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Chapter 67: Wild Flowers

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Time passed slowly. To Suzanna's surprise, Anfey was extremely calm while he was staring at Christian's eye of the sky. She was the one who started to get impatient.

Waiting was not a big deal to Anfey. He often had to spend a long time following a target in order to know his or her routines and habits. Sometimes it took him a few months to make a rigorous plan.

They had been waiting until dawn. Anfey didn't even change his position. Suzanna almost thought that he had fallen asleep; however when she turned to look at him, his eyes were blinking. This man's patience was beyond imagination.

For some reason, Suzanna focused only on Anfey but ignored Christian, who was controlling the eye of the sky. In fact, at this time, Christian was much more tired than Anfey. His forehead began sweating. Suzanna had been very nice to Christian, but not to Anfey. She should've paid more attention to Christian.

The big manticore was lying on its stomach the whole time and pretended to be sleeping. The small manticore was playing. Each time it stumbled too far away, the big manticore reached out its tail to draw it back.

This boring scene lasted for a long while. The big manticore had gotten enough rest, stood up slowly, picked up the small manticore which was rolling on the ground, and gradually walked to its cave. The small manticore seemed to want to keep playing. It was struggling with its mouth wide open, showing its small canines. The eye of the sky only displayed images, not sound.

"Follow them!" Anfey said.

"Understood," Christian answered. He was in control of the eye of the sky and kept the manticores under control.

The bigger manticore jumped up and disappeared in a second. Christian hastily fixed the focus of the eye of the sky to where the manticore disappeared. Dense weeds and shrubs were all over the place. The shrubs were tall. Based on the images in the eye of the sky, they were at least as tall as a person.

"Why did it disappear all of a sudden?" Anfey asked in surprise.

"Manticores build their caves underground. There must be an entrance to their cave somewhere near here," Suzanna said.

"Suzanna, look at the eye of the sky. Remember the terrain!" Anfey said.

"Okay. Why?"

"You should go there: use all your fighting power to cut a tree and then run back as fast as you can."

"Sure," Suzanna answered immediately, bent forward and ran up quickly.

After a moment, Suzanna appeared in the eye of the sky. First, she carefully observed the environment, and then her body suddenly released a dazzling white flash. An old tree crashed down with the light.

Suzanna was extremely quick. A normal person would not be able to see her sword move. However, Anfey clearly saw it. In his mind, he also evaluated Suzanna's swordsmanship.

After Suzanna left, a manticore's head suddenly appeared in the bushes. Its bloody red eyes exuded a terrible cold light in the evening. Apparently, it was aware of Suzanna's fighting power. A high-level magic beast was extremely sensitive about its territory. If a strong enemy were active in its territory, it would be desperate to fight until the enemy was gone!

"That's right. That is the manticore that appeared just a minute ago. It looks like we will fight only one manticore today," Anfey chuckled.

"Anfey, how do you know that was the same manticore?"

"Look, the left canine in the manticore's mouth was tilted. It might be from fighting or bruising something hard. Only when you look closely, you will find a scar on its nose as well. It is not easy to notice."

Christian and Zubin both looked with their eyes wide open and saw what Anfey was referring to. The upper canines of a manticore should be close to the jaw, but this manticore had serious problems with its left canine. Compared to the right canine, the left one looked funny. Also, there was a black scar on its nose.

"Anfey, you are truly detail-oriented!" Christian said.

At that time, the manticore looked up and opened its big mouth in the direction of Suzanna. And then there was a faint roar. Obviously, that was a warning about its territory: no one should step in again!

"We can go when Suzanna comes back," Anfey laughed, "Christian, turn off the eye of the sky. Don't waste any more magic power."

*****

"That's the plan. Anyone have more to add?" Anfey asked.

Everyone was gearing up with excitement. They were going to fight against high level magic beasts. Anfey's plan was to have the two high level magic beasts fight against each other and get hurt. Then the group would fight against them. It was a much easier approach for winning, but after all, it was a battle against a high level magic beast!

"If everything sounds good, let's get to be early." Anfey stood up slowly, ""Blavi, it is your team's turn for sentry duty. Um…Your group doesn't need to join the fight tomorrow. Stay to protect Miss Niya and Shally."

A lot of the principles were similar. Assassins were sometimes similar to soldiers. They would be prepared for losing the battle but winning the war. Before each attack, they would plan a safe escape route. If they lost the fight, there would be a safe way out, and they could learn from the failure. Otherwise, they could only feel remorse in hell.

Anfey could not let Niya go into battle with everyone else. If anything happened to the group, at least he must keep Saul's last child safe. Of course, this thought was to prepare himself in case they were in for the worst.

After everyone left, Christian slowly walked over to Anfey. After hesitating for a second, he said, "Anfey, how are you going to infuriate the unicorn? It is very dangerous! Even worse than Suzanna's task. How about…Let me help you?"

"That's fine." Anfey shook his head. "After being with me for such a long time, you should know me better. I don't do things that I am not sure about. The magic array needs you more."

"Then tell me your plan. Let me think it through with you."

At this time, Suzanna came, threw something on the ground at Anfey's feet, and looked at him calmly.

Anfey looked carefully. It was a bunch of dry wild flowers. He certainly knew what it was. He asked surprisingly, "Why did you pull them down?"

"I think…you owe me an explanation," Suzanna said peacefully.

"Explanation? What explanation?"

"When I first saw you put the wildflowers in the tree, I was suspicious. I talked to Feller intentionally and found out where you came from. After dinner, I went back in that direction and found the same kind of wildflowers in the trees every five or six hundred meters. I want to know what your real intention is, and whom you are trying to lure here."

"Haha…Great observations!" Anfey laughed.

"Thanks. But I don't need your praise. I want an answer!"

"Suzanna, watch your tone of voice! What was Anfey attempting? If it weren't for him, we all would have died along the way." Christian stood up for Anfey, then said, "But… Anfey, I am also curious. Why did you have me put the wildflowers in the trees every so often? What are they for?"

"Why didn't you ask me then?"

"I …I was worried that you wouldn't like being questioned, so I didn't ask." Christian rubbed his nose and forced a smile.

"Suzanna was right. I do want to help a person catch up to us," Anfey smiled. Although Suzanna had been rude, Anfey wasn't angry. It was good to have such a detail-oriented person on the team. Misunderstandings and conflicts could be resolved as time went on. However, it was difficult to change a person's characteristics. A good assistant would be very helpful right now.

"Who is it?" Suzanna and Christian asked at the same time.

"It is Ernest."

"Ernest? The coward who used the poisonous sword in a duel?" Suzanna was shocked.

"Bulls*%t!" He hadn't been angry up to that point. However, when he heard Suzanna slandering Ernest, he was truly angry. "Who told you that Ernest used the poisonous sword in a duel?"

Suzanna was shocked and could not help stepping back. She placed her hand on the hilt and said nervously, "Everyone…we all know!"

"Do not talk nonsense about things you have never seen. Only idiots believe rumors!" Anfey said coldly. "I tell you, Ernest is an excellent swordsman! He also is the most trustworthy person I have ever met! If you dare to slander him again, I will not let it go!"

"Uncle Ernest…Anfey, did Uncle Ernest come?" Niya rushed out of the cave with joy. She looked around. Ernest wasn't there. The joy on her face soon was replaced by disappointment.

"Niya, why don't you go back? Ernest will find us soon. Don't worry," Anfey said.

"Oh…" Niya nodded and walked out of the cave, disappointed.

Perhaps because it was the first time Anfey was being so serious, Susanna was somehow in a panic. In her heart, she regretted saying something wrong. Anfey was giving a signal that he took Ernest's side. As a result, the whole group should have a deep respect for Ernest and not want to hear anything bad about him. In fact, she was quite innocent. Everyone had been badmouthing Ernest. She was only repeating what she had heard, and she didn't anticipate that Anfey would be so mad about it.

