Barry carried the unconscious Lena, and the group quickly left the area. Along the way, Linton gathered some information from Gasson.
It had been five days since Linton had left. Previously, they had searched for him nearby, worried something might have happened. Soon, Barry woke up and learned about the assassin. After hearing the details, he decided they couldn't stay put any longer as the assassin was likely to return.
They quickly took action, planning to head back to the city right away. However, shortly after setting off, they were attacked by the assassins again, clearly a second wave of them.
The second batch of assassins arrived faster than expected. Barry suspected they had some kind of long-distance communication magic tool, allowing them to call for reinforcements. One of the new attackers was highly skilled, according to Barry. He was strong enough to fight Barry, but the problem was... Barry was injured, so he couldn't win.
However, the opponent seemed somewhat cautious. After the failure of the first attack, it was clear they were also a bit afraid, particularly of Linton. After an unsuccessful attack, the enemy quickly retreated.
While repelling the attackers was a good thing, Barry figured the assassins wouldn't give up that easily. They were likely waiting for them somewhere. Barry thought it would be too dangerous to follow their original path, as any ambush could be fatal. So, after a brief discussion, they decided to change their route, heading west instead of returning to Degalno City. They planned to reach Soraga City and then take a carriage back.
Of course, this wasn't without risk. Although they managed to avoid the assassins, going deeper into the forest increased the likelihood of encountering more powerful magical beasts. For instance, they had just encountered a Level 6 White-Spotted Tiger. Under normal circumstances, Barry could handle a Level 6 beast, but he had overestimated his recovery speed. Without Linton's help, it would have been a dangerous situation.
This was the current situation. Barry also discovered during the earlier attack that the assassins were originally targeting the two members of the Melowei family. But now, with the princess involved, she had become a target too. If the princess returned safely, she would surely investigate, which wasn't good news for the assassins. That's why they kept sending skilled attackers—they wanted to ensure none of them left the forest alive.
"So, we're heading west now?" Linton asked.
"Yeah," Gasson nodded.
"What's the point?" Linton sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm back now, so why are we still going west? Don't you want to know who killed your dad? Let's face them head-on."
Hearing Linton's words, Barry paused. He had a point. Barry knew Linton's combat strength, and heading west wasn't particularly safe either. The journey was long, and they didn't know the route well enough to avoid getting lost. Since Linton was back, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
"The new swordsman on their side is probably at least a five-star swordsman," Barry said. "Do you have any experience fighting star-ranked swordsmen?"
"Star-ranked swordsman?" Linton had heard of star-ranked mages before, so he assumed it was a similar concept. "It doesn't matter who they are. I've mastered my skills and am now invincible. Believe me, even if the king himself showed up, I'd just give him one look, and he'd kneel."
"Why does that still sound so unreliable?" Gasson muttered from the side.
"Come on, trust me. Do you know how much effort I've put into looking this cool? Just give me a platform, and I'll return the favor by giving you the world," Linton said confidently.
"Captain Barry, I think we should turn back," Princess Yaran chimed in, siding with Linton. "With our current strength, I don't think we need to fear the assassins anymore."
As she spoke, the princess shot a glance behind them, specifically at the Flame-Eater Beast that had been following them.
Yes, the Flame-Eater Beast had been trailing them the whole time, keeping some distance but seemingly tamed by Linton. They had seen Linton riding it earlier.
No matter how ridiculous Linton's words sounded, they all knew the strength of the Flame-Eater Beast. With it on their side, their combat strength had greatly increased. So, turning back and confronting their enemies didn't seem too dangerous now, especially since heading west wasn't safe either. The tiger from earlier proved that point.
"Hmm…" Barry nodded after thinking it over. "Alright, we'll turn back. But since we have an injured person, let's set up camp for tonight and head east tomorrow."
Everyone agreed to the plan and quickly started setting up camp. Princess Yaran took care of the injured while Barry stood guard. Gasson was supposed to gather food, but he insisted on dragging Linton along.
"Why?" Linton asked.
"I need to keep an eye on you, so you don't pull any strange tricks on us again," Gasson said.
"How could I trick you? You're my nephew," Linton replied.
"You said that last time too, and then you disappeared," Gasson retorted.
"That was an accident!" Linton protested. "You need to change your perspective. Stick with me, and you'll be living the good life."
"Like what?"
"Like right now. You're supposed to be out hunting, right? That's tiring, and what if you run into another tiger? That's dangerous," Linton said.
"There shouldn't be any high-level magical beasts around here. They're territorial, and I saw plenty of lower-level beasts nearby. It doesn't look like the territory of a high-level beast," Barry chimed in.
"That's not the point!" Linton exclaimed. "The point is, you'd normally have to work hard to catch something, but with me, you can just sit back and wait for the prey to come to you."
"Huh?" Gasson was confused. "Show me."
"Alright, watch this." Linton nodded, then turned to the Flame-Eater Beast. "Go get us some prey, something big."
Everyone looked at Linton in disbelief, then turned to the Flame-Eater Beast.
The Flame-Eater Beast seemed unsure at first, but since it had done this before, it wasn't too resistant. After a moment's thought, it turned and left.
"You're really just going to let it go hunting?" Gasson asked in surprise. "It's a deer!"
"I know, but it actually does catch prey. I've tried it before," Linton replied.
So, did this guy tame a magical beast just because he was too lazy to hunt? Barry and Princess Yaran were both speechless, realizing that Linton didn't seem to grasp how incredible taming a magical beast truly was.
Before long, the Flame-Eater Beast returned, moving so fast that its actions were almost invisible. Linton, without his Sharingan, could only see a flash of purple light.
When the Flame-Eater Beast stopped, everyone was stunned. In its mouth was a black panther-like creature. Barry recognized it as a Level 4 magical beast, no match for the Flame-Eater Beast. But the sight of a deer carrying a panther was just… odd.
"Is this thing edible?" Linton pointed at the panther.
"Most magical beasts are edible," Barry said. "Very few have poisonous meat, and magical beast meat usually contains magic energy, making it quite delicious."
"Great, let's clean it and roast it." Linton pointed at Gasson. "You do it."
"Wait a minute, why do I feel like I'm on the same level as the deer? You said I'd get to relax, but it feels like you just want someone to do the work for you," Gasson protested.
"Well, the deer can't clean the food, so you shouldn't be too hard on it. Look how pitiful it is," Linton said.
"Why don't you do it then?" Gasson snapped.
"I don't know how!" Linton replied. "I'm a noble, raised in luxury. How could I possibly do such things?"
"First of all, I'm also a noble. Second, I've never seen you live in luxury. Do you even know how much money you have left?" Gasson shouted.
"You make it sound like I'm poor." Linton laughed. "Let me tell you, I've been raking it in lately. In fact, I've got a few things here. Help me check them out."
Linton was about to take out the gems the Flame-Eater Beast had given him to get Barry and the princess's opinion. They had seen a lot, so they could probably identify them. Linton was running low on funds, and this was a good opportunity to replenish his money.
But just as he was about to take out the gems, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Surprised, he turned and found it was the Flame-Eater Beast. Linton paused for a moment, then realized—it wanted a reward. This morning, he had given it a reward for catching prey
.
"Got it. Amaterasu!" Linton shot an Amaterasu in a random direction, then turned back to get the gems. But suddenly, a scream echoed from behind him. Startled, Linton turned around to see a person fall from a tree he had just hit with Amaterasu. The person barely moved before being consumed by the black flames.
"This… can't be real," Linton groaned, covering his face. "Why does this feel so familiar?"
He looked around, and sure enough, everyone was staring at him in awe.
(End of Chapter)