A/N: Yesterday’s missed Chapter
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Chapter 343: Slaves Acquired - 2
With that, their mission was complete before 11 PM.
They prepared to depart and stepped out into the ice-capped surroundings. As far as the eye could see, everything lay buried under a sheet of white, and the sky above was crystal clear, filled with countless stars that shimred faintly. It was a new experience for Lily and Miho. Even for Leo, since he had only seen such scenes in his previous life through his mobile phone. They took a mont to take everything in.
"Rroooooaaaaarrrr....." A distant low roar echoed from the depths of the Barfila Mountain, low and heavy against the stillness.
"That must be a Yeti," Brok said.
"Yeti?" Lily asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Yes, they are cold-region humanoid beasts which have been sighted deep within the Barfila Mountains. Apparently, they have gained intelligence and established a tribe. Their chieftain is said to be a 6-ranked powerhouse!"
Leo raised his brow.
"Aren’t they dangerous? Not to ntion they are in academy territory... shouldn’t the staff intervene?" Leo asked Katherine, who was already prepared to depart with all the elves seated on her owl’s back.
"Hm? Those Yetis?" Katherine turned around, glancing back at him.
"Well... they should indeed fall under our jurisdiction, but..." She paused, looking at the group.
"If we do everything, then what are you all supposed to do?"
"Yeah, but 6-stars? Can a student even challenge that?" Leo asked.
Katherine waved her hand dismissively.
"If you think none can, you haven’t seen the top-tier talented students. But there’s also the fact that the yetis aren’t disturbing the academy’s functioning. They sohow appeared through a Secret Realm, established a few-kilotre-wide territory, and are quietly ruling over it. And they won’t even engage in fights unless you invade them or provoke them. So... think of them as an area boss fight."
Leo was intrigued.
"Any rewards for clearing them?"
"There indeed are... credits, natural treasures, soul treasures, and such. But I suggest you don’t try that before learning about them. Because fighting a single one can be doable, but a coordinated beast attack in group that has gained intelligence... yeah, don’t try that unless you have the confidence to single-handedly defeat the sa area if it were a tier higher in difficulty level." She paused for a mont, as if recalling sothing.
"Yetis of Barfila Mountain... I am pretty sure they have a chieftain of High 6-star, which was recorded last year. So the area can be considered a High Orange-tier. So my suggestion? Unless you can single-handedly defeat a High Red-tier area—which houses a being of High 7-star—don’t try it. Because intelligent opponents are a pain to deal with."
"Though if you still have that stupid fire to try to defeat the area with friends and not alone, you have that life bracelet on you."
She said it lightly, but the implication was clear—their death would be certain if they tried sothing like that outside the academy.
Leo nodded as they boarded the back of Brok’s eagle.
They took off, and Brok’s eagle closely followed the owl from behind. It was clear that even if the owl was ranked higher, its speed was slower than the eagle’s. More than 1 major rank gap, and still slower. Brok’s eagle had ranked up to Pseudo 3-star, while Katherine’s owl was Interdiate 4-star. Still, the eagle was faster in flight.
But the major difference was in their flight pattern. The eagle’s flight created a loud rush of wind, while the owl was deathly silent. Its layered feathers sliced through the air, guiding the wind around it without making a sound. It didn’t even need a barrier like the eagle to protect its passengers from the strong gusts; the owl cut through the wind so precisely that there was almost no pressure on those riding it.
The elves were still struggling. For the first ti, they witnessed the shadow that always appeared in their place, yet had never been able to attack them before. Now, they truly understood how much the world had protected them—if that sa useless shadow could immobilize them and hold their lives in its grasp in the outside world.
Sylrael fully understood that if Katherine wished, she could squeeze the life out of them with the vines that kept them bound. And even though she was flying over a beast for the first ti, with breathtaking scenery stretching below, her thoughts kept returning to the fate that awaited them.
They finally arrived at the academy grounds, and even before anyone could see them, Leo requested that Katherine hide the elves. She did as he asked, creating an opaque do barrier around them as they walked toward the temple to complete their task.
"You know... showing off a little won’t do any harm, right?" Katherine said, unable to help herself. She had noticed that Leo always preferred to stay low-key whenever he had the chance—a rather odd behavior for soone around 22 years old, practically still a kid. People his age liked to flaunt whatever they had, even if, beneath their clothes, their underwear was torn.
"I am simply careful. Even a little intel on can give other students an edge to prepare accurately to attack my territory. It’s better that people underestimate and prepare against you rather than overestimate and prepare. Because in the latter, your fall is almost guaranteed."
Katherine nodded, impressed.
"What about you, Lily?" she asked, turning to her as they walked.
"? I will do whatever Leo says in these matters. He makes good decisions."
But Katherine caught onto a word.
"These matters? Then what are you not planning to follow him on?" She asked with sly smile.
Hearing that, Lily’s expression turned firm.
"He is very bad at managent and financial decisions. Of course, I will have to take the lead on that."
"What? We never ran short of money," Leo shot back.
"So what? That doesn’t an you can just throw it away." She raised one finger, as if counting.
"You always buy beast at. What’s the need for it when our territory is surrounded by beasts, and we can always hunt for it?" She lifted a second finger.
"You haven’t established a proper hierarchy within the territory. Don’t you see that those 3 girls have been slowly taking control over Veronica, Virat, and Brok? They have even made their own everyday tasks without our authorisation."
She raised her third finger.
"Handling rewards like giving the gun to Virat without any proper contribution. That will create internal resentnt and indignation among those who have been working hard, like Miho."
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