Chapter 68: Initial Collaboration

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Sorry," Suzanna said quietly with her head down.

"Forget it." Anfey shook his head. He quickly realized he wasn't acting normal. It was pretty rare for someone, especially for a girl, to be able to put her head down and apologize. He had seen a lot of girls who were stubborn, and because of their pride became unreasonable. "Actually you just need to really think hard about it and you will know that under the circumstance of being watched by different leveled swordsmen, Ernest and Jerrofick would not have use a poisoned sword in that battle. Is winning or honor more important?"

"If it were me…I wouldn't. I'd still be a swordsman if I lost. If I used shameless tactics, I definitely would have to suffer the curses of countless people," Suzanna replied thoughtfully.

"It seems you are not so stupid. I tell you, in reality it's Jerrofick who was afraid to fight. He gathered countless people who had been defeated by Ernest previously, master swordsmen who hated Ernest, and they besieged Ernest all together on Mount Torrebitz! And that's not all. After the incident, they also defiled Ernest's reputation. What you have heard are precisely the lies they've made up!"

"In this world, there are really… too many shameless people," Suzanna let out a wry smile.

Anfey glanced at Suzanna, and figured out the meaning behind what he heard. The reason Suzanna had been forced to escape into the forest of magic beasts must also be due to the actions of some shameless person.

"Alright, we will discuss these things in the future." Anfey's demeanor had returned to normal. "Suzanna, what I worry about most is whether or not you can lure the manticore here. Don't fret just yet. I am not questioning your ability, whether you believe me or not. I am just worried about your safety. After all, you are the strongest of all of our team. If we want to be able to safely survive in the forest of magic beasts, we absolutely need you."

"I will take care of myself well," Suzanna said quietly.

"How about this? I will have Riska accompany you. Riska!" Anfey called loudly.

"Coming." Having heard Anfey's call, Riska quickly walked over.

"Hold this." Anfey took a magical scroll out of the dimensional ring with a flick of his hand, and handed it to Riska. "You can create an illusion right?"

"I can."

"Go to the nest of the manticore together with Suzanna, and look for a chance to kill the little manticore. Don't take risks if the chances are slim. Put out an illusion for Suzanna, let the illusion lure the manticore away, and then Suzanna can make a move to kill the manticore. This way your safety will be ensured."

Suzanna's heart was touched. When she initially heard Anfey's words, she did not believe him. If she were so easily moved by others, she and her sister would both have died even before entering Forest Clarm. How could they have survived until now?! But seeing Anfey taking out the illusion scroll, Suzanna's heart was moved. Could it be that this man really was nervous for her safety? Although the illusion scroll didn't have much strength per se, it was the Pan Continent's most sought after magical scroll. It is clearly priceless. It is the ultimate magic weapon for saving lives. During the most critical moments, it could bring about a miracle, and who wouldn't want an extra life for himself?

"Even if I haven't said it, you should have already guessed that we are all students of Archmage Saul." Anfey's gaze fell upon Suzanna. "When we escaped, we brought some of our teacher's valuably hidden magical scrolls with us, but the magical scrolls are limited after all. If we can find a suitable opportunity, it's better if we don't use the illusion. Um…it's not that I'm unwilling to use the scroll, but…" If had had been talking to other people, Anfey would not have bothered to explain anything. But between Suzanna and him, there were already serious disagreements; he had no choice but to explain.

"Say no more, I understand what you mean." Suzanna revealed an indifferent smile. Although it was indifferent, she still smiled. "But I am very curious. Just what kind of trouble did you guys cause, that even your teacher can't protect you?"

"I killed someone," Anfey laughed.

"Who is it?"

"Do you know Zeda?"

"Who is Zeda?" Suzanna shook her head.

"He was the grandson of the master swordsman Phillip, so he is the direct descendant and only successor of Phillip's household."

"Oh…Oh my heavens! You are so brave!!" Suzanna exclaimed.

"If it happened all over again, I would not hurt Zeda," Anfey helplessly sighed. "It's a pity things that have happened in the past are unchangeable."

"You…are very weird." Suzanna looked at Anfey seriously. Men in general when they come across these types of situations put up a front because of their pride, and say how they should adhere to their principles even if the same situation were to happen again, and have no regrets. But Anfey frankly said he shouldn't have offended Philip. It sounded weak when she heard it, but there was no hint of cowardice, only calmness.

"What's so weird?" Anfey laughed. "Suzanna, you have to adapt at each moment based on specific events. I can't decide for you, you can only rely on yourself."

"You don't have to worry about me; you should worry about yourself instead. The unicorn is scarier than the manticore, and your abilities are not above mine," Suzanna said calmly.

"That…My abilities are indeed not as good as yours, but I only need to lure out the unicorn. You still have to escape for more than 20 miles." Anfey seemed unable to understand the hidden meaning in Suzanna's words. In reality, he had no interest in the conflict between the weak and the strong. If even Niya had been claiming to be stronger than Anfey, Anfey would still nod his head in agreement.

"Is there anything else? If there isn't anything else, then I will go rest first."

Although her views towards Anfey's had changed, Suzanna was not in the mood to be courteous with Anfey any longer.

"Alright," Anfey nodded his head.

"Anfey, are you really going to be alright?" Christian asked again.

"You…I already said it a couple of times. There will absolutely be no problems," Anfey laughed, "Go, and let's go see where we should create the magic array."

***

Suzanna and Riska hid in the shadows of the ancient tree, anxiously waiting. Half the day had already passed, and Riska had also rested for a whole four hours. Although there was only a one-level difference between a high level mage and beginning level magister, there was a big difference between their magical powers. Christian could sustain the motion of the eye of the sky, but Riska could not. During the operation of the eye of the sky, the big and small manticores never separated. During that time, the manticores went out once. When the big manticore returned, it had a small magic deer in its mouth, and the little manticore was always on the big manticore's back, so there was no opportunity at all.

Suzanna guessed the manticore had left the territory to hunt for food, so after considerable thought, she gave up following them. The manticore was many times more dangerous when hunting. It could possibly think of them as two separate targets. Usually, they only cared about their own territory, and didn't bother with things outside of their territory.

"It's not early anymore, Suzanna. I will meditate for a moment, and then release the illusion for you," Riska said began the discussion.

"There's still time. Wait a bit longer." Suzanna shook her head. The illusion couldn't be used so easily, because Suzanna needed a chance to prove herself. If she could save the magic scroll and lure out the manticore, she could definitely win over everyone's approval. Suzanna thought that some aspects of a team were similar to that of a nation. Every individual's position was not fixed and unchangeable. Those who were powerful would gradually become the core of the team, and the powerless could only be at the bottom and run errands for people. For Shally, for herself, she must prove her abilities and gain the recognition of the team members!

"But…Anfey has already said…"

"Wait a bit more!" Suzanna persisted.

Time passed by slowly. Riska couldn't hold on any longer. His gaze turned upon Suzanna. "Suzanna, let us rest first…"

"Don't make a sound, hurry! Quickly, increase the area of the eye of the sky!" Suzanna suddenly whispered loudly.

Still need to increase it?! Riska laughed bitterly, and his gaze fell upon the eye of the sky. He couldn't help but pay full attention to the eye of the sky, and gathered all his remaining magical powers and forced the magic of the eye of the sky to increase.

In the center of the eye of the sky, the big manticore had already kicked the small manticore into the middle of a grassy field. Its two eyes had already shrunk into a dot, and it cautiously took steps forward. In front of the big manticore was a snake head and neck, with the body of a duck, as well as a huge pair of wings. It landed on the ground and looked at the big manticore nervously.

"Oh my, it's the two-footed flying dragon!" Suzanna was surprised, happy, and nervous. "Hurry! Riska, increase the area of the eye of the sky a bit more!"

"This is already my limit!" Riska replied with great effort.

