Outside Nanmu Forest.
Just as Chen Cheng and the other two were preparing to enter the mountains, Chen Cheng slapped his forehead as he remembered something.
He rummaged through his clothes, then pulled out a small cloth pouch. Inside lay a pitch-black pill.
He wrapped the pill back up in the pouch and handed it to Fini.
"Take this. I prepared this Beast Repellent Pill for you."
Fini had been about to accept it, but when she heard that it was a Beast Repellent Pill, she drew back her hand.
"This lady is already a mage who has inscribed a magic array. You should keep something like this for yourself."
At this point, Fini still did not know that Chen Cheng had also inscribed Magic Runes within his body, and that he possessed far more methods than she did.
Yet Chen Cheng ignored her words and directly stuffed the Beast Repellent Pill into her hand.
"If I tell you to take it, then take it. You may already be a mage, but there's no reason for a young lady like you to protect a slave like me."
Fini was not someone who failed to appreciate kindness. She knew this was Chen Cheng's goodwill toward her.
She put away the Beast Repellent Pill and said somewhat haughtily,
"Don't worry. If we truly encounter a powerful demon beast, this lady won't abandon you. I'll use the new magic I've comprehended to protect you two."
In her heart, Fini also secretly resolved that she had to protect Chen Cheng, this interesting Little Slave.
When Little Fatty Akasto saw the Beast Repellent Pill, his eyes immediately lit up. The moment he heard its name, he smelled tremendous business opportunities within it.
He had heard that the reason those savages could gain a foothold in the forest was because they possessed their own unique method that kept the Magic Beasts in the forest from harassing their villages.
Those "peddlers" who entered the mountains also seemed to have mastered this method, but they had always kept it secret.
As long as the Beast Repellent Pill could truly repel beasts, then if he struck this deal with Chen Cheng, House of Sto would truly become more than merely a merchant family in the future.
He sidled up to Chen Cheng with a shameless grin.
"Uh, we're good brothers, aren't we? Why didn't you tell me earlier that you knew how to make this? This is a huge business opportunity, you know..."
Before he could finish, Chen Cheng spoke directly and shattered his hopes.
"The materials are simple: Black Dragon excrement, or remnants from powerful Magic Beasts. If you can obtain them, I'll tell you the method."
Naturally, Chen Cheng spoke very quietly. Fini, who was walking ahead, did not hear him, while Akasto beside him looked like a defeated rooster, drooping his head as he followed behind the two.
He should have known. If such a secret formula truly existed, those slave catchers who had destroyed so many savage villages would have obtained the technique long ago.
And those "peddlers"—the nobles backing them would have long since brought out such a product and made a fortune.
But when he thought of the filthy substance Chen Cheng had just mentioned, his desire for the item dropped sharply.
Within Nanmu Forest, Achilles's Blood Sacrifice Technique had reached its critical moment. Countless clouds of blood mist surged from his pores, combining with the incantation from his mouth to form an enormous Magic Array over a hundred meters in diameter.
The pressure emanating from the Magic Array already carried the might of a Platinum Rank mage's full-force strike.
Vine Dragon Withered Wood, who had just entered Level 13 and Platinum Rank, also sensed the danger. The vines he wielded attacked with increasing speed.
Vines carrying an aura of destruction lashed through the air, sending ripples across the void. The defensive barrier formed by the surviving earl's knights swayed as if it might collapse at any moment beneath those strikes.
As vine after vine fell, several more earl's knights forming the defensive barrier were instantly sent flying while vomiting blood from the backlash. Several Silver Rank knights perished on the spot.
These knights were all the foundation of Earl Huidun. Every death broke his heart, especially with his teacher Achilles, a Level 12 Gold Mage, among them.
This time, he had suffered devastating losses. The strength he had accumulated over many years would be reduced to nothing after this incident.
Wisdom Shield stared at Vine Dragon Withered Wood before him with bloodshot eyes. Even his nearly depleted reserve of magic power was squeezed for its final trace of mana, allowing him to cast Chaos Magic.
Yet the difference in rank stood there like an insurmountable mountain. As someone who had only just advanced to become a Gold Mage, he truly could not inflict much damage upon Vine Dragon Withered Wood. Only a temporary increase in power like Achilles's, gained by burning his own blood and vitality, could shatter this prison of vines.
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of Nanmu Forest, Chen Cheng and the other two had been wandering through the forest for quite some time. Perhaps because Fini carried the Beast Repellent Pill, they had not encountered a single low-level ferocious beast along the way.
However, somewhere the three could not see, Coles, who had been following them all along, was in a miserable state.
