*Knock* *Knock*
"Who is it?"
"It is me, Nux Leander, Lord Orpheus."
Nux replied with a respectful look on his face.
"Hm? Nux? Enter."
Orpheus ordered and Nux walked in.
"I heard the Hunt was successful and you got what you wanted."
Orpheus spoke.
"I got more than I wanted, Lord Orpheus. Lady Ambrosia was unreal, everything went exactly as she predicted. I have never seen a more one-sided battle than this.
And we took down Two 12 Star Beasts as well."
Nux replied, still in awe.
"Well, it is Ambrosia, so I am not surprised." Orpheus nodded with a smile on his face, then, his expression changed and he glanced at Nux,
"But I am sure you are not here to tell me how amazing my wife is, correct?"
"That is correct,
I am here because I need your help."
"Huh? My help? Are you calling in another favor?"
Orpheus questioned.
"That is not it,
I am here because I want to ask something, and I cannot think of anyone else who can answer my question."
"Not many people have the option of going to a Divine Stage Cultivator when they are confused."
Orpheus commented.
"Personal connections are important, I agree." Nux nodded.
Hearing his response, a smile appeared on Orpehus's face as he nodded with a satisfied look on his face,
"What do you wish to ask?"
"How did I defeat Melia?"
Nux questioned.
"Huh? What kind of strange question is that?" Orpheus questioned back, however, from that light smile on his face, Nux realized that he wasn't as surprised by his question as he showed.
It was as if he expected something like this.
"I have been observing her in the Wilderness for 2 months and I can only destroy her as a Slaughter Machine.
The number of beasts she hunted down was too high to even keep a count.
She, as a Great Sage Cultivator, fought against numerous 9 Star Beasts, alone, and still came out with only a few scratches.
This was simply absurd…
Her Aura was completely different compared to what it was when she fought me.
I know she held back that time, but that wasn't a change a simple limiting one's Cultivation could explain.
How was someone like her defeated by me that easily?"
Nux questioned.
"That easily? You were in bed for a long time after the battle ended, child."
Orpheus smiled.
"That is not what I am asking."
Nux's reply was quick.
"It was a Duel, not a Battle."
Orpheus answered.
"…"
Nux turned silent, waiting for Orpheus to explain what he just said.
"You didn't use Mist because you didn't wish to harm Melia, correct?"
"Yes."
"Melia was the same,
She couldn't use her full strength against you because she couldn't hurt you.
Melia is a child who looks up to her brother.
She may not show it, but she often compares herself to her brother, she often has duels with people stronger than her, she is used to throwing whatever she has in a fight. So most of her moves aim for her opponent's lives.
However, in front of you, she had to hold back, not only her Cultivation, but most of her moves were restricted as well.
She is inexperienced when it comes to fighting an opponent without giving her all.
Her opponents are either too strong to even take her best and still come out fine, like her brother, or too weak for her to not use most of her strength and still win, like her subordinates.
Someone like you was the first.
The major reason you won was your peculiar abilities.
Let alone Melia, even I was surprised when I saw them, so Melia not being able to react to them was not something out of the expected."
Orpheus explained in the best way he could.
Nux heard everything carefully, Orpheus's words, they made sense.
"Ah right, another reason for her defeat can be that she is not a Complete Cultivator like you."
Suddenly, Orpheus mentioned another point.
"Hm?" Nux frowned in confusion.
"Cultivators who Cultivate both Mana and Body, we call them Complete Cultivators, correct?" Orpheus questioned and Nux nodded.
"Then what about Cultivators like us, who either cultivate Mana or Body?" Orpheus questioned and Nux frowned.
"…incomplete… cultivators…?"
Nux replied, unsure about his own answer. It was just a rough guess, after all.
"That is correct.
We are incomplete cultivators, or in harsher words, defective cultivators."
"Defective…?"
"That is correct.
Mana Cultivation strengthens one's attack.
Body Cultivation works on defense.
You, a Complete Cultivator, have strong attack power and a solid defense.
We, on the other hand, are different.
I am a Body Cultivator, so my defense is strong, however, when it comes to attack power, I am not much.
Just like that, Ambrosia has high attack power, but a weak defense.
And just like her mother, Melia has a weak defense as well.
You must have seen her fight, didn't you?
None of the Beasts she fought managed to even get close to her, right? Or to be more precise, she never allowed anyone to get close to her."
Orpheus pointed out and Nux's expression changed.
That was true…
Melia…
She never allowed any Beast to get near her.
"Attack is the best defense.
That is the strategy she usually goes by.
Continuous waves of overwhelming attacks until the opponent gives in.
This is how Melia fights.
However, you suddenly appeared behind her using that strange ability of yours, breaking her simple, but always effective strategy, then you targeted her defense, which was her weak point, pushing her even further away, and then of course, you completely disappeared until the time ran out, so I can't comment much on that."
Nux scratched his head in shame.
"Don't feel bad, Nux.
You used what you had to your advantage. That is how the true experts fight.
Plus, it was a battle between a Great Sage and an Emperor, you did nothing wrong.
All these reasons about why Melia lost, they may sound convincing, but in the end, the fact still remains that Melia lost. You won fair and square and of course, Melia grew as well.
She realized that her strategy is not always correct, she needs to come up with something more. She needs more experience and as long as she learns from it, it was not a bad loss."
Orpheus replied with a smile on his face.
"Lord Orpheus…
I have one last question."
Suddenly, Nux called out.
"What is it?"
"If… rather than a duel, it was a battle to the death, and Melia's cultivation was restricted to Early Great Sage level like it was in our duel…
Who do you think would have won…?"
Nux questioned.
Hearing Nux's question, Orpheus recalled how Melia asked these questions as well… right now… Nux and Melia's faces overlapped each other's in Orphues's vision and he couldn't help but smile.
Of course,
His answer was still the same,
"I don't know."
It was something Nux and Melia had to figure out on their own.
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