"Two-footed flying dragons live in groups. Let me see how many two-footed…" Suzanna lifted her head and saw beads of sweat covering Riska's whole head. His jaws were clenched, and she couldn't help but to gently sigh, "Forget it, Riska. Take back your magic. I am going over now. You have to be careful, protect yourself!"

"Wait, I also know that the two-footed flying dragons live together. What if there are other two-footed flying dragons?" Riska exclaimed hastily.

"I can't consider that much anymore. This opportunity is hard to get!" Suzanna had already wielded her sword.

"If there is any danger, come back immediately. I will put out the illusion for you. You…come back! Did you hear me? You…" Riska hadn't even finished talking, yet Suzanna has already disappeared into the forest.

Chapter 69: Fatal Negligence

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It seemed they had overlooked something. Riska scratched his head, "But what was it?" Unfortunately, he just could not recall. "Alright, no more wasting time. I need to start meditating. At this moment, nothing is more urgent than replenishing my magic."

Riska sat on the ground and lounged against a tree stump. In the past, he refused to meditate unless he was perched in a comfortable chair. However, on their escape journey from the Sacred City, he had learned to enter mediation in any posture – he had no other choice. Otherwise he would not have the necessary supply of magic to continue his journey the following day. Sometimes, having "no other choice" could do wonders; Riska was a good example.

After a moment, Riska, who had been deep into his meditation, was awakened by a subconscious fear and quickly opened his eyes. Immediately, he saw a tall shadow appear to his left, and vaguely heard a muffled breath.

A wyvern! Riska was nearly scared to death. He suddenly remembered what Anfey had said before they left for this assignment: "Ensure that you always have enough magic. When you have depleted more than half of your reserves, do not continue to use the eye of the sky. Wait until you get the chance to meditate and restore your supply of magic before you cast that spell again."

Foolishly, during the long wait, both Suzanne and he had neglected Anfey's advice. They were more and more anxious, and released the eye of the sky for longer and longer intervals. The last two times, Riska stopped only because he had exhausted his magic.

Now Riska finally understood that he should never, ever ignore Anfey's warning. Had he maintained some magic, he would have levitated to escape back to their camp. Instead, he had put himself in such a crisis without being able to do anything but to try to restore his magic!

Although wyverns, like unicorns and manticores, were classified as high-level magic beasts, they were much slower than their magical counterparts. However, they had a well-known nickname: Forest Stalker!

Wyverns' bodies were heavy. Therefore, whether flying in the sky or fighting on the ground, they could not be compared to other high-level beasts, and as a result, were not very effective hunters. On the other hand, wyverns had flexible necks, and could release a concentrated venom from their menacing fangs. If the poison were injected into a human body, within a few minutes the body would turn into a pool of bloody liquid. Even contacting the venom with the skin would cause permanent trauma. Wyverns thus liked to hunt by hiding themselves and waiting for prey to pass by. Once there was opportunity, they would use their flexible neck and quickly capture the prey.

Wyverns were not as dangerous as some other high-level magical beasts. This was evident by the fact they lived in groups instead of alone: the pack provided protection. However, they were still threatening creatures. Had Riska stored enough magic, he could have escaped easily, but now he was in serious peril with little hope to survive.

Magic beast forests could be filled with danger. While Riska and Suzanna had been safe thus far, that did not mean they would be safe going forward. A mage without reserves of power was equivalent to a paralyzed patient in the human world. Riska realized how foolish he was. Both he and Suzanna knew wyverns were social animals. Seeing one made it likely that they would see a second, but neither of them had thought this through. Riska cursed his own stupidity, but this was no help in his current situation. He had to deal with the aftermath of his poor judgement.

Riska covertly sent out a magic signal. "Suzanna…I need help. Now!" Riska prayed while nervously eyeing the shadow of the wyvern.

Across the forest, Suzanna watched as the big manticore slowly approached and growled deeply at a wyvern who had invaded its territory. This was an attempt to intimidate the intruder. High-level magical beasts were intelligent, but they were still animals after all. They would not start a fight with others simply to improve their combat skills; they did not have any ambition to dominate the entire forest. Their goals were much humbler. They wanted enough food and to be able to produce their next generation in relative peace. It was obvious that the big manticore would prefer to scare the opponent away without engaging in battle.

The wyvern hissed as it stepped back, but it was not ready to give up yet.

The manticore was irritated. Its red, shiny tail stood upright, and the tip of the tail flashed with danger.

"Move back more, move back more!" Suzanna prayed. This distance was still risky for her to put her plan into action. If the manticore would move to the wyvern's position, it would allow her to not only kill the small manticore, but also have enough time to escape.

The big manticore was still menacing the wyvern, who was staring back at its adversary nervously. The small manticore popped its little head out from the grass and looked curiously at its mother. None of the three beasts was aware of the hidden guest.

At that moment, Suzanna sensed a magic surge in the distance, and her heart skipped a beat. Riska was in danger!

She did not have time to think. Immediately gathering all of her combat power, she dashed out from behind the tree like a flash, held her sword over her head, and forcefully chopped down at the small manticore's exposed back.

At the same time, its mother roared fiercely, turned and sped toward Suzanna. Its bloody red body became a bright red stream in the air, resembling a large fireball.

The sword's power sharpened in the air and swept straight towards the small manticore. The small manticore turned its head and stretched out a tiny claw, as if to resist the sword's power. Unfortunately, it was too young, and hadn't been able to form its internal magic crystal. The physical strength of its body was not much more than a puppy. It simply could not bear the power of a senior swordsman.

The sword swept through the manticore, and the small manticore was cleaved in two in a white flash. Suzanna suddenly accelerated, and barely avoided the furious smack from the big manticore. A claw blazed behind her, and even with the protection from her combat power, her clothes were torn and her white. Jade-like skin was exposed. She could just imagine how frightening the attack was, and she dared not to look back but charged straight towards Riska.

The vast manticore talons had missed Suzanna and struck the ground instead. With an ear-piercing crash, pieces of grass and mud splattered, and the mists shadowed the mother manticore. When the enormous creature leaped from the ground again, there was a half-foot pit left on the ground.

The enraged manticore glanced at her lifeless child, threw back its head and let out a furious shaking roar. Its upper and lower lips were thrown open, revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth. The hair on its lips violently trembled. The blood red pupil of the manticore firmly locked on Suzanna's back. Then the beast jumped up with a speed that did not match its bulk and began chasing Suzanna.

Meanwhile, the provocative wyvern had been tapping its wings while hiding alongside. This was the embodiment of the intelligence of magical beasts: no matter what its originally purpose, it would never want to fight an infuriated manticore!

"Come on! Come over! See how I am going to slay you!" Riska roared, clutching a magic scroll in each of his hands, waving hard toward the wyvern. The scroll in his left hand was the mirror, and in his right was the Hellfire. The former was to assist Suzanna with her battle, and the latter was equipped for his team as their last defense. The problem was, with his current supply of magic, he was unable to release either scroll. All he could do was threaten the wyvern with the magic surge from the scrolls, hoping he would intimidate the wyvern and buy himself more time.

Who said common sense was useless? It was the common sense that Riska had read in a book that saved him temporarily. Wyverns were relatively weak as high-level magic beasts. They were timid and would not easily provoke a powerful opponent. Clearly, the wyvern was intimidated by the magic surge from the scrolls, and hesitant to attack. Riska knew that all the wyvern had to do was stretch out its long neck and gently bite down to win this battle.

"Come on, you ugly bastard!" Riska's voice was turning more and more hoarse, but his vigor seemed to be growing. Luckily, he was able to deceive the beast. If he continued for even a few more minutes, he would exhaust himself and crash without the wyvern even having to lift a paw.

At that moment, a threatening roar exploded from afar. Riska was only concerned about the immediate crisis in front of him, and did not pay the distant sound a second thought. However, the roar frightened the wyvern. It took two steps back, stretched out its wings and burst into the sky.