This fellow had ill intentions as well. Since Earl Huidun could not come due to other matters, he turned his attention toward this hunt.
His plan was simple: have the big man beside him lure out the Magic Beasts in the forest, then let those Magic Beasts attack Chen Cheng and the others.
Yet he had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait. Not only had he failed to trap Chen Cheng and the others, he had instead trapped himself.
Still, by this calculation, his points were now far ahead of all the other students.
After shooting dead the last Magic Energy Bouncing Rabbit subdued by the big man, Coles angrily punched the tree beside him. Perhaps he had used too much force, because tears immediately spilled from his eyes in pain.
Yet while this little boy wept at the side, he was also cursing Fini and the others. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Why was he always being bullied by this master and servant pair?
The more he thought, the angrier he got; the angrier he got, the more he thought. In the end, Coles hardened his heart and decided to go all the way.
Of course, going all the way did not mean personally killing the two of them. He did not have that kind of courage.
Moreover, even if he used the big man to kill all three, Fini's father might be easy enough to handle, but the wealthiest family behind Little Fatty would not be so easy to deal with. If things went wrong, even the William Family might have to accompany Little Fatty to their deaths.
But as for other schemes and tricks, that remained uncertain.
Coles called over the big man resting nearby. This time, he would make Fini and Chen Cheng pay. As for Little Fatty Akasto beside them, on the road to true success, there would always be one or two unjustly dead ghosts.
This fellow directly led the big man across the safe hunting boundary Melinda had established for them and ventured deep into the forest.
Meanwhile, within Hui Dun City, Tofis, the city's governor, had been incomparably anxious these past two days. Earl Huidun had been gone for five days, and during those five days, it was as if the city had lost all contact with him.
Today was already the final day agreed upon for Earl Huidun's return, yet Tofis had still received no word from him.
Tofis went to the Church of Light in the city and informed the priest presiding over that day's prayers that he wished to meet Bishop Jamir.
In the rear of the church, Jamir was carefully studying the Light Church's scriptures. When he heard that Governor Tofis had come to visit, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile unnoticed by anyone. Then he solemnly ordered the priest to invite Tofis in.
With a sweep of Jamir's robe, a tea set appeared upon the stone table in the back courtyard. By the time he began pouring tea, Tofis had already been led in by the priest.
"Please sit, Governor. This is Mengshan black tea newly issued by the Holy See. Have a taste and see how it is."
Tofis was also someone who placed great importance on etiquette. Though the matter was urgent, he still sat down politely, took a sip of tea, and followed it with a stream of praise.
Once these formalities were complete, Tofis went straight to the point.
"I have come today to disturb Your Excellency's quiet cultivation because the situation is truly urgent..."
Tofis then told Jamir about Earl Huidun's situation.
When Jamir heard that Earl Huidun had left Hui Dun City for Nanmu Forest and had been missing for five days without any news, a heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
No one would imagine that Earl Huidun's peril had anything to do with him, a bishop.
Perhaps Wisdom Shield and the others had already guessed it. After all, one of the Church's important functions was early warning, and since no Church personnel had come to rescue them after so many days, Wisdom Shield might already have guessed the truth.
But none of that mattered. As long as he could give outsiders a reasonable explanation, that would be enough.
On the surface, however, he revealed a worried expression.
"Why was this not reported earlier? Half a month ago, a sudden Magic Energy tide caused some problems with the warning statue in the church. The replacement statue has not even arrived yet."
Only then did Tofis dispel the hidden concern in his heart. He had not expected things to coincide so perfectly.
Jamir swiftly summoned his commander of the Knights of Light and ordered him to lead every Knight of Light from the church to Nanmu Forest to search for Wisdom Shield.
Seeing Jamir act so decisively, Tofis was deeply grateful. To express his thanks, he directly decided to withdraw a sum of money from the city government treasury to repair the church.
At the same time, he promised that once Earl Huidun was rescued, he would suggest to the earl that they expand the church's current grounds.
By the time Tofis left, the Church's Knights of Light had already assembled and set out. This time, Jamir had not given his subordinates any negative orders. He wanted outsiders to see his anxious concern.
Because that way, the Holy See would still appear upright and honorable, and its holiness would still shine upon the entire continent.
Watching the large contingent of Knights of Light leave the city, many residents thought that some powerful heretics had appeared somewhere.
The government hall's subsequent announcement informed everyone why the Knights of Light had been dispatched. They were going to search for the earl, who had been missing for five days.
The ordinary citizens felt little about it, merely assuming that the earl had gotten lost or something similar. Only the nobles knew that something major must have happened behind the earl's disappearance.
Because before this, when the earl left, he had taken almost all of his Imperial Knights with him.
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