Chapter 21: Big Trouble!

Alicia was both shocked and deeply troubled. She forced herself to look at Lilith, then walked over and thanked her, "Lilith, thank you for saving Eric. I didn't expect your Magic... to have improved so much!"

She could tell that most of the wounds on the wolves came from their mutual fighting, but there were still a significant number that had been killed by Magic. At that moment, Alicia felt a sense of inferiority.

She had always believed she was doing well, but Lilith had clearly surpassed her…

The other teammates couldn't help but sigh. They had been quite happy after hunting a few beasts, but now, seeing the scene before them, they felt utterly hopeless.

Swiftwind Wolves were powerful prey. Killing just one could earn a lot of points. But with over a dozen dead…

Kevin's team's score would soar far ahead, leaving the other teams in the dust. There was no way to catch up.

For a moment, the morale of all the students plummeted. "So... we really can't do it?" one of them murmured.

When Lilith heard Alicia's words, her expression froze for a moment, then she spoke with a somewhat confused tone: "Alicia, what are you talking about? I didn't kill these Swiftwind Wolves."

Alicia's eyes lit up. "Could it be someone else?"

She thought about how the Exotic Beasts area was open to the public, not just for their competition today. Other extraordinary beings might be passing through and could have killed the wolves, leaving Lilith and Eric to simply find the bodies.

If that were the case, there was still a chance for the competition results to change. At least, the points wouldn't go to Kevin's team.

"So, if it wasn't you, then who killed them?" Alicia and the others were all very curious about this.

Lilith glanced at Alicia, her teammates, and Eric, then gave a small smile. "It seems there are still things you don't know."

She didn't want to say more. The shock from what had happened earlier, or maybe the impact of it, still hadn't worn off for her.

She took a deep breath, then said, "You should ask Eric. He did all of this."

With that, Lilith turned and walked away, leaving behind one last comment, "Help Eric clean up the battlefield. Kevin is definitely going to break through this time."

And with that, Lilith disappeared into the forest to rejoin her teammates.

Her words left Alicia and the others completely bewildered.

Alicia, unable to believe it, asked, "Eric?? Lilith said... you did this?"

Eric's face remained expressionless. "Is there anyone else here? Alicia, just collect the spoils."

Inside, Alicia felt a storm of emotions, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she took out a bracelet.

"This is a storage bracelet provided by the school for this event. It has 30 cubic meters of space and can hold anything except living creatures. Take it," Alicia said as she handed the bracelet to Eric.

Eric took the bracelet and began placing all the bodies inside.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was still in shock. "Did I just hear that right? Eric did all of this?"

"Who knows? Maybe he just got lucky and found the bodies, then claimed them as his own…" another teammate said.

Alicia's expression was complex. She wasn't sure what to think about Eric either. She hadn't witnessed his battle firsthand, so she was completely in the dark about the truth of the situation.

But one thing was clear: Alicia's team had now taken the undisputed lead, far ahead of everyone else.

Just then, a student from another team shouted, "Alicia, there's trouble! Kevin's in trouble! Come quick!"

Alicia's face changed. "Kevin?"

Hearing the urgency in the student's voice, Alicia immediately took the situation seriously and, along with her three teammates, rushed toward Kevin's team.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Though still calm, he planned to finish collecting the bodies of the Swiftwind Wolves before checking out the situation.

On the other side, as Alicia followed the student to the scene, her heart skipped a beat when she saw something unexpected.

Alicia pointed at a sign on the roadside. "What's going on? Isn't that the Inner Area? Who allowed you to enter the Inner Area?"

The sign clearly warned that crossing it would lead into the Inner Area, where Exotic Beasts of level 1 to 5 could be found dangerous and formidable creatures.

Everyone around Alicia froze, their faces filled with alarm, hesitant to proceed further.

The student who had come to alert them looked almost on the verge of tears, nervously saying, "Sigh, Kevin insisted on showing off, but now things are urgent. Alicia, you have to come!"

Alicia, feeling helpless, nodded and followed him as he crossed into the Inner Area. Her teammates followed suit. Not long later, they encountered the red-haired boy, Andy.

Andy's face was also grim, but when he saw Alicia arrive, some color returned to his face. "Alicia!?"

Alicia's expression was serious. "What's going on? What happened to Kevin? Did he run into a powerful Exotic Beast?"

If that were the case, even if she came, there would be nothing she could do. She would have to call for the guardian Brutus.

Andy shook his head. "No, Kevin didn't provoke any Exotic Beasts. He just made an enemy of someone. We can't call for the guardian, or Kevin will lose his qualification for the competition."

Alicia was even more confused after hearing this. She followed Andy into the clearing in the woods.

There, Kevin, usually so full of himself, was now hunched over, his head low. In front of him stood a group of strong men, all with muscular builds, tattoos on their bodies, and in their late twenties or early thirties about seven or eight of them.

It was clear they were a group of experienced Physical Cultivation Practitioners, possibly with connections to the underground world.

"You little brat, you've got some nerve. A student daring to make a move on me!" one of the men, his neck adorned with a tattoo of a black snake, said with a dark expression, glaring at Kevin.

Kevin was sweating profusely, his head down, not daring to say a word.

Alicia watched the scene in confusion. After asking Andy, she found out that Kevin had grown dissatisfied with only hunting low-level Exotic Beasts, so he foolishly ventured into the Inner Area.

There, he encountered this group of Physical Cultivation Practitioners, who were planning to hunt a powerful Exotic Beast. Kevin thought he could hide and wait until they were halfway through their battle, then swoop in to steal the kill.

But before Kevin could even put his plan into motion, he was spotted, and now he was surrounded by the group of men.

Alicia, hearing the story, sighed in exasperation and rubbed her forehead. "What a fool…"

This group of Physical Cultivation Practitioners looked like trouble. They were clearly not the type to be trifled with. Alicia couldn't understand why Kevin thought he could take them on.

"He really thinks he's a big shot just because he's been running the school like a tyrant," Alicia muttered under her breath, but as the class president, she knew she couldn't avoid this confrontation.

She stepped forward to address the man with the snake tattoo. "Hey, hello. That guy is one of our classmates. I apologize for his stupidity."

Alicia's voice rang out, and the man with the black snake tattoo immediately turned his head. "Who's talking to me?"

His voice was low and dangerous, and in the next moment, his gaze locked onto Alicia. His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my god, there's such a beautiful girl here?"

Alicia carried an air of nobility, her beauty almost ethereal, like that of a goddess. And she was just a high school student. The moment Black Serpent laid eyes on her, he felt a rush of heat flooding through him.

He lewdly licked his lips. "So it's a little girl, huh? You want to save your classmate? It's simple. Come over here, and I'll let this guy go."

Alicia furrowed her brows, feeling a deep sense of disgust toward the man in front of her.

But she knew she had no choice but to continue speaking. "I know your friend offended you, but I believe he would be more than willing to compensate you for any losses. You're an important person why stoop to the level of some brat?"

Kevin, hearing this, quickly nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! My family has money, big brother! I'll pay you, just let me go, please!"

However, upon hearing this, Black Serpent's expression suddenly darkened to an intimidating, almost murderous level.