The wyvern's unexpected retreat, however, revealed Riska's real status: he didn't even have the strength to hold himself steady. The gust from the wyvern's wings knocked him to the ground. Regardless, his hands were still tightly holding the magic scrolls; he could not pry them loose.

That wyvern immediately realized that it had been tricked. Viciously, it lowered its wings and slowly started approaching Riska.

"Get out!" Suzanna's crisp scream arose from far away and was followed by a white flash, which turned the branches, leaves, and even the trunks along its way into ash.

The wyvern spotted the fierce Suzanna, hurriedly flapped its wings and rose back into the sky once more. It could clearly identify the glowing red manticore behind Suzanna. It wisely withdrew away from these vicious enemies.

Suzanna reached Riska, and without time for more than a meeting of the eyes, picked him up and continued fleeing forward.

Suzanna wasn't rough, but for Riska, who was forced into high-speed from a standstill in an instant, the contrast was unbearable. He felt as if he was being crushed by a boulder, his head was pounding, his chest was too tight to breathe. Opening his mouth, he quickly spat and noticed the red tinge of blood.

Chapter 70: Life-threatening Opportunities

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Although Suzanna bent over and picked up Riska in a flash, the action put them in great danger because the manticore had quickly caught up with them.

Riska spit out blood, looked up and spotted the approaching manticore. He was not only able to see its bloody mouth clearly, which could swallow his entire head, but also its quivering uvula inside. The hatred from the bloody red pupil made Riska shiver, and he could not help but cry, "Faster, faster…"

Suzanna clenched her jaw and charged toward an old tree. As soon as she was about to crash into the tree, she smacked the trunk with the palm of her hand. As the wood splintered, Suzanna leveraged the momentum and dashed aside, avoided the splinters by a hair.

"Bam!" The tip of the manticore's tail had drilled into the trunk. It was so powerful that it pierced through the trunk, which was thick enough for two people to stretch their arms around. The tip of the tail popped out on the other side of the trunk. Had Suzanna not changed her direction, she would have been wounded severely by this attack, or perhaps even worse. The needle tip could have pierced through her body. Manticore's tails were poisonous and caused immobility. Even if Suzanna had just been slightly stung, she would not be able to fight back at all.

The manticore missed Suzanna, instead, getting its own tail embedded in the trunk. It was not able to leverage its strength, and its wings, which were meant for short distance flying, could not provide enough power to pull its tail out either. The manticore then smacked its huge body against the tree trunk. Falling branches and leaves showered the manticore, but its attempt was effective: from the bottom of the trunk, a crack as wide as a hand started to appear and stretched deeply into the center of the trunk.

As thick as the tree was, it was still wood and could not bear the attack from the manticore's metal-like body. If not for the toughness of the plant, the tree would have been smashed into pieces.

The manticore rolled over on the ground, and in the splattering of mud, finally retrieved its tail and left a hole about the size of human calf in the trunk. Then the manticore roared toward Suzanna, who by then was some distance away, flapped its webbed wings, jumped into the air, and continued the chase. Heartbroken by the loss of its child, the mother manticore was mad with rage, and she was determined to take revenge on Suzanna, no matter how far away she ran!

"Meditate! Now!" Suzanna shouted.

"Miss, are you crazy! You ask me to meditate, now?" Riska yelled back as he watched the manticore gliding down from the air and getting closer and closer.

"Meditate!!" Suzanna screamed.

Riska took a long breath and figured there was no other choice. They were slower than the manticore—he could clearly see the distance between the two parties shortening—and if he did nothing, sooner or later, both Suzanna and he would be killed by the magic beast.

However, meditate like this, seriously?! Riska still could not imagine how he could do it. He was now being carried across Suzanna's shoulder, and did not even have time to change his position. During the escape from the Sacred City, Riska learned to meditate while lying down, leaning against a wall, and now he needed to enter meditation being carried? However, at this crucial juncture, he had no time to even consider how absurd this concept was. He closed his eyes slowly, with the most devout mentality, and managed to fall into meditation.

The manticore was approaching, and Suzanna used her greatest skill in order to avoid the attack from the beast. Every time the manticore attempted to sting Suzanna, she managed to instantly dodge by speeding up or by changing direction. However, there was a price she had to pay. Suzanna exuded small bloody sweat from her forehead, shoulders, chest, back and even legs. What was worse, two lines of blood tears fell from her eyes. This was the consequence of Combat Power over-usage that exceeded the tolerance of her body.

Suzanna of course understood the consequences. In the best-case scenario, she could be disabled, and in the worst-case, her body could explode from inside out. Unfortunately, she had no other choice—whatever she would need to deal with in the future sounded better than being instantly torn into pieces by the manticore!

Suzanna was not the only one who unlocked her potential. Riska entered meditation piously, and instantly lost consciousness. Danger, task, time, self: all of it left his mind. Mages normally could achieve magic replenishment by meditating in two ways—normal meditation and in-depth mediation. In-depth meditation could restore magic much faster. However, only a magister or an archmage could master in-depth mediation; or rather, only after a mage had advanced to magister, he or she would gradually learn in-depth mediation. The fact that Riska had mastered this skill only as a high-level mage completely undercut this "common knowledge."

Among all the Pan-continent mages, Riska was probably the only one who was ever given the opportunity to meditate in such a life-threatening moment. During a crisis like this, normally people would either fight or run. But meditate? That was another way of committing suicide!

Riska was forced to face such danger, but luckily, he made the most of it. Mastering in-depth meditation was a long journey for mages under normal circumstances.

Just as Suzanna staggered, Riska slowly opened his eyes and shouted, surprisingly and with delight, "Suzanna, I can release the magic now! Yes, I can!"

"Mirror!" Susanna responded with a hoarse voice.

"Mirror? But after releasing Mirror, you need to control..."

"Mirror..."

Riska was still trying to remind her of something but suddenly he was shocked by the soaking bloody back of Suzanna. Without further thought, Riska crushed the magic scroll and ordered, "Mirror!"

At the same time, Suzanna tossed Riska into the air. The white aura on Suzanna dimmed a little, and then two Suzannas appeared.

When magisters or archmages released the Mirror scroll, they could choose to teleport both themselves and their images to any spot within a certain area. The distance they could teleport to was determined by the power of their minds. However, Suzanna was not a magister nor an archmage, and had to let go of this opportunity to change her unfavourable situation.

Two Suzannas fled into two directions, one was slightly slower than the other. Meanwhile, in the air, Riska tried to catch a branch and release a levitation spell. When he successfully released levitation, Riska was pleasantly astonished. He did not expect to have enough magic to cast the levitation spell, as his meditation had been very short. The only explanation would be that his mind power had been improved significantly.

The manticore hesitated for a second, opened its mouth and blew its poisonous breath toward Riska. It then flapped its webbed wings and started chasing the slower Suzanna. Although it also understood that just one was its real implacable foe and the other was just an image, it concluded that getting the slower one was the quickest way to determine whether it was after the correct target.

The intelligence of the beast, after all, was limited. If it had been Anfey, he would definitely have gone after the faster Suzanna.

Riska controlled the air element to lift himself higher in the air to escape from the poisonous fog. He turned his head and stared in Susanna's direction. Only then did he realize his heart was pounding violently, as if it was trying to jump out from his chest.

The slower Suzanna dashed straight ahead. As the manticore dove at her, she seemed to be too scared to continue her escape route and hit a rock. Then she vanished like a bubble.

If Suzanna herself was less than 30 meters away, she could have controlled the direction of the Mirror image. Now that Suzanna was over 100 meters away, she had lost that control.

The manticore was enraged that it had been tricked. It let out a roar that shook the forest, turned around and continued its chase in the other direction.

At this moment, Suzanna was on the edge of collapse. If she only needed to flee by herself, she would not have been this worried. However, at full gallop, even a 10-pound weight change would greatly increase the burden on the body, let alone Riska weighing far more than 10 pounds! Suzanna did not dare to fight back either, since Riska, who had exhausted his magic, would certainly be killed by the manticore—the poisonous breath alone would take his life away. Her only choice was to force the use of Combat Power and try to maintain a safe distance from the manticore.

