“Billy, take down those three four-horned beasts!” Billy ignored Stout and instructed Casey.
“Got it!” Casey responded and dashed out.
The bronze saber in his hand flashed with sharp, cold light, slicing through the air. The three four-horned beasts were only mid-tier Sacred Beasts and already injured, so they couldn’t withstand Casey’s blade.
After the blade light passed, a bloody gash appeared on each of the three beasts’ heads. They staggered back twenty or thirty meters before collapsing, causing the ground to crack. Blood gushed from their heads, and soon they were motionless.
The bird seemed startled by Casey’s skill and landed on the ground not far away, watching Casey warily. Meanwhile, Opal, Amber, and others arrived at the scene. Azure Dragon briefly described what had happened.
“Mid-tier Sacred Beast cores are valuable; don’t waste them!” Stout pulled out a curved knife and walked towards the three beasts. After Azure Fang and Night Orchid switched to straight swords, Stout had claimed Azure Fang’s old curved knife for himself, ostensibly to practice swordsmanship, though he used it more for extracting beast cores.
Seeing Stout with the curved knife again, Azure Fang’s mouth twitched. The bird watched Stout work on one of the beasts and instinctively stepped back several paces, glancing at its own core area with a wary look.
“Don’t worry, my boss said we won’t harm you, so you’re safe!” Stout grinned as if he understood the bird’s thoughts. The bird retreated a few more steps, clearly still uneasy.
“Opal, Amber, any findings?” Billy asked them.
“No,” Opal shook her head. “No signs of life within several kilometers.”
“Azure Fang and I found nothing either,” Amber added. “It seems Mr Barron and his group…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.
Billy nodded, having suspected as much. They were deep in the misty forest, teeming with fierce Sacred Beasts. It was unlikely Elder Cruz and his team could have made it this far. They had scanned the area with spiritual power and found no signs of life. It seemed Elder Cruz’s group had met a grim fate.
“Boss, should we go deeper?” Bob asked Billy.
Billy was about to respond when the bird called out to them. They looked over to see it walking a few steps to the side.
“What does it mean?” Stout asked after putting away several beast cores.
The bird called out again and moved a few more steps to the side.
“Billy Boy, it might want to lead us somewhere,” Amber suggested.
“Shall we follow?” Opal asked Billy.
“Yes,” Billy guessed its intention.
“Boss, are you sure? What if it’s leading us into a trap?” Stout questioned.
The bird squawked loudly at Stout as if protesting.
“Wow! Can it understand us?” Stout was surprised.
“Some high-level beasts are quite intelligent and might understand simple speech,” Opal explained. “And this bird seems special.”
“Alright,” Stout shrugged.
“Let’s follow it,” Billy decided, leading the group as they followed the bird into the sky towards the left.
After about twenty minutes, the bird led them to a mountain hollow. Ahead of them was a cave.
“Hmm?” Billy’s eyes lit up as they sensed weak but definite human presence inside the cave.
“Elder Cruz and his team might be in there,” Stout speculated.
“Most likely. Let’s check it out,” Azure Dragon said as he approached the cave entrance.
“Azure Dragon, be careful!” Opal warned as she rushed forward, her sword flashing towards the right slope. Billy also struck simultaneously with his saber.
A loud crash followed as a large black shadow shot out, smashing into a boulder and shattering it along with part of the mountainside. The shadow was a fierce-looking one-horned beast with a massive body and blood-red eyes.
“What a huge beast! What is that?” Stout exclaimed.
“Boss, can you identify its level?” Bob asked Billy.
“Ninth-rank Sacred Beast,” Billy replied.
Bob and Azure Dragon gasped in shock.
“A beast of this level here!” Stout exclaimed again. “Is that bird leading us here to be its meal?”
The bird squawked at Stout and charged at the one-horned beast. The beast recovered and charged back like a small mountain, shaking the ground.
With a loud crash, both the bird and beast were pushed back, strong airwaves turning a row of trees into wood chips. After one round, the bird seemed slightly stronger than the beast.
The beast didn’t pause long before charging again. The bird also didn’t hesitate and flew to meet it.
After another crash, both retreated hundreds of meters, cracking the ground beneath them.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from deeper in the hollow as two more one-horned beasts appeared, also ninth-rank Sacred Beasts. The bird’s eyes showed concern; it clearly couldn’t handle three at once.
The three beasts roared and charged at the bird together.