Allen simply slammed a fist into the rock. With a resounding bang, the stone instantly shattered into countless fragments that flew in every direction.
After the two of them entered, they were surprised to find a severely wounded mage hidden behind the rock.
The mage's face was as pale as paper, his eyes tightly shut, and a trace of blood hung at the corner of his mouth. Judging from his faint breathing and the wounds covering his body, he would likely die before long if he did not receive timely and effective treatment.
Allen stepped forward and carefully examined the surrounding environment and the mage's clothing.
Various objects were scattered everywhere, which seemed to indicate that they all belonged to the mage. Embroidered on his clothes was an emblem Allen had never seen before.
After thinking it over briefly, Allen ultimately decided to help the mage. He immediately walked over and cast healing magic, while Laxus assisted from the side with mild electric shocks.
Through the combined efforts of the two, the unconscious mage suddenly began coughing violently after only a short while. He then slowly opened his eyes.
He looked around blankly, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. When his gaze fell on Allen and Laxus, his body instinctively shrank backward. Clearly, he was terrified of these two strangers.
However, when he noticed that the pain from his injuries had been significantly reduced and felt a warm power continuously flowing into his body, he finally understood that the two people before him had saved him. Thus, coughing all the while, he struggled to sit up. Seeing this, Allen hurried over and helped support him, saying softly, "Don't rush. Take it slowly."
The mage gave Allen a grateful look, then, with Allen's help, managed to sit upright with difficulty. He gasped heavily for breath and only began to recover after quite some time.
The mage introduced himself to the two of them. "Cough, cough... A pleasure to meet you! My name is Harry Calvin, and I'm a mage belonging to the Foxes of the Forest. Our guild is located at the foot of the mountain on the other side of Mount Hakobe." At this point, Harry paused briefly, a solemn look appearing on his face, before continuing, "A few days ago, just as usual, I entered Mount Hakobe alone to gather some precious magical herbs. However, I happened to catch sight of a group of suspicious people. They were all wearing black cloaks and sneaking through the mountains. Driven by intense curiosity, I secretly followed them, hoping to discover the purpose of these mysterious people."
Harry took a deep breath, still seemingly shaken by the tense scene he had recalled, and continued, "Unfortunately, I was careless for a moment and failed to notice that I had fallen into a trap they had carefully prepared. In an instant, numerous black figures emerged from all around and surrounded me. Although they weren't particularly strong, I was outnumbered and had to fight with all my strength to escape from them by sheer luck. Even so, I was severely wounded. If I hadn't had the good fortune to meet the two of you and receive your generous aid today, I'm afraid my life would have ended here before long. I, Harry Calvin, will never forget this life-saving favor!"
After hearing Harry's account, Allen secretly rejoiced. He had never expected that the seemingly ordinary mage before him would reveal such significant information. Fortunately, he now knew that such a mysterious group existed. Otherwise, if they had encountered them suddenly without any preparation, who knew what unexpected circumstances might have arisen? At least Allen now had an idea of what they were dealing with.
Allen then pointed at himself, followed by Laxus, who stood straight beside him, and said to Harry, "My name is Allen, and he's Laxus. We're mages from Fairy Tail. We came here to cross Mount Hakobe. Fortunately, we learned about this from you. Otherwise, if we encountered them without any preparation, we might not have come out ahead either."
Upon hearing this, Harry hurriedly waved his hands at Allen and replied politely, "Don't say that. If you hadn't saved me, my life might already have ended here. How could I have had the chance to provide you with any information? So, in the end, it was only because you saved me that you learned about this. But speaking of which, since you've made up your minds to cross Mount Hakobe, you really must pay extra attention to that group. To be honest, I still have no idea whether they have any more powerful members among them or why they suddenly appeared here. So, you must be extremely careful from now on."
Allen nodded and answered solemnly, "Don't worry, Harry. Now that we're prepared, it'll be fine. If things get bad, we can just avoid them. Don't you think?" After saying this, the two sides looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere instantly became relaxed and harmonious.
Thus, after a brief exchange and learning more about each other, Allen decided to spend the night in the cave to look after Harry, who was still injured. They would set out tomorrow to investigate the situation.
After Harry fell asleep that night, Laxus quietly walked over to Allen and asked in a low voice, "Big brother, what do you think about what Harry said?"
Allen had been thinking about Harry's words for some time. After hearing Laxus's question, he replied softly, "What he said isn't important. What matters is that we now know there's a group like this in Mount Hakobe. We'll know the specifics after we go out and investigate tomorrow."
Laxus nodded slightly, then quietly returned to his resting place.
The night passed in the blink of an eye. After simply closing his eyes and opening them again, the horizon was already glowing with the pale light of dawn.
When Harry slowly awoke from his sleep, he blinked drowsily as he adjusted to the soft morning light. Once his vision gradually cleared, he was surprised to find Allen and Laxus busy cooking breakfast not far away.
The aroma of food wafted from the pot, filling the air and making his mouth water.
Noticing that Harry had woken up, Allen turned his head and smiled before greeting him warmly. "You woke up at just the right time. We'll be ready to eat soon. Come join us."
Hearing this, Harry couldn't help smiling as well. "Haha, then I won't stand on ceremony!"
After a peaceful night's sleep, Harry felt that his condition had clearly improved. Although he still found it somewhat difficult to get up, he could at least slowly stand using his own strength. His movements were still a little sluggish, but compared to his previous weakness, this was already a very good state of affairs.
After washing up, Harry staggered over to sit in front of the fire. The three of them sat together and happily enjoyed the delicious breakfast. The atmosphere during the meal was relaxed and harmonious, and the occasional laughter filled the morning with vitality.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Allen put down his utensils and turned his gaze to Harry, asking with concern, "Harry, since you've recovered somewhat, what are you planning to do next?"
Before you continue