Fortunately, Suzanna reached the edge of the unicorn's territory. She exerted all of her remaining strength, jumped up five or six meters, and landed on a round rock, on which a thumb-sized white magic crystal was shining gently.

The manticore saw its enemy stop running and decided to take revenge without a second thought. It flapped its webbed wings and leaped straight towards Suzanna.

Suzanna pointed the tip of her foot firmly on the rock. Her body was lifted up temporarily by unknown force. As she fell, she was so physically exhausted that she could not even keep her eyes open. Her legs gave out as she landed, and she fell on her knees.

The magic array set by Sante was triggered. The manticore spotted a blaze of white light much brighter than the sunshine blooming in front of it. No creature could escape that magical lightning attack. The manticore felt the excruciating pain in its eyes and completely lost its sight. It screeched and fell to the ground. In desperation, it shook its hideous, bloody mouth left and right to release the poisonous fog to protect itself. Its sharp tail was randomly swinging around, attempting to attack anything that might come close to it.

Susanna had no time to even look back and check out what had happened. She crawled up and stumbled forward. By the time the manticore was able to finally open its eyes again, Suzanna had turned into the first valley and disappeared.

The manticore still would not give up. It howled and continued charging forward.

Chapter 71: Top-level Magic Beast

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"What happened?" asked Anfey, surprised.

In the eye of the sky, Suzanna was galloping. Feller's ability to control the eye of the sky had not improved. Moreover, Suzanna was running very fast: the eye of the sky could only capture Suzanna's movements from behind. However, just the sight of her back was horrifying enough—her clothes were torn and her whole back was covered in blood. Who knew how much blood Suzanna had lost!

Anfey could not believe what he saw. To ensure Suzanna's safety, he even equipped them with the magic scroll. Knowing Suzanne's skills, coupled with the scroll and the assistance from Riska, there was no way she should be in such danger.

"Anfey, your turn!" urged Christian.

"I am ready." Anfey nodded and said, "Zubin, enchant my arrow with air element for me please." After saying this, Anfey dashed outside of the magic array, rushed ahead, drew back the string of the long bow in his hand, and aimed at distant cave which was covered by a dense silver magical web.

This was a long bow handmade by Anfey, with the help of a group of mages. The materials were easily accessible. The bow was made from rib bones of flash leopards, and they were strong and elastic; the bowstring was made from the tendon of a three-eyed cow, which Anfey had urgently asked little Shally for; arrows were even easier to make, as Anfey did not need arrowheads. He only planned to use the arrow to irritate the unicorn, not to actually injure or kill it.

Anfey experimented several hundred times and determined that the range of the arrow was about 150 meters. This range was moderate compared to some elf bowman's record of 500 meters. However, Anfey was satisfied with the result. With the air element enchantment by Zubin, Anfey's arrow could reach 300 meters.

Unlike manticores, unicorns normally did not like staying inside a cave. Usually, unicorns enjoyed falling asleep under the moon. They did not like the gloominess of the caves. Only after a new baby was born, the mother and the child would hide in caves for their own safety for a short time. Because of this, Anfey's group predicted that the cave should be relatively shallow, even though none of them could scout the den.

Anfey's arrow was no ordinary arrow: rather, it was a fire arrow. Not only was it wrapped with flammable and long-lasting burning oil, Anfey also mixed in several ingredients that would stink when burnt. Anfey basically turned the arrows into a primitive chemical weapon.

Zubin followed Anfey, enchanted his arrow with air element, and then cast a small fire ball to light up the arrow.

Anfey then released the bowstring. The burning arrow flew straight toward the cave and disappeared in the silvery web.

Magic beasts, even if they were high-level, were not capable of setting up a magic array. The silver web that was covering the unicorn's den was placed to detect magic surge, and potentially cause some minor injury to any invaders. However, that silver web could have barely any impact on Anfey's arrow, since it was lifeless and would not cause any magic surge.

Suzanne also arrived at this time. Anfey, after shooting the arrow, turned around and ordered, "Zubin, help Suzanna!"

Zubin cast a levitation spell toward Suzanna, controlled the air element to lift her body, and pulled her into the protection of the magic array. Realizing that she was safe, Suzanna let out a long sigh of relief, and then lost consciousness.

Anfey and Zubin fled back to the magic array without any delay. This array was set at a hidden spot behind a bunch of bushes, there was a gulley to the left and a rock to the right. The magic array was set to conceal a magic surge from being sensed, and the location of the array was chosen to visually conceal Anfey's group.

A tall beast rushed out from the cave. The silver web was torn opened, and black smoke rose from inside the cave.

Anfey finally got to see a unicorn—it appeared just like a horse, except it had a long horn on its forehead. This was a large unicorn—feet to shoulder about two meters tall, and feet to head probably close to three meters. Its whole body was mostly silver. Only right above the four hooves was some long golden hair. Unicorns were known as high-level magic beasts of light, and they were just beautiful. Though horses and unicorns looked almost exactly alike, even the most appealing horse could not be compared to this unicorn. The confidence and the unruly nature of the unicorn could never be possessed by their domesticated counterparts.

In the eye of sky, Anfey and his group could clearly see the sky-blue horn and eyes of the unicorn glittering like gems. When the unicorn turned its head, slight waves of an arc could be seen in the air. Its four legs were gently kicking the ground, they were long—if little Shally was in front of the unicorn now, she could easily walk through under its belly—and slim, but known for explosive power. Its tail was silver, shimmering like sunshine, spreading out like a cloud, and waving with the wind.

At this time, the manticore had rushed out from the valley, flapping its short webbed wings, and entered the territory of the unicorn. The loss of children could destroy a human being mentally, and such pain would be even more destructive to a beast. The care for their next generation might be the only love that a magic beast could ever possess, and destroying that only love would certainly trigger the most unbearable hatred and madness. That manticore ignored the existence of the unicorn, and its bloody pupils were still searching for Suzanna.

The unicorn, however, would not offer its forgiveness to the invader. It was irritated, and threw its long horn toward the manticore. A flash of blue lightning shot out from sky-blue horn and hit the invader.

The manticore's wings stiffened for a second, and then its body fell to the ground. This was what made unicorns terrifying—the lighting they produced was not fatal, but all of their lightning magic could naturally paralyze their opponents. Such paralyzing effects were much more powerful than a human mage could cause. Except for archmages and master swordsmen, most people would suffer from the impact of this unique power.

The manticore fell on its belly and looked at the unicorn furiously. Soon after, the manticore was able to launch an attack. Its bulky body was outlined by a dark red light and it charged toward the unicorn.

The unicorn was unwilling to give in. It stamped its back legs on the ground, jumped into the air, and charged straight at the manticore like a silver meteor. It sped so fast that it seemed that space was torn by the sky-blue horn. The overwhelming magic surge could be sensed in the air.

"Bam!" The two beasts crashed into each other. The battlefield was too messy to sort out what had happened. Dark red fog was everywhere, countless lighting flashes appeared in the air. Anfey's group could not clearly see the fight between the two beasts, but the result was clear—the unicorn was tossed a dozen meters, and its huge body totally flattened the grass. The manticore, on the other hand, was only pushed back five or six meters, and then got up quickly to roar at the unicorn.

"Something is not right," Sante lowered his voice and said. "The unicorn should be much more powerful than this!"

"True! Even a seven or eight thousand kilogram magic cow would not be able to handle a full charge from a unicorn." Christian nodded his head and added, "Something is going on."

"I wonder… whether this unicorn has just given birth?" Zubin said hesitantly.

Christian commented, "It is possible! Zubin probably has figured out what happened!"

"Anfey, if this is the case, that unicorn is not going to beat the manticore. Should we move forward with our plan?" asked Zubin.

