Strange

Chiba remained silent. "You don't understand Makarov's character. If something were to happen to you and Mira here, you'd see if he would actually declare war on the Shadow Skull."

Then Chiba continued, "Judging from Kamuer's tone, you didn't choose them as escorts, but recruited us from a legitimate guild. Even if you deliver the goods safely, they won't forgive you. Wouldn't that mean we, as escorts, are doomed?"

The Labi remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to the matter.

Ailong and Lixi looked pale. They knew the Shadow Skull's reputation, of course, and no one wanted to be targeted by them.

"Then we choose to abandon this mission," Ailong said in a deep voice.

All eyes turned to the man, who slowly said, "I am a mage, a person who makes a living, not a fool who would give up his life for a mission."

Labi shook his head. "It's no use. Kamuer can track you to the ends of the earth; it's another of his spells. This time he was alone, but next time he might bring many more. They won't let me go... nor will they let you go..."

Chiba stared at him and said, "So that's why you told us everything? Because in your eyes we're dead, and those things aren't important, right?"

The Labi remained silent.

"You bastard?! Why would you post such a quest at the Mage Guild?!" Koi rushed over, grabbing his collar tightly and roaring.

The Labi remained silent.

Koi punched him in the face, pinned him to the ground, and was about to continue his attack when Ailong stopped him.

"That's enough, Koi. He's just an ordinary person. If we keep fighting, someone will die," Ailong said in a deep voice.

"Brother, do you still think this guy is an ordinary person? He'll even devour the flesh and blood of his own kind! Who knows if he'll betray us?" Koi roared, his eyes bloodshot.

"That's enough, Koi, there'll be a way," Ailong said.

Koi was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot, then he gritted his teeth and released his grip.

"What are you going to do?" Ailong asked, looking at Chiba and Mira.

Mira raised an eyebrow and said, "Fight. Since we can't escape, let's confront each other head-on."

Chiba shrugged with a smile, "There's no other way, is there?"

Ailong paused slightly, seemingly taken aback by the two's unwavering and spirited attitude.

"However, we should try to slow down our trip next," Chiba suddenly said.

The Labi said, "It must be delivered by the end of the year at the latest, otherwise they will send people to search for us."

No more words were spoken, and the journey resumed, but a huge boulder seemed to weigh on their hearts, making it hard for them to breathe.

If what Labi said is true, and this so-called special red wine really has such a terrifying market, Shadow Skull will definitely attach great importance to such goods, and it wouldn't be a problem for them to mobilize the entire guild for such goods.

They were not afraid of the "Flames of Life and Death," but rather of the colossal creature behind it called the "Shadow Skull."

Night.

Inside the wooden hut created using Wood Release, Mira lay on the bed, seemingly deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Chiba sometimes used the Water Bullet Jutsu and sometimes studied the Water Dragon Bullet, presumably to learn a stronger Water Dragon Bullet in order to deal with Kamuer.

The trip was delayed for this reason.

"Chiba... I always felt there was something off about that guy during the day."

Suddenly, Mira said softly.

Chiba paused his technique, sat down by the bed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mira rolled out of bed, looked at him, her brows furrowed, and said, "Don't you think he's revealed too much? Just the appearance of Kamuer is enough for him to tell us so much. It's like... he's telling us all this on purpose."

"But he said he didn't want a formal break with the Shadow Skull, yet he clearly violated his agreement with Kamuer and the others by hiring us as escorts. What is that if not a break? They even came to threaten him. If we hadn't stopped Kamuer, that old guy who claims to be over fifty might already be lying in a pool of blood." Chiba shrugged and said, "You can't judge a person by what they say, you have to look at what they do."

"In other words, he has already decided to break with the Shadow Skull. He just doesn't say it outright, perhaps because he has some reasons. But what is his reason for breaking with it? And what does he have to rely on to fight against that behemoth?" Mira asked, her face full of doubt.

"He might have his own plans. Maybe he's a hidden master, leading us weaklings to rescue his lover who's imprisoned by the dark guild, and save the world along the way," Chiba shrugged.

Mira couldn't help but laugh, giving him a light punch. "Why do you seem so unfazed? Even though you're being targeted by that kind of guy."

"What's the use of panicking? Like when I was being chased by a group of mages, I panicked a lot, but I still ran around every day, still ate, drank, and went to the bathroom. Eventually, I stopped panicking. I just killed one if one came, and two if two came." Chiba lay on the bed and sighed softly, "No matter what, life has to go on."

"To be honest, I'm a little scared. I've heard that the Shadow Skull have quite a few S-Class mages; I probably can't beat them," Mira said, blinking.

"I didn't see the slightest hint of fear in you..."

"Pah! You unromantic straight man, can't you even say 'I'll protect you'?"

"Come on, who knows who'll be stronger if they fight."

"..."

"You're hopeless, you clueless straight man!"

At midnight, Chiba created a Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone leaped away, appearing like a peerless master under the moonlight.

As a result, in the early morning, Chiba sensed that his Shadow Clone had been beaten to death.

According to the Memories relayed by his Shadow Clone, he was beaten to death by a group of masked men in black; his death was gruesome.

However, this also indirectly proves that what the Labi said was true; at least, the statement that they were being targeted was true.

After all, the mountain range has a stronghold of the Dark Guild, so it's understandable that they would send a large number of people to track them down.

But he refused to believe it and sent out more than a dozen Shadow Clones in various directions and on different routes back to the guild.

If he really wanted to confront the Shadow Skull head-on, he would at least need to call Makarov over first.

The group continued onward, encountering some thieves and monsters along the way. However, without exception, they were all dealt with by Ailong.

Since that day, Ailong and the others have become quiet and withdrawn. It seems that under immense pressure, they are all somewhat irritable.

Until one day...