Chapter 44: Unveiling Shadows

"Are we going to the place you're talking about directly?" I asked Sarah the moment we entered the forest.

"Not at the moment. We need to stay in the outer area for a day before we can finally move towards that place," Sarah answered my question immediately, but her response piqued my interest. The way she said it came with a hidden meaning.

Noticing the curiosity on my face, Sarah seemed to expect it. "That's right, that place isn't in the outer area. To be exact, it's at the border of the middle area and the inner area."

My eyebrows raised in surprise upon hearing her words. I had thought that the place was at most in the middle area. If that were true, it would calm my heart a bit since with the power of my team, the middle area wouldn't be that much of a challenge. However, being at the border of the middle area and inner area changed everything. Although it was still called the border, one couldn't deny that the danger it presented wasn't much lower compared to the inner area. Just hearing the position of that hidden vestige made my heart uneasy.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're scared!" Anna hit my back strongly and shouted at me. Her words seemed offensive, but I didn't care.

"Let me tell you one thing: I am scared. It's the inner area we're talking about here. I can be brave at times, but this time, it involves our lives, so of course, I'm scared."

Looking at me, Anna had a disbelieving look, hearing that I just admitted her words outrightly. Normally, when those words were directed at oneself, that person would definitely deny it as hard as they could, especially in front of two beautiful girls. A person like me could be considered rare to her since we are commonly associated with the word "coward," and based on her observations of me these past few months, I didn't seem like that kind of person.

"William has the right to be afraid. If you ask normal people, most of them would definitely be afraid, and William isn't an exception," Sarah intervened, seizing the chance to speak. She continued with a question directed at me.

"So, William, are you in or not?"

When her eyes met mine, I knew the answer was already decided inside me. "Of course, I'm in."

Hearing my answer, Sarah smiled at me and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"But let me tell you this, I want to hear the plan first. I don't want to head there without any plan at all." Our lives were important, and I insisted on being as careful as I could be.

"Relax, we have one." And just like that, Sarah told me her plan, and I listened carefully on the side.

In the outer forest area, a group of men in black could be seen standing behind a big tree. The group consisted of 12 people, all of them mages. If the army ever saw them, they might be in shock since this week, the whole forest had become a non-entry area except for Miston City Magic High School, and yet here they were.

A few minutes later, another group of people who seemed to be students approached the men in black. If I saw this group of students, I might be in shock since I actually knew them. Unexpectedly, it was Phillip and his team.

"You're late," the leader of the men in black said.

When the leader spoke, it exuded a fierce aura that scared Phillip and his team. Even his normally haughty attitude changed in front of the man in black, and he became as docile as a cat.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Black, but we already tried our best to arrive here as fast as we can without being noticed. You know how strict those soldiers monitor us, so we can't afford to be careless," Phillip said with a flattering smile on his face, trying to reason with Mr. Black.

"Hmm, don't play that set with me. All I want to know is whether you've done it or not."

Phillip didn't seem to be angry with Mr. Black's arrogant attitude. "Fortunately, I didn't fail my mission. As expected, Miss Sarah didn't notice that a tracking spell was already pasted onto her. Now, no matter where she goes, we can definitely track her without fail."

"Good. Young Master would surely be happy."

A smile appeared on Phillip's face as he heard what Mr. Black was saying. By making the young master happy, he would surely be rewarded later, and that couldn't stop him from feeling happy.

After hearing what they wanted to hear, the men in black quickly took their leave, and in a few seconds, only Phillip and his team were left at that place.

"Phillip, are we really doing this? We were already breaking the rules by inviting them here, and now we're giving them the location of the students from our school. Don't you feel it's dangerous?" Mark, who was always with Phillip, voiced his concern. His concern was legitimate as the punishment for rule-breaking was heavy. Mark couldn't help but feel terrified, thinking about what would happen if they were ever caught doing this.

"Hmm! You're saying that now? That's too late. You've already tasted the benefits, and now you want to walk away? Dream on!"

Mark silenced himself after hearing those words. Indeed, these past few weeks, he had tasted the benefits and finally managed to become a 1-star mage. If he had relied solely on his talent and his father's connections, he would never have reached the point he was at right now.

"Hmm, that's right. You can't. The moment you take this step with me, you'll definitely have to stick with it until the end, or else dire consequences await you."

Looking proud of himself for making a good choice, Phillip looked at the sky and laughed to himself inside his heart.

'You have my condolences, my old friend. I offered to change your team, and you rejected me. Now, I want to see how you would handle this predicament.'