"No, not yet. Let's wait a little longer."

From the eyes of the sky, the group could tell that the two beasts went back to their fight. Both had been injured in the collision. The neck of the unicorn was torn open and blue blood was dripping down; meanwhile, the eyes of the manticore were swelling; probably suffering from internal wounds.

The unicorn was not at all as agile or speedy as its reputation. It was a bit slower than the manticore. In addition, it also did not release any consecutive lighting. Anfey's group figured that the unicorn probably lost the ability to release consecutive lighting temporarily after giving birth, otherwise it surely would use lighting to win the battle.

The situation became more and more unfavorable to the unicorn. The crazy and fierce manticore utilized its speed and circled around the unicorn. When it found an opportunity, it would injure the unicorn and retreat a safe distance to avoid the counterattack from the unicorn.

Gradually, the unicorn was covered with all sorts of wounds. Its power was fading, its movements were slower, and as a result, it got hurt more and more severely. The manticore's weapons were its claws, fangs and tail, while the unicorn only could use its horn. The result of this battle could almost be foreseen.

Sante shook his head and commented, "There must be a baby, otherwise the unicorn would have been fleeing by now."

"True. Magic beasts are no human heroes," Christian agreed. "They would not be ashamed to lose a fight, and would retreat to save their lives whenever possible. However, this unicorn will not give in… the only explanation is that it wants to protect a baby in the cave."

At this time, the manticore jumped to the left of the unicorn and attempted to claw at the ribs of the unicorn. As the unicorn turned around to fight back, the manticore stretched its webbed wings, pulled out its long-hidden needle tail, and pierced it into the unicorn in a flash.

The unicorn let out a painful neigh, but used its own body to trap the tail of the manticore. Then it leveraged the momentum and flipped the manticore upside down. Immediately, its long horn was planted into the chest of the manticore.

"Oh my! Magic immunization, magic immunization! That is a top-level unicorn!" Zubin shouted, shocked.

The needle tail of the manticore could paralyze its target, but that unicorn was not impacted, and that was a sign of a top-level unicorn!

Chapter 72: Tears of Stars

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The moment the unicorn stopped her attacks, her lethargic body fell to the floor slowly. Her immune system had shut down, but it was not hard to notice the fatal wound on her body. The manticore's sting could almost be seen from under the unicorn's skin. Obviously, it had pierced through the unicorn's body.

"Fight!" Anfey gave the order and led his legion, running out of the magic array. In fact, Suzanna should have led, but she was still meditating. Anfey had no other option but to be the first one to run into battle. This was one of the qualities of leaders. If the leader did not have the courage to risk his life for the cause and just sat around giving orders asking others to risk their lives, the legion would just be a collection of atomized individuals. No one was stupid. Everyone had eyes to see and a brain to think and make their own judgements. Authority can be established and developed, but it also can be destroyed. To be more specific, Anfey was not a leader without courage. He waited for a while because he just wanted to plan well before taking any actions. He was looking for better chances to have the advantage in the battle. Of course, Anfey would not want to risk his life for anyone who always brought trouble to the team.

Everyone in the magic array had fighting skills, while the rest without fighting skills stayed in another cave to avoid unnecessary fatalities. Everyone used the levitation magic at the same time, flying forward in a line after they received Anfey's order. Only Suzanna, who was still meditating, stayed in the magic array.

The unicorn's last attack on the manticore before her death was severe. The manticore did not have an immune system to prevent nerve damage. When the unicorn pierced her horn into the manticore, the nerve damage was a lot worse than regular nerve damage created by magic. The damage was especially bad since she was a senior unicorn.

Anfey started to rush toward the manticore after counting to 46. The manticore was still paralyzed and could not lift his head. Anfey thrust his sword right into one of the manticore's eyes. He had heard that manticores had very tough skin and bones, and would not easily be hurt when they were attacked without combat power. Therefore, Anfey found a weak part on his body and directly attacked there. Even though manticores had tough skin and bones, their eyes would always be fragile. If the eyes were not weak enough to be penetrated, the intestines would be soft enough to pierce, otherwise they would not be able to absorb the nutrition if the intestines were protected by scales and bones.

The sword was a foot into the manticore's eye and would not go any further, since it seemed that it hit something hard. Anfey's effort to kill the manticore was fantastic. He twisted the sword hard before he pulled it out, then he thrust his sword back in again. This time he pierced the other eye of the manticore. He killed the manticore without mercy.

Anfey repeated the same procedure with the second eye. He twisted the sword in the other eye and then pulled the sword out. He jumped behind the manticore, thrusting the sword inside the intestines through the anus. He even kicked the shaft of the sword at the end. The whole sword was stuck inside the manticore.

As one of the senior magic beasts, the manticore was one of the most powerful in the magic beast forest. Unluckily for the manticore, it could win the fight against Anfey. With the way Anfey killed the manticore, it had no chance to survive, since is was suffering from nerve damage.

The unicorn still had one breath left, and her cobalt-colored eyes stared at Anfey, a tear coming from the corner of one eye. Her neck relaxed and rested on the floor. She finally stopped moving.

Christian landed first and saw that the unicorn was gradually losing her life. He called to Anfey softly, "Hurry up! Anfey, you have gratitude from the unicorn. Hurry up and eat her tear. That was a Tear of Stars!"

"What?" Anfey was shocked for a second, and then he turned to look at the unicorn. The unicorn's tear was formed into a drop that shone like a diamond. He wondered whether he had to eat that "diamond"?

"Hurry up!" Christian yelled. He was so excited that he was jumping up and down.

Anfey took the diamond-like tear off her face without a word and put it into his mouth. He reached under the other eye, searching for another tear. He felt it, and then took it and swallowed the other one. Anfey knew team members had to trust each other, so he believed Christian had not lied to him, even though he did not understand what those tears were for.

"Anfey, you are so lucky!" Christian heaved a sigh of relief with a very envious look on his face.

Before Anfey had a chance to ask Christian anything, Zubin landed with extreme excitement on his face and said in a calm voice, "Do not waste it. Do not waste it."

"Hurry up, everybody. Let's lift up the unicorn and take the unicorn's blood," Sante yelled.

Others landed one after another. Anfey saw the excitement and happiness on every one of them. They quickly accumulated the elements to lift the unicorn into the air. Some of them took the absorption magic tool from the Space Ring and started to collect the blue blood flowing out of the unicorn's body.

"Is unicorn's blood useful?" Anfey asked.

"Invaluable," Christian said firmly. "But nothing compared to the Tears of Stars. Anfey, do you feel anything different now?"

"Me? Nothing different." Anfey shook his head and walked to the front. He took out a knife. "Move. You cannot get much blood this way." Anfey tried to stab at the unicorn to allow more blood come out.

Thoughts suddenly came to Anfey when his knife was in the air half way to the unicorn. He had an illusion that the unicorn in front of him was his sibling, and he had a really close relationship with her. His knife stopped in the air and would not go an inch closer to the unicorn.

Anfey was shocked and quickly shook his head, forcing this ridiculous idea from his head. He put more force on the knife to thrust it forward, but his arm became rigid and would not move forward again.

"Anfey, let me do it." Sante took the knife from Anfey quickly and stabbed a few shallow holes on the unicorn. The unicorn had died, but she still had some defensive ability left. Sante could only create minor wounds, even thought he stabbed her with full force.

"Idiot, use wind blade," Zubin said.

"You are the idiot," Sante said in anger, even though he knew he should not miss this opportunity to collect unicorn's blood instead of wasting time arguing with Zubin. The unicorn's blood would coagulate quickly when exposed to the air and lose its value after coagulation.

Zubin's idea reminded Blavi, Sanchez and Sante to slay the unicorn with wind blade. Sky-blue blood oozed out from the cuts like springs. It even dyed her hair blue.

