of taming so effortlessly?

Contracting a beast required a deep soul bond that placed an immense physical toll on the human body. Because of those severe limitations, most tamers never contracted more than one beast, with two being the absolute limit.

For Terrence to command two high-tier beasts and now summon a third whose full capabilities were unknown, he was essentially a walking time bomb that needed to be defused immediately.

With a brief exchange of nods, the five figures prepared to intervene, but Nerissa snapped her gaze up toward them, her eyes glaring with absolute hostility.

It was a look that clearly communicated one message: Don’t you dare interrupt my fight.

They hesitated, looking back and forth at one another as if entirely powerless against her. While they weren’t physically helpless, their standing within the family hierarchy meant that even all five of them combined couldn’t easily cross her.

As one of the primary heiresses, Nerissa held far higher authority and political influence than the Five Generals of the Elder Council.

Terrence pushed himself up weakly, supported by the sturdy stone arm of his golem.

"Thanks, rocky. I can manage on my own now," Terrence muttered.

The Stone Golem gave a slow, butler-like nod before shifting its focused attention back toward the immediate threat standing in front of them: Nerissa.

’Fuck it. I can’t believe Nerissa is this ridiculously strong...’ Terrence thought, wiping away the blood trickling past his eye with the back of his hand. ’I shouldn’t have rushed in here blindly. But if I didn’t come now, when would I ever take my stand? Every passing second, control over the situation is slipping away. If I don’t face this now, I never will.’

He took a deep breath, forcing his racing pulse to steady.

’Sure, Nerissa is powerful, but it’s entirely because of her unique innate ability. Most of the Lee family’s true geniuses carry one. Noli achieved a hundred percent contract compatibility on his very first attempt and built a custom Skill out of his soul bond. Nerissa, on the other hand, can exponentially amplify a beast’s raw potential through Skill Share. That’s precisely why she doesn’t summon her beast normally—doing so would double the physical toll and drain her stamina in seconds.’

Terrence rapidly calculated every available option in his mind to find a counter strategy.

’How am I supposed to defeat a monster like her in a direct brawl? ...Unless I don’t fight her with raw physical force at all.’

He paused as an realization hit him.

’My primary contracted beasts focus on physical combat, but I have another creature stored inside my Beast Sanctuary—a beast capable of directly affecting her mental state. If I can just create the right opening to land its power on her, the fight is mine.’

Terrence knew full well that in terms of sheer speed and hand-to-hand combat, Nerissa outclassed him completely. But there was one massive advantage she was unaware of: Terrence could summon multiple beasts, and she had no way of knowing what else he held in reserve.

"So this is why you were so confident?" Nerissa said, eyeing the golem. "You can actually summon three beasts simultaneously. I suppose I should be a bit more careful with you now."

Terrence scoffed softly. "Thank you for the wise assessment. It certainly boosts my confidence, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m at a total disadvantage against a refined martial artist. Experience, combat instincts, muscle memory—I don’t have any of those. Fuck, I can’t beat you in a fair fistfight."

Nerissa ignored his self-deprecating words, controlling her breathing as she slowly tilted her head before exploding forward once more.

In a fraction of a second, Nerissa reappeared directly in front of Terrence with her right fist pulled back, targeting his jaw. But before the strike landed, Noir intervened with a lightning-fast Dash Skill.

A trail of dark particles sparked along the shadow hound’s path as he forcefully shoved Terrence out of the line of sight.

Flowing with the momentum of Noir’s push like water, Terrence slid across the polished floor toward the center of the hall, where the Stone Golem caught him and helped him land securely on one knee.

Terrence immediately cast his Smash Skill to target Nerissa, but she planted her foot and sharply altered her trajectory, causing the attack to miss entirely.

She launched herself forward again, but this time, Terrence was actively setting a trap.

The Stone Golem lunged forward to meet her, its movements deliberately slower but executed with a clear purpose. It reached out to grab her, but Nerissa easily dodged to the side. Avery swooped down from above, forcing Nerissa to crouch low and skid along the marble floor using her forward momentum.

However, as she slid past the two creatures, Nerissa suddenly realized she was positioned directly between them.

That realization came a split second too late, as Terrence was already smirking at her from across the hall.

"Gotcha."

BOOM!

A delayed activation of Terrence’s Smash Skill slammed violently down on top of her, catching her completely off guard and pinning her to the floor.

As the heavy pressure locked her in place, Nerissa realized what had happened: Terrence had intentionally manipulated the timing of his Skill Share. He had tricked her into believing there was a cooldown period between his Skill casts, predicting the exact escape path she would take when blocked by his two beasts.