When they arrived about 100 meters from the wolves' pack, Andrea and Emily said, "You guys can handle these 25 beasts among yourselves." After saying this, they disappeared. As soon as they vanished, the wildfire wolves, sensing their presence, turned towards Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia, charging with a howl as if they had found their prey.
Eldryn instructed Nathan and Amelia, "You take care of the Rank 1 beasts; I'll handle the Rank 2 ones." He moved toward the Rank 2 beasts, ignoring the Rank 1. Using his full power, Eldryn swiftly killed a Rank 2 beast with a single strike by decapitating it. However, the remaining Rank 2 beasts were now alert and with nearly twice as fast as Eldryn they inflicted wounds on him. He struggled but managed to slay three more Rank 2 beasts.
The last Rank 2 beast, seemingly the pack's king, proved to be a formidable opponent. After fighting it for around 10 minutes without landing a hit and being on the verge of defeat, Eldryn realized he might need to use his Rank 2 warrior strength to win.
While he was struggling and suffering injuries from the pack's king, it suddenly let out a frustrated roar and ran away. Puzzled, Eldryn heard footsteps behind him and saw Nathan and Amelia. He realized the wolf must have sensed their approach and fled to avoid it's possible death.
"You guys did well," Andrea and Emily said. "After these fights, you should have realized your weaknesses and strengths. When you get home, each of you can choose two or three battle skills to offset these weaknesses. Now, you can clean the battlefield."
After collecting the wolves' skins, cores, and blood, they walked to a waterfall where Andrea and Emily had found a hidden cave. After dinner, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia, exhausted from the continuous battles, drifted off to sleep.
While they were sleeping, Andrea and Emily, deep in cultivation, suddenly opened their eyes and nodded to each other before vanishing from the cave.
Andrea observed, "It seems the first to arrive is the Mistshade family, but only two Frost Guards. His status in the Mistshade family must be declining, but these two Frost Guards will be a good warm-up for us."
"Indeed, but we should finish quickly," Emily agreed, and they disappeared from sight.
Moments later, they approached the two Frost Guards, who, about 5 kilometers away, sensed their approach.
"Two auras are coming towards us; they must be the targets," an older Frost Guard said.
The other nodded, "Let's wait and see."
When Andrea and Emily were just 100 meters away, their speed increased dramatically, and they attacked swiftly. The two Frost Guards barely had a chance to defend before being slain without resistance.
Emily took a storage ring from one of the Frost Guards she had killed and inspected it. She then said to Andrea, "Not much of value—some Rank 4 weapons, 3000 low-grade star stones, 500 low-grade water star stones, and 300 low-grade wood star stones. What about yours?"
Andrea replied, "Around 1000 low-grade star stones and 1000 low-grade water star stones. But there is a Rank 7 star fruit; this guy might have kept it for his breakthrough."
Emily agreed, noting that a Rank 7 star fruit would be valuable even to them as Rank 8 warriors. "Let's go. I hope we'll gain more resources tomorrow."
With that, they moved towards the cave where Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia were resting.
At the same time the two Frost Guards were killed, in the core area of the Mistshade family, a room displayed a wall of tokens among which 20 tokens labeled "Frost Guard." Suddenly, two of these tokens shattered. The old man guarding this room glanced at the broken tokens before hastening to where the patriarch, Rohan Mistshade, was cultivating.
After an hour, Rohan emerged from his cultivation room. Noticing the old man's presence, he asked, "What is it?"
"Patriarch, the life plates of two Frost Guards have shattered," the old man reported.
Without showing any emotion, Rohan inquired, "Under whose command were these two?"
"They were under Young Master Roy," the old man replied.
"Understood," Rohan said. "Inform him that starting next month, all his resources will be reduced by half." With that, he returned to his cultivation room.
As dawn approached, the entire Wood Peak mountain range was shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere.
Inside the cave, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia were preparing for their second and final day of training. Andrea and Emily, observing the distance, turned to them and asked, "Are you ready for today's training?"
Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia nodded.
"Good," Andrea replied. "Today's training will be straightforward: you just need to survive." Their faces displayed concern and confusion. Without waiting for a response, Andrea continued, "While training or traveling through the mountains and forests, you should be aware of not just star beasts but also other warriors. You will need to fight them, and if possible, kill them. Now, let's set off for your training."
The moment they stepped outside the cave, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia felt the oppressive atmosphere.
Andrea handed each of them a simple wooden token and explained, "There's a 4th rank defense array on the cave. You need this array plate to enter. If you manage to enter the cave, you're considered to have survived."
Before they could ask questions, Andrea and Emily lifted them up—Andrea with Eldryn and Emily with Nathan and Amelia. After around two minutes, they set them down 3 kilometers from the cave and said, "Your training starts now. Good luck." With that, Andrea and Emily moved further away.
Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia exchanged glances. Nathan, with trembling legs, said, "Let's go," and they headed toward the cave at high speed.
Meanwhile, 10 kilometers away from the cave, two Rank 7 warriors and about 50 Rank 4 warriors were heading in their direction. The Rank 7 warrior stopped and took out a communication token, saying, "We have found the target." He then looked at the other man and asked, "Hector, how about we take the lead and fight those two ladies?"
Hector nodded, replying, "Let's go, Boron. It's been a while since I've slain a genius." They then moved to intercept Andrea and Emily.
Andrea and Emily employed the same tactics as before against the frost guard. They moved at Rank 7 speed and, when within 50 meters, erupted with their Rank 8 cultivation, killing Boron and Hector with a single strike each. The two Rank 7 warriors had no time to react. Afterward, Andrea and Emily swiftly dealt with the remaining 50 Rank 4 warriors, collecting their storage rings and bags.
As Andrea and Emily finished off the two Rank 7 warriors, Chris, the Rank 8 warrior, instructed the remaining two Rank 7 warriors, "You go and face Emily. I'll deal with Andrea. Also, tell the 50 Rank 4 warriors to search for the remaining three; they are moving east."
With his orders given, Chris moved towards Andrea, preparing for their confrontation.
As they fought, with neither side gaining an advantage, Chris remarked, "It seems we've always underestimated your talent. But today, no matter how heaven-defying it is, you can't save your son."
When Andrea didn't respond, Chris laughed and attacked her. Amidst his attempt to demoralize her, Andrea suddenly launched a powerful sneak attack, killing the Rank 7 warrior instantly.
Despite killing the Rank 7 warrior, Andrea was injured further by Chris, who struck her ribs. He declared, "No matter what happens to us, one of you will stay here." With that, he intensified his assault.
Meanwhile, Emily easily defeated the remaining Rank 7 warrior.
Seeing that Andrea and Chris were focused on their fight and not paying much attention to her, Emily launched a powerful sneak attack on Chris. Afterward, she said to Andrea, "I'll go take care of those Rank 4 warriors," and moved off to deal with them.
Chris, watching Emily depart, turned to Andrea and said, "Even if you win against me, it won't be easy." He then shattered his Rank 8 affinity seed, causing immense pain but granting him power beyond Rank 8 for a brief moment. In that fleeting burst of strength, he severely injured Andrea, breaking her sternum despite her efforts to shield most of the impact with her hands.
Andrea, observing Chris on the brink of collapse, said, "You royal family dogs are truly loyal to die and sacrifice your future for them."
Chris laughed, then shattered his Rank 7 affinity seed, further increasing his pain and power in a final, desperate act.
Before Chris could attack Andrea again, his body collapsed from the strain of his shattered star power and died.
Andrea looked at the dead Chris and sighed, "Truly a loyal dog of the royal family."
Indeed, shattering an affinity seed is typically a last resort, used only in life-and-death situations, but to use that method to just complete his mission of killing Andrea is similar to choosing death,So according to her Chris is truly similar to the dog for a royal family.