Anfey walked away from the unicorn and looked at the unicorn in confusion. This was the first time Anfey had felt fear since he came to this world. He neither understood where that weird feeling was from, nor how this feeling had interfered with his determination and stopped him from stabbing the unicorn. As an assassin, he needed to act calmly and with determination. He should not have any emotional attachment to anything or anyone. Hesitation was fatal to an assassin. Anfey could not find a reasonable explanation for what just happened. He should not have been so soft-hearted, especially to the dead body of a unicorn.

"This scene is too bloody." Christian smiled bitterly. He had misunderstood the reason Anfey was not looking good. "Anfey, please be more understanding. Unicorn's blood is very, very precious. You know, the professor spent several months searching for unicorns just for their blood. They would just simply run away if they did not want to fight. The professor could not catch any unicorns, even with his power. An opportunity like today's will never happen again."

A group of people with excited and happy looks used absorption magic tools to take all the blood they could get, not missing a drop of it. This scene was really strange and merciless, but what Anfey feared was the feeling he had felt, not the bloody scene.

"Everybody, hurry up! Send all the absorption magic tools to Anfey. He will keep them for everyone. Understood?" Christian said loudly.

"Yes!" Sante and others answered loudly. They all knew the principle of working as a team. Team members had lived together 24/7 and experienced difficulties together, which helped build their relationship. Even though the unicorn's blood was valuable, it was not invaluable to the point where it was worth them fighting with each other.

Anfey walked slowly to the cave that the unicorn had tried to protect with her life. The silver web at the entrance was long gone. For no reason, Anfey felt a voice calling him back into the cave.

The cave was just as everyone thought it should be. It was shallow, and the back could be seen from the entrance. The cave was dry, since unicorns do not like humidity. She kept her cave cozy. There was a thick layer of silk vanilla grass. This type of grass was rare. It could give out a fresh fragrance over time if it was dried by the sun. In human society, children from royal and wealthy families often had a blanket or pillow made of silk vanilla grass. Anfey had never seen it before, but he had smelled its fragrance when he was in Niya's room. Niya had a pillow made from silk vanilla grass.

On top of the silk vanilla grass, there was a tiny unicorn babbling. He could not stand up yet, as his eyes were still closed. He could only smell what was in front of him.

The little unicorn had not developed any power yet, and it looked very cute, with a thin layer of light hair. At a glance, the little unicorn looked like a shining gem stone. The little unicorn was lovable, with the light pink skin. It only had a bump on his head instead of a horn. It had a weird patterned print on the bump.

Anfey walked slowly to the little unicorn. He bent over while the little unicorn struggled to lift his head to smell Anfey. Suddenly, he screamed with joy and moved towards Anfey.

Anfey touched his bump with a smile. The little unicorn enjoyed his touch so much that it kicked its legs in the air with his back on the grass. The sounds the little unicorn made seemed happy.

"Anfey, we have finished collecting the blood of the unicorn. We also got a treasure." Zubin walked into the cave with a bloody long horn. "What a pretty little unicorn."

The little unicorn suddenly sat up with its nose wrinkled, smelling something in the air.

"Put away the horn, quickly!" Anfey yelled.

"Ok." Zubin quickly put away the horn in the dimensional ring.

The little unicorn sniffed for a while before he finally relaxed again. He stuck his tongue out, licking Anfey's palm, and then he bit Anfey's pinky with his tail wagging. The little unicorn seemed to play with Anfey.

"Anfey, we did well this time!" Christian walked in with a smile across his face just like Zubin's. His attention was drawn to the little unicorn immediately as well, and he said, "What a beautiful little guy."

"We did it? I guess we did what we wanted to do, but what was it that we 'did'?" Anfey twitched the corners of his mouth. "We will talk about it later. How is Suzanna now? Where is Riska?"

"Suzanna has been meditating. I haven't seen Riska yet. Anfey, do you think Riska is in danger?" Christian asked with his eyes opened wide like plates.

"He must have experienced some danger; otherwise Suzanna would not have ended up so wounded. I think Riska is fine though." Anfey thought a while before he spoke again. "Ok, let's clean up here first. We will talk about it when we go back to the cave."

"Sure." Christian nodded.

Anfey rubbed the little unicorn a bit before he forced himself to pull his fingers away. He stood up and walked outside the cave with such a determination. However, he felt sad when he turned around. He liked this little unicorn without any reason. If it was not because he liked this little guy, he might have already killed it mercilessly to get its blood according to the cruel way Anfey had acted in the past as an assassin, and because he knew the benefits of its blood.

That little unicorn's crying changed from cheerful to anxious. It struggled to crawl out of the silk vanilla grass nest towards Anfey. His crying turned into screaming, and finally into desperation.

"It cannot be true. I heard unicorns only like girls," Zubin said in surprise, with his eyes wide open.

"It could be the effect of the Tears of Stars. Anfey, this little unicorn has already considered you as its family." Christian smiled.

"Did you say it was the effect of the Tears of Stars?" Anfey asked. Anfey responded quickly to Christian's words. He realized the Tears of Stars had brought these changes upon him, otherwise the little unicorn would not consider him as a family and he would not feel bad leaving the little unicorn either.

"Yes," Christian answered.

Anfey took a deep breath and glanced at Christian. In fact, he did not want this kind of change. He always had to be calm and cool in dangerous situations. Anfey did not want to blame Christian for it, because he knew the Tears of Stars must be very good for his body. Otherwise Christian would not be so stressed and worried. Christian wanted the best for him. However, he only saw the advantages of taking Tears of Stars without acknowledging the negative side effects of it. In other words, Christian thought the side effects of the Tears of Stars would be good anyway.

The little unicorn had come up to Anfey's ankles and laid on his feet, as if crying. The crying sounded sad. If unicorns could cry, this would be what it was like.

Anfey sighed again. He bent down and held the little unicorn in his arms. He thought to himself, "You know what, I will just raise the little unicorn as a pet. I am just not sure how much he would eat, since unicorns are senior magic beasts. This little guy's mom was a top-level unicorn. He could be my helpful assistant when he grows up." Anfey had always paid attention to returns before he did anything. To convince himself to raise the little unicorn as a pet, he had to force himself to pay attention to the potential abilities the little unicorn would have in the future and the benefits and returns of raising the little guy.

"Let's go," Anfey told everyone. This little unicorn was not big, the same size as a puppy. Anfey weighed it in his arm and determined it was no more than 22 pounds. The unicorns felt comfortable once it was in Anfey's arms. He moaned as he rubbed Anfey's chest. He sounded like he was whining to Anfey to show how sad he felt before.

Christian and Zubin followed Anfey out of the cave. Anfey stopped suddenly after a few steps and asked, "Zubin, can you clean up the outside and bury the unicorn somewhere else? Uh, clean up the bloody smell as well."

"I got it." Zubin nodded to him.

Most times, changes in people happen unnoticeably. Anfey only wanted to raise the little unicorn as a pet, but he had already thought about and cared quite a lot about the little unicorn. He did not notice that he already thought about cleaning up the battle field in order to avoid causing any sadness to the little guy.

It was just starting to get dark when everyone gathered in the original cave with fire on. They all looked exultant. They not only won the battle, but also collected many good things. They had reasons to be happy, but there were two people with uneasy looks on their faces. One was Suzanna; the other was Riska. They both were glancing over at Anfey furtively.

The little unicorn was sleeping by Anfey's feet. When it first came into the cave, it smelled over ten different smells and acted anxious. Later, the unicorn felt that its master was in control and that anyone it did not like would keep a distance from it. Only with its permission, a few people with the smells it liked could touch it. The little unicorn gradually got used to the cave, but demanded that Anfey not leave it alone. Even if it got a few steps away from Anfey, the little unicorn would cry mournfully, which forced Anfey to get back to it.

Riska and Suzanna had told Anfey what happened in detail. Riska seemed okay, while Suzanna looked weak and tired. Without a long rest, she would not recover. She had been forced to take attacks beyond her limits several times, which had damaged her physical and mental health. Suzanna had wanted to rest or meditate, but she did not dare to leave, even when Anfey was quietly sitting there. Suzanna was afraid of him. After a while, Anfey said slowly, "Suzanna, I am going to ask you one question. If you had been with Shally, would you have left her to fight with that little manticore?" Anfey's question about her mistakes hit the target.

Suzanna felt so ashamed, she struggled to shake her head. "No, I would not have."

"Why not?" Anfey asked.

"Because Shally would not have beenable to protect herself," Suzanna answered.

"Riska used up his magic and was not able to protect himself either," Anfey said.

"I did not notice it. It was all my fault," Suzanna said with her teeth clenched together.

"Good," Anfey nodded.

Suzanna was startled and thought Anfey was being sarcastic, which meant he would not keep her and Shally in his legion. Suzanna felt helpless and desperate. She was injured, and her power had been lowered significantly. If they were kicked out of Anfey's legion, they would end up in a miserable situation.

Suzanna looked up at Anfey with a begging look, but Anfey had already turned his eyes elsewhere.

In fact, Suzanna had misread Anfey this time. Anfey was acting with decency.

From Anfey's point of view, a person would be beyond help if he only blamed others and was not able admit his own mistakes after committing them. He appreciated Suzanna's courage to admit her mistakes in front of people. This courage was valuable. If he always blamed others, he would make the same mistakes when he experienced the same situation again. The other kind of person, like Suzanna, would remember this experience for ever. Anfey could tell from Suzanna's look that this experience had taught her a lesson and influenced her greatly. Anfey believed in what he saw about Suzanna.

"I would like to tell everyone one thing today. We should take care of each other. To a team, being united is always the priority! Your team members' safety is always more important than any mission. Do not forget about your team members anytime or anywhere! Do you understand?" Anfey said slowly.

"Yes, we understand." Everyone nodded.

"Alright. That was all I wanted to say. Feller, don't you have some wine? Can you take some out so we can celebrate?"

Everyone cheered. Feller smiled and walked to the back of the cave. Anfey's legion had recently formed, and Feller had been acting like an accountant and legion keeper in charge of all the receipts and expenses. If someone else did this kind of job, they might have found it tedious and boring, but Feller enjoyed doing it. He loved to handle anything related to money. Anfey knew how to bring out the best in his team members.

The little unicorn was woken up by the cheers. He looked up and sniffed, discovered that Anfey was still by his side, and then immediately felt relieved. The little unicorn crawled a few steps and laid on Anfey's feet again.

"How about us?" Suzanna asked quietly. She had been worried since Anfey had not told her what he would do to them.

"Give me your hand," Anfey said. This time Anfey misread Suzanna's mind.

Suzanna was shocked for a second and held out her hand. Anfey laid two fingers on her wrist for a while. He smiled and said, "It is not too bad. If you want to drink with them, you can have a little bit."

Suzanna smiled bitterly. She did not mean to ask if she could drink.

"Shally, do you want to drink?" Anfey asked with a smile.

"Yes, huh, no." Shally stole a glance at Suzanna.

Anfey realized what was going on. He smiled at Suzanna and said, "Everyone is happy today. Could you let Shally drink a little bit? It will be fine. We will be watching over her."

Even though Suzanna was still nervous, she knew Anfey was not focussing on her mistakes anymore. She had a lot of mixed feelings, but said nothing to Anfey. She turned to Shally and said quietly, "Go, but don't drink too much."

"Yeah!" Shally cheered and rushed to the back. "Feller, I will help you."

"Christian," Anfey called his name out loud.

"What is going on?" Christian asked. He was talking excitedly with Sante when he heard Anfey calling him. He stood up and walked towards Anfey.

"Do you have a moment? Can we talk outside? I have something to ask you," Anfey said with a smile.

"Do you want to ask about Tears of Stars?" Christian responded quickly.

"You are right." Anfey nodded. He had to ask and make sure he knew what benefits the Tears of Stars would bring him, so he would know what caused the changes in the way he thought and acted.

"Did you get Tears of Stars? How did you receive gratitude from that unicorn?" Suzanna eavesdropped on their conversation as she was about to leave. She yelled in surprise, "That's ridiculous."

It was ridiculous indeed. If it were not for Anfey, that manticore might have taken the little lion to wander around, and the unicorn also would be taking care of the little unicorn in the cave. It was Anfey's idea that had ruined their lives, and even taken their lives. It was all because of Anfey. However, unexpectedly, Anfey received gratitude from the unicorn. If that unicorn's spirit were still alive, she might have died from rage.

"Do you know about Tears of Stars as well?" Anfey asked.

"Of course." Suzanna heaved a long sigh. She felt things happened in a weird way in this world. A person who did not know the value of the Tears of Stars actually was the one to receive this priceless treasure, while she never even got a chance to see it.

"What are Tears of Stars for?" Anfey asked hastily.

"I do not know the details, but I know a master swordsman, Hahn, who luckily got the Tears of Stars. He has been called the most dreaded warrior of humankind by the magical world. Hahn's legion was surrounded by a group of people with magic in a battle. One mage released the magic. Around two million soldiers died in the spell. One grandmaster swordsman and three master swordsmen lost their lives in the battle, but Hahn was only slightly injured. He killed the mage who released the magic at the end and rushed off the battlefield to the human world. Do you know that he was considered the most glorious human warrior?"

"Hahn did not have other ways to dodge the magic? Are you sure it was the effect of Tears of Stars?" Anfey asked.

Suzanna smiled and did not respond to Anfey, although she wanted to. If she did not feel that she owed Anfey and had not felt bad about it, she probably would have told Anfey bluntly that he should stop displaying his ignorance.

"It is said that once your body and the Tears of Stars join together, you will have the protection of stars. Unless the stars in the sky disappear, no one can kill you," Christian said with a smile.

"Bulls*^t." Anfey thought for a little while and shook his head. The magic and combat power were full of legends. Anfey kept trying to find the reasoning in the magic. If that guy Hahn had avoided the magic attack with the Tears of Stars, it only meant that Tears of Stars helped build the immunization of the magic, just like what a top-level magic beast could do. Anfey thought it was nonsense to believe he would not die if the stars did not disappear. It was a folktale that the lifespan of every star could be described as eternal to human beings. "Does it mean I would have the same lifespan as stars after I ate the Tears of Stars?" Anfey thought to himself.

It was easy to prove the folk tale told by Christian was wrong with a simple response. Where was the grandmaster swordsman called Hahn? If the Tears of Stars are so legendary, Hahn should still be alive.

"Anfey, you know a lot of people would envy you if the news leaked out that you had Tears of Stars," Christian said with a stern face.

"Maybe some of them would try to catch you and conduct research on you to figure out the secrets of Tears of Stars," Suzanna said.

Anfey was shocked for a second. He did not care what Christian told him, but what Suzanna said made him nervous, because he could end up being someone's lab animal.

Suzanna realized how serious it had sounded after she blurted it out. Christian was momentarily shocked to hear her say it as well.

"How many people know about it?" Anfey asked.

"Right now, Suzanna and I both know. Robin and Sante might know about it," Christian said in low voice. He spoke louder, "However, I saw they only paid attention to the blood of the unicorn. It seemed they neither saw your actions, nor heard my words."

"Nothing about Tears of Stars will be mentioned or talked about anymore." Anfey was in thought for a while and then smiled bitterly. "Is the Tears of Stars that rare?"

The spirit crystal from the Evil Abyss was still sleeping in his body while Tears of Stars had been added to his body. One problem had not been solved, and another one had already appeared. Anfey got a headache.

"Anfey, think about it, unicorns are rare, since our professor was unable to catch one. How many people would have the opportunity to see them, how many of them would receive gratitude from them, especially from a top-level unicorn. Your luck could not be better," Christian sighed quietly.